Grace Presbyterian Church
Seeking to equip people to live as Christian disciples wherever God has placed them.
Welcome And Opening Prayer
Prelude How brightly shines the Morningstar Dietrich Buxtehude
Responsive Call to Worship
One: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
All: He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him.
One: In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
All: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
One: The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
All: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
Hymn Red 182* “Brightest and best of the stars”
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
dawn on our darkness and come to our aid;
star of the east, the horizon adorning,
guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
What shall we give him, in costly devotion?
Shall we bring incense and offerings divine,
gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
myrrh from the forest or gold from the mine?
Vainly we offer each lavish oblation,
vainly with gifts would his favor secure;
richer by far is the heart’s adoration,
dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.
Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
dawn on our darkness and come to our aid;
star of the east, the horizon adorning,
guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!
Call to Confession
Confession of Sin
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.…(Let us continue, personalizing this prayer for ourselves, in silent prayer.)
Assurance of Pardon
Gloria Patri
Passing of the Peace
Prayer for Illumination in Unison
Illuminating God, shine your light on your word for us this morning that we may see and receive a blessing. Amen.
First Scripture Reading (In Unison) Psalm 147: 12-20
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Second Scripture Reading John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Sermon Light of the World! Guest Preacher Rev. Sal Seirmarco
Hymn Red157* “Good Christian friends, rejoice”
Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
give ye heed to what we say:
Jesus Christ is born today;
ox and ass before him bow,
and he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!
Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
now ye hear of endless bliss;
Jesus Christ was born for this;
he has opened heaven’s door,
and we are blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this!
Christ was born for this!
Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
now ye need not fear the grave;
Jesus Christ was born to save;
calls you one and calls you all
to gain his everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save!
Christ was born to save!
Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offertory God rest ye merry, gentlemen / We three kings
Julie Daidone – Soprano
Gwen Blackman – Alto
Anna Sullivan – Alto
Matt Sullivan – Guitar, Tenor
Doxology
Pastoral Prayer/The Lord’s Prayer
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.
Hymn Red 181* “As with gladness men of old”
As with gladness men of old
did the guiding star behold;
as with joy they hailed its light,
leading onward, beaming bright,
so, most gracious Lord, may we
evermore be led to thee.
As with joyful steps they sped
to that lowly manger bed,
there to bend the knee before
him whom heaven and earth adore,
so, may we with willing feet
ever seek the mercy seat.
As they offered gifts most rare
at that manger rude and bare,
so may we with holy joy,
pure and free from sin’s alloy,
all our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to thee, our heavenly King.
Holy Jesus, every day
keep us in the narrow way;
and when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last
where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds thy glory hide.
Benediction
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This week we welcome guest preacher, Salvatore Seirmarco. Rev. Salvatore (Sal) Seirmarco received his BA in History from William Paterson University and his Master of Divinity from The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. He is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament (Teaching Elder) in the Presbyterian Church (USA). After finishing seminary, he completed 4 masters level units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Currently Rev. Sal serves as a hospice chaplain with Hospice of New Jersey. When he is not working he enjoys training in martial arts, holding a black belt in Korean Karate. Sal also enjoys reading American history, church history, and hiking the woods in around his childhood home of northern New Jersey with his wife Alison and their son Calvin. He resides in Passaic County.