PRELUDE Luke Arnold
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Rev. Seth Thomas
ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING The Knight Family
A voice cries out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
A choir sings in the silence,
“Come, Emmanuel.”
Every valley shall be filled.
Every heart shall be made whole,
for peace is stronger than turmoil,
and love is louder than hate.
As we light our second Advent candle,
we pray for the holy peace of God.
Come now, O Child of Mary.
Come now, O Prince of Peace.
*CALL TO WORSHIP Kat DeVaney, Lector
A voice cries, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Lift every valley; lift every voice.
Prepare the way of the Lord.
And all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
GODLY PLAY
*HYMN OF PRAISE “Comfort, Comfort Now My People” – GTG #87
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Cleansing God,
we hear the call to repentance,
but we struggle to respond.
A voice tells us to turn around,
but we prefer our own ways.
You seek to purify us in love,
but we constantly elude your searching hand.
Our sin leads us in other directions,
away from you, away from life.
Look with mercy upon us.
Clear a place within us
so that something new might be born,
something that might return us
to the way you have shown us in Jesus Christ.
ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE
*THE PEACE
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING Malachi 3:1-4 pgs. 889-890
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON READING Luke 3:1-6 pg. 60
Malachi 3:1-4NRSV
Luke 3:1-6NRSV
SERMON “Repent and Follow” Rev. Seth Thomas
*HYMN OF RESPONSE “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” – GTG #96
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S INVITATION TO DISCIPLESHIP
JOYS & CONCERNS
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
OFFERTORY
*DOXOLOGY “For the Life That You Have Given” – GTG #717
For the life that you have given, for the love in Christ made known, With these fruits of time and labor, with these gifts that are your own; Here we offer, Lord, our praises; heart and mind and strength we bring; Give us grace to love and serve you, Living what we pray and sing.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us open our hearts.
We open them to our God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is right to lift up thanks and praise.
THE INVITATION & WORDS OF INSTITUTION
WELCOME TO THE TABLE
“The body of Christ, given for you.” Amen.
“The blood of Christ, shed for you.” Amen.
COMMUNION PRAYER & PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
SINGING WELCOME AS CHILDREN RETURN TO SANCTUARY
Welcome, children, welcome! Advent time is here.
Welcome, children, welcome! Now to God draw near.
*HYMN OF COMMITMENT “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” – GTG #367
WE GO INTO THE WORLD AS GOD’S AMBASSADORS
*BLESSING & CHARGE
POSTLUDE
Please plan to stay after worship on Sunday, December 19th from 11:30am-12:30pm and join us for our Congregational meeting in the Sanctuary.
GODLY PLAY: Advent II: This lesson helps children continue to prepare for the Mystery of Christmas. We move toward Bethlehem, guided by the pointing prophets, with the Holy Family, the shepherds and the Magi. We arrive at the birth of Jesus and the lighting of the Christ Candle. This week's lesson focuses on the Holy Family.
For Communion Sunday children will begin in the service and hear the story with the entire congregation. They will be taken downstairs for their work time and then will return for communion.
LECTIONARY TEXTS
For anyone wishing to study the lectionary texts, this week,
December 5th, the Lectionary texts are:
Malachi 3:1-4 (worship)
Luke 3:1-6 (preaching)
Luke 1:68-79
Phillipians 1:3-11
HOLIDAY JOY LAST SUNDAY!
Please help the St. James Youth Group and Interfaith Coalition bring a little Holiday Joy to some children and families in need this year! This year all gifts need to be in the form of a gift card in the amount of $25-$50 to Fred Meyer or Target. To participate you can purchase gift cards and bring them to church, send a check to St. James with "Holiday Joy" in the memo, or contact tracy@saintjamespres.org for more information. Gift Cards need to be at church by 10:30 am Sunday December 5th.
JOIN US FOR A NEW ADVENT SERIES
“Advent calendars come in all shapes and sizes but what they have in common is a daily rhythm of anticipatory reflection. Biola's Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts offers a FREE online Advent Project designed to help you pause each day to reflect on the beauty and meaning of the season. Each day of the Advent Project features a Scripture passage, a devotion written by a member of the Biola community, a work of visual art, a poem, and a piece of music. Our prayer is that in the midst of these challenging times, the Advent Project will help ground you in the unsurpassable beauty, mystery, and miracle of the Word made flesh.”
We will meet each Sunday at 9am, beginning December 5th to discuss the devotions via zoom. Click the link below to sign up to receive your daily devotionals. https://ccca.biola.edu/events/2021/nov/28/advent-project-2021/
MISSION AND SOCIAL ACTION
The Mission and Social Action Team is currently collecting items to fill 30 stockings for The Garden View Tiny Homes Village. Please place items in the plastic bin located in the Horizons room. If you prefer to give cash or a check, we will purchase gift cards to add to the stockings. The following is the wish list of items:
Detergent(pods), dryer sheets, command strips, shaving cream, razors, medicine containers, odor eater foot inserts, Bengay/heat ointment, small first aid kits, shower soap, liquid hand soap/sanitizer, heating pads, shower flip flops, reading glasses/cases, headlamps, watches, pens, pocket-sized notepads/calendars, small wallets, small day packs, and clear transparent zippered containers to carry small items.
If you have any questions, please contact Maureen Kosa at mkosa@hotmail.com. Thank you.
CHRISTMAS CAROLING: Join us Sunday, December 19th at 6:30 PM for a night of caroling! We’ll be walking around South Hill to spread music and Christmas cheer to our neighbors, and reconvening afterwards at St. James to warm up with some hot cocoa. Email Luke Arnold for more information (email address on the last page of this bulletin).
PRAYERS, PRAISES, AND UPDATES
If you have a prayer request or update you would like to share, please email office@saintjamespres.org.
AMAZON SMILE If you shop on Amazon, you can now designate cash back to support St. James! AmazonSmile gives 0.5% of purchases back to nonprofit organizations. Choose St. James as your nonprofit here: smile.amazon.com/ch/91-0637872. Then shop at smile.amazon.com any time. You'll get all the same prices and Prime benefits as Amazon and donate to St. James at the same time!
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