Christmas Day
December 25, 2020
10 a.m. Worship
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St. John’s Lutheran Church
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Light in the Darkness
Christmas DayThere have always been people and rulers who opposed God, but God promised to have the final word. His final word was THE Word—Jesus— the fullness of God born in physical form and sent into our dark world—just as the prophet Isaiah had foreseen. Jesus brought light into the dark and dying world and today, remains the only true light of hope and salvation.
Welcome
Hymn
“Joy to the World”
LSB 387 1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!Let earth receive her King; Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room And heav’n and nature sing, And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing. 2 Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. 3 No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found. 4 He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love,
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Invocation and Prayer
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen.
P Blessed is God the Father, C the author of our salvation.
P Blessed is the Spirit,
C by Whom the Son was conceived.
P Blessed is the Holy Son,
C the radiance of God’s glory, the light of hope to the world!
P Let the world rejoice!
C and the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God!
P Glorious God, You are faithful to Your promises and Your plans do not fail. You sent Your Son into a dark world -- not unlike our world today, where rulers plot against You and the eyes of Your children have grown accustomed to the dark. By the power of your Spirit, shine the light of your Son into the dark recesses of our heart. Rekindle the light of Christ within us so that we may reflect His light to the world. This, we ask in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Confession and Absolution
P Our human nature prefers to keep some things in the dark—but light reveals everything that is hidden. To see the light of Christ more clearly is to see ourselves more clearly. But don’t worry, His purpose is not to shine a public spotlight on your sins, but rather to give you
illumination, so that you can hand those hidden things over to Him. As we take a quiet moment before the Lord, allow His light to give you illumination.
(moment of silence) P Join me as we confess before Him.
C Lord, we confess that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words, and actions. We confess that we have not always made time for You in the busyness of our lives. We confess that we have sometimes trusted in ourselves instead of you. We confess that we haven’t always let Your light shine through us. We confess our private sin quietly before You now.
(moment of silence)
P God does not want you to carry the sorrow and shame of your sin. He wants you to know His forgiveness so that the light of His Son may
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C Thank You, Heavenly Father.
P Jesus has paid the penalty for your sin, and He willingly takes the burden from you.
C Thank You, Lord Jesus.
P The Holy Spirit cleanses your heart and mind and renews the light of Christ within you.
C Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.
Epistle
Hebrews 1:1-6 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel
John 1:1-14 P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the first chapter.5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 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.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Affirmation of Faith
C My faith is in God, Who has adopted me as His child – not by natural means, but through faith in His Son and the power of His Spirit. My faith is in the Word of God, Jesus Christ, the exact image of God the Father Who was with God in the beginning. He came into the world as a baby and grew up to become the sinless sacrifice for my sins, and the sins of the world.
My faith is in the Holy Spirit, Who raised Jesus from the dead and has marked and sealed me with His promise of everlasting life. I believe God’s promises. He sent a Savior to the world. He sent His Spirit to those who believe in Him. He will bring me into everlasting life with Him, the one true God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Hymn
“Once in Royal David’s City”
LSB 376 1 Once in royal David’s cityStood a lowly cattle shed, Where a mother laid her baby In a manger for His bed: Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.
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Who is God and Lord of all, And His shelter was a stable, And His cradle was a stall; With the poor and mean and lowly Lived on earth our Savior holy. 3 For He is our childhood’s pattern,
Day by day like us He grew; He was little, weak, and helpless, Tears and smiles like us He knew; And He feels for all our sadness, And He shares in all our gladness. 4 And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love; For that child so dear and gentle Is our Lord in heav’n above; And He leads His children on To the place where He is gone. 5 Not in that poor, lowly stable
With the oxen standing by Shall we see Him, but in heaven, Set at God’s right hand on high. Then like stars His children, crowned, All in white, His praise will sound!
Sermon
Offering
Prayer of the Church
The Lord’s Prayer
C Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Benediction
P There is good news that will bring great joy to all God’s people; a Savior is born
C And on earth peace, good will to men.
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
P May the joy of this day fill your heart with thankfulness.
C And turn our hearts toward heaven today and always.
P May Christ’s light in you shine to all men and bring glory to God the Father.
C And the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God!
P A savior is born who is Christ the Lord.
C Let the world rejoice!
Hymn
“Angels We Have Heard On High”
LSB 368 1 Angels we have heard on high,Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains. (Refrain) Refrain Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo. 2 Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heav’nly song? (Refrain) 3 Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee
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Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
