St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Christmas 1 / Name of Jesus

01-01-2023     10:00AM Hybrid Worship          

+   Gathering   +

THE OPENING RITE:

L   Light looked down and saw darkness.

C “I will go there,” said LIGHT.

L   Hope looked down and saw despair.

C “I will go there,” said HOPE.

L   Peace looked down and saw war.

            “I will go there,” said PEACE.

L   Joy looked down and saw sadness and grief.

C “I will go there,” said JOY.

L   Love looked down and saw hatred.

C “I will go there,” said LOVE.

L   God looked down and saw a sinsick, troubled world.

C “I will go there,” said GOD.

L   And so it is that HE – the Lord of Light, the Hope of the Ages, the Prince of Peace, the Joy of Heaven,

the King of Love, the Son of God – came down on a cold winter’s night in the dark shadows of a village barn    and crept in beside us, taking on human skin…

C tiny and frail, whimpering and wet, the Word made flesh among us and one of us, HALLELUJAH!

L   And what shall we call him?

C His name is JESUS, and He is our Savior and Lord!

OPENING SONG: “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy”       Brown #53     

GREETING AND PRAYER:

L   May grace and peace be with you from (+) God, our life, our mercy, and our might.

Let us pray.

C Kind and loving God, in receiving Jesus we have come to know You.

We ask You to let his name stay with us now and forever.

May your Word do its work in every part of our being, may your Son grow within us and among us.

Help us to be worthy of the name Jesus and to resemble his saving love in our lives.  

+   Holy Word   +

FIRST READING:  Numbers 6:22-27   [God commanded Aaron to use these words in blessing the people of Israel. We too are marked with God’s name and God’s blessing as we are sent from worship to witness.]

22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:

24
“The Lord bless you and keep you;

25
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

26
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’

27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

SECOND READING:  Galatians 4:4-7   [Paul proclaims the ultimate significance of the nativity: Jesus was born the Son of God so that, because of him, we all may be God’s children.]

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

GOSPEL READING SONG:    “Emmanuel”                                                           Brown #45 

GOSPEL:  Luke 2:15-21    [Eight days after his birth, Jesus is circumcised according to Jewish  aw and given the name announced by the angel before his conception.]

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

²¹ And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

THE SERMON:   Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil

SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir

THE PRAYERS…  We pray that the joy and light of JESUS CHRIST will touch all lives!

+   Holy Meal   +

TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… If we want to bear the NAME of Jesus, we should also seek to bear his MISSION with faithful LIVING and responsible GIVING. Let your offerings in 2023 reflect your respect and love for the Lord.

Please note that our boxes of 2023 offering envelopes have been delayed by paper supply route issues and by fewer seasonal hires to do the printing. We will start this year without them. But we encourage you to continue to give offerings and to write your name or past offering box number on an envelope. We will have unnumbered envelopes in the sanctuary, or you can use one from home.

SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir

OFFERING SONG:

“His Name is Wonderful, His Name is Wonderful, His Name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord.

          He is a mighty King, Master of ev’rything, His Name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord.

He’s the great Shepherd… the Rock of all ages… Almighty God is He!

Bow down before Him, love and adore Him, His Name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord.”

OFFERING PRAYER:

God of love, we thank you and praise you for the best gift of yourself in the child Jesus!

Jesus Christ has shown us how to live: loving God and neighbor, sharing what we have, and engaging in acts of mercy and justice. As we celebrate his birth, guide us to be bearers of light, makers of peace,  and heralds of good news to all the world.  Always, Amen.

THE PREFACE:

L   Christ is born among us! The Lord be with you.                  C   AND ALSO WITH YOU!

L   Hope and promise are alive! Lift up your hearts! C   WE LIFT THEM UP IN LOVE FOR GOD!

L   Jesus is our Redeemer! Let us give thanks to our God! C   IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE GOD THANKS AND PRAISE!

L   Gracious God, you came to us as Jesus of Nazareth, one who lived among us, showed us how to live, and willingly suffered and died for us. He was born to give us new life, died to deliver us from grave and from hell. We are humbled to bear his name and with grateful, willing hearts we join heaven and earth in song…

C (sing) JESUS… JESUS…   OH, WHAT A WONDERFUIL CHILD!

JESUS… JESUS…   SO HOLY, MEEK, AND MILD!

NEW LIFE, NEW HOPE, TO ALL HE BRINGS;

LISTEN TO THE ANGELS SING,

“GLORY, GLORY, GLO-RY TO THE NEW BORN KING!”

THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.

THE LORD’S PRAYER  (spoken)

COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. CHRIST COMES TO US IN BREAD AND WINE AND BLESSING, BRINGING US PEACE, UNITY, STRENGTH, AND HOPE! 

COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #55 Brown #234  

THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.                                          

O Lord, with our own eyes we have seen the joy of your salvation, and with our own lips we have tasted of your Kingdom. We celebrate the birth of your Son among us! Shine out through us to a hurting world that knows the night and needs the light.  Amen.

+   Sending   +

THE BENEDICTION…   We go forth in the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to testify, baptize, and serve! 

CLOSING SONG: “There Is a Name I Love to Hear”                                                   Brown #250