Welcome to this Christmas Eve in the morning service. There will be no video recorded message this morning so we hope you will guide yourselves through the printed text and bible readings (click on the blue text to see the readings); and please enjoy the hymns of praise as you worship and rejoice at the birth of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Hymn:  122, O come O come Emmanuel, vs 1, 5, 6, 7

 

Pleading for God to come to a weary world 

When the world was dark, and the city was quiet, you came. 

You crept in beside us. 

And no one knew.  Only the few who dared to believe that you O God might do something different. 

Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord? 

Will you come to the weariness and darkness of today’s world;
not the friendly darkness
as when sleep rescues us from tiredness
but the fearful darkness
in which people have stopped believing
that war will end
or that food will come
or that a government will change
or that the Church cares? 

Will you come to the darkness and do something different to save your people from death and despair? 

Will you come to the quietness of this town, not the friendly quietness as when we join together in common concern, but the fearful silence when
the phone has not rung
the letter has not come
the friendly voice no longer speaks
the doctor’s face says it all? 

Will you come into that darkness and do something different, not to distract, but to embrace your people? 

And will you come into the dark and weary corners of our lives? 

We ask this because the fullness of our lives long for, depends on us being as open and vulnerable to  you as you were for us, when you came, wearing no more than diapers, and trusting human hands to hold their maker. 

Will you come into our weary lives, if we open them up to you and do something different? 

When the world was dark and the city was quiet you came. 

You crept in beside us. 

Do the same this Christmas Lord.  Please, do the same this Christmas.  

Adapted from:  When the world was dark, in Cloth for the Cradle, Iona Community, The Wild Goose Worship Group, C:  2000 used with permission 

Lighting the Advent Candle
How does a weary world practice love?  

By sending cards, and picking up the phone. By practicing empathy, and assuming the best in others.  

By learning people’s stories and finding common ground.  

By advocating for justice, and saving a place at the table. There are a million ways to practice love.  

So today we light the candle of love as a reminder and a charge.  

With God’s help, may we bring love into a weary world. Amen. 

The Candle is Lit

All sing:  O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Liturgy:  A Sanctified Art, used with permission
O Holy Night:  Public Domain

Prayer of Adoration, Confession 

Loving God, We have heard this story before— the story of a star in the sky and a baby who was laid in a manger. We have heard this story before— passed down in hopeful whispers through the generations. So this night, as we lean our hearts and our ears closer to you, we ask that you would make room in our souls to hear this story again. Make room in us for awe. Make room in us for wonder. Make room for heartache and compassion. Make room in our hearts for you. Pull us into the narrative, that we might hear the truths in this ancient Word as if it were the first time. For we know that you are still speaking. So, speak to us again this night. We are listening. We are already making room. 

Loving Christ, Scripture tells us that you were born in a stable because there was no room in the inn. There was no room in the inn for a woman in need, no room in the inn for an innocent baby. Forgive us. We should have learned our lesson by now, but just as others turned their backs on you, we continue to turn our backs on one another. Teach us how to make room for one another. Teach us how to make room for you. Carve out space in our hearts to love as you love, for we do not want to build hostility here. We want to build your promised day. Guide us forward. With hope and honesty we pray, amen.
A Sanctified Art, used with permission 

Assurance of Pardon and Passing the Peace 

Friends, the angels say, “Be not afraid,” but they also say, “Unto you a child is born.”  

Christ is born for you.
Christ walked this earth for you.
Christ forgives you.
That’s what love does.
It makes room.
It offers grace.
It learns your name.
Hear these words of hope Unto us a child is born.
Unto us grace is given.
May this good news change the very fabric of our lives. Christ has made room for all of us. Amen.
Sanctified Art:  used with permission 

The Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you
And also with you
Hymn:  118 Hark the glad sound

Reading:  Luke 1: 26-38
Hymn: 143 Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Reading:  Isaiah 40: 1-11
Hymn:  159 O come all ye faithful

Reading:  Isaiah 9: 2-7
Hymn:  149 Away in a manger

Reading:  Luke 2: 1-20
Hymn:  165 O little town of Bethlehem

Reading:  Matthew 1: 18-24
Hymn:  153 Joy to the World

 

Choir and Congregation:   Were you there on that Christmas Night?

The choir will lead us in singing together the hymn, Were you there?   I love this hymn, it is beautiful on its own, but also because it puts me in mind of the Good Friday hymn Were you there when they crucified my Lord?  Even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are reminded that he came to die.  His life’s work culminated in Good Friday and Easter morning.  Let us be there for all of the seasons of his life.   

Offering and Doxology 830

Offertory Prayer
Hymn: 136 The first Nowell

Christ Candle Liturgy
How does a weary world hold onto hope, practice peace, spread joy, or know love?
How does a weary world combat cruelty?   How does a weary world shine a light into our bleakest night?
We do all these things with God’s help.
For tonight, a child is born in Bethlehem. Tonight, Christ draws near.
Tonight, we light the Christ Candle.
Tonight, we are not alone. God is near. Love has drawn close. Rejoice! For God loves this weary world. Amen.
The Candle is Lit

All sing:  o holy night

   

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine
2 Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.  So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.  The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend.  He knows our need— to our weakness is no stranger.  Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!  Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!
3 Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace.  Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease.  Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; Let all within us praise His holy name.  Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
O Holy Night:  Public Domain 

 Prayer of Thanksgiving 

God of today and tomorrow, we know that you are here, present with us as we pray. We know that you are listening. So, with gratitude, we join our voices with Mary, the shepherds and the angels. For we understand that some days you just have to sing— sing gratitude for what exists; sing praise for what could be. Today we start with gratitude, trusting that you will continue with this weary world and bring it again and again into your comfort and joy.  

Thank you, Creator God, for filling our days with beautiful things like candlelight and worship shared with friend, family and stranger, all of whom are important to you. 

We have so much to be grateful for. We sing a song of confidence as we trust you to lead us into the future of your goodness.  

So today, holy God, we also beg of you with hearts filled with hope. Turn injustice on its head. Lift up the poor and the hungry. Comfort the sick and the aching. Tend the lonely and the lost.  

And then, plant a fire in our hearts to do the same. For we know that you are here. We know that you are present with us as we pray. We know that you join our voices as we sing. So together, we take one step closer to your Kingdom by joining our voices with the words your son taught us to pray. Together we say  Our 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 debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever.  Amen 

Hymn:  138 While shepherds watched

Let us be the benediction for one another: 

Benediction:  We believe that hope can change the world. We believe that God uses ordinary people, like an unwed teenage mother and a reluctant father, for extraordinary good. And we believe that each of these ordinary people can make a difference. We know that grief, fear, and suffering abound. We know that suffering quells joy and makes it harder to hope. But we choose hope anyway. In the face of hardship, we hope together. We hope with God. We hope for a better world. Jesus is our song.  This is our song.
Liturgy:  A Sanctified Art, used with permission 

Closing Hymn:  154 Silent Night