Christmastide
Rejoice! Advent, the season of waiting, has given birth to the joy of Christmas. Christmas is not a single day but a season of twelve days. Twelve days to linger over the mysterious and shocking reality that God has come, but not as we would have expected. The incarnation, that the eternal Son of God has come in humility as a baby, is at the heart of Christmas. Jesus was born, given to us as a gift, the gift of his life to save our own. Jesus, fully God and fully man, will forever have a body like ours. May we never doubt God’s commitment to rescue his creation. Rejoice!
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
Alleluia. Unto us a child is born:
O Come let us adore Him. Alleluia!
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
THE PSALM - 2 & 85
Psalm 2
[1] Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
[2] The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
[3] “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
[4] He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
[5] Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
[6] “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
[7] I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
[8] Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
[9] You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
[10] Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
[11] Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
[12] Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 85
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
[1] LORD, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
[2] You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
[3] You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
[4] Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
[5] Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
[6] Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
[7] Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
[8] Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
[9] Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
[10] Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
[11] Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
[12] Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
[13] Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen
Old Testament- Zechariah 2:10–13
[10] Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. [11] And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. [12] And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
[13] Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
New Testament - 1 John 4:7–16
[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
[13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Gospel - John 3:31–36
[31] He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. [32] He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. [33] Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. [34] For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. [35] The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week
Our Father who art in heaven...
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
- Commission -
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you, and remain with you always. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.