Welcome to Sojourn’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap. You’ll not only read a list of the songs we led, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy. And if you’d like to see how we incorporate liturgical art and lead the responsive readings, watch the embedded video of our entire service, or check it out on the Sojourn New Albany Facebook page. Our liturgy is written by worship director Justin Shaffer in collaboration with worship directors at other Sojourn churches.
This Sunday Pastor Jonah Sage preached from the story of Mary, in our Mothers Of Jesus series. In this short Advent/Christmas series, we are learning about the character and plans of God that He reveals in Jesus’ ancestry (particularly, the five women listed in Jesus’ genealogy). Learn more about Sojourn Community Church here.
Christmas Eve morning service, 2017 from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.
Prelude: O Come All Ye Faithful
CALL TO WORSHIP [Love]
Good morning and Merry Christmas! If you are visiting with us, we are glad you are here. Today we light the advent candle that symbolizes love to celebrate the God who is named Love. We have the amazing opportunity to join the song of the angels worshipping the God of love. Join me in reading our Call to Worship in the underlined portions.
Day after day and night after night they (the angels) keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
- Revelation 4:8b
Let’s respond to the God of love by joining the song of the angels this morning.
Song: Angels We Have Heard On High-Modern Post
CONFESSION:
Listen:
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, her punishment is over and done with.” – Based on Isaiah 40:1-3
Christmas and the birth of Jesus is an announcement of peace from God. But often our souls & minds overflow with anxiety and unrest. Let’s take a moment now in the silence of this gathering to lift those burdens and worries to God.
(Silence)
Let’s sing together with the expectation that only Christ our Emmanuel can give us rest.
O Come O Come Emmanuel
ASSURANCE
…God proves His promise to be true so that we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever…
-adapted from Hebrews 6:18-20
And this hope to whom we cling is Jesus the Messiah! Pastor Lachlan, why don’t you and the kids come up to talk about how Jesus meets us in the entirety of our lives! 🙂
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PASTOR LACHLAN and the KIDS
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GIVING
When we are radically changed by the One who first came as a babe in a manger, we recognize that everything we have pales in comparison to this great relationship, and we find overwhelming joy in giving sacrificially. Then God doubles our joy by using the money we give back to him for the sake of His kingdom. Let’s read this aloud:
Father, you gave us the richest gift of all
when you sent your Son.
Now we offer the firstfruits of our money to you,
as a sign of our love and gratitude.
Let us behold our God as the giving baskets are passed around-
What Child is This?
PASSING OF THE PEACE
We have family to remind us of our hope in Jesus. Let’s greet each other today, thanking the Lord for one another.
SERMON/COMMUNION:
Song: Light of the World
Reading: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” –Luke 2:13-14
Let’s sing this truth, knowing that Emmanuel has come, and is coming again!
Song: Joy to the World, This is the Christ
BENEDICTION:
Go now in the power of the Holy Spirit; looking forward to the day when we behold the beauty of our risen Savior. Peace be with you.