12/29/24 'Be Transformed' 5th Sunday Worship Service

Sunday, December 29, 2024
5th Sunday, One 9:30 am Service
“Be Transformed!”
Scripture is Jeremiah 18: 1-4
Preaching Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef
WAY #12 – Own Our Church

‘O Come, Emmanuel!’ A worship Series for Advent Based on the O Antiphons.
While most churchgoers are familiar with the ubiquitous Advent hymn ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,’ few may realize just how ancient its text is. It is an English versification of a Latin hymn that in turn is based on an early church text that became known as the ‘O Antiphons.’  The O Antiphons are seven short chants that each invoke a different title for Jesus. They continue to be used liturgically in many churches in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  The Advent hymn based on these antiphons not only calls on Jesus to be present in his church, but also calls us to contemplate the character of the God whose advent we welcome.  As such, this hymn is a fitting text around which to design an Advent worship series.

MEMORY VERSE:
“Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1: 23)