1 Promise Fulfilled December 27, 2020 The First Sunday of Christmas Meditations: Often it is the dark forest that makes us speak about the open field. Frequently prison makes us think about freedom, hunger helps us to appreciate food, and war gives us words for peace. Not seldom are our visions of the future born out of the sufferings of the present and our hope for others out of our own despair. Only few “happy endings” make us happy, but often someone’s careful and honest articulation of the ambiguities, uncertainties and painful conditions of life gives us new hope. The paradox is indeed that new life is born out of the pains of the old. -Henri Nouwen “When I think of Christmas Eves, Christmas feasts, Christmas songs, and Christmas stories, I know that they do not represent a short or transient gladness. Instead, they speak of a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God loved the world and sent His Son. Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. That is Christmas joy. That is the Christmas spirit.” - Corrie ten Boom Words of Welcome Call to Worship Animals came to prepare your bed. Come, lord Jesus, Come! Shepherds stood guard, marveled and said: Come, lord Jesus, Come! Angels sang to calm your cries. Come, lord Jesus, Come! And all the world gave one great sigh: Ah, lord Jesus, you have come! We are gathered in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the holy Spirit. Amen!
Transcript
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Promise Fulfilled December 27, 2020
The First Sunday of Christmas
Meditations: Often it is the dark forest that makes us speak about the open field. Frequently prison makes us think about freedom, hunger helps us to appreciate food, and war gives us words for peace. Not seldom are our visions of the future born out of the sufferings of the present and our hope for others out of our own despair. Only few “happy endings” make us happy, but often someone’s careful and honest articulation of the ambiguities, uncertainties and painful conditions of life gives us new hope. The paradox is indeed that new life is born out of the pains of the old.
-Henri Nouwen “When I think of Christmas Eves, Christmas feasts, Christmas songs, and Christmas stories, I know that they do not represent a short or transient gladness. Instead, they speak of a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God loved the world and sent His Son. Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. That is Christmas joy. That is the Christmas spirit.”
- Corrie ten Boom Words of Welcome Call to Worship
Animals came to prepare your bed. �Come, lord Jesus, Come! �Shepherds stood guard, marveled and said: �Come, lord Jesus, Come! �Angels sang to calm your cries. �Come, lord Jesus, Come! �And all the world gave one great sigh: �Ah, lord Jesus, you have come! �We are gathered in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the holy Spirit. �Amen!
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Gathering Hymn - O Come All Ye Faithful
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Greeting
Break forth together into singing, � you waste places of Jerusalem, �for the Lord has comforted his people;� he has redeemed Jerusalem. �The Lord has bared his holy arm� before the eyes of all the nations, �and all the ends of the earth shall see� the salvation of our God.
Isaiah 52:9-10 The Lord be with you. And also with you.
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Confession Hymn
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins before God and one another. God of love, all year long we pursue power and money, �yet you come in weakness. All season long we covet great material gifts, when you alone offer what is lasting. �Through the work of this Lord Jesus, who comes among us full of grace and truth, forgive us, heal us, correct us. Then open our lips, that we may sing your praise with the angels, and remake our lives, that we may bear witness to your transforming love. �Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Words of Forgiveness & Peace
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth... For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:14, 16
In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
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Passing of the Peace
[Invitation for congregation to share a sign of peace with one another]
Hymns of Praise and Adoration
Once in Royal David’s City (See next page)
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O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight For Christ is born of Mary And gathered all above While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondering love O morning stars together Proclaim the holy birth And praises sing to God the King And Peace to men on earth How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven No ear may hear His coming But in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in O holy Child of Bethlehem Descend to us, we pray Cast out our sin and enter in Be born to us today We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell O come to us, abide with us Our Lord Emmanuel
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Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor
1. Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour, All for love's sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender, Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour, All for love's sake becomes poor.
2. Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man; Stooping so low, but sinners raising Heavenwards by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising, All for love's sake becamest man.
3. Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee. Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what thou wouldst have us be. Thou who art love beyond all telling, Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Living Our Faith Old Testament Reading
Psalm 147:13-21
Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion; For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. He has established peace on your borders; he satisfies you with the finest wheat. He sends out his command to the earth, and his word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; who can stand against his cold? He sends forth his word and melts them; he blows with his wind, and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel. He has not done so to any other nation;
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to them he has not revealed his judgments. Hallelujah! Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen. Amen. Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 9:2-7
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
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The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.
New Testament Reading
Hebrews 2:5-9
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke: Glory to you, O Lord! Luke 1:67-79
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
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might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ!
Sermon - Pastor Peter Rowan - Promise Fulfilled
Creed Let us affirm the faith of the Church: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
Offering of Prayers of the People
With the angels we sing and glorify your name, thankful for all that you have given us.
We are grateful for your presence in the world; for our nation; for our community and its leaders; and for the witness of your church celebrating around the world.
But today we are especially grateful for the gift of your Son, who gave up his heavenly home for a manger and a cross so that we might experience redemption, a gift that
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neither spoils nor fades.
With the angels we also desire peace on earth, a peace that is broader and deeper than the end of war. We pray for the restoration of this world, for the growth of your kingdom, for reconciliation, healing, and renewal. We bring before you our prayers.
For the nations of the world, especially [...]�For our nation and those in authority [...]�For our community and those who govern it [...]�For the church universal, its mission, and those who minister [...]�For those with particular needs on this holy day, especially [...]
Make your incarnate presence known in each situation, and may we as your servants be vessels of your peace.
We pray this in the name of the one who became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Offering of Gifts
Friends and members of Second City Church support the extension of God’s Kingdom with gifts of bread, wine, talents and resources. Guests are not expected to contribute. Tithes and offerings may be placed in the offering plates, boxes on the wall as you leave, or can be made electronically. Instructions for setting up online giving are available at the donation boxes.
Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below Praise him above ye heavenly host Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving Invitation
The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right for us to give thanks and praise.
Praise God for His Mighty Acts
Holy are you, O God, and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ. As Mary and Joseph went from Galilee to Bethlehem and there found no room, so Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem and was despised and rejected. As in the poverty of a stable Jesus was born, so by the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water
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and the Spirit. So we come with the shepherds and we sing with the Angels the song of your unending praise. �
Sanctus
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest,
Blessed is he, who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
Praise for Christ’s Sacrifice Therefore we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament. Acclamation
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Calling on the Holy Spirit and Lord’s Prayer �We pray in the name of Jesus, who taught us: 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 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Invitation to the Table For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given.
Sharing Holy Communion
Second City Church welcomes all baptized Christians who have made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ in a Christian church to join us in this sacrament. Non-communicants can come forward and ask for a blessing. If you need to receive communion in your seat, ask a fellow worshiper to let the communion servers know. If you are unable to receive wine, you will find a chalice containing non-alcoholic grape juice at the station the pastor is serving. The communion bread is gluten-free.
Closing Prayer
Benediction
Jesus is the Word made flesh in our midst. �May his incarnation fill your hearts with joy and peace. �O Lord, give us peace!�Jesus is the promised Savior, born of Mary. �May his birth among us renew your hope. �O Lord, give us hope!�Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. �May the gift of his presence bring forth rejoicing. �O Lord, give us joy!�Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, �bless you now and forever. Amen.
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Closing Hymn - Go Tell It On the Mountain
Refrain: Go, tell it on the mountain
over the hills and everywhere go, tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.
1. While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night,
behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light.
2. The shepherds feared and trembled when, lo! above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth.
3. Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born, and Gold sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn.
