Community of Christ Lutheran Church First Sunday of Christmas, December 27, 2020 – 9:00 a.m.

Rev. Matthew S. Lash

FACEBOOK LIVE

Led by Pastor Matt, Eric Dickey, Michelle Gebhart

WE WORSHIP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Musical Prelude Eric Dickey

WE REMEMBER OUR BAPTISM

P Claimed by water and your Holy Word, we prepare our hearts to worship in the

life-giving Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

God’s Word for His Church

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in

peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the

sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your

people Israel.”

Hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful

O Come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels,

O come, let us adore Him! O come, let us adore Him!

O come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord!

The highest, most holy, light of light eternal,

Born of a virgin, a mortal He comes;

Son of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him! O come, let us adore Him!

O come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord!

P The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the

Holy Spirit, be with you all. C And also with you.

Prayer of the Day

P We pray together. C Gracious Father in heaven, you sent your only Son into

the hearts of Mary and Joseph. Bless the nurturing of every home and heart

with the wisdom of Your Word and lead us to follow the light of a star,

revealing the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Amen.

Children’s Message

Crafts will be available inside the church doors throughout the Christmas season!

Be safe. Pick up your craft!

WE HEAR THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

The First Lesson Galatians 4:4-7

4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born

under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to

sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our

hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[ Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave,

but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

P The Word of the Lord C Thanks be to God!

The Holy Gospel Luke 2:22-40

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of

Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it

is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the

Lord”[a]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the

Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[b]

25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before

he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.” 33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to

cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken

against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will

pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher.

She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her

marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the

temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at

that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who

were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord,

they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and

became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

P The Gospel of the Lord! C Praise to you, O Christ!

Homily “Seen it All!” Pastor Matt

Musical Interlude

WE DEDICATE OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER

P Gracious Father, raise your people on the wisdom of Your Word. Shine the

light of heaven in every heart and soul. As you filled your only Son with

understanding and peace, may we be so blessed to receive every good gift in this

New Year. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

P Gracious Lord Jesus, you were raised with love and compassion from the hearts

of Mary and Joseph. As you were taught the abundance of God’s peace and grace,

send us teachers, mentors, witnesses to your dear love. May we be so blessed to

receive such good gifts in this New Year. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

P Gracious Spirit, you brought every good gift from heaven down to earth. You

directed the hands and plans of God’s only Son. You sent holy angels to save Him

in times of trial. Send down your gifts of grace upon your Holy Church, and save

us from every sin, and bless us to receive good gifts in this New Year. Lord in

your mercy. Hear our prayer.

P Gracious Comforter and healer, care for every name and need we bring to you

in faithful prayer; Robby Spanbauer, Noah Zwayer, Lucas Boltz, Adeline

Masters, Wyland Hawk, Pastor Rich Ferne, Ingrid Otten, Lonnie Snyder,

Tim Gibson, Wyatt Nowicki, Maxine Metzger, Kathryn Whitacre, David

Shoup, Karen Schroeder, Mike Urbanski, Sue Kegg, Fred Ortner, Jerry

Petrell, the family of Dayle Reed, …And all others who we remember in silence,

(Pastor will share local and national concerns).

P Amen.

P The Peace of the Lord Jesus be with you all!

C And also with you!

Your Christmas season offerings and tithes are deeply appreciated in these

challenging times. The Lord bless you for continuing to be faithful with your gifts.

You may drop your offerings in the INBOX (mailbox) or mail them to the church

office; 6517 Finzel Rd. Whitehouse, OH 43571. Thanks be to God!

We Receive the Sacrament of Salvation

Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here:

“Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the

bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these

words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.”

The Great Thanksgiving

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Lift up your hearts.

C We lift them to the Lord.

P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

The Words of Institution

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave

thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my

body, given for you. Jesus said, Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after

supper, he took the cup, gave thanks and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup

is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the

forgiveness of sin. Jesus said, Do this for the remembrance of me.

The Lord’s Prayer

P Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray…C 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

trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into

temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Please share a piece of bread, toast, a drink of juice with a loved one or friend.

Benediction

P The Lord bless and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be

gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with His favor, and give you His peace,

in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sending Hymn ELW 632

O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!

Before the hills in order stood, or earth received its frame,

From everlasting you are God, to endless years the same!

A thousand ages in your sight are like an evening gone,

Short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun!

O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.

Still be our guide while troubles last and our eternal home!

Announcements

Be blessed with the Peace of Jesus. Amen.

Postlude

Community of Christ

Welcome to FACEBOOK Live

We worship each weekend on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Thank you for joining us for

worship! You may join us LIVE ONLY on our Facebook site, Community of

Christ Lutheran Church. The service will appear on our website

www.commofchrist.og. AFTER FACEBOOK LIVE at 9:00 a.m. Please click on

our worship link and click on SERMON LIVE. Please prepare for worship by

providing family/yourself with bread and a small cup of juice. May you find

peace this day in God’s Word.

Pastor Matt Concludes His Ministry with us this morning. Pastor & Marsha will

depart for South Carolina tomorrow morning. Please pray for safe travel and this

time of transition in retirement. “Marsha and I are extremely grateful for every

expression of appreciation, love and support in these past days and weeks---and

years! What a wonderful parade!!! And what a wonderful gift for our entire

family!!!!! Many thanks! May Jesus remain the reason for everything you do as a

congregation! May the Lord abundantly bless and keep you all in His care in 2021.”.

–Pastor Matt & Marsha.

January Newsletter Please e mail us and request our monthly newsletter. Our

popular newsletter includes a devotion from leadership, Church council update, and

other significant news. Thanks! Please send a copy to a friend!

Volunteers are needed to assist with the operation of the new audio-visual

equipment. Training will be provided. This is an opportunity to learn new skills

and offer a service to our church. Please contact Michelle if you are interested.

C of C installs Streaming Technology With thanks to generous giving, we have

installed a camera system and updated sound to provide streaming services to our

membership and community. We will continue to ‘stream’ our worship ‘live’ once

we return to in-person worship services. We hope you enjoy the improvement in the

quality of our presentation! Thank you, Don Schroeder for assisting us with sound

checks, research and working with Torrence Sound to help make this happen!!

Offerings and Support We encourage our members to remain faithful (if able)

with their tithes and offerings. You may ‘drop’ them in the INBOX in the mailbox

OR mail them to Community of Christ, 6517 Finzel Rd Whitehouse OH 43571. If

you would like information about electronic giving, please leave a message for

our office manager, Michelle Gebhart. Thank you so much!!

Christmas Activities are available at the church doors following our Facebook

Live worship. If you are out, please stop and pick up a craft for your children and

family. It is good to share good news with your children today.

Transition Team - The Transition Team will assist the congregation to

determine where the Holy Spirit is leading us as a church and help to ready

ourselves for changes that will accompany a new pastoral leader. The team

will be active for several months until a call committee is formed. The team

will be discussing the details of their involvement with our Synod

representatives as soon as meetings can be arranged.

The members are: Tom Davis, Matt Dewitz, Kim Jones, Max Kohr, Susan

Nofzinger, Haley Reid, Karole Sigg

Church Contact Information

6517 Finzel Rd, Whitehouse, OH 43571 Church Office – 419-877-0607

Pastor Matthew Lash – 248-981-8011 pastormatt@commofchrist.org

Michelle Gebhart, OM/Pastor’s Executive Assistant secretary@commofchrist.org

Eric Dickey, Director of Music music@commofchrist.org

Cheri Outly, Media Coordinator coutly@roadrunner.com

We Will Miss YOU Pastor & Marsha!!!

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It’s off to DISNEY You

Go!!!