This Heart Prep includes both the Sunday morning service and the Sunday evening, Christmas Eve service.
Here is the link to the combined YouTube playlist, which also includes some other favorites: 171224 Heart Prep
The text for the Sunday Morning service is Hebrews 2:9-10 and 14-18 where we see that Jesus came in flesh and blood to defeat death, sin and Satan. This is the same idea seen (by angels!) in David Jackson’s song “The Angels Came Down.” The worship theme will be “God with Us,” and the visual them will be close-ups of snowflakes, standing in for angels.
Prelude:
Light of the World – Lauren Daigle
Worship:
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing – Hymn #133
Matthew 1:18-23 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Hebrews 1:1-4 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Colossians 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Traditional Tune: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Casting Crowns Version: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Born Where the Shadows Lie – Getty
Offertory:
Angels Came Down
Benediction
Joy to the World – Hymn #125
Christmas Eve Service, 6:00 p.m.
The text for the Christmas Eve service is 1st Peter 1:3-12, where Peter tells us how the prophets longed for the Messiah’s day and angels strained to see it. The worship theme will be “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and the visual theme will again be close-ups of snowflakes, standing in for angels, but mostly at night.
Prelude:
Angels Strain to See
Worship:
Angels from the Realms of Glory – Hymn #131
Scripture for Meditation
1 Peter 1:3-12 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Benediction:
Silent Night – Hymn #147
Additional Favorites
Assuming you might want to use the playlist as background for your Christmas activities, I’ve added a few more of my personal favorites:
Child of Glory – by Dustin Kensrue. I ran across this this year and decided to make a video of it.
Yule Carol – this one shows the 2017 Snow
Midwinter – Audrey Assad’s new version
Winter Snow by Audrey Assad
Fernando Ortega’s version of O Little Town of Bethlehem
Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson
Come Children of this Long Discarded Night by Ron Block, Jeff Taylor and Rebecca Reynolds
