Worship Guide (v1) for November 29, 2020
Advent Devotions for November 29, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 29, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 29, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
Share Your Experience!
You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Worship Preview
Happy new year! Happy new church year, that is. This week is the first week of Advent as the lectionary and liturgical cycle moves forward! Advent is the time for watching and waiting for the promised Messiah— Jesus. Of course, Jesus has already come. The prophet in our Old Testament reading asks God, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1). Well, God has already done that! God has already “rent the heavens” and come down as Jesus “moved into our neighborhood” (John 1:14). But our relationship with Jesus is not historically bound to the past, but is a dynamic relationship to be enjoyed right now, and into the future, too! During Advent we watch and wait for Jesus transforming our world, our lives, continually. We watch and wait as we experience the Good News that God Is Here! How can we experience hope? By watching and waiting, actively engaging and being open to the Spirit of Christ this Advent season.
We begin our ADVENTure journey this week. Pick up your Advent resources (online, in-person, for individuals and a special card deck of family Advent activities) that will help us experience the fantastic story of God’s abundant grace and how we can choose to be a people of gratitude. In our Gospel reading from Mark 13:24-37, Pastor Kevin’s Advent series, God Is Here!, begins with how to participate in God’s restoration project that transforms us and all of creation. We watch—(What are you watching for during these unprecedented times?)… and wait— (What are you waiting for? Who are you waiting on?). This requires the vigilance of which Mark speaks on the first Sunday of Advent — active waiting and watching.
Music Preview
We begin Advent singing O Come, O Come Emmanuel, a solemn and delicate carol originally written in Latin with a title of ‘Veni, Veni, Emmanuel’ about 1710. The English translation of the Advent carol came about in 1851 when priest and scholar John Mason Neale’s version was featured in the pages of The Hymnal Noted – a key text in the history of hymns collected by hymnal documenter Thomas Helmore. Let’s join in watching and waiting for the promised Messiah, Emmanuel (meaning God is here).
