December 2011 Archives

THE EPISTLE LESSON Ephesians 3: 1-12

THE GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 2: 1-12

SERMON "A New Year and a New Body"

WORSHIP NOTES

Welcome to worship at Westminster on Epiphany Sunday! Epiphany Sunday is a day set aside for celebrating the shining forth or revelation of God to humankind in the person of Jesus Christ. Both Eastern and Western churches observe Epiphany, however the specific date of the celebration varies with each tradition. In the Western church, Epiphany is observed 12 days after Christmas (January 6). Like Westminster, many reformed congregations choose to observe Epiphany on the first Sunday in January and continue to observe a liturgical season of Epiphany until Transfiguration Sunday, which is celebrated on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday (February 22). The liturgical color for Epiphany is white. "Light" is the common liturgical symbol for the season of Epiphany.

This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 25, 2011

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This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 24, 2011

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WORSHIP NOTES

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held on Christmas Eve 1918 at Kings College at Cambridge. This service was adapted from an order prepared by the Archbishop of Canterbury for a Christmas Eve service in 1880 by Eric Milner-White, a former army chaplain, who, at the age of 34, had just been appointed Dean of King's College. With the exception of 1930, the Cambridge Festival has been broadcast annually on the radio since 1928. (In Madison, the Cambridge Festival may be heard on Wisconsin Public Radio on Christmas Eve morning.) Although the anthems and carols change each year, the lessons read from the King James Bible and the prayers used in the service have remained virtually unchanged since 1918. Like Westminster, many churches have adapted the Cambridge Festival service for use in worship during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Eric Milner-White described the Festival service in this way:

"Its liturgical order and pattern is the strength of the service; the main theme is the development of the loving purposes of God, from the Creation to the Incarnation, through the windows and words of the Bible: the scriptures, not the carols, are the backbone."

As with all worship services at Westminster, the faithful expression of God's word is our primary focus. The music--handmaid of the liturgy--is our response to God's word proclaimed. Through music dating from the 16th to the 21st centuries, we have an opportunity today to respond to God's word by drawing from a diverse and rich heritage of choral repertoire and carols.

As we worship, we know that God's promises of hope and love abide in Christ and, through him, also abide in each of us. Let us respond to God's word this morning with joy as we add our voices to the messengers who preach the gospel of peace.

This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 11, 2011

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THE PROPHETIC LESSON Isaiah 35:1-10

THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 1:46-55

SERMON "The Turning of Joy"

WORSHIP NOTES

Welcome to worship at Westminster on this the Third Sunday of Advent. 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 joy with which we wait for the Lord. The hymns, anthems, and service music through which we worship have all been chosen to reflect this spirit of joy. Today, as a symbol that we have reached the half-way point in our Advent journey, we light the pink candle, which is also called the "Gaudete" or "joy" candle, in the Advent wreath.

You may notice in our worship during Advent, our announcements have been moved from the beginning of our worship. The reason for this is our inclusion of the liturgy for the lighting of the Advent candles as our opening act of worship. The image evoked here is one where we gather around the wreath to light a candle in the darkness for our worship together. The announcements for this season are more appropriately placed following the Passing of the Peace as an act of the community together.

This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 04, 2011

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