Christmas Sunday
Lighting of the Advent Candles
Christmas Sunday
Reader 1: Josiah Kim
We light the candle of Hope
as we await the coming of Jesus,
who is our source of hope.
— Light one purple candle (the candle of Hope) —
Together
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of hope
in our times of despair.
Reader 2: Esme Kim
We light the candle of Peace,
knowing that Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
— Light one purple candle (the candle of Peace) —
Together
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of peace
in our times of strife.
Reader 3: Toby Cho
We light the candle of Joy,
knowing that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
— Light one pink candle (the candle of Joy) —
Together
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of joy
in our times of sadness.
Reader 4: Arya Kim
We light the candle of Love,
knowing that God is Love,
revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
— Light the final purple candle (the candle of Love) —
Together
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of love.
Reader 5: Choi Family Representative
In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The Word became flesh and lived among us,
full of grace and truth.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of all.
We light the Christ Candle,
knowing that Jesus is our hope, our peace,
our joy and the source of love.
— Light the gold Christ candle —
Together
Thank You, Jesus, for coming to us.
Prayers of the People
Throughout Advent, we have been lighting candles for people we know who need God’s hope, peace, joy, and love. On this Christmas Eve Day, we’ll light the candles from the Christ candle and from each other as we continue to pray for people we know who need God’s hope, peace, joy, and love.
Holy One,
be the light in our darkness this day,
that we might reflect Your light
into the dark corners of our world. Amen.
The candidates and confirmands will take a candle
and light it from the Christ candle
and then take candles to the rest of the congregation
as we sing O Come All Ye Faithful together
Worship Song
O Come All Ye Faithful
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
O 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
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
O sing, all ye bright hosts of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be all glo — ry giv’n
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name;
you are mine.
Matthew 28:18-19
18 Then Jesus came to them and said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
Together: Thanks be to God.
Service of Confirmation & Baptism
Presentation of Baptismal Candidates
Presentation of the Confirmand
To the Congregation
People of God, will you promise to uphold and support
these parents in their life in Christ
as they live for God and raise their children in the faith?
(We will, with God’s help)
Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ,
promise to guide, nurture, and walk
with these young people,
by word and deed, with love and prayer,
encouraging them to know and follow Christ
and to be faithful members of his church?
(We do)
Profession of Faith
Faith Stories
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended to hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving over the Water & the Oil
Baptisms & Confirmations
Laying on of Hands in Prayer
Worship Song
Promises
God of Abraham
You’re the God of covenant
And of faithful promises
Time and time again
You have proven
You’ll do just what You said
Though the storms may come and the winds may blow
I’ll remain steadfast
And let my heart learn, when You speak a word
It will come to pass
Great is Your faithfulness to me
Great is Your faithfulness to me
From the rising sun to the setting same
I will praise Your name
Great is Your faithfulness to me
God from age to age
Though the earth may pass away
Your word remains the same, yeah
Your history can prove
There’s nothing You can’t do
You’re faithful and true
I put my faith in Jesus
My anchor to the ground
My hope and firm foundation
He’ll never let me down
Scripture Reading
John 1:1-5 & 14 (CEV & the Message)
In the beginning was the one who is called the Word.
The Word was with God and was truly God.
From the very beginning the Word was with God.
And with this Word, God created all things.
Nothing was made without the Word.
Everything that was created received its life from him,
and his life gave light to everyone.
The light keeps shining in the dark and darkness has never put it out.
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
Together: Thanks be to God.
Reflection
Christmas
Pastor Jeya So
Questions about Jesus, neighbors, neighborhood:
- What kind of Neighbor would Jesus be?
- What kind of house would Jesus build?
- And also, what kind of neighborhood would you want to invite Jesus to?
- What kind of house would you invite Jesus to?
- How can you be a neighbor like Jesus to others?
Worship Song
Joy to the World
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
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as, the curse is found
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
And wonders, wonders of His love
Benediction
Gingerbread Neighborhood Build
Together in creativity, joy, and community!
Announcements
- Thanks for worshiping with us today! We hope you experience meaningful connection with God and others in our community. If you’re visiting for the first time today, we invite you to use our QR code to fill out a visitors card so we can get to know you better
- Christmas offering: We are proud to partner with Justice Ventures International and Big Table San Diego for our annual Christmas offering. Give via Tithely (choose “Christmas 2023” from the drop-down menu) or write a check to Solana Beach Presbyterian Church and include “Anchor & Hope Christmas Offering 2023” in the memo.
- NextGen Christmas Offering: Our Sunday School students will collect funds to give a Christmas offering to support World Vision. Animals like goats, chickens, and rabbits can make a big difference for farmers’ families around the world!
- Next Sunday, December 31st: We will not gather on the final Sunday of the year but will instead have a Reset Sunday. We’ll send out a worship guide that week so you can reflect on God’s faithfulness over the past year and look forward to next year together!
- Sunday, January 7th: Anchor & Hope will celebrate our anniversary on the first Sunday of the new year. We’ll invite our whole church to renew our commitment to prayer, witness, and community as we continue to hope & dream together. We’ll meet at 10:30 am at Sandburg Elementary.
- Resolution Run 2024: Please talk to Jin if you’d like to join our Anchor & Hope team for a 5k/10k on Saturday, January 13th.
- Monday, January 15th: Pastor Dan has been invited to share the closing intentions at the All Peoples Celebration on MLK Day in Balboa Park. Please visit allicancesd.org for more information.
- Women’s Retreat: February 2-3, 2024!
Anchor & Hope Church 