December 24, 2015 Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service

Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service

7:00 P.M. December 24, 2015

REV. RUDY VISSER, PASTOR

“To Know Christ, and to Make Him Known”

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.

He is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:11

 

  PRELUDE      “Abide with grace unbounded”    Siegfried Karg-Elert, op. 65/1,5,10

                         “Rejoice greatly, O my soul”

                         “From heaven above to earth I come”

Guest Organist, David Smith

 

The Congregation Carols the Story of Christ’s Birth

  HYMN #135 (vs 1)                                                    Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

  CAROL #174 (vs 1)                                                     Angels from the Realms of Glory

  CAROL #152 (vs 1 & 3)                                               Angels We Have Heard on High

  CAROL #150 (vs 1)                                                                             What Child Is This?

  CAROL #146 (vs 1 )                                               Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come

 

The Gift of the Light

  WELCOME and GOD’S GREETING

  CALL TO WORSHIP  (Responsive)  Based on Isaiah 9:2-3, 6-7

For so long we have walked only in darkness, unable to see.

But, behold a light, yes a light has come!

Not even the deepest darkness can keep out the dawn.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Peace is here, upon us, with us, around us. It will never end. Celebrate the King of light, power and peace. He has come. 

  AROUND THE ADVENT WREATH -  Phil, Jeannie, and Stacy Hurst

PASTOR: This Christmas Eve we re-light the candles of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  We also light the white Christ Candle in remembrance of Jesus’s birth.  Our waiting has ended – the Messiah has come, bringing hope, love, joy, and peace, to all people.

 (Candles are lit.)

READER:  Shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem, on seeing the angels and hearing their message, traveled to the town to find and worship the baby Jesus.  Far away to the east, wise men saw and followed a star in the sky, and were filled with joy when they found Jesus. They remind us that the gift of Jesus was not just for the people in one place, but for all people. Let us read responsively Luke 2:8 – 15 and Matthew 2:9 - 11:

READER:  “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

PEOPLE:  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

READER:  But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

PEOPLE:  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ 

READER:  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’ 

PEOPLE:  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ "

READER:  “The star the Magi had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 

PEOPLE:  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” 

READER: Let us pray: Dear Jesus, the shepherds and the Magi were persistent seekers. They searched with hope and with faith until they found you and worshiped you as King and Savior.  We pray that you will bless us with the same determination.

ALL:  Amen.

*CAROL #146 (Verses 2, 3, & 4)                                                          Joy to the World!

 

  The Power of the Light

   PROMISE OF ILLUMINATION FOR GOD’S PEOPLE   (Responsive)  Isaiah 60 and 9

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord rises upon you,

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,

But the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  

  SCRIPTURE LESSON                                                   Isaiah 52:7-10 and Luke 2:8-20

  MESSAGE                                                               “The Big Announcement” 

  PRAYER OF BLESSING

  DUET, Deborah Spaulding & Nancy Baker    Still Was the Night    Ross Farnworth

      

Celebrating, Welcoming, and Sharing the Light

  PRESENTATION OF GIFTS and OFFERINGS   In dulci jubilo   Marcel Dupré, op. 28 

  CHRISTMAS AFFIRMATION  (Responsive)

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name.

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace -

hallowed be your name. We bow in awe of your might. Immanuel, God with us - hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Prince of Peace, wherever there is violence and hatred wherever there is oppression and injustice wherever there is quarreling and alienation. make your kingdom complete. In us, through us, and around us, your kingdom come.

Give us today our daily bread.

Bread of life, feed us with your truth. In a season of greed and selfish desires, may we see that we are sustained only by your providence.  May our eagerness to open our gifts pale in comparison to our joy to receive the gift of the Savior. May our discontent disappear as we approach the day of your coming.

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

Lord God, our lives are filled with sin. We need a Savior to come to us. For our worry and our scurrying this Advent season, forgive us. For the way we make this a season of shopping rather than waiting, forgive us. For the security and comfort, we seek from sources other than you, forgive us. For our indifference to the wonder of your coming, forgive us. Come to us, Savior of the world.

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

Protect us from the constant dangers and enticing temptations we face each day. Deliver us from the oppressive evils of apathy, addiction, and abuse. Strengthen your church when it faces persecution for announcing the coming of your kingdom. Comfort all who are suffering in their hearts or in their bodies; give them health and peace to sing of your power.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.

Word who became flesh and lived among us, we have seen your glory, full of grace and truth. You come to us now, and you will come to us again in glory,

when we will join all heaven and earth in giving you blessing and honor and glory and might forever! Until that glorious day, we praise you for becoming one of us, And we long for your glory to be fully revealed.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

  SHARING THE LIGHT - CAROL #164                                     Silent Night! Holy Night!   

  BENEDICTION

  POSTLUDE                                   Toccata in C major                          Johann Pachelbel

Thank You to the Greeters

The LaTorre Family – Derick, Heather, and Ellie

Thank You to the Ushers

Alan Dick, Max DiOrio, Jim Dunham, Merrill Johnson,

Gary Leggett, Johnathan Pratt

.