Christmas Day A (2016): The Big Gift/ The Light Wins

Note: 

There is an updated 2025 version of this post with more stuff.

Bible readings: Isaiah 62:6-12, Psalm 97, Titus 3:4-7, Luke 2:1-20
About the Images:
Upper Left: This is a microsoft free clipart image with my Biblical text
Upper Right: This is a Christian Clipart.com image with Biblical text preceded by a line from the song "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" by Rebecca St James (see below).
Lower Left: This is my image taken of the ancient entrance and wall into Bethlehem. Please feel free to use it for worship and related activities.
Lower Right: This is a slide from Church Galleries - see my link in the column at left.

Listening Song: Sweet Little Jesus Boy
By Rebecca St James on the WOW Christmas album (pictured at right)

 Kid's Story: Chi-Wee's Special Present
Found in The Lion Christmas Book compiled by Mary Batchelor, Lion, 1984, ISBN 0745912206, page 22 (pictured at left). This is a lovely story about what it really means to give a gift.

Kid's Story: One Little Angel
By Ruth Brown, Red Fox, 1998, ISBN 0099404362 (pictured at  right). This story has a delightful surprise ending.

Kid's Story: The Fox's Story
By Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen, 1988, ISBN 0551015799 (pictured at left).  This is one of a set of excellently illustrated stories. They have been republished insets of four however I never let mine out of my sight - just in case.

Kid's Story: Great Joy
By Kate DiCamillo and Bagram Ibatoulline, Candlewick Press, 2007, ISBN 9780763629205 (pictured at right).

Kid's Story: Jed and Roy McCoy
by Andrew McDonough, Lost Sheep Resources, 2007 ISBN 9781921229121 (pictured at left). Visit lostsheep.com.au for downloads of this book in a number of different formats for both Mac and PC.  The site also has free activity sheets and lots of other resources. 




Film Clip: When God was Born



Drama: Angel Space
Found in Lightning Sketches by Paul Burbridge and Murray Wells, Hodder and Stoughton, 1981, ISBN 0340267100, page 28.

Drama: Accept My Gift
 Found in Mega Drama 2 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2001, ISBN 085910916Xv2, page 96

Drama: The Shepherd
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 94

Drama: Unto You
Found in Mega Drama 2 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2001, ISBN 085910916Xv2, page 90 .

Plenary Discussion:
How many people received Christmas cards this year?
How many people received religious ones?
With neighbours: Is the real story gradually being lost?

Story: Chippie's Bad Day
Found in More Hot Illustrations for Youth by Wayne Rice, Zondervan 1995, ISBN 0310207681 page 51.  An illustration of the difference Christmas can make to our lives.

Poems: From Outback Christmas
By Pro Hart and Norman Habel, Lutheran Publishing House, 1990, ISBN 0859105628, page 32 (pictured in an earlier blog). If you want to give your service a real Australian flavour the following poems and their corresponding artwork go very well with the Luke reading for today: The Ride to Bethlehem (vs1-5), Jesus' Birth (6), The Bethlehem Pub (7), The Stockmens' Story (8-14), Report of the Stockmen (15-20)

Poem and Prayer: defiant light
Found in Dad and Daughter by Ron Gordon and Jennie Gordon, 2012, ISBN 9780646586601, page 6.  I am giving everyone a bookmark copy of this lovely poem to take home and discover at their leisure. This book with poems and prayers for the three year cycle of the lectionary is available from Unichurch Resource Centre (mailto:David.Caldecoat@victas.uca.org.au) and all proceeds go to the Christmas Bowl, the Christmas Appeal of Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia. The book did cost $25 plus $15 postage to anywhere in the world but the poor showing of the Aussie dollar at the moment may have changed the price a little.

Meditation: The Word
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 98.

Response Activity: Christmas Cards
Give everyone a business sized card as above and a time of silence to pray.

Response Activity: Light in the World
Have a big gift box at the front on the church filled with enough stars for everyone to take one home. Print a prayer about being light in the dark on each star. This idea is roughly based on an idea by Christine Wright in Christmas Wrapped Up! by Scripture Union, 2003 ISBN 9781859997956, page 78. (pictured at right and which is full of brilliant ideas for Christmas).

Also:

Meditation: Quiet Remembering

Found in Meditations from the Iona Community by Ian Reid, Wild Goose Publications, Trowbridge, 1998, ISBN 1901557022, page 16.

Christmas Eve A (24th December 2016): Peace on Earth

Note: 

There is an updated 2025 version of this post with more stuff.

Bible Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-20

About the Images:
Upper Left: A free microsoft clipart with text from the Bible
Upper Right: Found at http://www.gwpda.org/photos/greatwar.ht It is an actual picture of two soldiers with Christmas trees during the Christmas Truce on the Western Front.
Lower Left: A free clipart with text from the Bible.
Lower Right: This free image comes from www.sundaygraphx.blogspot.com

Call To Worship: This, Tonight, is the Meeting Place
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 83. (pictured below at left).

Listening Song: Christe Elieson
By Michelle Tumes on her album, Centre of My Universe (pictured at left).

Listening Song: Emmanuel
By Michael W. Smith on WOW  Christmas or on his album, Christmas Time (pictured at right).

Listening song: I Still Pray
By Casey Chambers on The Spirit of Christmas 2001 (pictured at left)

Listening Song: Blessed is...
By The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation on their album, A Window in Heaven (pictured at right) 

Reading: The Journey of Jesus
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worsh
ip Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 84 (pictured at left below).

Film Clip: He Came Down



Drama (Monologue): The Shepherd
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 94 (pictured at left).

Story: Two Babies in the Manger
Author unknown but it can be found in many places on the net by googling the title. It is the story of a little orphan boy called Misha and is set in the early 1990's.

Story: The Christmas Truce on the Western Front
The web has lots of pictures and accounts of this amazing truce which occurred on Christmas Eve 1914. Just google the title. Wikapedia is as good a source as any. However if you are really stuck, The Lion Christmas Book by Mary Batchelor (ed.), Lion Publishing, 1986, ISBN 0745912206, has the story on page 69.

Film Clip: Joyeux Noel
This is the film of the above story.

Film Clip; Christmas Truce
This is a documentary of the same story with lots of useful scenes.

Listening Song: Belleau Wood
By Garth Brooks on his album, Sevens (pictured at left). This is a song about the Christmas truce. I turned the sound off the documentary above and played this song as the backing for silent scenes of the soldiers coming out of their trenches to make their peace with each other.

Film Clip: Belleau Wood
This puts original photos, paintings and modern film stills together with Garth Brooks' song.



Story: The Christmas Troll
By Eugene H Peterson and Will Terry, Navpress,2004, ISBN 1576836819 (pictured at right)

Meditation: The People Who Walked
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 24.

Meditation: How Can I Keep from Singing
Show a series of images of the nativity and play How can I Keep from Singing (by Enya on her singles album, Silent Night) in the background.

Responsive Prayer: A Boy Has Been Born For UsFrom Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 114.

Prayer for Others: When The World Was Dark
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 92.

Proclamation: They Have Heard It on the Hills
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 97.

Response Activity: Candle Lighting and Offering at 12 midnight:
Works as follows:
Our offering tonight is for......fill in the blanks but not your own church - someone else instead. Please come forward and place your offering in the bowl provided and take a taper. If you have not brought anything with you, don't worry, just come and take a taper. Form a large circle around the church instead of returning to your seat. (This can be done with just about any number of people). Jesus said "I am the light of the world". (Light the Christ candle, light your taper off the Christ candle and light the tapers of the people on each side of you. Encourage them to light the taper of the person next to them and so on). As Jesus' light travels around the circle, we pray that God's love will be in everyone's hearts tonight and always.

Response Activity: Jesus the Light of the World
At some point in the service (where it fits) ask people to take a tea light, light it and place it around a small wooden feed box (with or with out baby) to represent Jesus as the light of the world. If your service ends at midnight, turn the lights off completely at this point so that only the manger is highlighted.

Also:

Meditation: Quiet Remembering

Found in Meditations from the Iona Community by Ian Reid, Wild Goose Publications, Trowbridge, 1998, ISBN 1901557022, page 16.

Advent 4 A (18 December 2016): A Life Uncommon/Courage

Note: 
There is an updated 2025 version of this post with more stuff.

Bible Readings: Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80:1-7,17-19, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25

About the Images:
Upper Left: This is a free microsoft clipart image with a line of text from the song 'Life Uncommon' by Jewel.
Upper right: The Dream of St Joseph by Rembrandt. Public domain. Found at http://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org/photo_gallery.fineart.htm
Lower Left:  This is a free Hermano Leon image.  Please visit their site via my link column at left.
Lower Right: This is a slide from Church Galleries - see my link in the column at left

Kid's Story: An "Ordinary" Christmas?
Found in Fun Group Devotions for Children's Ministry by various authors, Group Publishing 1993 ISBN 1559451610, page 31 (pictured at left). This is based on the Matthew reading.
 
Kid's Time: Jesus' Family Tree
Found in More Hot Illustrations for Youth by Wayne Rice, Zondervan 1995, ISBN 0310207681, page 93 (pictured at right). There are the most amazing and colourful characters in Jesus' family tree and this little story makes the most of them all.  Lots of fun if you get the whole congregation to participate with the kids.

Drama: The Diaries of Joseph and Theodore
Found in Cloth For the Cradle by The Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 68 (pictured at right). This is based on the Matthew reading.

Drama: The Village Gossips
Found in Cloth For the Cradle by The Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 58 (pictured at right). This drama is also based on the Matthew reading.

Discussion:
How would Joseph have felt?
How would Mary have felt?
In what way does Immanuel (God with us) make a difference to you?

Listening Song: Immanuel
By Michael Card on his album, The Final Word.(pictured at right). This goes well with the gospel reading but, as you can tell from the title, it goes well with Christmas in general.

Listening Song: Life Uncommon
By Jewel on her album, Spirit (pictured at left). This goes well with the Christmas story and relates well to those ordinary people, like Mary and Joseph, who did indeed live a life uncommon.

Listening song: So This is Christmas
By John Lennon on his album, Lennon Legend (pictured at right). This song, an oldie but a goodie, challenges us to think about the implications of Christmas.

Story: A Stranger At the Door
Found in More Hot Illustrations for Youth by Wayne Rice, Zondervan 1995, ISBN 0310207681, page 25 (see illustration above right).


Story: Taking a Stand
Found in The New Century Version Youth Bible, Word, 1991, ISBN 0849909252, page 907 (pictured at left).

Response Activity: Christmas Haiku
Give everyone a small piece of paper or card and a pen or pencil. Give them step by step instructions on how to write a five line haiku as follows: 1. Choose a character from the Christmas story 2. Two feelings your character experienced 3. Three words which describe your character 4. Four or more words to describe something your character did that you admire 5. One word that describes how you would like to be like your chosen character. To conclude, one option is then to collect them all and laminate them and return them - another is to put them all in a photo album and leave the album where everybody has access to it.

Quote: St Hildegard of Bingen
This makes a great benediction/blessing.
Be not lax in celebrating.
Be not lazy in the festive service of God.

And be ablaze with enthusiasm. 

Also:

Taize Service: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 40. This is based on the Matthew reading.

Blue Christmas A (anytime in Advent): For those who find Christmas to be a tough time.

Note: There is an updated 2025 version of this post with more stuff

Bible Readings: Luke 2:1-7, Luke 6:17-23, Psalm 22:1-11, Matthew 11:28-29, Romans 8:35, 38-39

Blue Christmas's are not lectionary based - here below are a few ideas which vary from those I have put up in previous years B and C.

About the images:
Above left: This is a free microsoft clipart image - it connects well with a particular age and gender for whom blue Christmas services are particularly applicable.
Above Right: Taken by Mrs Julia Walker - please feel free to use it for worship and related activities. Grief and loss are experienced by all ages.
Lower Left:  This is a free Heartlight image: see my links column on the left.
Lower Right: This free image comes from www.sundaygraphx.blogspot.com. It makes a great background slide.


Listening Song : Mary Did You Know
By Kathy Mattea on her album Good News (pictured at left) or on WOW Christmas.

Story: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
By Susan Wojciechowski and P. J. Lynch, Walker Books, 1995, ISBN 0744554020 (pictured at right) . This is a breathtakingly beautiful children's book which speaks to all ages about loss, grief and Christmas.

Advent 3 A (11 December 2016): Healing and Transformation

Note: There is an updated 2025 version of this post with more stuff

Bible Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1;46-55, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11

About the Images:
Upper left: This is a microsoft free clipart image with text from the Isaiah reading.
Upper right: It never ceases to amaze me how the prickly, brittle and dry Australian bush can be transformed at certain times of the year by the most amazingly beautiful flowers. I took this photo near Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales. It is a drumstick flower which grows on a rather spiky large bush. Feel free to use this photo as you wish.
Lower left: This image comes from the excellent Church Galleries site (see my link in the below left column).
Lower Right:  This is a Microsoft free clipart image onto which I added the words from Luke 1:50.

Listening Song: Flowing Over Me
by Derri Daugherty on Flap Your Wings, Resolve Records, 2000 (pictured at right). This song matches in beautifully with the Isaiah reading.

Kid's Story: The Race
By Christobel Mattingly and Anne Spudvilas, Scholastic, 1995, ISBN 1863882251 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Isaiah reading.

Film Clip: The Mission
Depending on time either show or describe the scene between Father Gabriel and Rodrigo Mendoza in the monastery cell. Then show Mendoza's epic struggle to get to the mission ending when the Indian releases Mendoza's burden (pictured at right). This too fits in well with the Isaiah reading.

Film Clip: An Unexpected Christmas
And if you are doing anything at all about angels, this New Zealand film clip is just brilliant (providing you can translate beforehand  "shipherd" and  "pisant" :)

Litany: Among the Poor
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 31 (pictured at left).

Meditation: The Magnificat
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 45 (pictured at left). This, of course, fits in well with the Luke reading.

Intercession: Pinning Our Hopes on Jesus (i)
From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 54-55 (pictured at left).

Response Activity:
Give everyone a green leaf made of cardboard or paper and a pen and have an advent wreath somewhere in your worship space with a pile of nappy (diaper) pins beside it. Explain that God calls us to be part of the healing and transformation of others. Ask: How are we doing that? How can we do this specifically in some practical way this Christmas? Write what you think you can do on the leaf and attach it to the Advent wreath. Pick up a pin and return to your seat and hold it as the above  intercession is prayed. (If you used the pins this last week I would advice against using them this week!)