WELCOME AND NOTICES
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Radiant God, light for all people and all places,
by the guidance of a star you led the Magi to worship the Christ Child.
By the light of faith lead us to worship you in peace
and love, and guide us in your way.
HYMN:Angels, from the Realms of Glory
Angels, from the realms of glory,
wing your flight through all the earth;
heralds of creation’s story,
now proclaim Messiah’s birth:
come and worship
Christ, the new-born King,
come and worship,
worship Christ, the new-born King.
Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
watching by your flocks at night,
God with us is now residing;
see, there shines the infant Light:
come and worship …
Wise men, leave your contemplations,
brighter visions shine afar;
seek in him the hope of nations,
you have seen his rising star:
come and worship …
Though an infant now we view him,
he will share his Father’s throne,
gather all the nations to him:
every knee shall then bow down:
come and worship … © In this version Jubilate Hymns (HFTC)
OPENING PRAYERS
STORY-TIME
O.T. READING: Isaiah 60: 1-6Bruce Hudson
The image of light as a show of God’s glory
INTRODUCTION TO THE N.T READING
READING: Matthew 2: 1-12 Rob & Barbara Meier
HYMN: Wise Men Came Journeying (Tune: Slane WOV455)
Wise men came journeying, once long ago,
camel hooves swirling the sun dune and snow,
gold in the saddle-bag, myrrh in the jar,
incense to honour the Child of the star.
Wise are the travellers led to move on,
following signs where the Christ light has shone,
facing the deserts and crossing the lines,
heeding no limits that culture defines.
Wise are each one of us looking for change,
stargazer people, respecting the strange,
inner and outer worlds open to light,
centred on seeing the real and the right.
Wise ones keep journeying all through their days,
bringing their gifts to the source of their praise,
risking the Promise with all they hold dear,
seeking God’s grace at the door of the year. © Hope Publishing (CoC)
REFLECTION: If we could see the whole journey…
THE OFFERING
As the magi brought gold, so we bring these gifts.
As the magi brought frankincense, so we bring our prayers.
As the magi brought myrrh, so we bring our lives to you, O God;
in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayers of the people & THE LORD’S PRAYER
HYMN: I Come With Joy, a Child of God (Tune: Kilmarnock WOV 186)
I come with joy, a child of God,
forgiven, loved and free,
the life of Jesus to recall,
in love laid down for me.
I come with Christians far and near
to find, as all are fed,
the new community of love
in Christ’s communion bread.
As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share,
each proud division ends.
The love that made us, makes us one,
and strangers now are friends.
The Spirit of the Living Christ,
unseen, but ever near,
is in such friendship better known,
alive among us here.
Together met, together bound,
by all that God has done,
we’ll go with joy, to give the world
the love that makes us one. © Steiner and Bell (CH 4)
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Come with thanksgiving and hope… but not as we had predicted.
We thank you for entering our life; for coming as a child, reminding us that each human life is precious;
that we depend totally on your goodness,
that we rely on each other to live and survive,
that we are to grow in your love and wisdom…
COMMUNION
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Now that the mad rush is over… which keep us from fullness of life.
As we face the year ahead, we thank you for one another and for your grace. Help us individually, and as congregations, to be signs of your compassion, hope, joy, and unity in this world you love. Amen.
HYMN: I Am the Light of the World
“I am the light of the world.
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love
you’ll learn the mystery
of what you were meant to do and be.
When the song of the angel is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and the shepherds
have found their way home,
the work of Christmas is begun:
“I am the light of the world…
to find the lonely and the lost,
to heal their broken souls with love,
to feed the hungry children
with warmth and good food,
to feel the earth below, the sky above;
“I am the light of the world…
to free the prisoners from their chains,
to make the powerful care,
to re-build the nations
with strength of goodwill,
to be at one with people everywhere;
“I am the light of the world…
to bring hope to every task you do,
to dance at a baby’s new birth,
to make music in
an old man’s heart,
and sing to the colours of the earth.
“I am the light of the world… © Desert Flower Music (VU)