The Presbyterian Church, 142 N. 4th St., Coshocton, OH 43812
Pastor Karen Crawford
Liturgist: Don Harrison
Musicians: Alice Hoover, Mark Wagner and Caroline Heading
Prelude: My Faith Is Firmly Found by J.S. Bach, ed. by Dorothy Wells; Alice Hoover, Organ
Greeting/Announcements with Pastor Karen
Opening Sentences and Gathering Prayer: Don and Betty Harrison
To you, O Lord, we lift our souls; to you we offer our lives.
For you are good and forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love.
In heaven, on earth, there is none like you. Your works are beyond compare.
For you are great; you work wonders. You alone are God.
Hymn: Faith of Our Fathers; Alice Hoover, Organ
Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeons, fire, and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
Faith of our fathers, we will strive to win all nations unto thee; and through the truth that comes from God, we all shall then be truly free.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
Faith of our fathers, we will love both friend and foe in all our strife; and preach thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
Call to Confession/Confession/Assurance of Pardon
God of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, God of Hagar and Ishmael, who gave us your Son, Jesus Christ the crucified, send your Holy Spirit to help us confess and truly repent of our sins. We turn against one another; we fail to care for the weak and poor among us. We pay no heed to the cries of the powerless; we seek our own advantage. Your Son emptied himself upon a Roman cross and revealed your eternal, self-giving love. Forgive us, merciful God. Wipe sin from our lives and let us find ourselves wholly in Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is in his name that we pray. Amen.
Anthem: Be Not Afraid, Celebration Singers
“Celebration Singers gathered on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 to rehearse for Christmas Eve. We were happy to have some alumni – home from college – with us! At the end of the rehearsal we sang a favorite: Craig Courtney’s anthem based on Isaiah 43:1b-2;4a “Be Not Afraid.” We shared thoughts about the text, and then talked about Mr. Courtney, who was grieving the death of his son. We decided to record it and send it to him. Caroline Heading is the pianist.” —Chuck Snyder
Time With Children
Praise Song: Consider the Lilies, sung by Claire Crosby
Prayer for Illumination and Matthew 10:24-39: Don Harrison
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ!
Anthem: His Eye Is on the Sparrow, Caroline Heading, Piano
Genesis 21:8-21 Reading with Pastor Karen
Holy wisdom, holy word. Thanks be to God!
Message: God Heard the Voice of the Boy Pastor Karen
Hymn 393: Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said (Charles William Everest), Alice Hoover, Organ
Take up your cross,” the Savior said,
“if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.”
Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ’s strength shall bear your spirit up
and brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, heed not the shame,
and let your foolish heart be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calv’ry’s hill.
Take up your cross, then, in Christ’s strength,
and calmly ev’ry danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to vict’ry o’er the grave.
Affirmation of Faith Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33
The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations, and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong. The church follows this pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord.
Invitation to the Offering with Pastor Karen
Offertory: This Is My Father’s World and Fairest Lord Jesus (Hailey Smith)
Prayer of Thanksgiving/Dedication and Lord’s Prayer with Pastor Karen
Holy One, incarnate One, dynamic One, God who is Trinity, we lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving for the life in Christ Jesus that we receive from you. You have shown that your mercy overcomes sin and evil and brings relief from oppression. We thank you for your steadfast love that keeps covenant with your people. In Christ we know the depth of your care for all that you create. We invite the Holy Spirit to help us so that we can praise you eternally in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. 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.
Charge/Benediction
Postlude: Faith of Our Fathers, Mark Wagner, Piano
Sharing God's Love and Grace 