Bread and More Soup Kitchen continues to serve a free to-go meal every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:15.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Pastor Murray at 631-727-2621. We are an open and affirming member of the United Church of Christ and no matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here.
Announcements:
Christmas Eve Services: 10:00 AM and candle light service at 8:00 PM
Dec. 10: Decorate the church sanctuary following service.
The newest edition of the Beacon Light is available on our website. If you would like a paper copy, please call the church office at 631-727-2621.
The thrift shop remains open Tuesday, Thursdays from 10-2 and Saturday 9-1.
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First Sunday of Advent
SERVICE OF WORD AND SACRAMENT
December 3, 2023 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence arr. Young
(Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love.
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Awake, people of God, and stay alert for Christ’s coming.
Grace to you and peace from God who sent Jesus to us.
Many: Make your ways known to us, O God.
Show us once more your awesome presence.
One: We are all God’s people; no one is excluded.
Come together as God’s family for worship and prayer.
Many: Let the mountains quake before you, mighty God.
Let the nations tremble in awe and reverence.
One: Praise the One who grants us the gift of life.
Give thanks for God’s continuing faithfulness.
All: Heaven and earth will pass away,
But the Word of God is true for all times and places.
*HYMN: O Come, O Come Emmanuel No. 116
WELCOME AND PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
Let us pray:
El Shaddai – God of the mountains who quake at your presence,
You meet us in our memory of you.
We’d invite you to come down and dwell among us,
Yet we know that you are already and always with us—
Emmanuel, in our collective memory from ages past—
God beside us, God before us, God behind us, and God within us.
Let your face shine so that we might remember you more clearly.
Give us life and we will call on your name
As we worship you in spirit and in truth.
Amen.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH
Pastor: Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Hope.
People: Our hope is in God who made heaven and earth.
Our hope is in God who has come to us in the flesh.
Our hope is in God the Spirit, the One of blessing and promise.
Pastor: Today we light the Prophets’ Candle, the light of hope.
We call to mind the promises of our God and hold to
the vision of a new heaven and a new earth.
People: All thanks and praise to our God of hope who has promised
to save us. May our hope burn brightly even in the darkness
of violence and suffering.
(The first candle is lit)
Pastor: Let us pray to our God-with-Us:
ALL: Holy One of all ages, continue to illumine our hearts and minds. By the power of the Holy Spirit touch us, heal us, and transform us so that all we say and do may be pleasing unto you. Amen.
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Advent Happenings: We will decorate the church for Christmas directly after service next Sunday,
December 10th, and at 5:00 there will be a lighting of the Menorah, Riverside. On December 17th, there is a Holiday concert at the Jamesport Meeting House at 3:00 pm. On Christmas Eve, December 24th, we will have a brief prayer service at 10:00 am and our Service of Carols and Candles at 8:00pm.
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
….Holy One, born of God, reveal to us once more the power and glory which claims us all. Let your Word make its impact within and among us that we may accept your mission for us and enlist all our efforts in bringing in a joyful hope. Come reign among us and rule in every heart….
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY: How Will We Know Him Althouse
*DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Isaiah 64:1-9 OT Page 654
❖ Psalm 80:1-7, 14-19 Hymnal Page 672
❖ 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 NT Page 145
❖ Mark 13:24-37 NT Page 12
*GLORIA:
Glory to the Creator, the Christ, the Holy Spirit,
Three-in-one; as it was in the beginning
Is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen. Amen.
SERMON: “The First Light in the Darkness”
Of the many traditions of the season, the Advent wreath is likely my favorite. Each week it offers us the opportunity to focus on one of the pillars of our faith. Faith itself is not a candle, because the wreath, asthe reason for the season itself, presupposes faith. Yet faith as a general term, even faith in Jesus the Messiah, the Savior, can be rather nebulous. Without guidance, we’re left to consider what it is, what it means, how it’s built. If asked to name the biggest components of our life of faith, we’d likely struggle
some. Love would doubtlessly be in there, but what else? Our Advent Wreath doesn’t just leave us in the darkness of stumbling to understand faith but guides us with pillars of focus that enlighten us as believers and lead us to the light of Salvation.
And it makes sense for hope to be first. It was the hope of the prophets that shaped faith. They knew and professed hope in a mighty God who was still with the people even through the struggles of life. They taught us to believe, to believe in goodness to come, to believe in miracles and even seeming impossibilities. They led us to a hope of a God who could divide the waters and open passages to freedom, who could heal the lame and feed the hungry, who could comfort the people and grant them peace.
In our world so full of disappointments, violence, hatred, and sin, even worldly hope can be difficult. And theological hope is almost impossible. Our reason can take hold of us and work to counter our faith. Reason in place of faith can shut us down, close us off, to even seeing divine possibility much less reaching out and embracing it and opening it up as even we open up our hearts to take it in. It is a practice that is, in short, spiritually and physically unhealthy, because hope is vital to our well-being and
our ability to truly walk and shine with the light of God.Hope is different than just wishing upon a star (to borrow a line from Disney). Not a pipedream, but it’s
a concrete desire. Hope is both a noun and a verb; and as a verb it is to be an active one. Hope demands that we are actively engaged in the fulfillment of our desire. Webster defines the verb hope to mean: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to desire with expectation of obtainment; to expect with confidence. We, of course, are told to hope in God, that is to let our confidence reside with God, and we know that God makes all things possible. But if we don’t truly expect our hope to be realized, then it’s just an empty dream.Hope is most pronounced in the darkness. Although we can hope for a number of things in life -- for a favorite team to win, for a special gift for Christmas, for good weather in days ahead – it’s most vital amid the true struggle of the soul, in days of deep darkness when worry and sorrow come to roust. And without the first light of hope, deep darkness can make us blind to the presence of a still-active,
still-speaking, still-doing God. With our first lesson, as Isaiah longs for the visible and awesome power of God like in days of old, he laments, “But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.” Even the prophet had the notion that God was hidden, that God had left the building. And, indeed, God can be counted as invisible by many, especially in days of peril and suffering. Yet, in the next chapter Isaiah records God reply: “I was ready to be sought by you, but no one came seeking.”
The light of hope is that first light of seeking. With hope, we are to understand that God is present and active, even as we visualize the realization of our hope. Hope resounds with the reminder that God is with us and actively engaged. A believer struggling with the continuing presence of God brings to mind the wisdom of John Heywood:
“There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who chose to ignore what they already know.” And we know our God is, that God exists, now and always. And we know that God is and will always be with us. That’s faith. And in and with that faith comes the light of hope that returns our sight. As Desmond Tutu taught, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”
Hope: the first light in the darkness. Regardless of any storm or dark night that comes your way, may the gentle candle of hope always be lit by your side.
OUR ORDER OF COMMUNION
THE INVITATION AND TIME OF CONFESSION:
❖ Call to Confession
❖ Silent Confession
❖ Unison Prayer of Confession:
God of glory, we confess that we have not recognized you in our midst nor listened for your voice. Our faith is fragile, and our iniquity goes unrecognized amid our massive self-concern. We have lived as if we have no need to account for the life we have been given. Our church is focused more on our own survival than on its mission in the world. We come to you today with sincere repentance for our neglect. We have failed to prepare the way for Christ’s entry into our
everyday environment. Pardon and change us, we pray. Amen.
❖ Words of Assurance
THANKSGIVING:Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to God Most High.
People: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Pastor: We give you thanks, God of majesty and mercy,
for calling forth the creation and raising us from dust
by the breath of your being. We bless you for the beauty and bounty of the earth and for the vision of the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity for none.
We remember the covenant you made with your people Israel, and we give you thanks for all our ancestors in faith.We rejoice that you call us to reconciliation with you and all people everywhere and that you remain faithful to your covenant even when we are faithless.We rejoice that you call the entire human family
to this table of sacrifice and victory.We come in remembrance and celebration of the gift of Jesus Christ, whom you sent, in the fullness of time, to be the good news.
Born of Mary, our sister in faith, Christ lived among us to reveal the mystery of your Word, to suffer and die on the cross for us, to be raised from death on the third day,
and then to live in glory.We bless you, gracious God, for the presence of your Holy Spirit in the church you have gathered. With your sons and daughters of faith in all places and times, we praise you with joy as we say together:
All: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory,
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND COMMUNAL PROCLAMATION:
Pastor: We remember that on the night of betrayal and desertion, and on the eve of death, Jesus gathered the disciples for a shared meal of preparation.
Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying: “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup after supper.Again he gave God thanks and praise and said:“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of our faith: All: Christ’s death, O God we proclaim. Christ’s resurrection we declare. Christ’s coming, we await.
Glory be to you, O God.
PRAYERS OF CONSECRATION:
Pastor: Eternal God, we unite in this covenant of faith, recalling Christ’s suffering and death, rejoicing in Christ’s resurrection, and awaiting Christ’s return in victory. We spread your table with these gifts of the earth and of our labor. We present to you our very lives, committed to your service on behalf of all people. We ask you to send your Holy Spirit upon this bread and wine, upon our gifts, and upon us. Strengthen your universal church that it may be the champion of peace and justice in all the world. Restore the earth with your grace that is able to make all things new.
ALL: Be present with us as we share this meal, and throughout all our lives, that we may
know you as the Holy One, who with Christ and the Holy Spirit, lives forever. Amen.
SHARING THE BREAD AND CUP:
Pastor: Alleluia, Christ our Passover is offered for us.
People: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Pastor: The gifts of God for the people of God.
We celebrate the grace of God in our midst.
(Please wait until all have been served and we’ll ingest together)
UNISON PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:
We give you thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us at your table through the bodyand blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Continue to heal us, we pray, and strengthen our faith. Increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; we ask these things in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
*HYMN: Come, O Long Expected Jesus No. 122
*PASTORAL BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel,
Lead us back if we should stray,
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In Young
(please remain seated for the postlude)
Last Sunday of Pentecost
A Service of the Word
November 26 10:00am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Pieces for Musical Clocks No.1 Hayden
Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence.
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love.
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Come, God is seeking to gather us together.
Like a shepherd searching for lost sheep, God calls us.
Many: Something or someone has summoned us here.
Dare we believe that God knows and welcomes us?
One: God reaches out to rescue all who have strayed.
Scattered, weak, and injured ones are drawn to God.
Many: We come, in need of healing, seeking a blessing.
Our faith draws us here, in spite of our doubts.
One: Come, above all else, to give worship and thanks.
Make a joyful noise to the Creator of all worlds.
Many: God’s steadfast love becomes real to us here.
We are reminded of God’s immeasurable greatness.
*HYMN: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name #304
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
…We come with gladness, loving God, drawn by our need and by a desire to praise you and give thanks. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may be full of hope. Enlarge the circle of our concern that we may see the stranger as next of kin, the hungry person as part of our own family, the one who is sick as a whole individual deserving of our care. Grant us the presence of Christ that we may learn more fully to follow in the
footsteps of Jesus….
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS AND CONCERNS
Advent Happenings: Advent begins December 3rd with our Communion Service. We’ll decorate the church for Christmas directly after service on December 10th. The community Menorah Lighting is also on the 10th, at 5:00 pm, Riverside. On December 17th, there is a Holiday Concert at the Jamesport Meeting House at 3:00pm. On
Christmas Eve, December 24th, we will have a brief prayer service at 10:00 am and our Service of Carols and Candles at 8:00 pm.
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
Holy One, enthroned in glory over all creation, you are a shepherd to the lost and the least. Teach us to see your face among the poor— feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting those who are sick or in prison— so that we may share in your eternal realm prepared from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, who is coming indeed, to reign with justice,
compassion, and love. We seek to be faithful to your rule of love, that together we might experience our gift of eternal life.
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERING & OFFERTORY: The Artist Martin
*DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 OT Page 759
❖ Psalms 100 HYMNAL Page 688
❖ Ephesians 1:15-23 NT Page 169
❖ Matthew 25:31-46 NT Page 25
SERMON: “The Comforter”
For the past 25 weeks, almost half the year, we’ve been in the season of Pentecost, the season of the Spirit. Today marks the very last Sunday of the long season (and with it the conclusion of the entire Christian year). But curiously, the readings don’t focus on a big celebration of the Holy Spirit. There’s no Pentecostal fireworks at all. Rather, if one were to guess the theme as based on the readings, Jesus the Good Shepherd might well come to mind. And yet, this last Sunday of Pentecost is not known as such, but instead it’s Christ the King Sunday, or now more inclusively entitled the Reign of Christ Sunday. In spite of knowing the history of that particular development, I can’t say I really love it.The explanation for Christ the King Sunday is offered as the culmination of the whole Christian year. As Jesus the Savior moves from a humble teacher, healer, and miracle worker to one enthroned in heaven, The Presbyterian Mission Agency offers this: “The day centers on the crucified and risen Christ, whom God exalted to rule over the whole universe. The celebration of the lordship of Christ thus looks back to Ascension, Easter, and Transfiguration, and points ahead to the appearing in glory of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ reigns supreme. Christ’s truth judges falsehood. As the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, Christ is the center
of the universe, the ruler of all history, the judge of all people. In Christ all things began, and in Christ all things will be fulfilled. In the end, Christ will triumph over the forces of evil.”It's nice, but I don’t find such an explanation particularly moving or edifying. It doesn’t compel me to want to cozy up with God. When I contemplate Jesus as our great God of heaven, the concept of King is not one that readily comes to mind and I’m not sure it does much to inspire a loving feeling for God. An enthroned king, complete
with crown, robe, and throne, isn’t the image that readily fits in with whom I envision God to be. And truthfully, I even struggle with shepherd king, although dressing Jesus in a shepherd’s garb does make God a bit more accessible, especially if aided by a stained-glass window such as we have.Yet even Jesus as the Good Shepherd has its downside, for with the image, we believers have long been likened to the sheep in his pasture. Sheep. Perhaps it's not as bad as being called a cow, or a dog, or a pig, weasel, snake or donkey, but for any of us who have worked with sheep, or seen a bunch close up, a sheep is really not a particularly lovely thing to be likened to.
Sheepish. According to Webster’s on-line dictionary “sheepish” is defined as
1 : resembling sheep in meekness, stupidity, or timidity
2 : affected by or showing embarrassment caused by consciousness of a fault
<as in a sheepish grin>
In either case, I think you'll agree, that it’s not a particularly good thing.
When I was in my early 20s, after spending a year and a half with a Christian Ministry in the National Parks in Big Bend Nat'l Park, Texas, I moved to Kansas and helped a friend's family out with their farm. That's where I got to work with sheep. They will try your patience, and they can be pretty dirty animals, really. If you’ve ever worked
with sheep, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You try to get them to move one way and if you're alone, it's going to take a while. You need lots of patience --and better yet, a good dog or two to help you out. If rather than heading back to the pen, just one of them decides it wants to bolt for the far reaches of the pasture, you will very likely have to turn around and try to bring all of them back again. They are meek, timid – readily frightened, and really, no offense to sheep lovers, quite remarkably stupid.
Yet our first lesson this morning makes being like a sheep sound like an okay thing. In that light, if you have the right shepherd, it doesn’t appear all that bad. The shepherding Lord seeks out the scattered and rescues them. He brings them back to their land, which is all good. It’s great pasture on the mountains (with nice views, I imagine), complete with good grazing land and streams. The rolling grass even makes for a cozy bed. Not only will the Lord seek out the strays and the lost, but if any are injured, the Lord, the Good Shepherd, binds them up, and even strengthens the weak. In that case, if you find yourself getting lost from time to time, a bit injured with the trials of the trails, or even weak or weary, then being sheepish with the right Shepherd (capital S) is a good thing. However, there’s a twist. The fat and the strong, well, they get slaughtered. Note to self: don’t get too fat and strong. This, of course, is an obvious metaphor with a warning against those who have much and take to lording over others with their strength. The fat and the strong are the oppressors, the ungodly. Being sheepish is a good thing for the humble and the gentle, those who look at themselves and others with a sheepish glance, conscious of their own faults, of their own sin, and mindful too of the help they need from the Good Shepherd. But for those who get too taken with their power and money and personal strength, being sheep-like means God will look at them like mutton. But still, neither King, nor Shepherd is the way I think of or address God. I don’t know anyone who addresses their prayers to “Holy King of Heaven” or “Shepherd” and it’s only upon influence that we’d readily conceive God
as such. For me, when I reflect on the Gospel story as told throughout the Christian year, on our God who comes to us in flesh to teach and to bless, to heal and to save, on our God who suffers and dies for us, on Jesus who rises from death and promises us that we will do the same, and on the Holy Spirit, the advocate and counselor, I don’t readily have a noun such as “King” or “Shepherd” that I use to sum up God’s revelation and being. When I refer to God, I tend to modify “God” or “Lord” with adjectives: “Good and gracious God,” “Holy and loving God,” “Compassionate and forgiving Lord.”
Now especially as the nights grow colder, it occurred to me that a fine embracing concept for God might be the Comforter. For overall to me, God is our Holy Comforter. God holds us, embraces us, warms us, comforts us. It is God who soothes us in the night and blesses us with love to last the day. If I had a vote on it, I’d go with “Christ the Comforter” Sunday as the title for this day. Perhaps that may even work for you, too.
*HYMN: Crown with Your Richest Crowns #301
*BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel,
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: Pieces for Musical Clocks No.2 Hayden
We're biblical, traditional, yet progressive.
We honor and take pride in our
Congregational roots.
We covenant with one another and with God,
as revealed
in Jesus Christ through the illumination of
the Holy Spirit.
We endeavor to walk humbly with God and
strive for justice and peace.
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 56.7
We are an open and affirming congregation in which all persons regardless of race, ethnic background, economic status, gender, age, or personal ability, are equally affirmed into membership, leadership and employment
and joyfully welcomed.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Worship on Sundays at 10:00am.
No matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here.
103 1st Street, Riverhead, New York 11901, United States
Open today | 09:00 am – 12:00 pm |
Our church office is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am-12:00. Church services are held on Sunday at 10:00am, and coffee hour in the fellowship hall following the worship service. Sunday School will be held at 10:00 am. (To run concurrent with our worship service)
Copyright © 2023 First Congregational Church of Riverhead - All Rights Reserved.
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