Christmas Eve Service – December 24, 2015
9:00 PM – Cross~Wind UMC
Christmas Eve Service – December 24, 2016 8:30 pm
Concert 9:00 pm Service
Preludes Piano Solo
----------------------------------------------------- Claudia Pear
“What Child Is This?”
--------------------------------------- Bell Choir
“Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” --------------------- Kayc
& Dennis Mykrantz
“Coventry Carol”
-------------------------------------------- Bell Choir
“Hark the Herald Angels Sing”----------------------------
Bell Choir
“Still, Still, Still”
---------------------------------------------- Men’s Quartet
“Sing a Song of Christmas” --------------------------------
Vocal Trio/Piano/Organ/Bells
Announcement: Pastor George Plasterer
I welcome
you to the celebration of the birth of Jesus on this Christmas Eve. We celebrate
Immanuel, God with us. We celebrate the gracious gift God has given in this
act, the giving of the Son. We want this to be a worshipful service. For that
reason, we invite you not to clap after the songs. No one here is performing. We
want to lift up the name of Jesus. We will have a moment when Pastor Doug will
offer a reading and place the baby Jesus in the manger. At that time, children
may come up and surround the manger scene. We will conclude the service with candlelight.
Suzanne and I will lead this service. The person who has a lit candle will keep
it straight up, while the other person will receive the light by bringing his
or her candle to the light. As John Chapter 1 tells us, Christ is light to us
all. As much as darkness will try to extinguish it, God will not allow the
light to go out. This part of the service, as I light the Christ candle and
then share that light with others, will symbolize that for us. With the final
hymn, we will extinguish the light along with the choir.
Service
Chiming of the Hour
-------------------------------------------------- Lori Rayl
John 1:1-5; 9-14; 16-17
---------------------------------------------- James Austen
Call to Worship
-------------------------------------------------------- Cassie Looker
Processional: “O Come All Ye Faithful”
-------------------------- All
Luke 1:26-31 / Prayer
------------------------------------------------ Kayc Mykrantz
Anthem: “There’s Just Something About That Name” -------
Cross~Wind Choir
Luke 1:34-38 / Prayer ------------------------------------------------
Dennis Mykrantz
“Breath of Heaven”
-------------------------------------------------- Emma Bowen
Luke 2:1-7
--------------------------------------------------------------- Pastor Doug
Upton Placing of Jesus in the Manger / Prayer
------------------------- Pastor Doug & Children “Gesu Bambino”
------------------------------------------------------ Elijah Bowen/ Ian
Snoeberger
Luke 2:8-14 / Prayer
-------------------------------------------------- Cassie Looker
“Angels We Have Heard
On High” -------------------------------- Cross~Wind Choir
Luke 2:15-20 / Prayer
------------------------------------------------ David Downham
Offertory “While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks” -------------
All
Doxology #94 / Prayer -----------------------------------------------
All /Pastor George
Holy One, we thank you for the extravagant gift of your Son, born
to us this night. Receive, we pray, these offerings as our grateful response
for your life among us which changed and continues to change the world. Amen.
Each year, we read this story and it feels so familiar. Spirit,
give us new eyes to see it tonight. Let us hear and feel and taste what this
night must have been like. Let us not miss the miracles, the simple beauty, and
the glory. Restore the wonder to our hearts. We read and sing and light
candles, as we have done so many times before. But, let our time here be like
never before. Thank you for what we will experience in this holy place tonight.
Amen.
Meditation--------------------------------------------------------------
Pastor George Plasterer
Advent Wreath / Lighting of the Christ Candle
---------------- Pastor George and Suzanne
The Advent Wreath: Readings for Christmas Day
The Christ Candle
(Before beginning, the Candles of Hope, Peace, Joy
and Love are lit.)
(Opening sentences)
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Christ comes
to dispel the darkness, to give us life and to shine as a beacon of salvation
to the world. Christ's light is an eternal flame that sets ablaze hope, peace,
joy and love in the heart of every believer. Let us celebrate Emmanuel, God
with us, the Light of the World!
(Scripture reading)
Jesus says, "I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of
life" (John 8:12).
(Lighting the candle)
We light the Christ Candle this Christmas Eve,
proclaiming that Christ, the Light of the World, cannot be hidden, cannot be
extinguished and cannot be overcome, for our Savior born this day comes to
conquer evil, sin and death for all time.
(The Christ Candle is lit in silence)
Prayer: Holy God, we are profoundly grateful for the
life and light of your Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ. We acknowledge the
darkness in our world and in our own lives, and we ask for mercy and courage to
become people of light. Shine into the hidden recesses of our hearts, exposing
what needs to be forgiven, healed and made whole. Restore us to walk faithfully
with you. With all the heavenly hosts, we praise you for this most precious
gift of light and life, Jesus our Redeemer. Amen.
[Pastor
George will take his candle and light it from the Christ candle. He will light
Suzanne’s candle. Pastor Doug will come and receive the light and then light
the stage left side.]
Lighting of Candles / “Silent Night”
------------------------------- All [Seated]
“O Holy Night”
--------------------------------------------------------- Steve Gwin
Recessional: “Joy To the World” ----------------------------------
All [Stand and blow out candles]
Benediction ------------------------------------------------------------
Pastor George
You are people who have seen a great light! You are people who have
received the ultimate gift in the Son of God — the Light of the World. Be
bearers of the light, going with the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, this night and always. Amen.
Postlude: “Joy To the World”
-------------------------------------- Organ / Piano
Sermon
1313; 5.9
I like to watch Christmas stories during the month
of December. I have watched some of the new ones on Netflix. Many of them are
sweet, touching, and can bring a tear to my eye. That happens to me more as I age,
I think. However, I must say that the stories that say nothing of Jesus always
leave me with the feeling that they have left out something very important.
As difficult as it can be to believe that God has
acted in Jesus Christ, that God is indeed with us today, we still invite you to
believe. You can make no more important decision. You can have that
relationship with Jesus today.
As Martin Luther once said in a Christmas sermon,
three miracles occurred at Christ's nativity: God became human, a virgin
conceived, Mary believed. For Luther,
the greatest miracle that first Christmas was the last. Mary believed. Despite all the oppression, closed doors,
brick walls, blind alleys, and dark, silent, death, she believed. She sang.
Mary did not just believe that God sent the Son into
the world. She believed by receiving the Son into her life. Do you believe?
I want to share a parable of Christmas.
It seems the angels gathered around the throne of
God for a discussion. Things were in a mess down on earth. (What else is new?)
God became concerned with all the war, fighting, famine, and bloodshed. “I've tried
everything,” says the Lord. “I have sent them poets and prophets whom spoke and
wrote beautiful words.” The sad state of affairs became a hot topic in heaven.
Some of the angels, like Gabriel, Michael, and some others, had visited earth,
but only for brief times. God says, “I think the only thing left is for one of
you, a member of the heavenly court, to go down to earth. Live with them, not
just for a moment, but every day. Get to know them, become one of them, live
with them, and let them get to know you. Only then will heaven truly
communicate to them. Only then will they take notice of the great gap between
the way they have been living and the way God intended them to be from
creation. Only then will we be able to reveal to them who I created them to
be.” The angels stood around in awkward silence. Going for a moment was fine,
but they were not about to volunteer for long-term duty in such a murderous,
difficult place. The silence lasted for an eternity. Finally, God himself broke
the silence. Quietly, determinedly, but without any sense of resignation and no
bitterness, God said, “Then I will go.”
The whole point of Christmas is that God, in the
person of Jesus Christ, came among us. He became a living example of the way of
God’s kingdom — the way of hope, peace, joy, and love. He showed the way of
servanthood, the way of suffering, and the way of salvation.
Do you believe, not just that Christ
came among us, but that he has come into your life?
Imagine with me a shepherd on that fateful first
Christmas night. Now, he is much
older. He has a grandson who is sitting
upon his knee. He recalls this story,
even on this night:
A long, long time ago, when I was little more than a
boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping
watch over the flock. Moreover, the
angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout
us. In addition, we were afraid. And the angel said, "Fear not...for unto
you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord...You shall find the babe in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The
lips stopped moving. Silence. The little boy looks with wide, puzzled eyes
into his grandfather's face and says, "But granddad is that all? What did you do when you heard the good
news? Was what the angel said true? Was the Christ Child ever really
born?" The old man shook his head:
"I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him the Light of
God, the power of life. However, for me,
I could never be quite sure. I never did
go to see."[1]
Going to see is to believe.
Christmas is such a unique idea. I realize that some
religions have come to think that the idea that God could become one of us is
so strange as to border on idolatry. However, I also think that many people who
may not be Christians think that it would be quite a good thing, if it
happened. Many people question whether God loves humanity that much. After all,
they can point to war, brutality, and violence, and suggest that these harsh
human realities suggest that God does not love us very much. However, even the
non-Christian has to admit that if God exists, it would be quite a wonderful
thing for God to become one of us, experiencing human life as one of us,
experiencing the world in all of its wonder and misery, even as God has created
it.
If Christmas is the anniversary of the
appearance of the Lord of the Universe, it is quite a day. It is a startling
idea. Theologians are so uncomfortable with it that many no longer want to deal
with the possibility that this baby is unique, the presence of God, and the
second person of the Trinity. However, if God did do this, we must admit that
God provided us with some profound insight into ourselves.
People are afraid of God. If you read
the Old Testament, you discover that people feared that the world of the divine
might invade this world of sight, and overwhelm it. One cannot stand in the
presence of God, and still live. However, everyone has seen babies. Almost
everyone likes them. Therefore, if God wanted love from human beings, God made
quite a smart move in becoming one of us, even from birth. If God wanted to
know people, God made quite a wonderful move here, for a baby growing up learns
all one can know about people. If God wanted intimate involvement with humanity,
the experience of birth and family is the most intimate and precious experience
we have.
None of this is logical. One bishop
called this a kind of divine insanity. It is either falsehood, or it is the
truest thing in the world. It is the story of the great innocence of God as a
baby. In fact, it is such a dramatic shot at the heart that, if it is not true,
then for us, nothing is true.
Even if you did not get your shopping
all done, and you were swamped with the commercialism and frenzy, be at peace.
Even if you are the choir director and
other musicians who have to be up for so many special services, be at peace.
Even if you are a pastor, who knows
that many people come during this time of year, and the pressure is on to be at
your best, be at peace.
The story still stands as a witness to
what God has done in Jesus, as God became one with us.
Frankly, I do not become too upset
with people paying extra attention to Jesus at this season of the year when
they might not pay as much attention as they ought the rest of the year. You
see, maybe this year, they will hear the Christmas story, they will hear the
music, they will hear a message, and this year, unlike other years, it will
take.
Maybe this year, the message will take
in you.
Make sure that the most important part
of this season is not missing in your Christmas celebration.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment