The text this week is Luke 1:5-17, where the angel announces the birth of John the Baptist and tells Zechariah “do not fear; your prayer has been answered.” The worship theme will be ‘A People Prepared for God’s Messiah’ and the visual theme for this Christmas season is candles, symbolizing the coming of the light.
Here is the link to the YouTube playlist: 151213 Heart Prep
Prelude:
Hallelujah (Light Has Come) – Barlow Girl
Worship Set:
Angels from the Realms – Hymn #131
Luke 1:5,8, 12-17 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. . . .8Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, . . there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 1:67-79 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing – Hymn #133
Offertory:
Hallowed Manger Ground – Tomlin
Benedictions:
How Suddenly a Baby Cries – Getty
