Worship Services

Traditional Worship – 8:00 AM 

The Traditional Worship service featuring organ music and hymns takes place each Sunday at 8:00 AM. It is not live-streamed.

Blended Worship – 10:00 AM

The Blended Worship service, which combines traditional hymns with praise music, takes place each Sunday at 10:00 AM. It is live-streamed on our YouTube channel, which is linked below. 

Our YouTube channel offers playback of all previous services. It also features Shorts - shareable clips of our ministry staff, limited to three minutes or less. 

November 30, 2025  – This IS the Child of Hope

As we begin this sermon series based on the beloved carol What Child Is This, I have to start by saying it’s always been one of my favorites. There’s this interesting questioning about the holy family that first Christmas night, told with the beautiful background tune of Greensleeves. But as we work through this series, I hope together we can find comfort in answering that question what child is this, as we get to know Jesus and what God offers in him.  
This week we can learn that this is a child of hope. He was for his time to the Hebrews, and he is for the world today. So let’s look at the texts we just heard.
Now just to give you some contexts for both passages, you need to know Israel’s story. I’m sure many of you do know it, but it is always good to remind ourselves, especially in this season. Israel was a people formed and blessed by God in many ways. God had called Abraham, then sent people like Moses, Joshua, and King David to lead them and form them into a great nation. During David’s reign the nation was at its height of success, politically, economically, and even with its religion, people knew of the Hebrews and their faith. After David’s reign, his son, Solomon took over and built the great temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, high above so the skyline was filled with a sign of this successful people and their God.
But then something happened. In the early 700’s BC, the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem and made Judah one of their vassal states. Not quite 200 years later, the Babylonians swept across Jerusalem, destroying the city, the Temple, and carrying most of the Hebrew people off into exile. It was, as you can imagine, the most devastating time for Israel. It was a dramatic hit to their politics, their economy, and yes, a dramatic hit to the people’s faith in God. God’s chosen ones were wondering, Where is God? Where is God among all this conflict and violence? Won’t God come down and save us ?That was Israel’s world, and the author of Lamentations writes about it, naming their pain:
Rivers of water run from my eyes
because my people are destroyed.
Tears flow continuously from my eyes,
refusing all comfort—
My spirit is grieved as I see the fate of children in my city.
This author is one of the ones who remained in Jerusalem after the exile, and Jerusalem is as they say destroyed. So they lament, they cry to God,  “God, this hurts” This hurts and it is so bad, I feel like I am in a pit of sorrow and destruction “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit."
But listens to what comes next, because the author’s understanding of God comes through, and that is when bad things happen, and this is bad, where is Divine intervention? Where is hope? The answer is: "You heard my plea…You came near when I called you.” (Lam. 3:55–57). God meets us in our pain. And that is the hope of our faith.
When something isn’t right, we need to call to God, to surrender to God our weaknesses and fears, and trust that God hears our cries. Further, we are invited to believe that God is with us, so we are not alone face the struggles.
That’s the message we hear in the gospel lesson. After the Israelites are freed by the Persians to go back home to Jerusalem and rebuild, they do. But Israel remains weak, and another Empire, the Romans are growing stronger and expanding. They are so strong the Emperor considers himself “the Son of God”. 
Judea, at this time, which is what Israel is known as, is considered a client state of Israel. Which means they were subordinate to Rome, while maintaining local rulers. The local ruler was Herod, who called himself,  King of the Jews. This is the backdrop to the story of Mary and Josepeh, who are on their way to Bethlehem, forced there by the government census. When a census was taken, which was one more way that the government could tax you, it was scary because to not fulfill the orders of Rome, people were killed, and the Hebrews were often killed for less by the Roman Empire. So even though Mary is with child, she and Joseph must journey 90 miles to Bethlehem from Nazareth. This is inconvenient to say the least and terrifying. 
And yet, what one earthly ruler was using in order to take money from others, God would use to fulfill God’s plan and prophecy to give a Savior for all. Because remember a prophet had spoken of a savior being born in the city of David, in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” When life takes us on a chaotic and scary unwanted journey, scripture tells us God is working, God is working even when we cannot see the bigger picture, God does, and what may be senseless or hard, just might be a fulfillment. A fulfillment that leads to an encounter with God. Because as Joseph and Mary come into Bethlehem, she gives birth to the true Son of God, the King of Kings, Emmanuel, God with us.  
Friends, today, both our texts teach us this: -When you call out from the depths of fear and pain, God is near. When life takes a turn you didn’t want or expect—God is near. When you are overwhelmed—God is near, and God is with us. That’s what our faith teaches us because as God grows up in our world as Jesus, he will be there to feed the hungry; to heal the sick; to the pardon the sinner; further he will preach and reveal justice with righteousness so that He will give his life so we may have ours. And friends, the good news we hear today is, this God is with us still. 
As I gave you some background to the texts today, I want to share the background to What Child is This. The song lyrics were written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. He was an insurance man of England and he was quite successful in that business, even at the early age of 25, he was the owner and manager of that business. However at one point his health became critical. So much so he was confined to his bed for many months. It was in that state that Dix had the time to reflect upon his faith. He would read the Bible, study the works of theologians, which had an impact on him. He reaffirmed his belief in the power of God that is at work in our lives through Jesus Christ. So Dix decided to write down those thoughts and affirmations in a poem titled The Manger Throne. From there, the song What Child is This developed and was put to the music Greensleves, which dates back to the time of Shakespeare. And in answer to the question what this child is, Dix was able to write about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. These are the original lyrics- not all in our hymnal:
1. What Child is this who, laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.
2. Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary.
3. So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh, come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born, the Babe, the Son of Mary.
Friends, wherever you find yourself today,
  • In a pit like Lamentations
  • On a difficult journey like Mary and Joseph
  • In a season of sickness or fear or confusion like Chatteron Dix, the good news we receive this first Sunday of Advent is: Hope is the antidote to fear, pain, and suffering, and hope is already near. Because This Child is Hope, God with Us.