Loving God and loving neighbor here in central Vermont and to the ends of the earth—all to the glory of God.
December 28
Prelude
Selah Cheng
Welcome and Announcements
σ Listen for upcoming events and ways you can get involved.
Pastor Josh
Lighting the Candles
σ Jesus is the light of the world.
Acolytes
Statement of Faith—Heidelberg Cat Q&A 35
σ Confess what you believe about the Christian faith.
Pastor Josh
L: What does it mean that he “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary”?
C: That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that he might also become David’s true descendant, like his brothers and sisters in every way except for sin.
Greeting Your Neighbors
σ Greet your neighbors in the name of the Lord.
Congregation
Call to Worship—Isaiah 52:7-10
σ Hear God call you to worship through his word.
Charlie Stabolepszy
L: The Lord calls us to worship and we respond. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
C: The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Opening Prayer
σ Invite God to work in you as you worship today.
Charlie Stabolepszy
Worship Songs
σ Join with the congregation in praise to God.
Selah Cheng and Pastor Josh
#71—Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Verse 1
Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia, Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King,
Alleluia, Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
before His throne rejoice;
praise is His gracious choice,
Alleluia, Amen!
Verse 2
Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia, Amen!
Let praises fill the sky,
Alleluia, Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend,
to us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end,
Alleluia, Amen!
Verse 3
Praise yet our Christ again,
Alleluia, Amen!
Life shall not end the strain,
Alleluia, Amen!
On heaven’s blissful shore
His goodness we’ll adore,
singing forevermore,
“Alleluia, Amen!”
#30—Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Verse 1
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Verse 2
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
Verse 3
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.
Verse 4
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee. Amen.
Speak O Lord
Verse 1
Speak O Lord as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy word
Take Your truth plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak O Lord and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory
Verse 2
Teach us Lord full obedience
Holy reverence true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of power that can never fail
Let their truth prevail over unbelief
Verse 3
Speak O Lord and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us
Speak O Lord till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory
Scripture Meditation—Matthew 7:24-27 (p. 966 in Pew Bible)
σ Hear a reading from the Gospel that relates to the sermon text.
Megan Moore
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Congregational Prayer
σ Join together in prayer and lift your concerns to our gracious God.
Charlie Stabolepszy
The Lord’s Prayer
σ In closing, pray the words that Jesus taught us to pray.
Congregation
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 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, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Children Dismissed for Program
Audrey Zhang
Scripture Reading—Psalm 1 (p. 528 in Pew Bible)
σ Read this portion of God’s word.
Scott Puopolo
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
L: The grass withers and the flower fades.
C: But the word of our God will stand forever.
Sermon
σ Hear God’s word proclaimed and explained.
Pastor Bob Bove
Song of Response—#237 How Firm a Foundation
σ Respond to the preaching of the word with song.
Selah Cheng and Pastor Josh
Verse 1
How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Verse 2
“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.”
Verse 3
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
Verse 4
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”
Verse 5
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!” Amen.
Extinguishing the Candles
σ You are the light of the world.
Acolytes
Benediction
σ Receive a parting blessing.
Pastor Josh
Postlude
Selah Cheng