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