This is part of the worship series,
"Six Biblical Characters, Six Traditions of Faith”
Series Introduction
Advent 1 | Advent 2 | Advent 3 | Advent 4
Christmas Eve/Day | Christmas 1
Christmas day
The Incarnational Stream: Jesus Christ
Reading for the Lighting of the Advent Candle
The Advent wreath is a circle with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of God’s unending love and faithfulness.
Jesus Christ is the brightest revelation of God’s love. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15)
“Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” (Philippians 2:6)
“But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:7)
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory.” (John 1:14)
“The glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
All sing: “Silent Night! Holy Night!” (st. 2) Mohr and Harmsel
Scripture
Isaiah 9:2–7
Song setting of Psalm 96: “Sing to the Lord, Sing His Praise” Mason
Titus 2:11–14
Sermon Text: John 1:1–14
Sermon-Building Ideas
Madeleine L’Engle once said, “There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the incarnation.” This is why Richard Foster calls the incarnational tradition the “sacramental life.” The fact that in Jesus Christ the Word became flesh renders all of life forever changed. As Foster writes, this tradition “underscores the fact that God is truly among us in the warp and woof of our very earthy existence” (Streams, p. 266).The Christmas hymn “Joy to the World!” affirms that in the incarnation of Jesus Christ the blessing of God is extended “far as the curse is found.”
The sacramental life emphasizes the sanctity of every human activity. There is no division between the sacred and the secular. This is why the witness of Jesus Christ is frequently institutionalized. In order to fulfill the cultural mandate to yield all of life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, faithful Christians have established Christian schools, labor unions, health care facilities, and political parties. The incarnational tradition affirms that there is no human endeavor than cannot somehow be done to the glory of God. The challenge of the sacramental life is to see God present and active in the mundane realities of life: our work, hobbies, relationships, sleep, eating habits, and study. In contrast to the trends that either denigrate or worship the human body, the incarnational stream affirms the goodness of the human body. Because God inhabited human flesh, the body is something to be treated with respect, and all human beings treated with dignity.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go. Flood our souls with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly that our lives may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come into contact with may feel your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us but only Jesus! Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine; so to share as to be a light to others; the light, O Jesus, will be all from you, none of it will be ours; it will be you, shining on others through us. Let us preach you without preaching, not bywords, but by our example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do, the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you. Amen.
—John Henry Newman from The Complete Book of Christian Prayer, p. 56.
This prayer was written by John Henry Newman (1801-1890), an English Anglican and Catholic cleric known for his influential preaching, teaching, and writing. Perhaps best known for his work Lead, Kindly Light, he became a leader in the Oxford Movement, which sought to interpret the church and the Protestant Reformation in Anglo-Catholic terms.
Song Suggestions
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” Wade and Oakeley
“Joy to the World!” Watts and Mason
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” Wesley et al.
“Come, Lord Jesus” Landry
“This Is Your God/Meekness and Majesty” Kendrick
Revised Common Lectionary
Years A, B, C: Christmas—Nativity of the Lord
