God, you come to us and meet us in the strangest ways: sometimes in the stillness at the eye of the storm or in the midnight of our lives; sometimes in the raging whirlwind or in the high noon of our ...
Pastor: On this holy night we come to worship and adore the One we have been waiting for – Christ the Lord! As we prepare to hear once again the story of that first Christmas, let us come to the light...
Luke 2:19, John 1:14, Matthew 2:9-11, Luke 2:8-12, Matthew 2:1-2, Luke 2:6-7
An angel came to me And I was unprepared To be what God was using. Mother I was to be A moment I despaired, Thought briefly of refusing. The angel knew I heard According to God’s word, ...
How do we prepare for Jesus? Where is Jesus when the waiting hurts? Where is Jesus when our needs are great? Where is Jesus when life turns upside down? The real answer to those questions is offered ...
As we've been progressing through Advent, we've been asking: How do we prepare for Jesus? Where is Jesus when the waiting hurts? Where is Jesus when our needs are great? Where is Jesus when li...
Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1-15, Romans 8:14-16, Acts 1:8
Pastor: As the shepherds told everyone what had happened in Bethlehem on that first Christmas, we declare what we know and believe about God. People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,...
'Twas just two days before Christmas and the reverend was stressing. There's a sermon to write and prayers of confessing... If that's you—we see you. You're definitely not alone, and...
Luke 2:22-35, Romans 8:14-16, John 14:26, Acts 1:8, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14
Leader: Today, we declare what we know and believe about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the words of a special creed, known as the Christmas Creed. People: I believe in God, the Fat...
The wise men were experts in the movement of the stars and signs in the heavens. Their inquiry thrusts the provincial village into a cosmic concern. It is not the scientific data they are searching ou...
Luke 1:18-25, Galatians 4:4-6, Luke 2:1-20, Philippians 4:7, Romans 5:1, Micah 5:2, John 1:14
Pastor: Gracious God, with joy and thanksgiving we gather as Your people to ponder anew the timeless story of Christ’s birth. For at just the right time, You worked in the most unlikely ways to fulf...
Confusion about Epiphany The celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord can be at once both wholly familiar or somewhat confusing, especially for those who grew up in less liturgical traditions. What ca...
One of our troubles, is that we have romanticized and sentimentalized the stable and the manger…We see them through the warm glow of our comfortable homes, our candles and our well-fed bodies....Perha...
Luke 2:8-14, Luke 2:1-7, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:46-55, Micah 5:2, John 1:14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:25-38, John 10:10-11
Late on a sleepy, star-spangled night, those angels peeled back the sky just like you would tear open a sparkling Christmas present. Then, with light and joy pouring out of Heaven like water through a...
Pastor: Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born; People: He is Christ the Lord! Luke 2:11 Pastor: Let us go from this place proclaiming that we have seen the glory of G...
Luke 1:32-33, Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 139:13-14, Luke 2:9, Matthew 2:11
The angel said there would be no end to his kingdom. So for three hundred days I carried rivers and cedars and mountains. Stars spilled in my belly when he turned. Now I can’t stop touching hi...
Every year at Christmastime, the world looks back two thousand years to the birth of a baby. But for more than four thousand years, people living on the other side of that birth looked forward to the ...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In contrast to Luke...
Luke 1:30-33, Isaiah 7:14, Hebrews 2:14-15, Luke 1:38, Luke 2:19
And when she, birth-giver— her ordinary vision arrowed down between her legs, through pain and straw, to her son’s dark, slime-streaked hair, to his very skin, red with the struggle of being born—she ...
Preaching Commentary Confusion about Epiphany The celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord can be at once both wholly familiar or somewhat confusing, especially for those who grew up in less liturgi...
Sometimes, even if we're "doing everything right," life just turns upside down and we're left scrambling to find our footing. This is one of those stories. In Luke's gospel, ...
Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23, Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:10-11
Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nat...
Isaiah 9:2, John 1:5, Isaiah 9:2b, John 1:14, Isaiah 9:6, John 1:4
Following the lighting of candles, this prayer may be prayed by the congregation. Suitable songs include "Silent Night." Pastor: At just the right time, when all was still, and it was ...
Leader : A righteous branch will spring up from David, a ruler who will bring justice and peace to God’s people. All: We await your peace, O God, according to the promise of your prophets. ...
Malachi 4:2, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:16, Titus 2:11, John 1:16, Isaiah 9:6
Leader: People of God, rejoice! The sun of righteousness has dawned with healing in His wings. To us a Child has been born; to us God’s Son has been given! His eternal reign has broken throug...
AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In...
Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, Luke 2:10-11, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, To be a light to lig...
John 1:14, Luke 2:4-7, Matthew 4:1-2, John 4:6-7, Mark 4:38-39, John 4:6
Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; th...
Lord, you came among us, not in a way we expected, but as a baby. We had great difficulty seeing you in so small a form, so vulnerable an incarnation. Lord, you came to us where we least expected. Yo...
Luke 2:10-11, Psalm 100:2, Luke 2:8-20, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:15-16, Revelation 19:16, Luke 2:8-20, Psalm 95:6, Philippians 2:10-11, Luke 2:25-38, John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:11
Leader: O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, People: O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Leader: Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us ador...