If you’re going to build a home, you must lay a foundation. God lays the foundation for the marvelous miracle of incarnation through the birth of the prophet, John the Baptist, and songs of jubilation are sung!

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Online Bulletin

Advent 2: Laying the Foundation of Peace

Union Presbyterian Church

December 5, 2021

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Ryan DeLap Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Prelude “Still Still Still,” Jon Schmidt Colin DeLap, piano

Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Handbell Introit “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (Public Domain)

Call to Worship Ryan DeLap

If life was a home, then we would pray—

may love be the foundation.

May God be the cornerstone.

May the Spirit be the windows—ushering light in.

And may hope be the walls—holding us together.

In this hour of worship, let us work toward building that home together.

We may not know the path ahead, but God is here, even now.

Let us give thanks for a foundation of love.

Let us worship Holy God.

Hymn “Zechariah’s Lullaby”

When old Zechariah held his baby son,

He blessed him and dreamed of what he would become.

As baby John rocked in the temple that morn,

This song Zechariah sang for his newborn:

“And you, child, will be called a prophet of Christ,

To bring hope to hearts and to shadows the light.

For God has sent visions of what you will do:

A dream to proclaim and a world to renew”

We lay a foundation for what is to be,

Not knowing yet praying for what we can’t see.

We trust in God’s imagination to build

From blueprints and hope for a dream yet fulfilled.

Lighting of the Second Advent Candle Angel and Colin and Clara DeLap

As we reflect on the foundation of our faith in our lives,

we gather together around the candle of peace.

The home we long for is a home that knows peace—

peace that rests between us and our grief,

peace around our anxiety,

peace between us and our self-criticism,

peace amidst our relationships,

peace at the core of our being,

peace hovering through and in our world.

The home we long for is a home that knows peace.

So today we light the candle of peace—as a reminder and as a prayer.

Let it be so. Amen.

Call to New Life

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

Holy God,

When John was Born, Zechariah leaned down and whispered words of love into his ear. We know that you do the same for us, day in and day out, yet we fail to hear it.

We forget that in the beginning we were made good.

We doubt that we could possibly be enough.

We hustle for our self-worth and wear ourselves out aiming for perfection.

We deflect words of praise.

We hide behind shiny first impressions.

Forgive us. Trusting our worth is the hardest job.

Open our ears as you open our hearts, so that we might rest on the foundation of goodness you have laid for us.

Gratefully we pray, amen.

Assurance of God’s Love

Family of faith, no matter how old we get,

God continues to say to us: “You are loved; you are forgiven.”

That is the foundation of our lives.

That is the truth upon which we build our home.

So breathe deeply. There is grace and peace here.

Join me in proclaiming this good news:

We are loved. We are forgiven. We are claimed. This is our foundation. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

Scripture Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube

Music: “We Light the Advent Candles” (Public Domain)

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism of Angel and Clara Faith DeLap

Presentation

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman,

everyone who drinks of this water

will be thirsty again.

But those who drink from the water that I will give them

will never be thirsty.

The water that I will give will become in them

a spring of water, gushing up to eternal life.

The woman said to him,

Sir, give me this water

so that I may never be thirsty. ~John 4:13-15

As many of you we were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

There is no longer Jew or Greek,

there is no longer slave or free,

there is no longer male and female;

for all are one in Christ Jesus. ~Galatians 3:27-28

… Pastor (to the Congregation): Do you, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture Angel and Clara Faith by word and deed, with love and prayer?

Congregation: We do.

Pastor: Will you encourage her to know and follow Christ, and to be faithful members of his church?

Congregation: We will.

Profession of Faith

… With the whole church let us confess our faith.

Pastor: Do you believe in God, the Gather almighty?

All: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Pastor: Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

All: I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Pastor: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

All: I 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.

Thanksgiving Over the Water

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

… By your Holy Spirit, bless this water, gracious God. Create new life in the ones baptized this day, that they may rise in Christ. Glory to you, eternal God, the one who was, and is, and shall always be. Amen.

The Baptism

O Lord, uphold Angel / Clara Faith by your Holy Spirit.

Give her the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord,

the spirit of joy in your presence,

both now and forever. Amen.

Angel/ Clara Faith, child of the covenant,

you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism,

and marked as Christ’s own forever. Amen.

Welcome

Pastor: Angel and Clara Faith, you have been received into the Church of Jesus Christ through Baptism. By the Holy Spirit’s power, you have become members of the household of God, to share with us in the ministry of Christ and the priesthood of all believers.

Congregation: With joy and thanksgiving we welcome you into the body of Christ.

Pastor: The peace of Christ be with you.

Congregation: And also with you.

Scripture Luke 1:57-80

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
  that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
    and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
    to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation Rev. Pat Raube

Anthem “He Came Down,” Jane Holstein

Chris Bartlette Piano, Colin DeLap, djembe

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

He came down that we may have love;

Hallelujah forevermore.

He came down that we may have peace;

Hallelujah forevermore.

He came down that we may have joy;

Hallelujah forevermore.

He came down that we may have life;

Hallelujah forevermore.

Minute for Mission The Joy Offering Peg Corwin, Mission Committee

Prayers of the People

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.

Prayer Response  #173 W & R “Sing Out My Soul – Magnificat”

Jacques Berthier, Taizé

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Sing out, my soul. Sing out, my soul.

Sing out and glorify the Lord who sets us free.

Sing out, my soul. Sing out, my soul.

Sing out and glorify the Lord God!

Call for Offering   

Doxology    “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Tune: Public Domain

Text: Brian Wren 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low.

Praise God, in Jesus fully known:

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Prayer of Dedication   

Hymn  #152 W & R Chris Bartlette, piano, Colin DeLap, djembe

“Prepare the Way O Zion,” Charles P. Price

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near!

Let every hill and valley a level way appear.

Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion; he comes from heaven above.

His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth, and love.

Lift high your praise resounding, for grace and joy abounding.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion; you Savior’s rule embrace.

His tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.

All lands will bow before him, their voices will adore him.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Benediction  

As you leave this service, your service begins:

Comfort the homesick.

Open your doors to others.

Seek sanctuary.

Be brave enough to go home by another way.

And remember that here in God’s house, all are welcomed—so come back soon.

In the name of our Foundation—God, Spirit, and Son—go in peace.

Postlude Colin DeLap, piano

 “Carol of the Bells,” Mark Kellner

Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Worship Words Adapted from “Close to Home,” A Sanctified Art. Used with permission.

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Advent 2: Laying the Foundation