Fourth Sunday of Advent Family Christmas Eve Service
December 24, 2023 | 10:00am
Rev. Jeremy Campbell, Temporary Pastor | Larry J. Carey, Director of Music
Thought for Worship: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” | Martin Luther King Jr
GATHERING
Welcome
Prelude Reflection on “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming” | Carter
Call to Worship
One: Come all you SHEPHERDS: God is doing a new thing.
SHEPHERDS: Let’s go see, the Love which has come down from heaven.
One: Come all you WISE ONES: Let us welcome the Christ!
WISE ONES: Look, A Star! We will follow it’s leading.
One: Come all you Angels, Let us welcome Emmanuel, God with us!
ANGELS: Hallelujah! Christ is Born!
All: Let us worship the living God!
*Hymn of Praise: O Come All Ye Faithful
A is for ANGEL. The ANGEL Gabriel began the story by telling Mary, “Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty. Beautiful inside and out! God be with you…. Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.”
Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-33
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the ANGEL Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever - no end, ever, to his kingdom.”
B is for Bethlehem, where our story takes place. People travelled far and wide to get to Bethlehem, which was not a very big village.
C is for Census, which means an official counting of all the people. The reason so many people came to Bethlehem.
D is for Donkey. A donkey carried the family on their long journey. Mary and Joseph had to travel 94 miles along the Jordan River to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. That’s a pretty long journey.
E is for Exhausted. That’s how everyone must have felt when they arrived. It would take about 36 hours of walking to go that far. That’s three days in a row of doing nothing but walking.
Hymn: O Little Town of Bethlehem
F is for Family. Mary and Joseph and their new baby Jesus created a new family, one that would bless the whole world.
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7
About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
G is for the Good News about to be shared with all the earth. This is what the ANGELS said:
Scripture Reading Luke 2:10-14
"There were SHEPHERDS camping in t h e neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s ANGEL stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. The SHEPHERDS were terrified. The ANGEL said, "Don't be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket lying in a manger."
Hymn Hark the Herald Angels Sing
H is for Hope. Now we light the Advent Candle of Hope. Hope is knowing that good news is coming, even when things look bleak. Jesus is the source of our hope.
I is for Imagine. If we close our eyes and imagine the scene, we can see the beauty and wonder of the ANGELS proclaiming good news to all men and women. We can see the SHEPHERDS, first terrified, but then overcome with joy as they hear the good news. If we try even harder, we can imagine a world where God’s peace reigns, where there is no war or hunger. And if we can imagine it, we can do it with God’s help.
J is for Joy. Now we light the Advent candle of Joy. Joy is a kind of happiness that comes from God. It cannot be dampened, and is always shared. The birth of Jesus gives us joy.
Hymn Joy to the World
K is for King. Though Jesus would be King, he was not the kind of King people were used to. Most kings are born in palaces, surrounded by servants. He was born in a stable, surrounded by dirty, smelly SHEPHERDS. Most kings rule with power and fear. Jesus rules with mercy and love.
L is for Lost. When Jesus grew up he told a lot of stories, and three of them were about lost things that were found. He loved to find lost things, and when you are with Jesus, you will never be lost. He is the good SHEPHERD, who do anything to find his lost sheep.
L is also for Love. Now we light the Advent candle of Love, Jesus summarized his ministry by saying “Love God…” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
M is for Manger. A manger is usually used to hold food for animals, but this time it held the baby because he had no crib.
Hymn Away in A Manger
N is for Noel. Noel is another word for Christmas. It means new birth, and that’s what happened in our story. That’s what happens every year at Christmas time. That’s what happens every time we decide to follow Jesus – he is born anew in us.
O is for Offering. The WISE ONES gave gifts to the baby, and we can offer our gifts every day. We give our time, our talents, and our treasure to God, and pray that as a Church, we are good stewards of all that is entrusted to us. So we share our gifts now.
Offertory Sing to the Holy Child
Prayer of Dedication
* Advent Song of Praise tune (Veni Emmanuel)
Praise Spirit-God, who comes with fire
Praise Jesus Christ, our heart’s desire
Praise Love who comes to seek us all, one God on whom our spirits call.
God comes! God comes! Lift heart and voice.
The Savior comes, let earth rejoice.
P is for Peace. Now we light the Advent candle of peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and is the source of the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding.
Q is for Quiet. We begin a time of prayer in quiet, allowing God to speak to us, and joyful when the quiet is broken by small voices.
R is for Revealed. Revealed means “showing us something that was once hidden.” God revealed to us what love looks like by giving us Jesus. Jesus is love, and reveals to us the way to love one another.
S is for Star. One special star guided WISE ONES to come to see the baby. They were mysterious, and they lived far away, but they brought gifts to Jesus because they knew that he would grow up to be a King.
Scripture Reading Matthew 2:9-11
Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
T is for Table. When Jesus grew up he invited all to his table. He gave his friends bread and wine, and told them to remember him always. When we gather at the Lord’s Table today, we call it Communion because we come together. So at this table, we also remember the next letter:
U is for Unity. Communion is a time when all people can come together and be one. Just as many grains come together to form one bread. We, who are many people, come together to be one body of Christ.
Communion Liturgy
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
For it is holy and right to do so!
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
Hymn Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
V is for Vulnerable. Vulnerable means, “able to be hurt.” Every baby is very vulnerable, and so are we when we love one another. God became vulnerable when Jesus was born, and we are called to be vulnerable when we love our brothers and sisters.
W is for Wonder. Like the WISE ONES, we stand in awe and wonder of the newborn King.
X is for Christ. X is the Greek letter Chi, the first letter in the word “Christ.” The X is one of the most ancient symbols of Christianity. People have been using the letter X to stand for Christ for centuries. And now we light the Christ candle, symbolizing the coming of light into the world. Jesus is born.
Y is for You. You ANGELS. You WISE ONES. You SHEPHERDS. You sons and daughters. You mothers and fathers. You friends and strangers. You are all here to worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Z is for Zeal. Let your zeal for Christ burn brightly. As the light from the Christ candle makes its way back imagine how the light would grow in a darkened sanctuary, as bright as the light gets, know that the light of God burns much, much brighter. Though these candles will burn out, the light of God is steadfast, and endures forever.
Lighting the candles
Hymn Silent Night
Charge and Benediction
Postlude Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | arr. Schaffner
DEAR FRIENDS
Welcome to worship here at Peapack Reformed Church! If you are visiting with us, welcome! If you are a member, welcome back! Our mission is to be a congregation called by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world. This mission is the catalyst for all that we do, and is our aim for who we want to be.
If you are visiting with us via Facebook Live and would like more information about our church, send us a message on Facebook or email office@peapackreformed.org and we will be in touch with you. Even under these odd and anxious circumstances, we would love to be your church home. Our virtual doors are always open wide and our hearts are always ready to welcome new faces into our fellowship.
FOOD PANTRY NEWS
Many thanks for all those who have shared their abundance with neighbors in need.
Our church refrigerators have plenty of space to hold even more!
Mark your calendars now to pick up these important items
and bring to church by the dates listed:
Sunday, January 7 - eggs
Sunday, January 14 - gallon(s) whole milk
Sunday, January 21 - eggs
Peapack Reformed Church is a congregation called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.
CALLED • EMPOWERED • COMMITTED