Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2024 | 10:00am
Rev. Jeremy Campbell, Temporary Pastor | Larry J. Carey, Director of Music
Thought for Worship: “Perhaps the path toward creating a home for all requires some deconstruction. Some of our structures are rotting. Some of our institutions are compromised. Some of our rituals need repair. And yet, nothing is beyond redemption. Collective belonging gives way for collective joy—joy that is free and full.” Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity
GATHERING
Welcome
Prelude Silent Night | arr. McDonald/Wood
Introit Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming | arr. Spevacek
Call to Worship
Votum
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Amen
Opening Sentences
A voice calls out in the wilderness.
It sings of a home for all. It speaks of justice and peace.
We could choose to ignore it.
We could drown out that song. We could choose not to listen.
Instead, we come into this space.
We let the world grow quiet. We listen.
A voice calls out in the wilderness.
Do you hear it?
We hear it. In listening, we worship.
Let us draw near to God.
Salutation
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Amen.
Candle Lighting Liturgy
A: Joy is seeing people you love after months apart.
B: Joy is hearing, “Come on over, it has been too long!”
A: Joy is the stretches and giggles of a newborn child.
B: Joy is making it home when the journey is long.
A: Joy is your dog sliding to meet you at the door.
B: Joy is the energy of a new season.
A: Joy is feeling found when you thought you were lost.
B: So today we light the candle of joy, because the welcome God has for us is nothing short of joyful.
A: Rest in that good news. Let it wash over you.
B: Family of faith, we are close to home. Amen.
*Hymn of Praise A Home for All
Call to Confession
It takes courage to tell the truth. John the Baptist knew it. His job as a prophet certainly could not have been easy. And you and I know it. Our job as people of faith—to create a home for all—has never been easy. In our prayer of confession, may we channel some of John the Baptist's courage to tell the truth about ourselves and our world. We do not do this to shame ourselves or guilt ourselves for being imperfect. We speak the truth out loud because we know that we cannot grow and change without first being honest. So let us be brave. Let us be bold. Let us be truth-tellers as we confess together now to a God who couldn’t love us any more than God already does. Let us pray. . .
Prayer of Confession
We know that the church is your house, and your house has room for everyone. Yet, too often, instead of setting the table for our neighbors, we block the door. Instead of welcoming all, we judge others by our own standards. Instead of sharing our second coat, we hide it in the attic, holding on to fear instead of letting go with love. Remind us that your home is a home for all, that truth requires hard work, that truth requires uncomfortable justice. Help us to be bold enough to see it and brave enough to live it. With hope we pray, Amen.
Words of Forgiveness
Family of faith, God sent prophets like John the Baptist to us because this work is not easy. Helping create a world where all might have a home, and all might be loved, and all might know peace, is an audacious goal. Fortunately for us, when we mess up—when we lose our way or forget our call—we are met with grace. God could not love us any more or any less than God already does. So rest in this good news:
We are at home with God—forgiven, claimed, and loved. The door is always open for us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
The Law of God:
*Gloria Patri | #579
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.
*Commitment to Peace Keeping and Peace Seeking
One: May the peace of Christ be with you!
All: And also with you!
Share a sign of peace with one another. After sharing the peace, let us all sing together:
Together, by grace, we witness and work, remembering Jesus, in whom we grow strong. Together we serve in Spirit and truth, remembering love is the strength of our song.
THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem God’s Mother Be | Culloton
Prayer for Illumination
God, whose love is like the sun warming me from the inside,
if you are my home,
then your word is the street light guiding me there.
So I want you to know—
I am walking your way,
we are walking your way,
and we are looking for a light.
And our feet are dirty—
we’ve lost our way a time or two.
And our bags are heavy—
we’re carrying an array of grief and fear on our backs.
But we’re on our way.
We’re looking for your light.
We’re listening for your word.
When you see us coming,
when you feel our hearts move,
we hope you’ll run down the driveway and catch us.
Leave the light on.
We are on our way home.
Gratefully we pray, Amen.
First Reading: Micah 5:2-5a
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
*Hymn: Comfort Comfort You My People
Second Reading: Luke 1:57-80
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Sermon: “A Home for All (Joy)” | Rev. Campbell
Silent Reflection
THE RESPONSE TO GOD
*Affirmation of Faith (Apostles’ Creed)
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offering There is a Promise, God has Said | Huffman
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen!
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession (ending with the Lord’s Prayer)
God of open doors and porch lights,
of welcome mats and candles in the window—
we cannot thank you enough for your open door policy.
You are forever welcoming us home.
In a world that puts hand rails on park benches so that those without a roof over their heads cannot lay down, you offer something radically different.
You welcome all of us, just as we are.
You paint a picture of a world that could be.
You remind us that there is enough love to go around, and that neighbor helping neighbor is who we are called to be.
Thank you for the voice in the wilderness that calls to us.
Thank you for the radical welcome and the unchanging love.
Today, God, we give extra gratitude for the people and places that are home to
us, but we also pray for all those without a home.
We pray for immigrants and refugees navigating the waters of trauma, change, and loss.
We pray for those who experience homelessness and for those scraping
together every coin to pay last month’s rent. We pray for those who do not feel at home in their body—
assigned a gender or an identity that does not fit their spirit. We pray for those who do not feel at home in your church—wounded by strict rules or judgmental accusations. We pray for those who long to build a home with another, but instead find themselves eating another meal alone.
God, there are so many who need a home, so help us be builders of that new day. Give us the courage of John, who saw a way forward so clearly. Turn our words into action and our conviction into change.
Gracious God, you are a God of open doors and welcome home celebrations.
Teach us to be the same.
And as we learn,
and as we grow,
we continue to pray the words your son taught us to pray, saying…
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, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
SENDING
*Hymn Joy to the World!
Benediction
As you leave this service, your service begins:
Comfort the homesick.
Open your doors to others.
Seek sanctuary.
Be brave enough to go home by another way.
And remember that here in God’s house, all are welcomed—so come back soon.
In the name of our Foundation—God, Spirit, and Son— go in peace.
Congregational Response
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates, Behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near; The Savior of the world is here!
Redeemer, come! I open wide My heart to Thee;
here, Lord, abide. Let me Thy inner presence feel; Thy grace and love in me reveal.
Postlude Come Thou Long Expected Jesus | arr. McDonald/Wood
DEAR FRIENDS
Welcome to worship here at Peapack Reformed Church! If you are visiting with us, welcome! If you are a member, welcome back! Our mission is to be a congregation called by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world. This mission is the catalyst for all that we do, and is our aim for who we want to be.
If you are visiting with us via Facebook Live and would like more information about our church, send us a message on Facebook or email office@peapackreformed.org and we will be in touch with you. Even under these odd and anxious circumstances, we would love to be your church home. Our virtual doors are always open wide and our hearts are always ready to welcome new faces into our fellowship.
FOOD PANTRY NEWS
Many thanks for all those who have shared their abundance with neighbors in need.
Our church refrigerators have plenty of space to hold even more!
Please consider making a weekly donation of eggs or milk to the P-G Food Pantry.
Peapack Reformed Church is a congregation called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.
CALLED • EMPOWERED • COMMITTED