Advent 2

Sunday, December 10, 2023
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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This second Sunday in Advent we welcome the Rev. Dr. Greg Garis, Leader of the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery, to our pulpit.

Join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship videos are available here or on Youtube following the service. You are invited!

Advent 2

“Traveling the Road”

Luke 3:4-6; Isaiah 40:1-11

Union Presbyterian Church

December 10, 2023

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

Liturgist: Ryan DeLap Preacher: Rev. Dr. Greg Garis

Welcome

Announcements Ryan DeLap

Prelude Colin DeLap

“Mary, Did You Know?” Carol Tornquist.

Used by permission, CCLI license #CSPL068847

* Lighting of the Advent Candle Call to Worship (responsive) Ryan DeLap

Make ready a pathway for our God.

Clean out the debris in our hearts and our closets.

Clear out a space in our calendars.

Put aside any sense of unworthiness

And focus on the One who comes to love us.

Prepare a place in our homes and hearts.

And allow us to sing to Christmas,

For Christ is Coming.

The Prince of Peace. (light candle)

* Hymn #154 W & R

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” Richard Proulx

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

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!

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.

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

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things, far and nigh;

To us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go.

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

O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind;

Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.

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

* Call to New Life Ryan DeLap

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

Holy God, every Advent, a voice calls us to walk the straight path. With clear and strong words, John demands we heed the call to live lives which give evidence of our repentance. Holy God, with your gentle gaze, help us look deep within. Loving God, help us examine our lifestyles: our comfort with ease while others struggle for bread, our tendency to blame the victim for being poor or homeless, our perpetual busyness which keeps us from taking time to see or listen to the hurts. Forgive us when we give only what we no longer want. Forgive us for needing a tax deduction to encourage our giving. Holy God, let the prophetic words turn our lives to seek and do your will. (Please continue in silent confession) Amen.

* Words of Assurance

"Comfort, O comfort my people," says our God.
You have served your term. Your penalty is paid.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
We are forgiven. We are free. Alleluia! Amen.

* Sharing of the Peace

The lighting of the second Advent candle reminds us of your promise of peace.

Let us open our hearts to that promise now.

May the peace of God be with you. 

And also with you.

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

Scripture Luke 3:4-6

[A]s it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Dr. Greg Garis

Music: “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” Carol Tornquist.

Used by permission, CCLI license #CSPL068847

Scripture Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, O comfort my people,

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that she has served her term,

that her penalty is paid,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All people are grass,

their constancy is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades;

but the word of our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good tidings;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,

lift it up, do not fear;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

See, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms,

and carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead the mother sheep.

Response  Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon “Traveling the Road” Rev. Dr. Greg Garis

* Statement of Faith

We believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth.

The one who is full of patience,

who is not afraid of silence,

who does not need to fill each moment with activity and noise.

The one who is beyond bluster and flurry,

and who does not jostle for attention.

We believe in God the Son, Savior of creation,

who slipped into Bethlehem one night, mostly unnoticed,

who lived thirty years without headlines or hurry,

who frequently took time alone with his patient Father,

who waited for the right time to become the suffering servant,

who stood quietly before the noise of his accusers,

whose silence overpowered their words,

who died, then rose again on a quiet Sunday morning.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit,

who strengthens, empowers, renews and refreshes,

sometimes arriving with obvious power,

sometimes with the quiet breath of a whisper.

We believe in one God

who patiently waits for us,

and who longs for us to do the same.

Anthem Choir

“Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People,” Joseph M. Martin, David Angerman

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Watchman tell us of the night.

Tell us of the coming Light.

Comfort, comfort ye, my people.

Sing of peace, thus saith our God.

Comfort those who sit in darkness,

Mourning ‘neath their heavy load.

Comfort, comfort ye, my people.

Speak unto Jerusalem.

Comfort, comfort ye, my people.

Sing them a song of peace.

Tell them their warfare is over.

Veni, veni, veni, Emmanuel!

O veni Emmanuel.

Behold the coming of the Lord!

Watchmen tell us of the night,

(Hark the voice of one who crieth.)

Tell us of the coming dawn.

(In the desert far and near.)

Fill our hearts with hope and light.

(Calling to a world in darkness.)

Fill our lives with joyful song.

(See the kingdom now is here.)

Veni, veni, veni, Emmanuel!

O veni Emmanuel.

Behold the coming of the Lord!

Comfort, comfort ye, my people.

Sing of peace, thus saith our God.

Comfort, comfort ye, my people.

Sing them a song of peace.

Tell them their warfare is over.

Sing alleluia! Sing alleluia!

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   # 469 W & R (verse 3)

“Lord of All Hopefulness,” Jan Struther

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,

Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace.

Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,

Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Call for Offering

* Doxology # 156 W & R

“On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”

(Public Domain)

To you, O Christ, all praises be,

Whose advent sets your people free;

Whom with the Father we adore

And Holy Spirit evermore!

* Prayer of Dedication

* Hymn  #185 W & R

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

(Public Domain)

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King:
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th'angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th'incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King.”

Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that we no more may die,
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

* Benediction

Postlude  Colin DeLap

“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” Jeff Bennett.

Used by permission, CCLI license #CSPL068847

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal