THE CHURCH YEAR - Squarespace · ADVENT Advent begins the church year with a period ... At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ. The longings of Advent find their fulfillment

THE CHURCH YEAR

INTRO

The Church exists to celebrate and proclaim the story of God’s

redemptive work in the world (what we call the Gospel, or good

news). In addition to celebrating this good news through our

preaching and serving our neighbors, we celebrate the Gospel by

retelling that story throughout the year, every year.

Advent marks the beginning of a new church year. The church, or

liturgical, year was developed during the first centuries of the early

church as a tool to help the people of God remember and celebrate

the story of the Gospel. Each season of the year calls us to focus our

hearts and minds on different aspects of the Gospel, from Jesus’

life, death, and resurrection, as well as his ascension, the day of

Pentecost and his promised return. By marking the passage of time

redemptively, the church calendar reminds us that God has acted and

continues to act in history, redeeming for himself his people. Marking

our days and weeks by the liturgical calendar helps us to abide with

Jesus and the find the meaning of our smaller stories within his grand

story of redemptive love.

ADVENT

Advent begins the church year with a period of focused longing. This

season of longing prepares our hearts for the joyful celebrations of

Christmas and Epiphany. Advent means “coming” and its mood is that

of longing, expectation and waiting. Appropriately during this time,

the church remembers Jesus’ first coming and anticipates his coming

again. Our lives and our world are broken, and so we yearn for Jesus

to come back as our King and to make all things new. The cry of

Advent is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of sin

and injustice in a world under the curse of sin. And it is the cry from

those who still have hope of deliverance because they believe in a

God who hears the cries of the oppressed and delivers them.

CHRISTMASTIDE

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ. The longings of

Advent find their fulfillment in the coming of the Savior. The

feast of Christmas is more than a one day event, but a twelve day

celebration beginning at midnight of Christmas Eve. Jesus Christ

has come, full of grace and truth. He has come to show us the

Father and to redeem us from all of our sins and sorrows. This is a

high time for celebration in the life of the church.

EPIPHANY

Epiphany is the celebration of the revelation of Jesus. It begins

on January 6 (and the Sunday nearest to that date). It is focused

primarily on three events in the early life of Jesus, the visit of the

Magi, Jesus’ presentation in the Temple and his Baptism. Epiphany

is a time of seeing and celebrating the revelation of Jesus as the

light of the world. From Epiphany to the beginning of Lent we focus

our hearts on seeing Jesus in his earthly ministry and renewing

our calling to shine the light of Christ to the ends of the earth. In

keeping with this focus on the mission of God, we will pray for our

various missionary partners each day during Epiphany.

ADVENT WEEK 1 (DECEMBER 3-9, 2017)

APPROACHING GOD

Invitation“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put

my hope.” – Ps. 130:5

LISTENING TO GOD

Psalm 2

Readings for Week 1

· Sunday: Deuteronomy 18:15-19

· Monday: Isaiah 35:1-10

· Tuesday: Ephesians 5:1-21

· Wednesday: Matthew 11:25-30

· Thursday: Psalm 24:7-10

· Friday: Luke 1:68-79

· Saturday: Isaiah 61:1-4

QUIET REFLECTION

ADVENT ANTICIPATING JESUS

SPEAKING TO GOD

Free PrayerHaving reflected upon God’s Word, respond to him from your heart,

bringing your needs, desires, gratitude or confession to him.

The Lord’s PrayerOur 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 trespasses, as we forgive those

who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for

ever and ever. Amen.

Concluding PrayerHeavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the

name of your Son. Accept and fulfill my prayers, not as I ask in my

ignorance, nor as I deserve in my sinfulness, but as you know and

love me in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing“Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with

God’s people.” – Rev. 22:20-21

APPROACHING GOD

Invitation“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?”

– Ps. 27:1

LISTENING TO GOD

Psalm 24

Readings for Week 2

· Sunday: Isaiah 9:1-7

· Monday: Luke 1:5-17

· Tuesday: Luke 1: 18-25

· Wednesday: Luke 1:26-38

· Thursday: Luke 1:39-45

· Friday: Luke 1:46-56

· Saturday: Luke 1:57-66

QUIET REFLECTION


SPEAKING TO GOD









Concluding PrayerMerciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach

repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to

heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy

the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Blessing“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

– Ps. 27:14

APPROACHING GOD

Invitation“Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may

be saved”

– Ps. 80:3

LISTENING TO GOD

Psalm 3

Readings for Week 3

· Sunday: John 1:1-14

· Monday: Mark 1:1-7

· Tuesday: Matthew 1:18-25

· Wednesday: Micah 4:1-5

· Thursday: Micah 5:1-5

· Friday: Jeremiah 31:31-34

· Christmas Eve: Luke 2:1-7

QUIET REFLECTION


SPEAKING TO GOD









Concluding PrayerMay the splendor of your glory dawn in our hearts, we pray,

Almighty God, that all shadows of the night may be scattered and

we may be shown to be children of light by the advent of your Only

Begotten Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessing“May the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will

come to us from heaven, shine on those living in darkness and

guide our feet into the path of peace.” – Luke 1:78-79

CHRISTMAS (12/25/16 – 1/6/17)

WELCOMING JESUS

APPROACHING GOD

Invitation“For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

– Isaiah 9:6

LISTENING TO GOD

Readings for Christmastide · Christmas Day: Luke 2:8-21

· 12/26: Psalm 3

· 12/27: Psalm 13

· 12/28: Psalm 14

· 12/29: Psalm 18

· 12/30: Psalm 27

· 12/31: Psalm 42

· 1/1/18: Psalm 62

· 1/2: Psalm 95

· 1/3: Psalm 121

· 1/4: Psalm 138

. 1/5: Luke 2:22-38

· 1/6: Matthew 2:1-12

QUIET REFLECTION

SPEAKING TO GOD









Concluding PrayerGod, we are as confounded as Joseph and Mary, as busy as the

innkeepers, as lonely as the shepherds, as frightened as Herod,

as wayfaring as the Magi. Turn us again to the place where, with

quietness, you wrap up your truth and promise, your love and

salvation in the child born in a crude barn. We ponder these things

as the noise and clamor of the world are stilled for a time, and there

is a peace that settles deep within us. Bring us to Bethlehem, to

the place where Jesus was homeless, but where we are truly at

home. Amen.

Blessing“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to

his people and redeemed them.” – Luke 1:68

EPIPHANYSEEING JESUS

APPROACHING GOD

Invitation“For the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen

his glory, glory as of the only Son from the from the Father, full of

grace and truth. For from his fullness we have all received, grace

upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth

through Jesus Christ.”

– John 1:14,16-17

LISTENING TO GOD

Psalm

Scripture Reading

(see reading schedule on following spread for Epiphany)

QUIET REFLECTION

SPEAKING TO GOD



(see prayer schedule on following spreads for Epiphany)







Concluding PrayerAlmighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light

of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and

Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he

may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit

lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessing“We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are

being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory

to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

– 2 Corinthians 13:18-19

READINGS FOR EPIPHANY

Jan. 7: Psalm 5, Isaiah 60:1-6

Jan. 8: Psalm 6, Acts 10:34-43


Jan. 10: Psalm 8, Ephesians 3:1-6

Jan. 11: Psalm 9, Ephesians 3:7-12

Jan. 12: Psalm 10, Matthew 2:13-18


Jan. 14: Psalm 12, Mark 1:4-8

Jan. 15: Psalm 13, Luke 3:15-17



Jan. 18: Psalm 16, John 1:35-42

Jan. 19: Psalm 17, John 1:43-51

Jan. 20: Psalm 18, John 2:1-11

Jan. 21: Psalm 19, Isaiah 62:1-5

Jan. 22: Psalm 20, John 3:1-8

Jan. 23: Psalm 21, Luke 4:14-22

Jan 24: Psalm 22, Luke 4: 31-37

Jan. 25: Psalm 23, Luke 4:38-44

Jan. 26: Psalm 24, Luke 5:27-32






Feb. 1: Psalm 30, Matthew 5:33-42










Feb. 11: Psalm 40, Mark 2:1-12

Feb. 12: Psalm 41, Mark 2:18-22

Feb. 13: Psalm 42, Mark 2:18-22

Feb. 14: Lent Begins

PRAYERS FOR EPIPHANY

Sunday: Pray for the worship and witness of our church, together

with our sister churches Christ Church Mandarin and East, and for all

of the churches in our city. Please hold up our local college ministry

partners with Reformed University Fellowship and Campus

Outreach, Alan Marsh, Joe Naramore, and Tommy Park, as they seek

to show the love of Christ to college students at the campuses of

UNF, JU, and Embry-Riddle.

Monday: Pray for our mission partners Carol Arnold and Josh

Dickinson. Carol regularly travels to remote villages throughout

Africa to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to

equip local leaders to do the same. Josh and his wife Anna live in

Bundibigyo, a small town in western Uganda, where Josh uses his

engineering background to develop a sustainable and safe water

supply, and Anna her education background to teach the children.

Tuesday: Please pray for our local ministry partners, Chelsie

Coleman of Youth For Christ, who is working to bring the hope

of Jesus Christ to Jacksonville’s Juvenile Detention Centers, and

First Coast Women’s Services, which serves everyday to protect the

dignity of human life. Please pray for Chelsie, who is also a Christ

Church InTown member, that she would be able to fully raise the

support needed to move forward with full-time ministry work.

Wednesday: Please pray for our ministry partners in Thailand, Dave

and Melody Murray, who are working with Mission: Hope, to bring

holistic gospel transformation to their community in Thailand.

They are still in the process of getting settled, so please pray for

them and their two boys, Micah and Levi, as they get acclimated

to a new culture, new schools, and as they work to get their local

businesses up and running. Please also pray for our partner in India,

Paul Devakumar, who leads India for Christ Ministries, and works

to evangelize and disciple future local leaders in the church, and to

plant new churches throughout India.

Thursday: Please pray for Pinedale Elementary school and all who

labor there; the teachers, administrators and our tutors who serve

there. Please also pray for Charles and Carissa Gardner as they minister

through Young Life Urban to the kids at Lee High School. Please also

pray for Kim Carr, together with the staff, volunteers, and students

at the International Learning Center in Jacksonville, Florida, as

they evangelize through literacy programs to the immigrant

communities in our City.

Friday: Please pray for our ministry partner Jim Fitzgerald of Equipping

Pastors International who is actively working to disciple men and

women throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Jim is presently

working to raise funds for one of his students who pastors a church in

Rabat, the capital of Morocco, to obtain a dedicated space to worship

for their church body in Morocco. Please also pray for Kurt Nelson, the

CEO of East-West ministries, who provides leadership and oversight to

the worldwide ministry endeavors in the 50+ countries in which East-

West operates.

Saturday: Please pray for Kate Schell, also a CCIT member, as she

works with Wycliffe Ministries and her team in the Philippines (having

previously lived there for two years and now traveling there twice per

year for one month each visit) to minister to the marginalized Sama

people of the Philippines. Specifically, they are currently working

to translate the Old Testament of the Bible into the Sinama language,

and then, just as importantly, teaching the Sama to read their own

spoken language. Kate and her team also work together with local

government officials and educators to influence their decision-

making with regard to the use and adoption of Sinama into the

educational materials.

EVENING PRAYER

This form is appropriate for use throughout the year and will help you to reflect on your day before God and close the day in prayer.

Call to Prayer

We will bless the Lord, from this time forth for evermore.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and

earth.

Prayer of Praise and Thanks

Give thanks to God for the gifts of the day. Thank him for his faithfully

loving and preserving you this day.

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in

thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I

have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart;

I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I am truly sorry and

I humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have

mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will,

and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Reflect on your day. Name to God how you have sinned – what you

have done or left undone, your failures to love whether large or small.

Psalm of the Day

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Blessing

“Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:

your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared in the sight of every people;

A light to reveal you to the nations

and the glory of your people Israel.”

- Simeon’s Song, Luke 2:29-32

PRAYING THE LORD’S PRAYER

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against

the disorder of the world.”

– Karl Barth

As you engage with these prayers, you will be praying the Lord’s

Prayer twice a day. This pattern of prayer was given to us by Jesus

and has shaped the prayer lives of Christians for two millennia. We are

not to simply repeat the words mindlessly, but to let them form our

prayer life. In this prayer Jesus teaches us how to approach God, how

to speak to God and what to pray for.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

The prayer opens by teaching us how to address God. He is our Holy

Father in heaven. He is as intimate and loving to us as a Father, and yet

he is holy and sits enthroned in heaven. Start your prayer by aligning

your thoughts about God to his revealed nature. He is not stern,

distant, powerless or disinterested in you, but a Father in heaven who

loves you.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Before we pray for our desires, we pray for God’s desires to be done

on earth. We pray that this world, in all of its sin and brokenness

would be brought into line with God’s will – just as in heaven. Pray

for the knowledge of God to spread over the world, and for the

undoing of all of the effects of sin in our community and world.

Give us this day our daily bread.

God cares about your daily needs. None of your concerns are too

small to matter to God. He cares about your job, your resources, your

relationships, your family and your health. Ask God for what you need,

knowing that he hears you and cares about you.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass

against us.

As sinners under grace, living in a world full of sinners we must

become fluent in asking and giving forgiveness. Here, we confess

our sins to God and ask his forgiveness. We ask him to make us

forgiving people. As those reconciled to God, we are to be agents

of his reconciling grace. Pray that God would help you to lay down

your anger and forgive those whose sin has wounded you.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Pray that God would protect you and guide you as you follow him.

Pray that he would protect you from the temptation to sin and give

you the power by his Holy Spirit to flee from sin and pursue love

and righteousness. Pray about the ways that you know you are

repeatedly tempted and fall into sin.

For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory.

Amen.

We seek and desire the glory of God in our prayers above all else.

His glory fills our hearts and our vision. Conclude your prayers by

worshipping and adoring God.

ABOUT CHRIST CHURCH INTOWN

OUR MISSIONOur mission is to seek the renewal of all things in Jesus Christ, by

cultivating a Gospel-centered community that multiplies churches

and develops partnerships in Jacksonville and around the world.

What is a Gospel centered church and how do we live and grow

within it?

OUR VISIONTowards that end, we are committed (by God’s grace and for

his glory) to cultivating personal transformation, an uncommon

fellowship, and the flourishing of our neighbors.

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST -

The Gospel renews people from the inside out. We seek to share

Christ with those who do not yet know him, and to help all people

grow into maturity in Christ through worship, community, service and

daily prayer.

AN UNCOMMON FELLOWSHIP IN CHRIST -

In our world, most people tend to cluster with those who look, live

and think like them. We believe that the church is called to transcend

this by becoming and uncommon fellowship made up of people of

different races, socio-economic groups, and cultures. We desire to be

a cross-cultural church where the reconciling power of the Gospel

creates a new kind of family.

THE FLOURISHING OF OUR NEIGHBORS IN CHRIST -

We seek now only our own health and wholeness in Christ, but

that of our neighbors. We desire to see our neighborhoods and

our city renewed spiritually, culturally and socially. We believe that

the church is God’s agent for the holistic transformation of our

community.

A congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America

Office Address: 426 McDuff Ave S. | Jacksonville, FL 32254 www.christchurchintown.org

426 McDuff Ave S, Jacksonville, FL 32254

SERVICE EVERY SUNDAY AT 10 AM

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THE CHURCH YEAR - Squarespace · ADVENT Advent begins the church year with a period ... At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ. The longings of Advent find their fulfillment