Carols By Candlelight Christmas Service Series

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

SERVICE PLAN, READINGS AND COMMENTS

A warm Welcome to our Carols by Candlelight Service.

We are glad you are with us and pray that you will enjoy being here tonight.

A quick safety announcement before we begin:

If the candles set the church on fire - fire exits are to the rear and to the side of the church.

And if we have to abandon the building over water, you will find a life jacket under your seat.

Seriously, the real announcement is that:

There will be free refreshments served in the back hall after the service.

Everyone is welcome to stay for a hot drink and a mince pie or three - but when the service ends please allow a few moments for some of the musicians to move their equipment so that you don’t trip over any cables or instruments. Ok?

Tonight we are going to sing some traditional well known Christmas Carols together -

Feel free to stand or sit as we sing the Carols.

Between the Carols we will have some readings from the Bible to remind us of the Christmas Story -

And instead of preaching a sermon I’m going to share a few thoughts with you as we go along.

I’m going to pray and then we can begin.

Thank you tonight we can celebrate together, the

greatest gift God has ever given us, Jesus Christ.

Let’s stand and sing our first Carol together:

O Come all ye faithful.

When a baby is born there is happiness and rejoicing, children are a blessing to their family, but this baby was born to bless the world in a unique way.

The birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah,

was the fulfilment of a promise made long ago.

Hundreds of years prior to his birth in Bethlehem, a prophecy was given in minute detail about the circumstances of His birth, His character and His ministry.

Let’s listen as Andrea reads our first Bible reading from the book of Isaiah 7:14 and 9:2,6-7 .

1st Reading The sign of Immanuel

God will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel which means ‘God is with us’

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and for ever.

The zeal of the Lord God Almighty

will accomplish this.

Isaiah 7:14 and 9:2,6-7

Immanuel, God with us.

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

They are wonderful descriptions of the promised Messiah.

Jesus, The Son of God, the one who, at the appointed time, came to reconcile, to restore, to bring people into a real relationship with God.

Let’s sing our second carol:

In the Bleak Midwinter

Samantha will now read from Matthew 1:18-25 and remind us that the purpose of Jesus birth, the reason why He was born, was to “save his people from their sins.”

A wonderful statement made in the middle of a conversation between an angel and Joseph who was engaged to be married to Mary.

2nd Reading Joseph accepts Jesus as his son

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfil the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And Joseph named him Jesus, which means the Lord Saves.