Baptism of Rose Thomason

Welcome & Opening Prayer

Good morning church and Merry Christmas!

I am Jessie Button and I am the worship minister here at Azle Christian Church. May we find hope here this morning as we begin this season of Advent – of waiting for the arrival of the Christ Child in all of our lives.

We like for everyone to know a few things before we begin worship every week.

(1) First, if everyone will fill out the attendance registration. If you’re a guest at our church, sharing your names will help us to get to know you more. Sharing your e-mail will help us connect you with our weekly newsletter and all the church happenings. There are brochures with more info about our church in your pew to help you get to know us more and what we’re about. And there is also information about getting connected on the back of your bulletin.

(2) Second, we love our children here in worship and we always welcome them here. There is a kids corner in the back if your children need a space to move around. There is also a nursery available if you’d like.

(3) Finally, our liturgy is posted each week on the website if you would like to follow along with our service.

Now, may we take a moment to pray as we enter this time of worship.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel – May our fears be relieved and may our anxiousness be calmed as we seek your presence during this time of worshipping you, O Lord. Amen.

May we take a moment before we get started to greet those next to us with a hug or high five.

Preparing the Sanctuary for the Advent of Christ – Rick Seeds

One: Be not afraid. See, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

All: Here we see broken lives made whole. May our anxious hearts find peace in the coming of the Messiah.

One: During this season of Advent, we wait to see the Christ child in our midst. Let our “not-yet’s” become “it is so.” For, our “Amen’s” are both waiting for God’s presence and being hopeful that God will be present.

All: O Come, O Come Emmanuel. May God be present with us as we prepare this sanctuary for your arrival. Amen.

Hanging of the Greens

Opening Songs: O Come, All Ye Faithful #148

Angels We Have Heard on High #155

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem

O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels

O come, let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

O come, all ye faithful

O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O come, all ye faithful

O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation

O come, o come ye to Bethlehem

O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels

O come, let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

O come, all ye faithful

O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O come, all ye faithful

O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem

O come all ye faithful

Born the King of Angels

O come, let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

O come all ye faithful

O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem

1 Angels we have heard on high,

sweetly singing o'er the plains,

and the mountains in reply

echoing their joyous strains:

Refrain:

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

2 Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

which inspire your heav'nly song? [Refrain]

3 Come to Bethlehem and see

Him whose birth the angels sing;

come, adore on bended knee

Christ the Lord, the new-born King. [Refrain]

4 See Him in a manger laid,

Jesus, Lord of heav'n and earth!

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

sing with us our Savior's birth. [Refrain]

Scripture Meditation Luke 1:30-33 – Rev. Russell Clark

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

One: This is the word of God for the people of God.

All: Thanks be to God.

The season of Advent comes with a variety of emotions for many of us. During worship, we talk about hope and peace and joy and love. The season of Advent, though, comes with anxiousness and fear and depression and feeling overwhelmed with the intensity of the season. All of these emotions are a valid, honest representation of the season. My hope as we prepare for the sermon is that the hope of the Christ Child becomes a reality in all of our lives. May God speak to you in such a way today that your fears are relieved and your anxiousness is met with God’s everlasting wholeness and peace. Do not be afraid. God is with us.

For now let us reflect on this as we enter our time of prayer.

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord be with you. And Also with you. Let us pray.

O Great and Magnificent God over all creation –

You make things more beautiful than we can describe.

You bring light where there is darkness. You form the clouds and the stars to display your majesty.

You bring children to display your compassion. You bring youth who display your passion. You bring elders to display your wisdom.

While we often try to shut you out at this time of year by our busyness and distractedness and our fear and anxiety, may we calm our hearts in the sight of your presence.

We will not ignore the Christ Child in our midst this Christmas. We will listen to the child who cries out in need and see the child who stands alone. We will smile at your children who longs for someone to see them. We will extend our hands for your children who have been ignored or forgotten.

Lord, grant us your patience, compassion, joy, and grace to show your love to the Christ child we meet during this season.

May we not be selfish and inward-focused, but ready to connect with those who need healing from their brokenness this Christmas.

May your light be displayed in us. Put your light on display, O Lord, to bring hope to the hopeless.

We live to be your Christmas lights. We live to live out your love by connecting with those around us.

Hear the cries of the hurting and lonely, hear our cries for hope and strength, and if you’re comfortable reach out to the person next to you, to let them know you are praying for them too. May we find complete unity as a church for the healing of this world. May shalom – wholeness, completeness, healing, and peace – become a reality in our lives.

Thank you, Lord, for uniting us as your body of Christ, as we pray the prayer your son taught us:

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

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.

RESPONSIVE HYMN – Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence #124

1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

and with fear and trembling stand;

ponder nothing earthly minded,

for, with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

our full homage to demand.

2 King of kings, yet born of Mary,

as of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords, in human vesture,

in the body and the blood.

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heav'nly food.

3 Rank on rank the host of heaven

spreads its vanguard on the way,

as the Light of light descendeth

from the realms of endless day,

that the pow'rs of hell may vanish

as the darkness clears away.

4 At His feet the six-winged seraph,

cherubim with sleepless eye,

veil their faces to the Presence,

as with ceaseless voice they cry,

“Alleluia, alleluia,

alleluia, Lord Most High!”

Children’s Moment – Rev. Russell Clark

Waiting is not easy

Lighting the Advent Candle – Rev. Galen & Rev. Diane Clark

One: We light this candle as a symbol of Christ our Hope.

All: May the light sent from God shine in the darkness to show us the way of salvation. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Amen.

Responsive Hymn – One Candle is Lit (v.1) #128

Come surely, Lord Jesus,

as dawn follows night,

our hearts long to greet

you, as roses, the light.

Salvation, draw near us,

our vision engage.

One candle is lit for the

hope of the age.

Sharing Our Resources

There are many ways to support the ministries of Azle Christian Church. You can give online on our website, on Venmo, use the QR code in your bulletin, or place it in the offering plate as the deacons come by during our anthem. You can also put in a prayer request card or information card in the plate.

Anthem – Winter Snow – Audrey Asaad

Doxology - Praise God from whom all blessing flow; praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Offering Prayer – Rick Seeds

Sermon Series: The Christ Child: Seeing Christ in the World Today

Sermon: Christ the Hope – Rev. Russell Clark

COMMUNION MEDITATION

SONG – O Come, O Come Emmanuel #119

1 O come, O come, Immanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.

2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,

who ordered all things mightily;

to us the path of knowledge show

and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

3 O come, O come, great Lord of might,

who to your tribes on Sinai's height

in ancient times did give the law

in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain

4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,

unto your own and rescue them!

From depths of hell your people save,

and give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain

5 O come, O Key of David, come

and open wide our heavenly home.

Make safe for us the heavenward road

and bar the way to death's abode. Refrain

6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,

and bring us comfort from afar!

Dispel the shadows of the night

and turn our darkness into light. Refrain

7 O come, O King of nations, bind

in one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease

and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain

COMMUNION WORDS OF INSTITUTION

INVITATION

If you would like to dedicate your life to Christ or become a member of Azle Christian Church, you may come forward after the benediction or speak with me after worship.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A few announcements for this week before our benediction:

You can find information about our weekly activities, such as Sunday School, our Ukulele Group, our Wednesday dinner and bible study, and our prayer group, on the back of your bulletin or on our website. You can transfer our calendar to your personal calendars either from the insert in your bulletin or from the google calendar on our website.

Immediately after worship, the Disciples Women Ministry invites you to join their Christmas party.

All youth are invited to the game and craft night this afternoon starting at 4:30pm.

The Winter Craft Fair is this Sat, Dec. 9 from 10am-3pm. There will be close to 15 vendors present, as well as a special visitor, Santa!, will be there from 11am-1pm. Proceeds will benefit the youth of our church.

In two weeks, on December 17 we will have a congregation meeting after church to approve the budget for 2024.

All children and youth who are interested can be a part of the children’s Christmas choir. They will be singing at the Christmas Eve service at 8pm. If interested, please join Jessie for practice on Sun, December 17 after church and on Christmas Eve at 7:15pm before the service.

If you or someone you know needs a visit OR has a prayer request OR would like home communion, you may contact the church office or contact me directly.

BENEDICTION:

Please rise in body and spirit for the benediction & the final song. Receive this blessing:

May we embrace this season of waiting for something important to arrive with the enthusiasm that fills us with the Divine hope that the Christ Child will soon be here. Amen.

** BENEDICTION RESPONSE – What Child is This #162

1 What Child is this, who, laid to rest,

On Mary's lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?

Chorus:

This, this is Christ, the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

2 Why lies He in such mean estate,

Where ox and ass are feeding?

Good Christian, fear: for sinners here

The silent Word is pleading.[Chorus]

3 So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,

Come, peasant, king to own Him.

The King of kings salvation brings;

Let loving hearts enthrone Him.[Chorus]