Guided Worship

Prayer

God of the Bethlehem star, everyone is searching for your light shining in the face of Christ.

The Magi sought Christ simply to worship him

but Herod sought him to sppease his jealous anger.

We confess that our motives in seeking Jesus are not always pure.

We don't always come simply to worship:

We come to Christ, asking his benefits of reassurance, health, wealth;

asking him to fulfill the hundred petitions for not-so-important requests that we heap before him.

But the Magi sought first the kingdom.

Help us, God, to follow their example, and,

recognizing your kingship, help us to put our own need in perspective,

and worship Christ in love,

content to be in your presense, and laying our gifts before you.

May our lives then be a journey of trust,

and of worship, adoration and praise

for who you are, for who Christ is,

and for what you have already done in us at Christmas.

Amen.

MEDITATE

Read Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. For nothing is impossible with God. "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Affirmation of Faith

We believe we are not Christians because we are good;

we are Christians because God is good.

We believe we are not saved because we earned salvation;

we are saved because God, in Christ, graced us with salvation.

We believe we did not by chance discover God;

we recognized God constantly getting through to us.

We believe we are not the creators of this world;

God created us and the world that we might lavor in it, subdue the land, and enjoy the fruits of it.

We believe we did not first serve the Lord;

the Lord first served us.

Therefore, we were loved by God into existence, before we loved God in commitment. The initial step was God's, the follow-up is ours.

We believe our response to all God has done for us is life shaping and of eternal consequence.

We assert anew our allegiance to God and to Jesus, the Son, through whom we have been given all that we have and by whom we are made whole.

Blessing

May God make our year a happy one!

Not by shielding us from all sorrows and pain,

But by strengthening us to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making our path easy,

But by making us sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from us,

But by taking fear from our heart;

Not by granting us unbroken sunshine,

But by keeping our face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making our life always pleasant,

But by showing us when people and their causes need us most,

and by making us anxious to be there to help.

God's love, peace, hope and joy to us for the year ahead.

-author unknown

As we enter into a New Year, may Jesus Christ, the Son of God, work in you, so that your lives will be a light to the world, and may the blessing of Father, Son and Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Guided Worship for December 29