PROVIDENCE CHURCH

November 28, 2021

 

Welcome

Passing of the Peace: Though we are separated by distance our hearts are one in Christ. The peace of Christ be with you!  And also with you!

 

 

Call to Worship:   Isaiah 9:6-7

Leader:  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

Congregation:  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Leader:  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,

Congregation:  upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it,

Leader:  and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.

ALL:  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

 

Songs of Praise:

O Come, All Ye Faithful (Latin hymn, attr. to John Francis Wade, 1751)

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.

 

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,

Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above;

Glory to God, 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.

 

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning:

Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,

O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

 

Good Christian Men, Rejoice (Medieval Latin carol, tr. by John Mason Neale, 1853; German melody, 14th century)

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today;

Earth and heav’n before him bow, and he is in the manger now.

Christ is born today! Christ is born today!

 

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Now ye hear of endless bliss: Jesus Christ was born for this!

He hath opened heaven’s door, and man is blessed forevermore.

Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

 

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;

Now ye need not fear the grave: Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all to gain his everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

 

 

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Charles Wesley, 1744 [st. 1.4]; Mark Hunt, 1978 [st.2,3]; tune Rowland Pritchard, 1855)

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art,

Dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

 

Joy to those who long to see thee, Dayspring from on high, appear;

Come, thou promised Rod of Jesse, of thy birth we long to hear!

O’er the hills the angels singing news, glad tidings of a birth:

“Go to him, your praises bringing; Christ the Lord has come to earth.”

 

Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end;

By his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.

Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;

This the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all.

 

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,

Born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal Spirit, rule in all our hearts alone;

By thine all-sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.

 

 

 

 

 

Confession/Assurance    

 

Our Father Who art in Heaven, You teach us that Your name is holy even as You are holy. You have revealed yourself to us by Your name Father. We revere Your name above all and everything, for You are holy. You have set Your seal upon us in baptism and placed Your name on us claiming us as Your very own. We thank You, Father, that you have washed us with the cleansing flow of Jesus’ blood and sanctified us to be his own as Kingdom subjects. We confess that by the things we have done and left undone that we have profaned Your holy name. Forgive us Lord for Jesus’ sake. Help us dear Father to believe Your holy Word and lead godly lives in thought, word and deed, so that Your name may indeed be holy in our lives and that others may see You in us and glorify You for Your great grace in Christ.

 

Respond in Praise:

 

 

The Holly and Ivy (Traditional British folk carol)

The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown,

Of all trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

O, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,

the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.

 

The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flow’r,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our dear Savior.

O, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,

the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.

 

The holly bears a berry as red as any blood,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, to do poor sinners good.

O, the rising of the sun, and the running of the deer,

the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.

 

The holly bears a prickle, as sharp as any thorn

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas in the morn.

O, the rising of the sun, and the running of the deer,

the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.

 

The holly bears a bark, as bitter as the gall,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.

O, the rising of the sun, and the running of the deer,

the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.

 

 

Scripture Reading:    Luke 1:26-38

 

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

 

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

 

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

 

This is the Word of the Lord.   Thanks be to God!

Sermon:  ” Mary ”                                                                                               Rev. Chad Smith              

 

Hymn of Dedication

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Latin antiphons, 12th cent.; Latin hymn 1710, tr. By John Neale, 1851; tune Plainsong, 13th cent.)

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 Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell thy people save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

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

 

O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;

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 Key of David, come and open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

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

 

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.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil:

for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.  Amen

 

Hymn of Thanksgiving

Joy to the World (Isaac Watts, 1719; tune George Frederick Handel, 1742)

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing,

and heaven and nature sing, and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

 

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns: let me their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy,

repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

 

No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse Is found,

Far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found.

 

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love,

and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.

 

Benediction 

 

WELCOME to our guest pastor, Rev Chad Smith from House of Mercy Asheville

 

KNOW

Welcome to Providence Church! We are glad that you are here, joining us in person or via Zoom!.

Sunday School:   Adult and Youth Sunday School is at 11:15. Paula Rhodarmer will be teaching.   Will/Christina are leading a study of The Risen Lord for couples/singles. Bill/Jerry are leading the Youth SS in a classic book by CS Lewis.

Fellowship Time: Between the end of our worship service and before SS

Children of all ages are invited to participate in the entire service of worship.  Childcare for children up to 6 years of age, in our downstairs Christian Ed wing (on the left) at the end of the hallway.

Nursery Worker Needed –     Providence is looking to hire a part time nursery worker for each Sunday from 9:45 to 12noon.  Please contact Edward Brouwer 828-550-4615, or Linda Wilson, 901-230-7178, providencechurchassistant@gmail.com, if you are interested or know of anyone that might be.  Also, please be in prayer that God will guide this process. Thank you!

 

GROW

Pastor Bible Study – meets each Tuesday at noon in the fellowship hall to discuss the previous week’s sermon as well as the upcoming sermon.   Bring your Bible and a bagged lunch if you would like.

Women’s Prayer Group – 10:15am Tuesday mornings, contact Linda Roberts for more info

Men’s Prayer Group – 6:45am Thursday mornings, contact Sam Mitchell for more info.

Wed. Night Bible Study:  NO BIBLE STUDY THIS WEDNESDAY

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Haywood Children’s Outreach:  Would you like to help Christ love shine in a special way this Christmas for children in Haywood County? Providence Church is donating a Storybook Bible for those children affected by the flooding in Cruso.  The Bibles will be distributed at an event December 4, “Hope for the Holidays”, a workshop for those who have suffered loss during the past year.  To make a monetary gift donation, mark it for “Haywood Children’s Outreach”.   Any surplus funds from this collection, along with other mission funds will be used to help purchase Bibles for the Junaluska Bible Club’s Christmas party.

Salvation Army Bell Ringing:  It’s that time of year! We have the privilege of ringing the bell for Salvation Army donations.  Providence has the date of December 7th, from 10:00am to 8:00pm.  Each slot is for one hour.  The sign up sheet is in the Narthex.  You can also contact Bill Allsbrook, 828-734-4536.

Open Door Soup Kitchen: This is an ongoing commitment of Providence Church to the least, the last, the lost and the lonely of our community.  While Open Door is no longer able to serve meals, we are still volunteering to cook the meals on the first Friday of each month.  If you can serve in this way, please let Linda Wilson know at 901-230-7178.  Thanks for your faithfulness.  Please join us this Friday, Dec 3, 2021 to bless and be blessed.

 

 

Prayer Requests: Deaths: Glenn Glad (prayers for Glad family) Healing: Glenda White, Judd and Susanne Heriot, Robbie Hargrove, Mike Lear, Chuck & Carole Torpy; Thom Morgan’s mother; Lisa Rhodarmer’s mother Ruth and brother Michael; Sarah Altman’s brother-in-law Dan