St Clement Church Community Christmas Morning Service 2023
Good morning to you all as we celebrate our Christmas Morning service whether in our own homes or church building. We will be celebrating a Communion Service in Church at 10am, this Service of the Word is for folk who are unable to be with us. I hope you continue to have a blessed and happy Christmas.
May Christ’s love sustain you always.
Much love to you all,
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
Lord Jesus Christ, your birth at Bethlehem draws us to kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth: accept our heartfelt praise as we worship you, our Saviour and our eternal God. Amen.
Carol: ‘Away in a Manger’
Our prayers of Penitence
Hear the words of the angel to Joseph: ‘You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.’ Therefore let us seek forgiveness from God through Jesus the Saviour of the world:
Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us, forgive our unwelcoming hearts…
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, Son of God, Servant of humanity, forgive our self-centred lives…
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, Prince of Peace, Hope of the nations, forgive our bitter conflicts…
Lord, have mercy.
May our Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
Almighty God, you have given us your only begotten Son to take our nature upon him and at this time to be born of a pure virgin: grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 52. 7-10
Hebrews 1. 1-12
Carol: ‘Once in Royal David’s City’
Our Reading is taken from the Gospel of John 1. 1-14
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
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 came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
How do we feel when someone says to us, “I’d like a word with you?” I suppose a lot depends on the tone of voice that the person uses, but it can still make us wonder why that person wants to talk to us. Do they have good news or bad? Will they find fault with something we’ve done?
Will they ask for a favour, something that’s going to cost money and effort? Or maybe they want to give us something – a gift perhaps.
This morning, when we’re all excited (or not!) about Christmas presents, and everything else that goes with making Christmas Day an enjoyable and festive occasion, God says to us: ‘I want to have a Word with you.’
And the Word God has for us isn’t the kind which we might find in the dictionary; it’s a unique Word, and God is offering it to us now.
I refer of course, to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The Gospel writer calls Jesus; “The Word”. “The Word became flesh, and lived among us. And we have seen his glory, full of grace and truth”.
Let’s try to grasp the immensity of that for a minute.
Imagine the most powerful person in the world, of their own free-will, becoming a tiny mouse, a small, furry, insignificant, vulnerable creature.
The powerful person chooses to become a mouse because he wants to live among all the other mice. So he leaves behind the prestige and honour that he has, and becomes a mouse in order to help the other mice in the trials of their lives.
But even though he does all he can to help them, a lot of the mice ignore his efforts to steer them away from temptations of life, such as cheese in mousetraps, and die. But the man-mouse keeps on trying because he loves all the mice and wants them to live happy, fulfilled lives.
Likewise, our all-powerful God has chosen to plunge himself into the arena of human life as you and I live it, and take on our insignificant humanity. Or we could put it yet another way.
The Creator of the universe, with its countless stars and planets, is born in a stable in Bethlehem. This is the special time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour. We enjoy the story about Mary and Joseph, their trip to Bethlehem, the birth in a stable, the visit of the shepherds and the wise men.
However, too often we don’t go any further than that simple story, and miss out on the real significance of these events. Christmas is the celebration of God becoming one of us, and living on this earth with all the human tragedies we endure. And the point of the verse; ‘The Word became flesh and lived among us’ is that in the midst of it all, we aren’t alone.
In Jesus, God is with us when we are depressed and hurting and ill.
In Jesus, God is with us when we are hit with bad news.
In Jesus, God is with us when we feel guilty and ashamed.
In Jesus, God is with us when we are worried about someone we love.
In Jesus, God is with us when we are caught up in a chain of events that we are powerless to prevent.
So the good news of Christmas is that God hasn’t kept himself separate from all of troubles and pain of this earthly life, but he has come into the middle of all of it. He truly is Emmanuel – God is with us. He has come to hug us and hold us tight even when we often ignore him. In this baby of Bethlehem, we’ll see as much of God as we shall ever hope to see in our earthly life, and it is for this reason that we have Christmas and continue to celebrate it to this day.
So I’d like us to consider, in these troubled times, what difference will this Christmas celebration make in our life? Will it be just another Christmas, here today and gone tomorrow, or will we allow Jesus to make a huge difference to our lives. Because Christmas invites us and challenges us to take Jesus seriously, not just today but every day.
Christmas reminds us that we have a heavenly Father who loves us so much that he happily “became a mouse” – one of us – so that he can help us all the year through.
Christmas reminds us that just as the baby Jesus was given life in that grubby stable, Jesus wants to make our life new in the dirtiness of life in this world.
God has a word for us this morning, God has become a human being because of his love for us. Amen.
Carol: ‘O Come all ye Faithful’
Affirmation of our faith
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist.
We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.
We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world.
This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Our Intercessions today are taken from the book: Times and Seasons
Let us pray to Jesus our Saviour.
Christ, born in a stable, give courage to all who are homeless.
Jesus, Saviour, hear our prayer.
Christ, for whom the angels sang, give the song of the kingdom to all who weep.
Jesus, Saviour, hear our prayer.
Christ, worshipped by the shepherds, give peace in earth to all who are oppressed.
Jesus, Saviour, hear our prayer.
Christ, before whom the wise men knelt, give humility and wisdom to all who govern.
Jesus, Saviour, hear our prayer.
Christ, whose radiance filled a lowly manger, give the glory of your resurrection to all who rest in you.
Jesus, Saviour, hear our prayer.
Jesus, Saviour, child of Mary, you know us and love us, you share our lives and hear our prayer. Glory to you for ever. Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus taught us;
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, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Carol: ‘God rest ye merry Gentlemen’
The Peace
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called the Prince of Peace.
May the peace of God be always with us.
Amen.
Blessing
May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ-child be ours this Christmas; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always.
Amen.