Covenant Presbyterian Church
Christmas Day
December 25, 2022 – 10am
Covenant is an accepting, welcoming community sharing the glory of God’s love with all.
PRELUDE “Carol Lullabies” arranged by Rouse
(quoting Still, Still, Still, What Child is This, and Silent Night)
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: I have good news!
People: I have good news!
Leader: Christ is born!
People: Christ is born!
Leader: Joy is alive!
People: Joy is alive!
Leader: God is here.
People: God is here.
(Repeat 3x)
Leader: Thanks be to God.
People: Thanks be to God.
Leader: Amen.
People: Amen.
HYMN#119 “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 the angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Refrain:
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king!”
2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ. the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail the incarnate deity,
pleased in flesh with us to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel. [Refrain]
3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth. [Refrain]
CALL TO CONFESSION
On a day like today we may want to skip the prayer of confession because today is a day for joy. Why should we pause to think and talk about the ways we as humans mess things up?
I get that argument. However, I also believe that the joy of this day is even more joyful when we are honest about who we are. We humans tend to be messy, scattered, and full of doubt at times. Knowing that Jesus was born in a manger for us, and that Jesus loves and forgives us, is even better news.
So let us confess together to God, knowing that the honest truth of our lives only makes this good news better. Let us pray:
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
The prayer of confession will be centered around the already lit Advent wreath. One by one, the liturgist will extinguish the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love, only to relight them from the Christ candle at the end.
Holy God, too often we feel as if change is hopeless. The problems of this world feel too big, the path forward is unclear, and we are not confident that we can truly make a difference. We give up hope.
Liturgist snuffs out the candle of hope.
Together we pray:
Forgive us for extinguishing hope.
Holy God,too often we believe that peace is a thing of fairy tales.Our spirits are anxious.Our bodies are weary. Our world is fractured. Instead of praying for peace—both in ourselves and in our society—we assume that peace is no longer on the table. We give it up.
Liturgist snuffs out the candle of peace.
Together we pray:
Forgive us for extinguishing peace.
Holy God, too often we paint joy as naive—a luxury reserved for children and pets. We forget that you ate with friends, that you went to weddings, that you laughed and rested and hiked mountains. We forget that you knew joy, and that you want joy for us in this fractured world. Forgive us for turning away from your light.
Liturgist snuffs out the candle of joy.
Together we pray:
Forgive us for extinguishing joy.
Holy God, too often we treat love like a vending machine. We put some coins in and assume that we’ll get something back. However, in our wiser moments, we know that love is not meant for keeping score. Love is meant to overflow, to spill out to our neighbors, to transform our world. Forgive us for holding love so tightly.
Liturgist snuffs out the candle of love.
Together we pray:
Forgive us for extinguishing love.
WORDS OF FORGIVENESS
Family of faith, sin separates us from things like hope, peace, and joy. Sin wiggles its way between us and love, both love of neighbor and love of self.
Fortunately for us, God had something else in mind. God sent God’s only son to this world so that we could see another way. So friends, hear and believe the good news of the gospel: no matter how many times we turn our back on hope, or extinguish peace, or snuff out joy—no matter how many times we let love burn out—God continues to light our way.
Liturgist relights the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love from the Christ candle.
We are forgiven. We are seen. We are loved.
The good news of this day—the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love of this day—exists for you. Thanks be to God! Amen.
TALK WITH CHILDREN
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
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.
THE GOSPEL READING Poetic Reading of John 1:1-5
Voice A:
Let us listen for God speaking to us through the ancient poetry of John 1, with contemporary poetic additions by Rev. Sarah Speed:
In the beginning was the Word,
Voice B:
way back, a long, long time ago,
before the stars,
before the day,
before the rivers were carved out of clay.
Voice A:
In the beginning,
Voice B:
way back in that beginning,
Voice A:
was the Word.
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God.
He, Jesus, was in the beginning with God.
Voice B:
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.
Voice A:
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.
Voice B:
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.
Voice A:
The light shines in the darkness,
And the darkness did not overcome it.
Voice B:
Hatred did not overcome it. Fear did not overcome it. Greed did not overcome it.
Voice A:
A light shines in the darkness.
Voice B:
Envy did not overcome it. Doubt did not overcome it. Scarcity did not overcome it.
Voice A:
A light shines in the darkness.
Voice B:
Death did not overcome it. Sickness did not overcome it. Grief did not overcome it.
Voice A:
For he was in the beginning with God,
Voice B:
way back, a long, long time ago,
before the stars,
before the day,
before the rivers were carved out of clay.
Voice A:
And what has come into being in him was life.
Voice B:
So we cannot begin with Magis and sheep, for this story begins at the brink—
Voice A:
of creation and light,
Voice B:
of you and me,
Voice A:
of beloved and love,
Voice B:
of being set free.
Voice A:
For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
Voice B:
He was in the beginning with God, and that light shines in the darkness. It always has, and it always will.
Voice A:
That is where our story begins— with love for creation,
from beginning to end. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
HYMN#110 “Love Has Come”
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
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.
POSTLUDE “Fum, Fum, Fum” arranged by Hayes
Through Him, All Things
by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
Inspired by John 1:1-14
Block print with oil-based ink over gouache painting
