Relationship Matters

December 3, 2023
Pastor Jacob Lee
Worship

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Service of Worship

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
Michael Praetorius
Public Domain

Family 1: In the days of exile and uncertainty, the prophet Isaiah cried out:
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence. As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. (Isaiah 64:1-3)

Family 2: In the midst of our own encounters with uncertainty and upheaval and our longing for deliverance, Jesus calls to us, “Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come” (Mark 13:35).

Congregation: We wait as people surprised again and again by God who shakes us out of our complacency and wakes us up to the work of the kingdom all around us.

Family 1: We light this candle as a sign of our shocking hope. May we stay awake to God’s activity in the world as we wait in expectation that even now God is with us, working to restore us to the fullness of life with God and one another. Amen.

(Light the first candle of the Advent wreath.)

Opening Hymn — #211 “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (v. 1, 2)

1. O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

2. O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
and order all things far and nigh;
to us the path of knowledge show
and cause us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O Come O Come Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel)
Henry Sloane Coffin | Laurence Hull Stookey | Thomas Helmore
Words: © 1940, 1943, 1981, 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
Music: Public Domain
Used by Permission. CCLI License # 656051

Prayer of Confession

People: We confess that we are not ready. We call on you to rend the heavens and come down, and yet we aren’t ready for you to rend our hearts and enter in. When it comes to meeting you face-to-face, we hesitate. We fear what you will find in us and among us. We are uncertain that we really want our lives to be turned upside down by the good news. We want the hope that comes with knowing you are coming to us, but we’re not sure we’re ready for the shock of that hope. Forgive us, we pray. Free us from our fear that we might joyfully live in the hope that shakes us up and turns us around to follow you.

(Silent confession)

Leader: Hear the good news: God is the Potter, and we are the clay. We are the work of God’s hand. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.

(Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries)

The Sacrament of Baptism – The United Methodist Hymnal, page 39

Excerpts from Baptismal Covenant II

UMH p. 40

Do you, as Christ’s body, the church, reafirm both your rejection of sin and your commitment to Christ?

We do.

Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include these persons now before you in your care?

With God’s help we will proclaim the good news
and live according to the example of Christ.
We will surround these persons
with a community of love and forgiveness,
that they may grow in their service to others.
We will pray for them.
that they may be true disciples
who walk in the way that leads to life.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.]

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
[the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.]

UMH p. 43

Members of the household of God,
I commend these persons to your love and care.
Do all in your power to increase their faith,
confirm their hope, and perfect them in love.

We give thanks for all that God has already given you
and we welcome you in Christian love.
As members together with you
in the body of Christ
and in this congregation
of The United Methodist Church,
we renew our covenant
faithfully to participate
in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence,
our gifts, and our service,
that in everything God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ.

Hymn — #211 “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (v. 3, 4)

3. O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

4. O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call.

Refrain

Holy Communion – The United Methodist Hymnal, page 15

The Great Thanksgiving

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 to give our thanks and praise.

…The pastor concludes:
And so,
with your people on earth
and all the company of heaven
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

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.

…The pastor concludes:
And so,
in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.

The pastor concludes:
All honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and for ever.
now and for ever.

Amen.

Pastor’s Time With the Children – Rev. Jacob Lee

Joys and Concerns, Pastoral Prayer, 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory forever. Amen.

For those who are called and able, gifts and tithes can still be made through online giving, by mailing them in, and by dropping them off to the office through the secure mail slot to the left of the double door entry to the church hallway.

Offertory – Hani

Emmanuel
Arr. Fred Bock

This arrangement is not covered by copyright licensing and cannot be streamed.

Advent Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below.
Praise God above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
Louis Bourgeois | Thomas Ken | Dean McIntyre
Public Domain

Offertory Prayer

Great God of wonderful surprises: we enter this season of preparation for your Son’s coming, looking not for just a memory of past events, but anticipating a return. The master is near. We strive to get our lives in order and pray that our giving of ourselves to these preparations might reflect the earth-shaking importance of his coming. Help us to give ourselves generously, for we do not know the time—day or the hour. We pray in the name of the one who will come. Amen.

(Mark 13:24-37)

Scripture Readings — Isaiah 64:1-9 (NRSV)

1 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
5 You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.

The Word of the Lord:
Thanks be to God.

Choral Anthem — Chancel Choir

Sermon — Rev. Jacob Lee
“Relationship Matters”

Closing Hymn — #400 “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (v. 1, 3)

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
John Wyeth | Robert Robinson
Public Domain

Benediction

Postlude – Hani

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Arr. Carolyn Hamlin
© 1997 Fred Bock Music Company
Used with Permission. ONE LICENSE # A-401420