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Worship Music
Sunday | December 21, 2025
WELCOME
MUSIC IN WORSHIP
Holy Infant, Infant Lowly
Infant holy, infant lowly
Heaven’s highest love come down
For the poor You left Your glory
And You laid aside Your crown
Weak and helpless, here You slumber
In a stable with Your mother
As the shepherds gather ’round
Do they know You’ve left Your crown?
Infant holy, infant lowly
You who once held Heaven’s power
Now You lie here, cold and hungry
In the silent midnight hour
With Your parents wrapped in worry
Still exhausted from their journey
You were helplеss in that hour
Yet You set aside Your powеr
Infant holy, infant lowly
King of kings and Lord of lords
You have come to us with nothing
As the poorest of the poor
So we come to You in wonder
See You helpless as You slumber
As we lay our gifts before
Christ the Savior, weak and poor
Emmanuel/Hallowed Manger Groud
What hope we hold this starlit night
A King is born in Bethlehem
Our journey long, we seek the light
That leads to the hallowed manger ground
What fear we felt in the silent age
Four-hundred years can He be found
But broken by a baby’s cry
Rejoice in the hallowed manger ground
Chorus
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
God incarnate, here to dwell
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
Praise His name Emmanuel
The son of God, here born to bleed
A crown of thorns would pierce His brow
And we beheld this offering
Exalted now the King of kings
Praise God for the hallowed manger ground
(Chorus)
..Oh, praise His name Emmanuel
Oh, praise His name Emmanuel
Children Dismissed to Sunday School
OFFERING
If you give online, we invite you to continue in worship by thanking God for His provision. The offering plate is also is at the back of the sanctuary for those giving by cash or check. Please feel free to place your gift in there on your way out. Visitors, please feel no pressure to give.
Offering Prayer (together)
(from New Life Fellowship, NY)
Father, you are an abundant giver.
There is nothing that we have that you have not given us.
The way of your kingdom is the way of generosity.
Help us honor you with our resources.
Free us from the deceit of riches.
Lead us on the path of generosity.
For your glory, Lord, for the abundance of our own lives and for the sake of others.
PRAYER
Shaloni Kumar
Teaching
Familiar Stranger: The Forgotten Participant
Jonathan Markham
Scripture: Luke 1:26-44
Luke 1:26-44
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings,a]”>[a] favored woman! The Lord is with you!b]”>[b]”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israelc]”>[c] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.d]”>[d]”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
COMMUNION
Welcome to the Table
Come to this table not because you must but because you may
Not because you are strong but because you are weak
Come not because of any goodness of your own gives you the right to come but because you need mercy and help
Come because you’ve a little and you would like to live even more
Come because God loves you
Come and meet the risen Christ for He is the bread of life
Confession
“ The sad irony of our day is that we can be deeply committed to being a
Christian but not deeply formed by Christ” Rich Villodas.
(Congregation joins in where text is bold)
O Lord, you are our shepherd,
and yet we sometimes live like sheep without a shepherd.
We lie down when we could act,
We stir the pot when we could offer peace,
We wander tempting paths instead of following you.
We seek courage and comfort in earthly things rather than in you.
We hate our enemies and refuse to break bread with them,
We see scarcity even when you offer us abundance.
Forgive us, we pray.
May we dwell with You forever. Amen.
Jesus says: 29 “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
– Matt 11:29-30
Communion
We come together around this table of memories. It is not that we deserve to be here. This is not a right to be earned. This is not a reward to be achieved. This is a gift which can only be accepted from our forgiving and generous God.
We proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ was birthed among us.
Christ was killed among us.
Christ rises again among us.
It was at a table like this that Jesus shared His last meal with His followers.
We lift the bread as He did. We break it as He did. And we share it remembering His words:
“My body is broken for you. Eat and remember me.”
We also lift the cup as He did. And we share it remembering His words:
“My blood flows for you. Drink and remember me”.
“Go into all the world,” said Jesus;
We go to make His loving words heard.
“What you do for the least, you do for Me,” said Jesus;
We go to make His loving deeds seen.
“I will never drive away any who come to me,” said Jesus;
We go to make His loving invitation known.
May the love of God, the Three-in-One, fill our hearts and make us
one with God, and with all of God’s children,
And may we grow in that love now and always. Amen
CLOSING SONG
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
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 angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”
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 th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with man as man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”
Hail the heaven-born
Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of the earth,
born to give them second birth
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King
BLESSING
Upcoming Events
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