Christmas Eve
at Gordonsville
Presbyterian Church
by Rev. Peter T.
Atkinson
December 24,
2013
5 p.m.
Call to Worship
Leader: This
night is born Jesus, Son of God, King of glory.
People: This night is born to us the root of our joy.
Leader: How
lowly, how gracious is His coming to earth.
People: His love kindles my love in the joy of his
birth.
Unison: This night was born Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Special Music "Fum,
Fum, Fum" CATALONIAN CAROL
The Story of Christmas
Advent
For
darkness had covered the face of the Earth.
The
cloud of Sin had hidden God’s light,
From
the eyes of His people,
And
we had gotten lost in the wilderness.
God
had promised, through the prophets,
To
send His anointed, a Messiah,
A
Light to shine through the darkness, (Lift
Single Candle from behind pulpit)
Restoring
the Light to our eyes,
To
show us the way out of the wilderness
To
our home with Him,
And
God does not forget His promises.
For the light of Hope, (Light
the purple candle)
The light of Peace, (Light
the purple candle)
The Light of Joy, (Light the
pink candle)
And the Light of Love, (Light
the purple candle)
To
shine again in our world,
At
long last.
The Summons
At
that time, the Emperor Augustus,
Set
forth a decree stating that a census was to be taken,
All
people in the Empire must return to their towns to be registered.
Mary’s
Betrothed, Joseph, was from the line of David,
So
they had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem,
The
City of David.
So
they traveled, together,
To
that great city,
With
Mary expecting,
And
the time for the Holy birth approaching.
Carol v.1 "O Little Town of Bethlehem" ST. LOUIS
Christ is Born
When
they got to Bethlehem,
No
room could they find to stay,
Not
even in the Inn, for it was full.
They
were given shelter in the stable of the Inn,
And
the time came, and the baby was born.
Having
no bed, nor cradle for the child,
She
wrapped him warmly in cloth,
And
laid him in a manger.
Carol v.1 "Away in a Manger" AWAY IN A MANGER
The Shepherds
and the Angels
Meanwhile,
on the hills outside of town,
In
the fields,
Where
shepherds were living,
Keeping
the night’s watch over their flocks,
There
came upon them an Angel,
Shining
the glory of the Lord around them,
And
they were in awe of the sight.
The
Angel said,
Fear
not, for I bring to you good news,
For
this night was born in the city of David,
A
savior, a Messiah, the Lord.
Let
this be a sign to you,
He
will be wrapped in cloth,
And
lying in a manger.”
And
suddenly the angel was joined
By
a multitude,
A
heavenly choir singing,
“Glory
to God in the Highest Heaven,
And
peace on the Earth.”
Special Music "One Angel Sang" PROSPECT
Soloist: Coralee Atkinson
One
Angel Sang
Rev.
Peter T. Atkinson
One
angel sang a heavenly tune
That
Echoed 'neath the valley moon
He
sang of a king, born to save the world
A
gift to each little boy and girl.
Two
shepherds heard the holy sound
As
they kept watch on rugged ground
Blessed
they would be, the joy they felt
Rushed
to his side, bowed low and knelt.
From
one then two, to all of us,
The
news did spread for us to trust,
Oh
hear you today, the joy we sing,
Of
Jesus Christ the newborn king.
The Shepherds
Run to Bethlehem
When
the angels had gone,
The
shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s
go to Bethlehem, immediately,
And
see this wonder for ourselves.”
Carol (chorus) "Go Tell It on the Mountain" GO TELL IT
So
they went to Bethlehem,
And
found Mary, Joseph, and the Child,
Just
as they had been told.
The Wisemen
In
the sky, shone a new star,
And
this star was observed by Wise men from the East,
Who
came from their homes to pay homage
To
the new king, who had been born king of the Jews.
They
followed the star, leading them toward Bethlehem,
Bearing
with them gifts for the Child,
Of
Frankincense, Myrrh, and Gold.
Carol v.1 "We Three Kings" KINGS OF ORIENT
And
the star led them to the place where Jesus lay,
They
knelt down, paying homage,
And
presenting their gifts to the Child born King.
Special Music "A Christmas Secret" arr. Mackenzie
Lighting the Christ Candle
And
the light had come into the world, humbly in a manger, visited by Kings and
Shepherds, angels, and now each of us. Blessed be the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Carol "What Child is This?" GREENSLEEVES
The Message of Christmas
Gospel
Reading John 1:1-14
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came
into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has
come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of
all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did
not overcome it.
6
There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so
that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light,
but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which
enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10
He was in the world, and the world
came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He
came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But
to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become
children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14
And 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. [1]
Call for
Offering
The Shepherds, the Wisemen, the Angels, and
the animals, began the Holy Christmas tradition of Gift Giving. It is now time
for us to continue this sacred tradition by presenting our own gifts to God.
May the offering be given and received.
Offertory "O
Holy Night" A.
Adam
Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
The Sacrament of
Holy Communion
Invitation to the Table
Here on
Christmas Eve when we celebrate the birth of the child of promise, it is
important for us to also remember the great sacrifice that he made for all of
us. Therefore we come to the table, the Lord's Table to remember, and not just
to remember in our minds, but to experientially remember as Christ has invited
us to do, communing with Christ and with each other. This table is the Lord's
Table, it is Christ's Table, and any who believe in him are invited. Come not
because you must but because you may, come not because you are worthy but
because you are not. Come let us share the holy feast.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Let us pray. . .
Holy God we come
to you in great thanksgiving for the wondrous works that you have done. From
the beginning of time, when you created all, bringing light filling up the
darkness with the simple speaking of Your Holy Word. And throughout History
where you have continually reached out to us, promising us, teaching us,
showing us, the amazing vastness of Your love, and especially in the gift of
Your Son, Jesus Christ, whose holy and yet humble birth we celebrate tonight.
Thank you for the life of Christ, everything that each detail of his holy life
shows us about Your love. And we sing with the Angels,
Singing, Holy,
holy, holy, glory to god in the Highest
Heaven and Earth
are full of Your glory,
Hosanna, in the
Highest,
Blessed is He
who comes in the name of the Lord
Glory to God in
the Highest. Amen
Words of Institution
On the night
Jesus was betrayed, in the fullness of time he took bread and broke it, saying
this is my body broken for you, take, eat, in remembrance of me.
And in the same
manner he took the cup saying, this cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
do this in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. These are the gifts of
God for the people of God, let us keep the feast.
Sharing of
the Bread
Sharing of
the Cup
Prayer after Communion
Let us pray.
. .
Almighty father
God, we pray this night for the people who surround us that are hurting,
suffering, or are in need. May they find hope, love, joy, an peace on this most
holy of nights. May they find sheltering and open arms. May they find the
strength of Your holy presence. Bless those here tonight worshiping Your holy
name, fill us with the special Joy that the celebration of Christmas brings,
may the child in all of us be born anew this night in your love. These things
we pray in the name of Christ Jesus, who was born in the lowliest of human
humility, and has been raised to sit at Your right hand for all eternity, and
who taught us when praying to say. . . Our father. . .
Carol "Angels We Have Heard on High" GLORIA
The World in
Darkness
The darkness
started in the garden
when humans
believed the lie
hiding
themselves, and their shame,
in the darkness, choosing darkness (Begin by extinguishing the candles
on pulpit and table)
instead of
light,
the darkness
began to spread. . .
And it spread
quickly,
Envy, jealousy, then murder, (Extinguish
one candle for each sin)
Power, lust,
control. . .
Idols. . .
And God reached
out
Trying to bring
us out of the darkness
Again into the
light
Through
covenants, promises,
To Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Moses, Joshua, David. (Extinguish one
candle for each human broken promise)
All broken, for
the dark appeal of sin
Was strong in
us. . .
Love was misconstrued as hatred (Extinguish
Candle of Love)
Joy was mired in cynicism (Extinguish
Candle of Joy)
And Peace seemed impossible (Extinguish
Candle of Peace)
and all hope was dashed. (Extinguish
Candle of Hope)
And the darkness seemed impenetrable, (Spoken
in total pitch darkness)
It seemed as if
no light could pierce it,that the darkness would suffocate
the faintest spark of light. . .
The Spreading
Light
But at that time, God again showed what
his Love truly is. . . (Light Christ
Candle in Darkness)
And a light was
born in the darkness,In the small town of Bethlehem
into the world through a virgin,
betrothed to a carpenter
born in a stable, laid in a manger,
because light is more humble
than the darkness, but stronger by far
and eternal. . .
And the angels called him prince of
peace, (Light
Candle of Peace)
for he would make peace again possible,
And they sang it to the shepherds (Light
Candle of Joy)
and they were filled with great Joy
at the wonders that they had seen
And Mary and Joseph understood (Light
the Candle of Love)
the new love that God was bringing into
the world
And the star shown above, (Light
the Candle of Hope)
lighting up the night,
inspiring a hopeful journey
of wise men from the east.
And with the lights (Light the Candles
behind pulpit and on Communion Table)
of Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope
all burning, the light could spread.
Inspiring, teaching, sacrificing, (Light one
candle for each of Christ's actions)
sharing, giving, healing, trusting. . .
Truth, Friendship, Charity, (Light
one candle for each virtue)
Relationship, Forgiveness, Humility, and
Faith. . .
Faith in the possibility, that the
kingdom of God is at hand
And that
light could not be stopped by the darkness again. . . (Light the Elder's Candles)And would now be spread one by one
to all of the waiting world. . . (Elder's Light Congregation candles)
Carol "Silent Night" STILLE NACHT
Benediction
While wandering
in darkness you have found a great light, so go out into the world and sing the
good news to the rest of the wandering world! Christmas is here, it's true, and
it's greatly needed. . . Joy to the World, the Lord has Come, let us join with
heaven and nature and sing.
Recessional "Joy to the World" ANTIOCH
May the Christmas Peace be with all of you!
[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989
(Jn 1:1-14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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