December 8 — Make Ready

Advent—the season of waiting for Christ—continues, with the second Sunday’s lighting of the candle of peace. May the world accept God’s gift of “new life in Christ.”

WELCOME

PRELUDE — Go, Tell It on the Mountain — Hayes

*CALL TO WORSHIP — Jim French
One: The days are surely coming, says our God, when justice and righteousness will appear.
All: God’s promises will be made known to us.
One: We will declare God’s goodness and salvation.
All: Forevermore, we will seek to walk in God’s ways.

*HYMN — Holy God, We Praise Thy Name — #28

Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim!
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite, Thy vast domain;
Everlasting is Thy reign.

Hark! the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
“Holy, holy, holy Lord!”

Lo! the apostolic train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun,
Through the Church the song goes on.

Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee,
While in essence only One;
Undivided God, we claim Thee,
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we sing our praise to Thee.

*PRAYER OF INVOCATION — Jim French
Holy God, we long for your peace, and we trust in your promises. We hear your call to turn toward you, to change our lives, and to welcome you as our Savior.
Eternal God, you are our righteousness. Come now; meet us here. Fill our minds with your wisdom and our hearts with your peace, so that this time of worship may move us to act courageously toward bringing about your vision of wholeness for all. We pray in your name, God Emmanuel. Amen.

LIGHTING THE ADVENT WREATH — The Candle of Peace

*RESPONSE — Emmanuel — #185

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel;

God with us, revealed in us;
His name is called Emmanuel.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE — Linda Lowry

GOD’S WORD — Isaiah 11:1-10 —Jim French

SPECIAL MUSIC — Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine — L. Smith

GOD’S WORD — Luke 3:1-6 — Pastor Dan

SERMON — Pastor Dan

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER — Pastor Dan

*HYMN — O Come, O Come, Emmanuel — #186

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.
Refrain:

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light!
Refrain:

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain:

*BENEDICTION — Pastor Dan

October 22 – JUST Worship

We rejoice at this opportunity to gather in God’s house. All people are welcome here!
Giving joyfully and extravagantly is our faithful response to God’s abounding grace.

Wherever we gather today, we are in God’s house! Our doors are open and you can join us in person at Ivy Chapel, or on our YouTube channel.

WELCOME

PRELUDE – Prelude on Abide with Me – Young

*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Morning has broken.
All: Let the heavens be glad!
One: Let the earth rejoice!
All: We are mysteriously drawn to worship by the unseen.
One: God’s wonders are alive everywhere.
All: Here on holy ground, we sense God’s closeness.
One: The Creator of all living things gives us life!
All: Together, let us sing God’s praises!

*HYMN – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty – #10

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is your health and salvation!
All ye who hear; now to His temple draw near,
Join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth;
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen How thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with his love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

*OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God, you are our health and salvation. We give you thanks, Gracious God, for the multitude of ways that you bless our lives:
the beauty of your creation;
the love offered by other people;
the hope given by your promises;
the ‘free gift’ of new life;
the deliverance provided by your grace!
Come now, O Holy Spirit. Breathe on us anew, so that we may dream your dreams and embrace your vision for all that this world can be. Through this time of worship, draw us into a deeper relationship with you, Dear God. Bring us closer to you. Lead us to live with an ever-growing love for you and for your magnificent universe! Amen.

*PRAISE RESPONSE – Grace Alone – Insert

GOD’S WORD – Psalm 84:1-7

SPECIAL MUSIC – 10,000 Reasons – Redman

GOD’S WORD – Luke 18:9-14

SERMON – Pastor Dan

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH AND THE LORD’S PRAYER – Pastor Dan

*HYMN – Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above – #26

Praise the Lord who reigns above And keeps His courts below;
Praise the holy God of love, and all His greatness show.
Praise Him for His noble deeds, praise Him for His matchless pow’r;
Him from whom all good proceeds let earth and heaven adore.

Celebrate th’eternal God with harp and psaltery;
Timbrels soft and cymbals loud in His high praise agree.
Praise Him, ev’ry tuneful string; all the reach of heav’nly art,
All the pow’rs of music bring, the music of the heart.

Him, in whom they move and live, let ev’ry creature sing,
Glory to their Maker give, and homage to their King.
Hallowed be His name beneath, as in heav’n, on earth adored;
praise the Lord in ev’ry breath, let all things praise the Lord!

*BENEDICTION – Pastor Dan

*POSTLUDE – Fughetta – Muffat

In-person worship to resume March 7

Great news! COVID-19 cases continue to decline in the St. Louis area and across the country. While there is still a need for great caution, the Ivy Chapel Council and Board of Deacons have determined the time is right to resume in-person worship.

You must make a reservation to attend Ivy Chapel’s in-person worship. We will continue to offer virtual worship for those who cannot attend.

To make your reservation, please email Gail Thoele.

An important note: Things will be a little different. Here’s what to expect.

1. Virtual services will continue.
2. Masks MUST be worn inside the building; masks will be provided, if needed.
3. Hand sanitizer will be provided in several areas.
4. Sign-in is required for contact tracing.
5. White dry erase boards will give directions to those entering the sanctuary.
6. The floor will be marked for 6’ social distancing.
7. Ushers will seat each individual or family group (from front to back.)
8. Children will be seated and should remain with their family throughout the entire worship service. (There will be no Sunday School or nursery.)
9. Communion will not be served at this time.
10. There will be no congregational singing at this time.
11. Ushers will dismiss the congregation from the pews after the service (from back to front.)
12. Worshipers will leave the sanctuary by the outside door with safe social distancing.
13. There will be no gathering in Fellowship Hall before or after services.
14. Those who are sick, at risk or don’t feel safe are requested to stay at home and worship virtually.
15. Announcements and prayer requests should be emailed to Pastor Dan at his direct email.
16. At the present time, there will be no use of fluorescent lights or sound system in the sanctuary, because these interfere with the sound quality of our live stream worship service.
17. Offering Gifts: A stationary offering plate will be located at the back of the sanctuary for people to offer a gift in person. [Anyone who prefers continuing to give church offering gifts as they have been doing up to now during the pandemic is welcome to continue.] Thank you for giving to support Ivy Chapel UCC ministries.

Questions? Feel free to reach out to Gail Thoele.

September 13 Livestream

Thank you for joining us this week. We have made some adjustments to our video and audio. Please let us know in the comments how we are doing.

This week’s order for worship:

Prelude/ Anna

Invocation (Responsive Call to Worship; and Unison Prayer) / Dan

Hymn/ “Think About His Love” (worship booklet, p. 87)

Think About His Love

Think about His love, think about His goodness. Think about His grace that’s bro’t us through.
For as high as the heavens above, so great is the measure of our Father’s love.
Great is the measure of our Father’s love.

Children’s Message/ Linda

Special Music/ Anna

Scripture Reading/Dan Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon/Prayer/ Dan

Hymn/ “I Then Shall Live” (#133)

I Then Shall Live

1. I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven; I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
   I know my name is clear before my Father; I am His child, and I am not afraid.
   So greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother; The law of lover I gladly will obey.
2. I then shall live as one who’s learned compassion; I’ve been so loved that I’ll risk loving, too.
   I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges; I dare to see another’s poinot of view.
   And when relationships demand commitment, Then I’ll be there to care and follow through.
3. Your kingdom come around and thru and in me, Your pow’r and glory, let them shine thru me;
   Your pow’r and glory, let them shine thru me; Your Hallowed Name, O may I bear with honor,
   And may Your living Kingdom come in me.
   The Bread of Life, O may I share with honor, And may you fee a hungry world thru me.

Benediction/ Dan

Postlude/ Anna

August 30 Livestream!

Last week, your Ivy Chapel worship team experimented with a new way (for us) to create a more engaging, communal online worship. We produced a short live online worship with special music, a prayer and a children’s message.

This week, we’d love for you to join us online for a full, live worship service. 

The service will start at 10 a.m. (or a little after – you know Ivy) on Ivy Chapel’s Facebook page. You do notneed to have a Facebook account to watch.

Head to www.facebook.com/IvyChapel. You can use your smart phone, tablet or computer.

If you have an account and are logged in, you should be all set. If not, it will seem like Facebook is demanding you to login, but you can ignore these boxes and scroll down the page. You may need to click on “not now” if it asks you to login again.

As you scroll down the page, if we’re live, you’ll see the video. Click on the video to join the live worship in progress. You can click on the small icon with two diagonal arrows to expand the video to your whole screen.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the live worship. We will post a link to the video here on the Ivy Chapel website later in the day.

If you do tune in, please let us know what you think. 

Let’s Worship Together During Holy Week 2017

Join us here at Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ as we worship during Holy Week 2017.

Maundy Thursday, April 13     7:30 PM  worship

Good Friday, April 14                 7:30 PM  worship

Easter Sunday, April 16            6:30 AM  sunrise worship

Easter Sunday, April 16           10 AM  worship

Immediately following Easter Sunrise Worship, there will be refreshments for all in Fellowship Hall.

For more information about our Lenten worship services, get in touch with us.

2014 Holy Week Schedule at Ivy Chapel

You are welcome to worship this week with us as we stop to pause and reflect on what it really means to be a follower of Christ. As we move from Palm Sunday to the joys of Easter, we strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Come, make the journey to Easter with us, and celebrate God’s love.

Palm Sunday, April 13

10 a.m. worship

Maundy Thursday, April 17     

7:30 p.m. worship

Good Friday, April 18

7:30 p.m. worship

 Easter Sunday, April 20

6:30 a.m. Sunrise Worship (outdoor pavilion, weather permitting)

10 a.m. worship (Ivy Chapel Sanctuary)

 

Thanksgiving Worship at St. Thomas UCC

Join us at 7:30 p.m. on November 23 at St. Thomas UCC in Chesterfield for a Community Thanksgiving Worship celebration.

Here is a map and directions to the church:

From Hwy. 109:
Turn east unto Wild Horse Creek Road. The church is about
2 miles east of Hwy. 109

From Hwy 40/64 Westbound:
Take the Long Road exit. Turn right on Wildhorse Creek Road.
Proceed 1.5 miles. St. Thomas is on the left hand side of the street.

From Hwy 40/64 Eastbound:
Exit on Chesterfield Airport Road. Turn right on Long Road.
Turn right on Wildhorse Creek Road. Proceed 1.5 miles. The church is
on the left hand side of the street.

Honor the work of Lydia’s House, Oct. 24

In connection of Domestic Violence Prevention Month, the Chaplain of Lydia’s House, Rev. Carolyn Held, will join us for worship on Sunday, October 24. We have been blessed by past visits from Rev.Held. Please join us as we welcome her back as she shares with us her mission of healing and hope.

Christ is Risen! Celebrate Easter with Ivy Chapel.

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Celebrate the resurrection at Ivy Chapel’s Sunrise Service, 6:30 a.m. on April 4 in the Ivy Chapel sanctuary. Rev. Dale Bartels from St. John’s UCC in Chesterfield will lead the celebration.

Our Resurrection Day Worship will take place at 10 a.m., with Open Communion.

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