Welcome & Opening Prayer
Good morning church!
I am Russell Clark and I am the senior minister here at Azle Christian Church. May we find hope and peace here this morning during 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 – As we celebrate this 2nd Sunday of Advent, may we remember the peace, the wholeness, and completeness you bring to our hearts. May you remove our worries and stresses from this past week that we might be filled with your Holy Spirit. Be God with us as we prepare for worship, and throughout this week may we continue to see how the arrival of the Christ Child can impact our daily lives. Amen.
May we take a moment before we get started to greet those next to us with a hug or high five.
Opening Songs: Come, O Long Expected Jesus #125
Come O long expected Jesus born to set your people free
From our fears and sin release us Christ in whom our rest shall be
You our strength and consolation come salvation to impart
Dear desire of many a nations, joy of many a longing heart
Born your people to deliver born a child and yet a king
Born to reign in us forever, born your gracious realm to bring
By our own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone
By your all sufficient merit raise us to your glorious throne
O Come, O Come Emmanuel #119
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O Come desire of nations bind all peoples in one heart and mind bid envy strife and quarrels cease fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. Rejoice rejoice Emmanual shall come to thee O Israel.
.
Litany of Faith – Anne Cummings
One: Let us become a choir – not our voices only, but our very lives singing harmony in a stunning anthem to the God in Jesus in the Holy Spirit!
All: May the God of hope fill us up with joy & peace!
One: Let our lives be filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit with hope overflowing!
All: May this hope pour out of us so all of God’s children may see & know the Christ Child is with them. Amen.
Scripture Meditation John 1:12-14 – Rev. Russell Clark
“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
One: This is the word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
We describe Jesus as the son of God. Jesus’ goal wasn’t for us to listen to his message and live the “right” way. No, Jesus came to earth so we might become one with Him and God, that we might become a part of a FAMILY.
We don’t just live a different way with Jesus… We have a new life, a family. We have belonging. When we believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness and this new life, this new birth is seeing we are in the family of God. We are God’s children. God has adopted YOU into THIS family, God’s family, where you are loved and offered grace every day.
Think about this as we prepare for the sermon and as we pray together.
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord be with you. And Also with you. Let us pray.
Loving God, Prepare us for the arrival of the king. Thank you for this Christ Child who is on his way to meet us here. May God-with-us be near to us this day. May you fill our spirits with YOUR Spirit to brighten the Spirits of everyone around us during this Advent season.
Where we have been selfish, apathetic, and hopeless, may you change our hearts to be loving, peaceful, joyful, and hopeful. Where we are suffering in pain and grief and unable to change our hearts yet, may you meet us in our mess and comfort us.
During this season of waiting for your arrival, may you bring hope to the hopeless, peace to the burdened, and grace to the broken. Give your children opportunities to open their eyes to your grace and beauty and truth.
May we connect with our loved ones and those around us to show them the Christ Child is coming to us – and in fact – he is here with us when we share this joy and love and hope and peace.
Lord, may we set our eyes and our hearts upon you as we pray the prayer Jesus 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 – Away in a Manger #147
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head
The stars in the sky
Look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
The cattle are lowing
The poor baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side
'Til morning is nigh
Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to heaven
To live with Thee there
Take us to heaven
To live with Thee there
Children’s Moment – Susie Hiles
Lighting the Advent Candle – Richard & Meredith Salsman
One: We light this candle as a symbol of the Prince of Peace.
All: May the visitation of your Holy Spirit, O God, make us ready for the arrival of Jesus, our hope and joy. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Amen.
Responsive Hymn – One Candle is Lit (v.2) #128
Come quickly shalom teach us how to prepare for a gift that compels us with justice to care. Our spirits are restless till sin and war cease one candle is lit for the reign of God’s peace.
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 – O Holy Night
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 – Anne Cummings
Sermon Series: The Christ Child: Seeing Christ in the World Today
Sermon: Christ the Peace – Rev. Russell Clark
COMMUNION MEDITATION
SONG – O Little Town of Bethlehem #144
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim thy holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And peace to men on earth
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
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.
Next Sunday after worship we will have a congregation meeting to approve the budget and church leaders 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.
This Wednesday, we will have dinner at 5:30pm with a performance from the Ukulele group with our friends from Revive UMC and then at 6:30pm we will go together to go Christmas caroling to a few of our church members to brighten their spirits.
In two weeks, on the morning of Christmas Eve we will have a Cookie Fellowship in the fellowship hall during our normal worship time. Bring your favorite Christmas cookies to share and wear your Christmas PJ’s. The Ukulele group will be leading us in singing Christmas Carols. There will be no Sunday School the morning of Christmas Eve.
Then, our special Christmas Eve Service will be at 8pm the evening of December 24.
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 you see your place as a beloved child of God. God chooses you to be sons and daughters…always. May we share this good news with all of God’s children we meet this week. Amen.
** BENEDICTION RESPONSE –
1 Awake! Awake and greet the new morn,
for angels herald its dawning.
sing out your joy, for Jesus is born,
behold! the Child of our longing.
Come as a baby weak and poor,
to bring all hearts together,
to open wide the heavenly door,
and lives now inside us forever.
2 To us, to all in sorrow and fear,
Emmanuel comes a-singing,
whose humble song is quiet and near,
yet fills the earth with its ringing.
Music to heal the broken soul
and hymns of loving kindness,
the thunder of the anthems roll
to shatter all hate and injustice.
3 In deepest night Christ's coming shall be,
when all the world is despairing,
as morning light so quiet and free,
so warm and gentle and caring.
One without voice breaks forth in song,
a lame one leaps in wonder,
the weak are raised above the strong,
and weapons are broken asunder.
4 Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night,
though cold the winter and cheerless,
the rising sun shall crown you with light,
be strong and loving and fearless;
Love be our song and love our prayer,
and love, our endless story,
may God fill every day we share,
and bring us at last into glory.