Worship Order for Sunday
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Morning Praise (9:45 am) Hymn (vs. 1) "Of the Father's love begotten" 104 Lighting the Fourth Advent Candle *Hymn "Angels from the realms of glory" (see insert) Scripture Isaiah 9:2 Alleluia Choir "Will you be ready" Patterson Scripture Isaiah 7:13-14 For Children
"A Moravian Star" Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise Hymn (vs. 1) "As with gladness men of old" 218 Returning our Tithes and Offerings Offertory "The Birthday of a King" Niedlinger Scripture Romans 1:1-7 Message "Living the promise" *Hymn "Of the Father's love begotten" 104 *Chorus (vs. 3) "Angels we have heard on high" 197 #'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book Worship leaders - see basic guidelines |
We begin with an old hymn which for some of us has become connected with this season of the year. The words go back sixteen hundred years to one of the first Christian poets, a man named Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius. Born in northern Spain in 348, and trained as a lawyer, he rose through the ranks of the Roman empire. At the age of 57, weary of civic life, he retired to write poetry. His poems became some of the most treasured sources of hymnody through the Middle Ages. This hymn comes from a poem he wrote for the 9th hour of the day. The tune is not as old, going back "only" five to eight hundred years ago, a Gregorian chant. On this last Sunday of Advent, anticipating our celebration of the birth of Jesus, as well as his promised return, let’s sing of the One who is our Alpha and Omega, "begotten ... of the Father’s love." adapted from "Hymnuts" |
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Lighting
the Fourth Advent Candle Today we will light the candle of love. No other word so completely describes what we know of our God. For God so loved the world that a child was given....God's love in human form. We wait
in hope, (re-light the first candle of Advent) Now we light the candle of love to proclaim that God’s love is revealed in the Child born in Bethlehem, and we are challenged to proclaim and reveal that same love as we live out our faith here in this land. (light the fourth and last candle of Advent) We give thanks for a love that passes our human understanding, and we await once more the birth of God’s enduring love this Christmas. Amen adapted from liturgies
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O God with us in Jesus Christ, we bow in gratitude to you for coming to us in the flesh—for being born as a humble child, for growing up among us and experiencing all that is human, for learning obedience through suffering. Help us to know your presence, to recognize the Spirit of Christ in the ordinary events of our lives, and to become more and more a temple of your presence as we grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Amen. Bob W. Dell,
pastor |
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For
Children On our way to
visit Tessa’s grandparents in Pennsylvania, we travel through
the town of Lititz. At this time of year many of the houses there
are decorated with all sorts of pretty lights, just like around
here. One thing that’s different, however, is a star that hangs
above the front doors. It’s quite an unusual star, really. There
are 26 points to it, and i Why there are so many of these stars in the town of Lititz is because a group of Christians called Moravians settled there a long time ago. To this day Moravians still live there, along with Brethren, and Methodists, and Lutherans, and others. I read, and I’m not sure if this is true, that the Moravians were some of the first people in this country to decorate their homes for Christmas using Christmas trees, bringing this practice with them when they moved here from Europe. In the 1800's, back in Germany, Moravians came up with a new decoration. They started making and hanging these stars. It all began in a Moravian school, and then became a business in the village of Herrnhut. Originally made out of paper, with a tiny whale oil lamp - not a light bulb - on the inside, these were called "Herrnhut Stars." Later on they were made, like this one, out of plastic. Today we call them "Moravian Stars." What do you think about when you see this star? (Get answers from the children). When this light shines in the front of my house, I think about how I want there to be room in my home for Jesus, how I want his light to shine to help anyone who enters - including me and my family - to see, so that we’re not walking in darkness. I think about the wise men who, according to the story in the Bible, were already on their way to find the baby Jesus. Like them, I need to keep watching for directions from God on where to find Jesus. He’s not just in my house with the "Moravian star" over the front door, you know. There’s a light shining in your house, too. It my not be a star like this hanging over your front door. But he’s there. He’s all over the place. "I am the light of the world," Jesus said. "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). "I am ... the bright morning star" (Revelation 22:16). Some sources of info - The
Moravian Star, Moravian
Christmas Traditions, |
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written closer to the time (if not at the moment)
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Returning our Tithes and Offerings As
you return your offering, allow your imagination to take root. This
is a time full of promise. Think of Joseph in the Christmas story as
we have received it. When he learned his promised wife was pregnant,
the cold-hard fact that this baby was not his took over and he
resolved to make the best of the situation with the least amount of
hurt to anyone. Then he had a dream, and his imagination was stirred
up by an angel (Matthew
1:18-25). This was an "Immanuel" moment which spoke
of the coming birthday of a king, a promise in the form of a baby.
Imagine. Imagine. Just imagine!... Will the ushers come forward now
to receive what we have to share. |
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Go forth as a servant of Christ Jesus, |
t
looks like this. What makes it especially interesting is that
there is a lightbulb on the inside which makes this star glow at
night. It looks really cool. Every time we drove to Tessa’s
grandparents house in December and passed through the town of
Lititz, I always said something about those stars and how I liked
them. I must have said it enough that a few years ago for
Christmas my family gave me one. Now it hangs above our front door
at this time of year (except when I take it down for a children’s
story - I put it back up this afternoon!).
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©2003 Peter
L. Haynes
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