This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, November 27, 2011
November 2011 Archives
THE PROPHETIC LESSON Isaiah 2:1-4
THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 1:26-38
SERMON "Hope in Unexpected Form"
WORSHIP NOTES
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this the First Sunday of Advent, which is also celebrated as the start of the church's new liturgical year. The liturgical color for Advent is blue and that color appears not only on the paraments on the communion table and lectern, but also in the choir stoles and in three of the four candles in the Advent wreath. The season of Advent is measured by the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day. Each week represents the passage of 1,000 years to total the 4,000 years believed to have elapsed between the time of Adam and Eve and the birth of Jesus Christ. We use an Advent wreath as a symbol of our progression through this season as we prepare to receive the gift of God's love through Christ.
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation, expectation, and preparation. By observing a season of Advent, we have the opportunity to reflect on how much our world waits with eager longing for the coming of the Messiah. During this Advent, we reflect on this sense of expectation by reading the "Song of Mary" or the "Canticle of Mary" in Luke's gospel. Each week, we will consider how Mary's song offers particular insights into the ways in which we express our faith that God's promises of hope, peace, joy, and love will be fulfilled.
In worship today, we focus on the hope with which we wait for the Lord. The hymns and service music through which we worship reflect the hope we have that the long-expected Jesus will come.
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, November 20, 2011
THE EPISTLE LESSON 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18
THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 14:15-24
SERMON "Too Busy for Thanksgiving"
WORSHIP NOTES
We end the Ordinary season with Thanksgiving Sunday in which we explore the meaning of gratitude and grace in the midst of a consumer world. This also marks the end of our exploration of the gifts of the Spirit, or as our gathering song has described them, "Fruits of the spirit, gifts from above, Symbols of grace and signs of your love." We open with joy and thanksgiving as "we gather together to ask the Lord's blessing," and we confess how difficult it is to be grateful in the midst of the distractions of our world. Yet we are assured of God's forgiveness and embody that forgiveness as we share the Peace of Christ together.
The central text this morning is the parable of the Wedding feast that on the surface appears to have little to do with giving thanks. Yet as we explore the meaning of this parable, we may be surprised to discover the true significance of living thankfully. The Affirmation of Faith is a charge from Paul to the church seemingly impossible to live out in our daily lives. In our response to God's Word, we come forward bearing our offerings, pledges, and food for the poor. This time is a celebration of God's blessings through the sharing of our resources to meet the needs of the church and the world today. We come singing songs of thankfulness, faith, and rejoicing in the abundance of the wedding feast that is God's love. We will end with a prayer for our Thanksgiving meal where all are invited down to the fellowship hall to enjoy God's Spirit together.
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, November 13, 2011
THE EPISTLE LESSON 2 Corinthians 1:18-24
THE SECOND LESSON Matthew 13:44-46
SERMON "Saying Yes to Joy"
WORSHIP NOTES
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. At Westminster, Ordinary Time is the last season observed in the liturgical year before Advent begins on November 27. The liturgical color for this season is green.
Throughout the Ordinary season, we depart from the Revised Common Lectionary scripture texts in order to reflect on particular gifts of God's grace that are collectively called the "fruits of the spirit." Each week, we will examine a particular gift of the spirit and consider how it shapes and molds us on our Christian walk together. This focus on spiritual gifts will lend a context to other activities in the life of the congregation, including the Missional Transformation Process and the Centennial Fund appeal.
The spiritual gift we explore today is joy. The particular parables we read this morning capture the sense of joy of finding what was thought lost. Joy is found throughout our liturgy this morning from the Call to Worship to our Prayer of Confession where we admit our failure to feel joy in a culture filled with manufactured desire. The Affirmation of Faith is taken from the Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian church USA which was developed soon after the north and south branch of the Presbyterian church merged together. This split occurred during the Civil war and it was not until 1983 that the Presbyterian church was reunited. The Statement of Faith was intended to identify what this new church held as common belief. Notice the section that reminds us that the Spirit calls us to live "holy and joyful lives."
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, November 6, 2011
THE FIRST LESSON Hebrews 11:32-12:2
THE SECOND LESSON Matthew 20:1-16
SERMON "The Foolishness of Faith in an Impermanent World"
WORSHIP NOTES
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this the 32th Sunday in Ordinary Time. At Westminster, this first Sunday in November is reserved for our remembrance and celebration of those who have gone from our lives and who have joined the communion of saints with our Lord God in heaven. In the liturgical calendar, this commemoration is called "The Festival of All Saints Day." The liturgical color for All Saints Day is white.
The focus of this service is not on the experience of death and loss, but rather on the celebration of life. Those "saints" whom we remember by name in worship today are the ten individuals from this congregation who have died since last All Saints Day in November 2010. As the name of each person is read aloud, a bell is tolled, and a family member or designee takes light from the Christ Candle to light one of the tall candles behind the communion table. This light serves as a visible reminder of the presence of the deceased who gather with us at the table for the communion of the saints. As we worship, we recall the ways in which we, like these individuals, live out our response to God's call upon our lives within this community and in mission to Christ's church and to the world.
Communion today will be received by intinction. After coming forward to receive the bread and juice, you may wish to step behind the communion table to light a candle in celebration of the memory of someone from your life who is now among the communion of saints. Symbolic of Christ as the light of everlasting life, each memorial candle is lit from the Christ Candle. Collectively, these burning candles serve as a visible sign of the great "cloud of witnesses" described in scripture.
Throughout the Ordinary season, we depart from the Revised Common Lectionary scripture texts in order to reflect on particular gifts of God's grace that are collectively called the "fruits of the spirit." Each week, we will examine a particular gift of the spirit and consider how it shapes and molds us on our Christian walk together. This focus on spiritual gifts will lend a context to other activities in the life of the congregation, including the Missional Transformation Process and the Centennial Fund appeal.
The spiritual gift we consider in worship on this All Saints Day is faithfulness.
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, October 30, 2011
