The Lord’s
Day
December 20,
2009
Fourth
Sunday of Advent
Prelude
Lighting
of the Advent Candle Luke
1:26–35
Now in the
sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called
Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to
her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed
at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel
said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him
Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the
angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to
her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of
God.”
Musical Offering Wake,
Awake, for Night Is Flying No.
317
(congregation
joins on verse 3)
*Call to Worship Psalm
71:17–19
O God, You
have taught me from my youth;
And I still
declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when
I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I
declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
For Your
righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
You who have done great things; O God,
who is like You?
*Gloria
Patri No. 734
*Prayer of Invocation
*Hymn Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come No. 195
Public Confession
O God, You
have caused Your light to shine upon us. We praise You because You are a God of
grace. We acknowledge that in spite of what has been done for us, we sin. We
wrestle with the call to holiness and sometimes falter in our efforts. Please
forgive our many sins. Please pardon all our iniquities and cause us to
manifest righteousness in our speech and conduct.
Words of Assurance Titus
2:11-14
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,
righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave
Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself
a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Response Praise Jehovah, All Ye Nations (following)
Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings
Collection of the Tithe and Offerings
*Doxology No.
731
*Declaring Our Faith[†] The Canons of Dordt: Man’s Fall
What does
Scripture teach concerning man’s nature at creation?
Man was
originally created in the image of God and was furnished in his mind with a
true knowledge of his Creator and things spiritual, in his will and heart with
righteousness, and in all his emotions with purity.
What happened
to man in that original state?
Rebelling
against God at the devil’s instigation and by his own free will, man deprived
himself of these outstanding gifts. In their place he brought upon himself
blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in his mind;
perversity, defiance, and hardness in his heart and will; and finally impurity
in all his emotions.
Pastoral Prayer
*Responsive Reading John
1:1–14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him,
And apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life,
And the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness,
And the darkness did not comprehend it.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe
through him.
He was not the Light, but he came
to testify about the Light.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every
man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did
not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God,
Even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the
will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
*Hymn Angels We Have Heard on High No. 214
*Public Reading of the Word The Gospel of John 9:24–41
*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word
Sermon The Means of Peace Luke 2:25–35
Hymn Thou Who Wast Rich beyond All Splendor No. 230
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper+
*Hymn O Come,
All Ye Faithful No.
208
*Benediction
*Threefold Amen No.
740
* Congregation will please stand
+ Visitors: please see the note on the back of this
bulletin