God's coming salvation
Worship
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series II
Exegetical note: These verses are drawn from a larger passage that announces the imminent restoration of Judah, and particularly Jerusalem, after the fall of Babylon. The central eschatological announcement in verse 11 - "Behold your salvation comes" - and the accompanying assertion that God's people will be remembered and redeemed rather than forsaken and forgotten are as appropriate for the new people of God (the Church) as for the old (Israel).
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 97)
Leader:
Let the earth rejoice, for God reigns!
People:
THE FOUNDATIONS OF GOD'S THRONE ARE JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Leader:
Clouds and darkness surround our God!
People:
BUT GOD'S LIGHTNINGS LIGHTEN THE EARTH!
Collect
Reigning God, you have announced through prophets and angels your regard and redemption for those who feel most forgotten and forsaken. Let us again hear their blessed proclamations: that, touched by the promises of your powerful presence in the world, we may be filled with hope and moved to love in the name of him whose nativity we celebrate today. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Redeeming God, we confess that we often succumb to feelings of Godforsakenness, with respect to ourselves and our world; and that we lose both faith in you and hope in your promises. Forgive us, we pray, and let the words of your holy scriptures and the workings of your Holy Spirit revive and restore in us the conviction that our salvation does indeed come, in the person of the One who is born this day. In his holy name we pray. Amen
Christmas, Second Proper
(Christmas Eve/Day)
Second Lesson: Titus 3:4-7
Theme:
Heirs by grace and mercy, not goodness and merit
Exegetical note: This doctrinal incursion into an otherwise largely ethical discourse states a central theme in Paul's theology, namely, that salvation comes by God's grace and mercy rather than by human goodness and merit. What is added here is the notion that, as a result of God's initiative in outpouring the Holy Spirit in the Christ, the recipients are, in effect, adopted as children who are destined to inherit eternal life.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 97)
Leader:
Let the heavens declare God's righteousness!
People:
LET ALL PEOPLE BEHOLD GOD'S GLORY!
Leader:
All gods bow before our God!
People:
AND ALL IDOLS SHATTER IN SHAME!
Collect
Almighty God, you have given us your Son Jesus to share our human nature from cradle to grave. Grant that we also may be made children of yours by your grace and mercy in him: that, thus reborn and renewed, we shall truly become heirs of eternal life. In the name of the newborn Savior we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
All-merciful God, it grieves us deeply to admit how much we still depend upon the illusion of our own goodness and merit for our salvation, rather than the reality of your grace and mercy, and come to expect eternal life as a reward rather than a gift. Forgive us, we pray, and teach us always to rely upon your loving kindness, which alone makes us children of yours and sisters and brothers of the holy One who is born today. In his precious name we pray. Amen
Christmas, Second Proper
(Christmas Eve/Day)
Gospel:
Luke 2:8-20
Theme:
The Christ-child as a sign of salvation
Exegetical note: The humble shepherds are directed to the swaddled child in the lowly manger by an angel messenger, who tells them, not that he is the expected messianic Savior, but only that their finding him will be a "sign" of the arrival of the Christ. That indirect way of designating the identity of the baby may well be Luke's way of underscoring that the holiness of the manger's humble occupant not only could not have been obvious to any observer, had it not been revealed to them by God, but even then could not be fully apprehended.
Call to Worship
Leader:
Behold, I bring you good news of great joy!
People:
FOR UNTO US IS BORN THIS DAY A SAVIOR AND A CHRIST!
Leader:
Glory to God in the highest!
People:
AND ON EARTH PEACE AND GOD'S GOOD WILL!
Collect
Great and glorious God, you have sent us a sign of our salvation hidden in the humility of a baby in a manger. Open our ears and our hearts to the good news of this event: that, like the shepherds of old, we may behold this thing that has come to pass, and praise and glorify you. In the name of the Christ-child we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Most compassionate God, we sadly confess that we let the bustle and busy-ness of the Christmas season drown out the angelic message about the true meaning of this day, and lose sight of the sign of our salvation cradled in a crib. Forgive us, we pray, and let the angelic message ring again in our ears and drive us to behold as best we can, and to appreciate as much as we are able, the salvation that sleeps in a stable stall. In the name of the new-born Christ we pray. Amen
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 97)
Leader:
Let the earth rejoice, for God reigns!
People:
THE FOUNDATIONS OF GOD'S THRONE ARE JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Leader:
Clouds and darkness surround our God!
People:
BUT GOD'S LIGHTNINGS LIGHTEN THE EARTH!
Collect
Reigning God, you have announced through prophets and angels your regard and redemption for those who feel most forgotten and forsaken. Let us again hear their blessed proclamations: that, touched by the promises of your powerful presence in the world, we may be filled with hope and moved to love in the name of him whose nativity we celebrate today. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Redeeming God, we confess that we often succumb to feelings of Godforsakenness, with respect to ourselves and our world; and that we lose both faith in you and hope in your promises. Forgive us, we pray, and let the words of your holy scriptures and the workings of your Holy Spirit revive and restore in us the conviction that our salvation does indeed come, in the person of the One who is born this day. In his holy name we pray. Amen
Christmas, Second Proper
(Christmas Eve/Day)
Second Lesson: Titus 3:4-7
Theme:
Heirs by grace and mercy, not goodness and merit
Exegetical note: This doctrinal incursion into an otherwise largely ethical discourse states a central theme in Paul's theology, namely, that salvation comes by God's grace and mercy rather than by human goodness and merit. What is added here is the notion that, as a result of God's initiative in outpouring the Holy Spirit in the Christ, the recipients are, in effect, adopted as children who are destined to inherit eternal life.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 97)
Leader:
Let the heavens declare God's righteousness!
People:
LET ALL PEOPLE BEHOLD GOD'S GLORY!
Leader:
All gods bow before our God!
People:
AND ALL IDOLS SHATTER IN SHAME!
Collect
Almighty God, you have given us your Son Jesus to share our human nature from cradle to grave. Grant that we also may be made children of yours by your grace and mercy in him: that, thus reborn and renewed, we shall truly become heirs of eternal life. In the name of the newborn Savior we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
All-merciful God, it grieves us deeply to admit how much we still depend upon the illusion of our own goodness and merit for our salvation, rather than the reality of your grace and mercy, and come to expect eternal life as a reward rather than a gift. Forgive us, we pray, and teach us always to rely upon your loving kindness, which alone makes us children of yours and sisters and brothers of the holy One who is born today. In his precious name we pray. Amen
Christmas, Second Proper
(Christmas Eve/Day)
Gospel:
Luke 2:8-20
Theme:
The Christ-child as a sign of salvation
Exegetical note: The humble shepherds are directed to the swaddled child in the lowly manger by an angel messenger, who tells them, not that he is the expected messianic Savior, but only that their finding him will be a "sign" of the arrival of the Christ. That indirect way of designating the identity of the baby may well be Luke's way of underscoring that the holiness of the manger's humble occupant not only could not have been obvious to any observer, had it not been revealed to them by God, but even then could not be fully apprehended.
Call to Worship
Leader:
Behold, I bring you good news of great joy!
People:
FOR UNTO US IS BORN THIS DAY A SAVIOR AND A CHRIST!
Leader:
Glory to God in the highest!
People:
AND ON EARTH PEACE AND GOD'S GOOD WILL!
Collect
Great and glorious God, you have sent us a sign of our salvation hidden in the humility of a baby in a manger. Open our ears and our hearts to the good news of this event: that, like the shepherds of old, we may behold this thing that has come to pass, and praise and glorify you. In the name of the Christ-child we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Most compassionate God, we sadly confess that we let the bustle and busy-ness of the Christmas season drown out the angelic message about the true meaning of this day, and lose sight of the sign of our salvation cradled in a crib. Forgive us, we pray, and let the angelic message ring again in our ears and drive us to behold as best we can, and to appreciate as much as we are able, the salvation that sleeps in a stable stall. In the name of the new-born Christ we pray. Amen
