Christmas 2007
Christmas Day Service 2007
Springfield Heights Mennonite Church
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”Luke 2:11
“Euch ist heute der Heiland geboren, welcher ist Christus, der Herr, in der Stadt Davids. ” Lukas 2:11
Christmas Day / Weihnachtstag 10:30 a.m.
Celebrating Christmas / Wir feiern Weihnachten
Vorspiel / Prelude Gerhard Klassen Familie
Welcome & Call to Worship/ Begrüßung u. Aufruf zur Andacht Pastor Ferdinand Funk
Cong. Song – O come all ye faithful Hy# 212
Lighting of Candles / Anzünden der Weihnachtskerze Children
Weihnachtsmitteilung / Christmas Sharing Ferdinand Funk
(Invite the children to the front)
Gemeindelied – Welchen Jubel welche Freude GM# 229
Life of the Church / Leben der Gemeinde
Announcements/Bekanntmachungen
Prayer/Gebet
Kollekte für die Diakonenkasse / Offering for the Deacon Fund
Gerhard Klassen Family
The Word of God in Stories
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-20
What the birth of Christ means for me personally?
Was mir die Geburt Jesus persönlich bedeutet?
Vern Neufeld
Gemeindelied – Nun ist sie erschienen GM# 223 (v.1)
Isaak Doerksen
Gemeindelied – Nun ist sie erschienen GM# 223 (v.2)
Hedi Funk
Cong. Song – Hark the Herald Angel sings Hy# 201 (v1)
Ewald Goetz
Cong. Song – Hark the Herald Angel sings Hy# 201 (v2)
Sending / Aussendung
Christmas Benediction / Weihnachtssegen
Weihnachtslied – Der Friedefürst GM# 214
Welcome & Call to Worship/
Begrüßung u. Aufruf zur Andacht
Weihnachten ist, wenn Gott zur Welt kommt,
einen menschlichen Namen erhält
und uns persönlich besucht.
Weihnachten ist,
wenn mitten in dunkler Nacht alles klar wird,
die Engel vom Himmel singen
und den Frieden auf Erden ansagen.
Weihnachten ist, wenn Hirten,
die nachts gegen das Böse wachen,
tagsüber die Güte Gottes verbreiten.
Weihnachten ist,
wenn weise Männer,
die sich am Himmel auskennen,
das Heil in einem Kind auf Erden finden.
Weihnachten ist,
wenn Gott uns sein Liebstes weiht,
und Menschen in Hingabe und Anbetung
Gott ihr Leben weihen.
Und der Engel sprach zu ihnen: Fürchtet euch nicht! Siehe, ich verkündige euch große Freude, die allem Volk widerfahren wird; denn euch ist heute der Heiland geboren, welcher ist Christus, der Herr, in der Stadt Davids. Lukas 2,10f
Eine arme, alte Frau
schreibt in ihrer Not vor Weihnachten einen Brief an Gott
mit der dringlichen Bitte,
ihr doch etwas Geld, nur $100 zu schicken,
damit sie sich einige kleine Wünsche erfüllen
und ein frohes Fest erleben könne.
Irgendwie landet der Brief auf Umwegen beim Finanzamt.
Die Mitarbeiter des Amtes
sind bewegt von der Armut und Glaubenseinfalt der Frau
und legen in ihrer Abteilung spontan Geld für sie zusammen.
Die Sammlung erbringt $70.
Die schicken sie mit herzlichen Grüßen von Gott,
übermittelt vom Finanzamt,
an die Frau.
Die alte Dame freut sich riesig über die freundlichen Zeilen
und das Geld
und schreibt sofort einen Dankesbrief.
Voller Freude habe sie das Geld erhalten,
danke vielmals
und bitte darum,
in Zukunft das Geld nicht durch das Finanzamt zu schicken,
denn die Spitzbuben hätten ihr gleich
$30 an Steuern einbehalten.
Heute ist Weihnachten!
Jesus ist geboren!
Christus der Retter ist da!
Die Brücke zwischen dem heiligen Gott und
Und der sündigen Menschheit ist gebaut,
und wir haben Zugang zu Gott.
Wir wollen uns dem ewigen Geschenk Gottes zuwenden
Und Jesus anbeten.
Christmas Greeting
There was a small voice that penetrated the stillness of the night.
It came from the bedroom across the hall.
"Daddy, I'm scared!"
Out of his groggy, fuzzy state, the father responds with,
"Honey, don't be afraid,
Daddy's right across the hall."
After a very brief pause the little voice is heard again,
"I'm still scared."
Always quick with an insight the fahter responds,
"You don't need to be afraid God is with you.
God loves you."
This time the pause is longer . . .
but the voice returns,
"I don't care about God, Daddy;
I want someone with skin!"
It seems like the logic used by the little child
is precisely the reason for Christmas.
After thousands of years of being unsuccessful
And unable to convince his people
that he really loved them,
our Creator realized
that the best way to demonstrate his love for us
was to send "someone with skin on."
Today is Christmas!
God came to us with “skin on”.
Phil. 2:6ff tells us about the humility of Christ:
6Jesus, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Prayer
God Give Us eyes this Christmas
To see the Christmas Star.
And give us ears to hear the song
of angels from afar
And, with our eyes and ears attuned
for a message from above,
Let "Christmas Angels" speak to us
of hope and faith and love
Hope to light our pathway
When the way ahead is dark,
Hope to sing through stormy days,
with the sweetness of the lark
Faith to trust in things unseen
and know beyond all seeing
That it is in our Fathers love
We live and have our being
And love to break down barriers
of color, race and creed,
Love to see and understand
and help all those in need. Amen
Cong. Song – O come all ye faithful Hy# 212
Lighting of Candles Children
(Invite the children to the front)
Weihnachtsmitteilung / Christmas Sharing Ferdinand Funk
The Miracle of Christmas
Today I want to ask all the children
to help me share a special Christmas experience.
What is the most awesome Christmas gift you ever got?
Allow the children to share….
Well let me tell you about some pretty awesome gifts
That I got for Christmas:
Candies…
Hotwheel cars…
Bicycle…
Motorcycle… that was pretty awesome.
I also learnt that giving a gift
Is even better than receiving a gift.
I want to tell you a story:
It was Christmas eve a couple of years ago.
An older lady from our church was very sick
And she was in the hospital.
My wife Hedi and I wanted to cheer up this lady, Mary.
And we went to visit her in the hospital on Christmas eve.
Yea, we were pretty busy
and there were many other things
that we could have done with our time…
But, that Christmas eve we went to visit Mary in the hospital.
When we found her in her room
She was not doing very well…
And we noticed a native woman next to her,
All curled up
And she had a lot of big bruises on her face and arms.
It looked like something very bad had happened to her.
We visited with Mary for a while,
And we reminded her of God’s love for us,
And that it was Christmas eve.
And then we prayed with her.
When we turned to leave
The other woman – the one that was badly bruised –
Made a gesture – asking us to pray with her.
I don’t think she spoke much English,
She didn’t say a word.
Hedi and I turned our attention to this perfect stranger…
We reassured her that Jesus had come for her…
And that God loved her,
no matter what had happened to her.
And then we held her hands and prayed for her.
For us this was one of the most awesome
Christmas experiences ever.
God was able to use us to share the peace of Christ
With someone who
Who was the victim of violence.
Even thou she didn’t know us,
And we didn’t know her,
This woman was able to meet God
And Hedi and I were able to be God’s servants
To someone who needed hope.
That was a pretty awesome gift!
Gemeindelied – Welchen Jubel welche Freude GM# 229
Life of the Church / Leben der Gemeinde
Announcements/Bekanntmachungen
· Sunday Morning Services – Separate
· NO evening Service
· New Year’s Eve / Silvester abend – 7:00pm
· New Year’s Day / Neu Jahr – 7:00pm
· Jan. 2 / 7:00pm
Christmas Prayer
Lord, this is my prayer
Not only on Christmas Day
But until I see You face to face
May I live my life this way:
Just like the baby Jesus
I ever hope to be,
Resting in Your loving arms
Trusting in Your sovereignty.
And like the growing Christ child
In wisdom daily learning,
May I ever seek to know You
With my mind and spirit yearning.
Like the Son so faithful
Let me follow in Your light,
Meek and bold, humble and strong
Not afraid to face the night.
Nor cowardly to suffer
And stand for truth alone,
Knowing that Your kingdom
Awaits my going home.
Not afraid to sacrifice
Though great may be the cost,
Mindful how You rescued me
From broken-hearted loss.
Like my risen Savior
The babe, the child, the Son,
May my life forever speak
Of who You are and all You've done.
So while this world rejoices
And celebrates Your birth,
I treasure You, the greatest gift
Unequaled in Your worth.
I long to hear the same words
That welcomed home Your Son,
"Come, good and faithful servant,"
Your Master says, "Well done."
And may heaven welcome others
Who will join with me in praise
Because I lived for Jesus Christ
Not only Christmas Day
AMEN
Kollekte für die Diakonenkasse / Offering for the Deacon Fund
Gerhard Klassen Family
The Word of God in Stories
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-20
What the birth of Christ means for me personally?
Was mir die Geburt Jesus persönlich bedeutet?
Vern Neufeld
Gemeindelied – Nun ist sie erschienen GM# 223 (v.1)
Isaak Doerksen
Gemeindelied – Nun ist sie erschienen GM# 223 (v.2)
Hedi Funk
Cong. Song – Hark the Herald Angel sings Hy# 201 (v1&2)
Ewald Goetz
Cong. Song – Hark the Herald Angel sings Hy# 201 (v3)
Sending / Aussendung
Christmas Benediction / Weihnachtssegen
A CHRISTMAS BENEDICTION
May you, wherever you are in this golden hour, know joy.
May your hearthfire be surrounded
with those near and dear to you;
the happiness of children
re-echo the gladness heaven sends forth
in this time of the miracle of Bethlehem.
May the faith of the humble shepherds
found in the starlit stable
be yours in fullest measure;
the exultation of Mary and Joseph
light your heart with the glow of divine love.
May you gather together in bright bouquet love,
charity and tranquility of spirit,
for he who possesses these
holds the key to riches beyond measure.
May all your dreams in this splendid hour reach fulfillment,
and may all the paths you walk
be lighted with peace,
not only today
but in all the days of the year to come.
Weihnachtssegen
Gott lasse dich ein gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest erleben.
Gott schenke dir die nötige Ruhe,
damit du dich auf Weihnachten
und die frohe Botschaft einlassen kannst.
Gott nehme dir Sorgen und Angst
und schenke dir neue Hoffnung.
Gott bereite dir den Raum,
den du brauchst und an dem du so sein kannst,
wie du bist.
Gott schenke dir die Fähigkeit zum Staunen
über das Wunder der Geburt im Stall von Bethlehem.
Gott mache heil,
was in dir zerbrochen ist
und führe dich zur Versöhnung.
Gott gebe dir Entschlossenheit,
Phantasie und Mut,
damit du auch anderen Weihnachten bereiten kannst.
Gott gebe dir Einfühlungsvermögen,
damit du Geschenke wahrnehmen
und dankbar annehmen kannst.
Gott bleibe bei dir mit dem Licht der Heiligen Nacht,
wenn dunkle Tage kommen.
So segne dich Gott und schenke dir seinen Frieden.
Weihnachtslied – Der Friedefürst GM# 214