leadinginworship

Advent/Christmas Call to Worship

Dearly beloved!
We are gathered here in the sight of God
in this time of worship
to remember the holy incarnation,
the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In a tiny town of Bethlehem
a worried father waited,
a would-be mother laboured.
The world held its breath for a Saviour.
The baby arrived,
and angels incandesecent
sang of goodwill to shepherds,
lighting up the night sky.
Centuries later, we celebrate this birth
this advent of life and hope.
May God this day
lighten the darkness of our lives,
so that we too can sing
Gloria!  Gloria!

The year I put God on the Christmas list

It never occurred to me till this year
to put God on my Christmas list.
Heaven knows, I’ve been on the receiving end
too many times to count,
with a God whose giving knows no ending.
Maybe God would like a gift,
for a change.
What do you get Someone who has everything?
Slippers?  Does one size truly fit all?
A book?  What hasn’t God read yet?
An ipad?  Are there apps made in heaven?
Can everyone really use socks?
Tickets to a show…theatre?  sports?   
Is God hopeful enough to be a Maple Leafs fan?
Maybe I should get God something more personal.
A home-made gift perhaps,
like a coupon book.
What God might really like
is a coupon that says,
“One minute of world peace”.
I wish we could send messengers to God,
holy angels singing,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will from all people.”
This Christmas, a present for God
seems out of reach.

If I can’t get a present,
maybe I can be a present,
by being present for God.
This minute, this hour as my present.
I will completely turn my attention to God;
tuning in instead of tuning out,
deciding to be an active listener.
I will take the Bible at its word
and believe that God wants to hear from me.
I will present my requests to God
humbly, gratefully, honestly.
It`s not wrapped in shiny paper,
it`s not a perfect gift for the Father of Lights;
but I will try to be a cheerful giver.
Here`s hoping that God will say,  
“This is just what I’ve always wanted!”

Lost and found at Christmas

This Christmas, you come as a Saviour to the lost.
We gather here, we who have lost heart,
lost hope, lost patience, lost time.
We have lost innocence, we are losing the race,
we feel like lost souls.

This Christmas, we want to be finding you--
finding you in the silence of the gray morning
and in the sweet smile of a child;
finding you in the dark starry sky
and in the warm handshake of a friend;
finding you in the familiar Christmas narrative
and in the story of a stranger;
finding you in our own hearts
and in the face of our enemies.

Immanuel, God with us,
we wait for your presence this Christmas;
help us to give with generous hearts
and receive with thankfulness.
Give us patience in the face of irritation
and kindness in the face of anger;
fill us with contentment and peace
and remove all jealousy from us.
May our celebration of your birth
give honour to you in all we say and do
and may we enter the New Year
refreshed and recommitted to your service.  Amen

Christmas Reader's Theatre: For unto us a child is born!

[I wrote this for a Christmas Eve service and I had different congregants take the parts; they got up from where they were sitting in the congregation and came to the front to say their part, then they each lit a candle and placed it at around the manger scene that was at the front of the church.  Congregation members could each be invited to light a candle after their part to honour Jesus.]

Narrator:  Waiting, watching, hoping against hope,
the faithful have looked and longed for a Saviour.
Wrapped up in our own lives, in our own struggles,
consumed with our own desires and our own sins,
still our hope was in God.
At long last, all generations cry out,
“For unto us a child is born”.

Abraham:   My name is Abraham.  I followed God’s call. 
I went from my own country and my kindred to the land that God showed me. 
God promised to make a nation from my descendants.
 God said that all families of the earth would be blessed through me. 
Now we see the fulfillment of that promise with the gift of this child…
today we are blessed indeed!
For unto us a child is born.

Hagar:  I am Hagar.  I was Sarah’s slavegirl.
I bore Abraham a son, whom I called Ishmael. 
When I was at the end of all hope because of my suffering,
I fled into the wilderness.  
It was there that I met “the God who hears”;
the God who hears even the crying of the cast out. 
God has heard the cries of all people; the insiders and the outsiders. 
This baby is a gift to us: a gift for all peoples. 
For unto us a child is born!

Jacob:  I am Jacob, grandson of Abraham. 
Even though I was a liar and a cheater, there was still room for me in God’s plan. 
I had a dream one night where God stood right next to me.
In the morning I called that place Bethel, the House of God.  
Today a child is born with the same message…God is right here with us!
We give thanks for Immanuel--God with us.
For unto us a child is born!

Moses:  I am Moses.
When God spoke to me from a burning bush in the wilderness,
I had lots of excuses. 
I didn’t want to help God liberate our people from slavery. 
But God didn’t give up on me or Israel. 
With God’s power,
our people were delivered from the hands of the mighty Pharaoh.
We worship a God who delivers!
And then through God’s mercy, we were given the law at Sinai to guide us.
We worship a God who guides us!
And today we have been given a Saviour who will deliver us from evil,
a Saviour who will be our guide.
For unto us a child is born!

Ruth:  I am Ruth. 
I am a foreigner from Moab, who married one of the sons of Israel. 
When my husband died, I followed my mother-in-law back to her country Israel.
I was her faithful friend, and her God, the God of Israel,
was faithful in restoring our happiness.
I gleaned wheat in the fields near this town of Bethlehem. 
A man named Boaz married me, even though I was a widow and a foreigner.
I gave birth to a child that brought great joy to my family.
This baby Jesus is one of my descendants,
he has come to bring great joy to the world!
For unto us a child is born!

Samuel: My name is Samuel.   
When I was just a small boy I heard God calling me.
 I said, “Yes Lord, your servant hears you.” 
And so I served God all my days, calling the people of Israel to faithfulness. 
It was a hard job, because the people did not always want to hear what I had to say.
But God never deserted me. 
Now I see that God has sent his own son to call us to faithfulness. 
For unto us a child is born!

David: My name is David.
I was the Lord’s anointed, a man after God’s own heart.
I ruled Israel as a king for many years.
I was a sinner, like everyone else, and I disappointed God in many ways.
But God was faithful to me.
This night in Bethlehem, in my own city,
a new King has been born, one of my own descendants.
This Ruler will bring peace to the world. 
He will be called the Prince of Peace.
For unto us a child is born!

Isaiah:  My name is Isaiah, and I was a prophet of the Most High. 
The people of Israel had turned from God. 
God allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonians. 
he holy city Jerusalem was in ruins, our temple was destroyed. 
Our people were taken in chains into captivity. 
How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. 
He will establish the throne of David
and uphold it with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!  (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Joseph: Joseph is my name, and my betrothed Mary has given birth to a son. 
This child has come to save our people from their sin. 
We have great hopes for this small baby, our firstborn.
And we have named him Jesus, as the angel instructed me.
For unto us a child is born!

Mary:  My name is Mary and I am a servant of the Lord.
God’s mercy is on those who fear God, from generation to generation. 
God has helped his servant Israel,
according to the promise made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Sarah and to their descendants forever. 
Jesus is a blessing for the world, that has come through my life.
For unto us a child is born!

People:  Today we add our voices to the chorus of thanksgiving.
We join our voices to the song that rises through time,
around the world on every parallel,
“Glory to God in the highest”.
The harmony of our song of praise reaches heaven,
as we give thanks for God’s son, Jesus Christ our Lord!
For unto us a child is born!

 

Christmas Benediction

By the tender mercy of our God
love has broken upon us!
Light is given where once there was darkness
and hope where there was only death.
We go into this season knowing
that God will guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

Inside and outside the stable

Inside the stable there is darkness pushing in,
a small light, perhaps, illuminating three faces.
The murmurs of a baby’s cries, his snuffling and suckling,
the rustle of straw, the sound of animals shifting.
The smell of sweat and blood and manure,
the fragrance of milk and sweet baby.
The  touch of a hand on a smooth small forehead,
a man’s arm holding a body still shaking with afterpains.

Outside the stable, darkness is pushed away,
radiant brightness illuminating shepherds, flocks.
The gasps of fright as grown men topple to the ground,
the angels’ words of comfort, “Fear not,”
and their miraculous proclamation of a king.
And then the singing;  strong, clarion, clear,
piercing the dark with a message of hope.

Inside the stable there are no angel visitors,
only the arrival of a child, revealed at last to tired parents.
Their weary quietness is disturbed by excited voices.
Shepherds, eyes ablaze and arms akimbo
fill the room, trying to describe their miracle.
When they pause for breath, they feel the silence.
They sense the fragility of this small baby.
They leave quietly, pondering this helpless mystery, hours old,
revealed to them by choirs of angel armies.

 

Breaking the chains: Christmas prayer for all who are addicted

Lord Jesus, you are the one who came to set captives free.

Today we pray for all who are slaves to addictions,

fettered in body and mind to behaviours that destroy.

We call out for one more;

one more bet, one more illicit meeting,

one more cigarette, one more snack,

one more year of working this hard,

one more hit, one more downloaded picture,

one more meal to be purged,

one more little drink that won’t hurt anyone.

Open our eyes to the chains that bind us

and the destruction it is causing in our lives

and the lives of those we love.

Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth,

give courage and wisdom to those who walk

with people who are addicted;

courage to confront,

and wisdom to know how and when to intervene.

Thank you for the resources of our society;

for counsellors and treatment centres

for doctors and hospitals and clinics.

Most of all, God of creation,

we give thanks for the way you see us--

made in your image, capable of choosing life,

and living life abundantly.

We can do this through the power of your son Jesus

who is Immanuel, God with us,

even in the darkest prison of addiction. Amen.

An everlasting light: Christmas Eve prayer for Bethlehem

Today we pray for peace for the little town of Bethlehem.

You know the walls that separate people;

walls of concrete, walls of hatred, walls of prejudice,

walls between Jew and Arab and Christian and Muslim,

walls between cultures and languages.

Is there another place on earth with such high walls

and such deep hostility?

And yet in those dark streets shines your everlasting light.

Your light shines in the goodwill of people who do not return evil for evil,

it shines in the patience of people who wait for a better future,

it shines in the creativity of people who make plans for peace,

even as powers and principalities make plans for war.

Your hope shines in refugee camps, in narrow city streets,

in communities of worshippers who pray for peace.

Bulldozers and tanks can’t crush that hope.

Laws and regulations can’t stifle that hope.

Blockades and barricades can’t stop that hope.

Bombs and guns can’t blow it up.

Tonight the eyes of all the world turn to Manger Square,

as we remember the birth of the Prince of peace.

“How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given

so God imparts to human hearts the blessings of the heavens.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin

where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Lord enters in.

O holy child of Bethlehem

cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell,

oh come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel.”*

 

*Phillips Brooks wrote this hymn “O Little town of Bethlehem” in 1867 as he reflected on his visit to Manger Square in Bethlehem.

Light: A Christmas eve reader's theatre

We are people of the light…

we say, “Let there be light!” And behold!

Lamplight, headlight, spotlight,

flashlight, floodlight, footlight,

searchlight, stoplight, streetlight,

windows cascading light,

skyscraper towers of light,

satellites that compete with starlight,

screens of all kinds lit with light,

light sabres, lighthouses and light bulbs;

halogen, incandescent, fluorescent!

We dodge deep darkness with twinkly lights.

We are a light hearted people!

We are a high wattage population,

rich with lumens!

Let me tell you,

we who walked in darkness have seen great lights!

You betcha, planet earth,

home of the laser-light show,

cities glowing in space,

the earth ringed with the work of our hands;

we glow in our own limelight.

And so this Christmas,

we are our own angels of light.

We feel no need for heavenly light,

which everyone says was highly over-rated.

 

Maybe no one will be more surprised than us

when a Saviour comes

in a darkness that dawns when we least expect it.

 

Maybe Jesus will come,

in the moment when the power fails,

when all the blinking red lights flicker and pause,

when the batteries die

and the generators heave their last sigh,

when the TV and computer screens go blank,

when we are unplugged

and cast upon our own resources.

In this darkness, Jesus comes.

 

Maybe Jesus will come,

in the moment when compassion fails,

when all the milk of human kindness runs dry,

when relationships sour and hatred festers

and we see the devastation of war

in all its cruelty, with broken bodies,

broken dreams, broken lands;

when all we thought we had

comes crashing down.

In this darkness, Jesus comes.

 

Maybe Jesus will come,

in the midnight moment when hope fails,

when the darkness from the deep envelops us

(a darkness that comes from the inside out)

when we are mired in a depression

that cannot be avoided,

or turned off with any switch.

In this darkness, Jesus comes.

 

Jesus comes as a thief in the night,

stealing into our lives,

where he waits to be born again,

who knows how,

in the darkness of each human heart.

The world glistens with radiant possibilities,

while the angels sing in the starry night sky,

laughing at this craziest of Second comings.

“Jesus is coming again. Gloria!”

  

[You can divide this into parts as you see fit, depending on the number of readers you have.  If you leave a comment, I can send you the way I divided it for three readers.]

 

This poem is indebted to Vida Scudder for the phrase, "the world glistens with radiant possibilities", and to Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "Christ climbed down" for the closing idea.

Christmas Eve Call to Worship

God of grace, by your tender mercy

the dawn from on high breaks upon us.

Your son, giving light to all sitting in darkness

and in the shadow of death!

Your child, guiding our feet into the way of peace!

Your son Jesus, a baby, Christ the Lord!

Together, in our minds’ eye, we picture

that first night in Bethlehem.

The lamplight, the small cries,

the baby cradled by its parents,

outside the high dark night.

May the voice of angels so fill our hearts this evening

that we go from here,

singing their song of praise to you. Gloria!

Christmas Eve poem: Singing with angels

Hear the angel’s song tonight

glimmering harmonies

glorias gliding in the air like snowflakes

glorias glancing off gleaming eyes

glorias glowing in gladsome gladful hearts.

 

That glorious melody, full of earth peace,

so rich tonight, so full-fleshed,

it pierces to the deep heart’s core

and opens there, like a rose, blooming.

 

Loaded with melody, melodious we go

into a world where other songs hold sway.

Life’s discord, sin’s unholy racket

rises and lifts, its wild rhythm chaining us,

deafening us with jackhammer insistence.

In this surroundsound space, God of great gifts,

keep the angel’s song alive.

Teach us their tune by heart.

We would sing gloria in terror’s grip,

gloria as cruelty scars all that’s good

gloria as hope lies broken and battered

and all we love seems lost or left behind.

 

That angel song, strong as the morning star

threads through every cacophany with strains of joy.

The first-born gloria sung to shepherds sustains us

as it sustained that long ago Christmas couple.

We carry it in our hearts on the long road to Egypt

we cling to it at every Calvary,

and its notes burst the bedrock of our disbelief

as Jesus is born again

for all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

With angels we sang, we sing, we will sing,

Immanuel, God still with us,

Gloria! Gloria!

Mary's Christmas Prayer

Lord, you have done great things

and holy is your name!

For unto us a child is born

and holy is your name!

For you have shown mercy to your handmaid

and holy is your name!

 

From the angel’s first appearance

I’ve waited for this moment.

Confident in your plan,

confident that all generations will call me blessed.

Confident, when Joseph doubted me,

when my parents did not understand,

when my friends laughed at me,

and turned the other way.

Confident, in the face of a journey

decreed by Rome’s power,

a journey to this city of David.

Confident even in my labour pains

that you would deliver me.

 

And tonight I brought forth my first-born son.

Here he lies, in my arms;

a tiny baby, beautiful and perfect.

A future king, you say, destined for a throne.

Here in this stable, a king!

Truly you have exalted those of low degree.

 

Nine months ago, the angel came

planting words in my heart

The power of the most High overshadowing me.

Tonight that angel appeared again

to shepherds in their fields.

In glory the angel told them of a Saviour

Christ the Lord, born this night.

You appeared to the shepherds

but it is I who need your counsel.

Gabriel, come again to me,

I must question you.

 

I’ve called my son Jesus.

“Jesus, Son of the Highest,

reigning over the House of David forever,”

those were your words.

But how shall he take his throne?

Who will recognise him?

Joseph and I are ordinary people,

we don’t know how to raise a king!

This night we have become parents

to such a child as this.

 

The shepherds tell of a star,

will this sign bring help for me?

Of all the babies in Bethlehem tonight

this is the one you’ve destined to bring salvation

and I do not know how this will be accomplished.

 

This child brings peace on earth,

but my heart is filled with questions.

God, through your tender mercy

calm my fears

and guide my feet into this way of peace.

I am a handmaid of the Lord.

The Best Christmas Gift

Christ comes as a gift into your life,

but he doesn’t come

wrapped in shiny paper and ribbons

and you can’t say

“Isn’t that nice,”

as you quickly slide him under the bed

or store him in a dark closet

thinking that someday you’ll find a place to put him.

 

Christ is a gift that you can’t

pack away neatly in a box,

bringing him out for special holidays

like Christmas or Easter.

There isn’t a place in the house

where you can put him and leave him;

this gift is always at your side.

 

The gift of Christ

is one of those noisy Christmas gifts,

whispering in the night,

crying out during the day at unexpected times.

“Do you love me?” he whispers

“Feed my sheep!”  he cries.

 

Where do you put this gift?

In your heart. In your mind. In your soul.

Pretty soon this gift has taken over your life.

“I had no idea how time consuming this gift would be,” you’ll say,

and sometimes you’ll wonder
about the “No return” policy.

 

But mostly, you will fall in love with the gift of Christ.

You will lose yourself in this gift.

You will find yourself in this gift.

About this gift, you will say,

from the deepest part of your soul,

“Thank you…this is just what I always wanted.”