Welcome
Please use this link for the
Zoom Worship Service December 3, 2023 at 8:30am
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81188368778?p30wd=QzZNMlFNNWVRVFIyUXZieWtNWkV0UT09
December 3, 2023
Acton Community Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 177, 32142 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510
Message: 661-208-8032 w who ww.actonpc.org
1888 – 2023 Celebrating Heritage and Sharing Hope
“It is not by bread alone that a man lives, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, i.e., at his command. Material sustenance is important and essential to life. But life is more than food. At each step of the way, the people were fed by Yahweh, on whom they depended. Nothing was possible without Him, and even to eat, they had to await his pleasure. The deeper lesson to be learned from the concrete illustration of bread for the body was that there are deeper dimensions to life than physical hunger.” —J.A. Thompson
WELCOME, ANNOUNCMENTS, GUESTS AND SPECIAL DAYS
ADVENT WREATH (Jamie and Kelly Boyd)
OPENING HYMN #2 Come, Thou Lond Expected Jesus
1 Come, Thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.
2 Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Father, forgive us for the ways we deny your love day after day. We have traded you for lies, for gods which are not, idols that only demand and take from us rather than give us life. We remember our jewelry and our clothing
but forget our God. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Give us grace to receive and to remember your love, now and through all our days. May we adorn ourselves with your righteousness, goodness, and peace, through Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
SILENT CONFESSION PRAYERS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Nehemiah 13:1-2, 10-13a, 22a, 30-31
On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who had conducted the service, had gone back to their fields. 11 So I remonstrated with the officials and said, ‘Why is the house of God forsaken?’ And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful; and their duty was to distribute to their associates. 22 And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favour, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love. 30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood-offering, at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
The Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God
NEW TESTAMENT READING: 1 Peter 2:4-10
4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built[a] into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious;and whoever believes in him[b] will not be put to shame.’ 7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, 8 and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,[c] in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. The Gospel of the Lord, Praise to You Lord Christ
SERMON : Dr. Randy Working “Restoring God's House”
CALL FOR OFFERING–Congregation sings
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: THE NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man: Who for us, too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried: the third day He rose according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of the Father: He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son: Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy, Christian, and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and life of the age to come. Amen.
HYMN #339 Be Thou My Vision
1 Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art--
Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
2 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, Great God of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
3 Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
HOLY COMMUNION
CLOSING HYMN #15 Rejoice, Rejoice
1 Rejoice! Rejoice, believers, And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising And soon He will draw nigh;
Up, watch with expectation, At the midnight comes the cry.
2 See that your lamps are burning, Replenish them with oil;
Look now for your salvation, The end of sin and toil.
The marriage feast is waiting, The gates wide open stand;
Arise, O heirs of glory, The Bridegroom is at hand!
3 Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, Thou Sun so longed for, Above this shadowed sphere!
With hearts and hands uplifted, We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth's redemption, And ever be with Thee!
BENEDICTION – The Lord Be With You
Congregation sings
God be with you till we meet again, By his counsels guide, uphold you, With his sheep securely fold you God be with you till we meet again.
**Offerings
1. May be deposited in the Offering Box by the Narthex.
2. Processed through “E-Give” online at actonpc.org
3. Send a check to Acton Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 177 Acton, Ca. 93510
UP COMING EVENTS
Sunday, December 3, 2023, at 2:30 PM
The Santa Clarita Valley Concert Band
At Panorama Presbyterian Church
Free Admission
Panorama Presbyterian Church
14201 Roscoe Blvd. Panorama City, CA 91402
818-894-8316 http://goo.gl/maps/4BsEU
Have you contributed any "moola" to our "Moomania" project yet? It's not too late to purchase a cow or a share of a cow, or two, or three for the Mission project. Each cow is $450.00. This is a mission project from Presbytery to "celebrate the good our gifts are accomplishing in our communities and around the world." Copies of the Presbyterian Giving Catalogue will be available soon and will be made available for your personal use. Any questions? See Sandy Madsen
