Worshipping at Home Christmas 2021
Home Worshipping 

Christmas 2021

The Service

The above video is 20 minutes & 52 seconds long
The First Hymn
Welcome!

Throughout the world people of every culture and even of every religion welcome the arrival of Christmas. We travel back in time and find ourselves in a stable, gazing at a manger. A child has been born who will be the Saviour of the World. As Christians we worship this child as no less than God Incarnate. ‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King! 


Psalm 96

Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendour and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Acclamation

Joy to the World, 
the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart 
prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature 
sing!

The Collect Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, 
your birth at Bethlehem draws us 
to kneel in wonder 
at heaven touching earth: 
accept our heartfelt praise 
as we worship you, 
our Saviour 
and our eternal God. Amen.

Sharing the Peace

We are the Family of God;
In the one Spirit we were all baptised
into one body.

Let us then pursue all that makes for peace
and builds up our common life.

(At this point please think of others
and in your heart send them
the message: Peace be with you.)

Bible Reading

Matthew 2: 1-12 (The visit of the Magi.)



After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written: ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”’ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Thought for the Day

What is Christmas really all about? Although as a Church we would want to say that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’, many would give a different answer. ‘Christmas is for children’ is what immediately comes to mind, or ‘Christmas is for Family’. For most of us, Christmas is a traditional time when we do, once more, the things we have always done. Tradition links us to the past, and this is where the thoughts of childhood and family come from. But what if we were to look further back in time? Christmas has had a chequered history. Right from the start, the stories of Jesus’ birth were treasured by the Church, but they weren’t officially celebrated for centuries. Easter was the big event in the Christian calendar. Then, we start finding references to ‘The Feast of the Nativity’. An early decision was to celebrate ‘The Nativity’ at the time of the Winter Solstice, and so over time it absorbed a lot of the merriment that was so welcome at this dark and cold time of the year (at least in the northern hemisphere). By the 17th century, Christmas had become such a riot that Oliver Cromwell tried to ban it! But Christmas survived, and in the nineteenth century it started being celebrated in the home as well as in church. So many of our cherished traditions grew out of this move towards family celebrations. 

We ask again, what is Christmas about? To be true to its past, Christmas has to be about both Church and Home. It’s about merriment and fun and childhood and nostalgia and family traditions…and it is equally about communities gathering together in their churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. It’s about God being with us everywhere.

Let us Pray

O Holy One, heavenly angels spoke to earthly shepherds and eternity entered time in the child of Bethlehem. Through the telling of the Christmas story, let our temporal lives be caught up in the eternal in that same child, that we might join shepherds and all the heavenly host in praising the coming of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

O God of light and peace, whose glory, shining in the child of Bethlehem, still draws the nations to yourself: dispel the darkness that shrouds our path, that we may come to kneel before Christ in true worship, offer him our hearts and souls, and return from his presence to live as he has taught. Amen.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.

(Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever Amen.)
The Blessing

Christ the Son of God, born of Mary, fill you with his grace to trust his promises and obey his will. And may God the Father, who led the wise men by the shining of a star to find the Christ, the Light from light, lead you in your pilgrimage to find the Lord. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.


Amen.

 The Second Hymn

Bible Readings for the Week

Monday: Proverbs 8:32-36; John 21:19b-24

Tuesday: Isaiah 54:1-13; Revelation 21:1-7

Wednesday: 1 Chronicles 28:1-10; 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

Thursday: 2 Chronicles 1:7-13; Mark 13:32-37

Friday: 1 Kings 3:5-14; John 8:12-19

Saturday: Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:15-21

If you have any thoughts, questions or concerns, please contact us

Henley in Arden The incumbent/priest in charge John Ganjavi
telephone 01564 792570 or email Incumbent / Priest in charge

For a full list of church contact details please click here
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I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you're grateful, you'll see God open up new doors.
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