Dec. 29, 2024

Christmas 2024

Together on a Journey

First Mennonite Church

Sugarcreek, Ohio

December 29, 2024

Worship: 9:30 – 10:30

Fellowship Time: 10:30-12:00

We believe in Jesus and take his life, teachings, death and resurrection

as the model for how we live and the message we proclaim.

***************************************

We seek to be a caring and discerning community, the gathered body

of Christ, that welcomes all to join in worship, study, and service.

******************************************

We embody God’s transforming and redeeming Spirit in the world

through our prophetic witness and action.

THE CHURCH WORSHIPS TOGETHER

Keeping Promises…Who sees it?

~Gathering~

Prelude: “O Holy Night” -arr. John S. Dwight

Welcome & Announcements

Focus Statement:

God is faithful in keeping promises on the journey but unless we are keenly attuned, we may not recognize promises fulfilled. Even as we wait, we can be assured that God is active in working out the plan of restoring and healing. May we have the eyes to see God’s active presence, and may we have a voice to share what we have seen.

Time of Meditation: “Peace, Peace”

-Legacy Christian School Women’s Choir

(The bells being played in this video were donated by our church to LCS)

Hymn of Gathering: Angels from the Realms of Glory v1, 2 (printed in bulletin)

Call to Worship:

Leader: As we worship today God, we ask this of you:

Right: Wipe pride from our hearts, that we might truly

love one another.

Left: Rinse conceit from our eyes that we might see one

another as you see.

Leader: We rest in your promises and wait for you.

People: Calm and quiet, we trust in you.

Leader: Open our hearts,

All: That we might let go of all that separates us from

you and one another.

Invocation

Carol: HWB 212 O Come, All Ye Faithful

Candle Lighting Litany:

WL: Have you heard the news? Jesus, the promised Messiah has

come! God is with us; Jesus is here!

Together: Let us shout it aloud for everyone to hear!

Come join us on the journey as we live out the

Good News of Christ!

Carol: HWB 201 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

~Praying & Praising~

Our Journey Stories:

What have you noticed about God’s faithful promises on your

journey? What is the good news you have experienced?

Carol: HWB 210 Good Christian Friends, Rejoice

Old Testament: Psalm 131

Carol: HWB 191 O Little Town of Bethlehem

Prayers of the People

Carol: HWB 197 Angels We Have Heard On High

~Hearing God’s Word~

Scripture: Luke 2:21-38

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now

dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen

your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of

all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the

glory of your people Israel.”

Message: “The Journey May be Difficult, but the Blessings are

Abundant” ~Darcy Miller

Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3 (NIV)

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For

he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me

in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head

like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For

as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes

seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness

and praise spring up before all nations.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I

will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the

dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see

your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called

by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You

will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal

diadem in the hand of your God.

Galatians 4: 4 -7 (NIV)

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born

of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the

law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you

are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the

Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a

slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has

made you also an heir.

~Responding~

Carol: HWB 215 What Child Is This

(the offering will be brought forward)

Offering Prayer

~Sending~

Carol: HWB 318 Joy to the World

Benediction

Postlude: “Yuletide Echoes” -arr. William Hodson

Sending Blessing:

Our sending words are from the poem Sometimes by Mary Oliver.

Let’s say them together--

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

WORSHIP 9:30-10:30

Guest Minister: Darcy Miller

Worship Leader: April Shupe

Song Leader: April Shupe

Guest Pianist: Shirley Holman

Usher: Herb Torgler

Our Advent Theme: Together on a Journey

Sing the Journey, one of our Mennonite songbooks, evokes

wonderful images of voices blending in praise as we travel

together on a path toward a deeper understanding of faith. The

road can be smooth for stretches, but also includes rough patches that may challenge or discourage. Its course is not set; if we are attentive, we may notice God’s guiding hand redirecting us. Each of our journeys in faith is unique but meant to be lived in community. Together, let’s join our voices as we travel the path that draws us closer to God.

Advent Altar Display: This year’s visual display incorporates both the traditional Advent Wreath candlelighting, and the lighting of candles on the altar which corresponds to the theme of the day. The display began quite unadorned, with only candles and a purple cloth making a path to the first candle. You may have noticed that the purple cloth “path” has been moving across the altar a little each week, and a symbol representing the theme

for each Sunday of advent has been added—a rock, a heart, a frayed cloth, a multi-colored cloth, and today, a mirror, as we reflect on our own journey stories.

Christmas Fun: Can you spot the hikers? As we have celebrated Christmas, the hikers have arrived at the altar!

FMC LIVES IN DISCIPLESHIP TOGETHER

Next Sunday, Jan. 5, we will have our final journey story, one that you don’t want to miss! Larry Compton will be our guest speaker and share about his journey to Mt. Everest and his time in Nepal.

End-of-year reports: Please submit your end-of-year summaries to Tabby in the office as soon as possible so she can begin to prepare the Congregational Report.

Mennonite Arts Weekend: Early-bird registration is open for the 2025

Mennonite Arts Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 7-9. This

weekend celebrates the creativity and discipline of Anabaptist

Mennonite artists. Find the list of presenters, registration and location

information at https://mennoniteartsweekend.org

THE CHURH GIVES THANKS

Sue Stauffer: Jim Cahill transfusion was a success, he has over 90% donor blood.

CHURCH PRAYS FOR

Sue Stauffer: Alan Stacy is working with his wound but will need another surgery.

THIS WEEK

Dec. 31^st Happy Birthday, Chris Gerber

Jan. 1^st Happy Birthday, Casey Kalb