Two Kings

Two Kings is our worship theme for Epiphany Sunday, January 6, 2013. Our focus scripture is Matthew 2:1-12.

The most arresting feature of the story of the Magi is their journey. In twelve verses, Matthew gives us a life in miniature. The recognition of a call. Leaving home and all that is familiar. The trial of encountering the false king, Herod. Receiving divine guidance. Finding Jesus and his family. Worshiping the true king and offering him gifts. And going home by another way. These elements of a hero journey characterize our lives as well as the Magi… except that Jesus isn’t as easy for us to recognize. Not that he was then either, being born to ordinary parents in an out-of-the-way corner of the world, nearly indistinguishable from the masses of other poor children scattered far and wide. So the Magi needed to follow both heavenly signs and earthly directions. But at least he eventually appeared right in front of them. How satisfying it must have been to offer their gifts in the sure knowledge that they were giving them to the authentic King rather than a pretender like Herod.

For us he is also hidden, easy to miss among the loud proclamations of various bands of followers, and the din of marketers and robbers, trying to make a killing by hijacking his birthday. As in the days of Herod, the sound of wailing is heard throughout our land, Rachel weeping inconsolably for her children, slain in Newtown and Aurora and Blacksburg as they were in Bethlehem. Yet, even for us it is still possible to find him. To give our true worship to the true King. To offer the best of our gifts. And to return home by a far different, blessed way. Would that it would be so for us and for our world so captive still to kings like Herod.

Here is our bulletin for Sunday with a Thought for Meditation, Call to Worship, and Communion Liturgy that all reflect the worship theme of Two Kings. Please use or adapt anything helpful to you.

We Gather to Worship on Epiphany Sunday

Our Worship Theme Is: Two Kings

Music for a Time of Reflection

Thought for Meditation

On Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the Magi – traditionally three kings – to worship Jesus in Bethlehem. They search for the King of kings – the One who deserves their worship. But first they must encounter Herod, an evil king. Kings abound in our story. Telling one from the other is everything.

Welcome and Opportunities in the Life of the Church

Prelude                  "The Three Kings"                         Wilbur Held

                              

                                         We Praise God

Call to Worship

L: Long ago Magi saw a star in the night sky. They knew a King was born!

P: They followed the star a long way. It took them far from home.

L: Finally they arrived at King Herod’s door in Jerusalem.

P: “We’ve seen a new star,” they said. “It means a new king is born.

    Can you tell us where to find him? We want to worship him.”

L: Herod was worried. He wanted to be king. He wanted the new king dead.

P: Herod consulted his advisors. “You will find him in Bethlehem,”

     he said. “Come back and tell me where. I also want to worship him.”

L: The Magi went fast. They found Jesus and worshiped him.

     They offered precious gifts of gold and spices.

P: Then God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

     They went home by another way. They had found the true king.

All: Like the Magi, let us worship Jesus. Let us offer our gifts.

     After the choirs process, please bring your gifts for baby Jesus.         

**Processional Hymn #173          “We Three Kings”          Kings of Orient

We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar,

field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

Refrain: O star of wonder, star of light, star of royal beauty bright,

westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown him again, 

King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign. Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh,

prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high. Refrain

Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom, sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone cold tomb. Refrain

Glorious now behold him arise, King and God and sacrifice!

Hallelujah, hallelujah, sounds through the earth and skies. Refrain

We Turn Our Hearts to God in Prayer

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.

We Hear and Reflect on God’s Living Word

Bible Reading                       Matthew 2:1-12       Christian Scriptures, Pg. 2

Sermon                                    “Two Kings”

We Dedicate Our Gifts and Lives to God

Call to Stewardship

Offertory         “Three Kings from Persian Lands”         Gustav Von Holst

                                             Chancel Choir

Unison Prayer of Dedication

          Gracious God, you birth yourself into our world, the true King we need and want! In Christ’s face we see your glory. Receive and bless our gifts. Grant that they will all be used in the work of his kingdom. In his powerful name we pray. Amen.

We Come to Christ’s Table to be Fed by Him

**Communion Hymn #134          “Lord, You Were Rich”          Fragrance

Lord, you were rich beyond all splendor, yet for love’s sake became so poor; 

leaving your home in glad surrender, sapphire-paved courts for stable floor. 

Lord, you were rich beyond all splendor, yet for love’s sake became so poor.

You are our God beyond all praising, yet for love’s sake became a man; 

stooping so low, but sinners raising heavenwards by your eternal plan.

You are our God beyond all praising, yet for love’s sake became a man.

Lord you are love beyond all telling; Savior and King, we worship you.

Emmanuel, within us dwelling, make us and keep us pure and true.

Lord you are love beyond all telling; Savior and King, we worship you.

Invitation

Unison Communion Prayer

          Gracious God, we give thanks this morning for the example of the Magi, who saw the signs of Christ’s birth and journeyed a long way to offer their gifts and their hearts. Although we make a much shorter journey to Christ’s table, we also give Christ our hearts and dedicate all the gifts that we have for his healing work.

          As we come to Christ’s table, we pray that you will give us the vision to know the difference between Christ and Herod. Help us to not be tricked by the powers of this world to worship useless things. Help us see the places where Christ is truly at work.

Now bless this bread and cup, these symbols of Christ’s ministry, death, and resurrection. And bless us in receiving them so that he might come to life in us. Through his living presence and power, let Christ empower us to do his work. In his amazing name we pray. Amen.

Words of Institution

Receiving the Elements

     All who wish to be strengthened with the living presence and love of Christ are invited to his table. When the tray of cups is passed you will find grape juice on the outer ring and wine on the inner two rings. Please hold both the bread and the cup until everyone is served and we will take them together as a sign of our unity in him.

Anthem            "We Three Kings and All That Jazz"         Harold Barnett

                                    College/High School Choir         

Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank you, God, for calling us to Christ’s table and filling us with his presence and love. Send us forth into the world to offer our gifts that his kingdom may come. Amen.

We Go Forth To Do Christ’s Ministry

**Recessional Hymn #172 vs. 1-4   “As with Gladness Men of Old”   Dix

As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold;

as with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright:

so, most gracious Lord, may we evermore be led to thee.

As with joyful steps they sped, Savior, to thy lowly bed,

there to bend the knee before, thee whom heaven and earth adore:

so may we with willing feet ever seek thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare at thy cradle rude and bare,

so may we with holy joy, pure and free from sin’s alloy,

all our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to thee, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way,

and when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last

where they need no star to guide, where no clouds of glory hide.

**Benediction   

Postlude                            "Three Kings March"            Michael R. Barker

This is the first Sunday in the season of Epiphany.  An epiphany is an event where we sense God’s presence and in some way God is revealed to us.  Epiphany always begins with celebrating the arrival of the Magi, who follow a new star to Bethlehem and find God in the baby Jesus, the King of kings.  During the processional hymn, all who have come prepared are invited to bring forward a gift for baby Jesus in the form of a gift for the baby ministry at Haven House in South Buffalo.  Please follow the choirs and put your gift into the box in front of the altar.  If you forgot or didn’t know, the box will be next to the food closet in the gathering space next Sunday.                       

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