Kinderhook Reformed Church Celebration of Worship, December 10, 2017

“To Know Christ and to Make Him Known”

Rev. Rudy Visser, Pastor

A warm welcome to visitors. 

We invite you to fill out a visitors pew card and place it in the offering plate.

    8:30 A.M.  CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

  Announcements, The Lord’s Greeting, and Morning Prayer

*Morning Praise

  Scripture Reading                                                                                                2 Peter 3:8-15

  Message                                                                           “For God, Patience Means Salvation.” 

  Prayer of Thanks

  Offering and Prayer of Blessing

  Intercessory Prayer

*Closing Hymn and Benediction

10:00 A.M.  CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

Following worship today, all are invited to enjoy refreshments and fellowship

downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.

Thanks to today’s ushers, Chris Laurie, Derick LaTorre, Steve Shpur.

Thanks to today’s greeters, Bonnie & Jim Dunham.

Nursery facility available downstairs.

  Prelude

  Welcome, Announcements, and God's Greeting

Drawing Near to God

  Call To Worship  (Responsive)  

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus 
       and be light for our darkness.
Be comfort in our grief,
       a guide for our path.
Be a friend for our loneliness,
       an oasis for our searching.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.

       Restore our joy, heal our wounds, and bring us peace.

  Around the Advent Wreath – Johnathan & Jennifer Pratt (Responsive)

Today we relight the candle of HOPE.  (Last Sunday’s purple candle is lit.)

Now we light the candle for the second Sunday in Advent. This is the Candle of PEACE and PREPARATION.  (Second purple candle is lit.)

PEOPLE:  As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, we remember that he is our hope and our peace.

LEADER:  From the prophet Isaiah we receive this announcement:  "For to us a child is born, to us a son given; and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6, 7)                         

PEOPLE:  In the Gospel of John we read this promise from Christ our Lord:  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

LEADER:  Let us pray:

ALL:  Gracious God, grant that we may find peace as we prepare for our Lord’s birth. May divisions in ourselves and in our families be peacefully resolved. May there be peace in our cities and in the countries of our world. Help us to see the paths of peace in our lives, and then give to us courage to follow them. Lord, let us remember that you alone are the giver of lasting peace, and that you are always with us. Amen.

LEADER:  You are invited to take one of the 2017 Advent Prayer Calendars available on the back table.

*Hymn of Praise and Expectation #135                                 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Allowing God to Shape Us

  Call to Confession

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. Sin overshadows or best intensions, crowds out our Advent and steels life itself from us. Let us confess our sins together, that we may together know the forgiveness of the Lord.

  Prayer of Confession  (Unison) 

Holy God, forgive us. During this season when our focus should be on the coming of your Son, instead we’re filled with desire for material things. We succumb to the allure of advertising. We covet what others have. We seek to fulfill all the wants of our children with little regard to cost or need. In the process, we spend money we don’t have and fail to appreciate the season’s true meaning. Turn our hearts to you and to those who are less fortunate than we are. Help us tune out what culture calls us to believe so we can listen, instead, to your holy Word. Amen

  Assurance of Pardon  Based on Luke 1:50, 54-55

Friends, we hear the words of God’s forgiveness from Mary, the mother of Jesus: God’s mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Believe the good news: In Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Coming before God’s Open Word

  Children’s Invitation to Sunday School and Prayer of Blessing  (Unison)

Gracious God, transform these children into the likeness of your living Son, Jesus. Guard them from the evils of this world; renew them day by day; and keep them pure and blameless until Christ comes in glory with all his holy angels. Amen.

  Prayer for Illumination and   Scripture Reading                                                 2 Peter 3:8-15

  Message                                                                           “For God, Patience Means Salvation.” 

  Prayer of Blessing

Silent Prayer for Those Seeking to Accept Christ as Their Savior:

"Dear Jesus, I confess that I'm a sinner, and not right with you. I repent and ask forgiveness.  I believe that you died on the cross to take my punishment and to pay the price for my sins.  I believe that you rose from death to give me new life. Wash me clean from all sin, shame, and guilt, and come into my heart as my Lord and Savior.  In your name I pray.  Amen."

Celebrating God, His Abundance, and His Care

  Offering/Offertory

*Doxology #809                                                           Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below.

Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

*Offertory Prayer  (Unison) 

By your mercy, O Christ, give us hands that are clean, hearts that are pure, tongues that are true, and souls that worship you alone. We offer our whole lives and these gifts to proclaim your glory, increase your kingdom, and hasten your coming. Amen.

  Prayer Requests and Pastoral Prayer

*Closing Hymn #733                                                            We’ve A Story To Tell To The Nations

*Benediction, Blessing, and Response Hymn                   My Friends May You Grow in Grace

  Postlude

There is mail in the Church Family Mailbox (upper left box) in the office for:

Amy Deweerd, Sug Hawver, and Janet Shpur

~NOTE OF THANKS~

A heartfelt thank-you to all who worked so diligently to make KRC’s annual Candlelight Night Open House this past Friday such a success. Praise God that so many of our immediate neighbors and nearby community members visited KRC to enjoy the beauty of our sanctuary, the special Christmas music, and the fellowship and refreshments in the Fellowship Room.  x

~CCRM WOMEN’S GIFT PROGRAM CONTINUES~

Capital City Rescue Mission has let us know that they have more than enough Christmas gift packages to share with the homeless men they serve, and would like for us to focus our giving this year on bringing some warmth and caring to the women housed at the mission who might not otherwise have much “Holiday Cheer”. CCRM has suggested that we send winter hats, gloves, socks, body and hand lotions, toiletries, perfumes, jewelry, and non-perishable snack items. YOUR UNWRAPPED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CCRM WOMEN MUST BE PLACED IN EITHER OF THE LABELED RECEPTACLES IN THE MAIN OR SIDE ENTRANCES OF THE CHURCH NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17.  Gifts will be taken to Albany on Monday, December 18, where the mission will sort and distribute them to the women.   

~PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT THIS COMING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15~

We will be offering free child care for ages 3 and up, on Friday, December 15^th from 5:30-8:30 pm.  Use this time for dinner or shopping, without the “little helpers”.  A meal will be provided!  Reservations are required; please call Jean Hacker at (518-603-2450) or Amy Deweerd at (518-522-4264).

~SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17S

As part of our 10 am Worship Service next Sunday, December 17, KRC’s Sunday School children will be celebrating the birth of Jesus with the presentation of their Annual Christmas Program. 

~LESSONS AND CAROLS 4 P.M. NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17~

Directed by David Smith, Lessons and Carols is a worship service celebrating the birth of Jesus, and will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday, December 17, at KRC. A Christmas gift to our community from the KRC family, Lessons and Carols is open to all. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus are told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books, and the Gospels, along with choir music and the singing of Christmas carols and hymns. The first Lessons and Carols was held on Christmas Eve, 1918, at King's College, Cambridge, England, and has been broadcast from there by the BBC to millions of listeners around the world each Christmas Eve since 1931. The order of worship was adapted from an order prepared 38 years earlier by Edward White Benson, Bishop of Truro. Tradition says that the bishop organized a 10 pm service in Cornwall on Christmas Eve, 1880, in a temporary wooden shed serving as his cathedral.

~7 P.M. CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT WORSHIP SERVICE~

As always, KRC’s Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship is a highlight of the season of giving and a special time to express our joy, praise, and gratitude for the Gift of Jesus, Light of the World, from God the Father.

ENVELOPE SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR PRESENTING 2018 WEEKLY CONTRIBUTIONS

For those currently participating in the envelope system to present offerings to the church, new envelope sets 
will be available next Sunday for pick-up at the small table in the back of the sanctuary and ready for use 
beginning Sunday, January 7. If you are not currently using the weekly envelope system to present contributions 
to the church, but would like to do so in 2018, please complete one of the small green request forms and drop 
it into the offering plate.

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR

• those who do not know Christ or who are struggling in their faith journey. Pray also that God will provide opportunities for us to witness for Jesus, and give us the courage and winsome words needed to make the most of these opportunities.
• Pastor Rudy, as he fulfills his ministerial duties.
• KRC ministries, programs & projects and those planning & administering them: KRC’s Consistory; KRC’s administrative ministries; KRC’s Youth Group; Sunday School; KRC’s small group ministries and Bible studies; Community Prayer Group; 1st Friday; and other outreach programs.
• our state, national, and world leaders, especially President Donald Trump and all of the government officials now in office, that God will grant them the leadership skills, wisdom, and the personal protection needed to govern effectively and safely.
• our military men & women, their families, and friends, that they may know God’s presence, protection, and peace, especially Jason Lansing serving in S. Korea.
• victims world-wide suffering natural and other hardships and tragedies: economic instability; poverty, hunger, and poor health; political oppression, unrest, terrorism, war, displacement.
• those grieving the death of loved ones, especially Angie and Chris Rivera, family, and friends grieving the unexpected death of Julie Rivera this past Tuesday; Heather DiOrio, family, and friends grieving the recent death of Heather's father. Kay Haber, family, and friends grieving the death this past week of Kay's oldest brother, James Morse, 93; those grieving the recent death of Donna Scalera.
• those who, even after many years, still hurt from the void left by loved ones who have passed on from this world.
• reassurance, peace, and dignity for loved ones nearing the close of this life.
• Seth Mooney, recovering from surgery this past week.
• those battling or recovering from cancer or in hospice care: Terri; Christine; Michael, brother of Mary Jane Haywood; Connie Witkowski; Michael; Don Morse; Jill; J.B.; Jen; Bill, Janet Smith's brother; Ronny; Ron Dick; Carol Nel; Jeff Peter; Mark; Ann; Steve; Dorothy Wheeler.                        
• those awaiting test results or surgery; recovering from surgery, injury, or illness; or chronically ill: Asha and her baby; Connie; Esther Baker, Jim Baker’s mom; Lesley Haywood; Ruth Edge; Barbara Vosburgh; Virginia Rothermel; Art Gross; Harriet Stockhoff; Jean Skipper; Floyd Haber; Paul Varga.
• those facing challenges, stressful circumstances, and difficult decisions: Merrill Johnson, dealing with a number of unspoken issues; our students, especially Stacey Baker, as they deal with the challenges of higher levels of education in this school year, career choices, and job searches; Greg Clause Jr.; Libby Little-Saxton, working with Afghan refugees; the epidemic of addiction to life-threatening drugs.
• residence-bound KRC family, George Clowe, and those caring for the elderly, displaced, disabled, or ill.

REMEMBER TO THANK & PRAISE GOD FOR

• Pastor Rudy Visser, our Spirit-filled minister and leader of vision, and for the Christ-centered messages God gives to Pastor each and every Sunday for the spiritual nourishment and growth of our church family. 
• the inspirational ministries of our guest preachers, Perry Jones, Tom McCrossan, John Bowen, Derek DeJager, and others who lead worship at KRC from time to time.                                           
• Praise God that Cricket Warren's father, Marvin Von Benschoten, was willing to accept his need for assisted living, but please pray that he will make a speedy and comfortable adjustment to his new situation and surroundings.
• the good news that Stacey Baker has completed her college studies after a long and sometimes difficult struggle to do so while recovering from a serious concussion.
• those men and women who have served or are now serving our country, and those who have sacrificed their wellbeing and lives for the peace & liberty we enjoy.
• the encouraging report that Virginia Rothermel is now home from Whitter following a recent mobility issue.
• all those of KRC's family and friends who volunteer their time, talent, and energy so generously and so selflessly to the various ministries and programs of our church, and who often do this quietly behind-the-scenes with little notice or recognition.

Each member’s share of this year’s classis assessment has been set at $88.50 (down 43¢ from last year).  All who
are able to do so are encouraged to offer, over and above regular giving, their share of this support.  Please
clearly designate all contributions, “Classis Assessment.”