Blue Christmas C (can be held anytime in Advent): For Those Who Find Christmas Celebrations Difficult

 

Bible Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Luke 2:1-7, Romans 8

About the Images:

Upper Left: This is a  free microsoft clipart image over which I put one line of the Kasey Chambers song: I Still Cry for Baby Jesus

Upper Right: This is my photo and I have permission from the subject to use her image - please feel free to use it for worship and related activities.

Middle Left: This is an image from the excellent revamped Church Galleries site - no longer operating.

Middle Right, Lower Right and Bottom Left: These are slides from the amazing Heartlight site - see my link column at left.

Lower Left:  This is a free creative commons image with copyright attached. 

Gathering Music: Shepherd Moons

by Enya on her album, Paint the Sky With Stars, 1997 (pictured at left). I just let this play with a welcome slide - nothing fancy.

Listening Song: I Still Cry For Baby Jesus
by Kasey Chambers on her album, Barricades and Brick Walls, 2001 (pictured at right). I usually match images with this piece of music.

Story: Silent Night 

by Lara Hawthorne, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2018,  ISBN 1786030667 (pictured at left).  This is a children's book but makes a beautiful replacement for all of or part of the sermon for everybody.

Response Activity:
Ask people to light a candle (tea lights or tapers work best) in memory of a loved one or a sad situation in their lives or in the lives of those they may know. This activity can be done more than once throughout the service. 

Leaving Listening Song: Vespers
by Aled Jones on his album, Aled, 2002 (pictured at left). I usually put images with this piece of music and the words in English.  

Advent 4 C (December 22): Expect the Unexpected/Faithful Love

  

Bible Readings: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:47-55,or Psalm 80:107, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45 (46-55).

About the images:
Upper Left: This image comes from http://www.cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon/ which is an excellent free clipart site (there is a link at left) and the text is mine. Please feel free to use this image - don't forget to acknowledge the clipart site. 

Upper Right: This photo of surprised little eyes is mine so please feel free to use it for worship and related activities.

Middle Left: This image is of the arch in the old wall of Bethlehem which Mary and Joseph probably entered the town through. The image is mine so please feel free to use for worship and related activities.

Middle Right: This image comes from the awesome Church Galleries website which was sadly decimated by hackers. 

Lower Left: This is a free image from the Hemano Leon site - see my link column at left. 

Lower Right: A free image from the Heartlight site - see my link column at left.

Bottom Left: A free image from the wonderful Cerezo Barredo - see my link column at left. 

Listening Song: A Strange Way to Save the World

By 4Him on their album The Season of Love (pictured at right) or on the WOW Christmas album. This is a Christmas song from Joseph's perspective. It is a rarer take than most on the Christmas story and all the more important because of that.  Make sure people hear or see the words clearly.

Kid's Story: One Little Angel

By Ruth Brown, Red Fox, 1998, ISBN 0099404362 (pictured at left). This is a delightful Christmas story with an unexpected ending.

Kid's Story: email: Jesus@Bethlehem

By Hilary Robinson and Anthony Lewis, MacDonald Young Books, 1999, ISBN 075002688X (pictured at right).This is an unexpected take on the Christmas story.

Kid's Story: Joseph's Christmas Story
By Nicky Dreyer, Arch Books, 2001,  ISBN 978-0570075776

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Film Clip: O Little Town of Bethlehem: Bethlehem Bible College Choir

Drama: Mary and Lizzie

Found in Cloth for the Cradle by The Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 190557014, page 48ff (pictured at left).This drama is based on the gospel reading.

Introduction to Sermon/Adult Input: What am I?

Read one sentence at a time until somebody in the congregation guesses the answer; then link it with the idea of a key being small and insignificant to look at but able to do great things just as the people in the Christmas story were average pretty insignificant human beings but with God they were able to do great things.
I am usually quite small?

I can fit in the palm of your hand.

With my help people can literally move mountains.

I am seldom alone - usually I am found with others of my kind.

I can encourage great power from dormancy.

When I am lost, chaos and panic erupts.

I am often made of metal but these days i am also likely to have plastic and electronic components.

I can prevent or allow people to pass from one place to another.

I fit specifically into certain places.

I am often part of a security system.

I am a key.

Poem: The Joy of Elizabeth

Found in Outback Christmas by Pro Hart and Norman Habel, Lutheran Publishing house, 1990, ISBN 0859105628, page 16 (pictured at left). This is based on the Luke reading. 

Meditation: The Magnificat

Found in Cloth for the Cradle (pictured above left), page 45.

Meditation: I Sang For Him

Found in Present on Earth by Wild Goose Worship Group. Wild Goose Publications, 2002, ISBN 0901557642, page 78 (pictured at right). This too is based on the gospel reading.

Response Activity: Cloth For the Cradle

Found in Cloth For the Cradle (pictured above left), page 74.

Response Activity: The Promise
List all the promises out of Mary's song and ask people to choose the one which gives them the most hope and to share that hope with someone sitting near them.

Also:

Meditation: Bread

Found in Meditations from the Iona Community by Ian Reid, Wild Goose Publications, Trowbridge, 1998, ISBN 1901557022, page 80 (pictured at right). This goes well with the gospel reading.

Taize Service: Sing Out My Soul

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 32 (pictured at left). This is based on the Luke reading.

Drama: Keep on Hoping

Found in Mega Drama 6 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2002, ISBN 0859109208, page 81 . This drama goes well with the Micah reading.

Service Starter: The Praising Shepherds

Based on the Micah reading, this is found in The All-Age Service Annual Volume 4, published by Scripture Union, 2010, ISBN 9781844275199, page 22 (pictured at left).

Drama: A Long Wait

Found in Let's Make a Scene for..... by Verena Johnson, Open Book, 1998, ISBN 0859108937, page 81 (pictured at right). This goes well with the Micah reading. 

Reflection and Prayer: 
Found in Advent Readings from Iona by Brian Woodcock and Jan Sutch Pickard, Wild Goose Publications, 2005, ISBN 1901557332 (pictured at right). These are based on the Luke reading and found under the heading: December 22nd.

Poem and Comment: Bible

Found in Disturbing Complacency by Lisa Bodenheim, Wild Goose Publications, 2007, ISBN 978 1 905010 37 0, found under the third Tuesday of Advent.   This entry is based on the Luke reading.  

Brilliant Pre-Reading: Formed by Galilee

Found in The First Advent in Palestine by Kelley Nikondeha, Broadleaf Books, 2022, pages 57ff. Based on the gospel reading. 

Drama: John

Found in From Advent to Emmaus by Jim Hayward, page 25 (pictured at right). This book is available in Print and Digital PDF versions, is based on Luke's gospel and is ideal for Lectionary Year C. For more information and/or to buy, visit the CMLA website - cmla.org.au.

Advent 3 C (December 15): If You Have Two Shirts..../Sharing the Christmas Message

Bible Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3: 7-18

About the Images:
Upper Left: This is a Microsoft free clipart image on to which I put the text.
Upper Right: This is a free image from www.heartlight.com - a great site for worship images - you will find a link to them in my links column on the left of this page.

Middle Left and Right:  These are two slides from the excellent resources found at Church Galleries - see my link column at left. 

Lower Left: This is another free image from www.heartlight.com - see above for details.

Lower Right: Once when we were in the midst of bushfires, Jenee from textweek.com reminded me that Advent is about waiting in hope and preparing. I took the photo as the fire front was approaching Omeo a number of years ago when I was working up there as a pastoral visitor to fire beseiged families. I think anyone who can put their washing out to dry in the face of an oncoming fire shows great hope - also the clothes prop shapes a cross in the middle of the image. 

Bottom Left: Another great image from Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.

Listening Song; When You say Nothing At All
By Ronan Keating on his album, When You Say Nothing At All (pictured at left). This goes very well with the Zephaniah reading where it says that God "silently shows us his love".

Listening Song: If this Thing Should Spill by Born in the Flood

This video clip is the song put to pictures by www.threadschurch.org. The song goes beautifully with the Philippians reading and is a great introduction to the response activity below - how do these things (particularly peace in the song but also gentleness, rejoicing and prayer are evident too) spill out into the community around us and how do they impinge on our own lives. Thanks to Singing the Lectionary -see my link column at left - for this song suggestion.

Kid's Story: Wombat Divine
By Mem Fox and Kerry Argent, Omnibus Books, 1995, ISBN 1862913021 (pictured at right). Brilliant!!!! Everyone has a role to play when it comes to Christmas in God's scheme of things.

Film Clips: Paperless Christmas

www.paperlesschristmas.com  has the greatest set of short films for use in church based on a modern look at the Christmas story. A brilliant effort! 

Film Clip: O Come All Ye Faithful

Sung some of the the wonderful staff at Bethlehem Bible College in Palestine

https://youtu.be/KKvvN5n1sXA?si=9vmb6TiLTksULZcj

Drama: A Publicity Photo

Found in Mega Drama 6 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2002, ISBN 0859109208, page 79 (pictured at left). This drama goes well with the gospel reading.

Quote/Story: Leonard Bernstein
Scroll down to the third story at http://net.bible.org/illustration.php?topic=756. This goes well with the gospel reading.

Story: Safe Under the Falls

Find this story in the Youth Bible, Word Publishing, 1991, ISBN 0849909252, page 631 (pictured at right). After telling the story, read Isaiah 12:2-6 and use it to re-assure people in times when they are fearful or reluctant to share the Christmas story.

Story: Even Now The Taste

Found in The Speaker's Source Book of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley, Word Publishing, 1995, ISBN 0849936756, page 38 (pictured at left). This story fits in well with Phillippians 4:6.

Story: Pillsbury Doughboy Wanted for Attempted Murder

Found in Illustrations, Stories and Quotes by Jim Burns and Greg Mckinnon (eds.), Gospel Light, 1997, ISBN 0830718834, page 41 (pictured at right). This story fits in well with Philippians 4:6. 

Poem: The Faithful Are Fearless
Found In Due Season by Herbert F. Brokering, Augsburg Publishing House, 1966 (pictured at left)  in the winter section. Based on Philippians 4:7.

Poem: First Coming
By Madeleine L'Engle in Imaging the Word, Volume 1, United Church Press, 1994, ISBN 082980716, page 85 (pictured at right). This connects well with the Philippians reading.

Prayers and Poems: burn
Found in Dad and Daughter by Ron Gordon and Jennie Gordon, 2012, ISBN 9780646586601, page 127 and based on the gospel reading.  

Response Activity:
Give each person a small card with the words: rejoicing, gentleness, prayer and peace written on one side. Ask people to write the name of a person they would like to share the message of Christmas with on the blank side of the card. Ask them to turn the card over and look at the four words and then ask: How can you share the Good News of Christmas best with the person you named; is it through rejoicing, through gentleness, through prayer, through peaceful words or actions. Give time for silent prayer.

Also:

Kids: Let the Celebrations Begin

By Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas, Box Press,  with lots of ideas for a whole worship service found in Worship is For Everyone by Julie Pinazza, Openbook Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0859109259, page 55. This goes well with the Philippians reading.

Taize Service: Don't Worry; Have Peace 

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 12 (pictured at right). This is based on the Philippians reading.

Worship Activity: Melodramatic Reading

By Jim Burns and Robin Dugall in Worship Experiences, Gospel Light, 1999, ISBN, 0830724044, page 41.  This is based on the Philippians reading.

Prayer Exercise: Centering Prayer

Found in Prayer: Heart of the Pilgrimage by Jenny Youngman, Upper Room Books, Nashville, 2007, ISBN 0835898369, page 60.  This is based on the Philippians reading.

Creative Ideas: John the Baptist: The Prophet from the wilderness

Found in Multi-Sensory Prophets by Mike Law, Scripture Union, 2007, ISBN 9781844272587, page 54. This is based on the Luke reading.

Poem: Yes
Found in In Due Season by Herbert F Brokering, Augsburg Publishing, 1966 (pictured at right) in the Summer section. This is based on the Isaiah reading.

Confession and Assurance of Grace

By Wesley Brian Jamison and found in Before the Amen by Maren C Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirrabassi (Eds), Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 2007, ISBN 978 0 8298 1750 8, page 55. Based on the Isaiah reading.

Prayer/Action: Resolutions/Making Decisions

Found  in Going Home Another Way by Neil Paynter, Wild Goose Publications, 2008,pages 114 and based on the Philippians reading. 

Drama: John's Preaching

Found in From Advent to Emmaus by Jim Hayward, page 28-29 (pictured at right). This book is available in Print and Digital PDF versions, is based on Luke's gospel and is ideal for Lectionary Year C. For more information and/or to buy, visit the CMLA website - cmla.org.au.