Welcome & Announcements
Liturgy for the Fourth Advent Candle
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…
Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
One who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
—Isaiah 9:2, Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 40:9, Isaiah 60:2, Micah 5:2
Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echo back their joyous strains
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Shepherds, why this jubilee
Why your joyous strains prolong
Say what may the tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
See him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Traditional French carol, Tune GLORIA. Traditional French melody
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in the dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond’ring love
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And peace to men on earth
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still
The dear Christ enters in
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin, and enter in
Be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
Phillips Brooks, Tune St. Louis. Lewis H. Redner, CCLI 241710
Prayer for the People, the City, and the Nations
Gifts
A Confession of Jesus
God remembered his promise to reconcile the world to himself;
he has come among us in Jesus Christ, the eternal Word made flesh.
He is the long-awaited Savior, fully human and fully divine,
conceived by the Spirit of God and born of the virgin Mary.
Being both God and man, Jesus is the only Mediator between God and his people.
He alone paid the debt of our sin; there is no other Savior!
In him the Father chose those whom he would save.
His electing love sustains our hope:
God’s grace is free to save sinners who offer nothing but their need for mercy.
—Our World Belongs to God, st. 24, 28
The First Noel
The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds
In fields as they lay
In fields where they
Lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter’s night
That was so deep
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
This star drew nigh to the northwest
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of naught
And with his blood mankind hath bought
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
Traditional English carol, THE FIRST NOEL, W. Sandy’s “Christmas Carols,
1833; arr. John Stainer
Children Dismissed for Children’s Church
Sermon
“The 80-Mile Journey”
Luke 2:1-6
Prayer of Confession
Holy God and Reconciling King, ‘as a father has compassion on his children,
so you have compassion on those who fear you;
for you know how we are formed, and remember that we are dust.’
Forgive our sins. They are many.
Where we have not loved our neighbors,
where we have been silent and indifferent
to violence, injustice, racism and human suffering,
and where we have failed to see Jesus in those in need,
be merciful and forgive.
Where we have not loved the stranger, the prisoner,
the lost or the marginalized, be merciful and forgive.
Melt our hearts for our broken world,
and turn our indifference into compassion,
until you make heaven and earth one.
Through Jesus. Amen.
The Lord’s Supper
In Christ Alone
In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground his body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again
And as he stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am his and he is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from his hand
‘Til he returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Keith Getty, Stuart Townend © 2001 Thankyou Music CCLI 241710
O Come Let Us Adore Him
O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him
Christ, the Lord
C. Frederick Oakeley | John Francis Wade © Public Domain CCLI 241710
Benediction
chapelgate worship 