Setting the Stage
December 5, 2021
Call to WorshipPsalm 29:1-2
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Invocation
Hymn of Praise“Angels, from the Realms of Glory”#131
Scripture ReadingDeuteronomy 7:1-11
Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon Psalm 65:2-4a
O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!
Hymn of Assurance “Holy Child”HMA #49
Confession of FaithHeidelberg Catechism #69-71
Q. 69How does baptism remind you and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross is for you personally?
In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and His Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins.
Q. 70What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?
To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for me in His sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life.
Q. 71Where does Christ promise that we are washed with His blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?
In the institution of baptism where He says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins.
Pastoral Prayer
Choral Anthem“And Glory Shone Around”
Presentation of Tithes and Offerings
The Preaching of God’s Word “Setting the Stage”
Matthew 1:1-17
Hymn of Preparation “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (1) #124
The Lord’s Supper
Hymn of Response “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (2) #124
Benediction Hebrews 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
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