Christmas Eve ~ December 24, 2022

Service of Holy Communion ~ 3pm, 7pm, 9pm

Prelude

Announcements

Invocation

Hymn for the End of Advent          O Come, O Come, Emmanuel   (LBW 34)

Apostolic Greeting

Prayer for Culmination of Advent

Almighty and holy Lord, you have fulfilled the promise made to your servant David that his descendant should rule Israel forever by sending your own Son to be born of his line and be seated upon that eternal throne.  May His just and gentle Lordship rule our hearts and minds as we proclaim the wonder of His birth so long ago, through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen

Opening Hymn                                  Oh Come, All Ye Faithful (LBW 45)

Prayer of the Day

O God, you have made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Grant that as we have known on earth the mysteries of that Light, we may also come to the fullness of his joys in heaven; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Children’s Sermon (3:00pm)

1^st Scripture Lesson   Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

2^nd Scripture Lesson   1 John 4:7-16

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation                         Angels We Have Heard On High   (LBW 71)

Gospel   Matthew 1:18-25

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 1stChapter.
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

¹⁸The 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. ¹⁹And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But 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. ²¹She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ²⁴When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

The Gospel of the Lord.
C:  Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Hymn of Day                                      Joy to the World   (LBW 39)

Nicene Creed

Prayers of God’s People

Offering

Offering Music (7:00pm)               Angel Song (Glory to the Newborn King)  ~ Choir

Offertory                                             What Child Is This?  (LBW 40, vs. 3)

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come peasant, king to own Him.
The King of Kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high; the virgin sings a lullaby.
Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the Son of Mary.

Offertory Prayer                p. 67 LBW

The Great Thanksgiving

Preface to Communion for Christmas (Proper Preface)

Angels from the Realms of Glory  (LBW 50, vs. 1 & 4)

Christ’s Words of Institution

The Lord’s Prayer

The Sharing of Holy Communion

Blessing & Post-Communion Prayer

Proclamation of the Gospel (John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Candle Lighting

Hymn of Welcome                            Silent Night  (LBW 65)

Benediction                                        p. 74 LBW

Closing Hymn                                     Go Tell It On the Mountain   (LBW 70)

Dismissal                                             p. 74 LBW

Postlude

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