Christmas Day | Monday 25 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God,
you have given your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him,
and to be born of a pure virgin:
Grant that we, who have been born again
and made your children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the same Spirit
be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
“The Word became human and lived among us.
We saw his glory. It was the glory
that the Father shares with his only Son,
a glory full of kindness and truth.”
(John 1:14)
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Joy to the World – 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival (Massed Choir & St. Olaf Orchestra)
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From the Prophets: Isaiah 52:7-12 (GW)
52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger
who announces the good news, “All is well.”
He brings the good news,
announces salvation,
and tells Zion that its God rules as king.
Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices
and shout together joyfully.
When the Lord brings Zion back,
they will see it with their own eyes.
Break out into shouts of joy, ruins of Jerusalem.
The Lord will comfort his people.
He will reclaim Jerusalem.
The Lord will show his holy power to all the nations.
All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
Run away! Run away!
Get away from there!
Do not touch anything unclean.
Get away from it!
Make yourselves pure,
you Levites who carry the utensils for the Lord’s temple.
You will not go away in a hurry,
nor will you go away quickly.
The Lord will go ahead of you.
The God of Israel will guard you from behind.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 98 (All the Ends of the Earth) – Francesca LaRosa
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From the Epistles: Heb 1:1-12 (GW)
God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son
1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets. In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe. His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he now holds the honored position—the one next to the majestic God [the Father] on the heavenly throne.
God’s Son Is Superior to the Angels
1:4 The Son has become greater than the angels since he has been given a name that is superior to theirs. God never said to any of his angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”
And God never said to any of his angels,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”
When God was about to send his firstborn Son into the world, he said,
“All of God’s angels must worship him.”
God said about the angels,
“He makes his messengers winds.
He makes his servants flames of fire.”
But God said about his Son,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you, rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.”
God also said,
“Lord, in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth.
With your own hands you made the heavens.
They will come to an end, but you will live forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
They will be taken off like a coat.
You will change them like clothes.
But you remain the same, and your life will never end.”
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O Come All Ye Faithful – Northern Baptist Association
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From the Gospels: John 1:1-18 (GW)
The Word Becomes Human
1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was already with God in the beginning.
Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.
The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.
God sent a man named John to be his messenger. John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light.
The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire ⌞to have a child⌟. They were born from God.
The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth.
(John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ ”)
Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. Laws were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.
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Light of the World – Lauren Daigle [Landon Gingerich]
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+ Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.
+ Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all people the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that your Son’s life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Set free the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically, and especially those who will restore Israel spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May God, who has called us out of darkness
into his marvelous light,
bless us and fill us with peace.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,
13:11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
23:35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.” Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.
The Peanut Gallery 