Parish Presbyterian Church

SERVICE OF CELEBRATION AND COVENANT RENEWAL

First Sunday of Advent—Hope 28 November 2010

Quotes for Reflection

“When I think of Christmas Eves, Christmas feasts, Christmas songs, and Christmas stories, I know that they do not represent a short or transient gladness. Instead, they speak of a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God loved the world and sent His Son. Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. That is Christmas joy. That is the Christmas spirit.” —Corrie ten Boom “It is in the old Christmas carols, hymns, and traditions—those which date from the Middle Ages—that we find not only what makes Christmas poetic and soothing and stately, but first and foremost what makes Christmas exciting. The exciting quality of Christmas rests on an ancient and admitted paradox. It rests upon the paradox that the power and center of the whole universe may be found in some seemingly small matter, that the stars in their courses may move like a moving wheel around the neglected outhouse of an inn.” —G. K. Chesterton

GOD CALLS HIS PEOPLE TO WORSHIP

It is God Himself who calls His people to worship. We do not call ourselves, but it is the King who opens His gates and beckons us into his courts.

Lighting of the Advent Wreath—Angels from the Realms of Glory, Vs 4

Text: James Montgomery, 1816, 1825; Music REGENT SQUARE, Henry Smart, 1867.

Call to Worship—Micah 5:2-5

Pastor: Rejoice, O you people, and be glad.

All: For the Lord has spoken and His promises are sure.

Reader 1: O Bethlehem, you are too little even to be among the clans of Judah, but from out of you shall come forth One who is to be ruler in Israel.

Reader 2: His coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the majesty of the Name of the Lord His God.

Pastor: And we shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.

All: And He shall be our peace.

Hymn of Praise—O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Text: Latin Antiphons, 12th century, Tr. John Mason Neale, 1851

Music: VENI EMMANUEL, Plainsong, 13th century, Arr. Thomas Helmore, 1856

GOD SPEAKS TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH HIS WORD

The Bible is the means by which God graciously reveals Himself to His people—so we listen, read, and study with expectant hearts. God particularly entreats us in His Word to sing Psalms. And while all Scripture is appropriate for hymns and spiritual songs, there is a specific exhortation for us to make use of the Psalter as the Church’s songbook.

Hymn of Expectation—Psalm 72: O God, To Thine Anointed King

Text: Psalm 72, The Psalter, 1912; Music: Gregory Wilbur, 2009. Used by Permission

Responsive Psalter Reading—Psalm 98

Elder: Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things!

All: His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.

Elder: The Lord has made known His salvation, He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to His covenant people.

All: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Elder: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

All: Break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Elder: Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!

All: With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!

Elder: Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth, He will judge the world with righteousness.

All: He will judge all people with equity.

Elder: This is the Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God

Hymn of Expectation—Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Text: Charles Wesley, 1745; Music: American Melody.

Sacrament of Baptism Noah James Auer, Son of Frank & Shanna Auer

Covenant baptism is instituted by the Lord Jesus as a sign and seal of the covenant of His grace—and thus of the promise of our ingrafting to Him, of our union with Him, of our adoption by Him, and our regeneration in Him. This is a wonderful promise made to believers and their children—thus showing us that every member of the covenant community is given access to His means of grace in the visible Church. As a result, all of us who are present at a baptismal service ought to look back to our own baptism—to repent of our sins, to stir up our faith, and to grow in our callings together. Just as every worship service is a call to covenant renewal, every baptism is a call to revive our obedience, our accountability, and our love for Jesus.

“For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. ‘And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you and to your seed after you.’ Therefore, believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your house.” (Acts 2:39; Gen. 17:7; Acts 16:31)

Parental Vows: 1. Do you acknowledge your own, as well as your child’s, need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the renewing

grace of the Holy Spirit? 2. Do you claim God’s covenant promises for him, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus—and only to the Lord

Jesus—for his salvation, just as you do for your own? 3. Do you now consecrate your child to God; will you in humble reliance upon His sovereign grace set before him a

godly example—praying with and for him, teaching him the good hope of the Gospel, opening to him the truth of the Scriptures, and striving by every means of grace God provides, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

Congregational Vow: Will you as a covenant community joyously commit to assisting these parents in the Christian nurture of this child?

The Reading of the Word—Revelation 4:6b-11

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Pastor: This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

Sung Response—Angels We Have Heard on High

Text: Traditional French Carol. Music: Traditional French Melody.

Sermon—Worship in the Heavenlies —George Grant, Pastor

GOD CALLS HIS PEOPLE TO CONFESSION, REPENTANCE, AND RECONCILIATION The People of God respond to His Word by confessing their sins, repenting of their sinful ways, and seeking God’s favor through the reconciling work of Jesus, the Son of God.

Corporate Confession of Sin—Daniel 9: 4-5, 9-10, 18-19 Pastor: O Lord, you are the great and awesome God worthy of all worship, honor, and glory. Therefore,

we come confessing. You are the Sovereign One who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love You and keep Your commandments.

All: We confess that despite knowing this we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly Pastor: We have rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and statutes. All: To you O Lord belong mercy and forgiveness. Pastor: For though we have rebelled against You and have not obeyed Your voice or walked in that which

You set before us by Your servants the prophets, You nevertheless have loved us. All: Therefore, we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercy. Pastor: O Lord, hear; All: O Lord, forgive. Pastor: O Lord, pay attention and act. All: Delay not, for Your own sake, O Lord, our God, Pastor: Act, O Lord, because Your people are called by Your Name. All: Amen.

Assurance of Pardon—Ephesians 2:12-14; 19-20 Remember that you were at one time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.

Sung Response—Lamb of God

Text: John 1:29; Music: FRANKLIN AGNUS DEI, Gregory D Wilbur, 2009. ©2009 Greyfriars Press.

HEAVENLY GIFT—EUCHARISTO As God beckons His people to the bounty of His table, they make joyous profession of their fealty to Him.

Profession of Faith—The Nicene Creed We believe in one God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven,

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven, and now sits on the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead,

whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.

And we believe in one holy and apostolic Church, both visible and invisible. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Sursum Corda Pastor: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Pastor: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them up to the Lord. Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. People: It is right to give Him thanks and praise. Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to

give thanks to You, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

Trisagion Hymn Pastor: Therefore, we praise You, Triune God, and we join our voices with the Angels, the Archangels,

and the whole company of Heaven in this hymn of eternal praise:

Text: Is 6:3, Rev 4:8, Mt 21:9; Music: FRANKLIN SANCTUS, Gregory D Wilbur, 2009. ©2009 Greyfriars Press.

Vision The particular vision of this local expression of Christ’s Church. Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Words of Institution and the Lord’s Table Having confessed our sins and made a good profession of faith, God's Table is open to all those “faithfully-fenced" members of the covenant community. Please come forward to partake of this means of grace. You may take the bread and dip it either in the cup of wine or grape juice. Elders and their wives are available for prayer in the front after communion.

Hymn of Communion—Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

WOMEN MEN

Text: Johannes G. Olearius, 1671, Trans. Catherine Winkworth, 1863; Music: FREU DICH SEHR, Genevan Psalter, 1551. Hymn of Communion—Of the Father’s Love Begotten, Vs 1-5

Text: Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348-413; Music: DIVINUM MYSTERIUM, 12th century Plainsong

GOD’S PEOPLE RESPOND IN GRATEFUL PRAISE Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

The 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 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. Hymn of Hope—To Us a Child of Hope is Born

Text: John Morrison, 1781; Music: Kingsfold, English Folk Tune.

GOD SENDS HIS PEOPLE OUT After calling His people into His presence, forgiving their sins, instructing them in His Word, and providing a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb, God sends His people into the world to show His light in the darkness.

Benediction—1 Chronicles 29:11 Go forth now in the grace and mercy of the One to whom belongs all the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Sung Response—Angels From the Realms of Glory, verse 5

Text: James Montgomery, 1816, 1825; Music REGENT SQUARE, Henry Smart, 1867.

Announcements The Sea son o f Adv en t Advent is a season of preparation. For centuries Christians have used the month prior to the celebration of Christ’s incarnation to ready their hearts and their homes for the great festival. While we moderns tend to do a good bit of bustling about in the crowded hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas that hardly constitutes the kind of preparation Advent calls for. Indeed, traditionally Advent has been a time of quiet introspection, personal examination, and repentance. It is a time to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to do a thorough inner housecleaning. Advent is, as the ancient teaching of the church asserts, a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation. All the great Advent stories, hymns, customs, and rituals—from the medieval liturgical antiphons and Scrooge’s Christmas Carol to the lighting of Advent candles are attuned to this notion: that the best way to prepare for the coming of the Lord is to make straight His pathway in our hearts. —from Christmas Spirit: The Joyous Carols, Stories, Feasts and Traditions of the Season by Gregory Wilbur and George Grant

Resources for Family Worship The following Scripture readings and resources are presented here to help prepare your hearts and the hearts of your children for worship throughout the week and for next Sunday.

ADVENT READINGS: First Sunday in Advent—Genesis 3:1-15 The Fall of Man and the first promise of the Messiah is revealed.

Monday—Genesis 22:15-18 God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed all nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Tuesday—Isaiah 7:14; 9:2-7 Christ’s birth and kingdom are foretold by the prophet Isaiah.

Wednesday—Isaiah 11:1-9 A rod shall come forth from the stem of Jesse.

Thursday—Micah 5:2-4 The glory of little Bethlehem is foretold by the prophet Micah.

Friday—Malachi 4:1-3 The Sun of Righteousness, the Daystar, shall arise.

Saturday—Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort ye my people.

The Second Sunday of Advent—Next Sunday’s Sermon: Revelation 5

Parish Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church in America

Service Times First Service: 8:00-9:15 a.m. Second Service: 9:30-10:45 a.m. Sunday School: 9:30-10:45 a.m. Third Service: 11:00-12:15 p.m.

Pastors: George Grant (574-1029 Office) or george@parishpres.org

Bing Davis (574-1029 Office) or bing@parishpres.org Nate Shurden (574-1029 Office) or nate@parishpres.org

Parish Presbyterian Pastoral Care (615-378-7774) Church Office: Joanna Reátegui (574-1029) or joanna@parishpres.org

Worship and Arts Ministry: Greg Wilbur (512-4156) or greg@parishpres.org Education: Matt Vest (440-8851) or matt.vest@parishpres.org

Parish Nursery Coordinator: Susan Sadler (356-3948) or whiteelm4@comcast.net Children’s Ministry: Tracy Wells (776-5644)

Teaching Elders

George Grant, Pastor Bing Davis, Pastor Danny Ketchum, Adjunct Nate Shurden, Pastor

Ruling Elders

Chuck Emerson (661-9273) Louis Huesmann (309-6937) Steve Nelson (595-0520) Grant Hensley (390-8828) Bill Iverson (579-0015) John Scherrer (790-3207) Cy Fenton (500-5304) Mike Miserocchi (373-3124) Jim Smith (491-8855) Tom Goddard (791-9231) Greg Wilbur (512-4156)

Deacons

Aaron Anderson (794-2989) David Grant (330-6430) Riley May (931-540-0070) Andy Clark (591-2537) Tom Grimm (790-0080) Jason Parolini (497-3337) Jeff Dokkestul (618-6064) Mark Haney (772-1396) Randy Sadler (356-3948) Rich Fleck (794-2499) Joe Haworth (289-7543) Bob Vermilye (599-9577) David Gould (599-9925) Will Matheny (790-3685) Scott Weeks (599-4099)

Post Office Box 1593 Franklin, Tennessee 37065 www.parishpres.org (615) 574-1029

Cover art © 2009 by Caleb Faires based on Medieval woodcut.