Keeping Christmas Well (Ashtabula)

Worship Manuscript: Ashtabula First UMC

Date: December 28, 2025

Theme: Keeping Christmas Well

Color: White

I. The Gathering

Welcome & Announcements(The Pastor stands and greets the congregation with a warm smile.) "Good morning! It is a joy to be with you all on this first Sunday after Christmas. We find ourselves in that beautiful, quiet space where the rush of the holiday begins to settle, but the light of the Christ child remains as bright as ever. Whether you are a long-time member of this church family or joining us for the very first time today, we are so glad you are here to worship with us."

Prelude

Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 148)

Leader: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!

People: Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!

Leader: The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us.

People: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Leader: Let us keep Christmas well by praising the name of the Lord!

All: Amen.

Opening Hymn Joy to the World (UMH 246)

Opening Prayer

"Let us pray together. Loving God, we come into your presence with joy in this holiday season. But we also come with the reality of a world struggling in pain. As the decorations begin to fade, sharpen our vision to see your light in the shadows. Bring hope to our weary world, love to our hearts, and help us follow your Son, Christ Jesus, wherever the road may lead. Amen."

II. The Word

Scripture Reading 1 Isaiah 63:7–9

Isaiah 63:7–9 NIV

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Hymn of Response Good Christian Friends, Rejoice (UMH 224)

Scripture Reading 2 Matthew 2:13–23

Matthew 2:13–23 NIV

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Sermon "Keeping Christmas Well"

Let us pray. Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

I. The Silence of the Twenty-Eighth

Good morning, friends. I want to invite you to take a deep breath with me. We find ourselves today in that strange, quiet "in-between" time. The great "Silent Night" has passed. The candles that flickered so beautifully on Christmas Eve have been blown out, leaving behind only the scent of wax and the fading memory of a song. In our homes, the scene has shifted. The living room, which only a few days ago was the center of laughter, light, and anticipation, might now be a battlefield of crumpled wrapping paper, half-empty boxes, and those stubborn pine needles that seem to multiply every time you turn your back.

Outside these doors, the verdict is already in: Christmas is "over." If you’ve been to the store in the last forty-eight hours, you’ve seen the shift. The red and green are being shoved into clearance bins to make room for Valentine’s Day hearts and pastel spring decorations. The radio stations have switched back to the standard hits. There is a frantic rush to get back to "normal," a cultural push to pack away the magic as quickly as we unpacked it, to move on to the next resolution or the next obligation.

But for those of us who gather here today—whether we come from the quiet stillness of a rural road or the bustling energy of a city street—we know that Christmas is not a day to be survived. It is a season to be inhabited. We are currently in the fourth day of the twelve days of Christmas. We are here to ask a deeper, more vital question: How do we "keep" Christmas well?

In the life of faith, to "keep" Christmas is not about hoarding it or locking a feeling away in a safe place. It is more like tending a fire in the middle of a blizzard. It is about how we carry that warmth into the cold, gray mornings of January. It’s about how we live when the "glow" of the candle fades and the regular, gritty, often exhausting work of life returns. Our scriptures suggest that keeping Christmas well isn't about staying at the manger—it’s about what we do when we are forced to leave it behind and head into an uncertain future.

II. The God Who Carries (A Long Memory of Grace)

Before we look at the road ahead, we have to look at the God who walks it with us. We often forget that the people for whom the Bible was written were rarely living in "stable" times. They weren't living in the "Silent Night" of our carols; they were living in the loud, chaotic, often frightening noise of history. They were people who knew the taste of exile and the weight of disappointment.

In our reading from Isaiah, the prophet is speaking to a community that was profoundly exhausted. They had finally come home from their long exile in Babylon. They had dreamed of this homecoming for seventy years. They expected a party; they expected a restored kingdom. Instead, they found a mess. They found a city in ruins, a temple that was a shell of its former self, and a life of extreme hardship. They were disillusioned. They were asking the question so many of us ask after a long season of struggle: "Where is the God who promised us joy? Where is the God who was supposed to make everything right?"

In that moment of collective fatigue, the prophet doesn’t give them a lecture on theology. He gives them a memory. He reminds them of who God is by looking back at their history. He describes God as a Parent with a "fierce tenderness." This is a God who is fierce enough to trample down the things that enslave us, yet tender enough to do something remarkable. The prophet says that in all their affliction, God was afflicted. God didn't just watch them suffer; God felt their pain in His own heart. And then, the text says: God "lifted them up and carried them all the days of old."

I want you to see that image: a parent lifting a child who is simply too tired to walk another step. You’ve seen it—a child at the end of a long day, their legs shaking, their eyes heavy. Without a word, the parent reaches down, scoops them up, and places them on their hip. The child’s weight is now the parent’s weight. The child’s path is now the parent’s path. The child can finally close their eyes because they know they are being held.

This is the heart of what we call Grace—"Prevenient Grace." It is the love that is already there, carrying us before we even know we are in danger, and long before we have the strength to ask for help. It is the grace that sustains us when our own strength has reached its limit. For many of you, you don't need a dictionary to understand this. You have lived it. You remember the years of hardship where the numbers just wouldn't add up, yet somehow, you were fed. You remember the seasons of grief where you felt a strange peace lifting you up when you thought you would sink. Keeping Christmas well starts with this "Long Memory." It is the resolve to say, even when the needles are dropping: "I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord." The God who carried you yesterday is not about to drop you today.

III. The Nightmare and the Refugee King

But if Isaiah gives us comfort, Matthew gives us the "gritty reality" of the world we are being carried through. If we want to keep Christmas well, we have to deal with the fact that the first "post-Christmas" Sunday in the Bible involved a nightmare. We often stop the story at the Magi—the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh, the beautiful star. It’s a lovely, sophisticated scene that fits perfectly on a Christmas card. But Matthew tells us that as soon as the kings left, the "Herods" of the world woke up.

Joseph, the quiet dreamer, wakes up not to a lullaby, but to a terrifying warning: "Get up. Take the child. Run. Herod is coming." Suddenly, the "Holy Family" becomes a "Refugee Family." This is the central truth we often ignore: God did not enter a snowglobe; God entered a world filled with real threats. These "Herods" represent every system and shadow that fears the light of God—from systems that trample the vulnerable to a medical diagnosis that threatens your future, or the economic uncertainty that makes a young couple wonder how they will provide for their children.

Joseph had every reason to be terrified. He was heading to Egypt—a land associated with old sorrows and ancient enslavement—with no map, no job, and no reservations. He was a stranger in a strange land, carrying the Hope of the World in his tired arms. Imagine the physical toll of that journey: the cold nights on the road, the dust in their lungs, the constant fear of a soldier’s shadow appearing on the horizon. This wasn't a scenic tour; it was a desperate flight for survival. God didn't stop Herod from being a tyrant, and He didn't make the road easy, but He provided "safe passage." He provided guidance in the middle of the night.

Jesus starts his life as a refugee. To keep Christmas well is to realize that our Savior didn't stay in the hay. He was a Savior on the move. When we say "Immanuel, God with us," we are saying God is with us in the back of the wagon, in the middle of the night, on the road to an uncertain future. God is with us when we are running, not just when we are resting. He knows the fear of the road because He has walked it.

IV. The Vulnerability of God

There is a profound truth here: In the person of the baby Jesus, we see a God who risks. We often want a God of overwhelming force, a God who comes with a lightning bolt to fix all our problems instantly. But God often chooses the path of humble, vulnerable presence. God, the Creator of the universe, enters our world in a way that requires Him to be carried by a human father. God trusts Joseph to keep Him safe. God trusts Mary to keep Him fed.

This tells us that God works through relationship and trust, not just through raw power. If God is willing to be that vulnerable for us—to be a child who must be carried through the night—how can we not be willing to be vulnerable for one another? Keeping Christmas well means letting down our guards. It means admitting that we, too, are tired and need to be carried by our brothers and sisters. It means moving away from the "false fronts" we often put up—the "everything is fine" mask we wear at the grocery store—and moving into the honest vulnerability of the road. We keep Christmas when we admit we need God as much as that child needed Joseph.

V. The Work of Christmas: How We Keep It

So, how do we practically take this home with us as we look toward a new year? How do we live out this "keeping" in our daily routines?

First, we must protect the "holy thing" God has started in us. Think about the flicker of hope you felt during the candlelight service, or the moment of genuine connection you had with a family member over dinner. That is the "Holy Child" within you. Like Joseph, you might have to "flee" some things to keep that gift alive. You might have to flee from a toxic habit that steals your peace. You might have to flee from the old "thought ruts" of negativity or the language of criticism that we so easily fall into. You don't have to go back to the "old neighborhood" of your sins or your sorrows. God may be leading you to a "Nazareth"—a quiet, humble place where you can grow in secret until you are ready for the next season. Protecting your spiritual life often requires a season of quiet, hidden growth.

Second, we keep Christmas well when we look for the "exiled" in our own midst. If our King was a refugee child, we cannot keep Christmas well while ignoring those who feel displaced or forgotten today. It might look like noticing the neighbor facing their first Christmas alone, or advocating for the family in our community struggling to keep their heat on. It might look like offering a word of welcome to the stranger who feels they don't belong. We are called to be the arms that lift and carry others, just as God carries us. We become "helpers" in the work of making the world right.

Finally, we must trust the carrying God. As you look toward the new year, you might feel like you are heading into a foreign land. The world is changing quickly, and the "uncertain times" we hear about on the news can feel overwhelming. But you aren't going alone. The God who was present in the affliction of Israel—the God who sat in the back of the wagon during the flight to Egypt—is the God who is carrying you right now. You are being held by a love that has walked the road before you.

VI. Conclusion: The Sending

The theologian Howard Thurman wrote that when the song of the angels is stilled and the kings are home, the "work" of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, and to make music in the heart.

Friends, as you leave today, don't put Jesus back in the box with the ornaments. Keep Him on the road. Keep Him in your business decisions, in the way you speak to your spouse, and in the way you care for your neighbors. For the God who arrived in the hay is the God who walks with you through the flight. He is the God of the quiet stable and the dusty road.

You are a people who have been carried by a love that will not let you go. Now, go and carry that love to a world that is waiting for the dawn.

Let us keep Christmas well. Amen.

Anthem What Child is This?

III. Response and Intercession

The Response and Silent Intercession(As the anthem concludes, the Pastor walks to the nativity scene and begins to speak.)

"We move these figures today because the story of God’s love doesn't end in the quiet of the stable. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had to leave. They had to take that light out into a world that wasn't always ready for it. We leave the stable behind today, too. We move with the Holy Family into our community. Keeping Christmas well means following our Refugee King out those doors and into the lives of our neighbors.

As I carry these figures to the back of the sanctuary, let us enter into a time of silent intercession. I invite you to lift up those prayers that are too deep for words—the roads you are walking, and the burdens you are carrying. Let us pray in the silence together."

(A period of silence is observed while the Pastor moves the figures of Joseph, Mary, and the Child from the stable to the back of the sanctuary.)

Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer

"Gracious and Holy God, we come before you in this quiet hour, still breathing in the wonder of the manger. We thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, and for the reminder that you are a God of fierce tenderness—a God who lifts us up and carries us all the days of old.

Lord, we bring before you the prayers that have been lifted in the silence of this room. We pray for the sick and the weary, for those facing difficult transitions, and for those who are celebrating milestones of healing and hope. We lift up those who are grieving this week—those for whom the holiday season has felt more like a burden than a celebration. Surround them with the peace that passes all understanding.

Help us, the people of Ashtabula First, to keep Christmas well. When our legs are shaky and our spirits are heavy, lift us to your hip. Carry us through the winter months and into the light of your grace. May we be a people who look for the 'exiled' in our own midst, offering them the same carrying love you have shown us.

Hear us now, as we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:

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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

Offering & Doxology

"As we have been carried by God's grace, let us now offer our gifts to carry that grace to others."

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication "Generous God, we bring these gifts in service of your work. Use them to carry your hope to the places that need it most. Amen."

IV. Sending Forth

"Let’s sing this final song as a people who are ready to take the light we’ve found here today and share it with everyone we meet!"

Closing Hymn Go Tell It on the Mountain (UMH 251)

Benediction "In love and mercy, God sends us forth. As the God of old carried his people, may He carry you through the night and into the dawn. Go now, and keep Christmas well. Amen."

Postlude