this week have I know some people tuning in um to watch family members that are that are going to be participating so I believe that's everything we need to make note of uh to see there's not a procession or recessional so in a moment we will just begin uh with our liturgy oh one other thing I did want to mention about the program when when we come up those are participating just as you know kind of the the disclaimer there we won't have our masks on so you can hear what everybody's saying but I don't think there's any point in the program through the distance that we're going to stay spread out up here through the program, but we do want you to hear what everyone is saying. So that being said, this is the day the Lord has made. Please stand as we begin with the invocation of confession and absolution. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. O Almighty God, Merciful Father, I, the poor, miserable sinner, confess unto you all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended you, and justly deserve your temporal and eternal punishment. Upon this your confession. I by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the word announce the grace of God unto all of you. and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We continue with our song. Things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us, He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children. So, the next generation would know that the youth and the children yet to be born And then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. The Lord be with you. O Lord, let your continual mercy and kindle in your church the unfailing gifts of charity and faith, that following the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, we may have grace to deal in generosity and love with children and with all who are poor and distressed, to uphold the cause of those who have no helper, and to strive for purity of doctrine in the church. For the sake of him who gave his life one god now and forever. Amen. It is. which they may claim the name. The holy cow is raising, the eyes of pride are gazing, his baffled young man. The Old Testament lesson in Isaiah chapter 10, end with the 33 verse. Behold, the Lord God of hosts will loft the bows with terrifying power. The great in height will be moved down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets to the forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall by the majestic horn. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, and the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide his disputes by what his ears hear, but with the righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with the equity of the meat of the earth. and he shall strike down the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loin. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the cat and the lion and the fattened cat together, and the little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, and their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. The pencil lesson is 1 John, beginning with the fourth verse. 11. Let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this, the love of God has made manifest the moment that God sent His only Son in the world so that we might live through Him. And this love, not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his son to be the perpetrator for our sins. Behold, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his spirit. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in this love abides in God, and God abides in him. This is the word of the Lord. praise god. Please stand for the hallelujah verse in the holy gospel. Hallelujah. Then they brought little children to him, that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly disturbed, and said to them, Let the little children come to me. Do not forbid them, for such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. He took them up in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them. This is the gospel of the Lord. We confess the Christian faith in the words of the Apostle Scripture. I believe in god, the father almighty maker of heaven and by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. Please remain standing and at this time, we're going to invite uh some of the folks that are participating in the Christmas program to come to the front and spread out here across the front and one of the traditions we have in our church is when we light the Christmas tree every year, we sing uh oh Christmas tree and the second verse in German, you'll notice there, the We're not going to do that this year with our modifications, but we are going to light the tree and still celebrate this time of year. So, we will join our helpers up here in singing together O Christmas Tree. The first two verses first. Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your branches green delight us. Not only in the summertime, but even in the winter is the time. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your branches green delight us. ♪ O Tannenbaum, meet your sinner in the wilderness ♪ ♪ You'll burst into flames, you'll somersault ♪ ♪ Fly off your wings, you'll win each fight ♪ ♪ O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum ♪ ♪ Meet your sinner in the wilderness ♪ We now conclude with the next few verses. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, thy candles shine up brightly. Each one a whole, its tiny light, that makes each torch, dear, sparkle bright. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, ♪ Thy candle shine now brightly ♪ ♪ O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree ♪ ♪ Thou sternly God hath made thee ♪ ♪ Thou bid'st us all with faithfully ♪ ♪ Our trust in God unchanging be ♪ ♪ O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree ♪ We'll continue with the prayers of the church. Let us praise the whole church of Jesus Christ and all the people according to their needs. Almighty God, we give thanks for the unity of faith that makes your church one mystical body of Christ with a partnership of gospel we share with fellowship congregations and the earthly fellowship in our synagogues. Keep us steadfast in your word and truth and the good news of life and salvation. Lord, in your mercy, O mighty God, in your blessed patience, you send your prophets and apostles, pastors and teachers at all times, that sinners would not perish, but rather reach repentance and find comfort in your word, which alone will stand forever. Preserve the service of your church. Give to our congregation and all congregations an increase of hope. that we may await the revealing of new heavens and new earth and lives of holiness and goodness. Diligent to be found without spot or blemish and at peace, Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Almighty God and Father, your son revealed his love and his compassion for the poor and the forgiven. to despise and elope. Look in mercy on those who have no work and cannot provide for themselves and their families. Let them find gainful employment so that they can rejoice over the fruits of their labor. Thank you for saints such as Nicholas who, to their highest point, as for the example of serving all those in need, particularly children. Lord, in mercy. We offer. Almighty God and Father, You healed the sick and defeated death by the resurrection of your son. And our Lord, according to your gracious will, heal the sick and comfort the suffering, especially Barbara, Joe, Roger, Barry, Paula, Pauline, Diana, Daniel, Shelly, and Michelle's cousin, Robbie. who is in there with blood transfusions and watch over him. Lord, in your mercy. Maybe we should say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. All that is a human and power and glory forever and ever. so so you Once upon a time, not very long ago, two Christmas shoppers were talking, obviously very concerned. Hello. Hey Connie. How was your shopping trip? Did you find gifts for everyone on your list? Yes, I did. Buying gifts for family and friends is one thing, and I'm glad to do it. But I'm afraid things are getting out of hand, Shoshanna. I know what you're talking about. It seems like people have forgotten that Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' birth, the Prince of Peace, and the Savior of the world. All you hear about is presents and Santa. Yes, and I think a lot of this is Santa Claus' fault. There is so much focus on Santa And this causes people to forget the true meaning of Christmas. Don't you agree? I do. It's just truly sad. All right. Catch you later. Bye-bye. Now, Santa overhears a lot when he is out making his list of who's been naughty or nice. And much of what he hears goes in one ear and out the other. But this Christmas, he couldn't stop thinking about what these two shoppers had said. Even while helping the elves load his sleigh on Christmas Eve, those awful words rang in his ears. Could they possibly be right? As we went from house to house delivering toys, Santa couldn't stop worrying. Some people do forget Jesus on Christmas. Could it really be his fault? Santa's last stop, as usual, was at a church that had a nativity scene. By this year, Sanchez's footsteps were slow and heavy. He opened the door at the back of the church and crept into the very last pew. His feet refused to carry him forward to the crib where the figure of the infant Jesus lay. He hid his present under the pew. He had never felt so drained. A tear rolled down his cheek. Even though children had left him cookies and milk and many loving letters, he still couldn't remember when he felt so sad or so alone. In fact, these kind acts by the children caused him to think even more that people were focusing too much on him rather than Jesus. What's wrong? Giving presents was always such a joy before. closed his eyes when suddenly he heard a voice calling, Santa, Saint Nicholas. Santa quickly wiped his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him crying. He quickly looked around the church and was shocked at what he saw. Cheer up. I'm an angel from the heavenly host that has been sent to deliver a special message from the Lord God to you. It's certainly not your fault. that some people have not grasped the true meaning of what you are doing. This certainly happened with God many times as people have claimed to be following Him, but lost focus on what He has told us currently in the Bible, and that they have done evil things in His name. Ever since you were born in far off Turkey, only 300 years after Jesus was born, you've done more than most to spread your true Christmas spirit. Santa Catarli lives here. An angel is actually talking to her. The angel's voice is warm and loving, not angry at all. forget your long and distinguished career. It all began when, at a very young age, you were named Bishop of Myra because of your many acts of charity and faithfulness to God. Everyone called me Nicholas then, and that's when I first discovered how great it feels to help those that are in need. and you certainly helped them often. Remember the poor merchant who did not have enough money to pay for his three daughters, his weddings for his three daughters. You certainly, you secretly threw a bag of gold into each girl's windows, thinking no one would see you, but someone did. You are the saint often remembered by marriageable maidens, the three The three gold balls that hang out, many pawn shops to this day represent those three bags of gold. Of course, the legend grew to say that you put the three gold bags into stockings and the tradition of young people hanging out stockings for Christmas gifts continued You always loved children, among many other good deeds. You were credit for rescuing some young boys from horrible deaths with pirates from the coast guard to steal and take people away into slavery. You also, the church named you the patron saint of children and families. I guess I've had a pretty busy and exciting life. I mean the love of children has always been something that's very important to me. I've treasured it very much. I'm also the patron saint of Russia and many churches around the world have been named after me. My feast day is It's a special day, St. Nicholas Day, around the world, where many countries are observing it and people are giving gifts. You are known by many names as well. From the German, you are called Christkindl, which literally means Christ child, to remind people that Jesus is the reason for these seasons. That's true, but today most people know me as Santa Claus. Some say it comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, but I like to think it comes from the way that small children try to say Saint Nicholas. Santa pulled thoughtfully on his beard and looked down at his bright red suit. Red has been his favorite color ever since he wore the red robes of a bishop, but he hadn't been so bad then. Actually, he has only had his round belly for relatively short times. In 1823, when Clement Moore wrote the famous poem, Night Before Christmas, it depicted Santa as having a round belly that shook when he left like a ball full of jelly. So many people were drawing pictures of Santa. The famous political cartoonist Thomas Ness, who created the Republican Elephant and the Democratic Donkey, was the first one to draw one with a long white beard and round belly. Later, the Coca-Cola Company featured a jolly Santa Claus in their Christmas advertising. since then with the help of television, magazines, newspapers, and the internet, the Big U.S. Anti-Clause is now known everywhere. You have done many good deeds, St. Nicholas. However, the most important thing about your life is your devotion to God and spreading the good news of Jesus. Remember when you were bishop and attended the council of Nicaea in 325. Yes, I do. Nice town, that Nicaea. You know, they have this great kebab place downtown. At the castle, there were some false teachers who were attempting to distort the teaching of God and claim that Jesus was not the son of God, and this and that, he was not fully God and fully man. You recall a dust-up with a man named Arius? Ho, ho, ho, yes, I do seem to remember that. Arius never knew what hit him. Well, maybe you could have painted it a little more peacefully. You stood up for the truth, and no, The Night Scene Creed is confirmed by Christians around the world to this day as a statement of the key. Teaching of Christianity, God's Word, tells us that we have to save, saved by grace through faith, the Christ child that came on that first Christmas would grow up and die for the sins of the world, and then rise from the dead. This is the most important message that you can help spread, Nicholas. I agree. And I want to thank you for talking to me today because Christian, I can continue to serve people by bringing them gifts, because that's a very important job. But my prayer is that these gifts will always point people not to me, but to the giver of those gifts to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Santa was very new about the visit from the angels. Next year, he would try even harder to fill the earth with love and joy, and keep the focus on the Christ child on Christmas. He could hardly wait. The morning sun streamed through the same glass windows of the church, and bathed the figure of the infant Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, in his bright orange rays. Santa reached down and took the present that he had brought. He knew he'd have to hurry if he was to be the first person to wish Jesus happy birthday again this year. He knelt before the infant Jesus, Lord, I know that there is really nothing I can give you as you have given me everything in Jesus. even your very life so that my sins could be and let us live for you, serving others in your name. Happy birthday, Jesus. Thank you for giving me a special place in your plan. Let me always have faith and not doubt your wisdom. Amen. Now you have heard the story of Santa, who is known as Saint Nicholas. While Santa is a part of the Christmas season, don't ever forget what he's really about. God coming in the flesh to save his creation from sin. So if you ever enter a church and see Santa kneeling before Jesus, know, know that this is not an unusual place for an adult. Once upon a long ago, very far away, In the town of Bethlehem, hiding in some clay, Jesus came before you and he told you that it's your home. I will do the same For Bishop Nicholas, friendly, good, and wise. When he got the help of Lord, always by surprise. Which then came to Nicholas, friendly, well-to-share. So it could be said to houses waiting in despair. We should be like Nicholas, thankful, good, and kind. Loving those in whom you are now, all the more to be fond. Jesus and St. Nicholas taught us how to live. Share God's never-secret words, that is how to live. May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you that peace. Amen. These are announcements for coming up. Wednesday Night Light is still continuing on 615 on Wednesdays. And we'll have communion next Sunday on the 13th. And after the service, we'll have a congregational meeting as well. And thanks to everyone who participated in our Christmas program this year. You are invited to stay for cookies with St. Nicholas, which he'll be over there Wait, did you say something about cookies? Oh, yes, definitely cookies. And is there a fruitcake, too? Oh, definitely fruitcake, yeah, I have fruitcake, yeah. And, like, eggnog? I don't think eggnog. I think we need to find some eggnog, too. Okay, good luck with that. David, you're stepping in. I was supposed to be Robert, but they weren't feeling well. So, he kind of got president and I seriously apologize for not following the program. That's right. I jumped in and I was lost there for a minute. So, the lord's prayer is certainly appropriate after the prayer of the church. So, but but Saint Nicholas would also like to thank everyone who put this together. herself, I believe, and also all the young people and more mature folks who helped us out with this and I pray that you learned a little bit more about Saint Nicholas and why we have some of the traditions today, but ultimately, that we serve others in his name and all the honor goes to Jesus. Go in peace, serve the Lord. Thanks be to