The Festival of the Nativity of our Lord DECEMBER 25, 2018

Transcription

1 The Festival of the Nativity of our Lord DECEMBER 25, 2018 W elcome! Today the Christian Church sings its praise to God for the mystery of the Word who became flesh, the incarnate God, Jesus Christ. Our Savior Jesus is both true God and true man, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. We celebrate this great mystery, recognizing that Jesus birth into this world was the first step on the road to the cross, by which he paid for our sins and earned our salvation and redemption Merle Ave Modesto, CA (209) A NOTE TO OUR GUESTS We re glad that you joined us today! Restrooms and a nursery are located in the entryway. Please fill out the Welcome Worshiper card found in the book rack in the pews and place it in the offering plate as it comes by later in the service. The Lord s Supper is served today. We kindly ask our guests to refrain from receiving the Lord s Supper until we ve had a chance to study what the Bible says about the Lord s Supper with you. Please speak with Pastor Schroeder if you have any questions. Blessings on your worship. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP Our Advent anticipation has ceded to Christmas joy, O God. Fill your people, the church, with the same joy the angels shared with hillside shepherds... the same joy the shepherds shared with all whom they met joy that cannot help but be shared. For Christ is born... heaven has touched earth... the holy is present in our world. That is joyful news news worthy of being spread. Make us people eager to share your Christmas proclamation. In the Christ Child s name, I pray. Amen.

2 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS You are probably familiar with the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. While that carol isn t religious, its title does capture the fact that on Christmas Day the Christian Church begins a twelve-day celebration. Historically, the celebration of Christmas didn t begin until Christmas Eve. That was the night when homes were decorated with trees and tinsel. (It is the secularization of Christmas and the desire to have a longer shopping season that has pushed the beginning of Christmas back into November.) Christmas Eve often consisted of a vigil, either at church or in the home, that was quiet and muted. Then, come Christmas Day, all Christians would gather in church as a joyous celebration began. Families would continue to worship (and, yes, give gifts) for twelve straight days. The celebration of Christmas would end with the Festival of the Epiphany, marking the appearance of the Wise Men. THEME FOR TODAY A Light in the Darkness. Light and darkness are polar opposites. Where one advances, the other must retreat. Thus, they parallel the ultimate of polar opposites good and evil, holiness and sin. Ever since mankind fell into sin, God promised to send a great Light to pierce the darkness of sin and death. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thank you to all who placed poinsettias in the chancel area this Christmas season. You may take your plant home following the service this morning. Minister: Dan Schroeder Lectors: Philip Schroeder (2 nd -year student at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary) Joshua Schroeder (junior at Martin Luther College [pastor track]) Organist: Dan Kreger Hymn texts not in public domain were reprinted under OneLicense.net #A : Psalm 98 David Haas; Marty Haugen 1983 GIA Publications, Dale Dale Witte. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Artwork by Ian M. Welch. Copyright 2015 Ian M. Welch. All Rights Reserved.

3 OPENING HYMN Come, Your Hearts and Voices Raising Christian Worship #42 1

4 GREETING & DIALOGUE OF PRAISE Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Congregation: And also with you. M: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. C: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. M: Give thanks to the Lord of lords, to him who alone does great wonders, who by his understanding made the heavens, who spread out the earth upon the waters, who made the great lights the sun, to govern the day, the moon and stars to govern the night. C: Great is the Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limits. M: But our iniquities have separated us from our God; our sins have hidden his face from us, so that he will not hear. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. We look for deliverance, but it is far away. C: For our offenses are many in his sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our sins. M: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, now will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. C: From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. M: Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. C: Let the name of the Lord be praised forever and ever. Alleluia! 2

5 SONG OF PRAISE Angels We Have Heard on High Christian Worship #63 3

6 PRAYER OF THE DAY M: Almighty God, grant that the birth of your only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old bondage under the yoke of sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. THE WORD OF GOD FIRST LESSON Isaiah 52:7-10 The beautiful feet of God s messengers are privileged to bring the good news of redemption, the salvation of our God. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news a, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns! 8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD will lay bare his holy arm b in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. a You can almost see the picture of the messenger running as he is out of breath, yet he s so excited about the good news he s coming to bring that he shouts as he runs, Good news! Peace! Good tidings! Salvation! Your God reigns! b lay bare his holy arm The Lord is rolling up his sleeves, getting ready to do some spectacular work. He s getting ready to fight for his people. This is not only the people of Israel then, but also as he fought to save our souls with his plan of salvation. M: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God! 4

7 PSALM OF THE DAY Psalm 98 Joy to the World Christian Worship #62 (st. 1-3) Like the angels who heralded the birth of Christ, the psalm leads us in proclaiming the praise of God for his grace in sending his Son. 5

8 Second Lesson Hebrews 1:1-9 The writer to the Hebrews describes the Christ-child: God himself made flesh for the purification of sins and the rule of righteousness. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father? Or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God s angels worship him. 7 In speaking of the angels he says, He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire. 8 But about the Son he says, Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. M: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God! 6

9 HYMN OF THE DAY Of the Father s Love Begotten Christian Worship #35 Of the Father s Love Begotten is the Christian Church s oldest Christmas hymn. The author of this hymn was Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius ( AD), the greatest and most prolific Latin poet of his age. Born in Spain, he became a lawyer, public official, civil servant, judge, and chief of the imperial bodyguard of the emperor. He converted to Christianity at the age of 57 and was eager to commend the Christian faith to his educated contemporaries. He retired into poverty and privacy at a monastery in Rome. This hymn is part of a sacred ode (the Liber Cathemerinon) he wrote celebrating the entire earthly life of Christ from his nativity to his ascension and consists of 12 long poems varying in length from 80 to 220 lines. Our hymn we are using today is from the ninth of those poems and has been in use for about 1,600 years. The tune DIVINUM MYSTERIUM is a plainsong melody from a Sanctus trope that dates from 10th century Italy. CHRISTMAS SERMON John 1:1-14 The Word Became Flesh In the beginning was the Word a, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness b, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. a The Word another name for Jesus b darkness those who don t believe that Jesus is the Savior, don t see that he is the Light of the World 7

10 CONFESSION OF FAITH [Excerpts from the Athanasian Creed] The Athanasian Creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was prepared to assist the Church in combating two errors that undermined Bible teaching. One error denied that God s Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being or Godhead with the Father. The other error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man in one person. The Athanasian Creed continues to serve the Christian Church as a standard of the truth. It declares that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without saving faith. It is necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh. Now this is the true Christian faith. We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God s Son, is both God and man. He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh, equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity; and though he is both God and man, Christ is not two persons, but one, one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God; one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person; for just as the rational soul and flesh are one human being, so God and man are one Christ. He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there will come to judge the living and the dead. This is the true Christian faith. Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER THE OFFERING The members of St. Peter Lutheran Congregation have joined together to do the Lord s work in this community and around the world. Our guests are welcome to participate but need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our ministry. 8

11 PRAYER OF THE CHURCH M: On this holy day, dear Father, we rejoice to hear the good news of great joy that a Savior has been born for us. For fulfilling your prophecies and in the fullness of time sending your Son to be our Savior, we give you our heartfelt thanks and praise. C: Unto us a child is born! Unto us a Son is given! M: What a great mystery of our faith this is: that God has become fully human for our salvation! Even though he is the all-powerful Lord of all, he is wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. C: Help us always believe that this precious child was born as our substitute to be our Savior. M: In the midst of our joy, we grieve for the many people in our world who do not know that Jesus has come to bring them forgiveness and healing. As the shepherds spread abroad the good news of the birth of the Savior born for all the world, may we also make use of the unique opportunities this holiday presents to tell others of what we have seen and heard concerning the child. C: Grant that the true peace between God and fallen mankind may comfort all people. Special prayers and intercessions may follow. M: Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions. Silent prayer. M: As the angels sang out their praise, move us also to sing out our praise to you, today and every day, as the joy of Christmas remains in our hearts. C: Glory to God in the highest! Amen. M: Lord, we pray in your name and as you taught. C: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. 9

12 THE SACRAMENT St. Peter Lutheran Church practices close communion. We invite confirmed members to come forward to partake of the Sacrament. Thank you for your consideration. This setting of the Preface is sung to the tune of Christian Worship #50 M: Now the Lord be with you, always. M: As we lift our hearts to praise him, M: Praise and thanks we offer you, M: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for in the wonder and mystery of his birth you have opened our eyes to the glory of your peace and renewed in our hearts the fervor of your love. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join in their glorious song: 10

13 HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (SANCTUS) This setting of the Holy, Holy, Holy is sung to the tune of Christian Worship #41. THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION M: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. M: The peace of the Lord be with you always. C: Amen. 11

14 O CHRIST, LAMB OF GOD (AGNUS DEI) This setting of the Lamb of God is sung to the tune of Christian Worship #53 12

15 DISTRIBUTION OF THE LORD S SUPPER During the distribution you are invited to join in singing the indicated hymn or to use the time for private prayer and meditation. Appropriate prayers are found on page 11 in the front of the hymnal. A personal preparation for the Lord s Supper is found on page 156. DISTRIBUTION HYMN From Heaven Above to Earth I Come Christian Worship #38 Please note that there will be brief interludes played after stanzas 4 and 8 PRAYER AND BLESSING M: Let us pray. We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this Holy Supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. M: May he who by his incarnation gathered things earthly and heavenly into one, fill us with such joy that comes with the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. And the blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always. C: Amen. CLOSING HYMN 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. Joy to the World Christian Worship #62 stanza 4 13