Immanuel, God with us

Lord’s Day Divine Worship

December 19, 2021 at 1:30 pm

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

—Isaiah 52:7

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Introit                 Choir

“Comfort, Comfort, O My People”

Comfort, comfort O my people, tell of peace now says our God;

Comfort those who sit in darkness bowed beneath oppression’s load.

Speak unto Jerusalem; speak of peace that waits for them;

tell that all their sins I cover; tell that warfare is now over.

Hark, the herald’s voice is calling in the desert far and near,

Bidding us to make repentance since the kingdom now is near.

O that warning cry obey: Now prepare for God a way;

Let the valleys rise to meet him; let the hills bow down to greet him.

O make straight what long was crooked, make the rougher places plain;

Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits God’s holy reign.

See the glory of the Lord now o’er earth is shed abroad;

All the world shall see this token, God’s own word is never broken.

Taken from “Trinity Hymnal Revised Edition”, ©1990 Great Commission Publications, Inc. Used by permission.

Call to Worship*                                                                    Isaiah 60:1-2

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth

and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you

and His glory will appear upon you.

Hymn of Praise*            #208

“O Come, All Ye Faithful”

Invocation*

Confession of Faith                           The Chalcedonian Creed

“We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the virgin Mary, the mother of God, according to the manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.”

Preparation for Confession of Sin                         James 1:19-27

This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Silent Confession of Sin

Corporate Confession of Sin

Assurance of Pardon                                                               1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hymn of Assurance*                                                                #196

“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”

Giving of Tithes and Offerings      

(Please fill out the fellowship pads at this time and pass them down the aisle.)                   

Prayer of Response

Scripture Reading*

Isaiah 9:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Doxology*

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Taken from “Trinity Hymnal Revised Edition”, ©1990 Great Commission Publications, Inc. Used by permission.

Preaching of God’s Word                                     Pastor Jim Claycomb

“Immanuel—God with us”

Matthew 1:18-25

Hymn of Affirmation                              #203

“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”

Blessing*                                                                   2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Benediction*

 “Gloria Patri”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,

And to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning,

Is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen, amen.

Taken from “Trinity Hymnal Revised Edition”, ©1990 Great Commission Publications, Inc. Used by permission.

Postlude*