This was a tough day to prepare for, for a number of reasons. One was that there are a lot of alternative readings for Christmas Day in the lectionary, so I needed to make a selection. Since I am a Methodist, and a large proportion of my readers seem to be Methodists, I decided to use the Methodist readings for this day – I hope you’ll forgive me if you’re not a Methodist and/or you are using the alternative readings. The truth is that a lot of the resources below will work for any Christmas Day service no matter what readings you are using, so I hope you’ll find something helpful here anyway.

I pray that your Christmas is a time of great celebration and great divine challenge. 

READINGS:  
Isaiah 52:7-10: Good news of the return of God’s peace, salvation and presence to Israel.

Psalm 98: A song of praise for God’s victory and salvation.

Hebrews 1:1-4(5-12): Jesus, God’s Son, radiates God’s glory, created all things and is exalted above all things.

John 1:1-14: The Word who existed in eternity with God, and through whom all things were made, has become flesh, lived among us, and revealed God’s glory to us.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:    
As is fitting, all of the Christmas readings are full of celebration and joy at God’s visitation, God’s glory revealed in Christ, and the hope of salvation that Jesus brings. The incarnation is good news, and God’s appearance among us overcomes darkness and is a manifestation of God’s victory and sovereignty.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION:  The incarnation is God’s reign revealed among us. Within the “weakness” of this Child, amazing strength is manifest – God’s refusal to buy into human political or economic systems or agendas, revealing their darkness while not being overcome by them. The incarnation, then, must call us to reject “worldly” values and strategies for implementing God’s agenda, and also refuse to allow Jesus or the faith of those who follow him to be co-opted into oppressive or exploitative agendas. This Christmas, let’s reaffirm our commitment to follow Christ alone, and our commitment to God’s hidden, peace-bringing, non-partisan ways.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The incarnation of Christ calls us to be participants in incarnation. In our communities and churches we can embody the ways of Christ, opting out of the power struggles and “worldly” use of faith/religion for political or material gains. We can embrace the hidden, agenda-less, self-giving life of Christ. And if we will renew our commitment to incarnation, we will seek and find the places that most need us to serve, heal, and reconcile while also confronting abuses of power, wealth or faith. What do you need to opt out of, oppose, or serve in your community this year?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Silent Night
Come Again
The Foolishness Of Faith
The Familiar Story
Great God Of Miracles And Surprises
You Have Come To Us

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas

Hymns: 
The usual Christmas Carols are easily remembered and don’t need to be listed here, so I’m just going to offer a few unusual suggestions that may complement your normal Christmas music.
Christmas Angels Medley (Just a chord chart based on selected verses and well-known tunes of these popular Carols)
A King Is Born
Little Town (Link to YouTube video of Cliff Richard’s version)
Emmanuel (Link to YouTube video)
And check out Dean McIntyre’s settings of Christmas Carols in contemporary formats at the GBOD

Video:
The Word Became Flesh
What Do You Want?
It Is Christmas
A selection of Christmas video clips from popular movies at Wingclips.com

Images:
Christmas Backgrounds from Worship Graphics
Christmas Graphics from UsingPowerPointInChurch.com
Christmas Graphics from ImageVine

Drama:
Two short dramas for children on the Sacredise Advent & Christmas page
(Scroll down to find the links)
The Foolishness of Christmas
Colours & Kings

Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD

The last week of Advent returns us to the beginning of John’s story, as Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visits Elizabeth, and John leaps within his mothers’ womb. Mary’s song is, of course, one of the highlights of the birth narratives, and carries a powerful justice-proclaiming message.

READINGS:
Micah 5:2-5a: A ruler for God’s people will come from Bethlehem who is a source of peace.

Luke 1:47-55: Mary’s song of praise to the God of justice and mercy.
OR Psalm 80:1-7: A prayer of repentance asking God to turn God’s people back to God and show them mercy.

Hebrews 10:5-10: Jesus’ obedience and sacrifice establishes a new covenant and makes us holy.

Luke 1:39-45 (46-55): Unborn John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb when the pregnant Mary comes to visit.
REFLECTIONS ON THEME:    
The need for repentance, and for God to ‘intervene’ in our world to bring peace, mercy and justice are the strong themes in this week’s readings. Also, there is a sense of great hope and joy because in Jesus God has ‘intervened’ and offered us grace and a new, just way to live.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The work of repentance requires us to take responsibility for our part in the brokenness in our world, acknowledge our responsibility to others. As a society, we do this work by calling our leaders to account, and by responsible participation in the global community – by choosing to act with awareness of the implications of our actions for others. Power is found in this work as we commit to hope, and embrace the signs of growing interconnectedness and collaboration between countries, faiths and sectors of society. These are the signs of Advent in the real world.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The small acts of repentance  toward those we have hurt in our families and communities, and the small acts of turning from apathy to daily justice through learning, participating, voting and teaching, all herald God’s Advent among us in practical ways. Add to this the power of hope in God’s Spirit to empower us, and in Christ’s example to lead us, and we begin to live out the truth that small things really do make a huge difference in the world. These are the signs of Advent in our daily lives.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
In Praise Of Small Things
The Turning Dance
Magnificat

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy for the Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

Hymns: 
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Just As I Am
Joy To The World
Cradled In A Manger Meanly
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
A King Is Born (Link to site with previews of sheet music and mp3, and downloads available)
That’s Why We Praise Him (Link to YouTube video)
Here I Am To Worship (Link to YouTube video)
Do You Hear What I Hear? (Link to YouTube video)

Video:
Mary’s Song

Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD

The third week of Advent (December 13) continues the journey with John the Baptist, focussing on his preaching and the call to justice that he proclaimed. In worship services where we seek to have a strong justice orientation, we couldn’t ask for a better platform to work from!

READINGS:  
Zephaniah 3:14-20: God’s promise to bring the exiled people of Israel home, and to dwell among them, bringing them joy and healing, and including all the marginalised and oppressed ones.

Isaiah 12:2-6: A song of praise for the God “who lives among you”.

Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice, pray and give thanks, and God’s peace will fill you.

Luke 3:7-18: John prepares the people for the coming Messiah, denying that he is the one, and calling them to live justly and with integrity.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:    
The journey with John the Baptist continues as he preaches, baptises and calls people to just and ethical living. All of the passages make a clear connection between preparing the heart for God’s coming and living out the righteousness, justice and joy of God’s reign. The call, then of Advent, is to embrace this internal and external spiritual work. In the run up to Christmas, this call is particularly prophetic, as we choose how to celebrate this season ethically, spiritually and in a Christ-honouring way.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It is ironic that the season of God’s coming to us has, in the wealthy West,  become characterised by inflated prices, increased profit-seeking, rampant consumerism and individualistic greed and excess, while in other parts of the world – notably Africa – the struggle for survival and for a meaningful place in the world’s decision making bodies continues. What might John the Baptist preach to us about this? How can we, who live among the wealthy and powerful, use our privilege to create opportunities and justice for our poorer brothers and sisters?
LOCAL APPLICATION: Who are the voiceless, excluded ones in your community? Who are the ones that a John the Baptist would call you to serve and include? What practices or ways of living would John challenge you on? What uses of your wealth might he question? Is there a way, this week, that your worship can overflow to the poorer communities and people around you? Can you use this Advent season to develop long term programs or strategies for embodying Christ’s coming to the people who most need to hear it in your neighbourhood, and perhaps the world?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
An Uncomfortable Vision
It’s My Problem, Too

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy of Compassion

Hymns: 
A whole selection of hymns new and old for this week at “Singing From The Lectionary”
Advent Hymns arranged for Contemporary Worship from Dean McIntyre of the GBOD
Advent Hymn (David Beswick)
Hallelujah! What A Saviour
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
O Spirit Of The Living God
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
Prepare The Way (Link to MySpace video) 
How Long? (John van de Laar) (Link to Amazon mp3 download)
Glory In The Highest

Video:
Restored Fortune (From The Work of the People, based on the Zephaniah reading)
John The Baptist (SermonSpice)
A Voice In The Wilderness (The Work Of The People)

Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD

The work of preparation continues in the Advent journey this week. With a Gospel focus on John the Baptist, preparation for God’s work of forgiveness and restoration comes through as a strong theme.

READINGS:  
Baruch 5:1-9: A prophecy of God’s restoration of Israel in justice and mercy.
OR Malachi 3:1-4: God is sending God’s messenger to prepare for God’s coming, and God’s people and God’s priests will be refined and made pure.

Luke 1:68-79: Zechariah’s song of thanksgiving for God’s rescue of Israel, and his proclamation of his son, John, as the messenger who will prepare the way for God’s coming.

Philippians 1:3-11: Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for the Philippians, his desire for them to grow in love and purity, and his assurance that Christ will complete the work begun in them.

Luke 3:1-6: John begins his ministry of baptism and preaching, preparing the people for God’s coming.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:    
God is always coming, always available to God’s people, and always working for restoration. But, receiving God’s coming takes preparation, and so God sends a messenger to do this work, to prepare God’s people for God’s coming. The challenge in these passages is for us to embrace the work of preparation for ourselves – opening ourselves to God’s restoring, cleansing and disturbing work, and making our hearts ready for us to be messengers of God’s restorative justice and mercy to the world.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:    
GLOBAL APPLICATION: In a world where measurement happens on a quarterly basis, effective preparation is often sacrificed on the altar of expediency and immediacy. We are all too keen to declare the current recession “over” without taking the time to make the necessary changes to correct the flaws in our systems. The same applies to climate change science, addressing poverty, AIDS and conflict. The prophetic message of Advent is that we need to reflect on our brokenness as revealed in times like these, and prepare ourselves to go forward and do the necessary, lasting work of true restoration. These thoughts could apply particularly to the Climate Change Conference which starts tomorrow (Dec. 7) in Copenhagen.
LOCAL APPLICATION: How much of the day do we spend in reaction? So much pain and injustice is caused simply because we react in fear, anger, self-protection or simply impatience. However, if we can develop a prepared heart, we can more easily slow down, reflect and then act with wisdom and grace. Preparation – particularly of the heart – is restorative. It’s a proactive stance that frees us from our selves and our destructive or unhelpful patterns of behaviour and moves us into a life that more easily considers, serves and brings restoration to others. We need John’s to call us to this work of preparation & then we need to be John’s for others.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
New Days
Messengers

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy of Creation and Communion (If you are picking up on the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen)

Hymns: 
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Love Divine All Loves Excelling
Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
Messenger (New Hymn)
Clear The Path (New Hymn)
Hark The Glad Sound!
God With Us (Link to YouTube video)
God Of This City (Link to YouTube video)
God Will Make A Way (Link to YouTube video)
Hear Our Praises (Link to YouTube video)
Over The Mountains And The Sea (I could sing of your love forever) (Link to YouTube video)

Video:
Recapturing Advent (The Work Of The People)
John The Baptist (SermonSpice)
A Voice In The Wilderness (The Work Of The People)

Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD