25th. December. 2022. Service.

Order of Service
North Queensferry and Inverkeithing
Christmas Day 2022

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Prelude “The Angels’ Carol” – John Rutter (Video)
Introit Hymn 306“O come all ye faithful”
Collect (Slide)
Hymn 313 “See in yonder manger low”
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Intimations and Offering (Slide)
All Age Talk (2 slides)
Hymn 300 “The Virgin Mary had a baby boy”
Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7
Hymn 324 “Angels from the realms of glory”
Readings: Luke 2:1-20; Titus 3:4-7
Hymn 314 “Child in the manger”
Sermon (Slide)
Prayer
Hymn 331 “Unto us a boy is born”
The Benediction
Postlude “Jesus Child” – John Rutter (Video)

 

Inverkeithing linked with North Queensferry

Service of Worship   25^th December 2022

Christmas Day

Prelude Angels’ Carol John Rutter

Introit Hymn 306“O come all ye faithful”

Collect

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hymn 313 “See in yonder manger low”

Call to Prayer

Rejoice, Christ our Saviour is born!

God’s Light is poured into the world.

O Come, let us celebrate this wonderful gift.

Let us praise God with shouts of joy and singing!

O Lord our God, your angels and all the beings of heaven praise you. Sun, moon, and stars praise you. Fire and water and wind and snow praise you. Even the wild animals and flying birds and creeping things praise you. And it is our great joy to join our voices with the chorus all creation sings in honour of you. For your glory is above the earth and the heavens. You have raised up a saviour for us, and you are worthy of all our adoration.

Holy and loving God, you move in the night and bring about joy in the morning, you move in our hearts and bring joy to our lives,  you move in our minds and bring wisdom.

You move in the world and put on flesh
and came as the Christ child, born a baby in a cattle stall,
so that we might have true, full and everlasting life.
We come to sing praises with the angels
We come to bow with the shepherds
We come to kneel in wonder with the wise men
We come to adore you with Joseph
We come to ponder your mystery with Mary
We come to you this night because you first came to us.
We come to love you because you first loved us.
We come to serve you because you first served us.
We come like the shepherds to adore you.
We come to praise you as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

God of compassion we come also to speak to you about the truth of our lives. God of grace and truth, you give the gift of yourself, but we take no notice as we are caught up in our own gifts given and received. You offer us new life in the baby born in Bethlehem, but we make sentimental that birth and we reject new life.

Your light comes into the world, but we live on the darkness, you come to us as a human and yet we cannot see you in the human lives around us. Forgive what we have been, help us amend who we are, and direct who we shall be.

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; walk in the assurance of God’s grace and forgiveness. Be people of light and forgive one another.

As we listen to the familiar story of your coming among us as a child of flesh and blood, open our minds and hearts so that we may hear the wondrous events with new understanding, with wisdom, and with joy. Amen.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

Together, we light the Christ Candle.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world
a light no darkness can quench.

The shepherds kept watch by night,
and your glory shone round about them.

The darkness is not dark to you,
the night is as bright as the day.

Let your light scatter the darkness
and fill your Church with your glory.

Intimations

The services next Sunday will be at the usual times of 10:00 am in North Queensferry and at 11:30 am in Inverkeithing.

The minister will be on holiday from 2-15^th January inclusive and the services will be conducted by Morag Wilkinson on January 8^th and by The Rev’d Andrea Fraser on January 15^th.

We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a good and prosperous New Year.

Children’s Talk

It’s here! It’s finally here! Christmas is finally here! I just love Christmas, don’t you? What do you like best about Christmas? Is it the Christmas tree with its blinking lights? It’s the beautiful music or the delicious Christmas goodies. It’s Christmas dinner with turkey and dressing and all the trimmings. For some it might be all the parties or visiting with family and friends. For a lot of people, the best thing about Christmas is the presents — both the ones we give and the ones we receive. Especially the ones we receive!

Hmm. . . Can you think of anything I have left out? Oh yes! It’s someone’s birthday, isn’t it? Whose birthday is it? That is right! It is Jesus’ birthday. You know, sometimes we get so caught up in all the decorations, lights, parties, and presents that we miss the real Christmas

That reminds me of a story I heard about a little boy who had always wanted to go to a circus. One day he was walking down the street when he saw a poster in a store window. The poster said that a circus was coming to town and that a ticket to the circus cost one pound. The boy ran home and asked his father if he would give him some money to go to the circus on Saturday.

His father told him that if he would work hard and get all his chores done, he would give him some money to go to the circus. Saturday morning came and the boy got up early and did all his chores.

“I have all my chores done,” the boy told his dad.

The boy’s father gave him a dollar and the boy headed into town filled with excitement about seeing wild animals, trapeze artists, and all the things that come with a circus. Since he arrived in town so early, he was on the front row when the circus parade started down the main street of town. The boy was thrilled when the animals and other circus acts marched past.

At the end of the parade came the clowns and following the clowns was the ringmaster. When the ringmaster passed by where he was standing, the boy ran out into the street, took his pound from his pocket, and handed it to the ringmaster.

“Thanks,” mister, said the boy, “that was a great circus.” Then he turned around and walked home. He never knew what he had missed. He thought he had been to the circus, but he had only been to the parade.

If we are not careful, we can be like that little boy. We can get so involved in the celebration, the decorations, and the gifts that we miss the real Christmas — the birthday of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Dear Jesus, it is your birthday. We pray that we will not get so involved up in the celebration that we miss the real meaning of Christmas. Amen.

Hymn 300 “The Virgin Mary had a baby boy”

Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and for ever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this. Amen.

Hymn 324 “Angels from the realms of glory”

Readings: Luke 2:1-20

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone 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 about.’

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Titus 3:4-7

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.

Hymn 314 “Child in the manger”

Sermon

We are here day to celebrate with singing, rejoicing, and in anticipation of blessing Gifts likely wait for us back home. We put certain things on pause for Christmas, but do we dare ask about the day after Christmas? This year, not only will it be the day after Christmas, but it will also be a Monday. Some people may not even get a three-day weekend. Life returns to “normal” shortly after Christmas. We may feel weary of all the hype by the time Christmas ends.

In any case, whatever uplift we receive from Christmas begins to fade, even though we have New Year’s Eve shortly after. Maybe the question creeps into our heads: Did Christmas make any difference? Did Christmas change anything? The characters in our drama in Luke might have asked the same question. How did the birth of Jesus change anything?

No changes

We can start with Emperor Augustus. To this Roman emperor, the day of Jesus’ birth probably made no ripple in his life. Caesar Augustus, or Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, considered it just another day. Having come to power after civil wars following Julius Caesar’s death, he might have enjoyed any time of peace. Of course, to him, just another day would have seemed more momentous than the day of anyone else’s life. His realm stretched over parts of three continents: Africa, Europe, Asia. He would have taken no notice of the birth of a lower-class boy in a small backwater of his empire. No heavenly chorus sang to him. He got into bed that night oblivious of God’s activity in Bethlehem. Perhaps he could not have found Bethlehem on a map without help. He awoke the next morning to his wealth and power. He awoke with an army just as mighty as the day before. He noticed no change in his life. The birth of Jesus never even became a blip on his radar screen.

What about Mary and Joseph, unnoticed by anyone much in the world? When the exalted Caesar Augustus issued a decree that everyone had to travel to their hometown to register for the census, they had no choice but to pack up and go. No matter how inconvenient, how exhausting the trip, they had to knuckle under and obey. They had no way of resisting Rome’s power… As Luke unfolds his story, we can judge that such pictures of their journey are inaccurate. Poor Jewish inhabitants of the Roman empire did not dare purchase a donkey for travel. Roman soldiers might decide they wanted the donkey more than the Jewish people needed it. Instead, Luke may want us to picture them walking to Bethlehem. Mary, her pregnancy growing, slowly trudging step by step to Bethlehem. At least Mary didn’t give birth on the trip and was safely established with her relatives in Bethlehem when she did.

However surprising the visit of the shepherds might have seemed, the next day, the day after Jesus’ birth, would have seemed no different than before. They had no more money, no more power. In Luke, no one gives them any gold, let alone any frankincense and myrrh. They still had to obey every command of the emperor. After the birth of baby Jesus, the hard work, the tasks of raising a baby went on as before.

The shepherds had a hard life. Almost certainly, they farmed their small parcel of land during the day and hired themselves out to watch sheep at night. Out under the open sky, guarding the sheep of people a couple of rungs higher on the economic ladder, they literally moonlighted. They must have struggled with fatigue, boredom and poverty. After working two jobs, the ends probably still didn’t quite meet. The birth of Jesus did not expand the size of their smallholdings, did not deposit enough money in an account that they could turn in their resignation as night-shift shepherds. A few nights after the birth of Jesus, they still had to fight to stay awake through the night and find the energy to plough and plant the next day.

The birth of Jesus did not change the outward circumstances of the lives of the main characters in Luke’s story. It did not in any way erode the wealth and might of the empire. It did not bring balance to the power in the world. It did not break the yoke of oppression of the Romans over the Jewish people. All of that continued just as it had.

Does Christmas change anything for us?

What about in our world? Does Christmas change much of anything? Everything looks the same to us. The world’s billionaires can still fly off into space. They still control a staggering percentage of the world’s wealth. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the world’s poor and oppressed still suffer. North Koreans still live under a brutal regime. Far too many people die from gun violence. Too many school children receive an inferior education. Too many babies to count still die of hunger before their first birthdays. Did the birth of Jesus change any of that? If we step back and look at the big picture, the world still looks like a brutal place, even after the birth of Jesus.

In our personal lives, the stress continues. We worry about money, about saving for retirement or living in retirement. The aches of our bodies continue to hurt. Our hearts still break from grief. We still miss the people we have lost. The ache of loneliness still hasn’t gone away. We might still feel lost in a world overflowing with billions of people. The birth of Jesus has not taken away our grief, or the sufferings of our bodies, or our struggles with money.

Hold on to the story

Even though the outward circumstances of their lives had not changed, the shepherds had seen the angels. They had heard the voices from heaven, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Maybe those words stayed with them. Who could have forgotten such an experience, such a message? Did that experience give them more patience with life? Did it give them more endurance for their weariness? Did it give them the assurance that God cared about them in the middle of their field with someone else’s sheep? They knew that God had come into their world, noticed them and shared the joy of the birth of the Messiah.

Mary and Joseph still had a hard life ahead of them, but they had experienced the message of the shepherds, who told them of the visit of the angels. She treasured those words. Mary had heard the words of Gabriel, “The Lord is with you.” Mary and Joseph could draw strength and purpose from those words. Those words could sustain them and give them purpose.

As we look at our seemingly unchanged world on the day after Christmas, we can hold on to this story. We can reach back to Gabriel’s words to Mary that God “has brought down the powerful from their thrones.” We hear in that the message that God judges those who misuse power and wealth. If we feel pushed around, don’t forget that God has the last word. We claim the promise that God has “filled the hungry with good things.” God will take care of those who do not have enough. We do not need to despair about those who exploit others, or about the ones exploited.

The outward circumstances of our lives may not have changed because of Christmas, either the first one or the one we celebrate this weekend. Nevertheless, we can face our lives with courage and strength. God has come into this painful world. Jesus and his parents have experienced the pain of our lives. God understands. God walks with us.

Let us be glad at what God has done in Jesus, even if the world seems just as dangerous and wearying as it did before. Let us claim the power to stand up for those who need our voice, our actions. Let us take hope because God cares for us, because God wishes peace for us, because God looks upon us with favour. If it seems as though nothing has changed, let us open our eyes to the way everything has changed. Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Holy and Almighty God, the glorious truth of the gospel of Christ is life and light to all of us. It is peace and hope, it is love and joy, it is forgiveness and salvation, but too often the Christmas story has lost its impact on a world that has rejected Your truth. We come now with thanksgiving that Jesus Christ came to earth in human likeness in order that, through his death, all who believe in Him might be saved from their sins and have life in its fulness. Let us pray now for all humankind throughout the world thank God for his goodness.

Gracious God, you are the Light of the World and the Prince of Peace that this world so desperately needs. We pray for the dedication and service of those who spread the message of Christmas in places around the world where it is dangerous to do so, where their lives are in danger for speaking your name. Protect and guide them and let those who hear their message see Christmas in a new light this year and come to an understanding of the real meaning of your birth at Bethlehem.

On this Christmas morning, we remember that your Son was born into a dangerous and troubled world. We hold in prayer the world today, where conflict dominates the news headlines, where the indecision of a few leads to injustice, terror and torture for many and where the gulf between wealth and poverty widens; the same things that took you from the cradle to the cross. Help all leaders to use their power and gifts of forgiveness and reconciliation, which you have given for the good of all nations. Fill our world with the joyful hope that there is a better way, to live together in peace.

Lord Jesus, as Mary gently cradled you in her arms, we pray for all women giving birth today, for all newly born babies and for every expectant mother.
We pray for children who cry and are not comforted and for parents who fear for their children’s safety.

Father, we thank you for our family who will gather round the table for a Christmas meal, and we remember those who cannot be with us today. We pray for all who will be alone, without family or friends, without enough to eat, with no place to live and those who will sleep rough tonight. We think of those refugees living a long way from home to looking to find food and shelter for their children. Bless the work of those who give up their day to bring joy and hope to others – for local churches and halls opening to provide food and warmth to those in need and the work of charities such as Crisis at Christmas.

Lord Jesus, speak words of comfort, love and compassion to those who are suffering bereavement, loneliness or sickness of body or mind. Bless the work of the Samaritans who offer a listening ear to the suicidal, the desperate, those without hope and those battling with addiction. May all who suffer find peace and reassurance in knowing the light of your presence with them in the darkness.

May we who worship here and at home, know the presence of Jesus in our lives and take His light out into the world for His glory.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn 331 “Unto us a boy is born”

The Benediction

May the joy of the angels,
the eagerness of the shepherds,
the perseverance of the wise men,
the obedience of Mary and Joseph,
and the peace of the Christ child
be yours this Christmas.
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.