12-1-24 Seminary Hanging of the Greens

Isaiah 9:2

Purple Parament Meghan, David, and Lukas read and lit the advent candle: Welcome and Announcements: Good morning,,, so glad to see everyone here this morning. -------------------- Call to worship:stand as we sing Hymn # -------------------- Invocation and the Lord's prayer: Dear Heavenly Father,,, As we begin our worship service today,,, I thank you for those that are here in person and those watching by video this morning. We ask for guidance through this service so that it will be pleasing to You! Open our hearts and our mind,,, to make us aware of your presence this morning. We ask these things in Jesus' name,,, who taught us to pray,,, by saying,,, Our Father,,, which 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 the glory,,, forever,,, Amen. -------------------- Lets take our hymnals again as we sing the first and last verses of Hymn # Remain standing for the Apostles Creed and the Gloria Patri: The Apostles Creed and Glory Be to the Father: 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 Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried; The third day He rose from the dead; And ascended into heaven, And sitteth at 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 Spirit,,, The Holy catholic church,,, The communion of saints,,, The forgiveness of sins,,, The Resurrection of the body,,, And the life everlasting,,, Amen. 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. Amen. -------------------- If you will take your handout we will begin with the blessing of the Advent Wreath. I'll begin reading at the top, then you will respond with the words in bold. -------------------- Christ came to bring us salvation and has promised to come again. Let us pray that we may always be ready to welcome Him. Come, Lord Jesus. That the keeping of Advent may open our hearts to God's love, That the light of Christ may penetrate the darkness of sin, That this wreath may constantly remind us to prepare for the coming of Christ, That the Christmas season may fill us with peace and joy as we strive to follow the example of Jesus, Loving God, your Church joyfully awaits the coming of its Savior, who enlightens our hearts and dispels the darkness of ignorance and sin. Pour forth your blessings upon us as we light the candles of this wreath. May their light reflect the splendor of Christ, who is Lord, for ever and ever. Amen. -------------------- Lighting of the Advent Wreath: using Isaiah Candle of Hope Reader: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. "—Isaiah 9:2 Light the first purple candle: Today we light the first candle of Advent; the candle of Hope. God promised to come into the darkness of our world. God is faithful. We wait for the day when you will restore us fully. We put our hope in you, the one who brings us out of darkness and into Light of Christ. We hope in the One who loves us deeply and who is Love. Let us Pray: Loving God, we begin this Advent season reminding ourselves that you promised to bring hope Teach us to wait expectantly. You are the light that brings Hope to a world in darkness. Grant that we will be transformed and bring others into the Light of Christ. You are our Hope. Come, Lord Jesus. Come. Amen. -------------------- Hymn # -------------------- Praise and Prayer Concerns: Have you seen or heard anything this week that we can give God praise and glory for? What about prayer concern's,,, anything that we need to add to our prayer list? On the prayer list we have,,, Sarah with new baby, Dear Heavenly Father,,, Again I want to thank you for the chance to come together in worship this morning! I lift those up that have been mentioned this morning,,, those already on our prayer list,,, and even any need that was spoken or silent because I know that You will take care of that need regardless! I also pray for guidance to be given to the leaders of our country,,, our states,,, our cities,,, and most importantly,,, our churches! We ask all of these things in Jesus' name! Amen! Choral Response: Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me. Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, Fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me. -------------------- Offering: Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. Offertory Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for these tithes and offerings. May we use them to the best of our ability and for your glory. In Jesus's name, Amen. -------------------- Hanging of the Greens Service: Advent is a time of preparation and waiting, a time for adorning our homes and hearts in expectation and celebration of Jesus' birth. Christians throughout the world decorate their homes and churches in preparations for the festive family gatherings and church pageants and services that characterize the Christmas season. This hanging of the greens service for the first Sunday in Advent focuses on the symbols of Christmas. These holiday decorations renew the customs of Christians in centuries past. By shedding light on our Advent traditions, we also shed light on God's gracious gift to His children, the birth of the babe so many years ago in Bethlehem. Now,,, we will begin the service of hanging of the greens,,, with cedar for royalty, pine boughs for everlasting life, and holly symbolizing Jesus' death and resurrection. If you will take your handouts,,, I will begin reading under the Hanging of the Greens and then you will respond with the bold print. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of the King? With branches of cedar, the tree of royalty. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of the eternal Christ? With garlands of pine and fir, whose leaves are ever living, ever green. How shall we prepare this house for the coming of our Savior? With wreaths of holly and ivy, telling of his passion, death and resurrection. How shall we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Son of God? By hearing again the words of the prophets, who foretold the saving work of God. For God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Glory to God in the highest. God will send a righteous King - Jeremiah 23:5-6 The Righteous Branch of David 5 “The days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration— “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is what He will be named: Yahweh Our Righteousness. The poinsettia, or “Flower of the Holy Night” as the plant is referred to in Mexico, is the most popular Advent flower. It was discovered growing wild in Mexico and was taken to North America where it was developed into the type of flower seen here today. The star-shaped center of the bloom reminds us of the star that shone on that first Christmas. (Placement of the poinsettia) Hymn - "We Three Kings" Chorus only Hymn # 80 In ancient times the cedar was revered as the tree of royalty. It also signified immortality and was used for purification. We place this Cedar branch as a sign of Christ, who reigns as King forever, and whose coming, in justice and righteousness, will purify our hearts. (Placement of the cedar/pine branch during 1st verse.) Hymn - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" Verse 1 Hymn # 84 The Prophet Declares A Child Will Be Born. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. 6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this. Because the needles of pine and fir trees appear not to die each season, the ancients saw them as signs of things that last forever. Isaiah tells us that there will be no end to the reign of the Messiah. Therefore we place these evergreen branches to signify the eternal reign of Jesus, the Christ. (Placement of the cedar/pine branches during 2nd verse) Hymn - "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" Verse 2 Hymn # 84 The Fourth Servant Song Isaiah 53:1-6 1 Who has believed what we have heard? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to? 2 He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. 4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. For Christians, this passage from Isaiah reflects the suffering of Jesus, who saves us from our sins by his death on the cross, and by his resurrection from the dead. In ancient times, holly and ivy were considered signs of Christ's passion. Their prickly leaves suggested the crown of thorns, the red berries the blood of the Savior, and the bitter bark the drink offered to Jesus on the cross. As we place the holly and ivy wreaths, let us rejoice in the coming of Jesus our Savior. (Placement of the Holly and Ivy wreaths during the 3rd verse) Hymn - "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" Verse 3 Hymn # 84 The Mystery of The Incarnation - John 1:1-5, 9-14 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. As preparation for the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World, we have bright lights and Chrismon's placed on the tree. These Chrismon's were made and placed with love by those that decorated this tree! During this advent, whenever you see a lighted Christmas tree, let it call to mind the one who brings light to our darkness, healing to our brokenness, and peace to all who receive him. (The tree is now lighted and the blessing of the Chrismon tree may be prayed.) The Blessing of The Chrismon Tree Prayer Let us pray: Holy Lord, we come with joy to celebrate the birth of your Son, who rescued us from the darkness of sin by making the cross a tree of life and light. May this tree, arrayed in splendor, remind us of the lifegiving cross of Christ, that we may always rejoice in the new life that shines in our hearts. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Pastor: I wanted to spend just a couple of minutes on the question,,, What is "Hope"? David,,, read about "Hope" at the beginning during the candle lighting. Hope,,, as I've spoken of before,,, is not a question,,, but something sure,,, something definite,,, given by Jesus Christ,,, because without Him,,, there is no "Hope"! The way that we use "Hope" is secure because it relies on the saving grace of Jesus Christ. So because of Him,,, there is no doubt! A "hope" that is needed more than ever today as we deal with our almost daily struggles! A "hope" that doesn't make our troubles go away,,, but makes them bearable! It's Christ that our hope and faith stand on! I have googled the use of the word "hope" in today's world. And I wrote down a couple of interesting questions dealing with hope and faith. 1 - The first question is,,, Can you have faith without hope? It said,, You can,,, but it's not easy,,, but,,, You cannot have hope without faith. ... When people have hope they have faith,,, because they hold a belief that says “I believe that the future will be better.” And while they have no grounds to “prove” the hopeful assumption,,, they have faith in it. While faith without hope is possible,,, hope without faith is not. 2 - The second question is,,, So how does hope and faith differ? Faith and hope are defined in the dictionary as follows; Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing or a belief not based on proof and Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation or desire. ... Hope speaks of the future,,, and faith,,, speaks for the now in life. Both of these are important in our walk with God,,, and they are both easier because of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made for all of us. Because of Jesus,,, we never need to wonder about our "Hope",,, because our "Hope" is based on Him. Our "Hope" is sure,,, because God is the same yesterday,,, today,,, and tomorrow,,, He never changes,,, so "Hope" will never change! We can also see "Hope" in our world today! While there is a lot wrong in the world today,,, there is also progress made in this world that gives us "Hope",,, like improvements in our overall health,,, helping us to live longer,,, better living conditions,,, especially for third world countries,,, better education for them as well,,, boys and girls,,, even in places where girls education was looked upon as a waste of time and money,,, etc…. Back closer to home,,, in our communities,,, we see people helping those in need,,, lending a hand when they really need it,,, without a need of payment,,, just doing what needs to be done! Yes,,, we aren't perfect,,, and we could be better,,, but we could be worse too! And for that,,, I'm hopeful,,, and thankful,,, this Christmas season. So do your best to see where you can see "Hope" around you this season,,, and let "Christ",,, give you,,, the "Hope" you need,,, to live a life of "Hope"! As we continue our journey,,, towards the celebration,,, of our Savior and King's birth! Hymn - "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" Verse 4 Hymn # 84 Benediction: -------------------- Hymn: #337 - Projector "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus -------------------- Benediction: