For Sunday December 25, 2016
Year A, Christmas Day
Christmas :: White ::
Isaiah 52:7-10 :: Psalm 98 :: Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12) ::John 1:1-14
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Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 98
L: Make a joyful noise to the LORD!
P: Break forth into joyous songs and sing praises.
L: Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre and sound of melody.
P: With trumpets and the horn make a joyful noise.
L: Sing for joy at the presence of the LORD.
P: Praise the LORD!
Invocation:
We come this special and holy day, O God, to sing your praises. You have given us the best Christmas gift imaginable. You have brought the gift of your Son. Draw us nearer to you, O God as we celebrate the extravagance of your gift. Hear our prayers, and bless our time of worship. For we come in celebration of Jesus the Christ.
Stewardship Moment:
What gift can I bring which can match the gift which God has given this day? Truthfully, there is no offering you can make or gift you can bring which equals what God has done. And yet, God gave the world God’s very self in the gift of Jesus. Perhaps that is what God really wishes in return; that we give God the gift of ourselves. As for the offering, it is a sign of our gift. An indicator that we have truly given ourselves to God when we give to support the work of Christ’s Church. When you give on this Christmas day, it is my prayer that you will commit yourself again to giving your whole self to God. And that your tithes and offerings will be a reflection of that gift.
Offertory Prayer:
We bring our gifts before you O God, knowing that they are a representation of our commitment to you. Make of these offerings a true reflection of our love and devotion, which we simply offer in response to yours. We offer these gifts in the name, and by the grace, of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Communion Meditation:
“The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NRSV). It was the Word became flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth we celebrate, who gave us this feast. Let us celebrate in remembrance of Him.
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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN