2024-12-15 Joy Grows - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

# St. John's United Church of Christ **Chambersburg, PA** **December 15, 2024** --- ## 🎄 Third Sunday of Advent - "Joy Grows" **Please stand in body or spirit** --- ### 🎶 Gathering Songs - “Sanctuary at St. John’s” - “This is the Day” --- ### 🙌 Unison Welcome > "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." --- ### 📣 Announcements ## 🗓️ Announcements for December 15, 2024 ### 🕊️ This Week at St. John’s #### 📅 Sunday, December 15 - **Chambers Bell Fest**: 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary. Enjoy the beautiful sounds of The Bells of St. John’s and First Lutheran Rose Ringers. #### 📅 Monday, December 16 - 10:00 AM: Meditation Practice – Parlor Room 104 - 3:00 PM: Advent Book Study – Conference Room 111 - Final session of *Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities* covering pages 70–142. A new book for the new year will be announced in the January Spirit. - 6:30 PM: Bible and a Beer – Trojan Diner #### 📅 Tuesday, December 17 - 6:30 PM: Cub Scouts – Fellowship Hall - 7:00 PM: Amistad Praise Band Rehearsal – Fellowship Hall #### 📅 Wednesday, December 18 - 7:00 PM: Midweek Advent Service at St. Paul Lutheran Church (44 E. Main Street, Fayetteville, PA 17222) #### 📅 Thursday, December 19 - 6:00 PM: Bell Choir – Choir Room 103 - 7:15 PM: Choir Rehearsal – Choir Room 103 #### 📅 Saturday, December 21 - 3:00 PM: Blue Christmas Service – Sanctuary #### 📅 Sunday, December 22 - 8:45 AM: Godly Play Class – Room 119 - 8:45 AM: Spark! Elementary Church School Class – Room 115 - 8:45 AM: Teen Discussion Class – Youth Room 206 - 8:45 AM: Wired Word Church School Class – Room 116 - 10:00 AM: Sunday Service – Sanctuary --- ## 🎄 Special Announcements ### ✨ The Christmas Fund The Christmas Fund supports active and retired clergy, lay employees, and their families who are facing financial difficulties. Donations will be collected on December 15, 22, and 29. Contributions provide assistance for small annuities, health premiums, emergency grants, and Christmas “Thank You” Gift Checks. To contribute, please write "Christmas Fund" in the memo line of your check or envelope. --- ### 🎁 Reverse Advent Calendar Spread holiday cheer this year with a new opportunity. More details are available in the December Spirit. --- ### 🍽️ Operation Dishwasher We’re close to reaching our $20,000 campaign goal to replace the dishwasher in the church kitchen. Thank you for your generosity! --- ### 💙 Blue Christmas Service A special Blue Christmas Service will take place on **Saturday, December 21, at 3:00 PM** in the Sanctuary. Join us to experience hope and healing in the midst of darkness. --- ### 🕯️ Midweek Advent Services The final Midweek Advent Service will occur on **Wednesday, December 18, at 7:00 PM** at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fayetteville, PA. --- ### 🎄 Christmas Eve Worship Services Two Christmas Eve services will be held on December 24: - **5:00 PM** in Fellowship Hall - **7:00 PM** in the Sanctuary --- ### 📧 Assistant Email Clarification Please send any communication for the office assistant to: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). --- ### 🌟 Silent Night, Holy Night Volunteers Actors are needed to help portray the Christmas story during the **5:00 PM and 7:00 PM Christmas Eve services**. Sign up on the Youth Bulletin Board for more information. --- ### ❄️ Winter Weather Policy In the event of snow, check your email for a special e-blast or call the church office (select option 1) to hear a message about cancellations. - If CASD cancels all-day classes, all church activities will also be canceled. - If school is delayed, morning activities will be canceled. - If there is an early dismissal, evening activities will be canceled. --- ### 🧤 Winter Warmth Drive Help families in our community stay warm and well-fed this winter. **Phase 1 (December 1–January 15)**: Donate the following items: - Mittens and gloves - Winter hats - Socks - First aid kits - Deodorant - Shampoo and conditioner - Tissues and paper towels - Toothpaste - Laundry detergent - Soap More information is in the December Spirit. Thank you for your generosity! --- ### ✌️ Passing of the Peace **Leader**: "The peace of Christ be with you" **Congregation**: "And also with you" --- ### 🔔 Chiming of the Trinity --- ### 🎵 Opening Song Come, Now is the Time to Worship (Written by Brian Doerksen) Verse 1: Come, now is the time to worship Come, now is the time to give your heart Come, just as you are to worship Come, just as you are before your God Come Chorus: One day every tongue will confess You are God One day every knee will bow Still, the greatest treasure remains for those Who gladly choose You now Verse 2: Come, now is the time to worship Come, now is the time to give your heart Come, just as you are to worship Come, just as you are before your God Come Bridge: Willingly, we choose to surrender our lives Willingly, our knees will bow With all our heart, soul, mind, and strength We gladly choose --- ### 🙏 Call to Worship *(from "From the Manger")* - Have you heard the good news? A baby is to be born in Bethlehem, and his birth will bring joy to the world! - **Response**: Jesus will be born to make all things new! - Have you heard the good news? God anointed Jesus to proclaim good news to the poor. - **Response**: Jesus will proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind. - Jesus will set the oppressed free and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. - **Response**: Let us worship with glad and joyful hearts—Jesus will be born soon! --- ### 🎶 Praise Song # My Soul Magnifies the Lord (Written by Chris Tomlin and Daniel Carson) **Verse 1** Good news of great joy For every woman, every man This will be a sign to you A baby born in Bethlehem Come and worship, do not be afraid **Verse 2** A company of angels Glory in the highest And on the earth peace among Those on whom His favor rests Come and worship, do not be afraid **Chorus** My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord My soul magnifies the Lord He has done great things for me Great things for me **Verse 3** Unto you a child is born Unto us a Son is given Let every heart prepare His throne And every nation under Heaven Come and worship, --- ### 🙏 Opening Prayer God of abundance and joy, like the shepherds who heard the angel’s good news, we celebrate the good news of your Son’s arrival. Fill us with uncontainable joy as we lift our voices in praise and gratitude. While we gather in spirit and truth, comfort the sorrowful places in our hearts, and help us mend broken relationships. Let the deep joy of this third week of Advent nourish our souls today. Amen. --- ### 🕯️ Lighting of the Advent Candles **Readers**: Jim, Katie, and Sadie Boyer > God of compassion, we know many people do not feel joyful today. Some are grieving loss, some are feeling ill. Some people are hungry, some are worried or fearful. We know you see and understand all of our troubles, sadness, and pain. Even though you were born to bring joy, you do not ask us to pretend happiness when life is hard. Today, we pray for our friends, family, and neighbors who feel far from joy. You are close to the brokenhearted, comforting all of us in our affliction so we may comfort others. Help us be a community where people feel safe to express all their feelings, from sadness and fear to joy. May we support one another at all times. Amen. --- ### 🙏 Prayer for Illumination Holy God, as we turn to our sacred scriptures, illuminate the texts before us so that we may know Jesus—the true Word of God. Here, we encounter the same joy the shepherds felt when they heard the news of Jesus' birth. May this joy move us toward gratitude and action, nourishing our spirits as we are nourished by your message for us today. Amen. --- ### 📖 Scripture Readings 1. **Zephaniah 3:14-20** **Zephaniah 3:14-20 (NRSVue)** 14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing 18 as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. 19 I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20 At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord. 1. **Philippians 4:4-7** **Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSVue)** 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. --- ### 🎶 Special Music - “I Am the Bread of Life” by Roxanne Davenport --- ### 🧒 Children's Message Children's Corner will be offered following the Children's Message. --- ### 📖 Scripture Reading **Luke 2:20 (NRSVue)** > 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them. **Luke 19:1-10 (NRSVue)** > 1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. > 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. > 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. > 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. > 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." > 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. > 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." > 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." > 9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. > 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." ### **Message by Rev. Caroline E. Saxton** #### 🕊️ Sermon Outline: Joy in the Advent and Christmas Season --- #### ✝️ **Opening Prayer** - "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, for you are our rock and our redeemer." --- #### 🎄 **Introduction: The Timing of Christmas Joy** - Engaging question: *When do you put up your Christmas decorations?* - Different traditions: - After Thanksgiving - First Sunday of Advent - Throughout December - No decorations or leaving them up year-round - Reflection on the cultural shift: - Commercial Christmas starts and ends earlier each year. - Contrast with the Christian tradition of celebrating the 12 days of Christmas, culminating at Epiphany (January 6). --- #### 🌟 **Christmas as a Season of Joy** - The church calendar's extended celebration: - Preparation during Advent. - Continued joy through carols, decorations, and the Christ candle after Christmas Day. - The role of gifts like hope, peace, joy, and love: - Not fleeting moments but transformative values to live out. --- #### 🐑 **The Shepherds as Models of Joy** - Nativity scene reflection: - Ordinary figures like the shepherds embody relatable faith and joy. - Unlike others in the nativity story, shepherds don’t use their joy for personal gain. - They praise God and continue their work, transformed by witnessing Jesus’ birth. - Key takeaway: - Joy is lived out, shared, and transformative. --- #### 🌳 **Zacchaeus: A Life Transformed by Joy** - Connecting the story of Zacchaeus ([Luke 19:1–10](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19%3A1-10&version=NRSVUE)) to Advent themes: - Zacchaeus’ curiosity and determination to see Jesus. - Jesus finds him, calls him by name, and transforms his life. - Zacchaeus’ response: - Public repentance and reparations, exemplifying joy through accountability. - Joy as a commitment to reconciliation and restoration. --- #### 🎶 **Expressions of Joy** - Musical inspiration: - Comparing “Joy to the World” (traditional hymn) and “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog” (modern interpretation). - Joy is more than a fleeting feeling: - It is a state of being and a way of life. - Embodied through actions that align with Christ’s teachings. --- #### 🌍 **Joy as a Force for Justice and Love** - Joy cannot be selfish: - Reverend Dr. J.P. Park: Joy opposes harm or violence for personal gain. - Reflection on keeping "Christ in Christmas" vs. "Christ in Christian": - Jesus’ consistent advocacy for the marginalized, poor, and oppressed. - Joy compels us to be agents of God’s kingdom on earth. --- #### 💪 **Joy as Resistance** - Quotation from theologian Willie James Jennings: - "Joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces." [oai_citation_attribution:0‡Yale Faith](https://faith.yale.edu/media/joy-and-the-act-of-resistance-against-despair?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - Personal application: - The preacher channels joy as: - A pastor walking with the congregation. - An advocate for justice. - A beloved child of God. --- #### 🌈 **Call to Action: Choose and Channel Joy** - Practical encouragement: - Let joy transform our actions, relationships, and communities. - Live out the love of Christ with kindness, gentleness, and grace. - Anticipation of Christmas: - Embrace joy as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, the "bread of life." - Allow hope, peace, and joy to grow within us and shine outward. --- #### 🙏 **Closing Prayer** - A heartfelt invitation to let joy guide our lives and relationships as we await the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. --- #### **Sermon Analysis** ##### **🗒 Sermon Summary** - **Central Message**: The sermon emphasized *joy* as an active, transformative, and enduring response to Jesus’ birth and life. It challenged the congregation to embrace joy beyond fleeting moments, embodying it in ways that reflect Christ’s love and justice in daily life. - **Liturgical or Thematic Focus**: Rooted in the Advent season, the sermon tied the anticipation of Jesus’ birth to the broader themes of his life, ministry, and call for justice and reconciliation. By connecting the nativity story with Zacchaeus’ transformation, the sermon highlighted how joy bridges preparation and action. --- ##### **🎙 Preaching Style** - **Style**: A **narrative** approach, weaving personal reflections (e.g., family traditions, nativity sets) with biblical stories to make the message relatable. - **Inclusivity**: The sermon included a variety of stories—shepherds, Zacchaeus, and modern cultural practices—providing touchpoints for diverse audiences. - **Engaging Learning Needs**: - **Auditory Learners**: Emphasized storytelling and vocal inflection. - **Visual Learners**: Created mental imagery of nativity scenes and Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree. - **Kinesthetic Learners**: Interactive opening question about decorating practices encouraged participation. --- ##### **🗣 Intonation and Delivery** - **Vocal Impact**: The preacher used a welcoming and conversational tone, varying pace and emphasis to keep the audience engaged. Passionate moments, such as quoting theologians or describing joy, drew attention to key points. - **Tone** #### Transcript 00:00:01 Will you pray with me? May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, for you are our rock and our redeemer. A little participation today, so by a show of hands, and those of you who are at home can do this too, when do you put up your Christmas decorations? Who does it right after Thanksgiving? 00:00:31 Good participation. What about following the first Sunday in Advent? A few hands, excellent. Sometime during December? I'm in that group. Or maybe you've stopped with the mess and the fuss and you either don't decorate, or you just... leave them off all year round. 00:01:03 I mean, there are things that in some ways are tempting. Christmas is a season that both appears to start earlier, every year and end earlier, too. My family celebrated the 12 days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Day and continuing all the way until the Epiphany, when the wise ones arrive on January 6. We didn't take down our, in those days, real tree until the day when they would be hauled away from the curb by the city, 00:01:38 so sometimes it had to come down a few days early. I understand the impulse to welcome Christmas sooner, to turn on the carols and holiday songs, watch the movies, the Hallmark Channel, bake cookies and make holiday treats and decorate our Christmas tree, with our houses inside. What I don't understand is Christmas ending on December 26th, as though we've just moved on, already gotten tired of the reason for the season. 00:02:12 The baby's born. On to the next. I've been thinking about this commercial approach to Christmas in contrast to how we celebrate it in church. We have a whole season leading up to Jesus' miraculous birth and promise of his coming again. And for us, Christmas time is longer than just Christmas Eve and day. Think about it. We keep up our decorations. We sing more carols. 00:02:44 We light more candles, especially the Christ candle. Hope, peace, joy, and love, these are gifts that we're to treasure, to carry forward, particularly now. May we be like those. shepherds and Zacchaeus, and embrace how joy grows. I put out one of my nativity scenes this year that I hadn't displayed in a while. It's made out of ceramic, so it's not quite as kiddie-proof as the wooden sets. 00:03:19 There are the usual figures, Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus in the manger, three wise ones, plus a donkey and a camel. And there are two shepherds, one with a lamb across their shoulders and a sheep. I've always liked those shepherds who watched their flocks by night to whom the angels sang. They're ordinary people. Everyone else in the story is someone we might dress up as but can't really embody. 00:03:54 . . . But the shepherds are real, and we can be like them now. We can be the ones whose joy cannot be contained to praise God for all that we've heard and seen and give testimony to what we have experienced. The shepherds don't use their joy for personal gain or alter their reality. They don't go on a speaking tour or sign a book deal. Instead, they return to their place and carry on with their work. 00:04:25 while knowing their world isn't the same because the Messiah has been born. Joy is lived out. Joy is shared. It grows and expands and it transforms us. I love Three Dogs and Knights' version of Joy to the World. Jeremiah was a bullfrog. But it's the classic hymn, Joy to the World, that expresses what it means. It means for Jesus to come to us and let heaven and nature... 00:05:00 This is the joy that fills hearts with gladness and helps us to live out the love of Christ in our everyday lives. Those shepherds express their joy long after they appear on stage and leave the page. Their lives likely echo over what God has done for them, for all of us, for the world. These ordinary people who receive and share the good news are examples we can look to. 00:05:35 as we seek to experience and share the joy of Jesus. Joy. And it might seem a little strange to jump all the way to Luke 19, 1-10 and the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. I mean, we are in Adam. But this year we are intentionally connecting. And where and how Jesus is born with who he is, who he grows up to be, and what he grows up to do. 00:06:09 The birth of Jesus is tied to the life of Jesus. And so Zacchaeus serves as an excellent example in how to extend joy, happiness, and gladness. So just a few quick reminders about the story and its characters. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. His status and occupation tied him to Rome, which made him distrusted by his neighbors. We might call him a collaborator with Roman rule. 00:06:44 He's curious about Jesus because obviously something compels him to show up that day. He doesn't stay home. He's short. Like me. He has a say over those who are tall. And would presumably keep him from pushing his wages. And unlike me, he is able to physically climb a sycamore tree. And finally, he is determined. Finding a way to see Jesus, and ultimately to be seen himself, 00:07:18 Jesus knows not just to look around, but to look up. Finding people where they are. When Jesus calls him Zacchaeus, receives Jesus at his house with rejoicing. Jesus doesn't listen to the grumbles of the crowd. He knows exactly who Zacchaeus is. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He came to and for people just like Zacchaeus. 00:07:51 Zacchaeus finds a way to extend joy by living out the call from Jesus. Joy is more than a moment of fear. It's a transformed life, a life changed by Jesus. Zacchaeus makes a commitment to reparation, restoration, and reconciliation. And he doesn't do it in private in the comfort of his own home. He does it so that he'll be accountable. 00:08:22 His joy at meeting Jesus turns his life relationships around. Zacchaeus understands that he, too, can be part of building the kingdom of God, expanding that kingdom in the world. It wasn't just one day. It was the start of a change in life. Joy. Joy is not to be withheld or shared. 00:08:53 Luke makes it clear in telling us that sharing is the response of both the... The shepherds go and tell everyone they need to know, helping them to be awed and awed and amazed. And in Zacchaeus, we see that joy materializes in a way that he shares his possessions with the needy. Testimony and redistribution of love, both are possible. 00:09:24 Reverend Dr. J.P. Park says, joy cannot be selfish. Therefore, joy is meant to be. And if you allow harm or violence against others for the sake of your own pleasure or comfort, you cannot call it joy. Maybe this is why I get so frustrated with the idea of keeping Christ in Christmas, not being carried over to keeping Christ in Christian. 00:09:56 Jesus consistently stood up for the last and least. and the lowly. He stood out for the poor and the immigrant. He ate with sinners and sought out the marginalized. He was born for all people, and his life, death, and resurrection reflect that commitment. Our joy in Jesus must be allowed to work on us and in us, so that we too are committed to building the kingdom of God, so that this work is done on earth just as it is in heaven. Jesus wants us to be joyful and here to take that. 00:10:33 joy into the world, so that hearts and minds are made new, whole, and hopeful. For the love of Jesus is rooted deep within us, and we are his hands and feet in the world. So let joy be real in the end, in the action. Willie James James is a theologian who teaches at Yale Divinity School. 00:11:07 On this fall, he wrote an essay that I'm going to quote just a few sentences from. I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces. Joy, in that regard, is a work that can become a state of being which can become a way of life. I channel joy as best as I am able as your pastor, walking alongside you in life and ministry. 00:11:41 I channel joy as best as I am able as an advocate for my brother. I channel joy, the joy that comes from knowing that I am a beloved child of God, made in the image of God to do the hard things that I know that I cannot do alone. Joy is great when hate is loud. Love must. Let us choose joy. Let us channel joy for ourselves, for we choose our kindness and gentleness and grace as we continue to our Christmas, anticipating the coming of the life of the world, the bread of life, Jesus. May we give peace, be sustained in hope, and know that joy grows. --- ### 💬 Sharing of Joys and Concerns --- ### 🙏 Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer (Debts) --- ### 💝 Invitation to Giving --- ### 🎶 Offering Song - “Christmas Offering” Over the skies of Bethlehem appeared a star While angels sang to lowly shepherds Three Wisemen seeking truth they traveled from afar Hoping to find the child from heaven Falling on their knees they bow before the humble Prince of Peace I bring an offering of worship to my King No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due Oh Lord I bring an offering to you I bring an offering to you The sun cannot compare to the glory of your love There is no shadow in your presence No mortal man would dare to stand before your throne Before the Holy one of heaven It's only by your blood It's only through your mercy Lord, I come I bring an offering of worship to my King No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you I bring an offering of worship to my King No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you Still wish that I can do ohhh We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you We bring an offering to you --- ### ✨ Offertory Response *(from "From the Manger")* > Hope in the God who reigns above, > who holds us all in steadfast love; > whose spirit blows across the earth, > preparing us for second birth. Amen. --- ### 🙏 Prayer of Dedication Generous God, we bring our gifts and offerings with joy and cheer because you have given us new life and freedom in Christ. Our small offering highlights the magnificent ways you have transformed our hearts and held our lives in your loving hands. We could never give enough to buy your love or favor, but we rest in the joy that your love is free and boundless. Bless these gifts to the ministry of your people. Amen. --- ### 🎶 Closing Song - “Rooftops” Here I am before You Falling in love and seeking Your truth Knowing that Your perfect grace Has brought me to this place Because of You I freely live My life to You, oh God, I give So I stand before You, God I lift my voice cause You set me free So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours All the good You've done for me I lift up my hands for all to see You're the only one Who brings me to my knees To share this love across the earth The beauty of Your holy worth So I kneel before You, God I lift my hands cause You set me free So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours All that I am I place into Your loving hands And I am Yours, I am Yours Here I am, I stand, with arms wide open To the One, the Son The everlasting God, the everlasting God Here I am, I stand, with arms wide open To the One, the Son The everlasting God, the everlasting God Here I am Arms wide open Here I am Heart wide open Here I am, God Can you tell Him tonight Jesus, here I am Here I am Here I am Arms wide open Jesus So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours All that I am I place into Your loving hands And I am Yours, I am Yours So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours All that I am I place into Your loving hands And I am Yours, I am Yours Here I am, I stand, with arms wide open To the One, the Son The everlasting God, the everlasting God Here I am, I stand, with arms wide open To the One, the Son The everlasting God, the everlasting God So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours And all that I am I place into Your loving hands And I am Yours, I am Yours One more time So I shout out Your name From the rooftops I proclaim That I am Yours, I am Yours And all that I am I place into Your loving hands And I am Yours, I am Yours Jesus, we're Yours --- ### 🎉 Affirmation of Joy *(on screen, from "From the Manger")* --- ### ✝️ Charge and Benediction *(from "From the Manger")* --- ### 🎶 Sending Song - "Prince of Peace" --- ### ☕ Fellowship Please join us for coffee hour after worship! --- ## 🌟 Additional Information ### **Vision of St. John’s** We are called to love, to learn, to worship, and to witness in Christ as a congregation that welcomes everyone and seeks service that will advance God’s realm on earth. ### **Mission of St. John’s** To grow in love of God and neighbor. ### **Worship Participants** - **Pastor**: Rev. Caroline E. Saxton - **Amistad Praise Band**: Guz Mora, Roxanne Davenport, Diana Kongkeattikul, Kathleen Mooshian - **Deacon in Charge**: Allen Frantz - **Lector**: Connie Kaiser - **Children’s Corner**: Calvin Frantz - **Media Coordinators**: Calvin Frantz - **Bulletin Cover**: John (traqair57) on Flickr ### **Birthdays This Week** - 12/16: Judy Knepper - 12/17: Olivia Myers - 12/20: Roberta Peters - 12/21: Bernice Tosten - 12/22: Gloria Crum ### **Worship Resources** - *From the Manger* Advent liturgy © 2024 Illustrated Ministry - *Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship* (edited by Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi)