Instrumentalists: Steve & Karen

Announcements  (No Call to Worship- just right into first song) 

Congregation:  Behold

Advent Reading: Love  (Text below)
Tom & Jennifer  

Special Music:  O Come O Come Emmanuel
Shalynnda

Congregation: Majesty in a Manger

Grace Giving

Congregation: Sing We the Song of Emmanuel
Immanuel (From the Squalor)

Children’s Program

Special Music: Away in a Manger (Forever Amen)
Madison & Alyssa  

Message

Congregation:  Angels From the Realms of Glory

Reader 1: On this third Sunday of Advent, we reflect on the greatest LOVE story ever told — the story of God’s great  love for us, demonstrated through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Reader 2: Today, we remember the incredible love that God pours into our lives and calls us to share with others. Just as the light brightens this room, may the love of Christ illumine our hearts and guide our actions.

Reader 1: We know that God’s love is not limited to the faithful; it reaches out to us in our unfaithfulness and calls us to experience His forgiveness and grace. Through Christ, we find forgiveness, restoration, and a love that never gives up.

Reader 2: Love is at the core of the Christmas story. It’s the reason why God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. The apostle John beautifully captures this truth in 1 John 4 when he writes, “This is how God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Reader 1: The birth of Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s love. In the midst of our brokenness, God reached out to us, sending His Son as a beacon of love and redemption. In Jesus, we see the perfect expression of love. His life, teachings, and ultimate sacrifice on the cross demonstrate the depth of God’s love for us.

Reader 2: Through Jesus, we are brought into a relationship with God. And it is through Jesus that we experience the depth of God’s love, the love that knows no bounds and extends to us all, the faithful, the unfaithful, the whole and the brokenhearted.

Reader 1: As we journey through Advent, let’s remember that love is so much more than just a feeling. We are vessels of God’s love, reaching out to the lost, the broken, and the hurting, just as His love reached out to us.

Reader 2: Be mindful of the gift of love displayed through Jesus. Fill your heart, soul, and mind with his unconditional love so that you overflow with it to others. Embrace the command to love one another just as Christ has loved you.