Prelude Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

Prelude “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. ” Dragon School, Oxford, England Introit “Jesus, Name above All Names” Jesus, name above all names; Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord. Emmanuel, God is with us; Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

Welcome! Welcome, as we worship together in this Advent Season. We are happy that we can celebrate the coming of the Christ Child together and acknowledge what His birth means in our personal lives and to our troubled world. Come worship with us often.

Invocation and Call to Worship The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! Sing with Moses and the people of Israel, saying— I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, she asked, Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, rejoice!

Hymn “Go Tell It on the Mountain, ” Cedarmont Kids

Prayer of Confession God our Father, we come to you in sorrow for our sins. For turning away from you, and ignoring your truth and your beauty, Father, forgive us: Save us and help us. For turning to what is dirty and ugly, beastly and unsightly; Father, forgive us: Save us and help us. For often approving of what is sinful and dark; Father, forgive us: Save us and help us. For having no song to sing, no joy in our heart; Father, forgive us:

Save us and help us. For letting ourselves be drawn away from the beauty of the Gospel by temptations in the world around us; Father, forgive us: Save us and help us. Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus! Jesus is the Prince of Peace and his atoning sacrifice, shed blood and third-day victory over death delivers divine peace to all who are penitent and contrite. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, rejoice.

Prayer of the Day Dear Father, thank you for giving joy to Mary, Elizabeth and her son John as they faced overwhelming challenges and difficulties. Give us the same Holy Spirit so that we, with rejoicing hearts, may believe and be used to accomplish your holy will; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Special Music “Some Children See Him” James Taylor

Old Testament Reading, Exodus 15: 1 -3 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.

Epistle Reading, Philippians 4: 4 -8 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. .

Gospel Reading, Luke 1: 39 -45 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. ”

Sermon “Long, Dark Hallways, ” “Daddy? ” A little child touched his father’s forehead. The dad opened his eyes, fixed on the digital clock by his bed. It read 1: 45. That would be a. m. “Yeah, son. ” “I need to go to the bathroom. ” “Fine, Pal. Thanks for the update!” The child was four years old. Builders had just remodeled his home and a bathroom was now down a long hallway.

When you’re four years old and wandering around the house at night, a new hallway looks five miles long with multiple side rooms, where giants are waiting to jump out and gobble up little kids for late-night snacks. “Daddy? ” the child asked. “Yeah son, ” the father groaned. “Please come with me. ” “Thanks for the invitation, son, but for some reason I’m tired. You go ahead. ”

Shuffle. Stop. Turn around. Shuffle. Back. “Daddy? ” “Yes, son. ” “Please come with me? ” “Okay. ” The father crawled out of bed and walked with his son. The child had never been this way before.

Neither had Mary. Luke writes. “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1: 39 -40). You remember. “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1: 26 -27). Gabriel announces that the Holy Spirit will come upon the virgin Mary and she will bear a son—Jesus.

Mary knew she had never been this way before. Her hallway looked five miles long with multiple side rooms, where giants were waiting to jump out and gobble her up for a late-night snack. How was Mary going to explain all of this to her parents? To Joseph? To her friends? You know the same sinking feeling. So do I.

Maybe you’re terrified at the thought of bringing a new child home or watching your last child leave home. Maybe you’re faced with a family situation that has your stomach tied up in knots. Maybe you’re not sure now was the right time to quit your job and begin our own business. Some of us are facing a future that only God knows because it is so painful, so private. Whatever our long, dark hallway, we know we’ve never been this way before.

Temptations are at least three-fold. First, do nothing. That’s what Mary could have done. Stay put in Nazareth. Close the curtains. Shut the doors. Block all calls. Not seek out anyone’s friendship or compassion. When we’re thrust into a difficult situation, it’s tempting to isolate ourselves, curl up into a fetal position and hope to die. Do nothing.

Second, make excuses. If anyone had a list of valid excuses, it had to be Mary. “I’m too young. I’m engaged to Joseph. We weren’t planning on starting a family so soon!” And the most obvious excuse, “I’m a virgin!” I recently found this list of excuses on the internet. “Billy was late for school today because his little brother replaced the milk in Billy’s cereal with Crazy Glue. Billy’s mouth stuck together and we needed to melt the glue. ”

A truck full of Vaseline crashed on the highway and cars were sliding all over the place. ” “I put my uniform in the microwave to dry it and it caught on fire. ” We all have a list of excuses as to why we won’t follow God’s leading down long, dark hallways. “I couldn’t find the right tools. ” “I threw out my back bowling. ” “I’m too busy, too tired and too old. ”

Third, become overwhelmed with fear. We couldn’t blame Mary if she had become paralyzed with fear as she listened to voices like, “Say no to courage and yes to caution. Expect the worst. Triple-lock all doors. Protect yourself in a tight radius of won’ts, don’ts, can’ts and quits. Think about every possible peril. Worry yourself sick with ‘What if? ’”

We all know these voices. Overwhelmed with fear, we become angry, short-fused and a bear to live with. Yet when God calls us to “go into ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown” he doesn’t call us to go alone. God knows that long, dark hallways aren’t conquered by promising, “I’ll be with you in spirit. ” A mystical, abstract, vague presence does no one any good. Just ask a four-year old. No. Dark hallways need real presence. And real presence is exactly what God delivers.

“When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ’” (Luke 1: 41 -43). Note the joy! Elizabeth’s baby—John the Baptist—leaps in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and rejoices.

Imagine what this does for Mary! It lifts her spirit. It gives her courage. It puts resolve in her heart and confidence in her future. There is more. Did you catch what Elizabeth says? She calls Mary “the mother of my Lord!” Jesus is Lord! Earlier in Luke 1 Gabriel calls Jesus “Son of the Most High. ” The one who will sit on “the throne of his father David” (Luke 1: 32). “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1: 33).

These are great names for Jesus, but there is no name higher than Lord. Jesus isn’t an assistant to God the Father or a junior-partner. Jesus isn’t the vice-president of the universe. Jesus is a full-fledged member of the godhead, equal with the Father and Holy Spirit, in every way—from eternity past. John says, “Through him all things were made” (John 1: 3). Paul proclaims, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1: 15). And the writer of Hebrews says Jesus is, “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1: 3). Jesus is Lord—God in the flesh!

Jesus our Lord took on flesh and blood so that he could take us into his arms, heal our hurts, forgive our sin and destroy our darkness. Jesus our Lord “came down and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit. ” He did it to be Emmanuel—God with us through life’s dark and difficult journeys. Jesus never stopped going down. He went so low as to humble himself to death—even death on a cross.

The source of truth, he’s found guilty of a lie. The source of light, for three hours he hangs in the darkness. The source of life, he’s crucified, dead and buried. This is no sentimental or syrupy love. But a fierce love for us. Driven by nails. Marked with scars. Crowned with thorns. And risen from the dead to reign and rule our lives with deep compassion and transforming grace.

What did Mary say when Elizabeth called her, “the mother of my Lord”? Luke tells us. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1: 46 -47). Mary walked down her long, dark hallway. And she did it with great joy!.

This is our song as well! “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. ” Jesus guides us by his real presence. His Gospel proclaimed; the baptismal deliverance remembered; the body and blood of the Eucharist celebrated

And with joy we await our final journey. The resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come! Because of Christ’s cleansing blood, his resurrection joy and the power of Pentecost, many believers have dared to march straight ahead. Paul tells us why in 2 Corinthians 2: 14: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ. ” Whatever your long, dark hallway looks like, listen—God is calling you to “Go. ”

But God guarantees you will never, ever go it alone. That’s why, with the confidence of Mary we take our step with these words, “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I will say, rejoice. ” Amen.

Hymn “Away in a Manger, ” Cedarmont Kids

Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Gracious Father, we long to live much less of a driven life and much more of a called life. We long to live with less fear and more freedom, less by frenzy and more by faith, with fewer obsessions and with much more adoration of you, the God of all peace. So we heed the words of St. Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always

Gracious Father, forgive the times when you call us forward and we do nothing and make excuses. Instead, enable us to be like Mary as we go forward, always forward, forever forward—marching to the words, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Again I will say, “Rejoice. ”

Gracious Father, for many of us what hinders most is fear. The fear of not being enough and having enough, the fear of losing face and losing control, the fear of missing the mark and missing out. Only your presence with us in Jesus our Lord can keep us from falling into the pit of worry and anxiety. That’s why we decide to, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Again I will say, “Rejoice. ”

Gracious Father, drive out everything in our lives that holds us back from full-hearted and all-out devotion to you. Your Son lived a life of perfect obedience for us as the second Adam, fulfilling everything you require of us. Christ’s resurrection from the dead on the third day is the first fruits and guarantee that one day we will be as lovely as you and as loving as you. What a glorious day that will be! That’s why we say, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Again I will say, “Rejoice. ”

Gracious Father, we place ourselves, these prayers and those we love before your throne of grace, trusting in the powerful and priceless name of Jesus. Amen. The Lord’s Prayer is spoken in unison.

Hymn “We Three Kings of Orient Are” Robert Shaw Corale

Benediction, Charge, and Blessing Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, rejoice.

Choral Benediction “Emmanuel” Maranatha Singers Emmanuel, His name is called Emmanuel, God with us, Revealed in us, His name is called, Emmanuel.

“The First Noel” Pentatonix

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Mission Statement The Kingsville Presbyterian Church is committed to spreading the teaching of Jesus Christ and caring for the blessings given to us by God, while providing for the needs of the congregation and community in a safe and friendly environment and keeping up with the changing nature of our world and the people in it.

Have a Safe and Blessed Week