PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 2nd Sunday of Advent December 5, 2021
~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to Pioneer’s blog worship service.
Though we are accessing this remotely and unable to look each other in the eye,
we are still the Pioneer faith community, gathered as children of God to
worship, to be spiritually fed, and to be equipped to go out to serve in
Christ’s name—though we do it differently during this pandemic.
Pioneer offers worship in several modes:
a)
The
blog.
b)
The
blog service mailed through US Postal service.
c)
Sermons
only, mailed to those who so request.
d)
Zoom
services at 10:00 Sunday mornings.
e)
Live
worship with masks and social distancing has plenty of room for additional
worshipers.
We will share the
Lord’s Supper as part of this worship service. So please pause
and gather your choice of bread and beverage. While the bread and grape juice
served in community and led by the pastor in person is our tradition, we are
facing times that call for us to do worship in new ways rather than being tied
to rigid tradition—much like the early church.
-
Session
meets Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
-
Men’s
Prayer Group meets Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
-
M&M
meets next Sunday following worship
-
PPW
Christmas brunch Saturday Dec 11 @ 10:00 a.m. with a $10-15 consumable gift
exchange
Now allow yourself a brief time of silence
as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BAPTISM: Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.
LIGHTING THE ADVENT
CANDLE
Second Week of Advent – Peace
Isaiah
11:1-9
A shoot will come up from the stump of
Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not
judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give
decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness
will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live
with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion
and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed
with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw
like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young
child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on
all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
As we light the first candle we recall the
promise of Christ’s coming. It symbolizes hope. As we light the second candle,
we remember that the people of God waited for the Messiah to come, believing in
God’s promise to bring peace to his people.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Listen! Listen for a messenger from God.
The way is being prepared for Christ’s
coming.
We
are here to listen for a word from God.
We
have gathered to prepare for Christ’s advent.
Come with your joys and sorrows, laughter
and tears.
There is a place for you in the company of
seekers.
We
thank God for our acceptance in the church.
We
rejoice to offer the love of Christ to others.
We are partners in the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Claim anew today this opportunity and
responsibility.
We
are glad God is doing great things among us.
We
want to rejoin ourselves to God’s work in the world.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
How good it is to gather where garments of
sorrow and affliction are removed. Here, we are wrapped in the beauty of God’s
glory and welcomed to life at its fullest. Surely you restore us to our best,
mighty God, and equip us for productive living. Make a difference within and
among us today so we can work for a better tomorrow. Amen.
OPENING
SONG: “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” LU #140
CALL TO CONFESSION
We come before the refiner’s fire, that
all falseness and impurities may be burned away. Beneath all the pretense and
brokenness of our lives, God helps us to discover pure silver and gold. We are
highly valued by our Maker. Let us be fully open to God’s forgiving Spirit.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O God,
we have tried to cover up our sins, yet you know the disorder we have caused in
our lives. You have witnessed our poor choices and our destructive habits. We
have denied our baptism and ignored the responsibilities of discipleship. The
good we do is often self-serving, while we avoid the full claim of gospel
partnership. Hear our cries of repentance and turn our lives around, that we
may know the wonder of your forgiveness (continue with personal prayers …..) Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
The old life has gone; the new life has
begun.
Friends, believe the Good News!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and
restored to new life!
PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Let us extend the peace of Christ in heart
and prayer to one another.
GLORY
BE TO THE FATHER
SCRIPTURE 1: Philippians 1:3-11
I thank my God in all
my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my
prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day
until now. And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel thus about
you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of
grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the
gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of
Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with
knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and
may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of
righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
SCRIPTURE 2: Luke 1:68-79
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has
visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy
prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the
hand of all who hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to
remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, to
grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him
without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our
life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will
go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his
people in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God,
when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace."
SERMON: “Road Builders” Rev. Jean Hurst
The author of Luke’s gospel grounds us
in the reality of the times, reminding us of the governmental and religious
rulers of the day. Most of them would be
players in the life and death drama of Jesus’ ministry as well as that of John.
These early roots of our faith did not take place in the isolation of a private
religious environment but right out there in the midst of real life--out in the
world, not separate from it.
John was a
miracle baby, like Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac, born to his parents in their
old age, long past the time they’d given up hope of ever having a child. As the
King James scripture phrases it, they were ‘well stricken in years’. The angel
who appeared to John’s father, the priest Zacharias, said this baby would be
special, a prophet of God, filled by the Holy Spirit even in the womb. This
baby, grown to manhood, would turn fathers’ hearts to their children, a
disobedient people to the wisdom of the just, would turn people back to God,
and would prepare the way of the Lord.
And that is
what has come to fruition in this strange man who hung out in the wilderness.
Matthew and Mark’s gospels speak of his strange garb and diet--camel’s hair and
leather, locusts and honey. When questioned by the religious authorities as to
who he was, whether or not he was the Messiah, he told them, “I am the voice of
one calling out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.”
He called
people to repentance and baptized them to that end. He baptized so many of them
that he was dubbed ‘John the Baptizer’. This water purification may have been
connected to the practice of the Essenes, a strict Jewish sect that maintained
a community in the harsh desert region of Qumrun. The cleansing in the waters
of baptism required a change of heart, a remorse for unrighteous behavior, a
turning back to God. The crowds were ripe for it. They poured out from the
towns and villages to hear what this man had to say about their existence;
hungry for the word that would give them hope, change their lives; anxious to
see if this might be the long awaited Messiah--the Christ of God.
That made the
religious power structure nervous. Too many people were paying attention to
him. He wasn’t just some doomsday wacko with strange habits. There was power
and conviction in his words. The high religious authorities sent their spies to
find out what was up and how much of a threat this fanatic might be. John
didn’t soft peddle his message. When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees (who
didn’t exactly blend in with the crowd), he thundered at them, “You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?”
The advent of
the Messiah isn’t to be taken lightly. We need to be cautious about
over-simplifying it, embodying it in a baby’s gurgle and romanticizing it in the
ambience of a dimly lit stable, warmed by the breath of donkey and sheep who
also gaze adoringly at God-manifest. John has warned us. This messiah is not a
feel-good puppet, here to make the world warm and fuzzy so we can feel even
better about our complacency. This is the real McCoy. This is the one who is
going to turn things topsy-turvy. This is the one who will set things right.
The mountains of the proud and wealthy and powerful will be brought low. The
valleys, the depression of the poor, the vulnerable, the exploited, will be
lifted up. In him, crooked ways will be straightened out, the rough spots
smoothed out. Best prepare yourselves.
Best get to road building.
Have you ever
watched little children playing with cars and trucks outside in the dirt? They
like to build roads, sometimes an impressive undertaking. Apparently, much like
today’s adult kids with their 4-wheelers, they aren’t satisfied with nice flat,
straight roads. Their road building calls for the addition of hills and valleys and curves and water and other
interesting obstacles. Their throats growl all the requisite sound
effects--rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, screeeeeecchh, kaboooommmm! Frankly, I think they
really want an excuse to crash their little cars rather than move them
efficiently and safely from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’.
But then,
that’s not the promise we find in our scripture reading, either. There is no
promise of safety. The coming of the Messiah isn’t going to be this nice
efficient, calm, quiet process. Better
get prepared, John told the crowds in no uncertain terms. “What do we do?” they
ask. Those with abundance in their lives are to share. Those with the ability
to exact money from people are told not to overcharge. Those with power are
instructed not to exploit or abuse, not to be quick to accuse, not to greedily
seek more than they are due. Are you in that crowd? Am I?
The religious
leaders were there. Vipers? I admit I’m not perfect, but a snake in the grass?
That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? What do we do? We put on our hard hats and get to
work.
Think about
the signs you see when you’re out driving the highways and backroads. We get so
used to seeing them, we too often don’t even pay much attention. We’re being
warned that the road isn’t what it should be and they haven’t gotten around to
repairing it.
That, too, is
rather like our lives. We put up the warning signs, but it’s rather like those
little cutesy sayings on T-shirts, “Love me, love my dog” or “Love me, love my
cat.” In other words, take me as I am--along with my pets. We know very well
our roadbed is deteriorated or incomplete, but instead of fixing it, we expect
people to just take us as we are. You love me; you love me warts and all. We
expect that of God, too, don’t we? And really, it’s rather a paradox. Repeatedly
we say that God loves us and accepts us just as we are, flaws and all. But that
doesn’t mean that we aren’t supposed to try to do anything about those flaws.
We are a work in progress.
But perhaps
we are more like those road construction crews we like to joke about. There’s a bunch of guys standing around
jawing and some leaning on their shovels or road equipment—but it doesn’t look
like anything is happening. Like them, we have all the right stuff around us to
make it look like a work in progress, but there’s no action; there’s no
evidence that what we say we are
about is really what’s going on in our lives. There are limited results to
prove it out. (And a word in defense of construction workers: they are
hardworking people who often have to wait for decisions to be made or
inspectors to show up.)
Those crowds
that poured out into the wilderness, clinging to the hope of something better
to come were just ordinary people, people like us. And like us, they were
caught up in the struggles and activities of their day-to-day lives. Yes, there
were probably some who were mean spirited and stingy and abusive and
self-righteously smug. There were also those who were scared and hungry and
lonely and beaten down by life. But most were just people who lived average
lives, doing what they thought they were supposed to do in order to be good
people. They went to synagogue and put some money in the plate and felt bad
about the people who were worse off than they were. They prayed and worshiped
the one God and felt he was on their side. All rather like us.
And like us,
they hungered for more. They knew this wasn’t it, that they were only getting a
piece of the action. They felt their lives were caught up in an unfulfilling
routine. If you’ll permit one more play on the road construction theme, they
were stuck in a rut. They carried burdens on their hearts for things they’d
done in secret, things they’d said, ugly thoughts, things they should have done
but had hung back not wanting to get involved. They wanted to know that it
would get better, that there was hope, that they could have a second chance.
They wanted life to be new. They wanted their relationship with God to be new.
“What do we
do?” they asked John the Baptizer. “Build roads,” he advised. Get ready. Prepare. Make your life into a road that will
be an appropriate pathway for the coming of the Messiah. Change. Repent. Turn
around. Live your lives differently. Live your lives as ones who welcome the
Messiah. Prepare the way to your heart. Make straight the paths; bring down the
mountains, the obstacles. Lift up the meek, the humble, the generous, the
loving, the forgiving. Straighten out what isn’t working for you. Smooth off
the rough places. Live as ones who are called to be the means by which the
Christ can enter our lives. Be road builders.
With
that comes the promise. Salvation for all God’s people. Redemption. With Christ
the Messiah comes hope...new life...a second chance. The peace that was
promised in the passage read with the lighting of the Advent candle. Emmanuel.
God with us. He’s coming. Better grab your shovels. Better get to work. Amen.
HYMN: “O
Come, O Come, Emmanuel” verses 1,
6, 7 Glory #88
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
In
this season of Advent, O God, remind us who we are and what you can become for
us. Grant us a new sense of purpose and excitement about our future. May your
spirit of forgiveness become a transforming force in our lives that will bring
us closer to those people who have drifted away from us; allow us to see
through the distraction of their hostility into the fears of their inner lives.
How
blessed is your name, O God, especially when it becomes interpreted into acts
of self-giving love. May we find a way this Advent season to light a candle of
hope in someone’s life, to be a source of healing to someone in emotional
distress, to bring company and delight to one who is isolated and alone. May we
truly become instruments of peace in a world that hungers for peace.
As we think of that world, our thoughts
are drawn to those close to home. In love we lift up those of our families,
church, and community who need your healing touch and comforting presence: We
pray for Ron Schirm and family in the death of Jennifer. For Dave Clark … Tina
Bossuot … Verna’s sisters … Mary and Ray Swarthout … Sandy Cargill … Elaine
LaChapelle … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly Patterson … Margaret Dunbar
…Virginia … Darlene … Trisha … Jacob …
George and Joyce … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel … and Pastor Jean. (Additional
prayers …………)
Holy God, restore in us the excitement
of the first Christmas which brought forth the immediacy of your healing love
and the hope of your everlasting life.
We
ask in the name of Jesus 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.
CALL TO OFFERING
What is a fitting offering that is
pleasing to God? When we sense the wonder of God’s majesty and realize the
amazing extent of God’s concern for us, we can only respond with all that we
have and all we are. What we place on the altar is a small measure of our
gratitude.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER
OF DEDICATION
How
good you have been to us, gracious God! How meagerly we have responded. You
have provided for us when we felt all was lost. We give thanks, not only with a
portion of our income, but also through renewed commitment to righteous living.
By your grace, we share in the work Christ came to accomplish among us. May
love abound in and through us. Amen.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Song of
Preparation: “Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread” Glory #500
Invitation to the Table
The
Lord’s table is not a piece of wood with clay dishes, but a place in our hearts
that connects us to our Lord Jesus. It is a place to which we come as we
remember his sacrifice, as we seek to experience his presence, as we are
nourished to continue his work, as we recognize our community in him despite
whatever distance or disease or obstacle that might separate us. It is the
place we come to renew our commitment to continue his ministry and mission. Our
Lord invites us to the table without condition, simply because we are loved.
Come with grateful hearts. Come with joyful hearts.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, O Holy God, to
give thanks for your amazing grace, to praise you for who you are, for who you
created us to be. We marvel at the truth that you are with us wherever we may
be. Though we worship from home, separated and for some, isolated, it is still
in you that we find life and purpose. We are children of grace and nothing can
separate us from your love.
You have given us the gift of your
Holy Spirit who unites us, binding us together as one body across the miles. By
your Spirit of grace transform our social isolation and distance into a holy
community, connecting us to each other by your sacred presence.
Bless the elements we each have
gathered, elements common to our ordinary lives. Let them represent for us the
body and blood of our Savior who gave himself for us. Amen.
Words of Institution
As we share these symbols of bread and
cup across the distance, we remember the story of Jesus with the disciples that
last night before he was arrested. He took the bread and blessed it and broke
it and gave it to them saying “Take, eat, this is my body, given for you.” And
with the cup he said, “This cup is the new covenant, my blood poured out for
you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of it, remember me.”
And so we do. As we lift up many
pieces in scattered places rather than sharing the same loaf and as we drink
from separate cups instead of one, we do so remembering that throughout history
God’s people have often been scattered and in exile. Through the power and
mystery of the Holy Spirit, we are made one in Christ Jesus. These are the
gifts of God for us the children of God.*
The Bread of Life……………..
The Cup of Salvation …………….
*portions of
prayer adapted from prayer by Rev. Steve Kliewer, Interim General Presbyter,
EOP
Unison Prayer of Thanks
Gracious God, you have made us one with all
your people in heaven and on earth. You have fed us with the bread of life, and
renewed us for your service. Help us who have shared Christ’s body and received
his cup, to be his faithful disciples so that our daily living may be part of
the life of your kingdom, and our love be your love reaching out into the life
of the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “O Day of Peace” Glory #373
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Does your heart long for peace? Then
be the peace in the world that you want to see. This season as we celebrate the
coming of the Prince of Peace is a good time to begin preparing the way.
As you do the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with you now
and always. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE
May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor. Lift up your eyes
and see his face and his grace forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and
keep you forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
LOOKING
AHEAD
-
Bring
men’s socks for Shepherd’s House in Bend. A box for them will be in Fireside
Room.
-
Bring
Christmas wrapping paper and Christmas gift bags for Christmas Joy. A box for
them will be in the entry.
- PPW Christmas brunch Saturday Dec 11 @ 10:00 a.m. with a $10-15 consumable gift exchange
-
Women’s
Spirituality @ 10:30 a.m. on December 7
-
Men’s
Prayer Group @ 8:30 a.m. on December 9
-
Pledges
for 2022 will be dedicated on December 12
-
Congregational
meeting for election of 2022 officers will be held following worship on
December 12
-
M&M
meets following worship on December 12
-
Worship
& Music meets following worship on December 19
-
Prayer
Shawl Ministry meets @ 1:00 p.m. on December 19
-
Women’s
Spirituality meets @ 10:30 a.m. on December 21
-
Men’s
Prayer Group meets @ 8:30 a.m. on December 23
-
Christmas
Eve Service is @ 7:00 p.m. on December 24
-
Deacons
meet following worship on December 26
PRAYER
CARE:
Ron Schirm and
family (Jennifer’s passing), Tina Bossuot (Alzheimer’s), Verna’s sisters (Covid
recovery), Mary and Ray Swarthout, Sandy Cargill (breast cancer), Somer Bauer
(breast cancer), Tasha Sizemore (Crohn’s), Jacob Cunningham, Trisha Cagley
(health problems), Dave Clark (recovery from brain surgery, kidney cancer),
Virginia DesIlets (age 99!), Margaret Dunbar (Ashley Manor), George and Joyce
Sahlberg (health issues), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield
(pulmonary fibrosis, breast cancer), Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s), and
Pastor Jean Hurst (kidney cancer).
LECTIONARY
FOR 12/12/21
Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7;
Luke 3:7-18
No comments:
Post a Comment