December 20, 2009
10:30 AM
Fourth Sunday of Advent

WE ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Preparation for Worship
Lighting the Advent Candle
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release
to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion.
We light these candles with joy as a sign of our waiting in hope for the coming Christ, the Prince of Peace, who loves us so much.
*Opening Praise – 354:1,2,5 “Angels from the Realms of Glory”
*God Greets Us
*We Greet Others
The Christmas Story – a pageant in three parts
Parts 1 and 2
348:1,3 “Away in a Manger”
Part 3
337:1,4 “Joy to the World”
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
Prayer of Preparation
Scripture Reading – Revelation 1:4-8
Message – “The Alpha and the Omega”
Prayer
WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING
*Song – 342:1,3,4 “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
The Offerings – First:  General Fund
  Second:  Indonesian Christian Reformed Church
Offertory Prayer
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Intercessory Prayer
WE ARE SENT TO LOVE AND SERVE
Opportunities for Ministry and Fellowship
*Closing Prayer
God and Father of Jesus, you have sent your Son to be our Savior; our light in the midst of darkness, our hope in the face of threats, our peace amid turmoil.
In your Word we have seen him and know that your promises are true.  Send us from this place to live in hope and peace, until we gather again.  This we ask in the name of Jesus, the Lord.  Amen.
*Parting Song – 328:7 “O Come, O King of Nations”
Postlude

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The children of Valley Church are presenting a Christmas pageant this morning, using puppets and readings to tell the Christmas story.  In addition to the two scenes presented last year, this year they are also telling the post-Christmas story of Jesus being brought to the temple and to Egypt, as well as his next trip to the temple as a boy.  Thank you to Gina Martinichio and Erin Peterson for writing the script and preparing the puppets and putting it all together.  Thank you too to Claire Stocum and Paul Peterson for helping with the music.  We will have refreshments following the service when you can talk with the children and thank them for their work.

The second offering today is for the Indonesian Christian Reformed Church in Dover, New Hampshire.  In addition to your prayers for this ministry, your generous financial help is greatly appreciated.

Thursday, 7:30 PM Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship                   

Thank you to all who made the eighth annual Live Nativity a reality.  A special thank you to all the children who braved the cold to re-present the Christmas story to our neighbors and friends.  Thank you too to directors Ron Crawford and Erin Peterson for all their work in getting things ready.  Thanks to all who baked cookies and helped in other ways with the presentation.  Above all, thanks to Jesus who was willing to come from heaven to our earth and be our Savior and Lord. 
The annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service will be held on Thursday, December 24 at 7:30 PM.  This is a good time to invite friends to come with you to a service which uses a lot of music and other traditional elements to tell the story of God’s love for the world.
Our prayer for our Valley Church friends and family is that we will all be in awe of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus.  May we seize the many opportunities God gives us to join the shepherds and Wise Men in worshiping the Christ, the new-born King.
The Gelders
NEXT SUNDAY, December 27, 2009
SUNDAY SCHOOL:  9:15 AM No class this week or next.  Classes resume on January 10.
MORNING WORSHIP: 10:30 AM   Pastor Gelder will lead the service, using a variety of passages from the Psalms to help us look ahead to the new year 2010.  We will also share in the joy of claiming God’s covenant promises as Andy and Mindy (Conrad) Jacob present their son Drew for baptism.