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Advent Candle Liturgy: –    

Narrator: Today we light the candle of Hope.

  A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14:

“the LORD Himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is pregnant will have a son and will name him ‘Immanuel’.  (The name in Hebrew means ‘God is with us’.)”

  When Isaiah spoke these words, the King of Judah, King Ahaz, was fearful of an impending invasion by the armies of Syria and Israel.  Where King Ahaz was looking for hope for the Nation of Judah in the coming of the army of an ally, God declares that there is hope for all of Humanity in the future birth of a child.  (Derek Kidner in Isaiah in the New Bible Commentary p596) 

  We, too, may be fearful of impending trouble or difficulties or of an unknown future, but the promise of ‘Immanuel’, ‘God with us’, is given to us as well. 

  “No longer do we walk through life alone, as if God were watching us from a distance.  Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection eliminated the barrier of sin and death and brought God to us, and us to God.  In our darkest hours, in our saddest moments, when fear or loneliness seem to rule our lives, let us take comfort in knowing that we are not alone.  Immanuel, God is with us.”

  (Rose Gallion, “God with us” in Jesus: The Reason for the Season p27) 

A poem, titled “Bethlehem of Judah”

“A little child, a shining star,

a stable rude, the door ajar.

Yet, in that place so crude, forlorn,

the Hope of all the World was born.”

(“Bethlehem of Judah” in The Greatest Gift p66) 

Let us continue on the theme of Hope:

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Hymn  ‘Come thou long expected Jesus’    (TiS 272  AHB 200  MHB 242)

Verse 1 of 4

Come, thou long expected Jesus,

born to set thy people free,

from our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in thee.

Verse 2 of 4

Israel’s strength and consolation

hope of all the Earth thou art,

Dear desire of every Nation.

Joy of every longing heart.

Verse 3 of 4

Born thy people to deliver,

born a child and yet a King,

born to reign in us forever,

now thy gracious Kingdom bring.

Verse 4 of 4

By thine own eternal Spirit

rule in all our hearts alone.

By thine all sufficient merit

raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley

Prayer of Praise and Confession  

Almighty God, we give to you our praise for you are just and compassionate.  You are a God who cares for those who groan under oppression and sorrow.  You are a God who listens to those who cry out for help and does not pass them by.

You are a God whose tender love gives comfort to the outcast and to the powerless.  You step beyond social norms and cultural boundaries and religious bigotries, to embrace those whom society neglects, and to call to you those whom society rejects.

Almighty God, we give to you our praise, for you are the one who gives light to a World that lives in the darkness of sin and despair, you reveal yourself to a World that is blind to your free gift of grace and reconciliation.  You are the one who has done great things for us, not that we deserve your compassion, but solely because you are a God of love and grace. 

We come together as your People with assurance and hope in your promise to save, for all of time and beyond Time, all those who come to you through Jesus Christ.  We are awed by your power in raising Jesus Christ from death.  We come together to thank you for Christ’s intercession on our behalf.  We are honoured to be called your children and to be called to be in your presence.

Yet, Lord, we come before you contrite and repentant for our failings and for our disobedience. 

We come before you knowing that our best is still far from the way of the Gospel to which you have called us to follow.

Merciful God, we fail to control our tongue from speaking evil and our lips from speaking deceit.  We pray empty words of praise while at the same time speak words that are thoughtless and unkind. 

We profess to be disciplined and Christ-like, yet are wilful in our thoughts and our words and our actions.

We profess to be moved by the sight of the hungry and needy, yet are wasteful of our own resources.  We condemn the neglect shown by others.

Yet, we fail to work towards reconciliation and harmony in even our own small corner of the World.  We too often remember the smallest of hurts that we experience and fail to follow your example of being willing to forgive and to forget.  Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

Merciful God, we are indifferent to the treasures of your wisdom, and fail to use the gifts with which you have endowed us. 

We lower our standards and disregard the influence that our conduct may have upon others. 

We are proud and vane and love nothing more than boasting about our own deeds and achievements. 

We strive for popularity and avoid criticism, we are sullen when things do not go the way we want them to, we are temperamental when challenged with the need to grow and to mature.  Lord, in your mercy, forgive us.

Merciful God, we come humbly before you, seeking your forgiveness.  Remove all the sin in our lives that binds and oppresses us.  Give us the courage to cast off our sinful habits and to turn to you for healing and wholeness. 

Strengthen us to follow gladly the sure path of salvation and to walk humbly in your footsteps.   May we walk in the way of grace and truth all the days of our life.  For this we pray, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Psalm 80: 7b and 19b) 

The Psalmist declares with assurance, “Show us your mercy, Lord God Almighty, and we will be saved.”  Having confessed our sins before God, we, too, have faith that God, in His great mercy, has heard our prayers, has forgiven our sins, and has brought us back into a right relationship with Him.

Thanks be to God.

Prayer of illumination 

Almighty, gracious Father, for as much as our whole salvation depends upon our true understanding of your holy Word, grant to all of us that our hearts, being freed from worldly affairs, may hear and comprehend your holy Word with all diligence and faith, that we may rightly understand your gracious will, cherish it, and live by it with all earnestness, to your praise and honour, through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

(Prayer of Martin Bucer: 1538)

Bible Readings

Psalm 80:

8  You brought a grapevine out of Egypt; you drove out other Nations and planted it in their land.  9  You cleared a place for it to grow; its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.

10  It covered the hills with its shade; its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.  11  It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Euphrates River.

Isaiah 64:

4  No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in you.  5  You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live.  

1 Corinthians 1:

21  For God, in His wisdom, made it impossible for people to know Him by means of their own wisdom.  Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.  22  Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom.  23  As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ. A message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles;  24  but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  25  For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than Human wisdom, and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than Human strength.

26  Now, remember what you were, my sisters and brothers, when God called you.  From the Human point of view, few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.  27  God purposely chose what the World considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the World considers weak in order to shame the powerful.  28  He chose what the World looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the World thinks is important.  29  This means that no one can boast in God’s presence.  30  But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom.  By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.  31  So then, as the Scripture says,

“Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”  (Jeremiah 9: 24) 

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

Mark 13:

26  Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  27  He will send the angels out to the four corners of the Earth to gather God’s chosen people from one end of the World to the other.

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

A Children’s Prayer

Dear God, our creator,

I give you today.

All that I think,

and do, and say.

I give you the good times

as well as the bad

Times when I’m happy

and times when I’m sad.

Forgive me, O God,

for the times I do wrong.

I’m part of your family,

I know I belong.

Fill me with love

and make me strong.

With you by my side

it’s hard to go wrong.

Amen.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Hymn  ‘Hark the glad sound the Saviour comes’  (TiS269  AHB197  MHB82)

Philip Doddridge

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Hymn  ‘The People who in darkness walked’  (TiS274  AHB202)

John Morison

Sermon

‘Maxwell ton rescues Aussies

Glenn Maxwell blasted a century to rescue Australia and keep the T20 series against India alive’

Today Show 6.10am 29/11/2023

Maxwell ton rescues Aussies | Watch (msn.com)

  This was the News that greeted cricket lovers in Australia last Wednesday; Glen Maxwell, scoring a hundred runs off 46 balls in the third T20 match against India, including 16 runs off the last four balls of the last over.  Without exaggerating the circumstances, you would be correct in saying that he won the match for Australia.  With a masterful display of his amazing talent and power hitting, he literally took control of the match, successfully accomplished his goal of helping the team to win the match, achieved a personal milestone in his career of equalling the number of hundreds scored by a player in T20 matches, humbled the opposition team, silenced the supporters of the Indian team in the stands, and erased their hopes and dreams for the Indian team to win this the third T20 match between India and Australia and thus the T20 series on the night.

  It is the same language that the author of Psalm 80 in writing of God

‘You brought a grapevine out of Egypt,

You drove out other Nations and planted it in their land,

You cleared a place for it to grow.’  Psalm 80: 8 & 9a 

  The author writes:

“You brought a grapevine out of Egypt,

You drove out other Nations and planted it in their land,

You cleared a place for it to grow.”  (Psalm 80: 8 & 9a) 

  This is, of course a reference to the Exodus chronicle of the people of Israel.  God, by his power and authority, ‘dug out the grapevine’ of the people of Israel from their slavery in the Nation of Egypt, as a vine grower would carefully and tenderly dig out a grapevine.  God then transplanted this ‘grapevine’ in the lands of another people, out of which He had driven these other people, having judged that they had physically and morally and spiritually corrupted the land.  God then ‘transplanted’ the people of Israel into this land, the land of Canaan.

  The author of Psalm 80 is careful to note that God does not then depart, leaving the newly-planted ‘grapevine’ to tend for itself, for they write of the extent to which God then cares for His grapevine.  God “clears the land” and prepares the soil so that its roots “grow deeply” into the soil, allowing the grapevine to proliferate and grow abundantly, to “spread out over the whole land”.  (Psalm 80: 9b) 

  Rev Thomas Pittaway, in his “Meditations in the Psalms”, notes that,

“the vine transplanted was not left alone,

The (vine owner) divine gave it His care”

  (Rev Thomas Pittaway in Meditations in the Psalms p64) 

  And what imagery does the author of Psalm 80 use to indicate the success of the efforts of

the ‘vine owner’?  The nearby mountains are described as being “in the shadow of the grapevine”, so high and extensive has it grown.  (Psalm 80: 10a)  It’s branches” were like those of mighty cedars”, so large and strong have they grown.  (Psalm 80: 10b)  The grapevine has spread throughout the land in which it has been planted, it has thrived beyond expectations.

  The writer of Psalm 80 reminds the People of Israel of what God accomplished, redeeming His People out of slavery in Egypt and of establishing them as His chosen People, the Nation of Israel.  But they are careful to emphasise that “this was only possible because of God’s special intervention.”  (Leslie McCaw & Alec Motyer in The Psalms in the New bible Commentary p502) 

  Artur Weiser, in his commentary on this Psalm writes:

“During the recapitulation of the saving deeds of God, the People of Israel know themselves to be near their God, who steadily accomplishes His saving purpose (for them0 until He has reached His goal.”  (Artur Weiser in The Psalms p549) 

  The goal of God, as the writer of Psalm 80 declares is,

“to come and to save (His) people”.  (Psalm 80: 14b) 

Thus, this Psalm is a celebration of the manner in which God implements His will and purpose in the World, from His dynamic and dramatic intervention in the Time and History of Humanity.

  In today’s passage from Isaiah’s Book the Prophet addresses God in a similar way to the author of Psalm 80 saying,

“No-one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in you.  You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live.”  (Isaiah 64: 4 & 5) 

“No-one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in you.  ”  Isaiah 64: 4  

  In this latter part of his Book, the Prophet Isaiah addresses two issues, the goodness of God and the grief that God’s People have brought upon themselves because of their disobedience and ungratefulness towards God.  At the time when the Prophet Isaiah compiled his writings, the lands of the people of God were being ravaged by foreign invaders, and the hearts of the people of God were being ravaged by their sins.  (Derek Kidner in Isaiah in the New Bible Commentary p623) 

  In verse 4 of chapter 64, Isaiah talks of the ‘control’ of God.  Who can be compared to God, Isaiah writes, in terms of the control that God exercises over His Creation, over Heaven and Earth, and over all that they contain?  There is no person on Earth, nor can any other god be conceived, who is in any way comparable to the God of the Israelites.  This is well illustrated when we read the Old Testament accounts and consider the great deeds that God has done for those who put their hope in Him, hope for the present and hope for the future. 

  In verse 5, Isaiah talks of the ‘compassion’ of God.  Isaiah reassures his listeners of the readiness of God to welcome into a warm relationship all who submit themselves before God and who seek to follow the Way of God for their lives.  For only in doing so will they experience the peace and joy that brings contentment and completeness to life, those very things for which God seeks to bless all His people.

  Isaiah is describing how different and distinct is the God of Israel, compared to other gods of the peoples of Mesopotamia and the ancient Near East.  God willingly chooses to act on behalf of His People, as and when and how He chooses.  He is not limited by Time or Space or Geography, nor to this ‘material world’.  He does not need to be bribed or coerced into action.  His involvement with people is not dependent upon what or how many gifts are offered to Him nor to the enacting of ‘magical rituals or rites’.  What motivates God into action is solely His love and His dedication to “His faithful followers”.  (John Walton Victor Matthews & Mark Chavalas in the IVP Bible Background Commentary to the Old Testament p640) 

  Derek Kidner, in writing on these verses, emphasises God’s constancy in His dealings with His People.  God shows a tenaciousness in His dealings with His People that exceeds that which any person or any god conceived by any person could display.  He has been involved with His People over generations, longer than the lifetime of any individual person.  And He has displayed might and power beyond that of any individual or Nation.  Isaiah writes that God transcends all because He is the Maker, the Potter of verse 8, who knows all and controls all.  (Derek Kidner in Isaiah in the New Bible Commentary p623) 

  Paul, in his thinking on these verses from Isaiah 64, explains the extent to which God’s involvement in the World would go.  In his letter to the Church in Corinth Paul proclaims a message of God’s wisdom, of which none of the rulers and authorities of the World could conceive nor understand, “God’s secret wisdom”, Paul states, “hidden from Humanity.”  (1 Corinthians 2: 6 to 8) 

‘The wisdom I proclaim is God’s secret wisdom, which is hidden from Human understanding,’  1 Corinthians 2: 7 

  It was a message, Paul continues, that was not just “impossible for people to know by their own wisdom”  (1 Corinthians 1: 21)  , it could not be grasped or accepted as truth by people based solely upon Human reasoning and logic, nor was it a set of beliefs in which People were content place their faith based solely upon Human feelings and attitudes , for it was “offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles”,  so writes Paul.  (1 Corinthians 1: 23) 

   “We proclaim the crucified Christ”, Paul states, for “God decided to save those who believe.”  (1 Corinthians 1: 23a and 21b)

“We proclaim the crucified Christ”, Paul states, for “God decided to save those who believe.”  1 Corinthians 1: 21b & 23a 

  It is in this statement that we see the ultimate expression of God’s control, God intervening in the Time and History of Humanity with the birth of His Son, the baby Jesus lying in the manger.  (Luke 2: 7 and 16)  It is in this statement that we see the ultimate expression of God’s compassion for Humanity, as Paul writes,

“For by Jesus we are put right with God, we become God’s holy People and are set free.”  (1 Corinthians 1: 30b) 

  Isaiah writes that what God seeks from His People is a response of “submissive trust” in God’s control and God’s compassion.  (Derek Kidner in Isaiah in the New Bible Commentary p623) 

  Paul has the identical message for the Church, for it is through our trust in God that God can work in our lives, now and in the future.  As he writes,

“God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1: 9) 

 ‘God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord.’  1 Corinthians 1: 9 

  It is the very nature of God, described for us by Isaiah, that is our guarantee that God is able to bring about what He has promised, that His kingdom will come, that His will is to be done.  (Norman Hillyer in 1 Corinthians in the New Bible Commentary p1053) 

  Colbert Cartwright, in his small booklet titled “The Lord’s Prayer comes Alive”, writes, “For Jesus, God is not only the one who meets him in his quiet moments, but the one who is vitally at work in every circumstance of life to overcome evil, heal the wounds of Society, and give people Hope for the future.  God is not far off but at hand.  This was the Good News about God that Jesus came amongst Humanity to proclaim.”  (page 9) 

  The crucified and resurrected Christ is the hope of our release from the bondage to sin and of our being reconciled with God.  As Paul writes,

“By Christ Jesus we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.”  (1 Corinthians 2: 30) 

  The ascended Christ is the hope of his continuing presence with us now as we journey through life.  As Jesus promised,

“And I will be with you always, to the end of the Age.”  (Matthew 28: 20) 

  The ascended Christ is the hope of our rising with him on that final Day when we will enjoy everlasting fellowship with God.  As Mark writes,

“Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  He will send the angels out to the four corners of the Earth to gather God’s chosen people from one end of the World to the other.”  (Mark 13: 26 & 27)    At this advent time, then, let us remember that “the hope of all the World’ was born on that first Christmas morning, for it truly is an occasion to be celebrated with joy and praise of Almighty God.  Amen.

Offering

Offering Prayer    

“For the life that you have given”  TiS774  

 [This YouTube clip 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 Jesus, you were born in a stable but worshipped by the angels.  Be with all who are lonely, and with all who feel distant from celebrations.  Be for us a living hope that lightens their hearts.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Jesus, as you healed the sick, bring healing to those in families who are ill today.  Guide and direct the doctors, nurses and medical staff who have accepted the responsibility to tend the sick and injured, to find cures  for illness and diseases, and to bring wholeness back into people’s lives.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Christ, for whom there was no room in the inn, give courage to all who are homeless; to  those desperate for a means to provide a livelihood for their family

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Christ, who fled into Egypt, give comfort to all refugees; that they will find acceptance in a new land and a means to provide for themselves and their family.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Christ, who fasted in the desert, give relief to all who are starving; to those affected by financial distress, to those affected by famine, to those affected by natural disasters.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Christ, who hung in agony on the cross, give strength to all who suffer oppression and discrimination, who are abused or disregarded by others.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Loving God, seed in your World and in us your vision for shalom and refuge with you.  Heal those who are weary of body, mind and soul.  Heal the loss of identity that accompanies homelessness and statelessness.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

  Anticipate Heaven in the hearts of warmongers and peacemakers, restoring innocence and blessing them with the capacity to love their enemies.  Reconcile relationships between peoples and your created order.  May Hostilities cease in places of conflict and war and in homes where safety has been unknown.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Enter into the World with prophetic expectation, so that those who are lost to themselves and others, might find their way into your light.  May the mistreatment of the vulnerable be replaced by the yearning for respect and dignity for all.  

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

May people’s hearts be stirred daily so that they will strive to be a blessing and source of hope for others in the world.  Lord of the Church, make us one in heart and mind to serve others with joy, help us to know you, to worship and to serve you.

Loving God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light, source of our hope for our present and our future, bless us and fill us with peace.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Hymn  ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ (MHB125  AHB240  TiS316)

Phillips Brooks

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Australian Christmas Carol  ‘Christmas Bush for His Adorning’  (from Five Australian Christmas Carols p10 & 11) 

Verse 1 of 4

All the bells are gaily ringing

birds in ev’ry tree are singing;

let us in the golden weather,

gather Christmas Bush together.

Verse 2 of 4

“Christ is born!”  The angels thunder

thro’ the Heav’ns their tale of wonder,

while we pluck for his adorning

Christmas Bush, this hallow’d morning.

Verse 3 of 4

Christ has conquer’d Evil’s power,

hear the bells rock ev’ry tower;

birds and beasts lift up their voices,

freed at last the World rejoices.

Verse 4 of 4

Onward with triumphant chorus,

following the road before us,

singing thro’ the golden weather,

gath’ring Christmas Bush together.

John Wheeler

Sacrament of Communion 

(following Uniting in Worship 2 p162 to p222) 

The Peace

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

The Invitation

Christ, our Lord, invites to his Table all who love him, all who earnestly repent of their sin and who seek to live in peace with one another.

Prayer of Approach

Lord God, we come to your Table, trusting in your mercy and not in any goodness of our own.  We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature always to have mercy, and on that we depend.  So, feed us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your son, that we may for ever live in him and he in us. Amen.

Narrative of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper

Hear the words of the institution of this Sacrament as recorded by the Apostle Paul:

  “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’  In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new Covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, for the remembrance of me.  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’”  (1 Corinthians 11: 23 to 26) 

  And, so, according to our Saviour’s command, we set this bread and this cup apart for the Holy Supper to which he calls us, and we come to God with our prayers of thanksgiving.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

With all we are, we give you glory, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one and holy God, Sovereign of all Time and Space.  We thank you for this wide red land, for its rugged beauty, for its changing seasons, for its diverse people, and for all that lives upon this fragile Planet.  You have called us to be the Church in this place, to give voice to every creature under Heaven.  We rejoice with all that you have made, as we join the company of Heaven in their song:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and Earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.

We thank you that you called a covenant people to be the light to the Nations.  Through Moses you taught us to love your Law, and, in the Prophets, you cried out for justice.  In the fullness of your mercy, you became one with us in Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us on the cross.  You make us alive together with him, that we may rejoice in his presence and share his peace.  By water and the Spirit, you open the Kingdom to all who believe, and welcome us to your Table: for by grace we are saved through faith.  With this bread and this cup we do as our Saviour commands: we celebrate the redemption he has won for us.

Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

Pour out the Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and the cup, that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.  Make us one with him, one with each other, and one in ministry in the World, until at last we feast with him in the Kingdom.  Through your Son, Jesus Christ, in your holy Church, all honour and glory are yours, Father Almighty, now and for ever.

Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever.  Amen.

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.

Breaking of the Bread

The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.

The cup we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ.

The gifts of God for the People of God.

Lamb of God

Jesus, Lamb of God,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, bearer of our sins,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, redeemer of the World,

Grant us peace.

The Distribution

Receive this Holy Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and feed upon him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

(after all have received the bread)

The body of Christ keep you in eternal life.

(after all have received the juice)

The blood of Christ keep you in eternal life.

Prayer after Communion

Blessed be God who calls us together.

Praise to God who makes us one People.

Blessed be God who has forgiven our sins.

Praise to God who gives us hope and freedom.

Blessed be God whose Word is proclaimed.

Praise to God who is revealed as the One who loves.

Blessed be God who alone has called us.

Therefore, we offer to God all that we are and all that we shall become.

Accept, O God, our sacrifice of praise.

Accept our thanks for we have seen the greatness of your love.  Amen.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Hymn  ‘Christmas Hallelujah’

Stutzman Family

Benediction    

‘Prayers for big and little things’

Fly Heavenward on angel’s wings,

And he who walked by Galilee

And touched the blind and made them see,

And cured the man who long was lame

When he but called God’s holy name,

Will keep you safely in his care

And when you need him, he’ll be there.”

And may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the Benediction Song  ‘Rejoice and be Merry’  (verse 1)(Carols for Choirs 1 number 32)

Verse 1 of 4

Rejoice and be merry in songs and in mirth!

O praise our Redeemer, all mortals on Earth!

For this is the birthday of Jesus our King,

who brought us salvation, his praises we’ll sing.

Traditional English Carol