"Children of Stones"

 WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HOMEWOOD
MISSION STATEMENT

Through the grace of God, faith in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we prayerfully seek to discern God’s will for this congregation and to reach beyond ourselves to feed the hungry, body and soul. Adopted by Session 7/31/17

PRAYER FOR PEACE
Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I offer words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.
~Henri Nouwen

PRELUDE ||| Seasonal Favorites ||| Various Composers

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE
A voice cries out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
A choir sings in the silence,
“Come, Emmanuel.”
Every valley shall be filled.
Every heart shall be made whole,
for peace is stronger than turmoil,
and love is louder than hate.
As we light our second Advent candle,
we pray for the holy peace of God.
Come now, O Child of Mary.
Come now, O Prince of Peace.

*CALL TO CONTINUING WORSHIP
God’s vision of peace is a realm where all live together in harmony:
enemies become friends, fear gives way to understanding.
God calls us to be this community;
let us gather together to worship.

*HYMN 88 ||| O Come, O Come, Emmanuel ||| Veni Emmanuel

CALL TO CONFESSION
John the Baptist’s cry echoes through the ages: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near! Here and now, we go to God in humility and faith, confessing our sins.

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of all creation, your vision of peace is beyond our knowing. We have been hurt and we have seen destruction, so we turn around and hurt others, destroying what you have called good. Forgive us, and fill us with your knowledge, so we may help bring forth your peaceful kingdom.
(silent prayer)
Amen.

*DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
Christ comes into our world—Christ comes into our lives—to purify us and give us another chance. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
We rejoice in the hope Christ offers us! Thanks be to God!

*THE GLORIA 581
MOMENT WITH OUR CHILDREN ||| Rev. Matt Lang

WELCOME AND CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

FIRST SCRIPTURE READING ||| Isaiah 11:1-10
1A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

SPECIAL MUSIC

SECOND SCRIPTURE READING ||| Matthew 3:1-12
1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!

SERMON ||| "Children of Stones" ||| Rev. Matt Lang

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 96 ||| On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry ||| Winchester New

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH ||| The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS

OFFERTORY

*DOXOLOGY 606 ||| Old Hundredth
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
For the blessings of this and all our days, we thank you, gracious God. Accept, we pray, not just this money but also our lives freely offered in gratitude for all you have done for us. Use them both, in this place and wherever you might take us. Amen.

SEALING OF THE WORD

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

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.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION
SHARING OF THE MEAL
All who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, regardless of age or denomination, are invited to partake in the Sacrament of Communion. Please come forward down the side aisle. Take a piece of the bread and a cup and eat. Please dispose of the cups in the waste baskets by the table. We have gluten free bread available. Return to your seat by the center aisle.

 
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God of grace, you renew us at your table with the bread of life. May this food strengthen us in love and help us to serve you in each other. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

WE GO IN GOD’S NAME

*HYMN 106 ||| Prepare the Way, O Zion ||| Bereden Väg För Herran

BLESSING & CHARGE
May the God of peace make you holy and the power of the Spirit sustain you until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!

Prepare the way of the Lord!
Amen.

POSTLUDE ||| Festivity on “Here We Come a Caroling” ||| Douglas E. Wagner

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Thanks be to God!

Rev. Matt Lang, Pastor
Mrs. Mary Ann Wenzelman, Interim Organist/Pianist

Worship Liturgist: Melodee Leimnetzer
Usher: Charlene Hansen, Bob James, Eleanor Steiner
Web Technicians: Shirley Armistead, Nancy Beaudoin, Phil Dillman, Kathie Hazlett  

SCRIPTURES IN WORSHIP – Next Sunday we will be reading Isaiah 35:1-10 and Matthew 11:2-11.

PRAYER CHAIN – If you want prayer requests included on the prayer chain, contact Shirley Armistead at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..