Elements from this morning’s gathering

Call to Worship

The Good News from John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. 

And the light shines in the darkness; the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light that shines on all people came into the world.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

Christmastide Examen

Take a few moments to engage a time of guided prayer. This approach to prayer is one Christians have relied on for centuries called Examen, and it offers a chance to reflect back on a period of time with God, noticing how God was coming to you through it.

This morning, invite you to reflect on how Christmas was for you. For many, it’s a time full of wonder, joy, family, friends, feasting, traditions & memories.

Let’s start there – take a moment now to reflect on how God met you with joy and hope this Christmas

If we’re honest, Christmas is often also a time where we come face to face with harder realities: disappointments with things that didn’t go as we hoped, experiencing difficult & complex dynamics in our families or with close relationships, feeling alone, forgotten, or under-appreciated, feeling unsure what to look forward to now that the season is nearing its end.

Take a moment to name to God anything difficult or sad – then notice how God is meeting you in that unresolved reality…

Scripture Reading

A Reading from Matthew 2:1-12

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him… Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”