The Prelude
The Hum of Preparation
“Light the Christmas Candle, now: Sing of donkey, sheep and cow; birthday candles for the King; let the alleluias ring. Candle, candle, burning bright, shining in the cold winter night; candle, candle burning bright, fill our hearts with Christmas light.”
The Welcome, News and Announcements
The Minute for Stewardship Amy Erickson
The Hymn #708 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
“Grab your keys – a gingle-gingle and get ready for Congregational Collaboration on the following hymn: ”We Give Thee But Thine Own.” Join in the beat to the rhythm of Christmas. A readying, pulsing heartbeat, steady and real: beats, beats across this night. Listen. Listen to the beat. Listen! and pick up the beat of God – For God is beating out the rhythm of something new.”
1 We give thee but thine own,
whate’er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.
2 May we thy bounties thus
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our first fruits give.
4 The captive to release,
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace–
it is a Christlike thing.
5 And we believe thy Word,
though dim our faith may be;
whate’er for thine we do, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.
The Introit
The Call to Worship Amy Erickson
One: Into our world as out of Mary’s womb,
All: You have come, Lord Jesus.
One: Into the forgotten places, as into the stable,
All: You have come, Lord Jesus.
One: Into the lives of the poor, bringing hope; into the lives of the
powerful, bringing courage; into the lives of the weary, bringing rest; into the lives of the wise, bringing repentance; and into our lives and longings, whatever our estate,
All: You have come, Lord Jesus
One: This is good news: Christ is here, our waiting is over, the Spirit of patience has paid dividends.
All: You have shown us a new normal: coming to us as a babe in aromatic hay.
One: Let us be the church. Let us worship God.
The Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you give us one task and one task only: to love. You call us to live this life with love for everyone. All that we do can be an expression of God’s love. However mundane the task, we may perform it with a generous spirit and grateful heart but we fall short of even this one thing: to love. Forgive us and free us to perform a most insignificant task with love, making our daily tribute to you. Amen and so may it be.
Our Response CAROL #194 “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”
(If you would like to sing, please do so with gusto.)
Infant holy. Infant lowly
For his bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, little knowing,
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
Vigil till the morning new
Saw the glory, heard the story
Tidings of a gospel true
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow
Praises voicing greet the morrow
Christ, the babe was born for you
Christ, the babe was born for you
Ah, that singing, hear it ringing
Earthward winging, praises bringing
Christ, the babe was born for you
Christ, the babe was born for you
Christ, the babe was born for you
The Responsive Reading
One: May we see the vision of God, hear the promises of God and be
faithful followers in all we do.
All: We yearn for the light and we rejoice in the promises of God as we relight the candles!
One: Today let our hearts be knit together as we light the Christ
candle.
All: We seek God’s love to help us heal a broken world.
One: Love is the strength of a young woman destined to bear the
Light of the world.
All: Love is the humility of a young man called to play the
unexpected role of an earthly father.
One: Love is protecting the innocent.
All: Love is embodying the hope of righting the wrongs in the
world.
One: Today, as see the Christ candle, we remember the patience
we practiced thus far. It has been fueled by the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love through the birth of the Christ child.
All: We are ready to worship God!
CAROL (verse five) (LIGHT THE CHRIST CANDLE)
(If you would like to sing, please do so with gusto.)
“Light the Christmas Candle, now: Sing of donkey, sheep and cow; birthday candles for the King; let the alleluias ring. Candle, candle, burning bright, shining in the cold winter night; candle, candle burning bright, fill our hearts with Christmas light.”
The Scripture Song Luke 1:46-56
46 And Mary[f] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The New Testament Lesson Luke 32-35
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[c] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
The Hymn #93, “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates”
(If you would like to sing, please do so with gusto.)
1 Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
behold, the King of glory waits;
the King of kings is drawing near;
the Savior of the world is here!
2 Fling wide the portals of your heart;
make it a temple, set apart
from earthly use for heaven’s employ,
adorned with prayer and love and joy.
3 Redeemer, come, with us abide;
our hearts to thee we open wide;
let us thy inner presence feel;
thy grace and love in us reveal.
We Proclaim God’s Word
Prayer of Illumination
The Sermon
Music for Meditation
We Respond to God’s Word
The Offertory
The Offertory Anthem
The Doxology
The Unison Prayer of Dedication
For your love, protection, and discipline, we give thanks, O God. In gratitude we bring the work of our hands for your blessing. May all the efforts supported by these offerings carry forward your vision for the world. Accomplish through these gifts and our attempts to be faithful that which is impossible by human design alone. Amen.
The Joys and Concerns
The Silent, Intercessory and the Lord’s Prayer
…Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your 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
We Go Forth in God’s Name
The Charge and Benediction
The Sending Hymn #747, “The Lord Now Sends Us Forth”
“Once again, pick up your jingling keys and get ready for another Congregational Collaboration on the following hymn. Join in the beat, making a joyful song to the Lord!”
The Lord now sends us forth with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth a better place to live.
The angels are not sent into our world of pain
to do what we were meant to do in Jesus’ name;
that falls to you and me and all who are made free,
Help us, O Lord, we pray, to do your will today.
Postlude
Attributions
Call to Worship reprinted from Cloth from the Cradle; Wild Goose Publications: Confession reprinted from Child of the Light by Beth Richardson; Unison Prayer of Dedication reprinted from Whispers of God by Lavon Bayler.
Many thanks to our Liturgist and Candlelighter, Amy Erickson.
Cinnamon Done, Sexton
Kristin Parry, Administrator
Joseph Pepper, Music Director & Keyboardist
Daniel J. Russell, Interim Pastor
69 East Main Street, P.O. Box 597, Trumansburg, NY 14886
Web Address: http://www.fpcu.info
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