This is the Christmas service in the worship series, "Grounded and Growing.
See the links below to access the series introduction and the other services.
Series Introduction Advent 1 Advent 2 Advent 3 Advent 4
Any time a baby is born there is reason to rejoice, but Christ’s birth is so much more than that, and it is our job as worship planners and pastors to make sure we don’t fall prey to sentimentality when preparing the Christmas service. If Christ’s birth was ordinary there wouldn't be angels announcing it. If Christmas was all about a cute baby then the shepherds wouldn’t have left the field nor the magi their home. “Do not be afraid,” we read in Luke 2, “for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
The point isn’t that a baby is born, but that the long awaited Messiah is born. God “has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness” that was highlighted on the fourth Sunday of Advent (Psalm 98:3). But before we get too excited, this same Psalm warns, “he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Maybe we should hear the news of Christ’s birth with a little fear or at least with a greater sense of its import. Isaiah 61:11 highlights the impact of this child’s birth: “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” This is what our focus should be on this Christmas day. Once again we are left with the question of whether or not we find ourselves grounded in that soil and part of the growing vineyard—will we be part of the flourishing?
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found.
—Isaac Watts, “Joy to the World,” (st. 3), adapt. Psalm 98. P.D.
[If your congregation has a traditional Christmas Eve service and does not gather on Christmas Day, this service could easily be adapted for the Sunday after Christmas when the church continues the celebration of Christ’s birth.]
Additional resources and ideas follow the service outline.
Service Outline
[Start worship in a darkened space. If there is a prelude, have it be a quiet one followed by a
Call to Worship and Advent Candle lighting
[A long taper candle is lit as house lights are slowly turned on.]
Out of darkness a light has come.
Out of silence, an angel announces,
“Do not be afraid…
to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11, NRSVUE)
From a dead stump a shoot grows.
“So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:11, NRSVUE)
Today we celebrate the birth of the Messiah.
Today we light the Christ candle.
[Lighting of the Christ candle, traditionally a white candle placed in the center of the Advent wreath or else a separate taller candle.]
Come, let us worship the LORD,
for Christ is born; the promised seed has come.
Opening Song
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” Wade
Greeting
God greets us today with this good news:
Christ has come,
“to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.” (Isaiah 61:1–3, NRSVUE)
Do not be afraid, I am with you.
Songs of Praise
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” Wesley
“Angels We Have Heard on High” French 18th C.
Our Confession of Sin
We celebrate Christ’s birth while acknowledging the reason he came.
Our world, fallen into sin,
has lost its first goodness,
but God has not abandoned the work of his hands:
our Maker preserves this world,
sending seasons, sun, and rain,
upholding all creatures, renewing the earth,
promising a Savior,
guiding all things to their purpose.
Remembering the promise to reconcile the world to himself,
God joined our humanity in Jesus Christ—
the eternal Word made flesh.
He is the long-awaited Messiah,
one with us and one with God,
fully human and fully divine,
conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
Being both divine and human,
Jesus is the only mediator.
He alone paid the debt of our sin;
there is no other Savior.
Jesus Christ rules over all.
To follow the Lord is
to serve him wherever we are,
without fitting in,
light in the darkness,
salt in a spoiling world.
—Our World Belongs to God, para. 1, 4, 23, 26, 43, © 2008, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. Used by permission.
Assurance of Pardon
When the fullness of time had come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
in order to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as children.
—Galatians 4:4–5, NRSVUE
People of God, be assured that you are forgiven.
Passing of the Good News
“Christ is born!” “Hallelujah! Amen.”
Response of Thanksgiving
“Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” German, 15th C.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading
Old Testament: Isaiah 61
Psalm: Psalm 98
New Testament: Luke 2:1–20
Sermon
The Promised Seed
[For sermon notes see the service introduction]
Song or Hymn of Response
“Joy to the World” Psalm 98, Watts
Creed and/or Testimonials
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of light,
very God of very God;
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made.
Who, for us and our salvation,
came down from heaven,
and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary,
and was made man.
—from the Nicene Creed
Prayers of the People
Offering, Offertory Prayer
Lord’s Supper
Thanksgiving
Song or Hymn of Dedication
“Once in Royal David’s City” (st. 1–4) Alexander
Call to Service
The grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions,
and in the present age to live lives
that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
—Titus 2:11–13, NRSVUE
Go forth,
living a life grounded and growing in Christ,
and receive his blessing.
Blessing/Benediction
May Jesus Christ, the promised seed,
who has come to redeem us all,
fill you with his peace and joy.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen.
—Joyce Borger © 2025 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Used by permission.
Weekly Prompt
If you gather during the holiday to give and receive gifts, pause before or after and consider together what it means that Christ came into the world. What gifts have we received because of Christ’s birth? What difference does Christ’s birth make for ourselves, how we view the world now, and our future hope?
If you are with a creative crowd use the wrappings from the gifts to create some sort of artistic expression of your answer, possibly splitting up into groups to do so. Or later in the week, spend some quiet time with whatever resources you might have to do so on your own. This would also be a great activity for children who are wondering what to do with their free time.
Creeds and Confessions
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Our Song of Hope, st. 3–4
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Westminster Confession, Chap. VIII, Sec. 2–3
