Christmas Day: Rejoice!

Pre-Service Music & Ringing of the Bell & Greeting

Prelude & Lighting of Candles

Gathering Song “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice”

Tune Name: IN DULCI JUBILO

Text Source: Text: medieval Latin carol; tr. John M. Neale, 1818-1866, alt.

Music Source: Music: German carol, 14th cent.

Good Christian Friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice;

Give ye heed to what we say:

Jesus Christ is born today;

Ox and ass before him bow,

And he is in the manger now.

Christ is born today!

Good Christian Friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice;

Now ye hear of endless bliss:

Jesus Christ was born for this!

He has opened heaven’s door,

And we are blest forevermore.

Christ was born for this!

Good Christian Friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice;

Now ye need not fear the grave;

Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all

To his everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save!

Prayer of the Day

Praise Song “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful”

Tune Name: ADESTE FIDELES

Text Source: Text: attr. John F. Wade, c. 1711-1786; tr. Frederick Oakeley, 1802-1880, sts. 1, 3-4; tr. unknown, st. 2

Music Source: Music: attr. John F. Wade, c. 1711-1786

Oh, come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant!

Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold him

Born the king of angels:

Refrain: Oh, come, let us adore him,

Oh, come, let us adore him,

Christ the Lord!

The highest, most holy,

Light of light eternal,

Born of a virgin, a mortal he comes;

Son of the Father

Now in flesh appearing! Refrain:

Sing choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to the God

In the highest: Refrain:

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,

Born this happy morning;

Jesus, to thee be glory giv’n!

Word of the Father,

Now in flesh appearing: Refrain:

P: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

C: Praise the newborn King! The Light of the world!

P: He was in the beginning with God.

C: Praise the Son of God! The Word made flesh!

P: All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

C: Praise the Word of creation! The Lord Almighty!

P: What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all the people.

C: Praise the Christ of our Salvation! “God with us,” Immanuel!

P: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

C: Praise the God of all the universe! Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Amen.

▼

Anthem:

.First Lesson: Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 98

Second Lesson: Hebrews 1:1-4 [5-12]

▲Gospel Song “Go Tell It on the Mountain”

Tune Name:GO TELL IT

Text Source: Text: African American spiritual, refrain; John W. Work Jr., 1872-1925, stanzas, alt.

Music Source: Music: African American spiritual

Refrain: Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and ev’rywhere:

God tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching

O’er silent flocks by night,

Behold, throughout the heavens

There shone a holy light. Refrain

The shepherds feared and trembled

When, lo, above the earth

Rang out the angel chorus

that hailed our Savior’s birth. Refrain

Down in a lonely manger

The humble Christ was born;

And God sent us salvation

That blessed Christmas morn. Refrain

Gospel Lesson John 1:1-14

▼Music for Meditation & Christmas Message

▲Theme Song “From Heaven Above”

Tune Name: VOM HIMMEL HOCH

Text Source: Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, Copyright Administrator:

Augsburg Fortress

Music Source: Music: V. Schumann, Geistliche Lieder, 1539

From heav’n above to earth I come To bring good news . . . Shall be the joy of all the earth.

This is the Christ, God’s Son most high, . . . And from all sin will set you free.

My heart for very joy now leaps; . . . To sing with joy his cradle song:

“Glory to God in highest heav’n, . . . A glad new year to all the earth!

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living

and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayers of the Church

Greeting of Peace

▼Offering

Solo or anthem

▲Offering Song: "Angels, from the Realms of Glory"

Tune Name: REGENT SQUARE

Text Source: Text: James Montgomery, 1771-1854, alt., sts. 1-3; Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, st. 4

Music Source: Music: Henry T. Smart, 1813-1879

Angels, from the realms of glory

Wing you flight o’er all the earth;

Once you sang creation’s story;

Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Refrain: Come and worship, come and worship

Worship Christ, the newborn king.

Shepherds in the fields abiding,

Watching o’er your flocks by night,

God with us is now residing,

Yonder shines the infant light. Refrain:

All creation, join in praising

God, the Father, Spirit, Son,

Evermore your voices raising

To the eternal Three in One. Refrain:

P: May the God of grace and light be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Sing to the Lord for God is good!

C: We sing a song of grateful praise!

P: Give thanks to the God of life!

C: We lift our lives in shouts of thanksgiving!

P: Praise the God of our beginnings. For the Word which was promised to us has been joined to us. The Word of life which was spoken has become flesh, Immanuel, “God With Us!”

C: All creation rejoices in the birth of our hope.

P: All creatures on earth and in heaven sing for joy at the nativity of Christ Jesus, our King!

C: With all the universe we join the hymn of praise and glory! Holy is the Lord! Holy is the God of power and might! All the heavens are full of the glory of God! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Highest praises be sung to Christ, the newborn King! Amen.

Institution of Communion

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as 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 for ever. Amen.

P: Come to the table for all things are ready for the people of God.

▼Distribution of Communion

The Dismissal

▲P: May the body and blood of our newborn Savior, Christ Jesus, keep you always in the loving embrace of our God.

C: Amen.

Thanksgiving Song “Hark! The Herald Angels”

Tune Name: MENDELSSOHN

Text Source: Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788, alt.

Music Source: Music: Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847; arr. William H. Cummings, 1831-1915

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn king;

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled.”

Joyful, all you nations, rise;

Join the triumph of the skies;

With angelic hosts proclaim,

“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Refrain: 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, incarnate deity!

Pleased as man with us to dwell,

Jesus our Emmanuel! Refrain

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. Refrain

A: Let us pray. Loving God,

C: in the mystery of the bread and wine, in the miracle of your Word made flesh, in the marvel of your divine mercy you have become one with us, comforting us, touching us, saving us. With minds filled with wonder, with hearts brimming with joy, with bodies renewed with life we offer our thanks for the gift of a Savior to lighten the darkness of our souls. We ask that we carry this radiance out into the world you have given us, sharing your divine grace and love with all we meet, through Jesus Christ our Lord and King. Amen.

P: Go in the joy and wonder of the greatest gift ever given, the birth of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, God With Us. May the love of God be with you. May God hold you in the light of love. May God fill you with grace. May God bless you and keep you. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen! So be it!.

Sending Song “Joy to the World”

Tune Name: ANTIOCH

Text Source: Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Music Source: Music: George F. Handel, 1685-1759, adapt.; arr. Lowell Mason, 1792-1872

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive its King:

Let ev’ry heart prepare him room

And heav’n and nature sing,

And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let all their songs employ,

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

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, wonders of his love.

P: Go now to serve and love the Lord!

C: Thanks be to God Almighty!

Postlude