GRACE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Loving God & Our Neighbors in the Heart of the City

December 24, 2012 Christmas Eve Service

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

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.
- Isaiah 9:2 (NRSV)

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
- Luke 2:9-11

If New Testament Christianity is to reappear today with its power and joy and courage, men must recapture the basic conviction that this is a Visited Planet. It is not enough to express formal belief in the "Incarnation" or in the "Divinity of Christ"; the staggering truth must be accepted afresh that in this vast, mysterious Universe, of which we are an almost infinitesimal part, the great Mystery, Whom we call God, has visited our planet in Person. It is from this conviction that there springs unconquerable certainty and unquenchable faith and hope. It is not enough to believe theoretically that Jesus was both God and Man; not enough to admire, respect, and even worship Him; it is not even enough to try to follow Him. The reason for the insufficiency of these things is that the modern intelligent mind, which has had its horizons widened in dozens of different ways, has got to be shocked afresh by the audacious central Fact that, as a sober matter of history, God became one of us.
- J. B. Phillips, New Testament Christianity (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1956), 29.

A SERVICE OF WORSHIP
December 24, 2012 Christmas Eve 5:00 p.m.

WE GATHER TO GLORIFY GOD

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS PRELUDE Of the Fathers Love Begotten
Please stand for these parts of the service.

Wilber Held

(b. 1914)

OPENING PRAYER

Cherry and Jack Corley

This night, O LORD, we give You praise, honor, and glory, that You did humble Yourself, casting off all raiment of divine power and might, that You might take on the rude garment of our mortal flesh and be born among us. No servant is greater than his master, said Christ; neither shall we seek to be any greater than You, a peasant child. You are our light and our salvation, O God: let all the earth worship You in holiness. Alleluia! Amen.

CAROLS

(The text of all carols this evening are printed in the bulletin.) O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.

Angels, from the realms of glory, Wing your flight oer all the earth; Ye who sang creations story Now proclaim Messiahs birth: Come and worship, Come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King!

The first Nowell the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds In fields as they; In fields where they lay a-keeping their sheep, On a cold winters night that was so deep. Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Born is the King of Israel.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Lord Jesus, Emmanuel, Our hope and our salvation, We confess that we have sinned against You and against neighbor in thought, word, and deed. We have grown callous to the message of Your coming; We have not expected Your appearance; We have not prepared our hearts to receive You, But we have sought first to satisfy our own appetites, Rather than seek and watch for Your coming Kingdom. Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ, have mercy upon us; Lord, have mercy upon us. Forgive us our sins; Chastise our hearts; And lead us to effectual repentance, That we may awake to the glory, the majesty, and the promise of Your coming, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice; to love and serve You and our neighbor with the humility of the Christ child, Emmanuel; in whose holy Name we pray. Amen. ASSURANCE OF PARDON

RESPONSE Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing oer the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo; Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Gloria

WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD

OFFERING SOLO The Virgins Slumber Song (Maria Wiegenlied)
Savannah Berry, soprano Amid the roses Mary sits and rocks her Jesus-child, While amid the treetops sighs the breeze so warm and mild. And soft and sweetly sings a bird upon the bough: Ah, baby, dear one, slumber now! Happy is Thy laughter, holy is Thy silent rest, Lay Thy head in slumber, fondly on Thy Mothers breast. Ah, baby, dear one, slumber now!
- words by Martin Boelitz, English version by Ed Teschemacher

Max Reger

(1873-1916)

DOXOLOGY

Greensleeves

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, one and all, to own Him. The King of kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him. This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing; Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary! PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

WE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 9:2-7 Holy Bible, p. 607 OT

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Psalm 96:1-4, 9-13

Howard Hughes

Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the whole earth. Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples. for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. (refrain) Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Tell it out among the nations: The Lord is King! He has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. (refrain)

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, when he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth. (refrain)

Today Is Born, music by Howard Hughes 1976 by GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A-715262.

GOSPEL READING

Luke 2:1-20

Holy Bible, p. 58 NT

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. SERMON Be Not Afraid Brint Pratt Keyes

CAROL Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Joyful, all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies; With thangelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.

Mendelssohn Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the Everlasting Lord! Late in time behold Him come To the earth from heavens home; Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail thincarnate Deity, Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Heidelberg Catechism

Pastor: What is your only comfort, in life and in death? People: That I belong - body and soul, in life and in death - not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of His own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of evil; that He protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit His purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. SOLO O Holy Night Adolphe Adam

John Tyndall, baritone

(1803-1856)

PASTORAL PRAYER AND THE LORDS 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 and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

WE GO FORTH IN GODS NAME

CAROLS Silent night! holy night! All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin Mother and Child; Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night! holy night! Wondrous Star, lend thy light; With the angels let us sing, Alleluia to our King; Christ the Saviour is born, Christ the Saviour is born. Stille Nacht and Antioch Joy to the world! the Lord is come: Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven, and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and heaven and nature sing. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders, of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders of His love.

BENEDICTION POSTLUDE In dulci jubilo Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750)