Learn!

Learn! is our worship theme for the first Sunday of Christmas, December 30, 2012. Our focus scripture is Luke 2:41-52.

The only glimpse of Jesus that we get between the time of his birth and the beginning of his ministry is in this short paragraph of Luke’s. Although Mary has been told of Jesus’ identity as God’s Son and has pondered the shepherds’ story of the message of the angels, it does not occur to her and Joseph that Jesus would be in the temple when they return to Jerusalem to search for him. To Jesus at 12 years old -- the age of separating from his parents and becoming a man – it seems like the obvious place for him to be. Luke tells us that he is talking with the elders – experts in the law – and that he is asking them questions, and that they are amazed at answers that he gives to them.

We could focus on the family dynamics of this story. Of how it is that Jesus’ parents could lose track of him. Of the shame and additional danger it puts them in to leave the larger group returning to Nazareth and to go and search for him. Of Jesus’ independence and then return to his family as an obedient son. But instead, we will focus on where Jesus puts his attention. He wants to learn. He wants to ask questions and discuss God’s Word with the most learned scholars in the community. He is taking his faith seriously.

Sometimes we give Jesus supernatural abilities without even thinking about it. We imagine that it took no effort on his part to know what God intended for him to do, because being God’s Son, he would naturally know. Personally, I don’t think it worked like that. I think the quality of Jesus’ relationship with God – his “sonship” – is the same as ours. We have no magical pipeline to God, and I suspect he didn’t either. What we find him doing as he moves into adulthood is what we all must do: listen hard for God’s calling amidst all the bewildering messages that we receive from relatives and from our surrounding culture. And then, having heard at least a piece of what God is calling us to do, to act on it. Jesus worked at this more successfully that any human being before or since. The quality of his teachings and parables, and the insight and courage he has to lay down his life in just the right way at just the right time portray his specialness. But he is doing in this passage what we all need to do: learn!

In this season of Christmas joy, here is a Call to worship based on Psalm 148. Please use or adapt anything in this post that is helpful to you.

Call to Worship    From Psalm 148

L: Hallelujah! Praise God!

P: Shout God’s praise from the mountaintops! Let the angels sing God’s praise!

L: Praise God, you lights of heaven: sun and moon and stars!

P: Praise God, you rolling thunder clouds!

L: For God is your creator: God commanded, and it was so!

P: Praise God from ocean’s depths you sea monsters and swimming things!

L: Praise God from the air you lightning bolts; you hail and frost and snow!

P: Praise God from the earth, you mountains and hills, you orchards and forests!

L: Praise God all animals, you wild beasts and herds of cattle and flying birds!

P: Praise God you human rulers, you kings and queens of the earth!

L: Praise God all people, women and men; all ages and tongues and races!

All: Let everything praise the Lord; for God’s name alone is above all things!

    Praise God! Hallelujah! Amen.

Go, See, and Praise!

Go, See, and Praise! is our worship theme for our traditional service on Christmas Eve, at 7:30PM on December 24, 2012. Our Bible reading will be the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20.

In Luke’s telling, much of the Christmas story centers on the shepherds’ response to the angels’ announcement that the Messiah is born.  Told of this good news, the shepherds immediately go to Bethlehem, see the baby for themselves, and then return praising God. In just such a way, as Christ is born again into our hearts this Christmas, we need to do the same thing: leave our ordinary ways of looking at the world, go and see the shocking sight of God’s love made visible in a rude stable, and then offer praise.

Here is the complete liturgy that we will use at this service. As usual, please feel free to use or adapt anything helpful to you.

Christmas Eve Worship – 7:30 pm, 2012

      Welcome Guests! We extend a special welcome to all guests who are worshiping with us this 

evening. Please complete a welcome card located in the pew rack and place it in the offering plate. 

Our goal is to be a Nurturing, Empowering, and Welcoming community of faith. For more information 

about Nativity, we have Welcome Bags available in the narthex. For further news and many spiritual 

resources, go to our web site at www.nativityucc.org. On Sunday mornings during our Contemporary 

service at 9:00 am we offer a nursery and a non-graded church school class. During our Traditional  

worship service at 10:30 am we offer a nursery and full Sunday School program for ages birth through 

High School. Portable hearing devices and/or large print hymnals are available if you need them. 

Please ask an usher to assist you with them.

 No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!

            We Gather to Worship on Christmas Eve

         Our Worship Theme Is: Go, See, and Praise!

Thought for Meditation                  Martin Luther, Christmas Sermon, 1521

That there were shepherds, means that no one is to hear the Gospel for himself 

alone, but everyone is to tell it to others who are not acquainted with it. For she 

who believes for herself has enough and should endeavor to bring others to 

such faith and knowledge, so that one may be a shepherd of the other, to wait 

upon and lead him into the pasture of the Gospel in this world, during the night 

time of this earthly life.

Christmas Greetings                                                        Pastor Ruth Snyder

Prelude                           "On a Still, Silent Night"           Michael E. Akers

                                          English Hand Bell Choir

We Praise God

** =Those able, please stand.

**Processional Hymn #159 vs. 1,4,5       “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”          

                                                                                                   Adeste Fideles

Oh come all, ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!

Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold him, born the king of angels:

Refrain:

Oh come, let us adore him, Oh come, let us adore him,

Oh come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation,

Sing all ye citizens of heaven above.

Glory to God, glory in the highest:   Refrain.

Yea Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning,

Jesus, to thee be glory given.

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:  Refrain.

**Call to Worship  (L: Leader; P: People)

     L: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

     P: The light shines in the darkness,

          and the darkness has not overcome it.

     L: Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness,

          on them light has shined.

     P: We have beheld Christ’s glory,

          glory as of the only Son from the Father.

     L: For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.

  All:  In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

                                                                                               Please be seated.

             We Celebrate Christ’s Birth in Song and Story

Scripture Reading                      Luke 2:1-7             New Testament, Pg. 58

Carol #166 vs. 1&2    “Once in Royal David’s City”                            Irby

Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed,

where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed:

Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.

Christ came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all, 

sheltered by a humble stable, cradled in a cattle stall:

with the poor, oppressed and lowly, lived on earth our Savior holy.

Scripture Reading                    Luke 2:8-14             New Testament, Pg. 58

Carol #148 vs. 1&2         “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”          Carol                                        

It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,

from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:

“To all the earth good will and peace, from heaven’s all-gracious King”; 

the world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled, 

and still their heavenly music floats o’er all the weary world;

above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hovering wing,

and ever o’er its babel sounds the blessed angels sing.

Scripture Reading                   Luke 2:15-20            New Testament, Pg. 58

Anthem                                   "In a Manger"                               Pat Boozer

                                                  Chancel Choir

               

                       We Reflect on God’s Gift of Love

Christmas Story              “Go, See, and Praise!”       Pastor Dan Schifeling

                 We Offer Our Prayers and Gifts to God

Anthem                               "Carol of the Bells"       Arr: Kevin McChesney

                                         English Hand Bell Choir

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer         

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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

**Carol #165 vs. 1&3         “O Little Town of Bethlehem”          St. Louis                             

O Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings born of heaven.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Call to Stewardship

Offertory                                "Starry Skies"           Words: J. Paul Williams

                                                 Chancel Choir                   Music: Lee Dengler

                                                

Unison Prayer of Dedication

Gracious God, those who came that first night to find baby Jesus saw 

your amazing gift of love and offered their hearts in worship and praise.  

So we, too, come bringing our gifts and offering our praise. Receive our 

gifts, bless them, and use them to make your love real to all of those in 

need. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen   

Our Service of Candle Lighting

Lighting the Christ Candle

L:  As we light this candle, may God’s love for all humanity

P:  Be born in us tonight.

L:  May the love that forgives and transforms

P:  Be born in us tonight.

L:  May the love which overcomes division and creates understanding

P:  Be born in us tonight.

L: May the love that brings the blessing of peace

P:  Be the gift we share and pass on to others.

Sharing the Light of Christ

Our candle-lighting service symbolizes the light of Christ coming into our dark world and being shared by his followers until the whole world glows with his love and peace. The pastors will light their candles from the 

Christ candle and pass the light to the ushers. The ushers will come down the center aisle and light the candles of the first person in each pew. Those persons will then pass the light toward the side aisles. The sanctuary will be

darkened as the candle light is shared and spread.    

     As you pass the light, please dip only the unlit candles to avoid spilling hot wax on you or your neighbor! Children using glow sticks, in place of candles, should bend them until they snap and shake them gently; they will begin to glow. When the sanctuary is lit only by the candles/glow sticks, we will stay seated and sing “Silent Night.” Then we will blow out our candles together and, in the darkness, we will have a prayer of commitment.

Following the prayer, the sanctuary lights will come back on and we will stand to sing “Joy to the World.”

Carol                                       “Silent Night”                             Stille Nacht

Silent night!  Holy night!  All is calm, All is bright. 

Round yon virgin mother and child,

Holy infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly Peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! Holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight;

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia;

Christ the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior, is born!

Silent night! Holy night! Son of God, Love’s pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth! Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

  Prayer of Commitment

**Hymn of Joy #153 vs. 1, 2&4         “Joy to the World”            Antioch 

Joy to the world! the Lord is come:  Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room

And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

     Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns:  Let us our songs employ,

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

and makes the nations prove, the glories of his righteousness

And wonders of his love, and wonders of his love,

And wonders, wonders of his love.

**Benediction

Postlude            "Once in Royal David's City"            Arr. John A. Behnke         

Rejoice!

Rejoice! Is our worship theme for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 23, 2012. Our focus scripture reading is Luke 1:39-56.

With the darkness of the awful and incomprehensible shootings of first graders and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School descending on us like a fog, it is hard to rejoice. Yet as one of the hand-lettered signs outside the school declares: Our Hearts Are Broken. Our Spirits Are Strong. No matter what evil befalls us, the Gospel message is ultimately one of joy because it is a proclamation of triumph. In the end, as Mary celebrates, God’s promises will come true, God’s love will win out. We need to remember that now. Especially now.

Here is the first part of our bulletin for Sunday with a Call to Worship and an Advent Candle liturgy. Please use or adapt anything that is helpful to you.

We Praise God

Processional Hymn               “Hark the Glad Sound”                             Richmond

Call to Worship    From Luke 1:39-45

L: When Mary hears that her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant she gets going!

     She travels straightaway to her house and greets her.

P: When Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice, her baby jumps for joy.

     Elizabeth is filled with Holy Spirit and sings to Mary:

L: “Above all women, you are blessed, and blessed is the babe in your womb! 

     And why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord visits me?

P: The moment I heard your voice, my baby skipped like a lamb!

     And blessed are you for believing that God’s promises come true!”

All: Let us rejoice with Mary and Elizabeth! Praise God!    

 

                        We Light the Advent Candle of Joy                        

Introduction

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of the season of Advent, which is the time when we prepare for Christmas. Lots of times we think of preparing for Christmas as buying presents, or decorating a tree, or baking cookies. But as followers of Christ we want to make spiritual preparations as well! We want to prepare our personal hearts and prepare our church and community to receive God’s love.

Engulfed by the darkness of the awful and incomprehensible shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, spiritual preparations may feel especially hard to make this year. Yet as one of the hand-lettered signs outside the school declares: Our Hearts Are Broken. Our Spirits Are Strong. No matter what evil befalls us, the Gospel message is ultimately one of joy because it is a proclamation of triumph. In the end, as Mary celebrates in our Bible readings from Luke, God’s promises will come true, God’s love will win out. We need to remember that now. Especially now.

One of the ways we make spiritual preparations in worship is to light a special candle each Sunday of Advent to remember of one of the qualities that helps us get ready for Jesus to be born anew into our hearts and our world. On the first three Sundays this year we lit the Candles of Expectation, Preparation, and Repentance. Today, we will light the Candle of Joy as we reflect on Mary’s words.

Litany     The words of Mary from Luke 1:46-55

L:  My soul bursts with God’s glory! My soul rejoices in God’s salvation!

     I’m a nobody, but – miracle! -- God loves me and blesses me.

     In fact, God gives mercy to all who honor God.

P: God’s arm is awesome! God punctures the puffed up proud.

     God tumbles tyrants from their thrones; gives victory to their victims.

     The starving poor feast; the selfish rich feel strangely empty.

All: God hugs the people and piles on the mercies!

        God keeps the everlasting promise God made to our ancestors!

        God loves us now… and forever!

Carol                                    “Joy to the World”                                          Antioch

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love,

And wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.

Lighting the Candles of Expectation, Preparation, Repentance, and Joy

Unison Prayer

Thank you, God, for the joy you bring us in promises fulfilled. Thank you for the joy you give us in Jesus! In a world of too much darkness, he binds up our broken hearts, releases us from all that holds us captive, and reigns in our lives and in our world! In his powerful name we pray. Amen.