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[Play Christmas worship music before gathering to set a special tone. You can even play the four songs you are going to sing during the service to familiarize everyone to the songs.]

Opening Prayer
Lord God, Creator of all of heaven and earth, we gather in Your holy Presence during this sacred season to remember and celebrate the birth of our precious Savior, Jesus. Open our hearts to hear Your voice of love and truth so that this time spent in Your presence will make us better examples of Your love in this world.
Forgive us of every sin so we can worship you with clean hearts. We set our hearts to worship You now. In Your holy Name we pray.
Amen.

Songs of Worship
[feel free to substitute Christmas Carols – lyrics are listed below] O Draw Me Lord
O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Bible Reading
Luke 1:5-25 from “The Message” Bible

During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.

It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.

But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.

“He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”

Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”
But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”

Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn’t speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.

When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn’t long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. “So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!” she said.

Meditation
Think about all the miracles that are in this story:

• An angel showed up and spoke to Zachariah
• Elizabeth is “quite old” and going to have a baby
• Zachariah’s ability to speak was completely taken away from him

There are many miracles wrapped up in this short story. What do you think is the most incredible miracle in this story?

[Discuss. And remember, if someone makes a joke or pokes fun of the story, it’s okay, laugh and enjoy the discussion. Encourage the process.]

The last sentence of the second paragraph is very important to this story: “Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.” Zachariah was scared and Gabriel attempts to reassure him saying, “Don’t fear, Zachariah” or “Don’t be afraid!” But that wasn’t enough, because he wouldn’t let go of his fear, he wasn’t able to believe the words of Gabriel, even though he knew it was a messenger of God.

Faith and fear are opposites: like Love and Hate. If you have fear, there is no room for faith to operate. The more faith you have, the less fear exists in your life. Zachariah is a perfect example of this truth. His fear paralyzed his body. His fear paralyzed his ability to trust the messenger and the message.

It isn’t that Zachariah didn’t believe…he did believe…HE BELIEVED THAT THE ANGEL WAS WRONG! He even said “Do you expect me to believe this?”

We might not have an angel standing here in this room right now, but God is here. The same God who created all things, who sent an Angel to Zachariah, and who created you, says, “Don’t Fear. Have Faith. I am with you and have heard your prayer.”

Lighting of the First Advent Candle
As we light this first Advent Candle…
[light one candle] …we acknowledge that Jesus is the Light of the World. As we look at the light of this candle we celebrate that light shining in a dark place. We expect that our faith be strengthened and our fear removed. We affirm that the holy Scriptures are a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”

Closing Songs of Worship
Thy Word
Awesome God

Closing Prayer
Oh Lord, thank You for this time we’ve had with You. Thank You for sending Jesus to earth as the light of the world to save us all from sin and death. We take You into our hearts even more deeply tonight and ask that You help us love each other like You love us.
Help us to live with faith and not with fear.
You are worthy of all of our praise Oh Lord.
Amen.

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If you would like to download the four songs we’ve selected for our service you can click the box below and download each of them for $0.99. The lyrics for the songs appear below:

O Draw Me Lord written by David Baroni

O draw me Lord
O draw me Lord
O draw me Lord
And I’ll run after You

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

Awesome God Written by Rich Mullins

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power and love
Our God is an awesome God

Thy Word written by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

When I feel afraid,
And think I’ve lost my way.
Still, you’re there right beside me.
Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet,
My heart forever is wandering.
Jesus be my guide,
And hold me to your side,
And I will love you to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.