Community Church Service: Christmas Isn’t Always Merry
7:00 pm December 19, 2024
Dayspring Presbyterian Church Minister: The Rev. Brad Childs
Greenfield Community Church Lead Pastor: Tyler Williams
Music Director: Binu Kapadia
Singers: Lynn Vaughan, Linda Farrah-Basford, Caley Tse and Brad Childs
We gather to worship God
Music Prelude
Welcome: Brad Childs
Lighting of the Christ candle
L: We light the Christ Candle knowing that Jesus is the Light of the world
P: The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.
Call to worship
L: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
P: The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
L: In him was life, and that life was the light of all.
P: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to extinguish it.
L: Then Your light will break forth like the dawn,
P: And Your healing will spring up quickly;
L: The Lord will always be with you to save you,
P: God’s presence will protect us on every side.
L: When you call the Lord will answer;
P: When we call for help, God will say, “I am here.”
Musical Offering: Somewhere in your silent night
Reading: (Isaiah 9:2)
Response: People in darkness (124: vs 1)
Reading: (Romans 12:15)
Response: People in darkness (124 vs 2)
Reading: (Romans 8:16-17)
Response: People in darkness (124 vs 3)
Reading: (Revelation 21:4)
Response: People in darkness (124 vs 4)
Prayer for ourselves and our world
Gracious God, we thank you for those we love and who loved us. We are grateful that they were part of our lives. We pray that nothing good in their lives will be lost, but will be of benefit to the world; that all that was important to them will be honoured by those who follow. We thank you for the friendship they gave and for the strength and peace they brought. We thank you for the love they offered and received in life. We thank you that in Christ we are forgiven for those times when we failed those we love, in word and by our actions. We ask for healing of those deep wounds, for the times when our trust was betrayed, or when we felt abandoned, or we were angry. We ask that through our family and friends, through our hearts and our minds, in our courage and our consciousness, that which needs to be set aside, forgiven, and forgotten can be released and redeemed by your grace. We pray for ourselves, who are tested by sorrow and the changes that have happened in our lives, that we do not try to minimize our loss, or seek refuge from it in words alone, nor brood over it so that it overwhelms us and isolates us from each other. God, grant us courage and confidence in the new life that you have promised. We ask these prayers in the name of the Risen Christ.
Song: In suffering love (696)
Readings – Reflections – Prayers
Reading: Hebrews 2:16-18
Reflection: Brad Childs
We aren’t and can’t ever be alone. Even in our suffering, Christ is there, and no matter what pain we feel, ours is a God who knows the pierce of the nails and what it is to be with us, for us, and be us.
In 1988 an earthquake hit Armenia. From Canada, it’s hard to imagine. Yet, there were over 130,000 injuries, and more than 30,000 human beings were killed in a matter of minutes. After the Quake, a father left the safety of his home and rushed to the school where he knew his son had been at the time of the earthquake. When he arrived, he found that the building had been completely levelled.
The father had once made a promise to his son, saying that no matter what, “I’ll always be there for you,” and for some reason, the father could not get that promise out of his mind. As he looked at the pile of debris, he felt hopeless, and tears filled his eyes. What could he possibly do? One man? But he kept remembering that promise. “I’ll always be there for you.”
Recalling where his son’s classroom had been, he ran to the back right corner of the building and started digging through the rouble and tossing chunks of concrete behind him. The air was thick in dust and smelled like burnt electrical wires. As the father was digging, other heartbroken parents arrived. The scene was nothing but: twisted metal, broken bricks, wires and smoke. Everyone was crying out “my son” or “my daughter” head in hands.
Others tried to pull the father away, saying. “It’s too late,” “Everyone is already dead,” “You can’t help,” or “There is nothing we can do.” But the father kept digging and responding the same way by moving stone after stone behind him.
Eventually, the fire chief tried to pull the man away as well, knowing that there were fires about to start breaking out and small explosions we’re still taking place all around them. But the Father wouldn’t stop.
Courageously the father preceded on alone. He dug for 8 hours, 12 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours and then on the 40th hour he quit.
“Dad, it’s me,” he heard back. “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them you would always be there. I told them you promised you were coming.”
There were 13 other children still alive underneath the rubble and surviving inside a small area braced by what used to be part of a door frame collapsed within what used to be a storage closet.
1 Promise and 14 lives were kept that day.
As much as we wish it to be, this story is not the only one to be told of that day. In reality, a lot of people died. A lot of people lost loved ones. And the world, despite this miracle, was not yet set entirely right.
But at the same time, it’s easy to give up, believing that things are beyond hope. And still, none of us knows what blessings might await us. No matter what happens this side of paradise, our God is the father who never gives up. The God and Father of Jesus Christ promised to be with us and to take us home. As it says in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxieties on Him,” for he can handle it.
Our Father comes too, with a promise to always be there and to save. It may not always appear that way, but it’s true. And this is hope.
Advent Candle Lighting
L: We light the candle of Hope as we await the coming of Jesus, who is the source of hope.
P: We give thanks for the gift of hope in a time of despair.
Reading: Luke 2:8-11
Reflection: Tyler Williams
Advent Candle Lighting
L: We light the candle of Joy, knowing that our comfort and help come from God.
P: We give thanks for the gift of joy in a time of sadness.
Reading: John 8:12-14
Reflection: Lynn Vaughan
Advent Candle Lighting
L: We light the candle of Love, knowing that God is Love revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
P: We give thanks for the gift of love in a time of loneliness.
Musical Offering: O come all you unfaithful
Reading John 14:25-27
Reflection: Sara-May Cardy
Advent Candle Lighting
L: We light the candle of Peace, knowing that Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
P: We give thanks for the gift of peace in times of uncertainty.
All are invited to come forward and light a Candle of Hope.
Song: Hope is a Star (119)
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Numbers in brackets after a song/hymn indicate that it is from the 1997 Book of Praise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Those and other songs are being used in accordance with the specifications of Dayspring’s licensing with One License (3095377) and CLC (A735555).
The presenters retain the copyright (© 2024) on all original material in this service. As far as they are aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is their own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.