worship kit unto you - creative communications...week 4 we celebrate that it is the firstborn son of...

NT6

A Series of Special Services for Advent and Christmas

Unto YOU

WORSHIP KIT

Creative

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Creative

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WORSHIP KIT

A Series of Special Services for Advent and Christmas

Unto YOUCreative

Communications

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4 NT6

A Series of Special Services for Advent and

Christmas

Unto YOU

By Carol Geisler. Cover image: istock. © 2019 Creative Communications for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325-9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Purchase of this kit gives the purchaser the copyright release to use the material in any format for use in worship.

IndexAbout the Series ...................................................................................................................5

Newsletter/Bulletin Notices ......................................................................................... 6-11

Week 1 ........................................................................................................................... 12-34

Week 2 ........................................................................................................................... 35-57

Week 3 ...........................................................................................................................58-80

Week 4 ..........................................................................................................................81-101

Christmas Eve .......................................................................................................... 102-128

Christmas Day ......................................................................................................... 129-153

Music Guide ............................................................................................................. 154-218

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Christmas

Unto YOU

About the SeriesThis series of worship services for the Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

walks through the key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. We remember in this series that we are registered as children of God, we are part of God’s lineage, we have great joy because of God’s firstborn Son and we find glory and good news in the Christ

Child.

The CD includes a .pdf of the entire services, text of the orders of service, prayers, sermons, children’s sermons, newsletter/bulletin notices and hymns in .rtf (rich text format), a list of contemporary music song suggestions and PowerPoint documents of the services (with a

copyright release) for use on screens.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 1: Registered

Newsletter NoticeJoin us for our Advent worship series, Unto You, as we walk through the key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. Each week will focus on a different word from the reading that highlights what happened then and how that word applies to our lives today. In

Week 1 we celebrate that we are registered as children of God through Christ.

Bulletin NoticeWelcome to our Advent worship series, Unto You. Each week in this series focuses on a different word as we walk through the key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each

one of us. In our worship for today we celebrate that we are registered as children of God through Christ.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 2: Lineage


Week 2 we celebrate that we are part of God’s lineage through Christ.


one of us. In our worship for today we celebrate that we are part of God’s lineage through Christ.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 3: Great Joy


Week 3 we celebrate that we have great joy because of Christ.


one of us. In our worship for today we celebrate that we have great joy because of Christ.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 4: Firstborn


Week 4 we celebrate that it is the firstborn Son of God who was born for us.


one of us. In our worship for today we celebrate that it is the firstborn Son of God who was born for us.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Christmas Eve: Glory

Newsletter NoticeJoin us for our Christmas Eve service in our Unto You worship series, as we walk through the key

verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. On this holy night, we celebrate and sing along with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest,” for the birth of our Savior

among us.

Bulletin NoticeWelcome to our Christmas Eve service in our Unto You worship series, as we walk through the

key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. On this holy night, we celebrate and sing along with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest,” for the birth of our Savior

among us.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Christmas Day: Good News

Newsletter NoticeJoin us for our Christmas Day service in our Unto You worship series, as we walk through the

key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. On this blessed day, we celebrate the good news that the Baby Jesus has arrived.

Bulletin NoticeWelcome to our Christmas Day service in our Unto You worship series, as we walk through the key verses of Luke 2 that remind us that Christ has come to each one of us. On this blessed day,

we celebrate the good news that the Baby Jesus has arrived.

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 2: Lineage

IndexOrder of Service ...........................................................................................................36-40

Complete Script for Worship Leaders ....................................................................... 41-49

Scripture Readings ...................................................................................................... 50-51

Children’s Message ...................................................................................................... 52-53

Sermon ..........................................................................................................................54-56

Prayers .................................................................................................................................57

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Christmas

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Week 2: Lineage

Order of ServiceJoseph … was of the house and lineage of David. Luke 2:4

Opening Hymn ..........................................................................................................Nun Danket All CM

This is the day the Lord has made; He calls the hours his own.

Let heav’n rejoice, let earth be glad And praise surround the throne.

Hosanna to the anointed King, To David’s holy Son!

Help us, O Lord; descend and bring Salvation from your throne.

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Hosanna in the highest strains The Church on earth can raise.

The highest heav’ns, in which he reigns, Shall give him nobler praise.

Invocation and Lighting of the Advent Wreath (Psalm 89:34-37)

P In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

P We light the first two candles on our Advent wreath as we remember the royal lineage of Jesus our Savior, the promised Son of David.

C Through faith in Jesus our Lord, we too have a royal lineage, as sons and daughters in the family of God.

P “I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

C Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.

P His offspring shall endure forever,

C His throne as long as the sun before me.

P Like the moon it shall be established forever,

C A faithful witness in the skies.”

Confession and Absolution

P Let us confess our sins to God and ask his forgiveness.

C Almighty God, although you have adopted us as your royal children, we often turn away from your will for us to follow our own sinful paths. We have sinned against you in our thoughts, words and actions. Have mercy on us and forgive our sins.

P God has had mercy on us and sent his Son to be our Savior. Jesus, the promised Son of David, suffered the penalty of death for our sins. He rose up in triumph over death on the third day to win for us forgiveness and life. I announce to you that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

C The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Prayer of the Day

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The Apostles’ Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Hymn ....................................................................................................................................St. Thomas SM

The advent of our King Our prayers must now employ,

And we must hymns of welcome sing In strains of holy joy.

The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be,

Himself a servant’s form puts on To set his servants free.

Children’s Message

Hymn ....................................................................................................................................St. Thomas SM

O Zion’s daughter, rise To meet your lowly King,

Nor let your faithless heart despise The peace he comes to bring.

All glory to the Son, Who comes to set us free,

With Father, Spirit, ever one Through all eternity.

Old Testament Reading ........................................................................................... 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-16

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Epistle Reading ................................................................................................................... Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel Reading .................................................................................................................Matthew 1:18-23

Sermon Hymn ......................................................Meinen Jesum Lass Ich Nicht (Darmstadt) 78 78 77

Come, thou precious Ransom, come, Only hope for sinful mortals! Come, O Savior of the world! Open are to thee all portals. Come, thy beauty let us see; Anxiously we wait for thee.

Enter now my waiting heart, Glorious King and Lord most holy.

Dwell in me and ne’er depart, Though I am but poor and lowly.

Ah, what riches will be mine When thou art my guest divine!

Sermon

Hymn of Response ...............................................Meinen Jesum Lass Ich Nicht (Darmstadt) 78 78 77

My hosannas and my palms Graciously receive, I pray thee;

Evermore, as best I can. Savior, I will homage pay thee,

And in faith I will embrace, Lord, thy merit through thy grace.

Hail! Hosanna, David’s Son! Jesus, hear our supplication!

Let thy kingdom, scepter, crown, Bring us blessing and salvation,

That forever we may sing: Hail! Hosanna to our King.

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Lord’s Prayer

Benediction (Galatians 4:4-5; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

P “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,

C Born of woman, born under the law,

P To redeem those who were under the law,

C So that we might receive adoption as sons.”

P The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

C Amen.

Closing Hymn .................................................................................................................. Consolation CM

The King shall come when morning dawns And light triumphant breaks,

When beauty gilds the eastern hills And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child, To bear and fight and die,

But crowned with glory like the sun That lights the morning sky.

The King shall come when morning dawns And light and beauty brings.

Hail, Christ the Lord! Your people pray: Come quickly, King of kings!

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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 2: Lineage

Complete Script for Worship Leaders• If desired, an Environmental Projection is shown on a screen or on the walls

of your worship space to set the tone for the service before the service begins or throughout the service at various points:

https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/bethlehem-gm165678991-10717179

• This Theme Verse can be read by the pastor alone or in unison with the congregation at the start of the service, or can be read silently by the congregation before the service begins:

Joseph … was of the house and lineage of David. Luke 2:4

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• The Opening Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Nun Danket All CM:




Help us, O Lord; descend and bring Salvation from your throne,



• The Invocation and Lighting of the Advent Wreath (Psalm 89:34-37) is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

P We light the first two candles on our Advent wreath as we remember the royal lineage of Jesus our Savior, the promised Son of David.

C Through faith in Jesus our Lord, we too have a royal lineage, as sons and daughters in the family of God.

P “I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

C Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.

P His offspring shall endure forever,

C His throne as long as the sun before me.

P Like the moon it shall be established forever,

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C A faithful witness in the skies.”

• The Confession and Absolution is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P Let us confess our sins to God and ask his forgiveness.

C Almighty God, although you have adopted us as your royal children, we often turn away from your will for us to follow our own sinful paths. We have sinned against you in our thoughts, words and actions. Have mercy on us and forgive our sins.

P God has had mercy on us and sent his Son to be our Savior. Jesus, the promised Son of David, suffered the penalty of death for our sins. He rose up in triumph over death on the third day to win for us forgiveness and life. I announce to you that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

C The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

• The Prayer of the Day is read by the pastor:

P Heavenly Father, when the time was right, you sent your Son, born of a woman, into the world. He came to be our Redeemer, and through faith in his name we are adopted as your children. As Jesus our Lord was born of the royal lineage of King David, we too now have a royal lineage as your sons and daughters. In Christ Jesus, you have called us to be your chosen, royal, holy people, a people to declare the wonders of your majesty and love. As we gather today to worship you, hear our prayers and accept our praise in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

• The Apostles’ Creed is read in unison by the congregation:

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

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• The Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune St. Thomas SM:

The advent of our King Our prayers must now employ,

And we must hymns of welcome sing In strains of holy joy.

The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be,

Himself a servant’s form puts on To set his servants free.

• The Children’s Message is delivered by the pastor or other worship leader:

Needed: photo album or family pictures

P I brought some pictures to show you. These are photographs of my parents and grandparents. We like to look at family pictures and learn more about our families. All of the people in our family, the children and parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, are sometimes called our family tree.

Jesus had a family tree too. We don’t have any pictures of his family, but the Bible tells us some of their names. Many of them are people you may have heard about in Bible stories. Maybe you know stories about these people from Jesus’ family tree—Abraham and Isaac, David, who killed the giant Goliath, and David’s son Solomon, who was famous for his riches and his wisdom. Another person from Jesus’ family tree is Ruth, who has a whole book of the Bible to tell her story.

Those people, and many others, were part of Jesus’ family tree, his grandparents and great- grandparents and great-great-grandparents. Jesus is God’s Son and he was born into that family so that he could grow up to save us by dying on the cross to take away our sins. Jesus died for you and for me so that we could become a part of an even bigger family. Because we believe in Jesus, we are part of God’s family. We are the sons and daughters of God and we are brothers and sisters with each other, with everyone here today and with people all around the world who believe in Jesus. We are in the family of God and it is a big family! Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be our Savior so that we can be a part of your family. Amen.

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• The Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune St. Thomas SM:

O Zion’s daughter, rise To meet your lowly King,

Nor let your faithless heart despise The peace he comes to bring.

All glory to the Son, Who comes to set us free,

With Father, Spirit, ever one Through all eternity.

• The Old Testament Reading, 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-16, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader:

P That same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David … When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”

• The Epistle Reading, Galatians 4:4-7, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader:

P But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

• The Gospel Reading, Matthew 1:18-23, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader:

P Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the

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Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

• The Sermon Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Meinen Jesum Lass Ich Nicht (Darmstadt) 78 78 77:

Come, thou precious Ransom, come, Only hope for sinful mortals! Come, O Savior of the world! Open are to thee all portals. Come, thy beauty let us see; Anxiously we wait for thee.

Enter now my waiting heart, Glorious King and Lord most holy.

Dwell in me and ne’er depart, Though I am but poor and lowly.

Ah, what riches will be mine When thou art my guest divine!

• The Sermon, “Royal Lineage,” is delivered by the pastor:

P Are you curious about your family background? Perhaps you know, or maybe you have wondered, where your great-great-great-grandparents lived. What did they do for a living? Did they move from place to place or did the family live in one area for generations? Have you spent time going through old family photographs or have you done research on family heirlooms? Maybe you have looked around on ancestry.com or considered DNA testing to search for the distant roots of your family tree.

Jesus, whose birth we will soon celebrate, very likely grew up learning all about his human family tree. His earthly, adopted father Joseph was, as we hear in the Christmas story, “of the house and lineage of David.” Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, the promised Son of David who would rule his people as Shepherd and King.

People who knew Jesus knew of his family tree, but not everyone accepted him as the promised Savior. The people of his own hometown of Nazareth were at first proud of their hometown hero, asking, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” But they rejected Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah and Son of God. Some people questioned Jesus’ claims: “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42). Many people then, as now, readily accepted Jesus’ human ancestry, but not his claim that God was his Father.

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We know and believe that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be—the Son of God. We know, too, that Jesus was of royal human lineage. There were many kings in his family tree. We might not be surprised to see that the Savior had a proud human lineage, a noble ancestry. Yet, with the exception of Jesus himself, the Lord’s family tree was like ours—composed of sinners and sometimes some less than sterling characters: Judah and Tamar, who were guilty of incest; Rahab, a prostitute who married an Israelite and became the great-grandmother of King David; David himself, a great king, but also guilty of adultery and murder. Yet to save sinners, Jesus, the Son of God, was born into a family line of sinners. Scripture tells us, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus was born among sinners, as we are, but he was born without sin. The sinless Son of God became one of us to redeem us.

Now, even if you were not born into a royal family line, you may be rightly proud of your ancestry. Perhaps you have people in your family background who were important leaders in their communities or you may have relatives who served their country in the armed forces. But there might be a few branches on the family tree that do not inspire quite so much pride—maybe an eccentric aunt or uncle or a cousin who got involved in some shady business deals. We all share a proud lineage, as human beings designed by our Creator and made in his own image. Yet we have a humble and humbling lineage too, as descendants of our first parents, Adam and Eve. We have inherited from them the stain of sin, like an inborn disease passed down through the generations. It is our condition before God. We are sinners and we sin daily in our thoughts, words and actions, as we rebel—like our first parents did—against the will of our God and Creator. We know what God wants of us, but we turn from him to follow our own sinful desires. We turn from listening to God’s Word and listen instead to the temptations of the world. We have earned for ourselves the penalty for sin first decreed in Eden—death and separation from God for all eternity.

Yet God our Creator does not leave us in that condition. He sent his Son to be born among us, Jesus, the descendant of David, the son of Mary. The sinless Son of God was born among us—born among sinners—to take our sins onto himself, suffering and dying on the cross, suffering the penalty of death that we earned for ourselves. He rose from the dead on the third day, and now in him we are created anew, clothed in his holiness, his righteousness. In Christ, our standing before God has been transformed from sinner to saint. We are members now of the household of God, sons and daughters of the King, brothers and sisters to the Son of God. As Scripture tells us, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6). Jesus was of “the house and lineage of David,” and now we, by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, are members of the household of God. We have a family, and we have a home, an eternal home. Amen.

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Tune .............................................................................................................................Nun Danket All CM

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• The Opening Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Nun Danket All CM:




Help us, O Lord; descend and bring Salvation from your throne.



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Christmas

Unto YOU

Week 2: Lineage

Contemporary Music Song Suggestions• The following song suggestions can be used for a more contemporary worship

service in place of the more traditional hymns included in this kit. Rights to use these songs in the service must be purchased by your parish through CCLI or other copyright licensing agencies.

“Baby Boy” by Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone and seth Mosley

“A Baby Changes Everything” by Craig Wiseman, Kimberly K. Wiseman and Tim Nichols

“In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

“Immanuel” by Stuart Townend

“God With Us” by Jason Ingram and Leslie Jordan

“Jesus Only Jesus” by Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman, Nathan Nockels and Tony Wood

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Aaron Shust and Paul Baloche

“Emmanuel God With Us” by Christy Nichols and Nathan Nickols

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worship kit unto you - creative communications...week 4 we celebrate that it is the firstborn son of...

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