First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa

SERVICE OF NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS

DECEMBER 23,2001
8:45 AND 11:00 A.M.

 Advent IV

A Merry Christmas to all, and a warm welcome to this service of scripture and music.  Nothing tells the story of the birth of Jesus more eloquently than the scriptures themselves and the eloquence of poets whose words have been enhanced by the music of praise and adoration.  Let the story thrill you again.

CHIMES

CALL TO WORSHIP

CHORAL FANFARE.

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of angels:

Refrain:
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ, the Lord?

God of God, Light of Light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin's womb;
Very God, Begotten, not created:

See how the shepherds, Summoned to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear;
We too will thither Bend our joyful footsteps:

Lo! Star-led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,
Offer him incense, gold and myrrh;
We to the Christ Child, Bring our hearts' oblations:

Child, for us sinners Poor and in the manger,
Fain we embrace thee, with awe and love;
Who would not love thee. Loving us so dearly?

Sing, choirs of angels. Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God in the Highest; 

*LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE

  8:45   Barbara and Ruth Dunham
11:00   The Schowalter Family

*CHORAL RESPONSE

Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to thee, O Israel

THE SERVICE OF LESSONS AND CAROLS: A WORD

God announces in the Garden of Eden that the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's head.

Genesis iii

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.  And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  And he said.  Who told thee that thou wast naked?  Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?  And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  And the Lord God said unto the serpent.  Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put emnity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Break forth, 0 beauteous heavenly light. And usher in the Morning;
Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright. But hear the angel's warning.
This child, now weak in infancy, Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking, Our peace eternal making.

God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall the nations of the earth be blessed.

Genesis xxii

And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 

 Christ's birth and kingdom are foretold by Isaiah.

Isaiah ix

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

O come, O come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here. Until the Son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel.

 O come. Thou Day-spring, come and cheer; And cheer our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night. And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel

O come. Thou Key of David, come. And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high. And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to Thee, O Israel. 

The peace that Christ will bring is foreshown.

Isaiah xi

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stern of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.  With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.   The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fading together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Come, thou long expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee. 

Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. 

Born thy people to deliver. Born a child, and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever. Now thy gracious kingdom bring. 

By thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit. Raise us to thy glorious throne. Amen.

The angel Gabriel salutes the Blessed Virgin Mary.

St Luke i

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  Then said Mary unto the angel.  How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  And Mary said.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.  And the angel departed from her.

THE OFFERING

In all towns and villages both far and near;
Angel host bears tiding in strain full clear:
Joy come to ev'ry nation,
Joy to this generation, Christ is here; Christ is here.

Listen to the story of his wondrous birth; How he came so long ago to us on earth;
Born of a virgin mother Blessed above all other,
Born today, born today.

In a manger lying in poverty;
Peace he brings at Christmastide to you and me;
Tell of his birth that saved us. Tell of the love he gave us, Christ our Lord.

Sing then and be joyful on this Christmas night;
Follow with the wise men the star so bright; Lead you to his own glory,
Tell out the wondrous story: Christ is born, Christ is born, born today, today.

*DOXOLOGY (Hymn 515)

St. Matthew tells of the birth of Jesus.

St. Matthew i

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying.  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  

 Angels, from the realms of glory.  Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story.  Now proclaim Messiah's birth;

Refrain:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ the newborn King. Amen.

Shepherds, in the fields abiding.  Watching o'er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing.  Yonder shines the infant light: 

Sages, leave your contemplations.  Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great desire of nations.  Ye have seen his natal star: 

Saints before the altar bending.  Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending.  In his temple shall appear:

The shepherds' to the manner.

St. Luke ii

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.   And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying.  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another.  Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on.

Dance, then, wherever You may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It's hard to dance with the Devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I'd gone
But I am the dance and I still go on.

They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that'll never, never die;
I'll live in you if you live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I'll- lead you all wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he. 

Dance, then, wherever You may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

The wise men are led by the star to Jesus.

St. Matthew ii

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying.  Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him.  In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.  Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.  When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

As with gladness men of old. Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light. Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious Lord, May we Evermore be led to thee.

As with joyful steps they sped. To that lowly manger bed,
There to bend the knee before Him, Whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet. Ever seek thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare, At the manger rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy. Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to thee, our heavenly King. 

Holy Jesus, every day. Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past. Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide. Where no clouds thy glory hide. Amen.

St. John unfolds the great Mystery of the Incarnation.

St. John i

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.  He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.  That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only - begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.

*THE BENEDICTION

  Hark! The herald angels sing. "Glory to the newborn King;
  Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"
  Joyful, all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies;
  With the angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!" 

Refrain:
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!" Amen.

Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the ever lasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come. Offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the God-head see; Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. 

Hail the heaven-born Prince of peace! Hail the Sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings. Risen with healing in his wings,
Mild he lays his glory by. Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth.

*The congregation is invited to stand.

The Christmas Decorations are provided by the Board of Deacons.

Today's chancel flowers are given in loving memory of our son and brother
David Walsh from the Walsh & Schalmo families.

CARE FOR CHILDREN
A nursery for infants and toddlers is available during the 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services.
Sunday School at 8:45 and 11:00.

SERVING December 23, 2001

Worship Preview for Sunday, December 30, at 8:45 and 11:00 A.M.
Rev. Dr. Douglas Lobb will present the message. Betty Dethmers is the organist.
Dean & Marj Fowler and Jim & Charmaine LaBelle are our guest soloists.

CALENDAR
WEEK OF DECEMBER 23

SUNDAY, December 23

8:45 a.m. Worship/Children's Choir/Children in Worship, ages 5 & up - Nave
10:00 a.m. Coffee Hour - Social Hall
11:00 a.m. Worship/Children's Choir/Children in Worship, ages 5 & up - Nave
12:30-4:00 p.m. Christmas Play Practice - Nave

MONDAY, December 24

Christmas Eve Day-office closes at noon
10:00 a.m.-3:30   Christmas Play Practice - Nave
4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Service - Nave
9:30  p.m. Welcome Home Open House - Lounge
10:30 p.m. Carol Singing during Gathering - Nave
11:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Service - Nave

TUESDAY, December 25

Christmas Day-Office Closed

WEDNESDAY, December 26

6:30 a.m, Men's Bible Study - Lounge

THURSDAY, December 27

7:00 p.m. Julie Smith's Group - Parlor
7:30 p.m. Handbell Choir - B6

FRIDAY, December 28
SATURDAY, December 29

Breakfast With The Girls, Jan. 5, 2002, 9:00 a.m. will feature Rev. Holly Whitcomb, an ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ, and spiritual director and founder of Kettlewood Retreats.  The program is entitled "Living Intentionally Trusting Your Vocation and Purpose".  Donation: $5  RSVP to the Church office 414-258-7375.

Calling all Families, Singles, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts & Uncles.  Join others for a Winter Wonderland of Fun. Jan. 25, 26, 27 - 2002.  Where:  Pilgrim Center, Green Lake, Wl. Activities: Ice Skating, Sledding, Cross Country Skiing, Fantastic Food, & warm, soft, snuggly beds.  So celebrate life, pray together and sign up by Monday, Jan. 7, 2002.  For more info. Contact Rev. Kathy Rust.

Donations to the Church for 2001 must be in the Church office no later than Noon, Dec. 31, in order to credit your 2001 statement.

Career Seminar held by David Swanson will be held Jan. 9, 2002.  The program is entitled "What Color Is Your Parachute?"  How to make career decisions and land a great job in a tight economy.  Reservations required, call the Church 414-258-7375

Annual Church Meeting will be held Sunday, Jan. 20, 1:30 p.m. in the Social Hall.