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PROCESSIONAL HYMN: O Come, All Ye Faithful LSB 379:1 3 Congregation: O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold Him Born the king of angels: Refrain O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! Highest, most holy, Light of Light eternal, Born of a virgin, a mortal He comes; Son of the Father Now in flesh appearing! Refrain Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation, Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God In the highest: Refrain 3
THE INVOCATION P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH P: On the four Sundays in Advent, we light a new candle each week. We mark the four candles with these four words: hope, peace, joy, and love. Jesus Christ is the hope of the nations. C: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word do we hope. P: Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. C: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word do we rest. P: Jesus Christ is the source of all joy. C: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word do we rejoice. HYMN The King Shall Come to Bring Us Joy The King shall come to bring us joy, To silence all our hate. He comes in power to destroy Both sin and Satan s weight. We light this candle and rejoice That God has sent His Son! We pray and praise and raise our voice With thanks for all He s done. Text: Andrew R. Jones. Copyright 2018 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. RESPONSIVE READING Leader: What Child is this? A babe is born. People: An infant in a stall forlorn. Leader: Who can this Son of promise be? People: We marvel at the mystery. 4
READING: The King Is Here THE CHRISTMAS MEDITATION THE MESSAGE PRESENTED BY THE CHILDREN THE STORY OF JESUS BIRTH A BIBLE READING: Luke 1:26 33 ACTION RHYME: Oh, Who Is This? HYMN: What Child Is This LSB 370:1 Congregation: What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ the king, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing; Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The babe, the son of Mary! READING HYMN: What Child Is This LSB 370:2 Congregation: Why lies He in such mean estate Where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear; for sinners here The silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you; Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The babe, the son of Mary! 5
READING HYMN: What Child Is This LSB 370:3 Congregation: So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, peasant, king, to own Him. The King of kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him. Raise, raise the song on high, The virgin sings her lullaby; Joy, joy, for Christ is born, The babe, the son of Mary! READING ACTION RHYME: What Child Is This? HYMN: Away in a Manger Children OFFERING HYMN Hark the Glad Sound LSB 349 1 Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes, The Savior promised long; Let ev ry heart prepare a throne And ev ry voice a song. 2 He comes the pris ners to release, In Satan s bondage held. The gates of brass before Him burst, The iron fetters yield. 3 He comes the broken heart to bind, The bleeding soul to cure, And with the treasures of His grace To enrich the humble poor. 6
4 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, Thy welcome shall proclaim, And heav n s eternal arches ring With Thy belovèd name. Text: Public domain THE APOSTLES CREED C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life T everlasting. Amen. THE LORD S PRAYER P: Taught by our Lord and trusting His promises, we are bold to pray: C: 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. 7
PRAYER P: We pray: All: Father in heaven, You sent Your Son a special Child. As our King, may He rule in our heart. As our Redeemer, may the Word made flesh ever guide us. As our loving Savior, may He bring us to You on the Last Day. What Child is this? He is Your Son. In His name we pray. Amen. BENEDICTION P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. C: Amen. RESPONSIVE READING Leader: What Child is this? A babe is born. People: An infant in a stall forlorn. Leader: Who can this Son of promise be? People: We marvel at the mystery. Leader: What Child is this? He came as King. People: The nations shout; His praises ring. Leader: What Child is this? He came to die. People: Forgiven, we can live on high. Leader: What Child is this? He came in love. People: One day, He ll bring us home above. Leader: What Child is this? Oh, go and tell. People: Christ Jesus is Immanuel! RECESSIONAL HYMN: Joy to the World LSB 387 Children: Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let ev ry heart prepare Him room And heav n and nature sing, And heav n and nature sing, And heav n, and heav n and nature sing. 8
Congregation: Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found. 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. Copyright 2018 Concordia Publishing House 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118-3968 1-800-325-3040 www.cph.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without purchasing this product from Concordia Publishing House. Through this registered purchase, your congregation is allowed to adapt and duplicate the contents for your local, one-time Christmas-program use. Written by Lisa M. Clark Edited by Lisa A. Krenz Scripture quotations from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Hymns marked LSB are from Lutheran Service Book, copyright 2006 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. 9
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Concordia Lutheran Church s Covenant with One Another How Do We Love One Another at Concordia Lutheran Church? 1. We will behave in a spirit of forgiveness always speaking well of others with love and kindness knowing that God created every human being in His image and we will always show respect for others despite our mutual failures, acknowledging shortfalls and willing to forget prior harms. 2. We will promote and practice honest conversations following the 8 th Commandment to speak well of each other, avoiding gossip by redirecting people to the appropriate person and avoiding anything that would cause divisions in the Body of Christ. 3. We will lift up each other in prayer in all that we do by turning to God for guidance and support, showing our gratitude and thanksgiving, and realizing we depend on Him for our entire existence. 4. We will offer a hand of hospitality welcoming all people by acknowledging the presence of others, greeting everyone with concern for them and openly sharing our biblical faith with everyone in word and deed. 5. We will be positive and joyful sharing openly our happiness in the Lord with fun, positive humor and inclusive fellowship always defending each other, speaking well of each other, and putting the best construction on everything. Serving In God s House Pastor: Reverend William L. Keller II Guest Organ/Piano: Christine Skogen Usher Captain: Bruce Avenson Altar Guild: Nancy Bell & Sue Dale Greeters: Muriel Rose, John & Marcia Lally Sunday School Teachers: Gail Avenson, Lori Keller & Alexandra Tucci 11
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