Worship from Home Nov. 29, 2020

HELPFUL LINKS

Blacknall Worship from Home
1st Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020

Invocation

Lord, as we enter into this season where we remember your coming to us in Bethlehem and where we long for your coming again; we come in this moment to ask you to come to us again by your Holy Spirit.  Open our hearts to receive you and your Word to us.  Amen.

Song |  “Come, O Redeemer, Come!”

Father enthroned on high, holy, holy,
Ancient, eternal Light, hear our prayer. 

Come, O Redeemer come, grant us mercy.
Come, O Redeemer come, grant us peace.

Lord, save us from the dark of our striving;
Faithless and troubled hearts, weighed down. 

Look now upon our need; Lord be with us.
Heal us and make us free from our sin.

Words and Music by Fernando Ortega © 1996, Metro One, Inc.  CCLI# 43066

Scripture reading | Advent Week 1 - Hope

Light one purple candle….
The first candle represents the hope that Jesus brings.

(Need any Advent Wreath? Sign up here.)

 Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
the zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Prayer:  Faithful God, Your promises stand unshaken through all generations.  Renew us in hope, that we may be awake and alert watching for the glorious return of Jesus Christ, our Judge and Savior, in whose blessed name we pray.  Amen.      

Song |  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Desire of Nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace. 

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Author un­known, possibly 12th Century (Veni, veni Emanuel).
Loosely translated from Latin to English by John Neale, 1851.
Music based on 15th Century tune used by Franciscan nuns as part of a funeral rite. 

Call to Confession

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here.”  Do we recognize ourselves in this lyric?  Do we see how we are captive to sin and death and our “sad divisions”?  Do we experience the loneliness of exile, driven from home and security and God’s shalom by our own sinful desires and fears?  Each week we stop and confess that we are lost and without hope, except for the fact that our God, Emmanuel, has come to us.  Come, let us kneel and confess our utter need before him.

Prayer of Confession

Lord, we have just sung that you are our Dayspring, our Hope, and we confess to you that we perpetually deceive ourselves into misplacing our hope in ourselves, our strength, our capabilities, our “good ideas.”

Lord, we have just sung that you are the Desire of Nations and we confess to you that we have over and over again placed our hope for peace in domination and violence so that we are at war against our enemies, without and within.

Lord, we have just sung that you are the Key of David and we confess to you that we have wandered from your Way and that we are lost unless you come and seek us out.  And so, Lord Jesus, we pray, “Come, O Come, Emmanuel!”  Seek us and find us and renew our hearts and minds so that we may rejoice that the lost has been found, by your mercy.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Beloved,  this is true: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

Passing the Peace

May the peace of the Lord be with you.
Response: And also with you 

Affirmation of Faith | Apostles Creed               

We 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 Spirit, 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 sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Children’s Blessing

With Leslie Petree.

Children’s Worship

If you would like to receive the Children’s Worship video email, please contact Beth Solie. 

Proclamation of the Word | Pastor Goodie Bell

The sermon is provided above in video and audio format.

Luke 1:5-25
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Song of Response | “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us –
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.

Come to earth to taste our sadness,
He whose glories knew no end;
By His life He brings us gladness,
Our Redeemer, shepherd, Friend.
Leaving riches without number,
Born within a cattle stall;
This the everlasting wonder:
Christ was born the Lord of all!

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever;
Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne!

Words by Charles Wesley, 1744; verse 2 by Mark Hunt, 1978.  Tune “Hyfrydol”

Presenting Our Gifts | Online Giving

You are invited to respond to God’s Word by giving to the mission God has called us to at Blacknall. Your financial giving includes support of Tom & Judy Harvey in Oxford, England; John & Jeanie Hamilton on campus with Navigators, and Housing for New Hope of Durham. Read their prayer requests here.

Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession

(As you pray the following petitions, you are encouraged to pause and lift to the Lord particular concerns or people or events. Read prayer requests from Blacknall members and ministry partners here.)

Lord, as we enter into this season of Advent, we thank you for the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Ours is a story that feels unbelievable and when we hear that you are with us and for us, with Zechariah we ask, “How can we be sure of this?”  We are grateful that we can be sure because one greater than Gabriel has told us and has made it plain.  Lord, in your mercy, help us to live in the confident hope of the truth of the Gospel.  Help us to live expectant lives--expectant of your presence with us now and expectant of the Day when you come again.

Lord, we pray that we would live in the perseverance of hope even as we are faced with illness and death and our own grief…

Lord, we pray that we would live in the perseverance of hope even as we are confronted with our own sinfulness, both individual and corporate…

Lord, we pray that we would live in the perseverance of hope even as we are separated from one another by this virus…

And Lord, as Zechariah was struck dumb because of his unbelief, we pray that our lips would be set free to sing your praises and to tell our neighbors, our friends, the good news of what you have done for us.  Make us bold and wise to declare this Good News.  And, we pray that you would open the hearts and minds of our neighbors and friends to receive this Good News…

Lord, as we enter into this Advent season, we pray that our hearts would be filled with thanksgiving and that we would never forget your love for us in Jesus Christ,

who taught us to pray…

Our Father...

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. 

Benediction

Song | “The First Noel”

Then let us all with one accord sing
praises to our heavenly Lord,
Who hath made heaven and earth of naught,
and with His blood our life hath bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel!