Christmas Day
At-Home Worship

We wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to spend Christmas morning in a way that is both meaningful and practical.

So while we aren't worshiping in person this morning,

we invite you to gather with your favorites -

be that people or your favorite blanket and mug of something warm -

and enjoy this at-home worship designed to bring a little peace and joy

to your holiday celebrations.

You are invited to

click your way through the images below.

Each image is a link to a YouTube video or PDF document.

Moving from one element to the next

will hopefully bring you through a

relaxed, self-paced, interactive worship experience.

"In the past, God spoke through the prophets

to our ancestors in many times and many ways.

In these final days, though,

he spoke to us through a Son.

God made his Son the heir of everything

and created the world through him.

The Son is the light of God's glory

and the imprint of God's being."

~ Hebrews 1:1-3a, Common English Bible

This Christmas classic is a portion of 18th century German composer Georg Friederic Handel's oratorio Messiah. It was originally composed in 1741 and has been performed countless choirs in countries around the world.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

The Light of the world has come! Christ is born! As the light dawns outside our windows this morning, bathing the earth in warmth and color, so too may the Light of Christ dawn in our hearts, bathing our souls in warmth and the kaleidoscope of God's eternal love. And so we pray a prayer of joy and thanksgivng to open our worship.

To read the PDF of the prayer, click the image above.

The tune for "Ding! Dong! Merrily on High" dates back to 16th century France. The lyrics were added by English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward and first published in 1924.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

The Psalm for this morning is Psalm 98 - a psalm that declares the glory of God with joyful abandon throughout all the earth!

If you'd like to read your favorite version, you can do that. If you click on the image above, you'll find a PDF of Psalm 98 from the Common English Bible.

It is no secret that the acapella group Pentatonix is one of Pastor Lisa's favorites, and their version of the favorite Christmas hymn "O Come, All Ye Faithful" conveys all the joy and exuberance of a world in which God took on flesh and love and hope and made a home among us.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

In this congregation, we sing "Let There Be Peace on Earth" after sharing the peace of Christ with one another every Sunday. The words we use are slightly different (the approved alternate lyrics from Jan-Lee Music), but the sentiment is the same. This is such a central element to our worship, it had to be included.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

The gospel lesson for this morning comes from John 1:1-14 - "In the beginning was the Word ..."

If you'd like to read this Scripture reading, you can pull out your favorite translation and read it. Read these blessed words of promise aloud, even if yours are the only ears that will hear them.

You can also click on the image above to find a beautiful musical version of this text as well as the American Sign Language.

"Once in Royal David's City" was originally written as a children's poem by Englishman Cecil Frances Alexander in 1848. It was discovered by English organist Henry Gauntlett in 1849 and put to music.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

The miracle of Christmas is that the God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in between chose to take on flesh out of sheer love for humankind. And when God did that, God spent that time on earth praying for others - praying for the world, for the community, and for those God loved. So today we do the same - out of love, yes, and also out of trust and faith in the power of the God who created us and lived among us.

To read the PDF of the Prayer, click the image above.

Truly a Christmas favorite, both because of its beautiful haunting tune and it's loving lyrics, "What Child Is This?" was first penned by English lyricist William Chatterton Dix in 1865 and set to the English folk tune "Greensleeves" in 1871.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

Our final Scripture reading is Titus 3:4-7. It is a brief reminder of the incomprehensible, unending grace afforded to us by that little baby in the manger that we celebrate today - Jesus, the Christ.

If you'd like to read your favorite version, you can do that. If you click on the image above, you'll find a PDF of Titus 3:4-7 from the Common English Bible.

This is a traditional English Christmas carol. History has lost the name of the original composer, but it began appearing in print some time in the 17th century and was particularly popular in the coastal region of Cornwall.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

Ann Weems was an ordained Presbyterian Ruling Elder and an exceptionally gifted and prolific writer of spiritual poetry and liturgy. We've used her poetry countless times throughout the years in our worship services. Her book Kneeling in Bethlehem: Poems for Advent and Christmas (copyright 1993, WJK Press) includes some beautiful language for exploring all the themes and feelings of this liturgical season.

To read her poem "The Christmas Spirit," click the image above.

Both an exuberant hymn of praise and a call to Christian witness, this hymn began as an African American spiritual - "Christmas Plantation Song." Various stanzas were added and changed by a number of contributors throughout the decades, but it was popularized by Fisk University's Fisk Jubilee Singers led by brothers Frederick Jerome Work and John Wesley Work, Jr. around the turn of the 20th century.

To enjoy this hymn, click the image above.

No matter where you are, who you're with, or your Christmas celebration has looked like this year, one of the greatest blessings of being part of a Christian community is the joy and comfort of praying together. It doesn't matter whether you're someone that we see every Sunday or someone we've never met in person before. We gather together in prayer with this Prayer of Thanksgiving because as siblings in Christ, we are called to pray with and for one another.

To read the PDF of the Prayer, click the image above.

Go Now in Peace

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Christmas Day
At-Home Worship

20 3rd St. SW

P.O. Box 118 Oronoco, MN 55960

507-367-4711

oronocopc@bevcomm.net

Christmas Day At-Home Worship

Christmas Day
At-Home Worship