Child in the Manger - our Christmas Nativity Service

Our Christmas Nativity Service

lead into the service … Taize recording

– the Lord is my light and salvation, in God I trust

“Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!

Prayer

For bringing us to this place, we give you thanks, O Lord,

For the peace you promise and the blessing you give we give you thanks and praise, praise

Through all the worship we share help us to sense your peace, to know your blessing and to be sure that you are the Light of each one of us, that you are the God we can trust.

Be to each one of us such a blessing that we may go from this place and be a blessing to others, bringing your peace, your presence and your love into the lives of those we meet.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,

Amen.

“Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!

Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message, and she wondered what his words meant.³⁰The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. ³¹You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, ³³and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end!”

From the depths of her heart, Mary’s song echoes down through the ages …

“My heart praises the Lord;

⁴⁷my soul is glad because of God my Saviour,

⁴⁸for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!

From now on all people will call me blessed,

⁴⁹because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me.

For Mary knew the kingdom that would never end would be a kingdom such as the world had never seen …

His name is holy;

⁵⁰from one generation to another

he shows mercy to those who honour him.

⁵¹He has stretched out his mighty arm

and scattered the proud with all their plans.

⁵²He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away with empty hands.

⁵⁴He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors,

and has come to the help of his servant Israel.

Hymn:  Tell out my soul

Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure

To children’s children and for evermore!

Mary knew in her heart of hearts this would be the one to come to the help of his people,

This would be the one to show love and mercy to us all, this would be the one

Our prayer as Christmas approaches is that the light of Christ may shine in our hearts, in our homes and in our world and fill this land with the  Father’s glory.

Our prayer as Christmas approaches is that the light of Christ may shine in our hearts, in our homes and in our world and flood the nations with grace and mercy …

The Chorus of Shine Jesus shine

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Reading: 

Isaiah 9:2-3 - Gus

Isaiah 9:6-7 - Joel

Isaiah 12:1-3 - Bethany

Isaiah 12:4-6 - Marc

Introduction

What’s on the news now is pretty distressing – if there had been TV news at the time of Isaiah it would have been disturbingly familiar – Isaiah 6-7 paint a picture of civil war the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the threat of war from the world power of Assyria –

But in that situation they are to focus on God and the light God brings – a wonderful word in verse 1 of the NIV - NEVERTHELESS

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan –

Gus Isaiah 9:2-3

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.

They lived in a land of shadows,

but now light is shining on them.

³You have given them great joy,LORD;

you have made them happy.

They rejoice in what you have done,

as people rejoice when they harvest their corn

or when they divide captured wealth.

What’s important is to live under God’s rule – what does that look like?  Don’t look to the might of warriors – but to a little child – and through the child see that this is what God’s rule looks like – wonderful counsel, wise advice, a might God who is Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  And the heart of that kindom will be what is right and justice

Joel Isaiah 9:6-7

A child is born to us!

A son is given to us!

And he will be our ruler.

He will be called, “Wonderful Counsellor”,

“Mighty God”, “Eternal Father”,

“Prince of Peace”.

⁷His royal power will continue to grow;

his kingdom will always be at peace.

He will rule as King David's successor,

basing his power on right and justice,

from now until the end of time.

The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.

Where do we put our trust?  In God – God is my saviour, and I will trust him.

Bethany - Isaiah 12:1-3

 A day is coming when people will sing, “I praise you, LORD! You were angry with me, but now you comfort me and are angry no longer. ² God is my saviour; I will trust him and not be afraid.The LORD gives me power and strength; he is my saviour.³ As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty, so God's people rejoice when he saves them.”

It is to God that we turn for help and for strength – the God who is great … and the God who  lives among his people.

Marc - Isaiah 12:4-6

 A day is coming when people will sing, “Give thanks to the LORD! Call for him to help you! Tell all the nations what he has done! Tell them how great he is! ⁵ Sing to the LORD because of the great things he has done. Let the whole world hear the news.⁶ Let everyone who lives in Zion shout and sing! Israel's holy God is great, and he lives among his people.”

The Chorus of Shine Jesus Shine

It was dark on the hills around Bethlehem the night it happened,

It was a starry night and the hills were bright and the earth lay sleeping.

After our reading we are all going to remain seated and sing that Christmas song together …

Reading:  Luke 2:8-14

here were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, ¹⁰but the angel said to them, “Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. ¹¹This very day in David's town your Saviour was born — Christ the Lord! ¹²And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”

Starry night – song acted out by the children

It was on a starry night
When the hills were bright
Earth lay sleeping
Sleeping calm and still
Then in a cattle shed
In a manger bed
A boy was born
King of all the world.

Chorus:
And all the angels sang for Him
The bells of heaven rang for Him
For a boy was born
King of all the world.
And all the angels sang for Him
The bells of heaven rang for Him
For a boy was born
King of all the world.

Soon the shepherds came that way
Where the baby lay
And were kneeling
Kneeling by His side
And their hearts believed again
For the peace of men
For a boy was born
King of all the world.

Chorus:
And all the angels sang for Him
The bells of heaven rang for Him
For a boy was born
King of all the world.
And all the angels sang for Him
The bells of heaven rang for Him
For a boy was born
King of all the world.

Reading:  Luke 2:15-20

When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. ¹⁷When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. ¹⁸All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. ¹⁹Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. ²⁰The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.

The shepherds went back singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen: it had been just as the angel had told them

The light of Christ shone in their hearts as they made their way home, the light of Christ filled the land with the Father’s glory.  The light of Christ shone in their hearts as they made their way home, and flooded the nations with grace and mercy

The chorus of Shine Jesus Shine

The shepherds went back, singing praises to  God for all they had heard and seen;  but what had they heard and seen?  For a few minutes you are invited to  have a look at the cribs of the Crib Festival … is there something in one of those cribs that makes you think anew about what you hear and see in the Christmas story.

A time for everyone to look at the Christmas Cribs

A time to share what people have heard and seen in the Christmas Cribs

From the squalor of a borrowed stable (Christmas words omitting verse with the Kings)

What’s the message of Christmas for today? – M’Ocean and Cooler’s input

Our young people shared with us their the thoughts they had come up with in discussion about the message of Christmas for today 

...

The (Cooler) message of Christmas

Before there was a wheel with six spokes, there were snowflakes with six points.

Each snowflake has its unique pattern, but each is made of the same basic material - a bit like people, and Christmas.

Christmas – at different times and in different cultures – can be celebrated in different ways.  But the basic material, the ‘irreducible core’ of Christmas, is God’s love for us, demonstrated in Jesus.

God’s Love

We have used the six points on the snowflake to convey something of the message of the Christmas story for us today.

Celebrate!

Jesus’ birth is good news of great joy – for God has come in love to save us.

Let’s celebrate the amazing love of God – as well as enjoying all the food, fun and presents.

Let’s celebrate – even if for some it is through tears.  God’s love understands pain too; the road from Christmas to Easter runs through Gethsemane and Golgotha.

Be humble!

If a stable was good enough for the King of Kings, and the status of a helpless baby was good enough for Almighty God – then who are we to think they might not be good enough for us?

God was content with lowly surroundings and was prepared to be vulnerable. Maybe this Christmas we should think about following his example.

(two clicks)

Include everyone!

Christmas is for everybody - shepherds and carpenters, civil servants and innkeepers, wise men and kings, young and old, rich and poor, powerful and powerless.

God’s love embraces everyone. 

Leave your comfort zone!

Mary and Joseph had to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

The wise men set off from their home not quite sure where they were going to end up.

Jesus left heaven for earth.

To share God’s love we need to be ready to step out from the familiar into the unknown.

(two clicks)

Don’t be afraid!

There were lots of reasons why Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and others might have been afraid that first Christmas. 

There are lots of reasons why we might be afraid or anxious this Christmas.

So let’s listen to the words of the angels ‘Fear not! God is with you.’  

Be open to the unexpected!

Mary and Joseph were expecting to get married – but they were not expecting to have the baby first.

The shepherds were expecting a night on the hills with their sheep – but they were not expecting angels to turn up in the middle of the shift.

The wise men expected to find a new born king – but they expected to find him in the royal palace in the capital city, not in a humble stable in a small town.

Although the coming of the Messiah had been foretold by the prophets, no one was really expecting Jesus to turn up quite the way he did. 

So this Christmas, let’s be prepared to find God in unexpected places.

Which brings us back to …..

Celebrate!

Jesus’ birth is good news of great joy for all people!

Quiet reflection on Luke 2:19 leading into prayers

Mary remembered all these things and pondered them in her heart –

Mary did you know – Christmas track

Prayers of Concern

Offering and Dedication

Final hymn:  Shine Jesus shine

Words of Blessing

The Lord is my light – Taize chant as people leave