First Sunday after Christmas
29 december 2013
The Gathering of the Community
Processional Hymn
‘Good King Wenceslas’ Common
Praise #145
Introductory Responses
Blessed are you, O Christ, Son of God,
you were before time began
and came into the world to save us.
Blessed are you, Sun of righteousness;
you shine with the Father’s love
and illumine the whole universe.
Blessed are you, Son of Mary;
born a child, you shared our humanity.
Let heaven
and earth shout their praise.
With all the voices of heaven
we celebrate the coming of our Saviour.
Let heaven
and earth shout their praise.
With all the creatures on earth
we sing and dance at his birth.
Praise and
honour and glory to you, O Lord most high.
Hymn of Praise
Gloria in excelsis [i]
Collect
Let us pray.
O Lord God,
you know that we cannot place our trust
in our own powers.
As you protected the infant Jesus,
so defend us and all in need
from harm and adversity,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen. [ii]
The Proclamation of the Word
First Reading
A reading from the prophet Isaiah (63.7-9).
I
will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has
done for us, and the great favour to the house of Israel that he has shown them
according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, “Surely they are my people, children
who will not deal falsely”; and he became their saviour in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence
that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them
up and carried them all the days of old.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to
God.
The Psalm
Psalm 148 with
the Refrain from Songs for the Holy One
Refrain (sung twice): We join the
whole world to praise the Holy One.
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the
heavens; *
praise
God in the heights.
2 Praise the Lord all you
angels; *
sing
praises, all you host of heaven.
3 Praise the Lord, sun and
moon; *
sing
praises, all you shining stars.
4 Praise the Lord, heaven of heavens, *
sing praises, you waters above the
heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord; *
who gave the command and they were
created,
6 who made them stand fast for ever and ever, *
who gave them a law which shall not
pass away.
Refrain: We join the whole world to praise the Holy One.
7 Praise the Lord from the
earth, *
you
sea-monsters and all deeps;
8 fire and hail, snow and
fog, *
tempestuous
wind, doing the will of the Lord;
9 mountains and all hills, *
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 wild beasts and all cattle, *
creeping things and wingèd birds;
Refrain: We join the whole world to praise the Holy One.
11 sovereigns of the earth
and all peoples, *
princes
and all rulers of the world;
12 young men and young women,
*
old
and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, *
whose name only is exalted,
whose splendour is over earth and
heaven.
14 The Lord has raised up strength for this people *
and praise for all loyal servants, *
the children
of Israel, *
a people who are near to the Lord.
Hallelujah!
Refrain: We join the whole world to praise the Holy One.
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (2.10-18).
It
was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing
many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect
through sufferings. For the one who
sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call
them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers
and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Here am I and the children whom
God has given me.”
Since,
therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the
same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power
of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in
slavery by the fear of death. For it is
clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers
and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of
the people. Because he himself was
tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to
God.
The Gradual Hymn
‘Love Came Down at Christmas’ Common
Praise #131
The Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And also with
you.
The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according
to Matthew (2.13-23).
Glory to you,
Lord Jesus Christ.
Now
after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and
said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy
him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child
and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death
of Herod. This was to fulfill what had
been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my
son.”
When
Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he
sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old
or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken
through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice
was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her
children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
When
Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of
Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his
mother, and went to the land of Israel. But
when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father
Herod, he was afraid to go there. And
after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called
Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled,
“He will be called a Nazorean.”
The gospel of Christ.
Praise to
you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sermon
An Affirmation of Faith
Let us affirm our faith.
We believe
that Christ
is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn
of all creation;
that in
Christ all things in heaven and earth were created,
things
visible and invisible,
that Christ
himself is before all things,
and in him
all things hold together;
that Christ
is the head of the body, the church,
for in Christ
the fullness of God was pleased to dwell;
that through
Christ all things, whether on earth or in heaven, have been reconciled to God.
The Prayers of the Community
Intercessions, Petitions and Thanksgivings
The Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with
you.
The Holy Communion
The Offertory Hymn
‘The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy’ Common
Praise #128
Prayer over the Gifts
Good and loving God,
we
rejoice in the birth of Jesus,
who
came among the poor
to
bring the riches of your grace.
As
you have blessed us with your gifts,
let
them be a blessing for others.
With
the trees of the field,
with
all earth and heaven,
we
shout for joy at the coming of your Son,
Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. [iv]
Thanksgiving
at the Table
The Lord be with you.
And also with
you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them
to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right
to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, gracious God,
creator of heaven and earth;
we give you thanks and praise
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who in the mystery of his incarnation
was made truly human
of the flesh of the Virgin Mary his mother;
in him we have seen a new and radiant vision of
your glory.
Therefore with all the angels of heaven,
we lift our voices and sing our joyful hymn of
praise
to proclaim the glory of your name.
Holy, holy,
holy Lord,
God of power
and might,
heaven and
earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in
the highest.
Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord.
Holy One, the beginning and the end, the giver of
life:
Blessed are you for the birth of creation.
Blessed are you in the darkness and in the light.
Blessed are you for your promise to your people.
Blessed are you for the prophets’ hopes and dreams.
Blessed are you for Mary’s openness to your will.
Blessed are you for your Son, Jesus, the Word made
flesh.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness
of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has
died.
Christ is
risen.
Christ will
come again.
With this bread and cup we remember
your Word dwelling among us, full of grace and
truth.
We remember our new birth in his death and
resurrection.
We look with hope for his coming.
Come, Lord
Jesus.
Holy God, we long for your Spirit.
Come among us.
Bless this meal.
May your Word take flesh in us.
Awaken your people.
Fill us with your light.
Bring the gift of peace on earth.
Come, Holy
Spirit.
All praise and glory are yours, Holy One of Israel,
Word of God incarnate, Power of the Most High,
one God, now and for ever. Amen. [vi]
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our Father in
heaven,
hallowed be
your name,
your kingdom
come,
your will be
done,
on earth as
in heaven.
Give us today
our daily bread.
Forgive us
our sins
as we forgive
those who sin against us.
Save us from
the time of trial,
and deliver
us from evil.
For the
kingdom, the power,
and the glory
are yours,
The Breaking of the Bread
We break the bread of life,
and that life is the light of the world
God here
among us,
light in the
midst of us,
bring us to light
and life.
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to
God.
The Communion
Communion Hymn
‘Born in the Night’
Common Praise #130
The Sending Forth of the Community
Prayer after Communion
Radiant God,
with
our eyes we have seen your salvation,
and
in this meal we have feasted on your grace.
May
your Word take flesh in us,
so
that we may be your holy people,
revealing
your glory made known to us
in
Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.
[viii]
Glory to God,
whose power,
working in us,
can do
infinitely more
than we can
ask or imagine.
Glory to God
from generation to generation,
in the Church
and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and
ever. Amen.
Closing Hymn
‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’ Common
Praise #148
Dismissal
Go forth in the light of Christ.
Thanks be to
God.
[i] Lang Carol
Mass.
[ii] ‘Trial Use
Propers’ 2013).
[iii] Colossians
1.15-20 as arranged by the Rev’d Dr R. G. Leggett.
[iv] ‘Trial Use
Propers’ 2013).
[v] Lang Carol
Mass.
[vi] Thanksgiving
at the Table III in Evangelical Lutheran
Worship (2006), 110.
[vii] Common Praise #744.
[viii] ‘Trial Use
Propers’ (2013).
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