November 30, 2008
MORNING WORSHIP 10:00 A.M.
The First Sunday of Advent

(Please pass the red pew pads now. If you are a guest this Sunday, we would love
to greet you following the service or at coffee fellowship in the Friendship Lounge and the Atrium.)

PRELUDE Adagio from Sonata No. 1 in G minor J.S. Bach Jerry Loughney, Violin

CHIMES AND TOWER BELLS

CALL TO WORSHIP Rev. Steven A. Peay, Ph.D.
Liturgist: We wait in grace for the coming of Jesus.
People: We wait in faith for the coming of Christ.
Liturgist: We wait for earthly things to pass away.
ALL: We wait for a new heaven and a new earth!

*HYMN 89 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

*PRAYER OF THE DAY and THE LORD’S PRAYER (unison)
Holy God, we know that you will keep your covenant with us. Help us to ready ourselves for your presence and your power in our lives. Show us how to care for others, to devote ourselves to your holy work, and to stay alert to meet you in the common corridors of our lives. We rest in the arms of your never-failing care, knowing that you will bring us the peace that passes all human understanding.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray: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.

*THE GLORIA PATRI (Hymn 558)

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.

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS Rev. Samuel Schaal

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH Roger, Kathryn, Julia & Phillip Jacobi

Reader 1: Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting. We wait for God to send God’s love and light into our dark, human world.
Reader 2: How does this happen?
Reader 1: God’s most perfect love comes through Jesus. Jesus became a human being just like you and me, so that he could show us God’s light and saving love.
All: “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Reader 3: A reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 1:4-7)
Reader 1: Today, we wait for God to send Jesus to us, Jesus who is the Light of the world. We wait for a time of healing, of wholeness, of peace, of justice, of shalom in our world. We begin in the dark, and on this first Sunday of Advent, we light the first candle.
[First candle is lit. While the candle is being lit, the following is read:]
Reader 2: Every week in Advent, we will light another candle. Each candle that we light will remind us that the Light of the World will soon come to us in the human form of the baby Jesus.
All: The Kingdom of God is drawing near. Give us grace in the midst of our darkness to wait patiently for the Light of the World who will bring God’s shalom to everyone in the world. Amen.

HYMN 88 Canticle of the Turning (verse 1)

THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Isaiah 64:1-9 Rev. Robert J. Brink Bible, page 680 Children’s Bible, page 1056

INVITATION TO SUNDAY SCHOOL

THE PSALMODY (responsively) Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (from The Message, a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson)

Listen, Shepherd, Israel's Shepherd—
get all your Joseph sheep together.

Throw beams of light
from your dazzling throne
so Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
can see where they're going.

Get out bed—you've slept long enough!
Come on the run before it's too late.

God, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
while your people call for fire and brimstone?

You put us on a diet of tears,
bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.

You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
our enemies poke fun day after day.

God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
the child you raised to adulthood.

We will never turn our back on you;
breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!

God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

GOSPEL LESSON Mark 13:24-37 Bible, page 925 Children’s Bible, page 1450

SOLO O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion Handel Jill Bruss, Alto, and Jerry Loughney, Violin

SERMON “Keeping Watch” Rev. Schaal

*HYMN 221 O Day of God, Draw Nigh

THE CALL TO PRAYER and SILENT MEDITATION

THE PRAYER OF MINISTER AND PEOPLE

OFFERTORY

ANTHEM Prepare the Royal Highway Ellingboe

*THE DOXOLOGY (Hymn 563)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION

*HYMN 267 Morning Has Broken

*THE CHARGE and BENEDICTION

*POSTLUDE Improvisation on an Advent Hymn Tune

*The congregation is invited to stand.

**The candle lighting liturgy is by The Rev. Sheila N. McJilton, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Laurel, MD

CARE FOR CHILDREN

A nursery for infants and toddlers is available during the 10:00 a.m. service.
Sunday School for children 4 years through entering 8th grade.

Worship Preview for Sunday, December 7 10:00 A.M.
Rev. Steven Peay will offer the sermon entitled “Well Begun….”
Thomas Gregory is the organist.
Lee Jacobi directs the Choir of First Church.

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS WORSHIP & PROGRAMS

Sunday, December 7
Christmas Workshop at 3 p.m.
Pizza Supper after Workshop at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, December 9
Christmas Family Dinner
Gathering at 6 p.m.
Meal served at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 14
Christmas Pageant at 10 a.m.
Christmas Choirs’ Concert at 4 p.m.

Sunday, December 21
Contemplative Worship at 8 a.m.
Lessons and Carols at 10 a.m.

Christmas Eve – Wednesday, December 24
PF Play & Family Service at 4 p.m.
Communion Candlelight Service at 7 p.m.
Candlelight Choral Service at 11 p.m.

Sunday, December 28
Contemplative Worship at 8 a.m.
Traditional Worship Service at 10 a.m.