Bulletin
Sunday, November 29, 2020, 11:00 am
The First Sunday of Advent
join us from home via Zoom
† Call to Worship & Procession
Prelude - Prelude to Advent, All Saints Church Choir
Reading and Candle Lighting - Hope
Minister: Arise now and ascend to the heavenly City in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Congregation: Amen.
†Processional Hymn - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, p. 227 (MP3, PDF)
Minister: The grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
Congregation: And also with you!
Minister: A voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain shall be made low!
Congregation: Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. Amen.
Sin Offering: Confession The congregation is invited to kneel.
Unison: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
(silent confession)
Minister: Therefore, I declare that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Congregation: Thanks be to God. Our sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Minister: Arise, lift up your heads and believe the good news! God, our heavenly Father, has had mercy on us. Therefore, stand in His presence, knowing your acceptance in the Savior; Hallelujah! The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world.
Congregation: O come, let us worship Him. Hallelujah!
†Ascension Hymn - Lift Up Your Heads, p. 224 (MP3, PDF)
†Collect for the First Sunday of Advent
Unison: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Consecration: Scripture & Teaching
The Lesson - Isaiah 64:1-9
Leader: The Word of the Lord.
Congregation: Thanks be to God.
The Psalm - Psalm 80, p. 116, vv. 1-4 (MP3, PDF)
Congregation: Amen! (following the Psalm)
The Epistle - 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Reader: . . . The Word of the Lord.
Congregation: Thanks be to God.
The Psalm - Psalm 80, p. 116, vv. 5-8 (MP3, PDF)
Congregation: Amen! (following the Psalm)Congregation: Amen! (following the Psalm)
† The Gospel - Mark 13:24-37
Reader: . . . The Gospel of Christ!
Congregation: Praise be to You, O Christ!
†The Creed (Nicene)
Unison: 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 his 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 Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man: and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried: and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures: and ascended into heaven, and sitteth 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 Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets: and we believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church: 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.
†Gloria Patri, (p. 436) (MP3, PDF)
Sung, lifting holy hands, Psalm 63:4.
Prayer for Illumination
Sermon - Work (Ephesians 2:2-10), Kevin Kanoff, elder
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
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God’s Work (example: Genesis 1 & 2)
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Man’s Work
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Before the Fall
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After the Fall
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God’s Work with-regard to man (Ephesians 2:1-9)
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God’s Work in regeneration and Man’s new work (Ephesians 2:10)
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Applications
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Prayerfully study the scriptures to better understand the Almighty God and Merciful Father
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Face daily work as a new creation, imitating the ONE who made you in HIS Image
Prayers of the People - Selected Men to Lead
Leader: Lord in your mercy….
Congregation: Hear our prayers.
†The Lord’s Prayer (sung, p. 411) (MP3, PDF).
Sung, lifting up holy hands, I Tim. 2:8.
†Tribute Offering
The Peace Offering: Eucharist
The Sursum Corda
Minister: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up unto the Lord.
Minister: Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
People: It is good and right so to do.
Minister: It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times . . . Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying,
People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord most High. Amen.
The Sign of Peace - The peace of Christ to you.
The Bread and the Wine
All baptized Christians are welcome to the Table. Gluten free bread is available.
Eucharist Hymns
Savior of the Nations, Come (p. 225) (MP3, PDF)
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (p. 241) (MP3, PDF)
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken (p. 304) (MP3, PDF)
From East to West (p. 231) (MP3, PDF)
†The Commission and Benediction
Minister: Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Congregation: Thanks be to God!
† Hymn - Comfort, Comfort Ye My People, p. 226 (MP3, PDF)
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q. 99. What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer?
A. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called the Lord's prayer.
Q. 100. What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord's prayer, which is, Our Father which art in heaven, teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.
Psalm of the Day - Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!