Christmas Day
Luke 2:1-20 (A,B,C)
Good News of Great Joy
Additional Scriptures
Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm, 96; Titus 2:11-14
Preparation
During the preceding week, invite people to bring a special financial or food pantry Christmas offering.
If using a selection for Handel’s Messiah later in the service, invite someone to manage the audio or video recording.
If you use an Advent wreath, light the four candles on the perimeter before the service begins, saving the center Christ candle for later in the service.
Prior to the service, set up a craft area with cards (3x5) and things to decorate them. Prepare a few examples of the Disciples’ Generous Response cards with the words “Jesus was born for you” written on them and decorated as desired. Have a basket or decorative container for placing the completed cards. Ask participants to complete a card before they are seated. They will be used later in the service.
Instrumental Prelude
Continue with the prelude until people have taken their seats after completing a card.
Welcome
Call to Worship: Isaiah 9:2, 6
Sing and Rejoice Choose two.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” CCS 394
“Joy to the World!” CCS 408
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” CCS 431
Invocation
Response
Luke Tells the Sacred Story
Scripture Reader 1: Luke 2:1-7
Hymn
“Away in a Manger” CCS 425
OR “Joseph, Kind Joseph” CCS 414
OR “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” CCS 416
Scripture Reader 2: Luke 2:8-14
Hymn
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” CCS 423
OR “The First Noel” Stanzas 1 and 2 CCS 424
OR “Angels We Have Heard on High” CCS 427
OR
Listen to a choral recording of “Glory to God,” from Handel’s Messiah.
Scripture Reader 3: Luke 2:15-20
Hymn
“O Come All Ye Faithful” CCS 431
OR “Once in Royal David’s City” CCS 429
OR “Good Christians Friends, Rejoice” CCS 433
Light the Christ candle in the center of the Advent wreath.
Homily
Based on Luke 2:1-20
Discussion
In small groups, pairs, or with everyone. Be sure children and youth are included. Project or print questions for all to see.
- What might you have felt if you had been a shepherd that night?
- What transformed them from fearful to joyful?
- What kind of news have you received that brought you great joy?
- What will be your response to the good news of Jesus’s birth that we remember and celebrate today?
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Peace Prayer
Gracious God, on this day of remembrance of the birth of your son Jesus, your miraculous gift for us, we remember that he was to be a prince of peace. He was born to help change the world from one filled with greed, hate, violence, and war, to one where all people are seen as your children who are loved. Help us on this special day to remember Jesus, the prince of peace, as we look ahead to the coming year and help us to be partners with you in sharing this good news of great joy. Amen.
Disciples’ Generous Response
Statement
On this Christmas Day, we are reminded of God’s abundant generosity in the gift of his son. As we reflect on this freely given gift, may we be reminded that God calls us to bless the world with our own gifts. As we generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we join the movement of God’s compassion bringing hope to the world. Invite participants to take one of the cards prepared before the service from the basket. The basket could be passed through the participants or placed centrally for easy access.
Take your card home with you as a reminder of the good news of Christmas Day.
Blessing of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Generous God, we have again experienced a season of preparation for receiving the gift of the good news of Jesus’s birth. The gifts we have freely given this year of our talents, time, treasure, and testimonies have been in response to the invitation to be generous disciples of Jesus, the prince of peace. We ask you to accept our offerings in whatever way we have given them as we join in helping spread the good news that we celebrate today. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Sing and Share the Good News
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” CCS 409
OR “No Obvious Angels” CCS 418
OR “Silent Night! Holy Night!” CCS 421
Consider helping participants learn the German stanzas.
Benediction
Sending Forth
Share today’s good news of great joy with others on your journey. Jesus is born!
Postlude
SERMON AND CLASS HELPS
Year C—Letters
Christmas Day
Luke 2:1-20 (A,B,C)
Exploring the Scripture
On the face of it, this scripture details the unremarkable birth of yet another child into poverty, in an overcrowded village. The parents-to-be are directed by Roman decree to leave their hometown of Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of the father, to be officially counted and registered. We assume it was a difficult journey for Mary and Joseph, taking into account Mary’s pregnancy. But as oppressed people, there was little choice; they were required to comply with the decree.
At a deeper level, one objective of this text is for the readers to make the connection between Joseph’s ancestry in the house and lineage of David (centered in Bethlehem) and the prophesied advent of a Messiah (Micah 5:2). Another objective of the beginning of the story is to help us visualize and understand the oppressive political environment in which Mary and Joseph are living.
The humble setting of this story continues as shepherds in their fields are overwhelmed by the angel message. Shepherding was considered the lowliest of professions—a curious choice for those who are to witness the newborn Messiah. In addition to Mary and Joseph, the circumstances and social standing of the shepherds are indications of God’s upside-down kingdom—“the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16).
Within this account, shepherds witness the heavenly event and testify of the importance of what has happened. As witnesses go, shepherds would not have been at the top of the list of those who have credibility or importance. Though all the participants in the Luke text are considered poor and humble, this does not diminish their joy and praise for what God has done. Just like the heavenly host, the shepherds return home, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (v. 20)—a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. God breaks in on the usual and expected with an incarnational message delivered by socially unacceptable participants.
The name Emmanuel signals “God with us.” While we know Christ came into the world as Savior for everyone, it appears that God chose to dwell within the humble, ostracized, and poor of that time and place. This foreshadows Jesus’ ministry, as he will also choose to walk with the poor, marginalized, and outcast. In the person of Jesus, God graces the world with a message of hope and favor not tied to birthrights, education, or worldly success. Jesus is “God’s Love Made Visible!” (Iola Brubeck, Community of Christ Sings 411) for all people.
Central Ideas
- Mary and Joseph were members of an oppressed people and culture. Shepherds were at the bottom of the social classes.
- The birth of Jesus illustrates God choosing to “dwell with” those who are poor, outcast, and marginalized; Emmanuel means “God with us.”
- Jesus came to bring hope for all people. He is God’s love made visible.
Questions for the Speaker
- Identify those who are oppressed and marginalized in today’s world. How does God in Christ speak hope to them?
- How is this scripture an example of God’s upside-down kingdom?
- In what ways does this story illustrate the hymn text: “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given!” (Phillips Brooks,“O Little Town of Bethlehem” Community of Christ Sings 434)?
- Why do you think Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds make powerful participants in the story?
- On this Christmas Day, what message can you share with those who are struggling, mourning, and despondent? What is the good news that will cause all to rejoice at the manger?
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY
Year C, Letters
Christmas Day
Titus 2:11–14
Gathering
Welcome
On Christmas Day we light all four Advent candles and then light the Christ candle in the center of the Advent wreath. The candles symbolize the joy, love, hope, and peace of Christ. The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day to Epiphany on January 6.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle.
Mother of peace, we rejoice on this Christmas Day, for Mary has brought new life, new joy, new love, and new hope into a lamenting world in the form of your Son, Jesus!
Jesus: a baby in need of nurture, holding, cradling, swaddling.
Jesus: a baby so tiny and soft, yet bursting with possibility and strength!
Jesus: the hope of the world!
May the seemingly impossible and yet absolutely ordinary creation of a new baby inspire us to strive for peace in our towns and stables.
Peace: a seedling in need of nurture.
Peace: a seedling so tiny, yet bursting with possibility!
Peace: the hope of the world!
May we lean on you the way a mother leans on a midwife. May we guide peace into being the way a midwife guides a mother. And may we rejoice in peace the way we rejoice in the birth of your Son Jesus, the Prince of Peace! Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Hymn Meditation
Materials:
- Advent wreath or ring
- four candles and one white candle in the center
Light the center candle for Christmas and say:
Today we light the Christmas candle. It represents the coming of Christ into the world. May the lighting of this candle remind us that no matter the darkness and despair in the world, brokenness will not have the last word. The joy, love, hope, and peace of Christ will prevail.
Read the following aloud:
Hymns are a blending of poetry, devotion, and scripture. They capture us with imagery and phrases. When we sing hymns, they can stick to our memory and refresh our souls again and again. Reflecting on hymns can bring insight into our life, ministry, and discipleship. It can be a fresh, new way to commune with God. Meditating on a hymn is to read through a hymn instead of singing it. As you read, focus on the words and their meaning.
We will read this hymn aloud, together one time. Then we will read it through once silently. At the end we will share what stood out to us as the message of the song for us today. What is God stirring within us? How will we respond?
Our hymn meditation text is Community of Christ Sings 411, “God’s Love Made Visible!”
Sharing Around the Table
Titus 2:11–14 NRSVue
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Most scholars consider this brief letter to Titus to be the work of a disciple firmly rooted in the Pauline tradition. The letter addresses many inappropriate behaviors in the Greco-Roman culture on the island of Crete. The letter counsels Titus to stand firm in the face of his argumentative flock. The writer challenges Titus to rebuke false teachers, restore relationships, find Unity in Diversity, and identify emerging leaders committed to living the way of Christ.
It also offers poignant insight, encouragement, and hope. We find the beating heart of the letter to Titus in today’s text, which proclaims, “…the grace of God has appeared.”
The letter to Titus announces that grace was born and embodied in Jesus Christ, our Savior, for whom we wait in hope. But in our waiting, the life-transforming power of embodying and living the concerns and passion of Christ frees us from enslavement to worldly concerns. That power brings healing and wholeness into our lives and hope for this world through human acts in harmony with God’s vision for all creation.
The letter to Titus is a letter to the whole world. The message says no matter how far from God we find ourselves, no matter how deep the break our behaviors have caused, nothing and no one falls outside the endless circle of God’s transforming grace. And we all are called to do good in this world for the sake of all who wait. This is our hope.
Questions
- As you engage in the busy Christmas season, how can you stop and spend a moment in God’s grace?
- What is your hope for God’s peaceable reign on Earth?
- What do you see in your culture and context that might be a concern to Christ?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
—Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give.
God of love and light, in this season of joy, love, and hope, may the peace of your Son Jesus be made real in the world. May our hearts, minds, hands, and resources be useful in the cause of bringing your light where there is darkness and your love where there is despair, anger, fear, and suffering. May our offerings be used toward your purposes we pray. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn
Community of Christ Sings 418, “No Obvious Angels”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
- Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
- Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
This activity culminates those done throughout Advent.
Materials:
- completed Advent spiral
- tea lights for each person
- large candle in the center
Dim the lights where you are meeting.
As participants gather, place a large candle in the center of the spiral. Turn it on or light it.
Say: You probably just saw me place a large candle in the center of our spiral.
What do you think that candle represents? (Affirm all answers. If no one thinks the candle might represent Jesus, share that Jesus sometimes is called the light of the world, so the candle can represent him.)
Say: Today we will walk our Advent spiral. One at a time, you are invited to move toward the center of the spiral with your unlit candle (turned-off tea light). When you get to the center, light your candle, using the lit candle in the center of the spiral (or turn your candle on). Once your candle is glowing, move back toward the beginning of our spiral. As you do, decide where you’d like to leave your candle within our spiral.
Once everyone has returned from walking the spiral, take some time quietly enjoying the beautiful candles bringing light to the space.
Ask: What was it like to walk toward the light? (Affirm all answers.)
What was it like to reach the center of the spiral and light your candle? (Affirm all answers.)
What were you thinking as you walked back out? How did you decide where to place your candle? (Affirm all answers.)
Say: At Christmas time we remember the Light of the world, Jesus. Every day, we have the choice to walk with and toward Jesus, following the steps of the peaceful One. When we receive the light of Jesus, we are invited to bring it back into the world and share it with others. As you celebrate Christmas this year, think how you are invited to share the light of Jesus with others.