GRACE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Loving God & Our Neighbors in the Heart of the City

November 21, 2012 Thanksgiving Eve Service

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV) Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. - Matthew 6:31-33 (ESV) To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank-you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let us not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God. - Henri J. M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey (New York: HarperCollins, 1997), entry for January 12

As one body of Christ, composed of diverse individuals bound together by the Holy Spirit: We will do justice and love mercy in service to the Lord. We will resist the temptation to indulge in excessive security or abundance for ourselves and instead humbly go out into the world to live lives of abundant generosity to others, especially those in need. We will be doers of the word, as faith apart from works is dead. -from our 2012 Vision Statement

A SERVICE OF WORSHIP
November 21, 2012 Thanksgiving Eve 7:00 p.m.

WE GATHER TO GLORIFY GOD

PRELUDE We Gather Together
Please stand for these parts of the service.

Craig Phillips
(b. 1961)

CALL TO WORSHIP

from Psalm 65

Leader: Praise is due to You, O God, in Zion; People: To You shall vows be performed, O You who answer prayer! Leader: Blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts! People: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple! Leader: You visit the earth and water it; You greatly enrich it. People: You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. Leader: You crown the year with Your bounty; the tracks of Your chariot drip with fatness. People: The pastures of the wilderness drip, the hills gird themselves with joy, Leader: The meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, People: They shout and sing together for joy. All: Praise the LORD! HYMN 559 (Blue Hymnal) We Gather Together Kremser

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved You with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done Your will, we have broken Your law, we have rebelled against Your love. We have ignored our neighbors, and turned deaf ears to the cries of the needy. LORD, have mercy upon us, and forgive us our sins. Deliver us from the wages of sin, And free us for joyful obedience; Through the power of Your Holy Spirit And the grace of Jesus Christ our LORD, in whose holy, precious, and humble Name we pray. Amen. ASSURANCE OF PARDON

CELTIC ALLELUIA
(All sing the Alleluia after the organ introduction)

Fintan OCarroll

Celtic Alleluia, music by Fintan OCarroll and Christopher Walker 1985 by OCP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A-715262.

WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD

OFFERING ANTHEM For the Beauty of the Earth
Chancel Choir

John Rutter

(b.1945)

For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies, For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies: Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our joyful hymn of praise. For the beauty of each hour Of the day and of the night, Hill and vale and tree and flower, Sun and moon, and stars of light: Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our joyful hymn of praise. For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child, Friends on earth, and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild: Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our joyful hymn of praise. For each perfect gift of Thine, To our race so freely given, Graces human and divine Flowers of earth and buds of heaven: Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our joyful hymn of praise.
text Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864

DOXOLOGY 592 (Blue Hymnal) 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. Amen. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Old Hundredth

WE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION OLD TESTAMENT READING Joel 2:21-27 Holy Bible, p. 803 OT

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 147:1-12, 21 Robert Hawthorne

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to God! how pleasant it is to honor him with praise! The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (refrain)

He counts the number of the stars and calls them by their names. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; there is no limit to his wisdom. The Lord lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God upon the harp. (refrain)

He covers the heavens with clouds He is not impressed by the might of a horse; and prepares rain for the earth; he has no pleasure in the strength He makes grass to grow upon the mountains of a man; and green plants to serve mankind. But the Lord has pleasure in those He provides food for flocks and herds fear him, and for the young ravens when in those who await his gracious they cry. (refrain) favor. Hallelujah! (refrain) EPISTLE READING GOSPEL READING 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Matthew 6:25-33 Holy Bible, p. 198 NT Holy Bible, p. 10 NT

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. SERMON HYMN 9 (Red Hymnal) Holy Gratitude Now Thank We All Our God Reverend Brint Pratt Keyes Nun Danket

PASTORAL PRAYER AND THE LORDS 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; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

WE GO FORTH IN GODS NAME

HYMN 554 (Blue Hymnal) BENEDICTION POSTLUDE A Song of Thanksgiving Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)

Let All Things Now Living

Ash Grove

Give thanks to God for: Blessing us far more abundantly than we could ever imagine Harris Coltrains successful heart surgery last week and ongoing recovery

Please pray for: Elizabeth Gee, preparing to meet her Savior; Nancy States, Patty Richwine, and Jean Appich, recovering from surgery; Betty Clough, recovering from a fall; Willie Alford, at home undergoing chemo; Ben Gordon, for health; Ann Pais nephew Paul, with ALS; Juliette Harriman White; Susan Farrells grandmother Mary Lou (Uh Oh) and father, Jim; Svetlana Chicus mother, Estera, with lymphoma; Carlos Juara, facing vocational challenges; Rosie and George Turner; Nela Bostian; Beth Lloyd; Steve Cobb and his family Our Deacons, as they continue to discern Gods leadership for their structure and ministries for the new year Our Mission Ministry (Kent Cardwell, Jack Corley, Susan Farrell, Matt Hartman [chair], Susan Pillsbury David, Everett Reveley, Nelson Reveley, and Dawson Watkins), as they grow in spirit and service to brothers and sisters here in Richmond and around the world; and our Prayer Ministry (Cherry Corley, Jack Corley, Lee Farrar, Susan Farrell, Carol Wood [chair], and others), that God may add to their numbers on Sunday mornings and draw Grace Covenant closer to Him in devotion and faith... Stuart Chapman, William Bridenstine, David Russell, Chris Pais, Mike Child, and Jessica, serving in our nations Armed Forces The William Byrd Community House, as it seeks to transform the lives of children, youth, young adults, and families, and help them acquire the skills they need to build selfsufficiency; and for Beth Baleke, that God may continue to guide, bless, and prosper her ministry in Uganda We pray for persons in financial need in Metropolitan Richmond: For healthy marriages; for constructive, safe, and caring households for the bringing up and nurturing of children and caring for the elderly; for advocates who put their lives on the line for the sake of others; for all who fight for the rights of persons who cannot fight for themselves.