Digital Liturgy 11/29/20
Invitation to Worship
To all who are weary and need rest
To all who mourn and long for comfort
To all those who wander and are looking for a story
To all who feel isolated and miss community
To all who are broken and want healing
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares
To all who are oppressed and yearn for justice
To all who fail and desire strength
To all who sin and need a Savior
To all who hunger and thirst for righteousness
And to whomever will come–
This church opens wide her arms and offers welcome
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Scripture Reading
Psalm 13 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
[1] How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
[2] How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
[3] Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
[4] lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
[5] But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
[6] I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Songs
First Sunday of Advent
Today we begin the season of Advent as a church, along with millions of Christians all around the world. “Advent” means coming. It is the season of the year, taken up by the four Sundays before Christmas, in which we as the church reflect on the two comings of Jesus: first, his coming through his incarnation in Bethlehem and second, his future coming in glory to judge the living & the dead & to set all things right. As a church, we will observe Advent with an Advent wreath.
The Advent Wreath is an ordinary wreath with candles added to it. 3 purple candles and one pink candle stand around the outside of the wreath, and a white candle fills the center. Each Sunday during the Advent season, one candle—each representing a different theme—is lit. The Advent wreath gets progressively brighter & brighter as Christmas approaches.
The first purple candle, is called the prophecy candle. It represents hope and expectation for the coming Messiah. As the candle burns throughout the week and becomes smaller and smaller, it helps us remember that time continually passes and the return of Christ becomes nearer and nearer with each passing day.
Read the following:
As we come to light the 1st candle of Advent, let us hear the prophecy of Isaiah:
[2] It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, [3] and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. [4] He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. [5] O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2:2-5)
As you light the Prophecy Candle, say:
We light the first candle of Advent to remind us to look up with hope and center our hearts and minds upon a loving God who sent us his Son, who is coming again.
Sermon “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
A sermon preached by Pastor Nate Downey. The sermon will premiere at 10:30 AM on November 29 and will be available to stream anytime after that.
Response
In response to God’s goodness and faithfulness, let’s respond through giving and singing.
Give
If you are part of the Town Church family, you can give online or text any dollar amount to 84321 to give. As Pastor Nate mentioned, you can designate a gift specifically to support the Silamo family who are planting a church among the Rendille people in Kenya.
Sing
Benediction
Say this together:
May He whose second coming
in power and great glory we await,
make you steadfast in faith,
joyful in hope,
and constant in love.
Amen.