Morning Worship Service

Prelude: He Shall Feed His Flock, from Messiah George Frideric Handel

Aubry Ballaro, soprano

Call to Worship

Doxology Old Hundredth

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

O God, we rejoice in the promise that someday soon our Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. Yet, our Father, we confess that we are often not on the alert for his coming. Our sin makes us sluggish and lulls us into spiritual sleep. We are prone to laziness, especially when surrounded by so many comforts and pleasures. We are distracted by our cares and worries. We admit our desire to build our own kingdoms rather than to be taken up into Christ’s kingdom. Please forgive us, and by your Holy Spirit help us to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Amen.

The Gospel’s Assurance of Pardon: Luke 1:50, 54–55

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Invocation

Hymn 208: O Come, All Ye Faithful Adeste Fideles

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come and behold him born the King of angels;

Refrain
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

God of God, Light of Light;
lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb;
very God, begotten, not created; (Refrain)

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above;
glory to God in the highest; (Refrain)

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning:
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv'n;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing; (Refrain)

Responsive Reading: Psalm 119:145–160

With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes.
I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life.
They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true.
Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.
Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!
Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules.
Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.
I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.
Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Gloria Patri Meineke

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.

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us and our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayer of Intercession (concluding with The Lord’s Prayer)

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.

Announcements

Living Church: Reception of New Members (9am)

Joe and Peggie Lanzone, Metropolitan Parish

Hymn 213: What Child Is This Greensleeves

What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary.

Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear, shall pierce him through; the cross be borne for me, for you:
hail, hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh; come, peasant, king, to own him;
the King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby:
joy, joy for Christ is born, the babe, the son of Mary.

Offering Prayer

(In person offerings may be made via the oak boxes. Give online at tenth.org/give or mail checks to:
1701 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103)

Offertory: In the Bleak Midwinter (11am) Harold Darke

Chamber Choir; Timothy Gonzalez, soloist

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:9–20

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Sermon: The Living One Dr. Liam Goligher

Hymn 214: Angels We Have Heard on High Gloria

Angels we have heard on high,
sweetly singing o'er the plains,
and the mountains in reply
echo back their joyous strains.

Refrain
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
Say what may the tidings be,
which inspire your heav'nly song? (Refrain)

Come to Bethlehem and see
him whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King. (Refrain)

Benediction

Postlude: In Dulci Jubilo Johann Sebastian Bach

Serving today:
Dr. Enrique Leal, 9:00am platform
Rev. Carroll Wynne, 11:00am platform
Colin Howland, organist

CCLI# 2486853