Welcome:  –

Liturgy for Christmas Day:  –

Narrator: Today we light the Christ candle.

[Light the candle of Hope, the candle of Peace, the candle of Joy, the candle of Love, and then the Christ candle.]

A reading from Matthew 1:

18  This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place.  His mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit.  19  Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately.  20  While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife.  For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.  21  She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus – because he will save his people from their sins.” 

22  Now, all of this happened in order to make true what the Lord had said through the Prophet,

23  “A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means ‘God is with us’  (Isaiah 7: 14) 

24  So, when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to.  25 But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son.  And Joseph named him Jesus.

Comment on Matthew 1:

Mary “gave birth to her son.”, so we read, “And Joseph named him Jesus.”  (Matthew 1: 25b) 

William Barclay writes:  “In Jesus there came into this World the power which can recreate life.  He can bring to life again the soul which is dead to sin; he can revive again the ideals which have died; he can make strong again the will to goodness which has perished.  He can renew life, when (people) have lost all that life means.

There is much more in this passage from the Gospel of Matthew concerning the birth of Jesus than the crude fact that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin mother.  The essence of Matthew’s (account) is that in the birth of Jesus the Spirit of God was operative as never before in this World.  It is the Spirit who brings God’s truth to (people); it is the Spirit who enables (people) to recognise that truth when they see it; it is the Spirit who was God’s agent in the Creation of the World; it is the Spirit who alone can recreate the Human soul when it has lost the life it ought to have.

Jesus enables us to see what God is and what (Humanity) ought to be; Jesus opens the ‘eyes’ of our minds so that we can see the truth of God for us; Jesus is the creating power come amongst (Humanity); Jesus is the recreating power which can release the souls of (people) from the death of sin.  (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew p22 & 23) 

Poem

He’s the Saviour of the World

All the World has heard the story

Of the little Christ child’s birth,

But too few have felt the meaning

Of his mission here on Earth.

Some regard it as a story

That is beautiful to hear

A lovely Christmas custom

That we celebrate each year.

But its more than just a story

Told to make our hearts rejoice

It’s our Father up in Heaven

Speaking through the Christ child’s voice.

Telling us of Heavenly kingdoms

That He has prepared above,

For all who trust His mercy

And live only for His love,

And only through the Christ child

Is God’s boundless grace unfurled,

For God sent the baby Jesus

As the Saviour of the World.

  (Helen Steiner Rice in Loving Thoughts P91) 

 Let us pray.

Saving God, who walked this Earth in Eden and by Galilee, we praise you for your

everlasting love, your enduring patience, and for the greatest gift of all, the possibility of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  (https://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Christmas.htm#gsc.tab=0) 

(Copyright © John Birch, 2022 · Prayers written by the author may be copied freely for worship.)

Let us celebrate the birth of Jesus as we sing the Australian Christmas Carol, 

“The North Wind is tossing the leaves”  (TiS322 and Five Australian carols p6&7) 

Verse 1 of 2

The north wind is tossing the leaves,

The red dust is over the town,

The sparrows are under the eaves

And the grass in the paddock is brown,

As we lift up our voices and sing

To the Christ-child, the Heavenly King.

Verse 2 of 2

The tree-ferns in green gullies sway,

The cool stream flows silently by,

The joy-bells are greeting the day,

And the chimes are adrift in the sky,

As we lift up our voices and sing

To the Christ-child, the Heavenly king.

John Wheeler

Prayer of Praise    

Creator God, you who loves us more than we can know,

Who chose us from the very beginning to be family, we praise your holy name.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Word become flesh,

Who dwelt among us and was sacrificed for us, we praise your holy name.

Holy Spirit, you who enlivens and inspires,

Present and the power in our lives, we praise your holy name.

God of glory, your splendour shines from a manger in Bethlehem,

Where the Light of the World is humbly born into the darkness of Human night.

Open our eyes to Christ’s presence in the shadows of our world,

So that we, like him, may become beacons of your justice, and defenders of all for whom there is no room.

Light of life, you came in the flesh, born into Human pain and joy,

So as to gave us power to be your children.

Grant us faith, O Christ, to see your presence among us,

So that all of Creation may sing new songs of gladness and walk in the way of peace.

We praise you, Almighty God, for you have visited your people in one like us in all things but sin,

And in Human fragility you have revealed the face of divinity.

Gather into your arms all the peoples of the World, so that in your embrace we may find blessing, and peace,

and the fullness of our inheritance as your daughters and sons.  Amen.

  (https://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Christmas.htm#gsc.tab=0) 

Copyright © John Birch, 2022 · Prayers written by the author may be copied freely for worship.

(https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/christmas-prayers-to-help-prepare-your-heart.html)

We sing the Hymn:  TiS 293 ‘Unto us a boy is born’

anonymous Latin C15th

translated by Percy Dearmer

Prayer of Confession   

Merciful God, we fail to be like Mary and Joseph and do not trust you.

Forgive us.

We fail to be like the shepherds and ignore your invitation to come and see the wonders you perform.

Forgive us.

We fail to be like the wise men and ignore the directions you have for us to follow.

Forgive us.

For you, God, loved the whole World so much,

But we pick and choose with whom we will be friendly.

For you, God, seek to work your wonders in the World,

But we feel so helpless and inadequate and small.

For you, God, gave your own Son,

But we seek to hoard what we have.

For you, God, see the potential for renewal in all of us,

But we judge and discriminate and give up on others.

For you, God, seek to forgive our sins and remember them no more,

But we seek to hang on to our hurts and grudges.

For you, God, seek to show us the way for peace of mind and soul,

But we seek to do it all by ourselves.

For you, God, seek to bring hope and joy and love into our lives,

But we strive for status and prestige and Earthly honours instead.

Merciful God, for when we do wrong things, and turn our backs on you,

For all the wrong things we say and think, forgive us and turn us towards your love.

May Christ be born in our minds,

And be at the heart of our every thought.

May the image of Christ be born in our eyes,

And be at the heart of all we see.

May the music of Christ be born in our ears,

And be at the heart of all we hear.

May the words of Christ be born on our lips,

And be at the heart of every word we speak.

May the love of Christ be born in our hearts,

And be at the heart of our relationships.

May Christ be born in all of us, young and old,

And be at the heart of all we do.  To your praise and glory.  Amen.

  (Moira Laidlaw in Liturgies Offline Year A Christmas Eve)  

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Our Daily Bread 12 December 2006 and Galatians 4: 4 & 5) 

The stable in Bethlehem and the cross of Calvary remind us that “when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son.  He came as the son of a Human mother and lived under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law so that we might become the children of God.”  We take reassurance knowing that having confessed our sins we can rely on the grace of God to forgive us and welcome us into His family.

Thanks be to God.

We sing the Hymn TiS 309 ‘Angels, from the realm of glory’ 

[This hymn is to be sung to the tune Iris.and the YouTube video has music only]

Verse 1 of 5

Angels, from the realms of glory

Wing your flight o’er all the Earth,

You, who sang Creation’s story,

Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Come and worship Christ, the newborn King,

Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.

Verse2 of 5

Shepherds, in the fields abiding,

Watching o’er your flocks by night,

God with Man is now residing,

Yonder shines the infant Light:

Come and worship Christ, the newborn King,

Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.

Verse 3 of 5

Wise Men, leave your contemplations,

Brighter visions beam afar,

Seek the Great Desire of Nations,

You have seen his natal star:

Come and worship Christ, the newborn King,

Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.

Verse 4 of 5

Saints, before the alter bending,

Watching long in hope and fear,

Suddenly the Lord descending,

In his Temple shall appear:

Come and worship Christ, the newborn King,

Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.

Verse 5 of 5

Though an infant now we view him,

He shall fill his Father’s throne,

Gather all the Nations to him;

Every knee shall then bow down:

Come and worship Christ, the newborn King,

Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.

James Montgomery

Talk

A reading from Luke 2:

1  At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the roman Empire.  2  When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria.  3  Everyone, then, went to register themselves, each to their own hometown.

4  Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of king David.  Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David.  5  He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him.  She was pregnant,  6  and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby.  7  She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger – there was no room for them to stay in the Inn.

8  There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks.  9  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them.  They were terribly afraid,  10  but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid!  I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.  11  This very day in David’s town your Saviour was born – Christ the Lord!  12  And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13  Suddenly, a great army of Heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

14  “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and peace on Earth to those with whom He is pleased!”

15  When the angels went away from them back to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ”Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us.”

16  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger.

17  When the shepherds saw him, they told Mary and joseph what the angels had said about the child.  18  All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said.  19  Mary remembered all these things and though deeply about them.  20  The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen: it had been just s the angel had told them.

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Screen 1

  I am reading from a book titled, “Silent Night  Holy Night  a Song for the World”, written by Werner Thuswaldner and Patricia Crampton, and illustrated by Robert Ingpen; published by Penguin Young Readers Group in 2005.

Screen 2

  “Silent night, holy might”: the hymn whose serenity restores us – men, women and children – to the peace which is our true home.

Millions of people know the melody, some know the verses, but very few are aware there is more beyond the carol than its grace and consolation.  Very few know anything of its birth, the seed of its magic, and the source of its power.

Screen 3

  At Christmas time, early in the nineteenth century, two friends, one a Curate, Joseph Mohr, the other a teacher and organist, Franz Xaver Gruber, were living in the Austrian village of Oberndorf on the River Salzach.  War has been raging in the area, the bridge collapsed, cannonballs wrecked houses, stifling smoke filled the streets.  Many had died when foreign soldiers invaded and looted the village.

Screen 4

  In the winter it seemed as if the cold would never end.  When the river froze, there was hardly any work, as most of the men were bargees, transporting salt by barge from the mountains to the great cities.  Salt was so precious in those days that it was known as “white gold”.  In the grip of a long winter, the spark of hope almost died among the people.

Screen 5

  Even when the ice melted, the Salzach, set free, came leaping down from the mountain gorges, tossing aside the houses on its banks.  Time and again, a bargee and his family, home and living gone, would face ruin.  These people were no strangers to hunger and want, grief and suffering.

Screen 6

  The young Curate, Joseph Mohr, and the organist, Franz Xaver Gruber, were equally familiar with poverty: both came from poor families.  Mohr, from Salzburg, had never known his Father, who was said to have been a musketeer.  His Mother earned the family’s meagre living by knitting garments.  His Godfather had actually been the town’s executioner.

  Thanks to an observant Priest, Joseph was helped to develop his gifts and attended school and university.  Training to become a Curate, he was directed from the Parish of the town of Mariapfarr, in the centre of Austria, to another across the Country to the north-west.  The St Nicholas Church in Oberndorf was his second appointment.

  A cheerful soul, Joseph smoked a long pipe, sat in the Inn with the bargees, drank with them, and accompanied their songs on a guitar.

Screen 7

  Franz Xaver Gruber had been lucky too.  Left to his parents, he would have had to stay at home and work at the weaver’s loom beside his brothers and sisters.  But he, too, worked hard at school and especially enjoyed his music lessons.  His Father reluctantly agreed to let Franz become a teacher, but, loving music as he did, he spent every spare moment at the organ, playing, and composing tunes of his own.  Music comforted him through many family tragedies: of his twelve children, only four survived.

  He would end up outliving his friend, Joseph, by fifteen years.

  In 1818, the two men decided to give the sorely tired villagers of Oberndorf a Christmas present: a song, to rouse them from the misery of despair.

  Joseph Mohr offered his friend a poem that he had written two years earlier, in 1816, during his  time at Mariapfarr.  Within a short time, Franz Xaver Gruber had set it to music.  The Church organ was in a sorry state, so they decided to perform the new song at the end of the midnight Mass, with a guitar accompaniment.

Screen 8

  Rumours of a special event had spread through the village ahead of the Mass, and excitement rose when the two men walked in and began to sing, accompanied by a choir of young girls.

  Joseph Mohr played the guitar, and the Congregation in the candlelit Church began to join in the refrain, as if they had always known this newly created hymn.

Screen 9

  Borne up by the miracle that had come on them on that silent, holy night, the villagers walked home through the snow with lighter hearts, the first people to hear the carol whose Heavenly message now encompasses the World.

  Only light; the radiant light of a visionary inspiration, could travel so swiftly, from the Austrian village to the most distant corners of the World.  Missionaries helped to carry its joyful news to places and times undreamt of by Joseph and Franz Xaver.

Screen 10

  Even this: one Christmas season during World War 1, in the most dreadful of days, when a thousand deaths occurred on both sides each day, men walked towards each other.  Enemies, but wondering, sharing “the air of an old Austrian song”, and, coming closer, saw not enemies but themselves, in that redeeming dawn.

Screen 11

  Now, when people hear the carol, they feel just as the worshippers felt at the midnight Mass in Oberndorf.  No one could claim it for the glitzy world of the supermarkets on the city’s commercial streets.  It does not promise children loads of presents for Christmas.  Instead, it stirs the hearts of everyone as they sense the beauty of modesty and humility, and remember when they, too, were little children.

Screen 12

  Whenever the song is heard, it recreates the atmosphere of that far-off Christmas night when Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber began to sing the simple melody in Oberndorf Church; when the listeners, as they joined in the refrains, forgot all of their want and misfortune they had known, and turned their thoughts to the holiest night of all.

Screen 13

  The hymn, “Silent night, holy night”, has been described as “undoubtedly the favourite of all Christmas carols, loved by both young and old for its serene and beautiful portrayal of the Saviour’s humble birth”.  (Kenneth Osbeck in Joy to the World p81) 

“with a mixture of reflection and awe, the writer evokes the night of Christ’s birth, recalling not only the birth but also its meaning: the Christ who is born in Bethlehem is our Saviour and our King!”  (Silent Night, Holy Night | Hymnary.org) 

  Henry Gariepy, in writing about this hymn, suggests that, to the worshippers in the Church of St Nicholas in the small village of Oberndorf on that Christmas Eve in 1818, as they heard the song being sung for the first time, it was reminiscent of a birth, centuries before, that also took place in the humblest of villages, one much like theirs.  (Henry Gariepy in Songs in the Night p99) 

  This hymn was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.  (Silent Night – Wikipedia) 

  From accounts written about the life of Joseph Mohr, he did indeed share the poverty of the villagers of Mariapfarr and Oberndorf, experiencing their want and need in times of distress and discomfort.

  These towns were often subject to the effects of severe flooding.  “The Church organ in Oberndorf was in a sorry state” on that Christmas Eve in 1818 because of water damage incurred from recent flooding at that time.  In the 1890s several floods of the Salzach River, on the banks of which the village of Oberndorf is sited, destroyed large parts of the village.  The Church of St Nicholas itself suffered damage.  The Church was finally demolished and a memorial chapel erected on its site in 1937.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberndorf_bei_Salzburg  Silent Night – Wikipedia  ) 

  The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts between Napoleon’s France and a shifting web of alliances among other European powers.  The wars lasted from about 1800 to 1815.  They were a continuation of the French Revolutionary wars, which ran from 1792 to 1799.  Together these conflicts represented 23 years of nearly uninterrupted war in Europe, including over much of the Austria around Mariapfarr and Oberndorf.  (https://www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars) 

  In the northern autumn of 1816, Joseph Mohr’s Congregation in the town of Mariapfarr was reeling.  The years of war had decimated the country’s political and social infrastructure.  Meanwhile, the previous year – one that historians would later dub “The Year Without a Summer” – had been catastrophically cold.

  The eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in 1815 had caused widespread climate change throughout Europe.  Volcanic ash in the atmosphere caused almost continuous storms – even snow – in the midst of summer.  Crops failed and there was widespread famine.

  Joseph Mohr’s Congregation was poverty-stricken, hungry and traumatized.  So he crafted a set of six poetic verses to the convey hope that there was still a God who cared.

  In 1817, Joseph Mohr was transferred to the parish of St. Nicholas in the town of Oberndorf, just south of Salzburg.  There, the following year, he asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, a local schoolteacher and organist, to write the music for the six verses.

  On Christmas Eve, 1818, the two friends sang “Silent Night” together for the first time, in front of the Congregation of St Nicholas Church, with Joseph Mohr playing his guitar.

  The song was well-received by Joseph Mohr’s parishioners, most of whom worked as boat-builders and shippers in the salt trade that was central to the economy of the region.  (https://theconversation.com/the-humble-origins-of-silent-night-108653 )  (https://silent-night-museum.org/sounds/lyrics.htm)  (Kenneth Osbeck in Joy to the World p82) 

  But I doubt that it was well-received because it helped the villagers to “forget all of their want and misfortune they had known, as they turned their thoughts to the holiest night of all”, as this book implies.  I understand that the words of the hymn written by Joseph Mohr, sung to the melody and harmonization composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, speak a far more reassuring message, not just of God’s love, but of God’s power and authority in the World.

Screen 14

“the shepherds saw the baby Jesus, and told Mary and Joseph what the angel had said about the child”  Luke 2: 17 

The Website Hymnary writes:

“It is important to not simply listen to what we might consider a quaint, nostalgia-evoking carol, but to sing out the depth of these words.  For the words ‘dawn of redeeming grace’ speak of something far greater and grander than any song we could ever write.”  (Silent Night, Holy Night | Hymnary.org)  

  In an article in last weekend’s The Weekend Australian, John Carroll wrote:

“Christmas has been largely stripped of its sacred meaning.  It now functions as an annual get-together for extended families, marking the end of the secular year, rather than as a devout ritual celebrating the birth of the most significant person in History.

  Yet, echoes remain of the search for the transcendent that began in a Bethlehem cattle shed 2000 years ago.  It is there in the imagery of shepherds travelling by night to see a baby in a manger, of exotic Kings following a star and bringing gifts, and of the haunting sound of “Silent night”.  The birth of Jesus brought with it the hope that Human life, with all its trials and sufferings, might be redeemed.  But that arc of meaning is almost entirely lost today, with the secularising of Christmas, and, more seriously, with the denial of Easter as a signifier that death might be more than death.”  (John Carroll in A Sense of Eternity in The weekend Australian December 17-18 2022 p35) 

Henry Gariepy writes:

“The beauty and simplicity of the Carol, “Silent night”, captures something of the wonder and majesty of Christmas.  The manger is the marvel of the ages.  The Babe of Bethlehem was God becoming visible to Human sight, vocal to Human hearing, tangible to Human touch.  Jesus was the heart of God wrapped in Human flesh.”

“The Incarnation is the central fact and miracle of Christmas.  Upon it depends the whole superstructure of our faith.  No tongue of a Human nor brain of a scholar can explain this mighty transition that wrapped deity in the dust and decay of Human flesh.  This beautiful Carol reminds us each Advent Season of the ‘dawn of redeeming grace’ that broke upon the World in majestic and matchless splendour.”  (Henry Gariepy in Songs in the Night p100) 

  Coleman Luck writes that although Caesar Augustus exercised supreme authority throughout the Roman Empire and, in his decree for a census to be taken throughout the Empire  (Luke 2: 1)  , initiated the temporary migration of millions of his subjects “to their own hometown”  (Luke 2: 2)  , “it can now be seen that he was the really insignificant person – merely a pawn in the plan of God.  Joseph and Mary were by far the most important persons on the face of the Earth at that particular moment because Mary had within her womb the Saviour of the world.  Though the World little realises it, this is what it needs more than anything else – a Saviour.  This Saviour was the Christ, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.”  (Coleman Luck in Luke  The Gospel of the Son of Man p31 & 32) 

  What took place in Bethlehem at that time was not simply an event, but an event plus a revelation.  From one point of view, it was the greatest event that ever took place, and was the turning point in Human History.  But it would have no meaning for us unless God revealed that meaning.  This is where the angel comes in, bringing the “good news which will bring joy to all the people”, for, as the angel announces to the shepherds, ”This very day in David’s town your Saviour was born – Christ the Lord”  (Luke 2: 10 & 11)  , bringing to the World, as the angelic choir sang:

“Glory to God in the Highest Heaven, and peace on Earth to those with He is pleased.”  (Luke 2: 14)  (Michael Wilcock in The Message of Luke p43&44) 

  Alan Catchpoole wrote:

“We have seen that God created and sustains this World and the Human race.  But there was something that God could not do for Humanity through Creation or providence.  Humanity needed help from God, for, ever since Adam’s rebellion, the people of this World were in desperate need of salvation from the corruption into which we have fallen and the guilt of our own souls.  Such divine help could only come through the Incarnation.

  The doctrine of the Incarnation – that Jesus Christ is come into the world in the flesh – gives substance to all of the teachings of the Bible.  Because this doctrine is true, we accept that Christ can act as mediator between God and Humanity.  He can speak with divine authority and his word is final.  He can represent individual people before God and be the Human substitute in the atonement.  This gives saving power and eternal worth to Calvary’s cross.  If Jesus Christ is not Human, then the story of the Gospel is but a myth.  And if he is not God, we are fools if we worship him.”  (Alan Catchpoole in The Wisdom that founded the Earth p140 & p151) 

  David McCasland wrote:

“The Lord did not wait for an invitation to enter our world.  Clothed in Humanity, he was born as a baby, lived as our teacher, died as our Sacrifice, and rose from the grave as our Saviour.”  (David McCasland in Our Daily Bread 12 December 2006) 

  “The evidence of God’s salvation can be seen in our faces, heard in our voices, and reflected by the works of our hands.  May the joy of redemption shine through us this Christmas and throughout the coming new year.”  (David McCasland in Our Daily Bread 22 December 2006) 

Amen.

We sing the Hymn: TiS 311 ‘Silent night, holy night’

[This YouTube video has music.]

[You will need to play the YouTube video through twice so that you can sing the six verses.]

Verse 1 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon godly tender pair

Holy infant with curly hair

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Verse 2 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord at thy birth

Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Verse 3 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Brought the world gracious light

Down from heaven’s golden height

Comes to us the glorious sight:

Jesus, as one of mankind

Jesus, as one of mankind.

Verse 4 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

By his love, by his might

God our Father us has graced

As a brother gently embraced

Jesus, all nations on earth

Jesus, all nations on earth.

Verse 5 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Long ago, minding our plight

God the world from misery freed

In the dark age of our fathers decreed:

All the world is redeemed

All the world is redeemed.

Verse 6 of 6

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Shepherds first saw the sight

Of angels singing alleluia

Calling clearly near and far:

Christ, the saviour is born

Christ the Saviour is born.

Joseph Mohr

Translated by Bettina Klein © 1998 Silent Night Museum

We sing the Hymn MHB 130:  ‘It came upon the midnight clear’    

[This hymn is to be sung to the tune Noel.]

Carols from King’s 2003 – It came upon the midnight clear – YouTube

Verse 1 of 4

It came upon the midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the Earth

To touch their harps of gold:

Peace on the Earth, goodwill to men,

From Heaven’s all-gracious King!

The World in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing.

Verse 2 of 4

Still through the cloven skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their Heavenly music floats

O’er all the weary World;

Above its sad and lowly plains

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o’er its babel sounds

The blessed angels sing.

Verse 3 of 4

But with the woes of sin and strife

The World has suffered long,

Beneath the angel strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love song which they bring,

O hush the noise, you men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.

Verse 4 of 4

For lo, the days are hastening on,

By Prophet bards foretold,

When with the ever-circling years

Comes round the Age of Gold.

When peace shall over all the Earth

Its ancient splendours fling,

And the whole World give back the song

Which now the angels sing.

Edmund Sears

Offering

Offering Prayer    

“For the life that you have given”  TiS774  

[This hymn is being sung to the tune Austria – there is no introduction.]

[This YouTube video is for another hymn so disregard the words – only the one verse is needed.]

For the life that you have given,

For the love in Christ made known,

With these fruits of time and labour,

With these gifts that are your own:

Here we offer, Lord, our praises;

Heart and mind and strength we bring;

Give us grace to love and serve you,

Living what we pray and sing.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Prayers for Others

Loving God, knowing your love for all of Humanity, especially your compassion for the needy, we come to you with our cares and our concerns.  As we celebrate Christmas when the Word of God became flesh, we pray for the Church, the Body of Christ.

May we be so filled with God’s loving life, that our actions touch the world with hope, which lasts when even the Christmas decorations are put away for another year. 

Ever living God, on this Christmas morning we remember that your dear son was born into a dangerous and troubled world.  

We pray for peace and acceptance in those regions of the world, where diversity of opinion or politics forms a hinderance to peaceful co-existence and where borders and barriers seek to hide injustice, terror and torture.

Jesus, just as you were brought gifts by the wise men, help our leaders to use wisely those gifts of forgiveness and reconciliation, which you have given us for the good of all nations.  

We pray for peace in the Holy Land and for all who now live in the city of Bethlehem. 

We give thanks to you God that in Jesus’ early childhood you entrusted him to the care of a human family.  In Mary and Joseph, you gave us an example of love and devotion to him, and the importance of family life.

We are grateful for those members of our family who will gather round the table for Christmas lunch, and remember those who cannot be with us

We ask you to bless us and the food you provide.  In our gratitude, we remember your humble birth and pray for those without enough to eat.  

We remember the stable in which you were born and pray for those who have no place to live.  We remember your challenging message of caring and giving and pray for the lonely and those who are close to despair. 

Jesus, as Mary cradled you gently in her arms, we pray for all women giving birth today, for all new born babies and for all expectant mothers.

We pray for those who are sick or in need of your help at this time and for all who minister to their needs.  We are thankful and pray for those who will work this Christmas day in the service of others.  Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Thank you Lord for sending us the gift of your Son, so that we may have the blessing of your promised peace. We thank you for the star that guided the Magi.  

May we be guided by the Light of the World, and walk the path that you have chosen for our lives, this day and every day.

We pray for ourselves, that our hearts are open to your presence, that we may be transformed by your love.  Loving God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your compassion and care.  To your glory we pray.

http://www.layanglicana.org/blog/2014/12/25/intercessions-for-christmas-day-years-a-b-and-c-25-december-2014/

INTERCESSIONS – CHRISTMAS DAY 2017

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.  Amen.

We sing the Hymn MHB 150: ‘Thou didst leave thy throne’  

Emily Elliott

Benediction 

(from Invocations & Benedictions p11) 

  Let us go into the World, confident of God’s care and concern for each one of us, confident that God is in control of Time and Space, confident that God is directing History so as to bring about His will in Heaven and upon Earth, and to accomplish His plan for the redemption of all the World.

  And may Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us”, walk with you and bless you, this day and always.  Amen.

Benediction Song

“Rejoice and be Merry”  Carols for Choirs 1 number 32

Traditional English Carol