PRELUDE

PROCESSIONAL HYMN: "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful"

Oh, come, all ye faithful, triumphantly sing;

Come, see in the manger our Savior and King!

To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord;

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him,

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

True Son of the Father, He comes from the skies;

To be born of a virgin He doth not despise.

To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord;

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him,

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Hark, hark, to the angels, all singing in heav’n,

To God in the highest all glory be given!

To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord;

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him,

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

To thee, then, O Jesus, this day of Thy birth

Be glory and honor through heaven and earth.

True Godhead Incarnate, omnipotent Word!

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him,

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! Amen.

THE INVOCATION

Pastor: We have come here tonight to worship ...

Congregation: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor: In the midst of hatred and anger ...

Congregation: Our hearts are filled with joy and peace.

Pastor: In a disjointed and fractured world ...

Congregation: We share a common unity in Jesus Christ.

Pastor: For our God came into the world. He sent His Son to live with us, to be our Savior, to fill our lives with joy and peace.

Congregation: That is why we have come together to worship Him.

All: Glory be to our God - the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - one God, to whom we give honor and glory now and forever. Amen.

THE OFFERING

I. THE PROMISE

THE SONG: "Come, Jesus, Holy Child, to Me"

Come, Jesus, holy Child, to me;

Close tight my heart to all but Thee;

And with Thy Holy Spirit’s grace

Make me, dear Lord, Thy dwelling place.

And leave me not, Thou welcome guest -

A promise in Thy Word expressed.

With Thee alone will always be

All joy and blessedness for me.

With joy and love I wait for Thee

To come with Thy good gifts to me.

Stay close to me all through my days;

Then let me sing in heav’n Thy praise.

Pastor: Do you know why we are here tonight?

Children: It’s Jesus’ birthday!

Pastor: That’s right, it’s Jesus’ birthday. But who is this Jesus?

Children: He’s our Savior!

Pastor: And that’s very important for us. You see, when God made the first man and woman, they were good people and had no sin. They were to love God and each other and live with God forever. But they disobeyed God. As a result they brought sin and death into the world. But even then God showed His love for Adam and Eve and for all people by promising to send a Savior. He said to them:

Child: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and betwéenyourseed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Pastor: And during the years that followed, God made more promises to send a Savior, Someone who would die for us so that our sins would be forgiven and we could live with Him forever. The prophets spoke again and again of this coming Savior. The prophet Jeremiah said:

Child: "Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a Righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which He will be called: The Lord is our Righteousness."

Pastor: The prophet Isaiah even foretold the name of the Savior:

Child: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, behold a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Pastor: And so for many years God’s people looked forward to the day when the Savior would be born. They even sang about it.

THE SONG: "Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel"

Oh, come, oh, come Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear,

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Oh, come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,

Shall come to Thee, O Israel.

Oh, come, Thou Key of David, come

And open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

II. THE PROMISE FULFILLED

Pastor: Finally, Emmanuel, the Savior did come. The time God had set for the Savior’s birth had come. Saint Luke tells how it happened in this way:

Child: "At that time Emperor Augustus sent out an order for all the citizens of the Empire to register themselves for the census. When this census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own town."

Pastor: Everything happened just as God planned it. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem - the city in which the prophet had said long before that Jesus would be born.

Child: "But you, O Bethlehem, Ephratah, who are little among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose origin is old, from ancient days."

Pastor: Saint Luke tells us:

Child: "Joseph went from the town of Nazareth, in Galilee, to Judea, to the town named Bethlehem, where King David was born. Joseph went there because he himself was a descendant of David. He went there to register himself with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him and was pregnant."

Pastor: Although Bethlehem was just a little town it has become famous because Jesus was born there. Somebody wrote a song about it - who knows how it goes?

Children: We do!

THE SONG: "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see Thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,

The silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth,

The everlasting light;

The hopes and fears of all the years,

Are met in thee tonight.

Pastor: When Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem, they looked everywhere for a place to sleep, but there was no room for them. Finally they went to a barn, and there, in a manger, Jesus was born.

Child: "While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her baby, and she gave birth to her first Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger - there was no room for them to stay in the inn."

THE SONG: "Away in a Manger"

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;

The stars in the sky, looked down where He lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,

But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky,

And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Pastor: It wasn’t a comfortable hospital or even a nice house where Jesus was born, It was only a barn. But God had kept His promise. And ever since that time people have been joyful and happy because Jesus came to be our Savior. Let’s all sing together now of the joy we feel.

THE SONG: "Joy to the World"

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King;

Let ev’ry heart, prepare Him room,

And heav’n and nature sing,

And heav’n and nature sing,

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

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ,

While fields and floods,

Rocks, hills, and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground,

He comes to make, His blessings flow,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse if 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 of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

Pastor: Jesus’ birthday was a very special event, and so God sent His very special messengers to tell people about it. The first people the angels told were some shepherds who were near Bethlehem.

Child: "There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. The Lord’s angel appeared to them, and the Lord’s glory shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them":

Child: "Don’t be afraid! For I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very night in David’s town your Savior was born - Christ the Lord. This is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Child: "Suddenly, a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God."

Children: "Glory to God in the highest heaven! And peace on earth to men with whom He is pleased!"

THE SONG: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King;

Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumphs of the skies.

With th’ angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

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 God-head see, Hail th’ incarnate Diety!

Pleased as Man with man to dwell; Jesus our Immanuel!

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail, the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail, the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Mild He leaves His throne on high, Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth; Born to give them second birth.

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Pastor: After the angels went away from them the shepherds said to each other:

Children: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, that the Lord has told us."

Pastor: You can imagine how excited the shepherds were to hear this news. So they hurried and came to Bethlehem and saw Jesus, and Mary, His Mother, and Joseph. On their way back to the field they told everyone they met what they had seen and heard.

Child: This is what we should do, too! We’re going to sing a song about it now. We hope it will be your song.

THE SONG: "Go Tell it on the Mountains"

Jesus took His helpers, And up a hill He led.

He spoke of telling others, And this is what He said:

Go, tell it on the mountains, Over the hills and ev’rywhere,

Go, tell it on the mountains, That Jesus Christ is born.

Jesus speaks to all men, Who are His children dear.

He speaks of felling others, And this is what we hear:

Go, tell it on the mountains, Over the hills and ev’rywhere.

Go, tell it on the mountains, That Jesus Christ is born.

III. WHAT IT ALL MEANS FOR US

Pastor: That’s what happened in Bethlehem, many years ago. But that’s not the end of the story. The birth of Jesus has special meaning for us, and that’s why we are here tonight - to tell the story again, to thank God for His Gift of love, and to tell each other what it all means for us. Jesus wasn’t only born, but He lived for us and He died for us.

Child: Jesus came to be my Savior.