Christmas Eve Liturgy

Christmas Eve
+ please stand where indicated with a +


WE GATHER TOGETHER

+ Processional Hymn: O Come All Ye Faithful (#175: 1,2)

+ Prayer of Confession
ALL: God of Love, all year long we pursue power and money, yet you came in weakness. All season long we covet grand material gifts, when you alone offer what is lasting. Through the work of this Lord Jesus, who comes among us full of grace and truth, forgive us, heal us, correct us. Then open our lips, that we may sing your praise with the angels, and remake our lives, that we may witness to your transforming love. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Absolution, Welcome & Call to Worship (Ps 96)
Pastor: Sing a new song to the Lord!
People: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Pastor: Sing to the Lord & praise his name.
People: Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
Pastor: Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
People: Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Pastor: Great is the Lord!
People: He is worthy of praise!
Pastor: O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
People: Recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Pastor: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
People: Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Pastor: Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
People: Let the seas and everything in them shout his praise!
Pastor: Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
People: Let the trees of the forest rustles with praise.
Pastor: Sing a new song to the Lord!
People: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

+ Prayer of Invocation

+ Hymn of Praise: Away In A Manger (#176: 1,2,3)


GOD SPEAKS TO US

Prayer of Illumination

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 9.2-7

Gospel Reading: The Christmas Story

Anthem: Silent Night! Holy Night! (#171: 1,2,3,4)

Epistle Reading: Titus 2.11-14

A Christmas Meditation



WE RESPOND TO GOD

+ Affirmation of Faith: The Nicene Creed (#14)

+ Responsive Hymn O Holy Night! (#183: 1,2,3)

+ Prayer of the People
All: Almighty God, you make us glad with the yearly festival of the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, the light of the world; grant that we, who have known the revelation of that light on earth, may see the radiance of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever.
Pastor: [prays a prayer on behalf of the people]
All: The Lord’s Prayer

Eucharistic Hymn: O Little Town of Bethlehem (#169: 1,2,3,4)

Holy Communion
Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People: It is right for us to give him thanks and praise.

Celebrant: [prays a prayer of thanksgiving concluding with] … Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whole of creation to proclaim the glory of your name.
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.


Celebrant: [prays a prayer of praise concluding with] … Therefore, according to his command O Father,
All: We remember his death. We proclaim his resurrection. We look forward to his coming again.

(After the prayer of consecration the participants will come forward to receive)

Celebrant: Let us pray.

All: Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you for your feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ who is born unto us this day; and for assuring us that we are living members of His body. And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of the birth of our Lord. To him, to you and to the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever, Amen.


WE ARE SENT INTO THE WORLD

+ Sending
Pastor: Go now into God’s world as God’s holy people … that the whole world might join us in:
People: Bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; Sharing salvation from the cross of the Son; Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit; Giving his gifts so his work can be done.

+ Blessing

+ Recessional Hymn: Go Tell It On The Mountain (#181: 1,2,3)

Book Meme

Okay, I've been "tagged" with "book meme" by Todd Stepp @ wesleyananglican.blogspot.com . - According to what his blog says, this is the way the game works:

I am supposed to:
1.) Pick up the nearest book. - That happens to be The Westminster Dictionary of Worship

2.) Turn to page 123

3.) Find the fifth sentence, and

4.) Post the three sentences afterward.

Here we go... from the entry "Cathedra"

"This is undoubtedly the oldest insignia of a bishop's authority, and many centuries before bishops assumed the wearing of mitres, rings or even the carrying of pastoral staves and croziers, they were enseated in their throne or cathedra on the day of their consecration to the episcopate as the sing that they were invested with the authority to preside over the church in their diocese. Thus the writer of the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions says: "And early in the morning let him be placed in this throne in a place set apart for him among the bishops, they all giving him the kiss in the Lord." In the earlier centruies the bishop's throne was normally placed in the centre of the apse behind the altar; on either side there were lesser seats for his presbyters."


Now I must tag 5 more people, so I am tagging: Evan/Julia, Kevin P, Adam F, and Amy Williams (Yes, I know that's only 4, but its all I have that haven't already been tagged).

SEARS PORTRAIT STUDIOS

To whom it may concern:

I would like to express concern regarding my past two experiences at Sears Portrait Studios. Both times we have been very rushed by the photographer. There was a lets just get a few shots and be done because I have other customers waiting or because "I have to go get my kids off the school bus and you are making me late" attitude. This is not appreciated.

Second, the quality of the photographs and the artistry/creativity of the photographer is of poor quality. We have had baby pictures done there and each time we have had the same white sheet background pushed on us. In two of the sessions we had the blue with moons and stars. This time I specifically requested not to use either of those and was told, "If you didn't dress your baby in the same clothes every time we might be able to do other backgrounds." Then we were give the same boring white background again!

Finally, I have a serious problem with the pricing. When we had our child we bought one of the supersaver (buy one get one free cards). When we did our child's 6 month pictures we bought 8 sheets. 4 we paid for, 4 were free. The ones we paid for were $8 per sheet making our total $32 plus tax. Today, we bought the exact same thing and was told it was $60 plus tax because $8 is a "standing coupon" price not the "regular price." The regular price is $15 per sheet which is what we were charged. So our total, with the coupon was $60 plus tax. If we had not used the coupon it would have been $64 plus tax. BIG SAVINGS!!! THANKS! If this is your policy you ought to be ashamed. Why did this time cost double the last time.

I am very disappointed in the customer service I receive, the quality of the product I receive, and the integrity of the pricing. I have very serious doubts if I will ever return to Sears Portrait Studios and would appreciate a response and explanation.

O, one other thing. When I paid I asked about the info so I can view the pics online. I was told they could not provide me with that information because they were "too busy." I was told if I wanted it I would have to call back in a couple hours. It is not my responsibility to take my time and call back to get my info. It is the cashiers responsibility to provide me with that information.

I am not usually a complainer and it bothers me that Sears would accept this type of customer service. I will be awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

Eric E Frey

Revisiting The Best Book I've Every Read

Stone, Bryan. Evangelism After Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007). 318 pages.

In a world where results are everything, where the all-important question is, “What have you done for me lately”? and where success is measured by statistical data (not to mention future employment opportunities), Stone, in this landmark work, prophetically reminds the church that it is faithfulness and obedience that measure Christian success, not numbers. He reminds us that even Christ, who is himself the Good News to which we as His church bear witness, left the world with but a handful of faithful followers. Stone carefully explores the place of evangelism with "The Politics of Jesus" (He is very much shaped by the works of John Howard Yoder), and calls us to think deeply and reflect carefully on what it means to “bear faithful witness” in a broken, conflicted and violent world.

“I consider it folly to continue down one of the two now standard paths evangelism has taken within modernity. The first is preoccupied with establishing the intellectual respectability of the gospel in terms of purportedly wider or more universal criteria for what counts as truth and plausibility. The second busies itself with demonstrating the practical value and usefulness of Christian faith for persons in a society that determines value by the logic of the marketplace and measures usefulness by service to the nation, the economy, or the private well-being of individual egos. On the contrary, it is from the margins – epistemologically, culturally, politically, economically, and spiritually – that a fragmented, post-Christendom culture will have to be evangelized” (11).

“Evangelism from the margins, then, requires no prior foundations in either human experience or reason that would somehow shore up the relevance, truth, power, or beauty of its gospel. It does, however, require a people that has been made into the temple of God in which the Spirit dwells, built upon the church’s only secure foundation, Jesus Christ” (12).

“Evangelism will have to be understood, not as an adventure in “winning friends and influencing people’ but as a fundamentally subversive activity, born out of a posture of eccentricity … and out of the cultivation of such deviant practices as sharing bread with the poor, loving enemies, refusing violence, forgiving sins, and telling the truth” (13).

In order to build his case, Stone first defines evangelism as one of a handful of “core church practices.” He follows Reinhold Hutter in understanding a practice to be a thing that is “constitutive of this praxis – for example, proclamation of the gospel, commemoration of the law, celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and baptism” (25).” Therefore, as a practice, evangelism is something that the church does because it is the church, but also it is something that defines the church as the church.

Further explanation of evangelism as “a practice” follows from Alasdair MacIntyre’s work, highlighting four characteristics of a practice. First, “[T]he goods that are realized in carrying out a practice are ‘internal’ to that practice” (30)… or, “a means internal to a given end when the end cannot be adequately characterized independently of a characterization of the means” (31). Second, “Just as the goods realized in a practice are internal to that practice, so it is with the standards of excellence by which we judge a practice. In other words, the criteria for doing well in a practice are determined largely by the practice itself and, indeed, are ‘partially definitive’ of a practice” (34). Third, a practice is, “a ‘socially established’ and ‘cooperative’ human activity” (35). Lastly, a practice “may be ‘systematically extended’” (36).

Stone shores up this foundation by examining the narratives available to the world. He begins by articulating the narrative of Christianity, retracing the story of the people of God and its central defining characteristic of shalom (peace) from its calling forth as God’s people, to the life and teaching of Christ, all the way through the Apostolic witness in the beginning of the church. He then sketches the rival narratives that would have one align one’s life according to their values (Constantinianism and Modernity).

Building on this foundation, Stone then moves to a second important contribution. He redefines salvation from a private, spiritual ascent of the will, to a corporate, wholistic, realignment of allegiance. Conversion, therefore, “is not primarily a matter of deciding in favor of certain beliefs or having certain experiences. It is rather a change of worlds, participation in a new worship, and a journeying toward a news city. The practice of evangelism always hopes for such a conversion and seeks to actively nourish it. But where the evangelist is tempted to become impatient with the inefficiency of obedience and worship when more ‘efficient’ means are readily available such as manipulation, accommodation, and imposition, we are reminded that evangelism is ultimately an activity of the Holy Spirit and is not subject to our own calculus of effectiveness and ‘return on investment.’ Evangelism, then … is not primarily a matter of translating our beliefs about the world into categories that others will find acceptable. It is a matter of being present in the world in a distinctive way such that the alluring and ‘useless’ beauty of holiness can be touched, tasted and tried” (21).

As such, ecclesiology is front and center in Stone’s theology. The church is the community, through its worship, economics, hospitality, and pacifisity that bears witness to the “peacable reign of God.” It is by joining the community and thereby uniting oneself with the people of God to be shaped and formed into the holy people of God that conversion takes place.

Evangelism, therefore, is not the programs and ministries a church does, but is rather the values and virtues embraced and embodied by the church. These Stone lists as four. Authentic Christian witness must be present, patient, courageous and humble. He explains and illustrates these cardinal virtues in the story of the El Salvadoran civil war c. 1980, and more particularly the martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero, it produced. For, “Martyrs rather than the pastors of megachurches might now become our evangelistic exemplars, and the ‘excellence’ of evangelistic practice’ will be measurable not by numbers but rather by obedience to a crucified God” (18).”

Stone concludes, “The practice of evangelism is a complex and multilayered process – a context of multiple activities that invite, herald, welcome, and provoke and that has at its end the peaceable reign of God and the social holiness by which persons are oriented toward that reign. As the end of evangelistic practice, the reign of God is not external to evangelistic practice, but internal to it in the form of the politics by which that practice is carried out, a politics that is formed by a distinctive story and sustained by distinctive virtues… To practice evangelism faithfully and with excellence, then, is to practice it from within this politics, to play by the rules of this politics… ‘One who flouts them is to be thought of not as naughty or nasty, but simply as disengaged from the practice in question’” (316).

Stone throws down the gauntlet. Much of what passes for evangelism in today’s market driven church, simply and quite frankly, is not. If we are to understand who we are as the people of God – if we are to understand our work of evangelism – it must begin with the careful reading of and thoughtful reflection on this monumental work. We must be willing to engage in the conversation Stone has thankfully started. We must be willing to rethink who we are and what we do. We must be willing to fully align ourselves with God's peaceable reign.

I cannot recommend this book enough. All that said, I do offer some words of caution. This is a theological masterpiece. It is no easy read. Before deciding to tackle the book, I would highly recommend reading the introduction and the conclusion. There you will get the boiled down skeleton of Stone’s argument. If you have difficulty with those portions, understand the rest is much more difficult. If, however, you were enthralled and unintimidated by the first and last, I invite you to open the door to one of the most important conversations you will ever have.

God bless, and good reading.