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Organ Voluntary: All Glory Be To God on High, arr. Wilbur Heid

Processional Hymn: Once in Royal David's City, Psalter Hymnal 346

stanza 1—choir
stanza 2—all women
stanza 3—all men
* organ interlude, please stand as you are able
* stanza 4—all, in harmony
* stanza 5—all, with descant

* Bidding Prayer

Pastor:
Beloved in Christ, as we await the great festival of Christmas, we prepare ourselves so that we may be shown its true meaning. We have gathered to hear, in readings from the holy scriptures, how the prophets of Israel foretold that God would visit and redeem his waiting people. We rehearse again the account of the loving purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience to the glorious redemption brought us by this Great Little One, the Eternal Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice, in carols and hymns, that the good purpose of God is being mightily fulfilled. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up.

But first, we pray for the world which God so loves, for those who have not heard the good news of Christ, or who do not believe it; for those who walk in darkness and the shadow of death; and for the Church in this place and everywhere, that it may be freed from all evil and fear, and may in pure joy lift up the light of the love of God. These prayers we humbly offer as we meditate on each of the readings from holy scripture, and also now, in the words that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us.

Congregation:
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.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen!

* God's Greeting

Please remain standing for the bidding anthem.

* Bidding Anthem: Arise, Shine, Donald Pearson

Please sing the refrain with the choir as directed.

—text from Isaiah 60:1-5
Copyright © 1994 by Aureole Editions, Paraclete Press

Please be seated.

I. Watersprings in the Desert

A Reading from Genesis 3:8-19 and Isaiah 35:1-2

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

He Turneth the Wilderness, Randall Thompson, from Psalm of Thanksgiving

—text from Psalm 107:35-43

* Choir and Congregation, standing to sing Come thou, long expected Jesus

—text by Charles Wesley, 1744

II. The Mighty Morningstar

A Reading from Numbers 24:15-19, Luke 1:46-55

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

There Shall A Star Come Out of Jacob, Felix Mendelssohn, from Christus

—text from Numbers 24 and a sixteenth century choral

* How Bright Appears the Morningstar, Psalter Hymnal 357

stanza 1 only, standing to sing

III. The Heavenly Priest and Mediator

A Reading from Hebrews 1:1-3, 7:26-8:1

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

Two Hymns on the Mediation of Christ

Of the Father's Love Begotten, Psalter Hymnal 342

stanza 1—choir
stanza 2—all men, chant-like
stanza 3—all women, chant-like
stanza 4-5, with Amen—all

My God is So High, arr. Moses Hogan

IV. A Little Child Shall Lead Them

A Reading from Isaiah 11:1-6

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

A Child, My Choice, Richard Dirksen
—Robert Southwell, c. 1561-1595

V. A Light to All Nations

A Reading from Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

Malawi: Muchindiakani Yesu Mtuwa, Ben Nhlane, sung in Malawi dialect

	Muchindikani Yesu	Come let us honor Jesus!
	Christ breaks the grip of tyrants, Yesu!

China: Shenye qing, shengye jing, Qigui Shi, arr. I-to Loh, sung in Mandarin

Sweden: Stralande Jul, Gustaf Nordqvist, 1886-1946, sung in Swedish

Argentina: Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Pablo Sosa, sung in Spanish

Sung by the choir in Spanish, then by all in English, as directed.

VI. Christus Paradox

A Reading from Isaiah 9:6, 53:2-3, 9:7

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

Christus Paradox, arr. Alfred V. Fedak, commissioned for the 1998 Calvin College Campus Choir

The text was written by Canadian hymnwriter Sylvia Dunstan, who was inspired by the writings of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on the mystery of the incarnation.

Meditation: Adoring the Mystery, based on 1 Timothy 3:16

* Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Psalter Hymnal 345

stanzas 1-3: all, in harmony, standing to sing

VII. Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

A Reading from Luke 2:8-16

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

Two French Noels
Noe, Noe Pastores, Guillame Boignizac, c. 1592-1641, sung in Latin
This piece begins with naively dramatic depiction of the shepherd's encounter with the angels—the music depicts stupefied shepherds in shock over the words of this triumphant angel. When the shepherds regain their senses, they ask one of the most pressing questions in medieval Christology, "Why did God become human?" (Anselm wrote a famous treatise with this title). The work concludes with a chorus of praise to the infant Christ.

* Angels We Have Heard on High, Psalter Hymnal 347

stanzas 1-3, sung by all—sing the verses softly, the refrain with great vigor

VIII. God With Us

A Reading from Matthew 1:18-23, 2 Corinthians 8:9

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

You Who Were Rich Beyond All Splendor, arr. John Worst, commissioned for the 1998 Calvin College Campus Choir

—text by Frank Houghton

Choir and Congregation (sing softly):

IX. The Eternal Word

A Reading from John 1:1-4, 14

followed by
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!

Welcome All Wonders in One Sight, Richard Dirksen

The text is perhaps the most famous poem on the incarnation of all the English metaphysical poets. Every line of the poem speaks of the incomprehensible paradox of the incarnation.

—Richard Crashaw, from In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord God: A Hymn Sung as by the Shepherds (1646, 1652)

* Prayer

	Pastor:	Almighty God, you have given us a glimpse of glory at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, you have filled us with hope as we long for the coming kingdom of God. We praise this "Great little One, whose all-embracing birth Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth." With confidence and hope in your promises, we echo the prayers of your saints throughout all times and places:
	Choir:	Now may your servant, Lord, according to your word, depart in exultation. My peace shall be serene, for now my eyes have seen your wonderful salvation. You did for all prepare this gift so great, so rare, fulfilling prophet's story, A light to show the way to Gentiles gone astray and unto Israel's glory. —Song of Simeon, melody by Louis Bourgeois, from the Genevan Psalter, setting by Claude Goudimel

Pastor:  We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Congregation:  Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen!

*Parting Challenge

Pastor:

Go forth into the world in peace; Hold fast to that which is good; Render to no one evil for evil; Strengthen the faint-hearted; Support the weak; Help the afflicted; Honor all people; Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

*Benediction

Pastor:

And may the God of peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being-- spirit, soul, and body -- free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Congregation: Alleluia! Amen!

*Recessional Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful, Psalter Hymnal 340

Organ Voluntary: Fugue in G Major, Johann Sebastian Bach

* All who are able, please stand.