December 22, 2013 - Fourth Sunday in Advent

PRELUDE:

Overture (Messiah), G.F. Handel
Greensleeves, arr. Richard Purvis

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)             

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION, Jeanne and Steve Sarran

Leader:  Show us you unfailing love, O God, our Savior,
People:  And grant us your salvation.
Leader:  Listen to what our Lord God says:
People:  He promises peace to his people, who are his beloved saints.
Leader:  The Lord will indeed give what is good.
People:  Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Leader:  May the Lord make his holy face to shine upon us in this time of Advent worship.  
People:  May we see God's face and so know peace. 
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

--  based on Psalm 85: 7-13

* HYMN No. 161:  Once in Royal David's City

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)

Dear Lord, we confess our willingness to be loved but also our reluctance to love. We confess our readiness to accept your forgiving love, but also our refusal to forgive. We confess our eagerness to grasp your offer of redeeming love, but also our resistance to follow you without question. In this time of Advent, forgive our failure to respond as we should. We pray that you come to us anew, and by your  grace assist us to receive with joy, as the shepherds; with gratitude as Simeon, with obedience, as Mary, with love as you have loved us. Even so, come Lord Jesus.   Amen

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM:  Come to My Heart, arr. Tom Fettke

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me; but in Bethlehem's home there was found no room for Thy holy nativity: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming Thy royal decree; but in lowly birth Thou didst come to earth, and in great humility: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing at Thy coming to victory, let Thy voice call me home, saying, "Yet there is room, there is room at My side for thee."  My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when Thou comest and callest for me.

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH, Jeanne and Steve Sarran

JUNIOR SERMON                   

ANTHEM:  The Yearning, Craig Courtney

The Chamber Choir

There is a yearning in hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow.  There is a yearning in hearts that in the darkness hide and in the shades of death abide, a yearning for tomorrow.  There is a yearning, a yearning for the promised One, the Firstborn of creation.  There is a yearning for the Lord who visited His own, and by His death for sin atoned, to bring to us salvation. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, within our hearts, the yearning.  There is a yearning that fills the hearts of those who wait the day of His appearing.  There is a yearning when all our sorrows are erased and we shall see the One who placed within our hearts the yearning. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, within our hearts, the yearning.

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer response, Johann Wolfgang Franck 

O Jesus, with Thy advent quiet my restless soul and anxious mind. In true humility I welcome Thee, Jesus Christ, my Joy divine. My thought, desires, and all my longings I dedicate, O Christ, to Thee. O come,Thou precious Sun most radiant, Thy beams illumine my heart and soul.

* HYMN No. 145:  Of the Father's Love Begotten

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Isaiah 7: 10-16, Pew Bible, page 554

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Romans 1:1-7, Pew Bible, page 913

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:18-25, Pew Bible, page 783

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  Even So, Come Lord Jesus, Norman Haight

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  Dearest Lord Jesus, Dietrich Buxtehude

The Chancel Choir; Dorien Day, soprano

Dearest Lord Jesus, How long Thou abidest so far from me?  Come Thou to me, for my soul is weary.  Come Thou, and take me into Thy keeping; far from the burden of the world.  It is enough, Lord, come now to deliver; come to deliver my soul from affliction.  Weak are my senses and foolish my fears, faint is my spirit and spent are my tears.  Come now, Lord Jesus, how long Thou abidest.  Come to deliver my soul from affliction.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH, Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 151:  Go, Tell It on the Mountain

* BENEDICTION 
    Response:  Alleluia, Amen!, Charles Villers Stanford     

POSTLUDE:  Carillon de Westminster, Louis Vierne

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

COOKIES NEEDED FOR WASSAIL HOUR - Will you give the church a box of home-baked cookies for the Wassail Hour after the Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve? Mark the box Christmas Eve Cookies and bring it to the kitchen on Christmas Eve before the service or to the Church Office during the week.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Gary LiBert (AM), Simon Walsh (PM)
Coffee Hour Hosts: Rhoda Jabbour
Greeters: Joan Pearson and Joan Werbel
Ushers: Krystal and Debra Rossi, Adriene and Bill Toy
Children and Worship: Sharon Rivilli and Nancy Gessner
Childcare: Marie Mark

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Robert Keller, Hope Kingman, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Janice Serra 

December 20, 2013 - Blue Christmas Service

Christmas can be a painful time for some.  It may be the first Christmas without a loved family member who has recently died; it may be a time that has always been difficult.  The constant refrains on radio and television, in shopping malls and churches, about the happiness of the season, about getting together with family and friends, reminds many people of what they have lost.  The anguish of the death of a loved one can make us feel alone in the midst of celebrating and joy.  We need the space and time to acknowledge our sadness; we need to know that we are not alone.  We need encouragement to live the days ahead of us.

There are times when life is good and beautiful, and celebration is appropriate.  But there are also times of distress and loss.  During those times we sing sad songs of lament, protest and complaint about the chaos and harshness that life can sometimes be for us.  We often feel afraid, angry, or ashamed.  Putting words to this season can often be difficult.  But we do this together in our address to God.

Meditation

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.  For the yoke that was weighing upon them and the burden upon their shoulders, thou hast broken in pieces O God.                                                                  

- Isaiah 9:2, 4

Call to Worship

Leader:  Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”  And so we invite each other to this time of peaceful worship.  Tonight we come looking for the Christ child.
People:  We come, bringing our hurts, our worries and our fears.
Leader:  We come seeking relief from pain, anxiety, loneliness and despair.  With the psalmist of the Scriptures we say,
People:  “O Lord, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living, Give heed to my cry, for I am low.”
All:  We come tonight to rest in God.

Hymn:  Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence      

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of Light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears a way.

Opening Prayer

    God of Mercy, hear our prayer in this Advent Season for ourselves and our families who live with the painful memories of loss, grief, separation, or crippling stress.  We ask for strength for today, courage for tomorrow and peace for the past.  We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ who shares our life in joy and sorrow, death and new birth, despair and promise.  Amen.

Hymn:  O Come, O Come Immanuel      

O, come, O come, Immanuel, 
And ransom captive Israel, 
That mourns in lonely exile here 
Until the Son of God appear.  

Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel 
             Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, 
Who ordered all things mightily; 
To us the path of knowledge show, 
and teach us in her ways to go. 
Refrain

Scripture:  Isaiah 9:2-6 and John 1:4-5, 14                                                                                                                 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Those who dwell in the land of deep darkness, on them has the light shined.
We have beheld Christ’s glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father.
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

Lament:  Psalm 27   

O come, thou Key of David, come, 
And open wide our heavenly home; 
Make safe the way that leads on high, 
And close the path to misery. 
Refrain          

Litany of Remembering

This first candle we light to remember those whom we have loved and lost.  We pause to remember their names, their faces, their voices, the memories that bind them to us in this season.

May God’s eternal love surround them.

[A moment of silence.]

This second candle we light to redeem the pain of loss; the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of health, the loss of home, the loss of normalcy. We pause to gather up the pain of the past and offer it to God, asking that from God’s hands we receive the gift of peace.

Refresh, restore, renew us O God, and lead us into your future.

[A moment of silence.]

This third candle we light is to think about ourselves this Christmas time.  We pause and remember these past weeks and months; the disbelief, the anger, the down times, the poignancy of reminiscing, the hugs, kisses, and handshakes of family and friends, all those who stood with us. We give thanks for all the support we have known.

Let us remember that dawn defeats darkness.

[A moment of silence.]

This fourth candle is lit to remember our faith and the gift of hope which the Christmas story offers to us.  We remember that God who shares our life promises us a place and time where there will be no more pain and suffering.

Let us remember our Savior Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who bears             the light and shows us the way, unveiling the truths of eternal life.

[A moment of silence.]

Candlelighting

Let all who wish to light a candle to remember a loved one, to remember a loss, to remember a relationship, come forward now to do so.  Light a candle and set it into one of the containers on the table.  Like our lives, each container is in darkness until it is filled by the light of Christ.

Silent Prayer

These lights in their brightness are only symbols, but as they burn and finally go out, we remember that suffering passes, though memory remains forever.

Let us remember that though Christ has gone before us, He is ever with us.

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here; 
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 
And death's dark shadows put to flight. 
Refrain

Lament:  Psalm 22 

Response to the Word

Leader:  The God of strength moves within us; 
People:  the God of courage hears our distress. 
Leader:  The God of hope reveals wholeness to us; 
People:  the God of healing touches us when we are broken. 
Leader:  When the pain overwhelms us, when the burden is too heavy, 
People:  we turn to our God, who is sustaining and redeeming. 
Leader:  When there is loneliness, when there is isolation, 
People:  we turn to our God, who is loving and present. 
Leader:  For God created us, redeemed us and sustains us, and we are not alone. 
All:  Lead us in your ways, O God, and bring us your healing touch. Amen.

O come, Desire of nations, bind 
All peoples in one heart and mind: 
Bid thou our sad divisions cease, 
And be thyself our King of Peace. 
Refrain

Thanksgiving Over the Oil 

O God, the giver of health and salvation, we give thanks to you for the gift of oil.  As your holy apostles anointed many who were sick of body and spirit, so pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on this gift, that those who in faith and repentance receive this anointing may be made whole; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Invitation 

Those who wish to be anointed with oil are invited to come forward.  The sign of the cross will be made on your forehead with oil.  The words spoken will be, “I anoint you with the oil in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Your response is “Amen.”  Following anointing, or instead of anointing, you are invited to rest in the chair provided for the laying on of hands and prayer. You may briefly state your prayer request. You may then return to your seat for a time of silent prayer.

Prayer After Anointing 

Almighty God, we pray that our brothers and sisters may be comforted in their suffering and made whole.  When they feel afraid, give them courage; when they feel afflicted, afford them patience; when they are lost, offer them hope; when they are alone, move us to their side.  In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Most gracious God, source of all healing, we give thanks to you for all your gifts, but most of all for the gift of your Son, through whom you gave and still give health and salvation to all who believe. As we wait in expectation for the coming of that day when suffering and pain shall be no more, help us by your Holy Spirit to be assured of your power in our lives and to trust in your eternal love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Lord’s Prayer                      

Hymn:  Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

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 ev’ry nation,
joy of ev’ry longing heart.

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.

Benediction

May the touch of Christ bring you healing.
May the love of Christ bring you hope.
May the life of Christ bring you insight
as you go forth with new vision. Amen.    

You are invited to remain in the worship space as long as you wish following the service. If you would like to speak privately with someone as you leave, Ministers and Counselors will be available in the Bride’s Room.

Moving into the World

A breath prayer for use in daily life, as a reminder of God’s presence and healing touch:

“Jesus Christ, lover of all, bring healing, bring peace”

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Welcome

We are pleased to have you with us this evening. Following the service you are invited to share light refreshments in the Music Room.

We hope that you have a community of faith to support you in your time of grief, uncertainty, or loss.  If you do not have a congregation, we invite you to join us here on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM to hear God's word of hope and healing.

We thank Buck and Judie Kellaway and Mary Moder for assisting with the refreshments. 

December 15, 2013 - Third Sunday in Advent

White Christmas Service

PRELUDE:  In Dulci Jubilo, Johann Sebastian Bach

WELCOME, Debra Rossi
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP, Yessenia Iovale

Leader:  Rejoice in the Lord always.
People:  I will say it again: Rejoice!
Leader:  Let your gentleness be evident to all.
People:  The Lord is near.
Leader:  We rejoice in the hope of Christ’s coming.
People:  Let us worship God!

—based on Philippians 4:4-5, NIV

 * HYMN No. 163:  Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming

 * PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison), Steve Sarran

Lord God, our lives are filled with sin.  We forget our neighbor’s needs and do not love you above all else.  We need a Savior.  Help us to be ready for Jesus in our own hearts.  O come, O come, Savior of the world.  Amen.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SALUTATION
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
        * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

LIGHTING OF ADVENT WREATH, Iovale Family

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER, Dorien Day
        Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
        Prayer Response, Johann Wolfgang Franck

O Jesus, with Thy advent quiet my restless soul and anxious mind. In true humility I welcome Thee, Jesus Christ, my Joy divine. My thought, desires, and all my longings I dedicate, O Christ, to Thee. O come, Thou precious Sun most radiant, Thy beams illumine my heart and soul.

 WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS, Debra Rossi
        Offering
        Offertory:  As Lately We Watched, arr. Charles Black

As lately we watched o'er our fields through the night, a star there was seen of such glorious light; all through the night angels did sing sweet carols in praise of the birth of a King.

A King of such beauty was ne'er before seen, and Mary, His Mother, so like to a queen. Blest be the hour, welcome the morn, for Christ our dear Savior, on earth now is born.

His throne is a manger, His court is a loft, but troops of bright angels, in lays sweet and soft, Him they proclaim, our Christ by name, and earth, sky and air straight are filled with His fame. Alleluia, alleluia, be joyful and sing.

Then, shepherds, be joyful, salute your liege King, let hills ring and dales to the song that ye sing; blest be the hour, welcome the morn, for Christ, our dear Savior, on earth now is born.

        * The Doxology  (pew card)                
        * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH,Steve Sarran

Our only hope is Jesus Christ.  After we refused to live in the image of God, he was born of the virgin Mary, sharing our genes and our instincts, entering our culture, speaking our language, fulfilling the law of God.  Being united to Christ’s humanity, we know ourselves when we rest in him.  Come, Lord Jesus: We are open to your Spirit.  We await your full presence.  Our world finds rest in you alone.

—Our Song of Hope, st. 3, closing prayer

TABLEAU OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST

Some music selections will include the congregation and they will be announced at the appropriate times in the story:

Sunday School and Chancel Choir:

Who Would Send a Baby?, Chancel Choir
How Quietly, Sunday School and Chancel Choir

Love Came Down at Christmas, Sunday School and Chancel Choir
Silent Night, Sunday School and Chancel Choir

Congregational Hymns:

O Little Town of Bethlehem, No. 155, stanza 1
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, No. 133, stanza 1
O Come, All Ye Faithful, No. 173, all stanzas

(During this hymn, White Christmas gifts will be brought forward as directed.)

* BENEDICTION
        Response:  Alleluia, Amen!, Charles Villers Stanford

POSTLUDE:  In Dulci Jubilo, Johann Sebastian Bach

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

2014 offering envelopes are at the entrance of the church.  If you do not see your box and would like one, sign your name on the clipboard.  A set will be prepared and available for you.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Jorge Alamilla (AM) and Ray Durney (PM)
Coffee Hour Hosts: Glenn Alamilla and Tricia Ho
Greeters: Vivian and Peter Sclafani
Ushers: Dana Chan, Cascille Hampton, Jennifer Hopper, Stephanie Parker and Jerry Good
Childcare: Jayne Halley

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Hope Kingman, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright. 

December 8, 2013 - Second Sunday in Advent

PRELUDE:

Carols for Christmas, Hermann Schroeder 

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)             

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION (Psalm 72), The Hampton Family

Leader:  Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
People:  May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
Leader:  May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
People:  In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
Leader:  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
People:  Blessed be his glorious name forever. 
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

* HYMN No. 132:  Comfort, Comfort Now My People

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)    

Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.  We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.  We have offended against your holy laws.  We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.  And there is no health in us.  Have mercy upon us, O Lord.  Spare those who confess their faults.  Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus our Lord.  And grant, O merciful God, for his sake, that we may live a holy, just and humble life for the glory of your holy name.  Amen.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH, The Hampton Family

JUNIOR SERMON

ANTHEM:  Springs in the Desert, Arthur B. Jennings

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come and save you. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams flow in the desert, and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.  A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return with songs and everlasting joy: and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer Response                           Johann Wolfgang Franck

O Jesus, with Thy advent quiet my restless soul and anxious mind. In true humility I welcome Thee, Jesus Christ, my Joy divine. My thought, desires, and all my longings I dedicate, O Christ, to Thee. O come, Thou precious Sun most radiant, Thy beams illumine my heart and soul.

* HYMN No. 142:  Long Ago, Prophets Knew

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Isaiah 11: 1-10, Pew Bible, page 558

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of theLord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lordas the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Matthew 3: 1-12, Pew Bible, page 784 

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  Change Your Mind!, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  from Messiah, Georg Friedrich Handel

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 161:  Once in Royal David's City

* BENEDICTION
    Response:  Alleluia, Amen!, Charles Villers Stanford 

POSTLUDE:  Carillon, Louis Vierne

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.  Rev. Estella served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. Currently he is a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Debra Rossi (AM) and Roger Bow (PM)
Coffee Hour Host: Rhoda Jabbour 
Greeters: Virginia Andrews and Debra Rossi
Ushers: Sally Ann Castle, Nancy Gessner, Jayne Halley, Loretta McCaffrey and Head Usher, Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Judie Kellaway and Yessenia Iovale-Perez
Childcare: Nancy Gessner

VAN SERVICE is available for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Monday.  If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923. 

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please pick a date on the Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Gessner Hall or see Rhoda Jabbour.

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Hope Kingman, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.