Morning Worship Text: January 3, 2021
Second Sunday of Christmas
Before we begin, gather a candle or small light, your Bible, a cross, a piece of bread and a cup of juice or water. Place them at the center of a calm area in your home and gather comfortable seating for all who will join you. Place your phone, tablet or computer where you can see and hear it. You may want to connect a charger, rather than rely on battery.
Welcome
Musical Meditation
Focus
Lighting the Christ Candles We light our candles or lights.
Voice One: In the beginning, God said,
Voice Two: Let there be light, and there was light!
Voice One: We light these candles today,
Voice Two: Because God is with us in this time and in all these places!
Call to Worship Based on Ephesians 1 Leader: To the Father who has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ. People: We give praise and glory Leader: To the Son through whom we have redemption, forgiveness, and the riches of God’s grace. People: We give praise and glory Leader: To the Spirit that seals us in His promise, the guarantee of our inheritance until we possess it. People: We give praise and glory. (https://cardiphonia.org/2010/04/18/call-to-worship-ephesians-1/)
Invocation
O Holy One,
heavenly angels spoke to earthly shepherds
and eternity entered time in the child of Bethlehem.
Through the telling of the Christmas story,
let our temporal lives be caught up in the eternal
in that same child,
that we might join shepherds and all the heavenly host
in praising the coming of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Scripture:
Jeremiah 31:7-14
31:7 For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel."
31:8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.
31:9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
31:11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
31:12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again.
31:13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
31:14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the LORD.
Sirach 24:1-12
24:1 Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
24:2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
24:3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist.
24:4 I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
24:5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven and traversed the depths of the abyss.
24:6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway."
24:7 Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose territory should I abide?
24:8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, and my Creator chose the place for my tent. He said, 'Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'
24:9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me, and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
24:10 In the holy tent I ministered before him, and so I was established in Zion.
24:11 Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place, and in Jerusalem was my domain.
24:12 I took root in an honored people, in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
Psalm 147:12-20
147:12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
147:13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.
147:14 He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat.
147:15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
147:16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.
147:17 He hurls down hail like crumbs-- who can stand before his cold?
147:18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
147:19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
147:20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!
Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21
10:15 A holy people and blameless race wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors,
10:16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.
10:17 She gave to holy people the reward of their labors; she guided them along a marvelous way, and became a shelter to them by day, and a starry flame through the night.
10:18 She brought them over the Red Sea, and led them through deep waters;
10:19 but she drowned their enemies, and cast them up from the depth of the sea.
10:20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name, and praised with one accord your defending hand;
20:21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute, and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Ephesians 1:3-14
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
1:4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
1:5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
1:8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight
1:9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
1:11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,
1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
1:13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
1:14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
John 1:(1-9), 10-18
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
1:3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being
1:4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
1:7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
1:8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
1:9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
1:10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.
1:11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
1:12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
1:13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
1:14 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.
1:15 (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'")
1:16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
1:17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
1:18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
Meditation
Invitation to the Table
The bread and cup and placed on the table for the Lord’s Supper.
Prayer of Communion
Elders this month are
Words of Institution
We break the bread and lift the cup as the words are spoken.
The Lord Supper
We share in the bread and cup as we hear the music.
Prayer of Thanksgiving & The Lord’s Prayer
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. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, you dwell with us in the darkness and the light of our lives. Give us grace to call out to you with devotion and praise as we pray for the Church and for the World, saying, “Emmanuel… hear our prayer.”
Leader May the radiance of the star that shone brightly over Bethlehem illumine our nation, filling it with light and peace. Emmanuel,
People Hear our prayer.
Leader May people in all the world find refuge and love in times of danger and fear, and may the Church be awakened to the human needs of our present time. Emmanuel,
People Hear our prayer.
Leader As the Magi came bearing gifts, may we, this Christmas, gift our local community with the gold of charity, the myrrh of kindness, and the incense of prayer. Emmanuel,
People Hear our prayer.
Leader We pray for those in our congregational family who are sick or distressed; and for all those affected by the Coronavirus. We pray for all who suffer, especially: the homeless, the hungry, and those in prison. To these our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, may our hearts be a manger of welcome, and our hands a cradle of Joy. Emmanuel,
People Hear our prayer.
Leader May the blessed hope of everlasting life, be the Truth of those whom we have known and loved, but see no longer.
People Hear our prayer.
Celebrant We adore you, Ever-present God, and we bless you, because by the holy birth of Christ you give hope to all the world. May our prayers become living words, inspired by the Word who lives in us always, your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Prayer is from The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
2944 Erie Ave. · Cincinnati, OH 45208(513) 321-6700
People Amen.
Challenge for Discipleship
The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. Let Christ’s light shine in the darkest corner of your life. Let Christ’s love shine in the darkest corners of our world. God is with us. Alleluia. Amen. (Ruth Duck, Bread for the Journey, Pilgrim Press, 1981, p.26.)
Blessing We speak in unison.
The Light that was in one place and at one time, is now in all places and all times, for God has placed the light in us. We abide in peace! And we go forth into the world with JOY!
