Image: “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” Prince of Peace Abbey Oceanside, CA United States
©Order of Worship for Sunday December 24, 2023
Fourth Sunday of Advent
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video Click Here (Link opens in a new window)
The worship video will be available live at 11:00 am
Prelude:……………..“Jesu Bambino”………………..Greg D.
Words: Frederick Martens Music: Pietro Yon
Coming of the Light:…………………………………Michael C.
Greetings:…………………………………………….Pastor Steven
Opening Prayer:……………..……………..….Elizabeth B.
Let us join in prayer together
O God our Father, you have brought us again to the glad season when we celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant that his Spirit may be born anew in our hearts this day and that we may joyfully welcome him to reign over us.
Open our ears that we may hear again the angelic chorus of old.
Open our lips that we, too, may sing with uplifted hearts.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth, peace, good will toward all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lighting of the Advent Candles:……………Childs Family
Reader 1: When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, announcing God’s plan for her to conceive and give birth to the Messiah, “Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34) And yet, only a few months later, Mary sings to Elizabeth,
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will be blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me-holy is his name (Luke 1:46-49)
Reader 2: We, like Mary, hear God’s call to be part of making God’s dream for our salvation and flourishing a reality, and we question, “How can this be? I am only..” Yet, like Mary, the “onlys” that make us hesitate are gifts God can and will use as God’s love transforms us into bearers of good news.
Congregation: We wait as people who have encountered divine Love that disrupts the status quo and ushers us into abundant life marked by mutual love and peace that flows from the flourishing of all people.
Reader 1: We light these candles as signs of our shocking hope, our just peace, our fierce joy, and the love that transforms us. May Love grow within us, transforming us into bold witnesses of God’s salvation with our voices and our lives. Amen.
Light the four outer candles of the Advent wreath.
Opening Hymns:.“O Come, All Ye Faithful” #234 UMH v. 1-4
Words & music by John F. Wade circa 1743
1. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him, born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
2. True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
3. Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
4. See how the shepherds, summoned to his cradle,
leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
we too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” #218 UMH
Words by Edmund H. Sears, 1849 (Luke 2:8-14)
Music by Richard Storrs Willis, 1850
1. It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to all,
from heaven’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
to hear the angels sing.
2. Still through the cloven skies they come
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains,
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er its Babel sounds
the blessed angels sing.
3. And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!
4. For lo! the days are hastening on,
by prophet seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world send back the song
which now the angels sing.
Passing of the Peace:……………………………Pastor Steven
Let us show signs of reconciliation and love to one another
Gloria Patri: “Glory Be to the Father” #71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
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.
Announcements:…………………………………………..Lorri B.
Giving of our tithes and offerings:…….
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Offertory:…………“Breath of Heaven”…………Melanie B.
Words and Music: Amy Grant and Chris Eaton
Offertory Response: “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #94
The United Methodist Hymnal
Adapted © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674, adapted by Gilbert Vieira, 1978
Music: Geistliche Kirchengesänge, 1623; harmony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer After Receiving:………………………….Pastor Steven
Prayers of the People:……………………………Pastor Steven
Anthem:………..“Sweet Little Jesus Boy”………….Elizabeth B.
Words and Music: Robert MacGimsey arr. Linda McKechine
Gospel Lesson:……………Luke 1:46b-55……….Lusi R.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Hymn of Preparation: “Love Has Come” #3059 W&S
Words: Ken Bible Music: Traditional French
Words © 1996 LNWhymns.com
1. Love has come a light in the darkness! Love shines
forth in the Bethlehem skies. See, all heaven has
come to proclaim it; hear how their song of joy
arises: Love! Love! Born unto you, a Savior!
Love! Love! Glory to God on high.
2. Love is born! Come, share in the wonder. Love is
God now asleep in the hay. See the glow in the
eyes of his mother; what is the name her heart is
saying? Love! Love! Love is the name she whispers.
Love! Love! Jesus, Immanuel.
3. Love has come and never will leave us! Love is
life everlasting and free. Love is Jesus within and
among us. Love is the peace our hearts are seeking.
Love! Love! Love is the gift of Christmas. Love! Love!
Praise to you, God on high!
Sermon:..“The Excitement of a Mother to Be”..Pastor Steven
Closing Hymn:“Glory in the Highest” #3057 W&S
Words: Trad. Puerto Rican; English trans. By Gerhard Cartford
Music: Trad. Puerto Rican; arr. by Raquel Mora Martinez
Trans. © 1998 Augsburg Fortress; arr. © 2004 Raquel Mora Martinez
1. Glory in the highest and peace on the earth!
Glory in the highest and peace on the earth!
Sing out the glad tidings of our Savior’s birth!
Sing out the glad tidings of our Savior’s birth!
2. Jesus seeks no lodging that sets him apart;
Jesus seeks no lodging that sets him apart;
He looks for a dwelling, a home in your heart;
He looks for a dwelling, a home in your heart.
Dismissal with Blessing: ……..…………..Pastor Steven
Postlude:…………………“He Is Born”………………….Greg D.
Words: Trad. 19th cent. French carol
Music: 18th cent. French carol
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Sunday December 24th Morning Worship Service, Christmas Eve