The Festival of Jesus’ Birth
in Nine Lessons
Christmas Eve 2015
Thank you for joining
us this evening to celebrate the Reason for Christmas. As this is a worship
service, please refrain from taking pictures. Take a moment to silence or turn
off your cell phone so your worship is not interrupted. At the end of the
service all children are invited to take home a treat bag.
Processional: “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful”
Invocation ~ Responsive
Reading
Pastor: In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen
P: This evening we celebrate the true meaning of
Christmas. We rejoice in the hope of our Savior, Jesus Christ, born in
Bethlehem to die and rise again for our sins. This message is much like that
tiny baby in the manger, it is simple and easy to understand and it touches
each of our hearts.
C: Lord, open our hearts to listen to Your word
and our lips to sing Your praise!
P: Well did David prophecy about the birth and
life of this coming Savior, when he wrote, “What is man that You are mindful of
him?”
C: “And the son of man, that You visit Him?”
P: “For You have made him a little lower than the
angels,”
C: “And You have crowned him with glory and
honor.”
P: Well did Jeremiah prophecy about the power of
this coming Savior, when He wrote, “’Behold the days are coming’ says the
LORD,”
C: “’That I will raise to David a Branch of
Righteousness.’”
P: “’A King shall reign and execute judgment’”
C: “’And righteousness in the earth.’”
P: “’In His days Judah will be saved.’”
C: “’And Israel will dwell safely.’”
P: “’Now this is the name by which He will be
called:’”
C: “’The LORD our righteousness.’”
P: Well did Zechariah prophecy about the suffering
of this coming Savior, when He wrote, “And I will pour on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication.”
C: “They will look on Me whom they pierced.”
P: “Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for
his only son,”
C: “And grieve for Him as one grieves for a
firstborn.”
P: “Strike the Shepherd,”
C: “And the sheep will be scattered.”
P: Well did Job prophecy about the victorious
resurrection of this Coming Savior, when he wrote, “For I know that my Redeemer
lives,”
C: “And He shall stand at last on the earth.”
P: “And after my skin is destroyed, this I know:”
C: “That in my flesh I shall see God. Whom I shall
see for myself. How my heart rejoices within me!”
P: God gave and fulfilled many more promises about
this coming Savior throughout His Word. This evening, let us listen and learn
as the children speak and sing of these wonderful truths and how they tell us
of the true meaning of Christmas.
Children’s Hymn, “Away in a Manger”
1. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
2. 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 side until morning is nigh.
3. Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with Thee there.
Pre-school children: Christmas Prayer
In a manger Jesus lies; Angels
praise Him in the skies.
Shepherds kneel before him low,
To the stable let us go!
Light of heaven and Morning Star,
Little Jesus, thine we are.
Lead us as thy very own, To the
Father’s shining throne.
Congregational Hymn, “On Christmas Night”
Martin Albrecht: Lesson 1 Genesis 3:8-15
God announces in the Garden
of Eden that the
Seed of the woman shall
bruise the serpent’s head.
And they heard
the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and
Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the
trees of the garden.
Then
the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
So
he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; and I hid myself.”
And
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of
which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then
the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I ate.”
And
the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The
woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So
the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you
shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Haley Naumann: Lesson 2 Genesis
22:15-18
God promises to faithful
Abraham that in his
Seed shall the nations of
the earth be blessed.
Then the Angel
of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself
I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not
withheld your son, your only son – blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I
will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which
is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their
enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because
you have obeyed My voice."
Jack Walden and Elayne Albrecht: Lesson 3 Isaiah 9:2, 6-7;
Isaiah 11:1-4
Christ’s birth and kingdom
are foretold by Isaiah.
The people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. For unto us a Child is born,
unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His
name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
There shall come
forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. the
Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the
sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with
righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth; He shall strike the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His
lips He shall slay the wicked.
Keagan Valverde: Lesson 4 Micah
5:2-4
The prophet Micah foretells
the glory of little Bethlehem.
“But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet
out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth
are from of old, from everlasting.” Therefore He shall give them up, until the
time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren
shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock
in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God;
and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.”
Children’s Hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Congregation join on stanza
4)
Fiona Richardson: Lesson 5 Luke 1:26-35, 38
The angel Gabriel salutes
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Now in the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to
a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The
virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice,
highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of
greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His
father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His
kingdom there will be no end.”
Then Mary said
to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And
the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One
who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Then
Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to
your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Congregational Hymn 94 “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
All Children: Lesson 6
Luke 2:1-7
St. Luke tells of the birth
of Jesus.
And it came to
pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was
governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph
also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of
David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So
it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be
delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in
swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them
in the inn.
Congregational Hymn, “Silent Night”
All Children: Lesson 7 Luke
2:8-20
The angel announces the
birth of the Savior,
And the shepherds go to the
manger.
Now
there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly
afraid.
Then
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in
the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign
to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
So
it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds
said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has
come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste
and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had
seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this
Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them
by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her
heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the
things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Children’s Hymn, “Angels We Have Heard on High”
Allie Naumann: Lesson 8 Matthew 2:1-11
The wise men are led by the
star to Jesus.
Now
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has
been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come
to worship Him.”
When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And
when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
So
they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the
prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the
rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people
Israel.’ ”
Then
Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time
the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search
carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to
me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
When
they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in
the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child
was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when
they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,
and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they
presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Congregational Hymn
98 “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
All Children: Lesson 9 John 1:1-14
St. John unfolds the great
truth of the birth of our Savior!
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without
Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it.
There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear
witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that
Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light
which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and
the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His
own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Children’s Hymn, “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” (Congregation join on stanza 5)
(Children) 1. God rest you merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you
dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior Was born on earth this
day,
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were
gone astray;
Oh tidings of comfort and joy!
(Children) 2. From God our Heav’nly Father A blessed angel
came;
And unto certain shepherds Brought tidings of the
same:
How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by
Name.
Oh tidings of comfort and joy!
(Children) 3. The shepherds at those tidings Rejoiced much
in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding, In tempest,
storm, and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway, The Son of God
to find.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!
(Children) 4. And when they came to Bethlehem Where our dear
Savior lay,
They found Him in a manger, Where oxen feed on
hay,
His mother Mary kneeling down, Unto the Lord did
pray.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!
(All) 5. Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within
this place,
And with true love and brotherhood Each other now
embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas All other doth deface:
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!
Offering
Prayer
Benediction
Recessional: “Joy to the World” (Congregation
and Children)
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