LEADER S GUIDE JY9
A Service for Christmas Day Leader s Guide JY9 3
A Service for Christmas Day Index Notes/Ordering Information... 5 Newsletter/Bulletin Notices...6 Order of Service... 7-10 Complete Script For Worship Leaders... 11-21 Scripture Readings...22-23 Children s Sermon...24-25 Sermon...26-29 Prayers... 30-32 Music Guide... 33-43 By Brian West. Lighting of the Advent Candles and the Christ Candle by Tom Eggebrecht. Comfort and Joy hymn text by Carol Geisler. Art and design by Lindsay Galvin. 2014 by for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325-9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Purchase of this kit gives the purchaser the copyright release to use the material in any format for use in worship. 4 JY9
A Service for Christmas Day Notes and Ordering Information Let the comfort and joy of the Christ Child fill your hearts and lives in this worship service for Christmas Day! Written by Rev. Brian West, this service rounds out the Comfort and Joy worship series, reflecting on how we can emulate the ways Mary treasured and the shepherds proclaimed the good news of comfort and joy found in Christ alone. A litany expresses how we can comfort others at Christmas. The hymns Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World and Go Tell It on the Mountain are included. Printed bulletins (8 1/2 x 11 ) are available. Code JYE Blank bulletins (8 1/2 x 11 ) are available. Code JYF Blank bulletins (8 1/2 x 14 ) are available. Code JYG Call for the Parish at 1-800-325-9414 for current prices and availability. Or visit us online at www.creativecommunications.com JY9 5
A Service for Christmas Day Newsletter/Bulletin Notices Newsletter Notice We invite you to celebrate comfort and joy found in the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Specially selected Christmas carols, litanies, readings and a dynamic sermon will combine to remind us all to treasure and proclaim our ultimate comfort and joy in Jesus as Mary and the shepherds did on that very first Christmas so long ago. Bulletin Notice Merry Christmas to you! Let us celebrate the good news of great comfort and joy found in Jesus this day by treasuring Jesus, as Mary did, and proclaiming our Savior, as the shepherds did. By meditating on his Word and coming to him in prayer, may you sense anew how precious the Baby Jesus is to you. And in the words you speak and the songs you sing in this service, may you be bold to declare your praise and thanksgiving to him for coming to his earth to calm our troubled hearts and soothe our unsettled minds with his forgiveness and salvation. 6 JY9
A Service for Christmas Day Complete Script For Worship Leaders The Opening Reading is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation: Behold, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. CC And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, C C Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. JY9 11
A Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Mendelssohn 77 77 D and refrain: Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies; With th angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! Christ, by highest heav n adored, Christ the everlasting Lord, Late in time, behold him come, offspring of a virgin s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail th incarnate Deity! Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! Hail the heav n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, ris n with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die. Born to raise each child of earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! The Lighting of the Advent Candles and the Christ Candle is spoken responsively by the pastor and a second reader as an acolyte lights each candle at the appropriate time: In deepest darkness, the flicker of a flame brings both comfort and joy: comfort, because darkness does not win, and joy that light is present and helps us to see. Light the first candle for hope. (Acolyte lights the first candle.) 11 The hope that comes from the birth of the Christ Child does not disappoint, and brings comfort and joy. Light the second candle for love. (Acolyte lights the second candle.) 11 The pure and holy love of the Christ Child brings comfort and joy. Light the third candle for joy. (Acolyte lights the third candle.) 12 JY9
11 The comfort that comes from the Christ Child brings true and lasting joy. Light the fourth candle for peace. (Acolyte lights the fourth candle.) 11 The peace placed in a manger in the person of the Christ Child brings comfort and joy. Light the Christ Candle. (Acolyte lights the Christ Candle.) 11 For it is the Christ Child who brings the light of his comfort and joy into our dark world. The Confession and Absolution is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation: The shepherds shook with fear as the heavens opened. There, in the fields, their dirty lives intersected with God s kingdom. As you and I come face to face with God s divinity, it is appropriate to confess our depravity. Loving Father: CC We confess that our lives are a mess. We are stained with sin both against you and our neighbors. Our words, our deeds and our actions carry with them the stink and filth of rebellion. We admit we are wandering, falsely believing we can make it on our own. Forgive us, we pray. Proclaim your cleansing word of truth on us again this day. (Silence for personal reflection) P P Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy. Today is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. In him all your sins are forgiven and all your stains made clean. May you now know the peace which was heralded from the heavens. Indeed, this is good news of great joy! Amen. A Hymn of Praise is sung by the congregation to the tune God Rest Ye Merry 76 76 76 and refrain: The angel to the shepherds said, There s nothing you need fear. I have good news to bring to you And everyone who hears: In Christ, the Child of Bethlehem, Your God and Lord comes near! O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy! JY9 13
The shepherds found the holy Child And made the good news known, While Mary treasured in her heart Joy that was hers alone. Now we proclaim: Our King has come; A manger is his throne! O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy! The Prayer of the Day is read by the pastor: Almighty God, heavenly Father, open up our hearts to receive your comfort and joy! Like Mary, may we treasure the gift of the Word made flesh even as we proclaim him the treasure for all the world. Strengthen us to that end through the power of your Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord. Amen. The Old Testament Reading, Isaiah 52:7-10, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. The voice of your watchmen they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. The Epistle Reading, 1 Peter 2:9-10, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. The Gospel Reading, Luke 2:1-20, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And 14 JY9
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. The Children s Sermon is delivered by the pastor or other worship leader: (Item needed: megaphone) Good morning, boys and girls. And a very merry Christmas to you! Let me ask you a question: how many of you have already opened your gifts?? Wow! Awesome. Isn t gift-getting so amazing? Don t you just want to tell everyone about all the things you received? I know I do. Here are some of the crazy cool things I received this year. I got [insert gifts received]. We re so excited about our gifts that we just want to tell everyone. In today s reading we hear the story of the shepherds. They were told of baby Jesus birth by an angel choir. Can you imagine? There you are in the fields, you know, just hanging with your sheep. When all of a sudden, an angel shows up and tells you about the Savior who s been born in Bethlehem. And as soon as he s done a whole choir comes out and they start singing. Music fills the air. The sheep start to dance. That s right! They start getting their groove on. When just as quick as they came, the angels leave. The shepherds were so excited to see this gift. They were so excited to meet the Savior JY9 15
that they hurried off to find him. And find him they did. They found Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. And the shepherds were so excited, they told Jesus parents about the rockin angel music in the night sky and all that had been said about him. Mary treasured the shepherds message. She valued all that was being revealed about her new baby boy. The shepherds, on the other hand, couldn t wait to tell people. Off they hurried to shout it from the mountaintops, to let the whole world know that they had been given the greatest gift ever. They couldn t possibly keep it to themselves. And so off they went. Who knows what this is? [Show children the megaphone.] This is a megaphone. It takes my voice and makes it incredibly loud. If I really want someone to hear me, I [using megaphone] USE THIS!! Isn t that cool? The shepherds had been given the best gift ever. You and I have been given the best gift ever. We can t wait to tell others about it. We want to tell the whole world [using megaphone] CHRIST IS BORN! Children, let s pray. Please, repeat after me: Dear God, / thank you for the gift of Jesus. / He is the best gift ever. / Help us be like the shepherds, / telling the whole world about Jesus. / In Jesus name. / Amen. The Sermon Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Antioch CM and refrain: 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. 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. The Sermon is delivered by the pastor: Grace, mercy and peace be to you, from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Sisters and brothers, a very merry Christmas to you! Today I bring you good news of GREAT JOY! Yes, there is great joy today as we celebrate the Word made flesh, the living, breathing, very real God who places himself in our midst. Today we celebrate as the divine invades the depraved! We celebrate the Christ Child whose very presence brings great comfort and much joy, whose very presence is a healing balm for the broken, whose very presence is freedom for the captive. YES, today we celebrate, friends, like there is no tomorrow. We celebrate! For you and I have received 16 JY9
the greatest gift ever. Today I bring you good news of GREAT JOY! Yet, for many people, we are already coming down from the Christmas high the euphoria of songs and decorations and even gifts. Yes, for many today is a day of great joy, but tomorrow will be simply the day after. The day after is a weird sort of phenomenon. Sociologists have determined a national mood dip the day after Christmas. There is, in laymen s terms, a day of bummed out people. There has been so much hype, so much build up, so much preparation, so much cooking, so much wrapping, so much eating, so much worship, so much singing, so much that tomorrow we exhale as a nation. We deflate. The air leaks right out of us. Let me ask you: what are you going to do when the gifts are unwrapped, the food s been cooked and eaten, the songs sung? I imagine that most of you will simply step back into your life. There are, after all, still bills to pay. There is still the issue of your daughter s apathy toward school. There are still the aging parents who need more and more of your time. There s still the nasty co-worker. There s still, you know, life. Are we really just going to step back into it? Well, I hope so. I hope you take your cue from the shepherds and simply return to your life. I mean it. I really do. The shepherds life was a lonely one. Hours spent with no one around but the sheep you are tending. The hours were long it was, after all, all day, every day. The work was monotonous leading the sheep to pasture, wandering to the next green field, counting the sheep to make sure you ve not lost any, leading them to the next field, then counting the sheep to make sure you ve not lost any. Then leading them to the next field and then, you guessed it, counting them to make sure that you haven t lost any. The work was dangerous, too. There were plenty of predators seeking to devour sheep and, as the shepherd, you were responsible for keeping them safe, fending off these threats, if necessary. Then supply and demand was a reality. The capital market for sheep was always in flux. Yes, there was always a need the temple sacrifices demanded loads of sheep, but they had to be without defect. Shepherding was a tough life. It was also a stinky one; you were always carrying with you the smells, the dirt, the life of being a shepherd. Shepherding was a tough life, for sure, though not unlike our lives today. The market is always in flux, there are long days and longer weeks, there are enemies seeking to devour you or your family, there is the monotony of daily rhythms and there are plenty of dangers. Yes, the shepherds returned to their lives. And yes, I want you to return to yours. JY9 17
Tune...Antioch CM and refrain 1 & # # C. j... 1? # # C 6 &? # # # #. 6. 11 & # # 11? # # 16 & # # 16? # #... j. J..... j...... j #... J w w 40 JY9
The Sermon Response Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Antioch CM and refrain: 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. JY9 41