Worship Service for December 19, 2021 at 11 AM

Welcome

Opening Song – O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear

Chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, Though Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery

Chorus

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light

Chorus

O come, Desire of nations, bind all people in one heart and mind
Bid envy strife and quarrels cease
Fill all the world with heaven’s peace

Chorus

Invocation

Confession and Forgiveness:

P: Our Heavenly Father asks us to come into His presence.

C: But we are sinful and unworthy. 

P: Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ died on the cross that we may be forgiven and washed clean of all our sins by His blood spilled on the cross.

C: Lord, if You wash us, we will certainly be clean and pure.

P: We take a moment to bow before the His cross and silently reflect on our lives and confess our sins.

(Time of silence for reflection and confession)

P: Let us confess, together, our sins to God our Father.

C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners.  We have sinned against you and our neighbors. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not lived out our faith out in our community. We justly deserve Your punishment.  For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.  Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name.  Amen.

P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins.  As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I, therefore, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving: Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground)

What hope we hold this starlit night
a King is born in Bethlehem
Our journey long, we seek the light
that leads to the hallowed manger ground

What fear we felt in the silent age
four hundred years can he be found
But broken by a baby’s cry
rejoice in the hallowed manger ground

Chorus:
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
God incarnate here to dwell
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
Praise His name Emmanuel

The son of God here, born to bleed
A crown of thorns would pierce His brow
And we beheld this offering
Exalted now, the King of kings
Praise God For the hallowed manger ground

Chorus

Praise His name Emmanuel

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 7:1–14

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’” Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Epistle Reading – Galatians 4:4–6

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Children’s Message (Children dismissed to Children’s Church)

Sermon Hymn – On Jordan’s Bank The Baptist’s Cry

On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh.
Awake and harken, for He brings
Glad tidings of the King of Kings!

We hail you as our Savior, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward.
Without Your grace we waste away
Like flowers that wither and decay.

All praise to You, eternal Son,
Whose advent has our freedom won,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Spirit, evermore.

Sermon – “Jesus is the Son of Mary”

Matthew 1:18–25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Prayers: Text in prayer requests to (813) 602-1104

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen

Words of Institution

Peace

P: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
C: And also, with you.
P: We greet each other in the peace of Christ.

Distribution

Prayer

Benediction

Closing Song: Go Tell It On The Mountain

Chorus:
Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere;
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens there shone a Holy Light.

Chorus

The shepherds feared and trembled when lo! Above the earth,
Rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth.

Chorus

Down in a lowly manger, the humble Christ was born
And brought us God’s salvation that blessed Christmas morn!

Chorus

Offering

Upcoming Events

December 24, 6pm – Christmas Eve Service
Song and Dance

December 26, 11am – Worship Service
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January 2, 11am – Worship Service
Song and Dance