Worship for Christmas Eve 2010 10:30 o’clock
Hymn 143 Joy to the World
Worship for Christmas Eve 2010 10:30 o’clock
Hymn 143 Joy to the World
(Choir, Readers, Elders, Deacons, and Pastor process)
Dialogue Shealyn Scott
Leader: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Congregation: The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has never mastered it.
Leader: Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness,
on them light has shined.
Congregation: We have beheld Christ's glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father.
Leader: For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.
Congregation: In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Opening prayer
Almighty God,
you have filled us with the new light of the Word
who became flesh and lived among us.
Let the light of our faith shine in all we do;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Lighting the Christ Candle
Candle liturgy The Morris Family
One: Hope, peace, joy, and love. Four candles, four promises continually offered to us by God, and all of them manifest in this one we light tonight: the Christ candle. In Christ we find the hope of transformation, the peace that follows justice, the joy of self-fulfillment in community, and the love that encompasses us in all our diversity, empowering us to make our own unique contribution to this world. In Christ we find light and life, and the courage to be like him, answering his call and following in his footsteps.
[All candles are lit.] Sing all verses of “One Candle Is Lit" #128
- Come surely, Lord Jesus, as dawn follows night,
our hearts long to greet you, as roses, the light.
Salvation, draw near us, our vision engage.
One candle is lit for the hope of the age. - Come quickly, shalom, teach us how to prepare
for a gift that compels us with justice to care.
Our spirits are restless till sin and war cease.
One candle is lit for the reign of God's peace. - Come, festively sing while awaiting the birth,
join angels in dancing from heaven to earth.
Wave banners of good news, lift high thankful praise.
One candle is lit for the joy of these days. - Come, wander where lion and lamb gently play,
where evil is banished and faith takes the day,
a babe in a manger to fool the world's eyes.
One candle is lit for God's loving surprise. - Come, listen, the sounds of God-with-us ring clear,
and signs of a cross in the distance appear.
The Word once made flesh, yet the Word ever near.
One candle is lit for the Christ-birthday here.
All: We rejoice in God’s steadfast presence in our lives,
and in God’s unique presence in the life of Jesus of Nazareth—
born of Mary, growing through childhood into an adult ministry,
in all his life manifesting the peace, love, and justice of God;
his voice undimmed by the centuries-
his call and his promise as clear to us as it was to his disciples so long ago.
Come to us, Lord Jesus,
Be born in us this night, in our hearts, our minds, our lives.
May the light of your life be kindled in us,
And lead us to the shining truth,
of God with us, God for us, God in us. Amen.
The King Will Come from Bethlehem
Lesson Micah 5: 2, 5a Craig Smith
"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." And he will be their peace.
Carol 165 “Once in Royal David's City” (solo, v.1; all v. 4)
The Annunciation to Mary
Lesson Luke 1: 26 - 35, 38 Carrie Dyson
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Carol 161 “I Wonder as I Wander”
The Birth of Jesus
Lesson Luke 2: 1 - 7 Cody Baker
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of
And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Carol 144 “O Little Town of
Carol 155 “Angels We Have Heard on High”
The Shepherds Go to See the Savior
Lesson Luke 2: 8 - 16 Brynli Scott
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Carol 170 “How Great Our Joy”
Carol 167 “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
Jesus Receives His Name
Lesson Luke 2:21 - 36 Deejay Whitehead
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
Now there was a man in
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people
Carol 164 “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice”
The Magi Follow the Star
Lesson Matthew 2: 1 - 11 Shealyn Scott
After Jesus was born in
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Carol 172 “We Three Kings” (Men Solo on vv. 2,3,4)
The Gathering at the Table
Carol 148 "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
Invitation to the Table Chris Whitehead
Meditation Beth Armwstrong, Elder
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer Connie Baker, Elder
Words of Institution Chris
Distribution
The Elders will pass the chalices and trays to four Deacons, and then the elders will step down with the servers (and the loaves), taking their positions at the base of the chancel.
The people will be invited to step down the center aisle to receive Communion. The Elders will tear off a piece of bread and hand it to each worshiper, then the people will step to the outside with their choice of dipping or taking a cup from the tray. They will then move further to the outside, take a candle, and begin to form a ring in the sanctuary.
The Mystery of the Incarnation (and passing of the flame)
The flame will be passed by tipping the unlit wick toward the flame.
Lesson John 1:1 - 14 Chris Whitehead
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life, and that life was the light of all.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.
The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Carol 145 “Silent Night”
Dismissal
Let us extinguish the flames from our candles, but not our hearts.
May our hearts always burn with the fire of the Spirit.
May our faces always shine with the light of Christ.
May our lives always reflect the love of God so that God, through us, may be a beacon of light in a dark and fragmented world. Amen.
