Welcome
Please use this link for the
Zoom Worship Service December 10, 2023 at 8:30am
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81188368778?p30wd=QzZNMlFNNWVRVFIyUXZieWtNWkV0UT09
December 10, 2023
Acton Community Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 177, 32142 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510
Message: 661-208-8032 w who ww.actonpc.org
1888 – 2023 Celebrating Heritage and Sharing Hope
"The coming triumph of God is made manifest precisely in the darkness of this present evil age (Gal. 1:4). …Advent … remains, with its paradoxical combination of waiting and hastening, suffering and joy, judgment and deliverance, apocalyptic woe and eschatological hope. It is the combination that counts. This is the way Christians live now, for ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it’ (John 1:5 REB).” —Fleming Rutledge
WELCOME, ANNOUNCMENTS, GUESTS AND SPECIAL DAYS
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
People: That the King of Glory may come in.
Leader: Who is this King of Glory?
People: The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle!
Leader: The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!
People: Our King and Savior now draws near. Come, let us adore him!
OPENING HYMN #123 - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
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 Day-spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. [Refrain]
3 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]
4 O come, Desire of nations, bind All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, Fill all the world with heaven's peace. [Refrain]
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
- and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the pattern of this world and the desires of our hearts. We have broken your holy laws. We have left undone those things that we ought to have done, and we have done those things that we ought not to have done. There is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Restore to us the joy of your salvation; bind up that which is broken, give light to our minds, strength to our wills, and rest to our souls through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SILENT CONFESSION PRAYERS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 62:6-7, 10-12
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth. Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway,
clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples. The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, ‘See, your salvation comes; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’ They shall be called, ‘The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord’; and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.’
The Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God
NEW TESTAMENT READING Luke 2:8-14
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’[c] The Gospel of the Lord, Praise to You Lord Christ
SERMON : Dr. Randy Working “What an Amazing Savior!”
CALL FOR OFFERING–Congregation sings
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: The Belhar Confession
We believe:
• that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and one another;
• that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ;
• that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity, and hatred between people and groups is a sin that Christ has already conquered; that anything that threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted;
• that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways:
* in that we love one another.
* in that we experience, practice, and pursue community with one another;
* in that we must give ourselves willingly and joyfully to benefit and bless one another.
HYMN #121 - The Word Made Flesh
1.The Word made flesh has dwelt among us Full of grace and full of truth
We beheld His wondrous glory Of the only Son of God
Refrain We have beheld His glory And we have seen the light
Anointed Prince of glory We marvel at Thy sight
2. The Word made flesh has dwelt among us From His fullness we received
Grace on grace and lasting mercy Truth and wisdom hope and peace Refrain
HOLY COMMUNION
CLOSING HYMN #128 - It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
1 It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth To touch their harps of gold;
"Peace on the earth, good-will to men, From heav'n's all-gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angels sing.
2 Still thru the cloven skies they come With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heav'nly music floats O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains They bend on hov'ring wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds The blessed angels sing.
3 And ye, beneath life's crushing load, Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road And hear the angels sing.
4 For lo, the days are hast'ning on, By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heav'n and earth shall own The Prince of Peace their King,
And the whole world give back the song Which now the angels sing.
BENEDICTION – The Lord Be With You
Congregation sings
God be with you till we meet again, By his counsels guide, uphold you, With his sheep securely fold you God be with you till we meet again.
**Offerings
1. May be deposited in the Offering Box by the Narthex.
2. Processed through “E-Give” online at actonpc.org
3. Send a check to Acton Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 177 Acton, Ca. 93510
Kevin put the December 3rd Community Sing-A-Long video on YouTube…Enjoy
Have you contributed any "moola" to our "Moomania" project yet? It's not too late to purchase a cow or a share of a cow, or two, or three for the Mission project. Each cow is $450.00. This is a mission project from Presbytery to "celebrate the good our gifts are accomplishing in our communities and around the world." Copies of the Presbyterian Giving Catalogue will be available soon and will be made available for your personal use. Any questions? See Sandy Madsen
