WEBVTT
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(somber music)
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("Joy to the World")
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("O Come, Let Us Adore Him")
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("Hark, the Herald Angels Sing")
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("Good Christian Men, Rejoice")
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("Hark, the Herald Angels Sing")
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("O Come, All Ye Faithful)
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("Good Christian Men, Rejoice")
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("O Come, All Ye Faithful")
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("Suite No. 2 in F Major, Op. 28" by Gustav Holst)
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("Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head")
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♪ Jesus, Jesus rest Your head ♪
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♪ You have got a manger bed ♪
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♪ All the evil folks on earth ♪
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♪ Sleep in feathers at their birth ♪
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♪ Jesus, Jesus rest Your head ♪
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♪ You have got a manger bed ♪
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♪ Have you heard about our Jesus ♪
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♪ Have you heard about His fate ♪
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♪ How His mother came to the stable ♪
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♪ On that Christmas Eve so late ♪
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♪ Winds were blowing ♪
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♪ Cows were lowing ♪
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♪ Stars were glowing ♪
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♪ Glowing, glowing ♪
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♪ Jesus, Jesus rest Your head ♪
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♪ You have got a manger bed ♪
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♪ All the evil folks on Earth ♪
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♪ Sleep in feathers at their birth ♪
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♪ Jesus, Jesus rest Your head ♪
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♪ You have got a manger bed ♪
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A merry Christmas to all of you who worship
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with us on this bright Christmas day.
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We have been
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summoned to worship through the solo of Laura Baxter
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and our visiting brass ensemble.
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We're glad that you're with us today
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and we particularly welcome those who worship with us
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in the patient rooms of the Duke Hospitals,
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and a reminder that this service is rebroadcast now
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each Sunday afternoon at two p.m.
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on channel eight Durham Cablevision.
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We're glad that you're with us.
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Come, let us worship the newborn king.
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("O Come, All Ye Faithful")
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♪ O, come all ye faithful ♪
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♪ Joyful and triumphant ♪
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♪ O, come ye, o, come ye ♪
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♪ To Bethlehem ♪
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♪ Come and behold him ♪
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♪ Born the King of angels ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ Christ, the Lord ♪
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♪ Sing choirs of angels ♪
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♪ Sing in exultation ♪
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♪ O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above ♪
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♪ Glory to God ♪
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♪ Glory in the highest ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ Christ, the Lord ♪
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♪ Yea, Lord, we greet thee ♪
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♪ Born this happy morning ♪
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♪ Jesus, to Thee be all glory given ♪
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♪ Word of the Father ♪
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♪ Now in flesh appearing ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
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♪ Christ, the Lord ♪
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Oh Lord our God, most merciful and mighty,
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fill our hearts with joy and our tongues with praise
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as this day we celebrate our Savior's birth.
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May your Holy Spirit come upon us
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as we approach the mystery of His appearing
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in the flesh as a little child.
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Stir up in our hearts the precious gift
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of faith that He may be born anew
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in us, and that his presence may shed abroad
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in our hearts the light of heavenly joy and peace.
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Grant this, oh God, we beseech Thee,
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for the love of Christ Thy Son, our only Savior, amen.
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Let us pray.
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Open our hearts and minds, oh God,
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by the power of your Holy Spirit
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so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,
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we might hear what you say to us this joyful day, amen.
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The first lesson is taken from the ninth chapter
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of the book of Isaiah, beginning at the second verse.
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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
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Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
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on them has light shined.
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Thou has multiplied the nation,
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thou hast increased its joy.
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They rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest,
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as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
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For the yoke of his burden
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and the staff for his shoulder,
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the rod of his oppressor Thou hast broken
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as on the day of Midian.
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For every boot of the tramping warrior
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and battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood
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will be burned as fuel for the fire.
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For to us, a child is born,
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to us, a son is given,
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and the government will be upon His shoulder
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and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
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Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
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Of the increase of His government
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and of peace, there will be no end.
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Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom
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to establish it and to uphold it
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with justice and with righteousness
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from this time forth and forevermore.
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The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
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Here ends the reading of the first lesson.
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Thanks be to God.
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("Go Tell It on the Mountain")
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪
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♪ While shepherds kept their watching ♪
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♪ Over silent flocks by night, ♪
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♪ Behold throughout the heaven ♪
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♪ There shone a holy light ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪
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♪ While shepherds feared and trembled ♪
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♪ When lo, above the earth ♪
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♪ Rang out the angel chorus ♪
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♪ That hailed our Savior's birth ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪
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♪ Down in a lowly manger ♪
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♪ The humble Christ was born ♪
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♪ And God sent us salvation ♪
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♪ That blessed Christmas morn ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪
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♪ Go, tell it on the mountain ♪
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♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪
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The second lesson is taken from the second chapter
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of Paul's letter to Titus,
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beginning at the 11th verse.
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For the grace of God has appeared
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for the salvation of all men,
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training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions,
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and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world,
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awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory
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of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
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who gave Himself for us to redeem us
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from all iniquity and to purify for Himself
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a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds.
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Here ends the reading of the second lesson.
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Thanks be to God.
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("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")
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♪ Good Christian men rejoice ♪
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♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪
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♪ Give ye heed to what we say ♪
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♪ Jesus Christ is born today ♪
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♪ Ox and ass before Him bow ♪
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♪ And He is in the manger now ♪
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♪ Christ is born today ♪
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♪ Christ is born today ♪
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♪ Good Christian men, rejoice ♪
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♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪
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♪ Now ye hear of endless bliss ♪
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♪ Jesus Christ was born for this ♪
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♪ He hath opened the heavenly door ♪
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♪ And man is blessed evermore ♪
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♪ Christ was born for this ♪
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♪ Christ was born for this ♪
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♪ Good Christian men, rejoice ♪
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♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪
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♪ Now ye need not fear the grave ♪
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♪ Jesus Christ was born to save ♪
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♪ Calls you one and calls you all ♪
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♪ To gain His everlasting hall ♪
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♪ Christ was born to save ♪
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♪ Christ was born to save ♪
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Hear the Gospel from Luke for this Christmas day.
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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
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that all the world should be enrolled,
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and this was the first enrollment,
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when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
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And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.
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And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
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from the city of Nazareth, to Judea,
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to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,
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because he was of the house and lineage of David,
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to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
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And while they were there,
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the time came for her to be delivered.
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And she gave birth to her firstborn son
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and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
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and laid him in a manger,
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because there was no place for them in the inn.
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And in that region there were shepherds in the field,
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keeping watch over their flock by night.
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And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
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and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
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and they were filled with fear.
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And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid,
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"for behold, I bring you good news
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"of great joy which shall come to all people.
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"For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
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"who is Christ the Lord.
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"And this will be a sign for you:
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"you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes
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"and lying in a manger."
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
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of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
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"Glory to God in the highest,
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"and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!"
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When the angels went away from them into heaven,
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the shepherds said to one another,
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"Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing
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"which has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."
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And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph,
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and the babe lying in a manger.
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And when they saw it they made known
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the saying which had been told them concerning this child,
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and all who heard it wondered
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at what the shepherds told them.
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But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.
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And the shepherds returned,
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glorifying and praising God for all they had heard
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and seen, as it had been told to them.
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Have any of you had the experience this Christmas?
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I'm betting that some of you have
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of having your teenage daughter
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come in with a very expensive present
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from a teenage male that she met last weekend?
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Say your daughter is just an average student
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at Northern High and has received the average gift
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of $150 and if you're a responsible parent,
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what do you say?
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Now, you cannot accept that gift.
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You take that gift back to whatever his name is
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and tell him you cannot accept an expensive gift
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from somebody you'd don't even know.
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But your daughter wants the gift.
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It's a very nice gift and she persists.
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Why, why can't I keep the gift?
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And so you tell her.
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You say, look, people don't give
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perfect strangers expensive gifts like that
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unless they want something out of them.
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That gift has got to be returned
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because you see, it makes you indebted
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to that other person,
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this stranger.
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That person, in giving you that nice gift,
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has power over you.
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You take that back.
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Now it may well be in Jesus' mind
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that it is more blessed to give than to receive,
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but life teaches us that it is
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tougher to receive.
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Just watch how people blush when they're given
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a compliment and you'll know what I mean.
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And also watch what we do to Christmas,
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Christmas, the season of giving.
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We enjoy thinking of ourselves
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as basically generous, beneficent, giving people.
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And I think that's one reason why
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on Christmas everybody,
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even nominally religious people,
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gets excited about Christmas,
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because Christmas is the Christian season
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par excellence to celebrate our alleged generosity.
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The newspaper keeps us posted
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on how many less fortunate people than ourselves
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we have been able to help this December.
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00:29:04.020 --> 00:29:06.110
The Salvation Army kettle set up
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at the grocery store enables us
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00:29:08.300 --> 00:29:10.810
to give a little something for the less fortunate
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00:29:10.810 --> 00:29:14.801
as we're buying groceries for ourselves.
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00:29:14.801 --> 00:29:17.400
Or the kettles at the shopping malls
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00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:19.780
enable us to give a small gift
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00:29:19.780 --> 00:29:24.685
to somebody else as we're buying gifts for our families.
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00:29:25.750 --> 00:29:29.240
People at the office who balk at taking up
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00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:31.380
a collection for the morning coffee break
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00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:34.150
just fall all over themselves on Christmas
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00:29:34.150 --> 00:29:38.040
to show how generous they are to provide
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00:29:38.040 --> 00:29:41.000
something for those who might not have anything
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00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:44.800
without our generosity.
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We love Christmas
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because we say Christmas brings out
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the best in us.
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Everyone becomes a giver at Christmas,
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even the stingiest among us,
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00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:04.041
even the Ebeneezer Scrooges of the world.
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00:30:04.041 --> 00:30:07.090
Probably Charles Dickens' story
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of the transformation of the miser, Ebeneezer Scrooge,
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00:30:11.270 --> 00:30:14.051
has done more to form our notions
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00:30:14.051 --> 00:30:16.980
of Christmas than Luke's account
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00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:21.000
of the nativity which we just read.
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For whereas Luke tells of God's gift to us,
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00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:30.506
Dickens told a story
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00:30:30.506 --> 00:30:33.597
of how we can give to others.
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00:30:33.597 --> 00:30:36.290
Dickens' Christmas Carol is therefore
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00:30:36.290 --> 00:30:41.290
more congenial to our ideal images of ourselves.
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00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:44.360
Dickens suggests in A Christmas Carol
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00:30:44.360 --> 00:30:49.058
that down deep even the worst of us is capable
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00:30:49.058 --> 00:30:52.460
of becoming a generous, giving person,
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00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:57.027
just like Ebeneezer Scrooge.
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00:30:57.027 --> 00:31:00.600
Yet I am suggesting to you this morning
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that we are better
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00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:09.010
givers than getters,
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00:31:09.010 --> 00:31:12.213
not because we are generous people
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00:31:12.213 --> 00:31:16.863
but because we are also proud, arrogant people
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00:31:18.910 --> 00:31:23.793
for whom it is easier to give than to receive.
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00:31:25.420 --> 00:31:28.430
The Christmas story according to to Gospel of Luke,
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00:31:28.430 --> 00:31:31.413
rather than Charles Dickens,
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00:31:31.413 --> 00:31:33.980
is not about how blessed it is for you
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00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:37.456
and me to be givers,
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00:31:37.456 --> 00:31:41.600
but how essential it is for you and me
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00:31:41.600 --> 00:31:46.600
to see ourselves as receivers.
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00:31:47.160 --> 00:31:49.800
And if you've ever been given a gift,
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I mean a really good gift,
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00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:56.320
from a person whom you hardly even know,
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00:31:56.320 --> 00:31:59.245
I think you know what I'm talking about.
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00:31:59.245 --> 00:32:00.700
Oh, we like to think of ourselves
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00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:04.460
as givers, powerful, competent, self-sufficient,
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00:32:04.460 --> 00:32:07.970
capable people for whom goodness consists
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00:32:07.970 --> 00:32:10.314
of our being motivated to employ
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00:32:10.314 --> 00:32:12.980
a little of our power, our competence,
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00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:15.290
and our gifts and our talents for the benefit
338
00:32:15.290 --> 00:32:18.050
of those who are less fortunate than we.
339
00:32:18.050 --> 00:32:22.164
So every Christmas, the Durham Morning Herald
340
00:32:22.164 --> 00:32:24.375
sets aside a few weeks to focus our attention
341
00:32:24.375 --> 00:32:28.268
upon the less fortunate among us.
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00:32:28.268 --> 00:32:31.030
In so doing, the poor perform a valuable function
343
00:32:31.030 --> 00:32:34.848
in this society,
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00:32:34.848 --> 00:32:39.113
namely to remind us
345
00:32:39.113 --> 00:32:42.523
of how fortunate we are,
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00:32:42.523 --> 00:32:45.790
that is how powerful, competent, capable,
347
00:32:45.790 --> 00:32:47.610
and self-sufficient we are,
348
00:32:47.610 --> 00:32:49.820
unlike the powerless, incompetent,
349
00:32:49.820 --> 00:32:53.322
incapable, and dependent
350
00:32:53.322 --> 00:32:56.700
who are dependent upon somebody else
351
00:32:56.700 --> 00:33:00.989
to have a merry Christmas.
352
00:33:00.989 --> 00:33:02.430
But the trouble is, I think that is
353
00:33:02.430 --> 00:33:06.210
a direct contradiction to the Biblical account
354
00:33:06.210 --> 00:33:08.983
of the first Christmas,
355
00:33:08.983 --> 00:33:10.890
because there, I think I could argue,
356
00:33:10.890 --> 00:33:15.838
the story is not about how we are givers
357
00:33:17.890 --> 00:33:21.646
but how we are receivers.
358
00:33:21.646 --> 00:33:23.702
Listen again to Luke's, or for that matter,
359
00:33:23.702 --> 00:33:27.706
Matthew's, account of the nativity at Bethlehem,
360
00:33:27.706 --> 00:33:28.969
and I think you'll be struck
361
00:33:28.969 --> 00:33:32.700
by how the stories of Jesus' birth
362
00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:37.250
go to great lengths to demonstrate
363
00:33:37.250 --> 00:33:40.650
that we, our power, our talents,
364
00:33:40.650 --> 00:33:44.800
our capabilities, had little to do
365
00:33:44.800 --> 00:33:48.866
with God's work in Jesus.
366
00:33:48.866 --> 00:33:51.460
God wanted to do something so strange,
367
00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:55.979
so utterly beyond the bounds of imagination
368
00:33:55.979 --> 00:33:58.747
that God had to result to the strangest
369
00:33:58.747 --> 00:34:02.430
of means, pregnant virgins and angels
370
00:34:02.430 --> 00:34:07.430
and stars in the sky to get it done.
371
00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.970
We didn't think about it,
372
00:34:09.970 --> 00:34:11.460
we didn't approve it,
373
00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:15.100
we didn't project it or even understand it.
374
00:34:15.100 --> 00:34:17.670
All we could do at Bethlehem was
375
00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:20.793
to receive it.
376
00:34:20.793 --> 00:34:25.793
A gift from a God that we hardly even knew.
377
00:34:26.331 --> 00:34:29.643
I think this hit me a few years ago as a pastor.
378
00:34:29.643 --> 00:34:32.630
I was doing some counseling
379
00:34:32.630 --> 00:34:35.966
with a person in my congregation.
380
00:34:35.966 --> 00:34:37.930
It was December, and she was telling me
381
00:34:37.930 --> 00:34:40.160
about the worry and the confusion,
382
00:34:40.160 --> 00:34:44.751
the depression in her life.
383
00:34:44.751 --> 00:34:45.970
Now because I had had a number
384
00:34:45.970 --> 00:34:48.270
of counseling courses in seminary,
385
00:34:48.270 --> 00:34:50.230
I knew how to be a good counselor,
386
00:34:50.230 --> 00:34:53.450
that is, I knew how to keep my mouth shut
387
00:34:53.450 --> 00:34:55.660
and just to listen patiently,
388
00:34:55.660 --> 00:34:57.580
to ask questions, but never to offer
389
00:34:57.580 --> 00:35:02.435
any advice or any opinions, just to listen.
390
00:35:04.040 --> 00:35:06.870
I spoke to her as I had been taught.
391
00:35:06.870 --> 00:35:11.215
I said, now I really believe that you have
392
00:35:11.215 --> 00:35:16.145
the solution to what ails you in your life within you.
393
00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:20.000
I believe that down deep within you,
394
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:23.310
you know what your real problems are
395
00:35:23.310 --> 00:35:28.310
and you have the resources to handle them.
396
00:35:28.770 --> 00:35:32.698
Don't ask me what you should do.
397
00:35:32.698 --> 00:35:36.470
You have within you the solution
398
00:35:36.470 --> 00:35:40.490
to what ails you.
399
00:35:40.490 --> 00:35:42.790
But then it hit me!
400
00:35:42.790 --> 00:35:44.430
Wait a minute.
401
00:35:44.430 --> 00:35:48.846
Wait a minute, it was the middle of December.
402
00:35:48.846 --> 00:35:50.518
In less than two weeks, I was due
403
00:35:50.518 --> 00:35:52.870
to stand up in a pulpit in front of a congregation
404
00:35:52.870 --> 00:35:56.610
like you, read the story of the nativity
405
00:35:56.610 --> 00:35:59.960
as told in Luke, demonstrating
406
00:35:59.960 --> 00:36:03.270
through a very strange story
407
00:36:03.270 --> 00:36:08.270
of the virgin birth to a peasant couple in Judea
408
00:36:08.516 --> 00:36:12.510
that the solution to what ails us
409
00:36:12.510 --> 00:36:17.510
has very little to do with us.
410
00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:20.140
After having tried for generations
411
00:36:20.140 --> 00:36:23.460
upon generation to cure what ails us,
412
00:36:23.460 --> 00:36:26.890
God reached for something strange
413
00:36:26.890 --> 00:36:31.890
and odd, radical, inconceivable.
414
00:36:32.157 --> 00:36:33.582
Pun.
415
00:36:33.582 --> 00:36:36.538
God put a solution on our back doorstep
416
00:36:36.538 --> 00:36:41.530
so strange, so radical that most of us missed it.
417
00:36:42.820 --> 00:36:47.673
And we still miss it.
418
00:36:47.673 --> 00:36:50.233
My point is this.
419
00:36:50.233 --> 00:36:54.903
The faith that arises out of so strange a story
420
00:36:56.870 --> 00:37:00.570
as the birth in Bethlehem is training
421
00:37:00.570 --> 00:37:05.470
in the art of how to be a good receiver.
422
00:37:07.343 --> 00:37:09.980
The first word to the church,
423
00:37:09.980 --> 00:37:14.945
the people born out of this strange story is
424
00:37:16.030 --> 00:37:18.330
that the most important thing for you
425
00:37:18.330 --> 00:37:21.270
to know in life about you is
426
00:37:21.270 --> 00:37:26.270
that you are a getter rather than a giver.
427
00:37:26.380 --> 00:37:29.870
Discipleship is training in the art
428
00:37:29.870 --> 00:37:34.870
of seeing our lives as gifts,
429
00:37:34.870 --> 00:37:39.206
as gifts, and I tell you, that's tough.
430
00:37:39.206 --> 00:37:41.232
It's tough, because I would rather see myself
431
00:37:41.232 --> 00:37:46.020
as a giver, I want power,
432
00:37:46.020 --> 00:37:48.570
power to stand on my own two feet,
433
00:37:48.570 --> 00:37:51.330
be on my own, I don't like picturing myself
434
00:37:51.330 --> 00:37:56.281
as dependent, needy, empty-handed.
435
00:37:58.890 --> 00:38:00.502
Being here at a university and working
436
00:38:00.502 --> 00:38:04.150
with a lot of students, I've decided
437
00:38:04.150 --> 00:38:06.730
that this is a major reason why some children come
438
00:38:06.730 --> 00:38:10.395
to despise their parents.
439
00:38:10.395 --> 00:38:14.378
Because it's sorta humbling in our society
440
00:38:14.378 --> 00:38:16.360
to wake up one day, say, at 23,
441
00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:20.900
and realize that your life,
442
00:38:20.900 --> 00:38:23.420
your talents, your capabilities,
443
00:38:23.420 --> 00:38:24.920
your values, your weaknesses,
444
00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:29.920
and your strengths have come as gifts
445
00:38:30.010 --> 00:38:33.220
from your parents.
446
00:38:33.220 --> 00:38:34.792
We would rather picture ourselves
447
00:38:34.792 --> 00:38:37.410
as self-made men and women,
448
00:38:37.410 --> 00:38:39.217
standing on our own two feet,
449
00:38:39.217 --> 00:38:42.450
striding bravely into a totally new world
450
00:38:42.450 --> 00:38:45.668
solely of our own creation.
451
00:38:45.668 --> 00:38:47.200
It is humbling to look in the mirror,
452
00:38:47.200 --> 00:38:52.200
say, at 23, and say, my god, I look just like my old man!
453
00:38:52.600 --> 00:38:57.600
I'm a receiver.
454
00:38:57.970 --> 00:39:01.610
I suspect this is one reason why marriage
455
00:39:01.610 --> 00:39:05.677
has fallen on hard times
456
00:39:05.677 --> 00:39:09.330
because it's just painful to be thrust
457
00:39:09.330 --> 00:39:11.240
into such close proximity
458
00:39:11.240 --> 00:39:14.996
with another human being day after day, year after year
459
00:39:14.996 --> 00:39:17.820
until I gradually come to see that I am
460
00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:22.820
what I am to an alarming degree
461
00:39:23.170 --> 00:39:27.550
because of this other human being,
462
00:39:27.550 --> 00:39:32.550
because of what she has given me.
463
00:39:32.824 --> 00:39:35.500
Marriage is everyday ordinary human experience
464
00:39:35.500 --> 00:39:40.495
of living our lives in the red, as debtors
465
00:39:41.882 --> 00:39:46.882
to this stranger we've just begun to know.
466
00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:51.420
Ask anybody on welfare who the enemy is,
467
00:39:51.420 --> 00:39:55.653
it's always the Federal government.
468
00:39:55.653 --> 00:39:57.900
Ask the Gift Records Office here at Duke
469
00:39:57.900 --> 00:40:00.170
who some of our stingiest
470
00:40:00.170 --> 00:40:03.580
and most antagonistic alumni are.
471
00:40:03.580 --> 00:40:08.151
They're people who were here on a full scholarship.
472
00:40:08.151 --> 00:40:11.050
It's tough to be on the receiving end
473
00:40:11.050 --> 00:40:14.306
of somebody else's love,
474
00:40:14.306 --> 00:40:18.192
particularly when that somebody else is God,
475
00:40:18.192 --> 00:40:21.310
because it requires us to see our lives,
476
00:40:21.310 --> 00:40:26.195
not as achievements or possessions, but as gifts.
477
00:40:27.870 --> 00:40:30.300
It's tough to admit that most
478
00:40:30.300 --> 00:40:32.590
of the things that are important to me
479
00:40:32.590 --> 00:40:37.130
have come to me, not as a result of my programs,
480
00:40:37.130 --> 00:40:42.101
projects, or striving, but because of God's gracious giving.
481
00:40:43.600 --> 00:40:45.290
John Wesley said a long time ago
482
00:40:45.290 --> 00:40:48.867
in a sermon, "Nothing is more repugnant
483
00:40:48.867 --> 00:40:53.867
"to capable, modern people than grace."
484
00:40:57.560 --> 00:41:00.220
One of the most familiar of all Christmas texts
485
00:41:00.220 --> 00:41:04.661
from the Old Testament is from Isaiah 7.
486
00:41:04.661 --> 00:41:08.800
It says, therefore the Lord Himself will give you,
487
00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:13.497
give you a sign, behold a young woman shall conceive
488
00:41:13.497 --> 00:41:17.530
and bare a son and you shall call His name Emmanuel,
489
00:41:17.530 --> 00:41:20.200
Isaiah 7:14.
490
00:41:20.200 --> 00:41:22.890
Now less familiar to us is the context
491
00:41:22.890 --> 00:41:26.845
of that passage.
492
00:41:26.845 --> 00:41:30.590
Isaiah has been pleading with King Ahaz
493
00:41:30.590 --> 00:41:33.737
to put his trust, not in his chariots
494
00:41:33.737 --> 00:41:38.737
and his foreign alliances and with stronger military powers,
495
00:41:38.750 --> 00:41:43.750
but to put his trust in God and God alone.
496
00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:46.982
If you will believe, Isaiah tells him,
497
00:41:46.982 --> 00:41:51.982
you will be established.
498
00:41:52.100 --> 00:41:55.993
And then Isaiah tells the fearful king
499
00:41:55.993 --> 00:41:59.780
that God is going to give him a sign.
500
00:41:59.780 --> 00:42:03.828
I'll give you a sign, God'll give you a sign,
501
00:42:03.828 --> 00:42:06.859
that you shall triumph,
502
00:42:06.859 --> 00:42:09.970
and Ahaz says, what will be the sign?
503
00:42:09.970 --> 00:42:12.642
And Isaiah says, the sign will be
504
00:42:12.642 --> 00:42:17.551
a young woman shall conceive and have a baby.
505
00:42:19.450 --> 00:42:21.720
And I bet Ahaz probably thought to himself,
506
00:42:21.720 --> 00:42:24.110
isn't that just like God?
507
00:42:24.110 --> 00:42:27.232
I mean, what I need right now is a durn good army,
508
00:42:27.232 --> 00:42:32.232
so God gives me a baby, that's great.
509
00:42:32.825 --> 00:42:36.950
But that's often the way God loves us,
510
00:42:36.950 --> 00:42:41.950
with gifts that we thought we didn't need
511
00:42:42.690 --> 00:42:45.280
which transform us into people we don't
512
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:49.375
necessarily like to be.
513
00:42:49.375 --> 00:42:51.970
With our advanced degrees
514
00:42:51.970 --> 00:42:56.128
and our sophisticated weapons systems
515
00:42:56.128 --> 00:42:57.400
and our government programs
516
00:42:57.400 --> 00:42:58.738
and our material comforts,
517
00:42:58.738 --> 00:43:03.315
and our self-fulfillment techniques,
518
00:43:03.315 --> 00:43:06.750
we assume that religion is giving a little
519
00:43:06.750 --> 00:43:09.550
from our abundance in order to confirm
520
00:43:09.550 --> 00:43:11.568
to ourselves that we are indeed
521
00:43:11.568 --> 00:43:16.496
as powerful and self-sufficient as we claim.
522
00:43:18.293 --> 00:43:22.523
And then on Christmas day,
523
00:43:22.523 --> 00:43:26.042
this stranger comes to us
524
00:43:26.042 --> 00:43:31.023
and blesses us with a baby,
525
00:43:32.460 --> 00:43:34.970
and thus calls us to see ourselves
526
00:43:34.970 --> 00:43:38.625
for who we really are,
527
00:43:38.625 --> 00:43:42.867
empty-handed recipients
528
00:43:42.867 --> 00:43:46.600
of a gracious God who,
529
00:43:46.600 --> 00:43:51.600
rather than leave us to our own devices,
530
00:43:51.760 --> 00:43:56.760
gave us a gift.
531
00:43:57.418 --> 00:43:59.009
Amen.
532
00:44:03.918 --> 00:44:08.001
("Hark, the Herald Angels Sing")
533
00:44:25.543 --> 00:44:30.543
♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪
534
00:44:30.732 --> 00:44:35.732
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
535
00:44:36.103 --> 00:44:41.103
♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪
536
00:44:41.269 --> 00:44:46.269
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
537
00:44:46.424 --> 00:44:51.318
♪ Joyful, all ye nations rise ♪
538
00:44:51.318 --> 00:44:56.318
♪ Join the triumph of the skies ♪
539
00:44:56.389 --> 00:45:01.389
♪ With the angelic host proclaim ♪
540
00:45:01.501 --> 00:45:06.501
♪ Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪
541
00:45:06.870 --> 00:45:11.870
♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪
542
00:45:12.108 --> 00:45:17.108
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
543
00:45:19.714 --> 00:45:24.654
♪ Christ by highest heaven adored ♪
544
00:45:24.654 --> 00:45:29.654
♪ Christ the everlasting Lord ♪
545
00:45:29.885 --> 00:45:34.885
♪ Late in time behold Him come ♪
546
00:45:35.015 --> 00:45:40.015
♪ Offspring of a virgin's womb ♪
547
00:45:40.136 --> 00:45:45.136
♪ Veiled in flesh the Godhead see ♪
548
00:45:45.146 --> 00:45:50.130
♪ Hail the incarnate Deity ♪
549
00:45:50.130 --> 00:45:55.130
♪ Pleased as man with man to dwell ♪
550
00:45:55.167 --> 00:46:00.167
♪ Jesus, our Emmanuel ♪
551
00:46:00.396 --> 00:46:05.359
♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪
552
00:46:05.359 --> 00:46:09.026
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
553
00:46:25.727 --> 00:46:30.727
♪ Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace ♪
554
00:46:31.195 --> 00:46:36.195
♪ Hail the Son of righteousness ♪
555
00:46:36.771 --> 00:46:41.771
♪ Light and life to all He brings ♪
556
00:46:42.216 --> 00:46:47.216
♪ Risen with healing in His wings ♪
557
00:46:47.523 --> 00:46:52.523
♪ Mild He lays His glory by ♪
558
00:46:52.648 --> 00:46:57.648
♪ Born that man no more may die ♪
559
00:46:57.718 --> 00:47:02.718
♪ Born to raise the sons of earth ♪
560
00:47:03.082 --> 00:47:08.078
♪ Born to give them second birth ♪
561
00:47:08.078 --> 00:47:13.078
♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪
562
00:47:13.566 --> 00:47:17.233
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
563
00:47:25.070 --> 00:47:26.951
The Lord be with you.
564
00:47:26.951 --> 00:47:28.120
And also with you.
565
00:47:28.120 --> 00:47:29.023
Let us pray.
566
00:47:39.790 --> 00:47:42.970
Oh God, the ruler of ages eternal,
567
00:47:42.970 --> 00:47:46.190
You are without beginning or end,
568
00:47:46.190 --> 00:47:48.630
yet we celebrate this day
569
00:47:48.630 --> 00:47:51.550
that You choose to be born an infant
570
00:47:51.550 --> 00:47:53.563
within the bounds of time.
571
00:47:54.770 --> 00:47:57.460
Oh God, the all-powerful,
572
00:47:57.460 --> 00:48:01.450
You hold the mountains in the palm of Your hand,
573
00:48:01.450 --> 00:48:04.833
yet You come to us wrapped in swaddling clothes.
574
00:48:06.540 --> 00:48:09.190
Oh God, the universal provider,
575
00:48:09.190 --> 00:48:12.100
You feed every creature that lives,
576
00:48:12.100 --> 00:48:15.523
yet You choose to hunger for the milk of Your mother.
577
00:48:17.020 --> 00:48:19.160
Oh God, the infinite,
578
00:48:19.160 --> 00:48:22.460
heaven and earth cannot contain You,
579
00:48:22.460 --> 00:48:25.113
yet You rest in the arms of Mary.
580
00:48:26.670 --> 00:48:29.360
Oh God, the perfect joy,
581
00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:32.980
You give us all happiness and heaven and earth,
582
00:48:32.980 --> 00:48:35.393
yet You cry like a tiny baby.
583
00:48:36.720 --> 00:48:39.320
Oh God, the eternal Word,
584
00:48:39.320 --> 00:48:42.380
You are the source of all wisdom,
585
00:48:42.380 --> 00:48:45.260
yet You sleep in the cattle's manger
586
00:48:45.260 --> 00:48:47.163
and cannot even speak.
587
00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:52.340
We pray this day, ever-living God,
588
00:48:52.340 --> 00:48:55.110
for all those who serve as living reminders
589
00:48:55.110 --> 00:48:57.773
of Your incarnation in our world,
590
00:48:59.370 --> 00:49:01.010
for all who give You a face
591
00:49:01.010 --> 00:49:03.373
by spreading Your love in the world,
592
00:49:04.450 --> 00:49:06.850
for all who give You hands by serving
593
00:49:06.850 --> 00:49:08.493
their brother and sister,
594
00:49:09.640 --> 00:49:11.490
for all who give You a mouth
595
00:49:11.490 --> 00:49:14.363
by defending the weak and the oppressed,
596
00:49:15.480 --> 00:49:18.030
for all who give You eyes by seeing
597
00:49:18.030 --> 00:49:21.893
the true worth of every man, woman, and child.
598
00:49:23.367 --> 00:49:27.230
We pray especially for those who know little joy
599
00:49:27.230 --> 00:49:32.230
on this day of joy, for those who are aged and alone,
600
00:49:33.700 --> 00:49:36.683
for those who are hungry and oppressed,
601
00:49:37.530 --> 00:49:40.713
for those who are poor and without hope,
602
00:49:41.900 --> 00:49:45.400
for those who have lost dear ones,
603
00:49:45.400 --> 00:49:47.830
especially the families of the victims
604
00:49:47.830 --> 00:49:50.713
of the Pan American Flight 103 crash,
605
00:49:51.680 --> 00:49:55.373
and for the congregation of Trinity United Methodist Church.
606
00:49:57.090 --> 00:50:01.180
We pray, oh ever-living God, that on this birthday
607
00:50:01.180 --> 00:50:05.010
of the Prince of Peace, Your peace might reign
608
00:50:05.010 --> 00:50:08.210
throughout the earth and that as the brokenness
609
00:50:08.210 --> 00:50:11.440
of the world is bound up, it may serve
610
00:50:11.440 --> 00:50:15.033
as a shining witness of Your healing love.
611
00:50:16.250 --> 00:50:19.823
This we ask for Thy Son's sake, amen.
612
00:50:22.950 --> 00:50:25.150
And now as we joyfully accept
613
00:50:25.150 --> 00:50:27.730
the gift of God's love for us,
614
00:50:27.730 --> 00:50:31.117
let us give of ourselves and our gifts to God.
615
00:50:35.433 --> 00:50:38.850
("I Wonder As I Wander")
616
00:51:23.631 --> 00:51:28.631
♪ I wonder as I wander ♪
617
00:51:30.342 --> 00:51:35.342
♪ Out under the sky ♪
618
00:51:36.910 --> 00:51:41.910
♪ Why Jesus the Savior ♪
619
00:51:42.739 --> 00:51:47.739
♪ Came down for to die ♪
620
00:51:48.810 --> 00:51:53.810
♪ For poor on'ry people ♪
621
00:51:54.426 --> 00:51:59.426
♪ Like you and like I ♪
622
00:52:00.368 --> 00:52:03.618
♪ I wonder as I wander ♪
623
00:52:10.660 --> 00:52:15.660
♪ Out under the sky ♪
624
00:52:17.318 --> 00:52:21.683
♪ When Mary birthed Jesus ♪
625
00:52:21.683 --> 00:52:26.683
♪ 'Twas in a cow's stall ♪
626
00:52:26.806 --> 00:52:30.720
♪ With shepherds and wise men ♪
627
00:52:30.720 --> 00:52:35.661
♪ And angels and all ♪
628
00:52:35.661 --> 00:52:39.985
♪ When out of God's heaven ♪
629
00:52:39.985 --> 00:52:44.447
♪ A star's light did fall ♪
630
00:52:44.447 --> 00:52:49.447
♪ And the promise of the ages ♪
631
00:52:51.478 --> 00:52:56.478
♪ We then did recall ♪
632
00:52:58.010 --> 00:53:01.979
♪ If Jesus had wanted ♪
633
00:53:01.979 --> 00:53:05.886
♪ For any wee thing ♪
634
00:53:05.886 --> 00:53:08.932
♪ A star in the sky ♪
635
00:53:08.932 --> 00:53:13.762
♪ Or a bird on the wing ♪
636
00:53:13.762 --> 00:53:17.711
♪ Or all of God's angels ♪
637
00:53:17.711 --> 00:53:22.194
♪ In heaven to sing ♪
638
00:53:22.194 --> 00:53:27.194
♪ He surely could have it ♪
639
00:53:29.650 --> 00:53:34.650
♪ For he was the King ♪
640
00:53:37.910 --> 00:53:42.910
♪ I wonder as I wander ♪
641
00:53:44.147 --> 00:53:49.147
♪ Out under the sky ♪
642
00:53:49.556 --> 00:53:54.556
♪ Why Jesus our Savior ♪
643
00:53:55.062 --> 00:54:00.062
♪ Did come for to die ♪
644
00:54:00.361 --> 00:54:04.811
♪ For poor on'ry people ♪
645
00:54:04.811 --> 00:54:09.811
♪ Like you and like I ♪
646
00:54:10.966 --> 00:54:14.216
♪ I wonder as I wander ♪
647
00:54:21.689 --> 00:54:24.689
♪ Out under the sky ♪
648
00:54:29.867 --> 00:54:33.950
("Angels We Have Heard on High")
649
00:54:45.885 --> 00:54:50.885
♪ Angels we have heard on high ♪
650
00:54:51.128 --> 00:54:55.858
♪ Sweetly singing over the plains ♪
651
00:54:55.858 --> 00:55:00.593
♪ And the mountains in reply ♪
652
00:55:00.593 --> 00:55:05.404
♪ Echoing their joyous strains ♪
653
00:55:05.404 --> 00:55:10.404
♪ Gloria ♪
654
00:55:14.584 --> 00:55:18.952
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
655
00:55:18.952 --> 00:55:23.952
♪ Gloria ♪
656
00:55:27.679 --> 00:55:32.679
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
657
00:55:35.280 --> 00:55:40.154
♪ Shepherds why this jubilee ♪
658
00:55:40.154 --> 00:55:45.039
♪ Why your joyous strains prolong ♪
659
00:55:45.039 --> 00:55:49.988
♪ What the gladsome tidings be ♪
660
00:55:49.988 --> 00:55:54.775
♪ Which inspire your heavenly song ♪
661
00:55:54.775 --> 00:55:59.775
♪ Gloria ♪
662
00:56:04.490 --> 00:56:09.238
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
663
00:56:09.238 --> 00:56:14.238
♪ Gloria ♪
664
00:56:18.921 --> 00:56:21.754
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
665
00:56:37.684 --> 00:56:42.684
♪ Come to Bethlehem to see ♪
666
00:56:42.931 --> 00:56:47.839
♪ Him whose birth the angels sing ♪
667
00:56:47.839 --> 00:56:52.839
♪ Come adore on bended knee ♪
668
00:56:52.916 --> 00:56:57.916
♪ Christ the Lord the newborn King ♪
669
00:56:57.988 --> 00:57:02.988
♪ Gloria ♪
670
00:57:07.384 --> 00:57:12.050
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
671
00:57:12.050 --> 00:57:17.050
♪ Gloria ♪
672
00:57:21.444 --> 00:57:26.444
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
673
00:57:29.788 --> 00:57:34.788
♪ See Him in a manger laid ♪
674
00:57:34.862 --> 00:57:39.862
♪ Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth ♪
675
00:57:39.938 --> 00:57:44.938
♪ Mary, Joseph, lend your aid ♪
676
00:57:44.943 --> 00:57:49.943
♪ With us sing our Savior's birth ♪
677
00:57:50.097 --> 00:57:52.180
♪ Gloria ♪
678
00:58:00.237 --> 00:58:05.237
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
679
00:58:05.491 --> 00:58:10.491
♪ Gloria ♪
680
00:58:15.319 --> 00:58:18.152
♪ In excelsis Deo ♪
681
00:58:28.097 --> 00:58:29.870
Most merciful God, we thank Thee
682
00:58:29.870 --> 00:58:32.390
for this season of love,
683
00:58:32.390 --> 00:58:35.350
for gifts given and gifts received,
684
00:58:35.350 --> 00:58:37.700
for family gatherings of those who live
685
00:58:37.700 --> 00:58:40.680
far and near, for the spirit of goodwill
686
00:58:40.680 --> 00:58:43.440
throughout the land, most especially,
687
00:58:43.440 --> 00:58:45.230
we thank Thee for our greatest
688
00:58:45.230 --> 00:58:48.410
and best gift, Jesus Christ our Lord,
689
00:58:48.410 --> 00:58:50.671
who took our common life upon Him
690
00:58:50.671 --> 00:58:53.970
that He might make us what He is.
691
00:58:53.970 --> 00:58:56.890
This we ask for Thy love's sake,
692
00:58:56.890 --> 00:58:58.291
our Father, who art
693
00:58:58.291 --> 00:58:59.360
[Nancy And Congregation] in heaven,
694
00:58:59.360 --> 00:59:01.170
hallowed be Thy name.
695
00:59:01.170 --> 00:59:04.230
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
696
00:59:04.230 --> 00:59:06.410
on earth as it is in heaven.
697
00:59:06.410 --> 00:59:09.000
Give us this day our daily bread
698
00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:11.060
and forgive us our trespasses
699
00:59:11.060 --> 00:59:14.460
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
700
00:59:14.460 --> 00:59:16.466
And lead us not into temptation,
701
00:59:16.466 --> 00:59:18.820
but deliver us from evil,
702
00:59:18.820 --> 00:59:21.210
for Thine is the kingdom, the power,
703
00:59:21.210 --> 00:59:23.273
and the glory forever, amen.
704
00:59:26.272 --> 00:59:29.355
("Joy to the World")
705
00:59:57.387 --> 01:00:02.387
♪ Joy to the world the Lord is come ♪
706
01:00:03.062 --> 01:00:07.948
♪ Let earth receive her King ♪
707
01:00:07.948 --> 01:00:11.364
♪ Let every heart ♪
708
01:00:11.364 --> 01:00:14.327
♪ Prepare Him room ♪
709
01:00:14.327 --> 01:00:17.415
♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪
710
01:00:17.415 --> 01:00:20.626
♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪
711
01:00:20.626 --> 01:00:22.133
♪ And heaven ♪
712
01:00:22.133 --> 01:00:27.133
♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪
713
01:00:28.914 --> 01:00:33.914
♪ Joy to the world, the Savior reigns ♪
714
01:00:35.076 --> 01:00:40.076
♪ Let men their songs employ ♪
715
01:00:40.266 --> 01:00:43.377
♪ While fields and floods ♪
716
01:00:43.377 --> 01:00:46.651
♪ Rocks, hills, and plains ♪
717
01:00:46.651 --> 01:00:49.986
♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪
718
01:00:49.986 --> 01:00:53.073
♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪
719
01:00:53.073 --> 01:00:54.700
♪ Repeat ♪
720
01:00:54.700 --> 01:00:59.700
♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪
721
01:01:02.239 --> 01:01:07.239
♪ No more let sins and sorrows grow ♪
722
01:01:08.408 --> 01:01:13.408
♪ Nor thorns infest the ground ♪
723
01:01:14.099 --> 01:01:19.099
♪ He comes to make His blessings flow ♪
724
01:01:20.337 --> 01:01:24.084
♪ Far as the curse is found ♪
725
01:01:24.084 --> 01:01:27.166
♪ Far as the curse is found ♪
726
01:01:27.166 --> 01:01:28.796
♪ Far as ♪
727
01:01:28.796 --> 01:01:33.796
♪ Far as the curse is found ♪
728
01:01:36.191 --> 01:01:41.191
♪ He rules the world with truth and grace ♪
729
01:01:42.733 --> 01:01:47.733
♪ And makes the nations prove ♪
730
01:01:48.762 --> 01:01:53.762
♪ The glories of His righteousness ♪
731
01:01:54.893 --> 01:01:58.151
♪ And wonders of His love ♪
732
01:01:58.151 --> 01:02:01.729
♪ And wonders of His love ♪
733
01:02:01.729 --> 01:02:03.349
♪ And wonders ♪
734
01:02:03.349 --> 01:02:06.516
♪ Wonders of His love ♪
735
01:02:16.930 --> 01:02:19.860
And now may the grace of the Christ child
736
01:02:19.860 --> 01:02:23.669
of Bethlehem bless your life with the gifts
737
01:02:23.669 --> 01:02:27.830
of peace and joy this Christmas day
738
01:02:27.830 --> 01:02:30.043
and always, amen.
739
01:02:41.746 --> 01:02:44.496
(jubilant music)
740
01:06:50.872 --> 01:06:52.373
Bravo! (claps)
741
01:06:52.373 --> 01:06:54.502
Thank you so much you do, for everything,
742
01:06:54.502 --> 01:06:56.002
everything you do.
743
01:06:57.540 --> 01:06:58.840
Almost everything.