Service for December 21, 2025

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Prelude

Call to Worship

Praise the Lord!

1Praise the Lord from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

2 Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

12 Both young men and maidens;

Old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.

Psalm 148:1-2, 11-13

Hymn # 203 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

1 Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King;

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

join the triumph of the skies;

with th'angelic host proclaim,

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Refrain:

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King."

2 Christ, by highest heav'n adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold him come,

offspring of the Virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

hail th'incarnate Deity,

pleased as man with men to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel. [Refrain]

3 Hail, the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

ris'n with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

born that man no more may die,

born to raise the sons of earth,

born to give them second birth. [Refrain]

Call To Confession

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;

they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:8–12 citing Psalm 34:12-16 (NIV):

Confession of Sins

Let us pray to the Lord confessing our sin, saying together:

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

Psalm 40:11–13 (NIV)

Word of Comfort

As we are weary and burdened by our sin and our troubles, our Lord Jesus says to us:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV)

Song of Renewal

Jesus! I do now receive him,

more than all in him I find;

he hath granted me forgiveness,

I am his, and he is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah, what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

he is with me to the end.

Trinity Hymnal # 498, stanza 5

Scripture Lesson:

Isaiah 9:1-7

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,

As when at first He lightly esteemed

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

And afterward more heavily oppressed her,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation

And increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden

And the staff of his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

As in the day of Midian.

5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,

And garments rolled in blood,

Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Micah 5:1-5a

Now gather yourself in troops,

O daughter of troops;

He has laid siege against us;

They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be Ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth are from of old,

From everlasting.”

3 Therefore He shall give them up,

Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;

Then the remnant of His brethren

Shall return to the children of Israel.

4 And He shall stand and feed His flock

In the strength of the Lord,

In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;

And they shall abide,

For now He shall be great

To the ends of the earth;

5 And this One shall be peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land,

And when he treads in our palaces,

Then we will raise against him

Seven shepherds and eight princely men.

Sermon

Hymn # 229 Gentle Mary Laid Her Child

1 Gentle Mary laid her child

lowly in a manger;

there he lay, the Undefiled,

to the world a stranger.

Such a babe in such a place,

can he be the Savior?

Ask the saved of all the race

who have found his favor.

2 Angels sang about his birth,

wise men sought and found him;

heaven's star shone brightly forth,

glory all around him.

Shepherds saw the wondrous sight,

heard the angels singing;

all the plains were lit that night,

all the hills were ringing.

3 Gentle Mary laid her child

lowly in a manger;

he is still the Undefiled,

but no more a stranger.

Son of God of humble birth,

beautiful the story;

praise his name in all the earth,

hail the King of glory!

Prayer of the Church and 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 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Hymn # 218 Angels, from the Realms of Glory

1 Angels, from the realms of glory,

wing your flight o'er all the earth;

ye who sang creation's story,

now proclaim Messiah's birth;

Refrain:

Come and worship, come and worship,

worship Christ, the newborn King.

2 Shepherds in the fields abiding,

watching o'er your flocks by night,

God with man is now residing,

yonder shines the infant Light: [Refrain]

3 Sages, leave your contemplations,

brighter visions beam afar;

seek the great Desire of nations;

ye have seen his natal star: [Refrain]

4 Saints before the altar bending,

watching long in hope and fear,

suddenly the Lord, descending,

in his temple shall appear: [Refrain]

5 All creation, join in praising

God the Father, Spirit, Son;

evermore your voices raising

to th'eternal Three in One: [Refrain]

Benediction