Below is the service I ha



center0Below is the service I have created for this Sunday. I hope this is something you can use for personal/family worship. We are all worshiping together, no matter where we are. If you are joining us online this week then you may want to have this resource with you so you have the words to the responses and hymns at your fingertips in case you can’t see the screen.Rev. Mary-JaneThe words provided for the hymns are done with permission under One License # A-727596.00Below is the service I have created for this Sunday. I hope this is something you can use for personal/family worship. We are all worshiping together, no matter where we are. If you are joining us online this week then you may want to have this resource with you so you have the words to the responses and hymns at your fingertips in case you can’t see the screen.Rev. Mary-JaneThe words provided for the hymns are done with permission under One License # A-727596.NEWCASTLE UNITED CHURCHDecember 20, 2020 10:30 a.m.Fourth Sunday of Advent“As followers of Christ, we are called to be a worshipping and learning, receiving and giving community of faith, hope and love.” – Newcastle United Church Mission StatementSurely God is in this place. Help me notice.We Approach GodLighting the Advent Candle We are almost to the end of our Advent waiting. We have lit the candles of hope, peace and joy. (First 3 candles are relit.)43719751397000Today we think about Love. What does love look like? It looks like a struggling parent searching for a way to give their child a warm, stable home. It looks like a tiny baby lying in a manger. It looks like a friend kneeling to wash another’s feet, and it looks like a solitary figure carrying the world’s pain and sadness.We know love can feel like a warm blanket on a cold night. Love can feel like both a heart overflowing, and a heart broken. Love feels like God-with-us.Love never stops caring. Love gives itself away, to all. Love is born in a stable to grow and give of itself.Today, we light the candle of Love. May we be guided by its light.Sung Response – “A Candle Is Burning” # 6 (v. 4) (Words Copyright 1986, Sandra Dean)A candle is burning, a candle of love, a candle to point us to heaven above. A baby for Christmas, a wonderful birth, for Jesus is bringing God’s love to our earth.Call to Worship (Responsive) The excitement of Christmas is building.We have only a few days to go.We are waiting.Waiting for gifts and surprises, for parties and treats.Yet we are also waiting for meaning.We seek a reassurance that lasts longer than candy canes or wrapping paper.Still, we are also waiting for belonging.We crave community and a place to feel accepted, just as we are.The fulfillment of Christmas is awe-inspiring, every day of the year.It is a gift for us without limits, just waiting.God’s love is always ready for us.(Written by Gill Le Fevre, Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2020-21, p. 30. Used with permission.)Carol “Hope Is A Star”# 7(words and music copyright 1989 Hope Publishing Company)04953000Hope is a star that sines in the night, leading us on till the morning is bright.When God is a child there’s joy in our song.The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong, and none shall be afraid.Peace is a ribbon that circles the earth, giving a promise of safety and worth. RJoy is a song that welcomes the dawn, telling the world that the Saviour is born. RLove is a flame that burns in our heart, Jesus has come and will never depart. RPrayer of Approach (Unison) Loving God, we want to be ready when Jesus comes. In the midst of the busy-ness of the season help us to remember to slow down and take a spiritual breath. Remind us that Jesus comes when we live the love he taught. May we be ready to bring that love to life as Jesus arrives in the manger and our hearts. Amen.We Hear God’s Word40055803111500Carol “Away In A Manger” # 69Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky, and stay by my side until morning is nigh.Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.Bless all the dear children in your tender care, and fit us for heaven, to live with you there.A Time To Be ChildrenThis week’s story is a bit of a science experiment. You will need a small ball or rock, a mirror and a flashlight. If you don’t have those things that’s okay, I am sure you will be able to imagine what happens.What is the brightest light in our sky? I am sure you knew that is the sun. Do you know what it is about the sun that causes it to give off that light? The sun is a giant ball of gas that burns all the time. The burning gas – sort of like the gas stoves or fireplaces many of us have – gives off both light 0527050and heat.2600325154813000Now, another science question. What is the second brightest light in our sky? You knew it was the moon, right? The moon gives off light in the same way that the sun does, right – burning gas? Nope. The moon is a totally different kind of creation. The moon is nothing but a big ball of rock, for the most part. But if the moon is just a big rock how does it give off light? The moon just reflects the light given off by the sun. If you shine your flashlight on the mirror, you see how light gets reflected. See if you can find the right angle with your light and the mirror to make it look like your ball or rock is shining.So, what does all this science-y stuff have to do with faith, you ask? Well, before Jesus began his ministry a man named John started preaching and telling everyone that a light was coming from God to the people. John said he wasn’t the light, but just a reflection of that light and his job was to point people to the real light. Jesus was, and is, that light. We call Jesus by many names. Light of the World is one of them. Jesus told his followers, which means he tells us, that all who follow him, all who live the love he showed, are the light of the world. Like the moon, we are meant to reflect the light and love of God, as we have learned it from Jesus, to make our world a brighter more loving place.Each Advent, as we prepare once again to welcome Jesus into our world, we are also preparing ourselves to reflect this great light. Christmas is almost here. Are you ready to shine?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 trespasses,as we forgive those that trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,for ever and ever. Amen.Online – Ministry of Music – “A Wish For Every Year” (Soloist – Shirley Schroter)Luke 1:68-75, 78-79; John 1:1-5,14,16 Celebrating promises fulfilled. This is the Word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.Carol “’Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime” # 71 ‘Twas in the moon of wintertime, when all the birds had fled, that mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead; before their light the stars grew dim, and wandering hunters heard the hymn:Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.28575889000Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found, a ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round; but as the hunter braves drew nigh, the angel song rang loud and high:Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair as was the ring of glory on the helpless infant there.The chiefs from far before him knelt with gifts of fox and beaver pelt.Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.O children of the forest free, the angel song is true; the holy child of earth and heaven is born today for e, kneel before the radiant boy, who brings you beauty, peace, and joy:Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.Message "What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus.Trying to make his way home. If God had a face what would it look like? And would you want to see If seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets."These words are from a song, popular some years ago. I liked the song because it presented to those who might not enter a church, what they might see as an interesting idea. What if God was one of us? Wouldn’t that change everything. If God had to take the GO Train, get the groceries, pick the kids up from daycare, generally, go through the daily hassles we have to, maybe then God would understand our troubles and our lives better.If we knew God was one of us could we find it easier to believe. We could believe because we could see God and point to God and relate to God. We could believe because God would not be so remote but would be one of us not just some ethereal idea in eternal celestial realms. God would be one of us common everyday people.4486275137795Well… God had the same idea long, long ago. In the church we call it the incarnation. It literally means "in the flesh." To incarnate means to put something "in fleshly form." It can also mean to give form and substance to a quality. So, we might say an extraordinarily giving person is the very incarnation of generosity. Their actions give substance to the quality. Theologically, the incarnation is the essence of God taking fleshly form in Jesus. John said, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The "Word" John speaks of is more than the things God says. It is the character of God including God's love, righteousness and mercy.Theologians and philosophers have talked and debated about the incarnation, for literally, millennia. How is it possible for the God of the entire universe to take fleshly form? Some have argued that it was impossible. God could give special guidance or possess someone in a special way like a prophet or holy person. But God could not be limited in the way humans are. So, in the past some said Jesus was really an angel or a great prophet. But if he was fully human then he couldn’t have been God too.It is quite a dilemma isn’t it? How could an all-knowing God live like a child having to learn how to eat and walk. How could the one who constructed the foundations of the mountains and the seas learn to stack toy blocks. Could God experience fear and ignorance like a person? Could God be diapered or scolded by parents? Sounds very different than the God we think of when someone asks us what God is like.The Incarnation is a mystery. We don’t come to understand it through reading great books on theology or debating with scholars. You see, it was given to us in the form of a story. The Bible doesn't try to work out the details of how God did it. It merely tells the truth in story form.The story it tells is very familiar. We have heard it over and over, year after year. Nothing changes yet each year we listen again. We tell it and we hear it until it becomes part of us.How does it go? Listen, now. You have heard it before but hear it again. An angel came to a virgin and told her she would give birth to the Son of God. She and her fiancé were forced to go on a long journey to Bethlehem. At the end of the journey, she went into labor in a strange town with no friends or family around and no place to stay. And God's Son was born in a stable and was cradled in a feeding trough. God was a poor homeless refugee, already the victim of a ruthless government. Common people and wise religious people were the only ones to recognize him.070929500Simple story. Some of it sounds familiar from the news today. So why do we repeat this seemingly absurd story over and over? We tell the story, hear the story, until the story becomes part of us. Stories are like that. They don't contain the rigid logic of the theologians. But they can contain a truth. And in some way this story contains a truth in a way no theological statement can.What is this truth? That God is with us, Emmanuel! God is not merely in a temple. God is not merely on a holy mountaintop. God is here. God is with the poor, the blind, the widows and orphans. God is with the refugees and the persecuted. God is even with shepherds in a barn among the dispossessed.So, we repeat the story and the truth of it becomes part of us. We repeat it until we can see God among the unwanted and unneeded in our world. We repeat it until we begin to live the story. We repeat it so it becomes part of our very core. Until it governs our actions, so that we go to the poor and dispossessed of the world and lift them up.We repeat the story until we become incarnations of the truth it tells. Until our actions give form and substance to the truth of God. When the story becomes so much a part of us, we become little incarnations of God. We become sons and daughters of God, in the only way that it is humanly possible to become God's child. Tell the story; live the story; be the story.This is the miracle of Christmas. God becoming one of us. In Jesus, born a homeless refugee, suffering under the tyranny of the Roman government, God came to earth to experience our frailties and weaknesses firsthand. And for 30 years he lived that life. God did all the things we humans do. If it were in our time and place, you could have been sitting next to God the last time you took the GO Train or waited in line at the bank. Maybe God was the person in front of you at the grocery store. These days who knows, we’re all wearing masks!But then he died and rose and again and ascended into heaven. What if we could still run into God on the bus or at the mall or at school or the grocery store or in the office? Well, we can. The incarnation started with Jesus' birth and his life, but it is continued in us.We are the body of Christ. The same Holy Spirit that lived at the time of Jesus lives in all who believe and dedicate their lives to Christ. God is one of us - God is in us. Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit we are all little incarnations of the God. So, we tell the story, live the story and be the story. Maybe if people can see God in us, they too can believe in Emmanuel - God with us! God is with us. And through us, God’s light shines in the darkness, so all may find the truth of the story.(Inspired by and adapted from sermons by Alex Stevenson. And by discussion in our Bible study group.)We Respond To God’s WordOffering InvitationDuring Advent we watch and wait. We anticipate what is to come and prepare for the arrival of the Baby. This is the greatest gift we could receive. In thankfulness, we extend ourselves, and all we are and have as a gift to others…The Offertory What can I give him, poor as I am?If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;if I were a wise man, I would do my part;yet what I can I give him – give my heart. (#55 v.4)Dedication Prayer (Unison)With thanks and praise we bring our Advent offerings. God, we ask that these gifts be used to bring hope to those near to us and those far away, that all may know you are Hope, Peace, Joy and Love without end. Amen.1136659144000Prayers of the People Living God, we see you as one who cares and is directly involved in the affairs of the world. We believe that you choose the meek and the poor to shame the proud and the rich, even when the world seems to show us differently. We believe in the incarnate Word, being carried by Mary, living among the lowly and the weak so that all might find strength and love in you, O God.By your Spirit, most glorious Emmanuel, please continue to come among us, honouring our bodies, sharpening our minds, and nurturing our spirits.Loving God, please do not get annoyed by our adulation of technology and its gadgets but continue to nurse us as a mother nurses her children, that we may be led by your Spirit from illusions to truths, and from lesser truths to the ultimate truth of love in Christ Jesus.Do not weary of our injustices or despise our political attempts to right wrongs. Please foster all that is good in our nation, rebuke all that is evil, and by your Spirit enable our leaders to achieve far more than they deserve.Please do not become dejected with your inept and divided church, merciful Emmanuel.?In your mercy go on cherishing our small faith and enlarging our love.?Let the Gospel of Christ Jesus shine out from the flawed common clay of our lives.Do not tire of the prayers with which we bombard you. Please continue to console the sorrowful, soothe the disturbed, heal the diseased, encourage the timid, support the persecuted, guide the bewildered, feed the hungry, sustain the courageous, lift up the fallen, bind up the broken hearted, and comfort the dying. Hear now the prayers we lift from our hearts…Loving God, give us the faith that was in Mary, the mother of our Lord, that we may offer you our very body, mind and soul, to achieve your loving purposes on planet earth.?To the glory of your holy name.?Amen.(Inspired by and adapted from Bruce Prewer. Used with permission.)Closing Carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” # 1 (v. 1,3,6,7)(Words copyright The Church Pension Fund)329565012065O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, O come, great God of might, who to your tribes on Sinai’s height in ancient times once gave the law in cloud, and majesty, and awe.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, O Dayspring, from on high, and cheer us by your drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, Desire of nations, bind all people in one heart and mind;O bid our sad divisions cease, and be for us the Prince of Peace.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O missioning and Benediction Our Advent journey is almost complete, yet the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love that we have reflected upon during this season are with us always. As we go into the world today, we take these gifts with us, treasures to hold in our hearts and to offer one another and to the world. We go as God’s beloved children.Thanks be to God. Amen.(Written by Kim Falls, Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2020-21, p. 340. Used with permission.)Sung Blessing “There’s A Voice In The Wilderness” # 18 (v.1) (Music Copyright 1938 by Henry Hugh Bancroft)There’s a voice in the wilderness crying, a call from the ways untrod: prepare in the desert a highway, a highway for our God!The valleys shall be exalted, the lofty hills brought low; make straight all the crooked places where God, our God, may go!And online we end together (wait for folks to get their mics unmuted)And the people say:Come, Lord Jesus, Amen!Please note: Rev. Mary-Jane will be on vacation from Dec. 26-Jan. 3. Should you have a pastoral emergency during that time, please contact your Elder or call the church office (905-987-4515) or coverage information.9525095250Blue Christmas Service – we join together with our Anglican sisters and brothers for a Blue Christmas Service this evening, December 20, 7PM via Zoom. This time of the year is not joyful for all and this service is a chance to acknowledge this reality. All are welcome. The Zoom link and bulletin were sent out on Friday. 1819910159385Christmas Eve – Our service Christmas Eve is December 24 at 7 pm and will be done live via Zoom, as we do Sunday morning. The bulletin and Zoom link will be sent out prior to the service.Note: Please feel free to share the bulletins and links for the Blue Christmas and Christmas Eve services with friends who may wish to join us. In fact, you can do so with any of our services. 013970Faith In Motion Christmas Zoom Party is on Monday December?21 at 1 p.m. Young and Young at Heart are welcome. Email Susan at susanpascoe06@ for the link.?Fundraising at Newcastle United ChurchFacemask Fundraiser – Marie Narini has kindly offered to make these as a fundraiser. The mask has The United Church of Canada crest embroidered on one side and blank material on the other. Masks can be ordered in white, black, cream, medium blue, red, burgundy, medium green and purple. Cost is $15/mask, with $10/mask going toward our operating expenses. Call Marie at 905 914 2234 or e-mail: amnarini@yahoo.ca.543877511430Thank you to Arlene Crichton for her donation from proceeds from the sales of her homemade face masks.ALL FUNDS RAISED WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE EXPENSES OF OUR CHURCHTHANK-YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT5534025544830Gifts With Vision – if you would like to contribute toward our Mission & Service goal through Gifts With Vision, here is the link: . where you can browse the catalogue. Please indicate “Newcastle United Church” where indicated so your gifts is credited to our annual M&S goal. Thank you. Hard copies of the order sheet will be placed in the Emily St. entrance.Advent Bows – next Sunday is the last one if you wish to make a special Mission & Service & Outreach donation to buy a bow(s) for our Christmas tree. Contributions to $49 red bow; $50-$99 silver bow; $100 plus gold bow. Although we are not able to have the children hang the bows on our Christmas tree, your bows will be placed on the tree.0889000Our church YouTube channel, is where you can find recordings of weekly worship services and Music to Wash Dishes By. Please note: all 8 episodes of our show “Investigation: Exodus” are now on our channel. You can binge on them just like your other favourite shows. Here is the link - Study – Our weekly, Wednesday morning online Bible Study starts at 10 am. Please contact Rev. Mary-Jane if you would like to join us.From the Stewards:51911255715We would ask that during this time, and if you are able, please continue giving your church donations regularly. Please speak with Lorna McSwan, our treasurer, at le.mcswan@ or 905-987-3940 to arrange to register for Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) which can be cancelled at any time. You are also able to mail your donations to the church at: 84 Mill St. South, Newcastle, ON L1B 1H2. Donations can be made via CanadaHelps: through this link or the link on our website: “Donate” page, e-transfer: nucetransfer@. Post-dated cheques are yet another option.Thank you for considering these options. While we may not be gathering together, our expenses need to be met.Last day to donate for your 2020 Income Tax Receipt is noon on Wednesday, December 30 – thank you.Thank you to all who continue to send in their church givings – we very much appreciate it. Newcastle United Church ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download