6-8 year olds RayAnne Annala Aidan Buck Hannah Fauth Gunnar Jacobson Theo Kakacek Isabel Monday Colyn Villavicencio

Transcription

1 SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR LORD GOD FOR 3-5 year olds Max Ahlbrecht Mason Brokl Nolan Dittrich Elizabeth Fein Alexandra Kakacek Carson Koch Luther Monday Zoe Monday Carson Villavicencio Alaiyna Weinzierl 6-8 year olds RayAnne Annala Aidan Buck Hannah Fauth Gunnar Jacobson Theo Kakacek Isabel Monday Colyn Villavicencio 9-11 year olds Maddie Kakacek Mikayla Hansen Lauren Fauth Sunday School Staff Rachel Annala Music Coordinator; Co-director Dawn Buck Bulletin Patty Fauth Goodie Bags Marcia Michalik Pianist Lori Monday Film; Co-director Pastor Monday Script Revisionist, Bulletin Content, Editor Teachers and Parents Faith Lutheran Producer NPH Christmas Program Symbols of Christmas Video Music by Page 116, Glad Acappella, Jars of Clay, Michael W. Smith 12

2 Faith Lutheran Victoria, MN W. Monday, Pastor (952) Welcome To Our Visitors To friends and guests alike we welcome you to this special worship program in which we hear our young children from Faith Lutheran explain many of the symbols of Christ s coming at Christmas. May the Lord give us hearts to place our faith in this message that is for all of us and tongues to praise our Lord for instilling such faith in our children! Artwork: Star (Isabel Monday) Children s Christmas Program 9:30AM + December 19, 2010 Opening Hymn Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful (CW 55 vs. 1, 3 by Elizabeth Fein; 2-4 by Maddie Kakacek; Refrain by Congregation) Greeting (please stand) Minister: The grace of our Lord (+) Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. Congregation: And also with you. Psalm 98 M: Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; C: His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him and revealed his righteousness to the nations. M: He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; C: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. M: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. C: Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. M: Let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, C: For he comes to judge the earth. 2 Go, Tell It on the Mountain (CW 57 Ages 3-12) Offering & Prayers M: Almighty God, you made the holy night of the birth of your Son to shine by the brightness of your True Light. Grant that as we have known on earth the wonder of the light of Christ, we and the children before us today who proclaimed the good news of the birth of your Son, may also behold him in all his glory in the life to come; through your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. The 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 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 and ever. Amen. Apostolic Blessing Closing Hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (CW 61 congregation) 11

3 SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS Part IV The Star Reading (Mikayla Hansen) Stars seem to appear everywhere at Christmas. You can find them on the tops of Christmas trees, on wrapping paper, cut out as cookies, even, it seems, in the eyes of children when they receive gifts on the day God gave his greatest gift to us. Reading (Maddie Kakacek) Certainly the Christmas lights on houses and the candles in the Advent wreath can remind us of stars too. The Bible s many references to stars often point to Jesus. Reading (Lauren Fauth) This is true throughout the Scriptures. We begin by considering a promise God made to Abraham about the stars in the sky. And we ll follow the symbol of the star in Genesis to the book of Revelation. The Star Players: (Abraham Gunnar Jacobson); (Mary Elizabeth Fein); (The Magi Nolan Dittrich, Luther Monday, Max Ahlbrecht); Artwork: Stars (RayAnne Annala) 10 M: He will judge the world in righteousness, C: And the peoples with equity. Prayer of the Day M: Let us pray. Almighty God, you sent your Son into the world to save the world with a not guilty verdict of grace. Bring us to this knowledge all our days that we might embrace it in faith and receive the life Christ in flesh won for us by his sacrifice. And what we pray for ourselves, we pray for all the world. May no one who hears the wonderful news of Christmas reject the gift of forgiveness and life you offer to sinners who shall otherwise be condemned! All this we pray through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever. C: Amen. The congregation is seated. Sacrament of Holy Baptism M: Before we begin our children s Christmas program this morning, we have been blessed with a request to administer the Sacrament of Holy Baptism on a little child that she too may enter into the Kingdom of God through faith in the Christ born to all of us. What a privilege on a day that proves the Kingdom of God is for such as these! At this time, I d like to welcome the baptismal party forward on behalf of the congregation. (The baptismal party comes forward.) M: In obedience to the command of our Lord and trusting in his promise, you have brought this child to be baptized. Jesus told us: Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. It is in baptism that God grants the new life of forgiveness, joy, and peace to little children. By the power of God s Word, this gracious water of life washes away sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe. 3

4 M: Receive the sign of the cross on the head and heart + to mark you as a redeemed child of Christ. (The minister applies water to the person for baptism as he says:) M: Claire Cadence Schrimpf, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Almighty God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has forgiven all your sins. By your baptism, you are born again and made a dear child of your Father in heaven. May God strengthen you to live in your baptismal grace all the days of your life. Peace be with you. (ALL STAND.) Let us pray. (The minister says a prayer for the baptized.) EXHORTATION M: Brothers and sisters in Christ: Our Lord commands that we teach his precious truths to all who are baptized. Christian love therefore urges all of us, especially parents and sponsors, to assist in whatever manner possible so that Claire Schrimpf may remain a child of God until death. If you are willing to carry out this responsibility, then answer: Yes, as God gives me strength. C: Yes, as God gives me strength. (The baptismal party may be seated.) M: Our service continues with a look at the origins of how children and adults alike are made children of God through faith by Word and Sacrament, namely, the first coming of the Christ and the salvation he would bring. Hear now from the lips of children! SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS Part I The Christmas Tree Reading (Mikayla Hansen) Bells. Christmas trees. Ribbons and bows. Lights. Wreaths. Stars and Mistletoe. We see these things all around us, and they all tell us it is Christmastime. You may have many of these items in your homes. Perhaps you even have an Advent wreath or a nativity scene set up in your living room. There are so many images that remind us of Christmas, and without them Christmas seems almost empty. Reading (Maddie Kakacek) But what do they all mean? The church has a rich heritage of symbolism tracing back to the beginning of the world. Look around at our church building and consider the many images that surround us. They 4 Recitation Ages 6-8 Group Recitation: When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:4-7). Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (Praise Hymnal, page 152 Ages 6-8) SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS Part III The Angel Part I Players: (Angels Theo Kakacek, Zoe Monday, Hannah Fauth, Elizabeth Fein, RayAnne Annala, Lexy Kakacek, Isabel Monday); (Shepherds Mason Brokl, Luther Monday, Gunnar Jacobson); (Joseph & Mary Carson Villavicencio & Alaiyna Weinzierl) Artwork: Angel (Isabel Monday) Angels We Have Heard on High (CW 63 Congregation) The Angel Part II Players: (Shepherds Mason Brokl, Luther Monday, Gunnar Jacobson, Carson Koch, Colyn Villavicencio); (Joseph & Mary Carson Villavicencio & Alaiyna Weinzierl) Where Shepherds Lately Knelt (CW 54 Congregation) 9

5 Reading (Maddie Kakacek) It was a picture of the humility that he took on himself all through his life a picture of his submission to God s law and the laws of men. The account of Jesus birth begins in Luke chapter 2, with Mary and Joseph obeying the law of the Roman emperor that the population of the entire empire should be counted. The Manger Players: (Caesar Augustus Aidan Buck); (Traveling Joseph & Mary Max Ahlbrecht & Lexy Kakacek); (Nativity Joseph & Mary Carson Villavicencio & Alaiyna Weinzierl) Artwork: (Caesar s Palace Colyn Villavicencio) Pictures: Actual pictures of Nazareth and Bethlehem taken by Pastor Monday from his trip to Israel in November Artwork: Caesar s Palace (Colyn Villavicencio) Away in a Manger (CW 68 Ages 3-5) Reading (Lauren Fauth) The King of kings and Lord of lords humbled himself by taking on the form of a human. God be praised that this riches to rags story turns into a rags to riches story for us sinners. The apostle Paul would explain this in his letter to the Galatians. He wrote: 8 initially serve as reminders, but upon further inspection they teach us truths about God and his Word. As we hear the message this morning, we will take special note of these symbols and signs which focus our attention on Christ s birth at Bethlehem. The Christmas Tree (Part I) Players: (Martin Luther Nolan Dittrich); (Katie Luther Lexy Kakacek); (Adam Theo Kakacek); (Eve Hannah Fauth); Recitation Ages 3-5 Group Recitation: God said, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15) The Tree Theme Continues (Pastor) The Holy Spirit revisited this tree symbol when some 700 years before Christ he spoke through the prophet Isaiah. This time, the Messiah would be likened to a growing and flourishing tree out of a dead people. And the picture doesn t stop with a tree. The prophet also pictures the work the Messiah would do on earth. This Prince of peace would return his people to the state of perfection that they had in the Garden of Eden. Responsive Reading concerning Isaiah s Prophecy M: A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; C: from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. M: The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him C: the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, M: the Spirit of counsel and of power, C: the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. M: He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, C: or decide by what he hears with his ears; M: but with righteousness he will judge the needy, C: with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. M: He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; C: with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. M: In that day the Root of Jesse will be a banner for the peoples; C: the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1-4,10) 5

6 Artwork: Garden of Eden (Luther Monday) Reading (Lauren Fauth) The first chapter of the gospel of Matthew shows how Jesus family tree grew from the seed of Adam and Eve to its sturdy trunk in Abraham, Jacob, and David, all the way to the branches of Joseph and Mary. It was just as God promised and Isaiah saw. In the first chapter of Luke, we hear how Mary, an ordinary young woman, received a visit from an extraordinary messenger. The Christmas Tree (Part II) Players: (Mary, Elizabeth Elizabeth Fein); (Angel Theo Kakacek); (Zechariah Gunnar Jacobson) Reading (Hannah Fauth and Isabel Monday) Mary rushed to see her cousin Elizabeth and tell her the news. Elizabeth, however, was not the only one to hear this announcement and rejoice. The Christmas Tree Symbol (Part III) Players: (Mary RayAnne Annala); (Elizabeth Isabel Monday); Every Child (Sung by choir and children) SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS Part II The Manger Reading (Mikayla Hansen) A nativity scene makes a lovely Christmas decoration and reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. At the center of any nativity scene is a manger, a feedbox. That bed for the Creator of the universe was not the ideal place for a newborn. But it was the perfect start in life for our Savior. 6 7