December 24, 2023
Portions of today’s service were written by: Rev. Sarah Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
WORDS OF Welcome & Nomofomo
Diana Kemper and Pastor Amanda Miller Garber
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
OPENING Song
Brent Holl
“O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL”
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels
REFRAIN:
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
All glory in the highest
REFRAIN
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
REFRAIN
Prayer
Chris Zepp
God of manger straw and swaddle cloth,
God of silent nights and joyfully-chaotic mornings-
we long to know you.
The hustle and bustle of this time of year can be more than distracting,
so for a moment, we pray-
Still our busy hearts.
Quiet our minds.
Help us to sink deeply into this day.
Help us to pause here,
to linger here
as we hear your good news spoken over us.
God, we long to know you,
so speak to us now.
With grateful hearts, we pray.
With grateful hearts, we listen.
Amen.
Advent REFLECTIONS
Gabe Carr
Personal Sharing and Prayer
Lighting the Advent Candles
“O COME, O COME, IMMANUEL”
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
REFRAIN:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.
REFRAIN
O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.
REFRAIN
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.
REFRAIN
LUKE 2:1-20 (CEB)
Alexis Owens
1 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.
8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.
Solo
“sweet little jesus boy”
Jim Frazier
A POETIC READING OF JOHN 1: 1-5
Adam King
Amanda Miller Garber
Let us listen for God speaking to us through the ancient poetry of John 1, with contemporary poetic additions by Rev. Sarah Speed.
(Voice A / Voice B)
In the beginning was the Word,
way back, a long, long time ago,
before the stars,
before the day,
before the rivers were carved out of clay.
In the beginning,
way back in that beginning,
was the Word.
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God.
He, Jesus, was in the beginning with God.
In other words, we cannot say
that love was born in a stable that day,
for love was born when the horizon was drawn.
It was born in the dark, long before dawn.
Love was born with the very first sea
and when God breathed life into you and me. Long before Magi
or shepherds or dreams,
long before sheep or angels that sing,
love was here—
building a way,
then and now,
and on Christmas day.
For all things came into being through him,
and without him, not one thing came into being.
And what has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
And so Jesus shined.
Like a light in the dark,
or a star in the sky,
Jesus walked into this world
and opened our eyes,
shining a light on social divides
and loving the scars we try to hide. He lit up this world like it’s never seen, the light of all people,
Emmanuel, King.
The light shines in the darkness,
And the darkness did not overcome it.
Hatred did not overcome it. Fear did not overcome it. Greed did not overcome it.
A light shines in the darkness.
Envy did not overcome it. Doubt did not overcome it. Scarcity did not overcome it.
A light shines in the darkness.
Death did not overcome it. Sickness did not overcome it. Grief did not overcome it.
For he was in the beginning with God,
way back, a long, long time ago,
before the stars,
before the day,
before the rivers were carved out of clay.
And what has come into being in him was life.
So we cannot begin with Magis and sheep, for this story begins at the brink—
of creation and light,
of you and me,
of beloved and love,
of being set free.
For in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God, and that light shines in the darkness.
It always has, and it always will.
That is where our story begins— with love for creation,
from beginning to end.
Amen.
COMMUNION
Pastor Amanda Miller Garber
Servers: Abby and Robert Garber
SONG DURING COMMUNION
Brent Holl
“JOY TO THE WORLD”
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
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
And wonders, wonders, of His love
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Shiree Harbick
Like Mary,
we believe in cherishing good news.
Like the angels,
we believe in singing God’s praise.
Like the shepherds,
we believe that God’s presence in our life is something worth talking about.
Like generations before,
we believe that God is with us.
Like the generations to come,
we believe that God is with us.
God is here. God is love.
We believe. Thanks be to God!
CLOSING SONG
Brent Holl
“GO, TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN”
REFRAIN:
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
While shepherds kept their watching
O'er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a Holy light
REFRAIN
The shepherds feared and trembled
When, lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth
REFRAIN
Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And brought us all salvation
That blessed Christmas morn
REFRAIN
BENEDICTION
Chris Zepp
From generation to generation,
God keeps drawing near.
From generation to generation,
a light has shone in the darkness.
From generation to generation,
God’s love has moved through the world like our connection moved through this room.
So may we celebrate that.
May we rest in the joy of this day,
and may we allow it to change us.
Merry Christmas!
Go in peace.
God is with you every step of the way.
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