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 - 18:1–20
Psalm 18:1–20
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
[1] I love you, O LORD, my strength.
[2] The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
[3] I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
[4] The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
[5] the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
[6] In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
[7] Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
[8] Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
[9] He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
[10] He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
[11] He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
[12] Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
[13] The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
[14] And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
[15] Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
[16] He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
[17] He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
[18] They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
[19] He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
[20] The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
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- Isaiah 12
[1] You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
[2] “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
[3] With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. [4] And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
[5] “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
[6] Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
New Testament - Revelation 1:1–8
[1] The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. [3] Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
[4] John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, [5] and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
[8] “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Gospel - John 7:37–52
[37] On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
[40] When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” [41] Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? [42] Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” [43] So there was a division among the people over him. [44] Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
[45] The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” [46] The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” [47] The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? [48] Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? [49] But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” [50] Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, [51] “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” [52] They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
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.