[0:00] I'll see you next time.
[0:30] Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hi, welcome to Pendleton Center Church. We are the Menahem.
[0:54] If this is your first time here, be sure to pick up a welcome bag at the Connection site or the Welcome and Information Desk. I hope everyone will put their name on the friendship card that is in their bulletin. If you would like to receive the church newsletter or need to update any information, be sure to fill out your address and phone number.
[1:11] On the back, you can write prayer concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff. Please enjoy the service and have a good day! Good morning!
[1:22] Good morning! For those of you who bleed blue as in Buffalo Bulls, oh, it was a bad weekend. Sad weekend for our Bulls, but the Sabres won.
[1:34] So there we go. They defeated the Ducks. Now, who names a hockey team Ducks? I mean, really, I get it. Alright, this is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
[1:46] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[2:11] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[2:32] Let us pray. Gracious and loving Lord, we thank you for an opportunity to gather in your house to worship you, and we pray that your spirit will come and dwell among us. May your name be exalted.
[2:45] Amen. As we light our Advent candles this morning, hear these words from the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1 through 14. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2:59] He was with God in the beginning. I'm reading the wrong one. Hear a different word. You'll hear that one later. From the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 through 20.
[3:15] And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
[3:27] But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.
[3:38] He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
[3:57] When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
[4:08] So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
[4:23] But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
[4:36] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Isn't it a great blessing? We don't have to be perfect, just forgiven. Amen? Shall we stand and sing to the Lord, angels from the realms of glory.
[4:48] flame your flight o'er all the earth. angels from the realms of glory.
[5:15] The End God with us is now residing Yonder shines the infant light Come and worship, come and worship Worship Christ the newborn King Sages, leave your contemplations Brighter visions beam afar Seek you great desire of nations
[6:18] Ye have seen his natal star Come and worship, come and worship Worship Christ the newborn King Saints before the altar bending Watching long in hope and fear Suddenly the Lord descending In his temple shall appear Come and worship, come and worship Worship Christ the newborn King The Lord be with you Please be seated Well, this week we have a lot of things to celebrate I was talking last night about how we had worship Friday night with a blue Christmas Worship Saturday night We have worship this morning
[7:18] Tomorrow night we're going to worship at 5, 7, 30 and 11 And then Christmas morning we have a worship service at 10 o'clock So we're going to worship God, amen? I think that's a great celebration That's really a wonderful thing I also wanted to thank all of you who mentioned that you happened to see me with that sweet Woman Linda Pellegrino who came out to visit us If you'd like to see that and you heard about it, it's on the website so you can take a look It was fun visiting with her She really makes it very easy for people like me What other joys and celebrations do we have to share today?
[7:57] Yes? That's great, it's good to have you home with us this year And everybody else who's come to visit this year Visit? You can't come home to visit, right?
[8:09] You just come home, okay What else do we have? Yes? 11 years of married bliss Wonderful, you know I have 42 years of marriage How much of that was bliss?
[8:28] Oh no, I didn't say that It was all bliss It was all bliss Wonderful If you've met my wife, you know I'm joking Right? Anybody else have a joy to share?
[8:42] Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful So you're going to see your grandchildren for breakfast That's fun That's great I thought I saw a hand up over here Maybe I'm wrong Yes?
[9:03] It's good to see you home too Yes, yes I see a lot of people home for Christmas It's good to see you I, on the other hand, am going to Niagara Falls To visit our other congregation this morning Some people asked I didn't think you were going to be here I'm here, but then I'm leaving But then I'll be back But I'll be here tomorrow night So I'm going to look for all of you there Because just because you came to worship today Doesn't mean, you know, that I don't All right As we're thankful to God For all the great blessings he gives to us Let's return our Thanksgiving With our morning tithes and our offerings Celebrate the child who is the light Now the darkness is over No more wandering in the night Celebrate the child who is the light O come, O come, O come, O Emmanuel
[10:08] Celebrate the child who is the light And ransom, captive Israel Now the darkness is over Through them all to the light And ransom, captive Israel No more wandering in the night Until the Son of God Celebrate the child who is the light Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel Come, the long-expected Jesus Born to set thy people free From our fears and sins release us
[11:13] Let us find our rest in thee Israel's strength and consolation Hope of all the earth thou art Dear desire of every nation Joy of every longing heart Celebrate the child who is the light Now the darkness is over No more wandering in the night Celebrate the child who is the light Celebrate the child who is the light Now the darkness is over
[12:13] No more wandering in the night Celebrate the child who is the light Celebrate the child who is the light Now the darkness is over No more wandering in the night Celebrate the child who is the light Now the darkness is over No more wandering in the night Celebrate the child who is the light Celebrate the child who is the light Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel
[13:17] Celebrate the child who is the light The light Behold, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen Now dear God, we give you these gifts back as a thanksgiving for all you've done for us We pray that you use them to bless people throughout the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ
[14:22] And with the love that we can share with them Be with the givers and bless them for their gifts today In Jesus name we pray, amen Please be seated We have a couple of concerns I'd like to share with you First of all, Jim Riggs has gone into the hospital And so we want to keep Jim and Marge in our prayers Hopefully something that can be worked out with a reasonable period of time But a concern that we do have Dick Anderson, who many of you know, has started chemotherapy So we want to keep Dick and Anna Kay and their family in prayers We're hoping for good results Linda Kanudala passed away this last week Went to be with the Lord And so we're going to have her funeral service here on Thursday Calling hours will be here on Wednesday from 3 to 8 And if you can make a dish to pass for the luncheon I know it's Christmas time, but it would be greatly appreciated What other concerns do we have at this time?
[15:19] Anybody have something? Yes, ma'am Okay Alright So we want to keep these people in prayer Because that's, especially a two-year-old child That's a difficult thing both for her and for her parents right now Others?
[15:41] Yes? Pray for me I have A pinched nerve A pinched nerve Oh, those aren't nice My nerves are bad So we want to keep you in our prayers Absolutely Absolutely Absolutely Go to the ER Go to the ER after church Okay, that sounds like a plan Dear Lord, bless you with this healing touch Amen What else do we have?
[16:03] You know, I'm going to suggest to you that it's okay to go to the hospital before you come to church I don't have a problem with that Okay Yes Okay So we want to keep Ron Elman in our prayers too He's had surgery and some complications Well, let's take all these concerns to the Lord in prayer, shall we?
[16:29] Dear God, it is such a joy and a wonder to be with you this morning To be able to celebrate Christmas and worship you And be blessed by your presence in this place And yet, Lord, in the midst of our celebrations we have concerns All the people we've mentioned who are facing such deep medical concerns Things that need healing and blessing And the hope of God to fill up their world We pray, dear God, that you would just Just be with the people that are struggling right now And send a miracle of healing for their lives For their bodies For all the people who are struggling With their relationships, with families, with the things that make this Christmas not so easy We just pray, Lord, that you'd bring peace and understanding Love and hope to our families
[17:31] Lord, we pray that you'd bless us When we struggle with things that seem so mundane And yet are so, so hard to get through Financial problems and work issues And just trying to get all this stuff done for Christmas That makes us feel as if life is crushing us When we should be celebrating you Take away the anxiety and bring us peace And we pray for people like the Canuda family Who are struggling with the loss of someone they love While we trust in our faith, Lord And we celebrate for Linda And her presence in your presence We know that this family feels as if somebody has Has cut a hole in their heart So love them, Lord And give them your Holy Spirit And help us to be a presence of love
[18:34] Lord, we come with all sorts of things in our hearts You know what they are But we want to take a moment, Lord For you to listen So bend your ear As a loving father And listen to your children pray And now, Lord And now, Lord, for a short moment Take all the brokenness, all the pain, all the hurt And lift it from us Help us to push all of that aside for a short time As we celebrate with you and worship you Come and be present in this place Reach into our very hearts and souls And touch us Let the message of Pastor Lisa brings to us Have great meaning and power in our lives And meet us in this place That we might know that you are God And you are with us Emmanuel For we pray this all in Jesus' name Amen And now shall we listen to the word of the Lord
[19:36] Amen Good morning This is John chapter 1 verses 1 through 14 In the beginning was the word And the word was with God The word was God He was with God in the beginning Through whom all things were made Without him nothing was made that has been made In him was life And that life was the light of all mankind The light shines in the darkness And the darkness has not overcome it There was a man sent from God whose name was John He came as a witness to testify
[20:39] Concerning that light so that through him all might believe He himself was not the light He came only as a witness to the light The true light that gives light to everyone Was coming into the world He was in the world And though the world was made through him The world did not recognize him He came to that which was his own But his own did not receive him Yet to all who did receive 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 Father full of grace and truth This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Thank you Madeline Good morning It's almost Christmas Are you ready?
[21:35] I'm not Feels like I am not even close Yesterday I packed up Packages for people who have to go out of town You know the one that has to go to North Carolina The one for my daughter that has to go to Portland, Oregon Yes I know they are not going to make it on time Well I got home after I had gone to the post office To discover on my dining room table My daughter's present It didn't make it into the box She has cookies, she has candy, she has a mug, she has other things that we intended to send her But her Christmas present The book I carefully picked out for her Knowing that she would love this book And that I always give her a book for Christmas That's on my dining room table It's a good thing there's a couple more days Even so, when Tuesday morning comes Part of me is still going to be concerned about all the things that didn't get done
[22:40] That aren't really ready That could have been nicer Then at noon my family will arrive They'll say how pretty the tree is and how nice the decorations look And I had absolutely nothing to do with that that's Romney's thing We'll sit around drinking coffee and eggnog and eat cookies And I am the one who deals with the cookies and the eggnog We'll talk, my kids will play the piano And we'll open presents and ready or not Everyone will enjoy themselves very, very much I think that even if there wasn't a tree or any decorations or any eggnog It would still be a good time We're a family And we have love And God is with us When Joseph and Mary arrived in Joseph's hometown, Bethlehem
[23:44] There was no room for them in the inn Or apparently with any of Joseph's family who probably still lived there But that's another sermon Mary and Joseph had to make do in a stable They had to create a makeshift cradle Out of an animal's feeding trough and some straw Did you ever try to sleep on straw?
[24:10] Anybody? Ever try to sleep on straw? I have not But I have been on a hayride And I have absolutely no idea why people do that The hay is itchy, it's scratchy, it's stinky, and it's uncomfortable But that was where Mary and Joseph were That was where their baby was born And God was with them You know, God wasn't just with them In a kind of transcendent spiritual sort of sense Like we might get if we're in prayer deeply Or singing praise songs together Or when we're quiet and in need And we sense God's comforting presence around us God was with them In their arms, crying to be fed Cold from the night air
[25:12] Itchy from the straw The word became flesh And made his dwelling among them And they saw it They saw it, the glory of God The glory of God Like no one before them had ever seen it It couldn't be kept secret It couldn't be contained Because of the glory of God Mary and Joseph Were not the only ones who knew God had come When the glory of the Lord exploded in light in the sky Lots of people saw it It was impossible to hide the light Light shines in darkness In the darkness of night Jesus was born There was God's glory shining as light All around the angels who appeared To the shepherds It must have been a fantastic light show I'll bet you it was better than anything
[26:14] The Trans-Siberian Orchestra And the Radio City Rockettes Music Christmas Spectacular Together could have accomplished This was not a man-made light show For human holiday amusement For human holiday amusement This was the glory of the Lord Shining around people who were terrified Terrified at the presence of an angel of the Lord With a multitude of the heavenly host Who were praising God Jesus was no mere human baby Although that would have been a wonderful blessing Only God can bless us with life And the wonder of holding new life in your arms That's an experience that can't be compared with anything else But this baby This baby
[27:17] Was the son of God The word who had become flesh To live with human beings This baby Was fully human And Fully God No such person had ever been born No such person will ever be born again No such person will ever be born again There is only One And the night he was born The angels With the brilliant light of the glory of God Sang out with loud and exuberant praises Mary and Joseph Had had encounters with angels before Bethlehem The whole story of God Coming among humans in the flesh Is filled with supernatural encounters Remember how Mary found out What was going to happen?
[28:18] God sent the angel Gabriel To visit her That's something that the scriptures tell us angels can do First, God had sent the angel Gabriel to the priest Zechariah To tell him his wife Elizabeth was going to have a baby Why send an angel?
[28:40] Don't people just find these things out as a matter of course? No In this case, Elizabeth and Zechariah were older folks They were well beyond the age when having a baby Was going to happen Was going to happen And this was going to be a particular baby Someone very special So God sent an angel to let them know Gabriel told them their son John was going to prepare the way for the Lord In the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah Jesus' cousin Was going to be a great prophet Then we hear Gabriel came to Mary Yeah, he came to Mary And he said greetings Highly favored one The Lord is with you And God wants to know that the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you
[29:44] And you'll have a baby Who is going to be the son of God Then Joseph had a dream The angel appears to him in a dream And says the baby Mary is carrying from God Is really from God Is really from God So that Joseph should just go ahead and marry her And Joseph should just go ahead and take care of them Because it was okay That's his job That's his role in this amazing story Now, after all that There are angels in the sky everywhere In bright light like daytime In the middle of the night Terrifying a bunch of shepherds Who have never seen such a sight in their whole lives Have you ever had an angel appear to you?
[30:46] This is not a natural occurrence And it's not something that happens every day And even if it does happen It doesn't happen to everybody Angels are supernatural beings That God created before he created the natural world that we live in If an angel appears Like Gabriel appeared to Mary and to Zechariah It has to come out of the heavenly realm Beyond our natural perceptions And into our natural world So that we can see it But angels exist All around us In Joseph's case the angel appeared in a dream After Jesus' birth Joseph has another dream And in that dream The angel tells him that his family is in terrible danger He tells them they have to run away in order to protect themselves In the Bible
[31:49] We can see that angels are messengers sent from God To help human beings They are powerful, holy, wise spiritual beings Who are concerned about human circumstances And can come into human form They can guide us, protect us, provide for us, give us directions And comfort us and minister to us Having a guardian angel, my friends, is not a myth But on the night Jesus was born The angels didn't just tell the shepherds about it They worshiped They sang glory to God in the highest And on earth peace to those on whom God's favor rests These angels came for two purposes To tell the shepherds the Savior had been born And to worship that Savior
[32:52] In all the times Gabriel had visited the people in this story He never once burst into light and praising God Angels know God They hang out in God's presence They hang out in God's presence a lot As the heavenly host So if these angels on that night Burst into praise with light shining all around them It was because they knew God's presence was there This was no mere human savior Like Moses Or like King David This was God Supernaturally present with people As a baby The word of God who had been with God in the beginning The word of God through whom all things had been made The word of God in whom was life and the light of humanity
[33:54] The word of God Was in Bethlehem What's Christmas for? I sometimes get lost in the nostalgia of Christmas And I can get pretty snarky If Christmas isn't done the way I like it done You know the special ornaments that I've had for years The lights on the tree just where they belong 57 years of family gatherings over presents in Jimmy Stewart movies and football games And I don't even like football These are wonderful wonderful human things But they're things that will pass away So much of what's in the natural world can be gone In an instant
[34:56] Don't we all know of people who have lost everything In a fire Or a storm Or some other means There might even be folks here with us today who have experienced that kind of loss Angels were telling shepherds about God's sudden immediate presence in the world And those angels were praising God Shepherds were telling other people about the Savior that the angels had told them about The Christ who had come and they were praising God And I'm worried about making eggnog in time for the party Church, your pastor needs help God is here today, friends God is birthed in my heart
[36:00] My own heart making me born again And I'm worried about the eggnog that might not get done I get my priorities mixed up sometimes The wonder of the word became flesh is what Christmas is about He came to that which was his own But his own did not receive him What did he come for?
[36:29] What did the angels proclaim? That on earth There would be peace to those On whom God's favor rests No human being Can bring peace to earth To bring peace among all people Many have tried And they've tried in many ways Usually by some form of passive aggressive or real out there violence Human beings tend to believe that if we can only convince people to believe the way we believe And to do the things the way we want them to do Then all will be well It's true in our workplaces It's true in our schools Our communities Our governments At extreme times Throughout history And even today in some places in the world It manifests in people who believe
[37:32] That if they imprison Or destroy Everybody who disagrees with them Then they'll have their own personal little utopia With everybody bowing down To them At the very least Everybody experiences on some level Frustration Over disagreements about how things should be done Even in the church How should the pastor preach?
[38:08] What songs should we sing? What point of view Should be presented in the Bible study? No There is no lasting real peace That can be made by human beings But The baby in the manger Was no mere human He was the word made flesh In Bethlehem And he is God in us today No one in Bethlehem received him Not an innkeeper Not Joseph's family And many are not ready to receive him today Yet To all who received him And to all who receive him today He has given the right to become children of God
[39:11] Children not born merely of flesh But born of God With God living in us By the power and wisdom of God We can be transformed Into people who can carry God's grace And the message of hope Love Joy And even peace To all the world Do you want to be part of God's mission in the world today?
[39:44] God's mission of making peace on earth? Then we can't let Christmas be merely a nostalgic time to remember a baby in a manger and share some holiday happiness I'm not ready for Christmas yet And I'm not perfect At living the life Jesus called me to live Not yet But I am pressing on And by God's grace There will come a day When love will be made perfect in my heart When God's love is shed abroad in my heart And in your hearts and in all of our hearts We will be able to live In perfect peace I pray for it I pray for it Every single day And I trust that every day By God's grace I will continue to be transformed Because of God's spirit Supernaturally dwelling in me Do you want to pray for that too?
[40:47] Do you want to pray for that too? Do you want to pray that God will continue to be born in your heart every moment of every day And that we will together become the people God intends for us to be We should pray We should pray that God will forgive us where we've missed him And that God will move us forward to the hope of perfect peace Both in the here and now And in eternity So let's pray Heavenly Father Father I have sinned I have not loved you perfectly And I have not perfectly loved my neighbor I have sometimes
[41:51] Put things ahead of you When you should be first in my life Help me Lord Forgive me I want to be more like Jesus I want to know The truth of your love The way the shepherds knew it that night The way Mary knew it when she rocked Jesus in her arms The way Joseph knew it When he went beyond his culture And embraced someone He should have put aside Help me be more like you Help me to be a vessel Through whom peace on earth comes Help me to be more like you Help me to be a vessel Through whom peace on earth comes In Jesus name I pray
[42:52] Amen You know how much God loves you God loves you God loves you so much that he sent his son Before we even knew we were in need of a savior God sent us a savior This proves God's love for us In the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven Glory to God Oh no no no no like the angels Ready say glory to God Glory to God Oh come on glory to God Glory to God Glory to God Glory to God Angels exist Okay you don't have to keep saying that Angels exist to help us To share messages from God with us But they also exist to worship God But they also exist to worship God I think over the course of eternity That's probably what they're mostly doing Most of the time
[43:55] Angels have given us a great example of what it means to serve and worship God We're supposed to worship God And we're supposed to tell people about him Just like the angels did The angels in the story of the word becoming flesh Remind us that God came to make his dwelling in us And among us They remind us of all God has called us to do and to be Because he dwells in us From now on every time I hear the carol we're about to sing I'm going to remember the angels message And I'm going to remember their worship I'm going to remember to put the worshiping and the message of how God sent peace to earth in a supernatural baby Ahead of the eggnog I hope you remember it too Let's stand as you're able and we're going to sing
[44:59] We're going to sing that song Remind us of all the angels Amen It came upon the midnight clear That glorious song of both From angels banding near The earth to touch their arms of gold Peace on the earth Good will to all The earth to touch their arms of gold It came upon the midnight clear That glorious song of both From angels banding near the earth To touch their arms of gold From angels banding near the earth To touch their arms of gold Angels banding near the earth To touch their arms of gold The song the earth Good will to all From heavens all gracious King The world in solemn stillness To hear the angels sing Still through the cloven skies they come
[46:05] With peaceful wings unfurled And still their heavenly music floats For all the weary world Above its sad and lonely plains They bend a covering wing And ever on its babble sounds The blessed angels sing And ye beneath life's crushing Lord Whose forms are banding low Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slough Look now for glad and golden hours
[47:09] Come swiftly on the wing O rest beside the weary road And hear the angels sing For lo, the days are hastening on By prophets in the world When with the ever-circling years Shall come the time foretold When peace shall over all the earth Its ancient splendors flee And the whole world send back the song Which now the angels sing agency
[48:10] The intel Long time ago in Bethlehem So the Holy Bible said Mary's born child, Jesus Christ Was born on Christmas Day Hark now hear the angels sing New kids born today And we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day
[49:11] Shepherds watched their flocks by night This all bright new shining star And heard a choir from heaven sing The music came from afar Hark now hear the angels sing New kids born today And we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day Now Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem at night They found no place to bear her child Not a single room was inside And by and by they found a little look In a stable all forlorn
[50:14] And in a nature cold and dark Mary's little boy child was born Trumpets sound and angels sing Listen to what they say That we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day That we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day We are a confident group of children of God And we're going to be coming to the table of grace So let's greet one another With the peace of the Holy Spirit Which comes through Christ And we'll be coming to the table of grace
[51:34] And we'll be coming to the table of grace Love came down at Christmas Love, oh lovely, love divine Love was born at Christmas Stars and angels gave the sun Worship we the Godhead Love incarnate, love divine
[52:39] Worship we our Jesus But wherewith for sacred sign Love shall be our token Love be yours and love be mine Love to God and all men Love for play and gift and sign The table of grace is offered to everyone It's an open table Whether this is your first time here Or you've been here all along If you're seeking Christ in your life If you're seeking Christ in your life You are welcome The Lord be with you Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
[53:39] It is right and a good and joyful thing Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth You formed us in your image And breathed into us the breath of life When we turned away and our love failed Your love remained steadfast You delivered us from captivity Made covenant to be our sovereign God And spoke to us through the prophets And so with your people on earth And all the company of heaven We praise your name And join their unending hymn Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Holy are you and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor
[54:40] To proclaim release to the captives And recovering of sight to the blind To set at liberty those who are oppressed And to announce that the time had come When you would save your people He healed the sick Fed the hungry And ate with sinners By the baptism of his suffering Death and resurrection You gave birth to your church Delivered us from slavery to sin and death And made with us a new covenant By water and the Spirit When the Lord Jesus ascended He promised to be with us always In the power of your word And Holy Spirit On the night in which he gave himself up for us He took the bread He gave thanks to you He broke the bread He gave it to his disciples And he said Take and eat This is my body Which is given for you
[55:41] Do this in remembrance of me And when the supper was over He took the cup He gave thanks He said This Is the blood My blood Of the new covenant Poured out for you Poured out for many For the forgiveness Of sins Drink of this Often Remembering me And so In remembrance of these Your mighty acts In Jesus Christ We offer ourselves In praise And thanksgiving As a holy And living sacrifice In union With Christ's offering For us As we proclaim The mystery of faith
[56:42] Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit On us gathered here And on these gifts Of bread and wine Make them be for us The body and blood Of Christ That we may be For the world The body of Christ Redeemed by his blood By your spirit Make us one with Christ One with each other And one in ministry To all the world Until Christ comes In final victory And we feast At his heavenly banquet Through your son Jesus Christ With the Holy Spirit In your holy church All honor and glory Is yours Almighty Father Now and forever Amen And now Let us pray The prayer That 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
[57:43] And forgive us Our trespasses As we forgive Those who trespass Against us And lead us Not into temptation But deliver us From evil For thine is The kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever Amen Will those who are serving Please come forward God For ourom l Father Thank you.
[58:55] Thank you.
[59:25] Thank you.
[59:55] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[60:07] Are you doing the group? Thank you. Thank you.
[60:21] Thank you.
[60:53] Take both the bread and the cup together. God wants to meet you here. Come and worship. Amen. Amen.
[61:59] Amen. Amen.
[62:59] Amen. Amen.
[63:59] Amen. Amen.
[64:59] Amen. Amen.
[65:59] Amen. Amen.
[66:30] Amen. Amen. Amen. Please stand if you're able as we sing together, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King.
[67:17] Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners then conciled. Joyful of ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies.
[67:35] We angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King.
[67:55] Christ my highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord. Wait in time behold Him now, offspring of the virgin's womb.
[68:13] Meal the flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. Pleased as men we're meant to dwell in Jesus our Emmanuel.
[68:32] The Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King. Hail the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King.
[68:43] Hail the Son of Righteousness. Hail the Son of Righteousness. Light and alive to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings.
[69:00] Mildly lays His glory by, born that we no more may die. Born to raise us from the earth, born to give a second birth.
[69:19] Lord, the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King.
[69:31] Now I have a prayer request and that I'd like you all to keep in prayer. A couple of folks who have long time been a part of this church, but who are returning down to Arizona.
[69:43] Dick and Julie Butell are leaving in a couple days and I had the privilege of praying with them at the rail. And if you all want to say goodbye and Merry Christmas, they're only going to be here a couple more days.
[69:54] You got to hear me preach today because I'm not going to be here tomorrow night, so don't ask. Pastor Tom will be here tomorrow evening for all of the services to be preaching. So come on back for Christmas Eve to hear the really, really big message, right?
[70:09] I will be at the Falls and that's the first time I'm going to be preaching a Christmas Eve service since 2011, which is going to be a real blessing. I get to be up at the Falls. So I'm going to say a Merry Christmas to you right now, but don't let it be the only Merry Christmas you say in this church.
[70:24] Come tomorrow and say Merry Christmas too. You know, I make amazing eggnog. It's true. It's true. My kids walk through the door.
[70:36] They call it the nog. Okay? They started this many, many years ago and they will walk through the door and they come in and they'll go, Okay, Mom, where's the nog? But it's eggs and milk and sugar and a little vanilla.
[70:51] It's all stuff of the earth. There's way, way more than that. There is so much more to Christmas than eggnog. I pray for your Christmas and for mine, that we be filled with the love and the joy and the peace and the hope of Christ.
[71:13] That all of these material things, all the things of this earth that could so easily pass away, would not be our focus, but that our focus would be on Jesus Christ.
[71:26] Fully God and fully man. The only one who can bring peace on earth. The only one who can bring peace in our hearts. So as you go, I pray that you go in that peace.
[71:39] And that you send that peace forth in all the world. The peace of Christ. Amen? Go in peace.