WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRELUDE “Come, Thy Long Expected Jesus” Alan Smith

LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLES

HYMN “Prepare the Way” #13

CALL TO CONFESSION

The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.

As we offer ourselves to Him in humility and faith,

we renew our confidence and trust in His mercy. Let us pray together:

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Forgive my sins, O Lord. The sins of my soul and the sins of my body. The sins

I have done to please myself and the sins I have done to please others. Forgive

those sins which I know and those which I know not. Forgive them all in your

mercy, that I may share the hope of the prophets, the songs of the angels, and

the wonder of the shepherds. Cleanse my soul that your Son, when he comes,

may find in me a dwelling place…

Silent Prayers of confession

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

Our rejoicing is certainly based on the generosity of God, for as we read in Hebrews, “it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Rejoice then over this great Good News: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Thanks be to God!

GLORIA

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Speak to us, Lord. Speak to us in the waiting, the watching, the hoping, the longing, the sorrow, the sighing, the rejoicing. Speak to us by your Word in these Advent days, and walk with us until the day of your coming. Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS:

Isaiah 11: 1-10

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

Ephesians 2: 11-22

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

SERMON: “Finding Peace” Rev. Barrett Ingram

HYMN “Comfort, Comfort You My People” #3

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his

only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the

third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right

hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the

dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic* Church; the communion of saints; the

forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

*“catholic” (little c) is translated as “universal” and is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.

PASTORAL PRAYER AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

BENEDICTION

*POSTLUDE “Toccata on Veni Emmanuel” John Behnke

*Those that are able are invited to stand.

Announcements

Presbyterian Women remember to have your Thank Offering into the church office by December 13^th.

In person worship is next Sunday, December 13th.

The Christmas Joy Gift Offering can be given anytime up till December 27^th.

December 24^th – Christmas Eve Communion service

Prayer List:

Marguerite Hufham, Sarah Melvin, Louise Quick, Ronnie Rush, Juanita McGraw, Betty Johnson, Jane Minard, Bill Jackson, Darrel Melvin, Happy Lashlee, Gerry Carey, Becky Regan, Mary Ward, Lucille Hood, Amy Johnson, Bill Marsh, Esther Collier, Madeline NcNeill Long, Shannon Wilcox, Ted Johnson, Clara Wooten Hunsucker, Ernest Ray Long, Jo Campbell, Linda Smith, Susan and David Butler, Doug Bergeron, Margaret Ingram, Bill Greene, Allison Ward, Jimmy Hickman, Holly Eppley, Betty Faircloth, Susan Deans, Carey King, Sammy Hatcher, Pat Grainger, Kim Worley Sellers, Carmen McQueen, Claudia Hester, Wynn Hair family, Lin Weeks, George Thompson, Billy Hester, Randall Collins, Nellie Macon, Richard and Mary Jane Howell, Susan Priest