Christmas Season
VISUAL ARTS (PARAMENTS, GENERAL DECORATIONS, SPECIFIC DECORATIONS)
Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design
Banner Designs for the Church Year
- The following parts of liturgy marked with an * are part of a worship service that uses the scripture passages used in Handel’s Messiah as the basis for the service. The scripture verses are included.
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CALL TO WORSHIP
—Isaiah 9:6*
Leader: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
Youth: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
Women: For unto us a child is born,
Men: Unto us a son is given.
Youth: And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
Men & Women: And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
Leader: And his name shall be called:
ALL: WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
Women: Unto us a child is born,
Men: Unto us a son is given.
Youth: And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
Leader: And his name shall be called:
ALL: WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
Leader: Amen.
—”For Unto Us Is Born” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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INVOCATION
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MUSIC (HYMNS, SONGS, ANTHEMS)
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CALL TO CONFESSION
—Malachi 3:2*
But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire and he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
—”But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming” (Air) and “And He Shall Purify” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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PRAYER OF CONFESSION
—Isaiah 53:4,5,6*
Leader: Surely you have borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Women: You were wounded for our transgressions.
Men: You were bruised for our iniquities.
Youth: The chastisement of our peace was upon you.
ALL: AND WITH YOUR STRIPES WE ARE HEALED.
ALL: ALL WE LIKE SHEEP HAVE GONE ASTRAY, WE HAVE TURNED EVERYONE TO THEIR OWN WAY.
Leader: And the Lord hath laid on you the iniquity of us all.
(silent prayer)
Amen.
—”Surely He Hath Borne our Griefs,” (Chorus) “And With His Stripes We Are Healed,” (Chorus)and “All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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ASSURANCE OF PARDON
—Isaiah 9:2; 40:1-2*
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. And they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath light shined.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God; speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. Thanks be to God! Amen.
—”The People That Walked In Darkness” (Air) and “Comfort Ye My People” (Recitative) from Handel’s Messiah
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CHILDREN’S SERMON
*I don’t know if you know this or not, but all of the words we are using today in our worship service were used by someone to write a huge bunch of music about the Messiah, which means “one who saves.” We believe the Messiah is Jesus Christ, the baby whose birthday we are celebrating today. This bunch of music was called an oratorio which is kind of like an opera, but doesn’t act out something pretend (if you have a score of Messiah, you might show it to the children). All this music was written by George Frideric Handel (show a picture of him) and he wrote it in 24 days in Dublin, Ireland, where he lived. His friend Charles Jennens gave him the words which were from the Bible. When Charles sent the words to George so he could write music to go with them, Charles told George to do his best job ever writing the music because it was about the best person ever—Messiah or Jesus Christ.
We don’t know why and how George wrote all of the music so fast, but when he finished writing, he put three initials at the end of it: SDG. Do you know what that stands for? It’s not his initials because his were GFH. SDG actually stands for three Latin words, “Soli Deo Gloria” which means in English “To God alone the glory.” In other words, he was thanking God for being able to write the music and everyone who heard it needed to give God the glory and not him.
There is a lot of interesting stuff to learn about Handel’s Messiah. It is interesting that he heard a performance of it only 8 days before he died. It is also interesting that it is a custom to stand when the “Hallelujah!” Chorus is sung. Some people think that the king enjoyed it so much that he stood when it was sung so everyone else had to stand. I guess we will never know if that was the reason or not. What we do know is that it is beautiful music that people all over the world recognize and listen to. And we can follow George’s example of giving God the glory when we do something special.
Let’s pray: God, thank you so much for the gift George Frideric Handel gave to the world by writing Messiah. Thank you especially for the gift from you of your son Jesus Christ that we are celebrating today. Help us always to give you the glory. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
—Isaiah 40:5*
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Amen.
—”And the Glory of the Lord” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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SCRIPTURE TEXTS/SERMON IDEAS
- Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:23 Behold! A Virgin Shall Conceive*
- Isaiah 40:9 O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion*
- Luke 2:14 Glory to God*
- John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God*
“Behold! A Virgin Shall Conceive,” “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion,” “Glory to God,” and “Behold the Lamb of God” can be used to tell the whole story of Christ. It would be wise to just touch on the latter since it is Christmas. However it may be important to point to considering the traditional birth story of Jesus is only told in two of the four gospels.
—”Behold! A Virgin Shall Conceive” (Recitative), “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion” (Air), “Glory to God” (Chorus) and “Behold the Lamb of God” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS (VIDEOS, TAPED SONGS)
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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
—Isaiah 35:5,6, 40:11, Matthew 11:28, 29*
Leader: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO REFUSE TO SEE THE INJUSTICE AND HURTING IN THE WORLD.
Leader: And the ears of the deaf unstopped.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO OTHERS AND FIND COMMONALITY IN PURPOSE.
Leader: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE PHYSICALLY SICK AND DO NOT HAVE OTHERS TO CARE FOR THEM ESPECIALLY DURING THIS CHRISTMAS TIME.
Leader: And the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHOSE VOICE IS NOT HEARD OR WHO ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK LEST THEY BE PERSECUTED.
Leader: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd
ALL: O GOD, LEAD US IN THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND DO NOT LET US STRAY INTO DANGER.
Leader: And he shall gather the lambs with his arms.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THE LITTLE ONES WITH WHOM YOU HAVE ENTRUSTED TO OUR CARE AND MERCY.
Leader: And carry them in his bosom
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO NEED COMFORT DURING THIS TIME AND ALWAYS.
Leader: And gently lead those that are with young.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE NEW PARENTS WHO LIKE MARY AND JOSEPH ARE ADJUSTING TO A NEW WAY OF LIFE.
Leader: Come unto him, all ye that labor,
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO WORK HARD AND THOSE WHO ARE WITHOUT JOBS.
Leader: Come unto him, ye that are heavy laden, and he will give you rest.
ALL: O GOD, WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE CARRYING THE BURDENS OF THE WORLD ON THEIR SHOULDERS—THOSE WHO ARE STRESSED, DEPRESSED, OVERWORKED AND OVERCOME.
Leader: Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him.
ALL: O GOD, WE THANK YOU THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE ALONE AND THAT YOU ARE WALKING ALONG SIDE US HELPING US CARRY THE LOAD.
Leader: For he is meek and lowly of heart,
ALL: O GOD, WE THANK YOU FOR CHRIST’S EXAMPLE OF SACRIFICE.
Leader: And ye shall find rest unto your souls.
ALL: O GOD, WE THANK YOU THAT THROUGH YOU WE ARE ABLE TO TRULY FIND PEACE IN THIS SEASON.
Leader: For those who we have mentioned and those left unspoken, we pray your blessings and care on them.
We lift up all these in the name of the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God and Prince of Peace, Amen.
—”Then Shall The Eyes of the Blind Be Opened” (Recitative) and “He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd” (Air) from Handel’s Messiah adapted by Elinor Swindle Brown
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LITANY
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INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
—Romans 10:15*
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. Let us bring good things in our gifts to be used by God.
—”How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them” (Air) from Handel’s Messiah
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OFFERTORY PRAYER
—Romans 10:18*
Their sound is gone out into all lands. God, use these gifts to allow the glad tidings of your gospel of peace to be spread far and wide into all the lands on earth. Amen.
—”Their Sound Is Gone Out Into All Lands” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
—Luke 2:8-14*
There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards all.
Let us go and spread the good news also!
—”There Were Shepherds Abiding In The Field” (Recitative), “And Lo! The Angel Of The Lord Came Upon Them” (Recitative), “And the Angel Said Unto Them” (Recitative), “And Suddenly There Was With The Angel” (Recitative), and “Glory to God” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
At this time, it would be good to have either everyone or the choir sing the Hallelujah! Chorus.
If this is not possible, play a recording of it and let everyone sing along as they are able.
—Revelation 6, 11:15, 19:16*
Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever!
Kings of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Hallelujah!
—”Hallelujah!” (Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah
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OTHER HELPS (COMMISSION, COMMUNION, BLESSINGS)
You may want to find out more about Handel and the writing of the Messiah. You can create a bulletin insert that tells more of this history or have slides that can be projected before the service begins.