Christmas

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022

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Jesus’ birth

Luke 2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Announcement to shepherds

8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

Coming of the magi

Matthew 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”

3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
        by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
            because from you will come one who governs,
            who will shepherd my people Israel.”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

 

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Sunday Worship – January 2, 2022

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Gathering

God of life and new birth, prolific Creator of everything, You have found us here, huddled in this little band, wondering whether this is the palace of Herod or the stable of Christ.

The wonder is You met us where we were, and welcomed us as we are, hungry for love and nowhere near perfect.

We come to worship You, to see in ourselves what You see in us. We come to worship in the name of our Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

Hymn

Confession & Words of Assurance

God, we confess that ours is still a world In which Herod seems to rule: The powerful are revered, the visions of the wise are ignored, the poor are afflicted, and the innocent are killed. 

You show us that salvation comes in the vulnerability of a child, yet we hunger for the “security” of weapons and walls. You teach us that freedom comes in love of service, yet we trample on others in our efforts to be “free.” 

Forgive us, God, when we look to the palace instead of the stable, when we heed politicians more than prophets. Renew us with the spirit of Bethlehem, that we may be better prepared for your coming.

God’s love knows no bounds.
Love comes down at Christmas—
a love so deep and so profound
that nothing will ever be the same again.
Know that this love has come for you—
to touch you, to heal you, to forgive you,
to make you whole.

Story Time

Scripture

 

Story of the Word

John 1 In the beginning was the Word
    and the Word was with God
    and the Word was God.
2 The Word was with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into being through the Word,
    and without the Word
    nothing came into being.
What came into being
4     through the Word was life, 
    and the life was the light for all people.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.

6 A man named John was sent from God. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light.8 He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.

9 The true light that shines on all people
    was coming into the world.
10 The light was in the world,
    and the world came into being through the light,
        but the world didn’t recognize the light.
11 The light came to his own people,
    and his own people didn’t welcome him.
12 But those who did welcome him,
        those who believed in his name,
    he authorized to become God’s children,
13         born not from blood
        nor from human desire or passion,
        but born from God.
14 The Word became flesh
    and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
    glory like that of a father’s only son,
        full of grace and truth.

15 John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”

16 From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
17     as the Law was given through Moses,
    so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
    God the only Son,
        who is at the Father’s side,
        has made God known.

Sermon

 

 Prayers

Wonderful Counsellor, grant wisdom to political leaders to govern with kindness and care, 
to campaigners to creatively challenge injustice and inequality, and 
to peacemakers to find lasting solutions to protracted conflict. 
May the light of your wisdom dawn in the darkness of selfish ambition.

Mighty God, grant courage, 
to those having to escape their homes to find refuge, 
to those dreading the next violent outburst, and 
to those unsure of the future for their families. 
May the light of your courage dawn in the darkness of fear.

Everlasting God, grant us inspiration, 
to imagine a world free from species extinction and climate chaos, 
to make economic decisions so all the earth may flourish, 
to commune with creation as creature before consumer. 
May the light of your inspiration dawn in the darkness of eco-despair.

Prince of Peace, grant the peace 
that silences gunfire and bombs, 
that stills us to recognise complicit choices, 
that reconciles war-weary enemies. 
May the light of your peace dawn in the darkness of conflict.

We pray in the authority of the child that has been born for us, the son given to us this day. 

All of these prayers and so may more we pull together and pray the prayer tradition has taught us…

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Hymn

Blessing

Go out to live the story, to tell of the Hope that is being born among us this Christmas, to share the Love of the season with the world, to be agents of Peace in times of trouble, to sing songs of deep and abiding Joy. 

As you go, may God go with you, challenging you to respond to God’s Call in ways that are new, unexpected and a little unsettling.

Thanks be to God.

Kids Korner: Jesus is born (January 2nd)

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Read Luke 2:1-20 with your family. This is the second Sunday in Christmas. The twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and end the day before Epiphany in January. This is a good opportunity to listen to the story again without all the excitement of Christmas Day. Read this story from different versions of the Bibles (you can find different version on Bible Gateway dot com).

Did you hear anything different in the story when you listened to the various versions? Imagine hearing it for the first time. What does it mean to you when you hear that God came in human form as a baby to live among us, so that we would know God better?

Kids Korner: Jesus as a child (December 26th)

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Read Luke 2:41-52 with your family. This is the only story we have of Jesus as a child, and that was when he was around 12 or 13. Mary and Joseph were in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, and probably wanted to show Jesus the temple for the first time.

Hebrew culture in first century Palestine didn’t celebrate birthdays like we do today, but they did celebrate when a child turned from 12/13 to 13/14. That was when they considered children becoming adults and started taking on adult responsibilities like training for their eventual careers or running a household. Jesus most likely trained to be a carpenter because that was what his father did, and the oldest son usually grew up to work at the same job as their father.

In those days people travelled in groups to be safer on their journey. Since Jesus was grown enough to be considered a man, he was able to travel with his father and the rest of the men in their travelling group. However, since he was still so young, travelling with his mother made sense too. Since each parent thought Jesus was with the other, they didn’t notice that he stayed behind in Jerusalem.The story ended well. Both his parents risked the travel back to Jerusalem alone and found him safe and talking with the elders at the temple.

This one story of Jesus’ childhood reminds us that even though Jesus was a person just like the rest of us, Jesus was always very special and had a deeper understanding of God. People wanted to hear what Jesus had to say.

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2021

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Jesus’ birth

Luke 2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Announcement to shepherds

8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

Coming of the magi

Matthew 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”

3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
        by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
            because from you will come one who governs,
            who will shepherd my people Israel.”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

 

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Teen Time: Mary had a choice, and she said yes to God (December 19th)

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Consent isn’t something we talk about much in the church, but Mary of Nazareth showed how it was done. She asked questions and once satisfied with the answers, she gave her answer. She said yes.

The argument that Mary was coerced in to having Jesus is fairly recent on social media, and shows an incredible amount of ignorance.

  • Mary was of legal marrying age in her community
  • She was already committed to Joseph, they just hadn’t finalized the second half of the ceremony which would have Joseph coming to get Mary and taking her to his house to live
  • Mary was probably 14/15/16… young by today’s standard, but already quite long lived by the standard of 1st century Palestine
  • Luke 1 tells us the Mary was asked and freely gave her consent

Teen Time: St. Nicholas was Christian (December 5th)

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The Feast of St. Nicholas is December 6th. Many do not know that St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop in the early 4th century.

St. Nicholas was a bishop, which means he was the senior teaching elder in his community of Myra (modern Turkey) and possibly surrounding areas. Bishops were not administrators at that time in history they way they are today.

We recognize December 6th because that was the date of his death.

He was associated with 3 miracles to make him an official Saint in the church, but in the 1970’s the Roman Catholic Church decided the evidence for those miracles wasn’t very reliable. St. Nicholas didn’t stop being a Saint, the church simply decided they would no longer make December 6th a day of obligation, which is a special worship day where people are expected to attend church.

As the story goes, Martin Luther (1500’s) did not like the idea of celebrating Saints, so he told all of his congregations and followers that the gifts at Christmas were from the Christkindl, which is German for Christ Child. Over time those English speakers who heard this German term Anglicized it, making it Kris Kringle. So the historical irony is that Martin Luther’s desire backfired and he instead reinforced the connection between St. Nicholas and baby Jesus.