This content is a recording of a Christmas Day church service, focusing on the birth of Jesus Christ, the themes of light overcoming darkness, hope, and love, and celebrating the joy of the season through readings, carols, prayers, and a narrative story.
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[music]
Hi. Happy Christmas.
[music] >> Yes.
[music] Okay.
not Christmas everyone.
>> Happy Christmas, Graham. Nice to see you again.
>> Happy Christmas. >> Stranger.
>> Um Albert's friend,
a few of them behind. The male male members
>> Well, it's [music]
[music] >> Hello.
>> All right. [music]
[music] Please
[music]
>> Good [clears throat] morning everybody.
It's lovely to see you here in church.
I'm delighted to see that some people
have worn some wonderful Christmas
jerseys. I can't see any hats. maybe
they're uh coming on later, but uh thank
you for dressing up. Thank you for
joining us also at home. It's always a
great joy to have you with us, whether
you're live or later on. Now, the first
thing we need to do is uh we light our
final candle on the Advent wreath. And
uh if somebody I think we just need one
person, there's not a lot of room. So,
would one person like just to come and
light this candle for us? Who's it going
to be? One of you. Or do you want to
fight over it? You two?
Lord Jesus, light of light, you have
come among us. Help us to live by your
light to shine as lights in your world.
And so we begin in our service book on
page one. Grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. All our carols this
morning are on the carol sheet that you
have and we're going to start by singing
>> [music] >> Come
>> Come faithful,
faithful,
joyful [singing]
and triumphant. [music]
Oh come,
come and behold [music]
him all the [singing] hill of angels.
Oh come [music] let us adore him. Oh
[singing] come [music] let us adore him.
Oh come let us [singing] adore
him. Christ [music]
the Lord [music]
[music]
[music] [singing]
glory
of all [music and singing]
[music]
and God created.
Oh come [music and singing] let us adore
him. Oh come [music] let us adore him.
Oh come let us adore [singing] him.
Christ [music]
Sing [music]
of angels sing
sing [music]
all season [music]
[music] Glory
Glory
to God
in the [music] highest.
highest.
Oh come let us [music] adore him. Oh
come let us [music] adore him. Oh
[singing] come let us [music] adore
adore
him Christ
[music]
be with thee
for his
glory [music]
Jesus
to thee
>> [music]
>> of the world now.
now. [music]
Oh come let us adore him. Oh come let us [music]
[music]
adore him. Oh come let us adore him. [music]
We pray together. Almighty God, to whom
all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden,
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by
the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you and
worthily magnify your holy name through
Christ our Lord. >> Amen.
>> Amen.
Christ the light of the world has come
to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In
his light, let us examine ourselves as
we confess our sins in pentance and faith.
faith.
God our father, we confess to you and to
our fellow members in the body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word,
and deed and in what we have failed to
do. We are truly sorry. Forgive us our
sins and deliver us from the power of
evil. For the sake of your son who died
for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. God who
is both power and love forgive you and
free you from your sins, heal and
strengthen you by the Holy Spirit, and
raise you to new life in Christ our
Lord. Amen.
>> We stand now as we sing the Gloria on
page three. [music]
Glory to God in the [singing] highest
and peace to God [music]
on earth.
Lord [singing] our heavenly [music] king.
king.
Al mighty God [singing] and father.
We worship you. We [music] give
[singing] you thanks. We praise you for
>> [singing]
>> Jesus [music] Christ, only son of the
father, Lord [singing] of lamb of God, [music]
[music]
you take away the sin of [music] the world,
world,
have mercy on us. [music]
[singing] You are seated at the right
hand of [music] the father.
receive [singing] our prayer.
For you alone are the [music] holy one.
You alone are the Lord.
You alone [music and singing]
are the most high. Jesus Christ with the
[singing] Holy Spirit [music]
in the glory [singing]
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, your
birth at Bethlehem draws us to kneel in
wonder as heaven touching earth. Accept
our heartfelt praise as we worship you,
our savior and our eternal God. Amen.
>> Please sit for our reading which David
The first reading is from the book of
the prophet Isaiah.
The people who walked in darkness have
seen a great light. Those who lived in a
land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.
shined.
You have multiplied the nation. You have
increased its joy. They rejoice before
you as with joy at the harvest. as
people exalt when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden and the bar
across their shoulders, the rod of their
oppressor, you have broken as on the day
of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping
warriors, and all the garments rolled in
blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
fire.
For a child has been born for us, a son
given to us. Authority rests upon his shoulders,
shoulders,
and he is named Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace for the
throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it with
justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and [snorts]
forever more.
Second reading is from the letter of
Paul to Titus.
The grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all, training us to
renounce impiety [clears throat]
and worldly passions,
and in the present age to live lives
that are self-controlled,
upright, and godly
while we wait for the blessed hope and
the manifestation of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
He it is who gave himself for us so that
[snorts] he might redeem us from all iniquity
iniquity
and purify for himself a people of his
own who are zealous for good deeds.
>> This is the word of the Lord.
We're going to sing again now. It's
number 16 on the sheets. Joy to the world.
world. [music]
Let receive the king [music]
and heaven and nature [music] sing and
heaven and nature sing and let
[music] the nature sing. Joy
Joy
the Savior [singing] [music]
what fields are
[music] still and
repeat the sounding joy. [music]
[singing] Repeat the sounding joy. [music]
[music]
Repeat the sounding joy. >> [music]
>> [music]
>> with truth and praise and [music] salvation.
The glory is all [music] his
his
and wonders of his love and wonders of
his love [music]
The Lord be with you.
>> And also with you.
>> Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke. [music]
[music]
>> In those days a decree went out from
Emperor Augustus that all the world
should be registered. This was the first
registration and was taken while
Quirinius was governor of Syria. All
went to their own towns to be
registered. Joseph also went from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to
the city of David called Bethlehem
because he was descended from the house
and family of David. He went to be
registered with Mary, to whom he was
engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for
her to deliver her child. And she gave
birth to her firstborn son and wrapped
him in bands of cloth and laid him in a
manger because there was no place for
them in the in
that region. There were shepherds living
in the fields, keeping watch over their
flock by night. Then an angel of the
Lord stood before them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be
afraid, for see, I am bringing you good
news of great joy for all the people. To
you is born this day in the city of
David a savior who is the Messiah, the
Lord. This will be a sign for you. You
will find a child wrapped in bands of
cloth and 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 heaven and on earth peace among
those whom he favors.
When the angels had left them and gone
into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us." So
they went with haste and found Mary and
Joseph and the child lying in the
manger. When they saw this, they made
known what had been told them about this
child. And all who heard it were amazed
at what the shepherds told them. But
Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart. The
shepherds returned glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and
seen as it had been told them.
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious gospel.
[music]
Praise to Christ [singing]
now. Come on, be honest. Those who were
at the crib service yesterday, how often
during that reading were you waiting to
sing heavenly choir or bleet or shout
mommy or daddy or whatever? I bet there
were some of you. Anyway, it's lovely to
see you. A very merry Christmas to you
and also to those of you watching at
home. And I thought I'd do something a
bit different today because I'm going to
tell you a story. And the story is all
about Arthur.
And Arthur was one of the nicest boys
that you could ever know. He was one of
the kindest boys around. At school, he
always shared his lunch. He shared his
sweets. He even shared his cupcakes with
his friends.
Arthur was also the largest boy in the
class. Arthur was taller than any of the
other boys. He was also heavier than any
of the other boys. He had bright red
hair, bright orange red hair.
He had bright red freckles that dotted
his cheeks, but he had the biggest smile
in the whole class. His smile being
brightly from ear to ear. Arthur was
such a happy and smiling person that
everyone wanted to play with him and
enjoyed his company.
At school break, he would play with both
girls and boys. And even though he was
so big, Arthur wasn't a bully. In fact,
Arthur was not mean at all.
He was as goodnatured a boy as you were
ever likely to see.
But like so many of us, Arthur had a
little problem. He didn't really like
the lessons in school.
He couldn't read very well. And worse
still, he couldn't remember things very
well either. He had a hard time
remembering what the teacher said during lessons.
lessons.
It was so hard for Arthur to remember
that he had to repeat his first year all
over again.
And being at least a year older than all
the other students in their first year,
he was the biggest boy in his class.
It was Christmas time and the time of
the year when all the churches were
going to have their Sunday school
Christmas nativity plays.
Now, Arthur had always wanted to have a
part in one of those Christmas nativity
plays, but the trouble was he could
never remember enough to remember the
lines he had to say.
So, inevitably, Arthur was always one of
the shepherds who didn't say anything,
but always wore perhaps sheep ears and
carried a shepherd's crook.
But this particular year, Arthur's
Sunday school teacher approached him and
said to him, "Arthur,
in the nativity play this year, would
you like to play the role of the inkeeper?"
inkeeper?"
Arthur said, "Me? Me the inkeeper?"
"Yes," Arthur replied the teacher. "You
only have two lines. You need to
remember, all you have to remember is
when Joseph comes to the door of the inn
and asks if there is room, all you have
to say is there is no room for you in
the in you'll have to sleep in the stable.
stable.
So, do you think Arthur, you can
remember that? So, Arthur repeated to
the teacher what she had just said.
There is no room for you in the inn.
You'll have to sleep in the stable.
Arthur went back to his desk. He slowly
said his lines to himself over and over
again. There is no room for you in the
inn. You'll have to sleep in the stable.
And he said his lines faster so that he
would remember them. They'd stick in his
mind. Oh yes, he knew he could learn
those two lines easily.
After school, Arthur jumped on his
bicycle and rode home as fast as he
could. And he burst into the kitchen and
he shouted to his mother, "There is no
room for you in the inn. You'll have to
sleep in the stable."
His mother sort of had an idea what was
going on. She was very happy. Arthur was
so proud of himself.
The week quickly passed and the night
for the nativity play arrived. The
church was jammed full, packed. Everyone
was squished [snorts] in together. And
the time arrived for Arthur to come out
on the stage. And as he did so, he
looked at all the people who were
watching him. It was like a sea of
faces. So many people looking up at him
on stage. And Arthur was momentarily
mesmerized by all those people sitting
with their faces looking at the front at him.
him.
It was scary to see everyone looking at
him, the inkeeper,
and he started to get a bit nervous and
a little afraid.
And the story of Mary and Joseph started
to unfold in the Christmas drama. And
Arthur watched as he saw Mary and Joseph
coming down the central aisle of the
church on their way to Bethlehem.
And Arthur started to have big feelings
for Mary and Joseph. And Arthur's heart
started to get even bigger as he
listened again to the familiar words of
the story. And he began to realize how
important that story was. And he thought
to himself, "Mary looks so tired.
She's been riding on the donkey all day
long. And Joseph looks tired, too. He's
had a long, long journey. And you know,
Arthur, as he walks, started to feel a
bit bad for Mary and Joseph as they came
down the dusty road to his inn.
How could he tell the expectant Mary and
her husband Joseph that there was no
room in the How could he do it? How
could he say something so unkind, so uncaring?
uncaring?
And Mary and Joseph came closer and
closer to his in. And as they came
closer and closer, Arthur thought, "Oh
no, what's my name? I I I can't remember
it. What am I supposed to say?"
and he thought and he tried to remember
those two lines that he'd been
practicing again and again and again,
but he couldn't remember them. And
Joseph finally arrived at the front door
of the inn, and he knocked and gave
Arthur his cue. Inkeeper, do you have
room for us in your inn? My wife Mary is
going to have a baby very soon, probably
tonight. do you have a room for us in
[snorts] your in
Arthur was overwhelmed by the moments
and by his feelings and he said there
there there is no room for you in the
inn. You'll you'll have to sleep in the
stable [snorts] but
but I'll tell you what, you can have my
room tonight if you want.
And everybody laughed. Everyone laughed.
And Arthur felt bad and embarrassed. He
felt that everyone was laughing at him.
He felt so badly that his teacher would
be disappointed in him, that he'd messed
up his lines.
And during the rest of the nativity
play, Arthur kept looking at the floor,
his head hung low.
And after the play was over and the
congregation had finished singing Silent
Night, his Sunday school teacher came
rushing up to him and she said, "Arthur,
you were fantastic. You were the best
actor in the whole nativity play."
He didn't understand. And so she said,
"Well, it's because you understood the
meaning of Christmas more than anyone
else here tonight.
You were fabulous."
And Arthur said, "Really?" And his
teacher said, "Really?"
And suddenly all the children from his
class were crowding around Arthur and
were patting on the back saying, "You
were really good tonight, Arthur. You
got it right, Arthur. You are awesome,
Arthur. And after hearing all his
[snorts] friends saying such nice
things, Arthur started to feel a bit
better. In fact, he felt a bit proud of himself.
himself.
And when it was time that night for
Arthur to go to bed, his mother kissed
him good night and told him how proud
she was of him.
She closed the door and it was dark in
Arthur's room except for the light
streaming through the windows.
It was time for Arthur to say his night
prayers. And his prayer tonight was very simple.
simple.
Jesus, I want you to stay here in my
room with me tonight and every night. Amen.
the story of Arthur. And I wonder if you
understand the Christmas story like
Arthur did
as a time planned by God. The greatest
event in history happened. Jesus was
born. The Savior, the Messiah was born.
And the good news about Jesus is that he
comes to anyone with a heart humble
enough to accept him and to offer him
room in their hearts every day.
Perhaps it's been a hard year for some
of you here or at home.
Perhaps even with the fairy lights on
the trees and the candles lit, life
still seems a bit dark.
And it's at times such as these that we
look for hope. We look forward to
something or we look for a promise that
things are going to get better. Well,
you know, 2,000 years ago in Palestine,
things weren't easy either. Jesus was
born at a time when the people were
suffering badly. They were suffering
oppression, injustice,
and within days of Jesus' birth, he had
to become a refugee, escaping the anger
of a cruel king. But as this Christmas
story reminds us,
there is good news. Jesus is born as the
light of the world and the darkness
cannot overcome that light.
We might not be able to understand
everything that is going on around us.
But one thing we do know, Jesus came to
be with us. He brings the world peace
and truth and love and hope.
So let's make the words of the
well-known Christmas hymn our prayer.
Just like [snorts] ours, come to us,
abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel. Amen.
As I said, I've not really seen any hats
or any jumpers, but um if anybody is
anybody wearing a nice Christmy jumper,
at least they could stand up and show
it. Well, you've got a nice jump. Would
you stand up and just let people see
this miserable? I haven't done it. Come
just come out here. Let everybody see
how marvelous it is. There we are. Look
at that. Isn't that wonderful? Nice and
shiny. That's very good. Thank you for
wearing it. And you've got a lovely
Christmas jumper and it's Let's see
that. And I hope Thank you very much. [laughter]
[laughter]
>> And I do hope you all know what that is.
That is one of our mustwatch
films at Christmas. I'm delighted to say
we watched it last weekend, The Muppets
Christmas Carol. And it's one of my
favorite stories anyway. But I'll tell
you what, it's a brilliant film, isn't
it? And all the songs are great. And if
you want a really good time, go to a
cinema that's showing the sing along
version and all the words come up and
it's fantastic.
Um, so I did say, has anybody got any
gifts that they want to bring? But
you've probably all got up so late. I
haven't opened my presents. Has anybody
had any gifts they can tell us about?
>> Say, come on. I I thought that must have
been your gift. So, can you tell me what
that is?
>> It's a It's a camera I got from
And it can take photos, video, and play
video games.
>> Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing?
I remember the days when I had a camera
and as a special extra gift. You got a
film that had 12 pictures on it and you,
you know, you didn't dare waste any, but
you can take lots and lots of pictures.
Have you taken lots of pictures?
>> Quite a few. It prints them.
>> It prints them as well. I don't believe
this is This is scary, is it? Well,
thank you so much. That was a lot of things.
things.
I can't see any other hands going up, so
last night I went to uh New Fil Patrick,
and the church was filled just before
midnight for a lovely service that
welcomed in Christmas Day. and uh the
three ministers of the three churches,
we were talking and um Graeme who's at
Bear Stone Cross said something very
important to me. He said, "When you do
something for the first time, it's innovation."
innovation."
And then when you do it for the second
time, it's tradition. And I thought
that's right. And I've got a Christmas
tradition. Some people who are watching
at home will know what that Christmas
tradition is. In fact, they'll be ready
to join in. And this is the third year
I've been here. And we've done this
every year. But I've done this every
year on Christmas Day for many, many,
many years. And that is of course to
sing the 12 days of Christmas. But all
So, um, one of my favorite folk singers
is called Kate Rosby. And I saw Kate
Rosby a couple of weeks ago down in
London. So, this is Kate Rosby's
Christmas hat. And if you look, it
actually has a name on it. So, there's
the hat. As nobody else has brought a
hat, I'm the one having to wear it. I
don't care about looking silly. One
more. One more. Is that all we can
manage? Well, you're all going to stand
up anyway. So, if nothing else, stand up.
up.
Now, you know this by now. We do uh we
sing the 12 Days of Christmas, and
there's an action that goes with each
life. So, the first the first gift is a
partridge in a pear tree. So, all we do
is some sort of tree. Now, people are
gossip is inventive. I mean, when I
started this, it was just a tree, a
partridge in a pear tree. But, you know,
there are lots of different sorts of
trees. You could be a willow tree, a
weeping willow tree, you could be
anything. So, don't you know, but it is
a partridge in a pear tree. But, you
know, I haven't got one in my garden. We
don't know what they look like really,
do we? So, let's do that. On the first
day of Christmas, [music]
my true love [singing] sent to me a
partridge in [music] a tree.
>> Now, on the second day, we've got two
turtle doves. So, normally we do Thank
you very much. You're in there already.
We do uh flapping doves. Okay. So, don't
forget we do two turtle doves and the
partridge. You know, you know the 12
second day of [singing] Christmas
and a [music] partridge in [singing] a
pear tree.
>> Now the third is three French hens and
we do something I I don't think that yet
because there's another bird that we do
that for. So we've got to do something
more French. And um somebody said,
"Well, I must tell you, I was doing this
many, many years ago, and somebody at
the back of church, I this is the honest
truth. On Christmas day, somebody stood
up and said, "You're making Christmas
like a pan tonight."
And I said, "Of course."
>> Oh, no, I'm not. Thank you. Absolutely
true. That they walked out. Everybody
else laughed it. Three French t now.
Now, I know, you know, I'm sorry this
might be offensive, but you know what?
What do the f what do we know the French
for? Well, you know, you could skip
wine, I suppose, or eat cheese, but I
know the can can. So, you just sort of
need to do a can. Yeah, that's
>> Thank you. On the [music] third
in a tree. [music]
>> That free French hens needs something
else. So, I think we'll add to it next
time. We'll
You're making things up in the back row.
I think we'll add ooh la. How about
that? Yeah, because that's sort of, you
know, it's f there'll be no French
people watching. I won't be able to.
Now, the fourth one is for calling
birds. So, uh you can call maybe call
like that or call somebody on the phone,
however you want to call. That's a good
look, you know, for calling birds or
calling whatever you like for calling. Okay.
Okay. [music]
[music]
On the fourth [singing] day of
Christmas, my true love to me [singing]
[music]
in a tree.
>> Now the next is five gold rings. And
this is quite easy if you think of the
Olympic symbol because there's five
rings. So, all you do is you draw in the
air the five Olympic uh symbol rings.
It's the easiest thing I can think of.
And it also looks a bit like ringing,
but that was an old telephone. So, you
won't know anything about that. Not with
your new camera, the prince.
>> Right. So, five five gold ribs. Okay.
On the fth day [music and singing] of
Christmas, my love sent to me five gold
four calling birds, three [singing] French.
>> Now, I think this is where we need your
Yeah. Because it's six [snorts] geese
are laying. So I think that's probably a
better you you know your elbow flat. Six G
G [music]
[music] [singing]
[singing]
and a [music and singing] partridge in a
pear tree.
Can you remember the next one? Seven
swans are swimming. So you choose what
stroke you want to do. You know, be
inventive. You can do doggy paddles. You
won't be alive. But you've got to swim
for seven.
On the seventh [music] day of Christmas,
my true [singing] love sent to me. Seven
swarms of swimming, six of [singing]
four birds, three [music and singing] French.
We're getting these are easy now. Eight
maids are milking. We know how to milk
cows, don't we? We all know do it every day.
day. [music]
[music]
>> Day of Christmas [singing]
to me. Eight mates are milking. Seven
sons are swimming. Six
Four [singing]
birds. [music]
Three French hens la. [singing]
>> Now we all watch Strictly. Don't be
saying goodbye to Claudia and Tess. But
it's nine ladies dancing. So you do
whatever dance you'd like to do. You
might do a nice a nice steak walts or
you know cha cha cha or rumba anything
like that whatever you like but you've
only got the line to do it on [music]
[music] [singing]
[music] calling
calling
Three French,
two [music and singing] turtle doves and
a partridge in a tree.
>> So we're at 10 lords are leaving. And
what do lords do when they leave? They
jump in the air and of course they say
okay y
lord they go around they say okay y. So that's
Seven are swimming. Six geese are >> [music and singing]
>> [music and singing]
Four calling [singing] birds. Three
French [music] hens,
two turtle doves, and [singing] a
Still got two more to go. Um, pipers
piping for 11. So, you can pipe like
that. You can pipe like that, you know,
with the back pipes. Whatever you like.
Sure. Whatever you like. As long as
you're piping in some way.
[singing] 11th [music] day of Christmas
to me. 11 pipers.
Eight are milking. Seven [music] swords
are swimming. Six are laying. [singing]
Five gold [music] rings.
rings.
Four [singing]
birds. Three French hens.
Two [music]
[music]
>> you know, I must remind myself that I
started this when I was 30 years
younger, but we'll get there. Elaine,
thank you for playing. I don't think
I've ever had the organist join in as
well. Terrific. [laughter] Thank you.
And the last one, can you remember what
the last is? Drummond's drumming. So,
that's very easy. Again, you might have
a beat, bass, drum, or whatever you
like. All right, are you ready? Deep breath.
breath.
>> On the 12th [music and singing] day of
Christmas, my true love sent to me 12, [singing]
[singing]
11, [music] 10.
>> [music]
>> Nine [singing] lies dancing. Eight are
milking. Seven swords are swimming. Six
are laying. [music]
Five [singing]
gold rings.
four birds, [music and singing] three French,
French,
two turtle dots, and a [music and singing]
[music and singing] tree.
>> [laughter] [cough]
[cough]
>> We all need to sit down after that, but
we're not getting it yet because we turn
back to our service books. Remember,
we're at a service. Remember that? And
we're on page four and we say together
the creed. That's our statement of
belief as Christians.
We believe in one God, the Father, the
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of
all that is seen and unseen. We believe
in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only son
of God, eternally begotten of the
Father, God from God, light from light,
true God from true God, begotten not
made, of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us
and for our salvation, he came down from
heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and Virgin Mary and was made human. For
our sake, he was crucified under
Pontious Pilot. He suffered death and
was buried.
>> On the third day, he rose again in
accordance with the scriptures. He
ascended into he and is seated at the
right hand of the father. He will come
again in glory to judge the living and
the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
end.
>> We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life, who proceeds from the
Father, who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified, who has
spoken through the prophets. We believe
in one holy, Catholic, and apostolic
church. We acknowledge one baptism for
the forgiveness of s. We look for the
resurrection of the dead and the life of
the world to come. >> Amen.
>> Amen.
>> And so as we sit or kneel, let us pray
Almighty God, we thank you for bringing
us out of darkness and into your own
marvelous light by the birth of your son
Jesus Christ.
May we remember the lessons he taught us
of humility, peace, and care, and
concern for others less fortunate than ourselves.
ourselves.
Help us to use these in our own lives as
we move forward [clears throat] into the
year ahead.
Lord, in your mercy,
>> here our pray.
Faithful God, we pray for your universal
church throughout the world as they come
together to celebrate the miracle of the
birth of your son Jesus Christ.
Bless our church here at All Saints and
all other churches in Bears 10 and all
who worship and minister in them.
Bless Nick our bishop and all who serve
our dasis of Glasgow and Gallery.
We thank you for David and Kevin who
faithfully served our congregation in
the past year.
>> Loving God, you were born in a stable
but worshiped by the angels.
Be with all who are lonely and all who
feel distant from our celebrations,
the poor, the homeless, and those in need.
need.
We thank you for the gift of life and
pray for those who are troubled in any
way. We pray that in the darkness of
their suffering and pain, your light may
bring them hope that lightens their hearts.
hearts.
Lord in your mercy,
>> here our pray.
>> God of peace, we pray that all nations
will sub will be subject to your rule
and know you as the God of peace.
We pray [clears throat] especially for
those nations in positions of power and
authority that they will bring an end to
the suffering caused by hatred and greed.
greed.
Our world has never overcome the
injustices of oppression and bitterness,
violence and war. [cough]
Lord God Almighty, who has now come into
our world to make all things new, let us
join your call to the nations of the
earth to cease from strife
that all may join to fight not one
another but their common foes of want,
ignorance, disease, and sin.
Lord in your mercy,
>> here our pray.
Merciful God, we pray for all who labor
for righteousness that your presence and
help may give them courage. We
particularly pray for the countries that
continue to be ravaged by disease,
starvation, and civil strife.
bring enlightenment to their politicians
and your support to all the charitable
agencies who are working to bring relief
to the suffering in so many parts of the
world. Lord in your mercy here our >> pray.
God of healing, we pray for the anxious,
the lonely, the sick, and the berved,
particularly those known personally to
us, that consolation and peace may be theirs.
theirs.
I ask your prayers for those from our
own congregation who be may be unwell at
this time and any others known to us.
May your comfort and healing presence
sustain them and their families at this time.
time.
Lord, in your mercy, here.
>> God of eternity, we pray for those who
are separated from us by death,
remembering especially those whose
anniversary falls today, that theirs may
be the kingdom which is unshakable.
Oh God of peace, who brought the dead,
who brought from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
make us perfect in all goodness, to do
your will and to be what you would have
us to be. Through him we to whom be
glory forever, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord in your mercy, here our pray.
Holy Jesus, by being born one of us and
lying humbly in a manger, you show how
much God loves the world.
Let the light of your love overshine in
our hearts until we reach our home in
heaven and see you on your throne of glory.
glory.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ
Just before we get to the piece, uh, I'd
like on your behalf to thank all those
wonderful people who earlier this week
were decorating our church. I'm sure
you'll agree it looks absolutely
beautiful. And people were here on
Monday and on in fact Sunday and Monday
and Tuesday decorating the church so
beautifully. So let's give a big thank
[applause]
So we come to the moment in our service
now where we offer the peace to one
another. And perhaps today there's a
special reason to exchange a sign of the
peace. uh peace for Christmas even wish
each other a very happy Christmas if you
haven't done so yet and of course that
happy Christmas greeting comes from me
from all of us here in church and also
long distance from Kevin and Sharon who
were off with their family quite a bit
of a way down in England but they also
wanted to uh pass on their good wishes
[snorts]
>> Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son
is given and his name shall be called
the prince of peace. We meet in Christ's name.
name. >> Let us share his peace.
from Christmas. >> Happy Christmas,
I never know which one's >> which.
[laughter] >> Wow.
Isn't it exciting? As I said, in the old days, we had to to wait about 2 weeks
days, we had to to wait about 2 weeks for that.
for that. We're going back to seeing when we come
We're going back to seeing when we come to communion. Anybody who wants to come
to communion. Anybody who wants to come up to the altar rail is very welcome. If
up to the altar rail is very welcome. If you're uh confirmed, if you receive
you're uh confirmed, if you receive communion in your own church, you're
communion in your own church, you're very welcome to come. Or if you'd just
very welcome to come. Or if you'd just like to come for a blessing, perhaps you
like to come for a blessing, perhaps you stand perhaps carrying your book or just
stand perhaps carrying your book or just not holding your hands out. But if you
not holding your hands out. But if you do want to receive, come forward and
do want to receive, come forward and hold your hands out and you'll be very
hold your hands out and you'll be very welcome.
welcome. And so we have one of the great
And so we have one of the great Christmas carols number 21. God bless
Christmas carols number 21. God bless rescue Mary.
His name Jesus Christ [music]
We will [music]
[music] of
of joy and joy [music] and
[music] and joy. Praise and joy.
joy.j. [music]
[music] Joy of joy
Joy of joy [music] of
[music] of joyful
the sightings [music] of happiness and joy. and joy. [music]
Christian [music]
Words made flesh, life of the world. In your incarnation, you embraced our
your incarnation, you embraced our poverty. By your spirit, may we share in
poverty. By your spirit, may we share in your riches.
your riches. Amen.
We turn to page 14 for the Christmas Eucharistic prayer.
>> The Lord be with you. >> And also with you.
>> And also with you. >> Lift up your hearts.
>> Lift up your hearts. >> We lift them to the Lord.
>> We lift them to the Lord. >> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
>> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. >> It is right to give our thanks and
>> It is right to give our thanks and praise.
praise. >> Worship and praise belong to you God our
>> Worship and praise belong to you God our maker. Out of nothing, you called all
maker. Out of nothing, you called all worlds into being. And still you draw
worlds into being. And still you draw the universe to its fulfillment. Day and
the universe to its fulfillment. Day and night celebrate your glory till time
night celebrate your glory till time shall be no more.
shall be no more. In Jesus Christ, your word became flesh.
In Jesus Christ, your word became flesh. On this day was born of the Virgin Mary.
On this day was born of the Virgin Mary. He emptied himself, taking our human
He emptied himself, taking our human form, that through his incarnation and
form, that through his incarnation and passion, we might come to share in his
passion, we might come to share in his divine nature, filled with the spirit,
divine nature, filled with the spirit, who at the first creation moved over the
who at the first creation moved over the face of the waters and who overshadowed
face of the waters and who overshadowed the blessed virgin at Nazareth. We await
the blessed virgin at Nazareth. We await with joy the fulfillment of your new
with joy the fulfillment of your new creation.
creation. As children of your redeeming purpose,
As children of your redeeming purpose, we celebrate the birth of your son. We
we celebrate the birth of your son. We offer you our praise with angels and
offer you our praise with angels and archangels and the whole company of
archangels and the whole company of heaven singing the hymn of your unending
heaven singing the hymn of your unending glory.
glory. [music]
[music] Holy, holy, [singing]
Holy, holy, [singing] holy Lord God of power and might
holy Lord God of power and might [music]
glor Glory [singing]
[singing] in the [music] highest
[music] in the highest.
Glory and thanksgiving be to you, most loving father, in Jesus the Messiah. You
loving father, in Jesus the Messiah. You have come to us and lived among us that
have come to us and lived among us that we might forever live with you in the
we might forever live with you in the manger of Bethlehem in his flight to
manger of Bethlehem in his flight to Egypt and as the carpenter's son, the
Egypt and as the carpenter's son, the only begotten humbled himself to meet
only begotten humbled himself to meet us. Obedient to your calling, he
us. Obedient to your calling, he accepted death on the cross. When you
accepted death on the cross. When you exalted him on the third day and
exalted him on the third day and bestowed on him the name above all
bestowed on him the name above all names, he opened the gates of glory that
names, he opened the gates of glory that we might be your children and share in
we might be your children and share in his kingdom of peace.
his kingdom of peace. Before he was given up to suffering and
Before he was given up to suffering and death, desiring to complete the work for
death, desiring to complete the work for which he came into the world, at supper
which he came into the world, at supper with his disciples, he took bread and
with his disciples, he took bread and offered you thanks. He broke the bread
offered you thanks. He broke the bread and gave it to them, saying, "Take, eat.
and gave it to them, saying, "Take, eat. This is my body. It is broken for you."
After supper, he took the cup, he offered you thanks, and gave it to them,
offered you thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink this all of you. This is
saying, "Drink this all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant. It is
my blood of the new covenant. It is poured out for you and for all that sins
poured out for you and for all that sins may be forgiven. Do this in remembrance
may be forgiven. Do this in remembrance of me.
We now obey your son's command. We recall his blessed passion and death,
recall his blessed passion and death, his glorious resurrection and ascension.
his glorious resurrection and ascension. And we look for the coming of his
And we look for the coming of his kingdom made one with him. We offer you
kingdom made one with him. We offer you these gifts and with them ourselves a
these gifts and with them ourselves a single holy living sacrifice. Hear us,
single holy living sacrifice. Hear us, most merciful Father, and send your Holy
most merciful Father, and send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon this bread and
Spirit upon us and upon this bread and this wine, that overshadowed by your
this wine, that overshadowed by your spirit's lifegiving power, they may be
spirit's lifegiving power, they may be the body and blood of your son, and we
the body and blood of your son, and we may be kindled with the fire of your
may be kindled with the fire of your love and renewed for the service of your
love and renewed for the service of your kingdom.
kingdom. Help us who are baptized into the
Help us who are baptized into the fellowship of Christ's body to live and
fellowship of Christ's body to live and work to your praise and glory. May we
work to your praise and glory. May we grow together in unity and love until at
grow together in unity and love until at last in your new creation. We enter into
last in your new creation. We enter into our heritage in the company of the
our heritage in the company of the Virgin Mary, the apostles and prophets,
Virgin Mary, the apostles and prophets, and of all our brothers and sisters,
and of all our brothers and sisters, living and departing, through Jesus
living and departing, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with whom and in whom,
Christ, our Lord, with whom and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory be to you, Lord of all
honor and glory be to you, Lord of all ages, world without end.
ages, world without end. Amen.
The living bread is broken for the life of the world.
>> As our savior has taught us, so we pray. Our father in heaven, hallowed be your
Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be
name. Your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as in heaven. Give us
done in earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our
today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against
sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not bring us to the time of
us. Do not bring us to the time of trial, but deliver us from evil. For the
trial, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are
kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
Mercy on us [music]
on us [music] Jesus
Christ is the true bread who has come down from heaven. Lord, give us this
down from heaven. Lord, give us this bread always.
The body of Christ. [music] Body of Christ.
[music] Blood of Christ.
>> of Christ. [music] Christ
>> [music] >> of Christ.
>> of Christ. Christ.
Christ. [music]
[music] Christ
[music] Christ
Bless [music] Thank you.
>> [music] >> of Christ.
The body of Christ. [music]
[music] >> Really?
>> Give thanks to our gracious God >> whose mercy endures forever.
>> whose mercy endures forever. >> God our father whose word has come among
>> God our father whose word has come among us in the holy child of Bethlehem.
us in the holy child of Bethlehem. May the light of faith illumine our
May the light of faith illumine our hearts and shine in our words and deeds
hearts and shine in our words and deeds through him who is Christ the Lord.
through him who is Christ the Lord. Amen.
Our final carol today number 12 the herald angel sing.
>> [music] >> angels Glory
>> angels Glory to you.
[music] Heaven
[music] Christ my voice.
Christ my voice. [music]
[music] Christ the everlasting
Christ the everlasting Lord.
[music] Jus
Jesus [music]
[music] Heat. Heat.
>> The Lord be with you. with you.
with you. >> May the joy of the angels, the eagerness
>> May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of
of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph
the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ
and Mary, and the peace of the Christ child be yours this Christmas. And the
child be yours this Christmas. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father,
blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be upon you
the Son, and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you this day and always.
and remain with you this day and always. Amen.
Amen. Let us go in peace to love and serve the
Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord in the name of Christ. Amen.
[bell] [music]
>> Yes, we'll do. >> Yes.
Come on. You Is your mother still
Thank you so much for joining us. It's always a great joy to have you with us
always a great joy to have you with us every Sunday. But especially today, we
every Sunday. But especially today, we want to send you away from here with
want to send you away from here with peace, love, hope, and joy. All those
peace, love, hope, and joy. All those things that make Christmas so special,
things that make Christmas so special, not least the birth of Jesus Christ, who
not least the birth of Jesus Christ, who we remember today, who came to save us
we remember today, who came to save us in love.
in love. Whatever you're doing today over the
Whatever you're doing today over the Christmas period, I do hope you have a
Christmas period, I do hope you have a lovely time. I hope you have a rest and
lovely time. I hope you have a rest and refreshment. And maybe if it's been a
refreshment. And maybe if it's been a bad time, if you're feeling a bit lonely
bad time, if you're feeling a bit lonely or feeling a bit anxious, then know that
or feeling a bit anxious, then know that God is with you and God comforts you day
God is with you and God comforts you day by day. From me, from all of us here at
by day. From me, from all of us here at All Saints, God [snorts] bless and
