Online Bulletin

SANCTUARY  |  Church Online

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First Sunday after Christmas

December 28, 2025
8:30am 

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Prelude "Zion Hears the Watchmen Singing" J. S. Bach
from cantata #140 "Wake, Awake"
Carrie Bark, violin
Alex Guebert, organ

 

Weekly Church News

 

Welcome Vicar Micah Raebel

 

Ringing of the Bell

 

Opening Hymn Medley

“Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”
If you wish to follow the music, refer to hymnal 393.

Infant holy,
Infant lowly,
For His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing,
Little knowing
Christ the child is Lord of all.
Swiftly winging,
Angels singing,
Bells are ringing,
Tidings bringing:
Christ the child is Lord of all!
Christ the child is Lord of all!

Flocks were sleeping,
Shepherds keeping
Vigil till the morning new
Saw the glory,
Heard the story,
Tidings of a Gospel true.
Thus rejoicing,
Free from sorrow,
Praises voicing,
Greet the morrow:
Christ the child was born for you!
Christ the child was born for you!

 

“Gentle Mary Laid Her Child”
verses 1, 2 and 3
To the tune of "Good King Wenceslas"

Gentle Mary laid her child
Lowly in a manger;
There He lay, the Undefiled,
To the world a stranger.
Such a babe in such a place,
Can He be the Savior?
Ask the saved of all the race
Who have found His favor.

Angels sang about His birth,
Wise Men sought and found Him;
Heaven’s star shone brightly forth
Glory all around Him.
Shepherds saw the wondrous sight,
Heard the angels singing;
All the plains were lit that night,
All the hills were ringing.

Gentle Mary laid her child
Lowly in a manger;
He is still the Undefiled
But no more a stranger.
Son of God of humble birth,
Beautiful the story;
Praise His name in all the earth;
Hail the King of glory!

 

Invocation
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19b)
People: Amen.

 

Responsive Epistle, Confession and Absolution
Pastor: “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
People: clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

Pastor: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.
People: Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:12-13)

(silence for reflection)

Pastor: “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:14)
People: We have not always forgiven others as the Lord forgave us. We have not always been compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. We deserve Your punishment. Forgive us, Lord.

Pastor: A little more than two thousand years ago, Christ the child was born for you. A little less than two thousand years ago, Christ the Son of Man was slain for you – for all the world. Three days after that, He rose in glory. This is why, after all these years, we are still singing the same song: the song of Good News, the song the angels sang to the shepherds: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People: Christ the child was born for us! Amen.

  

Song of the Angels “It Came upon the Midnight Clear”
verses 1, 3 and 4
If you wish to follow the music, refer to hymnal 366.

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to all,
From heav’n’s all-gracious king.”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

All you, beneath your heavy load,
By care and guilt bent low,
Who toil along a dreary way
With painful steps and slow:
Look up, for golden is the hour,
Come swiftly on the wing,
The Prince was born to bring you peace;
Of Him the angels sing.

For lo, the days have come to pass
By prophets seen of old,
When down into the circling years
Came Christ as was foretold.
His word of peace shall to the earth
God’s ancient promise bring,
And all who take this gift will hear
The song the angels sing.

  

Old Testament Reading  Isaiah 63:7–14 NIV

⁷ I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
    the deeds for which he is to be praised,
    according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things
    he has done for Israel,
    according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
⁸ He said, “Surely they are my people,
    children who will be true to me”;
    and so he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their distress he too was distressed,
    and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
    he lifted them up and carried them
    all the days of old.
¹⁰ Yet they rebelled
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he turned and became their enemy
    and he himself fought against them.

¹¹ Then his people recalled the days of old,
    the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,
    with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he who set
    his Holy Spirit among them,
¹² who sent his glorious arm of power
    to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters before them,
    to gain for himself everlasting renown,
¹³ who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in open country,
    they did not stumble;
¹⁴ like cattle that go down to the plain,
    they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

 

Epistle Reading Galatians 4:4–7 NIV

⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

 

Hymn of the Day “Once in Royal David’s City”
verses 1, 2, 3 and 4
If you wish to follow the music, refer to hymnal 376.

Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor and mean and lowly
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

For He is our childhood’s pattern,
Day by day like us He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feels for all our sadness,
And He shares in all our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heav’n above;
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.

 

Holy Gospel Matthew 2:13–23 NIV

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Lector: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

 

Lament for the Innocents "Coventry Carol" English traditional song, arr. Chip Davis
Carrie Bark, violin 
Alex Guebert, harpsichord.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.
Thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay?”

Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay.”

 

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Message Vicar Micah Raebel

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Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived 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 holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

 
Prayers of the Church
Pastor: O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us, and in the incarnation of Your Son, You restored our human nature. May we ever be alive in Him, who made Himself to be like us. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Almighty God, You have chosen us from the foundation of the world to be Your people. Open our lips to sing Your praises, that Your Holy Word would dwell richly within us from generation to generation. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Heavenly Father, grant Your blessings to the whole Church on earth. May Christ’s people set their hearts and minds on things above, and be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Gracious Father, as Anna waited in the temple for the consolation of Israel, give endurance to Your people in their vocations. Wherever Your people toil and work, give Your children, saved by grace through faith, eyes and ears to see opportunities for good works and Your Spirit to accomplish them, for You have prepared them in advance for us to do. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Merciful Father, You wounded Your own Son to bring us the eternal healing of Your love.
Bless all who suffer wounds of body, mind, and soul, especially….
Grant them healing according to Your will, and sustain them to the day of the resurrection of all flesh. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Sovereign Lord, dismiss Your servants in peace. All these things we pray, heavenly Father, in confidence of Your mercy, trusting that You will grant us all things needful and prevent all things harmful to our faith, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Gathering of Our Tithes and Offerings 


Music at the Offering "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" arr. Alex Guebert
Carrie Bark, violin
Alex Guebert, piano

 

The Lord's Prayer 
Pastor: Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
People: 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;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.

 
Benediction
Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24–26)
People: Amen.

 

Closing Hymn

Closing Hymn “God Loves Me Dearly”
verses 1, 3, 4, and 5
If you wish to follow the music, refer to hymnal 392.

God loves me dearly,
Grants me salvation,
God loves me dearly,
Loves even me.

Refrain:
Therefore I’ll say again:
God loves me dearly,
God loves me dearly,
Loves even me.

He sent forth Jesus,
My dear Redeemer,
He sent forth Jesus
And set me free. refrain

Jesus, my Savior,
Himself did offer;
Jesus, my Savior,
Paid all I owed. refrain

Now I will praise You,
O Love Eternal;
Now I will praise You
All my life long. refrain

 

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Worship Service Participants*

Preacher: Vicar Micah Raebel
Liturgist: Rev. Dr. Timothy M. Klinkenberg
Organ and Piano: Alex Guebert
Violin: Carrie Bark
Audio/Visual: Hector Cerda and Cody Thomas

Thanks for joining us today!

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PRAYER REQUEST

CONNECTION CARD

 

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December 28, 2025

WALKER HALL  |  Church Online

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First Sunday after Christmas

Sunday, December 28, 2025
10:30am

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Weekly Church News

Welcome Pastor Trevor Van Blarcom

Invocation

Worship Set
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
“God With Us”
Confession and Absolution
“He Shall Reign Forevermore”

Scripture Readings

Message Pastor Trevor Van Blarcom

Apostles’ Creed

Prayers of the Church

Gathering of the Offering

The Lord’s Prayer
"What Child Is This"

Benediction

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Worship Service Participants

Preacher: Pastor Trevor Van Blarcom
Director of Contemporary Worship: Stephan Nosrat

Thanks for joining us today!

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  ONLINE GIVING

PRAYER REQUEST

CONNECTION CARD

 

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December 28, 2025