Order, Words, & Voices
11.27.22 (Genesis 4 – (Un)expected (Im)possibilities
Order
Pre Worship Music
Leave Screen Share On from Opening Songs through Passage Reading
Opening Songs: Lynn
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Call to Worship Response and Lord’s Prayer Cricklins
Reading Rick
Video- Advent Hope Video
Song & Lighting of 1st Advent Candle Music – Lynn
Magnificat Candle – Paul & Martha
Message Luke 1:1-345 Rick
Music: Here I Am To Worship Lynn
Community/Closing Peace Rick
Benediction Rick
Post Worship Music
Music
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O come all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels
Chorus
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
Verse 2
Sing choirs of angels
Sing in exultation
O sing all ye bright
Hosts of heav’n above
Glory to God all
Glory in the highest
Verse 3
Yea Lord we greet Thee
Born this happy morning
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Come Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee
Israel’s strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth Thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart
Verse 2
Born Thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a King
Born to reign in us forever
Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone
By Thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne
Call to Worship/Lord’s Prayer (Slides)
Leader: Through the voice of the prophet Isaiah, God promised hope to the people, saying: “I will give you a sign, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.
Response: The Son will be called Immanuel, meaning ‘God is with us.’
Leader: Through the prophet Isaiah, God explained the mission of the Deliverer, “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us.”
Response: “He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Leader: Through the prophet Isaiah, God described the actions of the redeemer, “He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair.”
Response: “He will see full justice is given to all who have been wronged.”
Leader: “He will be despised and abandoned by men. He will understand our sicknesses and pain.”
Response: “He will carry our struggle as if it was his own.”
Leader: “He will be pierced for our misdeeds. He will be crushed for our wrongdoings. He will take our offenses, they will be laid on his shoulders.”
Response: “By His wounds we are healed.”
Leader: Through the prophet Isaiah, God reminded us of our need for the Messiah, “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, we have all turned to our own way;
Response: “The wrongdoing of us all falls on him.”
Leader: Through the prophet Malachi, God proclaimed, “Look, I will send you a prophet much like Elijah. His preaching will bring fathers and children together again, leading his own to be of one mind and heart.”
Response: And then God’s voice went silent..
Leader: For four hundred years the prophets said nothing. Then, God’s voice was once again heard through words directed at two women, Elizabeth and Mary. “Don’t be afraid. I bring good news.”
Response: An unexpected announcement of the impossible.
Leader: One birthed a son named John who prepared the world.
Response: One birthed a son named Jesus who would save the world.
Leader: For unto us a child is born. Unto us a child is given.
Response: Immanuel, God is with us.
Leader: Let us rejoice, God is with us!
Response: God is with us.
Leader:
Join me in voicing the words of the prayer of Jesus.
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.
Forgive us our trespasses, while 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. Amen.
Reading (Slides)
The account of Jesus’ birth, life, and death, as told by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of truth, thoroughly investigated and written so that you may know the exact truth.
The story first introduces a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. Both were righteous and walked blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements given by the Lord. They were elderly and had no children.
As Zechariah was performing his priestly service, an angel of the Lord appeared to him which, of course, startled and scared Zechariah.
The angel quickly said to him, “Do not be afraid for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. He will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while he is still in the womb. He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to God.
God will use him to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, and, most importantly, to prepare the people for the Lord.”
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary who was engaged to a man named Joseph.
The angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary was very perplexed, pondering what the angel meant. The angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God.
You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How is this is possible, I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.
Even your elderly relative Elizabeth is pregnant with a son, she is now in her sixth month. Nothing is impossible with God.” Mary said, “I am the Lord’s bond-servant; may what you have said be done.” The angel departed from her.
Mary went in a hurry to the house of Zechariah to see Elizabeth. As soon as the two women were together, Elizabeth’s baby lept in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! I am blessed that the mother of the Lord has come to see me.”
(Luke 1:1-16, 26-44 abb)
Music
Magnificat
Soprano:
My soul magnifies the Lord
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior
My soul magnifies the Lord
My spirit rejoices in God
Bass:
Glory be to God the Father
And glory be to God the Son
Glory be to God the Spirit
Glory be to God
Alto:
He has been mindful of His servant
He has been mindful of me
I will be blessed forever forever
I will be blessed by the Lord
Tenor:
God alone is mighty mighty
Our God alone has done great things
God alone is worthy worthy
Holy is His name
Message – (Un)Expected – (Im)possible
[Slide 1] Advent is the season of great expectations, when we look forward to the fulfillment of all of God’s promises, in the same manner that the people awaited the coming of the Messiah over 2,000 years ago. During Advent we celebrate God’s character and very nature – love, peace, joy, and hope.
[Slide 2] God, through the prophet Isaiah said, “A child is going to be born who will then become the prince of peace and will bring peace to a needy world.”
[Slide 3] This message of peace and love is not a new story of the Bible, instead, the entire bible is one long story of God’s love for us and the gift of Jesus is at the center of the story.
[Slide 4] We too, are the recipients of God’s favor and God’s joy now.
[Slide 5] The question we have to ask, during this Advent season, is whether we are people of love, peace, joy, and hope and whether our message is a message of love, peace, joy, and hope.
(Adapted from Great Expectations, Seminary Now)
[Slide 5] “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning.” – Louis L’Amour
Endings and beginnings ironically both call on hope that resides within us to hold us tightly. The frequent problem with hope is – in what, or in who, our hope rests on. When our hope rests on anything, or anyone, that is an unstable source of hope, a hope that calls us to violence, hatred, brutality, insecurity, or reckless behavior – then our problem comes not in the question ‘do we have hope?’ rather the problem can be found in the question ‘is my hope grounded on a solid foundation?’
For us to see that an ending is just a new beginning, we must have a properly grounded hope.
Usually on this first day of Advent, we have four candles on a candle holder before you. Then, each Sunday of Advent we will light one more of those candles until, on Christmas Eve we light a new, fifth candle that represents the birth of Jesus. Today, however, you will probably notice that there is only one candle, the Hope Candle. Today, the hope candle stands alone, next week it will be joined by the other candles, but today we must confront the presence, or absence of a stable hope in each of our lives.
Near the end of the old testament, the prophets, re-emphasise the message of the former prophets, as they stress the hope in the coming Messiah. As the people then wait, new generations arise, elders pass, and still they do not see the fulfillment of God’s promise they began to lose hope, they begin to complain and many choose to give up. God, one more time, brings a messenger to them, and once again the promise of the coming deliverer is voiced.
[Slide 6] “Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,”
Then nothing else is hear from God or the prophets of Gods. Centuries, and generations, passed with no word from God. Most Isrealites had forgotten the words of the prophets that told of the coming Messiah. Even the religious leaders had settled into institutional life, guiding the people through acts of religiosity, without even the slightest hint of looking for fulfillment. No one really expected anything to change, no one expected God to ever speak or act again. This was life. No love, peace, joy, or hope.
Their hope had not held them because their hope was not grounded on God, but, instead on what they could see and on their own speculation of how fulfillment had to look.
And then the unexpected happened, a priest named Zechariah was interrupted while doing his job of religiosity. [Slide 7] “Do not be afraid for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
[Slide 8] You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. He will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while he is still in the womb. He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to God.
[Slide 9] God will use him to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, and, most importantly, to prepare the people for the Lord.”
Then six months later, another unexpected interruption [Slide 10] , this time to a young woman, [Slide 10] “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”
[End Screen Share]
This past year we have spent every Sunday focusing on the women of the Bible. It has been interesting, and as a preacher, often times very difficult. While there have been some villainous women, most of the time there have been humans who were women, who held it all together with little to no credit, humans, who were women, who stood in the gap when the men failed to step us, women, who were looked down upon and ignored that continue to put one step in front of the other and move forward.
Women, who even today, are denied a place in the church as leaders even when their presence is not only needed but is an essential element of moving the church into the future. Now, as we begin the story of the arrival of the Messiah, we also see the leadership of women.
For our two women today, neither Elizabeth or Mary argue with God based on the impossibilities, they don’t dispute the fact that neither of these two are prime candidates for their calling to birth the messenger and the Messiah. They ask how, but they never say ‘no’.
Elizabeth’s husband was shocked, but Elizabeth was not. Mary’s fiance was very surprised, but Mary did not seem surprised. Why? How?
Hope. Both were living by Hope. Neither knew the ‘How’, and probably, neither speculated they would be a part of the ‘How’ but, they were. What seemed like an ending to all of society, these two women somehow were not caught off guard that it was actually a new beginning.
And, their hope was built on a solid foundation, the God of promises fulfilled.
This is our advent beginning, “Do we have Hope?” and “On what is our hope grounded?”
Music
Here I Am To Worship
Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see
Beauty that made
This heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You
Chorus
So here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
And You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Verse 2
King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor
Bridge
And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Community
- [Slide] Next Sunday, ‘Unexpected’ Advent 2, 12.04 Unexpected Gratitude, Luke 1:46-55
- [Slide] Advent Bible Study begins Wednesday, November 30 at noon, three weeks.
- Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship, December 24 @ 6pm
- No Worship Gathering on Christmas Day or on New Years Day
Closing Peace
May the Peace of the Lord go with you. And also with you.
Benediction
“May God give you the grace not to sell yourself short, grace to risk something big for something good, grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but Love.”
(William Sloane Coffin)
Order, Words, & Voices 