TO OUR GUESTS, we extend a warm welcome. We invite you to participate in signing our Friendship Folder, adding your address and phone number if you'd like to receive our church newsletter or a pastoral call. When we pray the Lord's Prayer at Bethel, we say "sins...sin against us" rather than "debts..." or "trespasses..."; during "a time for sharing" we welcome prayer requests from the congregation. On first Sundays each month, all who put their trust in Christ and who have received baptism in any Christian church are invited to share his sacred meal. We are glad you are with us. Please come again.

THE SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
Lessons and Carols
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2003

GREETING, WORDS OF WELCOME, RITUAL OF FRIENDSHIP, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed;
the night is far gone, the day is near.  Romans 13:11

PRELUDE       Silent Night, Holy Night
                                Children’s Bell Choir

CALL TO WORSHIP    Isaiah 11:1-9

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 the Lord.
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 loin 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 Lord as the waters cover the sea.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

SPECIAL MUSIC    Sing We Now of Christmas    French Noel
Melanie Sherrod & Mary Ann Hensley, Clavinova

MINUTE FOR MISSION    Christmas Joy Offering
Mark Banker

SPECIAL MUSIC    The Shepherd’s Gloria Roger    Summers
Bell Choir and Adult Choir

OFFERTORY    Go Tell It on the Mountain
Youth Concert Band

FIRST LESSON
Adam and Eve Disobey God and are banished from the Garden
Genesis 3:8-15
Lector: Jordan Sherrod

SECOND LESSON
God Comforts God’s People and Urges Them to Prepare for Their Redemption
Isaiah 40:1-11
Lector: Andy Holloway

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence   Psalm 42
(Musicians only)

THIRD LESSON
God will raise up for David a righteous Branch
Jeremiah 23:5-6
Lector: Max LaDue

FOURTH LESSON
God promises a new covenant to be written in the hearts of God’s people
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Lector: Kerry Hyder

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
(Musicians only)

FIFTH LESSON
God is called upon to come among us and deliver us from our iniquities
Isaiah 64:1-9a
Lector: Rachel Dailey

SIXTH LESSON
The one who shall be ruler of Israel will be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2-4
Lector: Becca Dailey

O Little Town of Bethlehem
Adult Choir

SEVENTH LESSON
An angel announces the birth of John, the forerunner of the Messiah
Luke 1:5-25
Lector: Bram Hyder

EIGHTH LESSON
The angel Gabriel announces that the Holy Spirit will come upon Mary;
she will conceive and have a son, Jesus
Luke 1:26-38
Lector: Eden Sherrod

BENEDICTION

*POSTLUDE    Postlude    Stickles

*All who are able may stand.

This worship service is broadcast on WKTS 90.1 FM at 12:30 p.m. today.

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