Welcome, we’re glad you’re here. Our vision echoes the Lord’s prayer: may it be “in the South Bay, as it is in heaven.” We yearn to see people flourishing in Jesus. Join us in the worship of our Lord.
PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see!
Hail the Incarnate Deity!
– Charles Wesley
“For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth — that light has come into darkness … But Advent bids us first to pause and to look, with complete honesty, at that darkness.”
– Tish H Warren
What does Advent mean? It means that death, disease, despair, drug addiction, homelessness, murder, hate, war, orphanhood, poverty, hunger, thirst, tears, & grief have an expiration date. These are not the original intention for the world & won’t see the dawn of the new creation.
– David Cassidy
“In every Christian, there is a cosmic homesickness for the way things are meant to be.”
– Adam Ramsey
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes – and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.
– Bonhoeffer (from a prison cell)
Once we have seen Him in a stable, we can never be sure where He will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation He will descend in His wild pursuit of men.
– Frederick Buechner
“While Jesus was nursing at Mary’s breast, he was at the same time holding the universe together with his hands.”
– Martin Luther
“No one goes to the Christmas Eve service for the sermon. They go for the music. Preaching cannot convey the deep meaning of this night. Only the hymns can do that.”
– Reinhold Niebuhr
WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP
In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void,
and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering
over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,”
and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good.
And God separated the light from the darkness…
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness.
And let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and
over the livestock and over all the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:1-4, 26-27
CAROL 1
Joy To The World
[Verse 1]
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing
[Verse 2]
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
[Verse 3]
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
CAROL 2
O Come All Ye Faithful
[Verse 1]
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
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
[Verse 2]
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
[Verse 3]
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
Glory in the highest
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
[Verse 4]
Adeste fideles
Laeti triumphantes
Venite, venite in Bethlehem!
Natum videte
Regem angelorum
Venite adoremus
Venite adoremus
Venite adoremus
Dominum
SCRIPTURE READING 1
Now the serpent was more crafty
than any other beast of the field
that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say,
‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent,
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said,
‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree
that is in the midst of the garden,
neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 But the serpent said to the woman,
“You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it
your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes,
and that the tree was to be desired
to make one wise,
she took of its fruit and ate,
and she also gave some to her husband
who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked.
And they sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and the man and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called to the man
and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said,
“I heard the sound of you in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked,
and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said,
“The woman whom you gave to be with me,
she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“What is this that you have done?”
The woman said,
“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:1-15
CAROL 3
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
[Verse 1]
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
[Verse 2]
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
[Outro]
Israel’s strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart
CAROL 4
Light of the World
[Verse 1]
The world waits for a miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
O come, O come, Emmanuel
A child prays for peace on earth
And she’s calling out from a sea of hurt
O come, O come, Emmanuel
[Pre-Chorus]
And can you hear
The angels singing
[Chorus]
Glory
To the Light of the world
Glory
The Light of the world is here
[Verse 2]
The drought breaks with the tears of a mother
A baby’s cry is the sound of love
Come down, come down Emmanuel
He is the song for the suffering
He is Messiah, the Prince of Peace
Has come, He has come, Emmanuel
[Chorus]
[Bridge 1]
For all who wait
For all who hunger
For all who’ve prayed
For all who wander
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
[Chorus]
[Bridge 2]
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
[Outro]
The world waits for a miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
O come, O come, Emmanuel
SCRIPTURE READING 2
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone…
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this…
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
26 In the sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
And the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said,
“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying,
and tried to discern
what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him
the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel,
“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy
— the Son of God.
36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth
in her old age has also conceived a son,
and this is the sixth month
with her who was called barren.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said,
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word.”
And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on
all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud
in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
CAROL 5
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
[Verse 1]
Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand
Ponder nothing earthly minded
For with blessing in His hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth
Our full homage to demand
[Verse 2]
King of kings, yet born of Mary
As of old on earth, He stood
Lord of lords, in human vesture
In the body and the blood
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food
[Verse 3]
Rank on rank, the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away
[Verse 4]
At His feet the six-winged seraph
Cherubim with sleepless eye
Veil their faces to the presence
As with ceaseless voice they cry
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!
GREETING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Holiday Children’s Ministry schedule: Reminder to parents and volunteers, children 3 years old through 5th grade will be joining us for the entire service Christmas week (12/22), and New Year’s week (12/29). Our nursery will remain fully staffed with our wonderful care workers throughout the month. And our speakers will be adapting their sermon length accordingly.
Year End Giving: We are thankful for all of God’s provision for our church. As we close the year, here’s a friendly reminder that December giving contributes significantly to our annual budget. For tax purposes, checks must be postmarked by December 31, 2024. Giving statements will be emailed in January.
If you would like to give electronically, you may do so here. If you would like to give via cash or check to King’s Cross Church, there are white baskets in the back of our worship space. Thank you all for your faithful financial support of King’s Cross Church. May we continue to faithfully steward his resources for the Kingdom.
SPECIAL MUSIC: CHILDREN
Unto Us/Ends of the Earth
[Intro]
On the people Who were walking in darkness
Into the darkness has shined a light
On the people Who were walking in darkness
Into the darkness has shined a light
And He is light and life to all man-kind
Unto us a child is born
Unto us a Son is given
And His name shall be Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God, Everlasting One
Unto us
Unto us
[Chorus]
And His greatness
It will reach to the ends of the earth
[Verse]
O little Bethlehem
Though you are small, Though you are small
Out of you will come
The Ruler of all, The Ruler of all
And He shall be our peace, oh
[Chorus]
[Verse]
From of old he comes
Ancient of days, Ancient of days
For in Bethlehem
The One we await, The One we await
And He shall be our peace, oh
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
And He will stand in the strength of the Lord
A shepherd for His people
And He will stand In the name of the Lord
A shepherd for us all
[Chorus]
[Final Chorus]
Unto us a child is born
Unto us a Son is given
And His name shall be
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God, Everlasting One
Unto us
Unto us
CAROL 6
We Have a Savior
[Verse 1]
A child has been given
The King of our freedom
Sing for the light has come
This is Christmas
Come and adore Him
And bring gifts before Him
Joy to the world
Worship the Son
This is Christmas
[Chorus]
Jesus, Emmanuel here with us
Tell all the world
We have a Savior
We have a Savior
We are no longer lost
Cause He has come down for us
We have a Savior
We have a Savior
[Verse 2]
Sing with the angels
And lift up your voices
Join in the song of hope
This is Christmas
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
His love will reign forever
His love will reign forever
His love will reign forever
[Chorus]
SCRIPTURE READING 3
18 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.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man
and unwilling to put her to shame,
resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 But 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.
21 She will bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All 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).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him:
he took his wife, 25 but knew her not
until she had given birth to a son.
And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25
In those days
a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be registered.
2 This was the first registration
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And all went to be registered,
each to his own town.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
from the town of Nazareth,
to Judea, to the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary,
his betrothed, who was with child.
6 And while they were there,
the time came for her to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in swaddling cloths
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
CAROL 7
O Holy Night
[Verse1]
O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night
Of our dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til he appeared and the soul felt His worth
A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, oh night, oh night divine
[Verse2]
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord, let ever ever praise Thee
Noël, Noël
Oh night, when Christ was born
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
CAROL 8
The Holly and the Ivy
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
[Refrain]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flow’r
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our dear Savior
[Refrain]
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
[Refrain]
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn
[Refrain]
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as the gall
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all
SCRIPTURE READING 4
8 And in the same region
there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were filled with great fear.
10 And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you:
you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those
with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels
went away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go over to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they went with haste
and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby lying in a manger.
17 And when they saw it,
they made known the saying
that had been told them concerning this child.
18 And all who heard it
wondered at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things,
pondering them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
as it had been told them.
Luke 2:8-20
CAROL 9
Silent Night
[Verse 1]
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
[Verse 2]
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
[Verse 3]
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
[Verse 4]
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
CAROL 10
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
[Verse 1]
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 angelic hosts proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”
[Verse 2]
Christ by highest Heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”
[Verse 3]
Hail the Heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n 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
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”
BENEDICTION
May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit
you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13
CONNECTION
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