Call to Worship - (If you are joining us from home, you are invited to light a candle to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit) Do You Hear What I Hear? by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker - El Dorado
Welcome - Stephen Folds, Music Director
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Reader: Good news, God is filling the hungry with good things!
Good news, God is lifting up the lowly!
Good news, God is about do his mightiest work!
He will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth from all nations.
We light the fourth Advent candle
remembering that God's Promised One
comes to comfort all who are afflicted
and to afflict all who might be too comfortable.
[Light the candle.]
Reader: Come, Lord Jesus.
All: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, 1861- John Mason Neale, translator- El Dorado
Passing of the Peace: Through the act of passing the peace of Christ, we offer our sincere desire to love our neighbor.
You are invited to greet one another in the live stream chat on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
TOP 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS
VENMO: You can find us here: https://venmo.com/LAFirstUMC
PAYPAL: https://paypal.me/LAFirstUMC
SQUARE:https://checkout.square.site/pay/be673aef7fcb424e98387016d184e57d
United Methodist Resources:
AC2023: Special Called Session Registration Now Open
The registration is free until Tuesday, October 31, 2023, PDT/HST. Beginning Wednesday, November 1, a $50 registration fee will apply. To register, click HERE. More information will be posted as it becomes available at calpacumc.org/scs2023.
The 2023 Special Called Session will be held online on November 11, 2023. The 39th Annual Session of the California-Pacific Conference was held June 14-17 in Los Angeles, CA.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
Medi-Cal Expansion for all adults age 26-49
Beginning January 1, 2024, adults aged 26-49, regardless of immigration status, qualify for full-scope Medi-Cal. This includes: Doctor visits, Hospitalizations, Prescriptions, & Preventative care. Apply for Medi-Cal at benefitscal.com
The Seasonal Winter Shelter Program (SWSP) is now open!
SWSP is available until March 31, 2024. These shelters help to keep our unhoused neighbors safe and warm during the coldest months in our region. lahsa.org/winter-shelter
Under the state of emergency declared to help the housing crisis, LA County is creating more job opportunities and making the application process easier than ever.
Learn more at homeless.lacounty.gov/emergencyAccess to internet service is crucial.
The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program provides a $30 dollar monthly benefit for internet service. Find out how you can get your home connected at: Getconnectedlosangeles.lacity.org.
CALL TO PRAYER: God With Us by All Sons and Daughters - El Dorado
Joys and Concerns: Prayers of the People We believe that the best way to bear our burdens is to share them with one another. You are invited to share your joys and concerns so that our community can hold these things in our hearts as we lift them to God together.
You are invited to share your prayers in the Facebook Live Chat, or on the YouTube Live chat.
Old Testament Reading- 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 God’s Covenant with David
Now when the king was settled in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders[a] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel, 9 and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and be disturbed no more, and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
Gospel Reading : Luke 1:46b-55
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
All: Thanks be to God!
Sermon: From Longing to Rejoicing - Rev. Dr. Mandy Sloan McDow
HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation to the Table: As we understand the Body of Christ to be inclusive, we understand God’s table of grace and fellowship can extend into our homes. As you’re able, bring your own elements to this time. Bread, Juice, Coffee, Muffins… the Body of Christ is comprised of wonder and mystery. Today, we celebrate that God can reach us where we are, even if we are not together.
The Great Mystery of our Faith
All: Christ has died
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
And now, with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray:
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,
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
MUSIC DURING OFFERING AND COMMUNION:
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Edmund H. Sears: poem & Richard Storrs Willis: tune- El Dorado
Benediction Remember:
God is with you,
God is for you,
God refuses to be God without you.
And may all of God’s people say: Amen.
