Welcome to our Candlelight Carols
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Here you will find all of our carol words and readings
Please join in with the carols and enjoy the readings and prayers.
Our celebration will be followed by Christmassy refreshments.
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If you'd like to know more about the church or other events and services please click here
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Welcome
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O Come O come Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come Desire of nations bind
All peoples in one heart and mind
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
And be thyself our King of peace
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
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From Isaiah 9
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
Just as there is a difference between darkness and light.
So, there is a difference between life without Jesus and life with Jesus.
Jesus said
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
From John 15
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
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“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
So, as we remember Jesus’ birth we declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
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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 heav'n and heav'n and nature sing
Joy to the world! The Saviour reigns.
Let men their songs employ
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
repeat, repeat the sounding joy
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, and wonders of His love
and wonders, the wonders of His love
O Holy Night
O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth
The thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night, O night divine
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Over the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of Orient land.
The King of Kings lay in the lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King!
And Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King and before Him lowly bend
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise his Holy name!
Christ is the Lord, oh praise His name forever
His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!
Christ is the Lord oh praise His name forever
His power and glory evermore proclaim
His power and glory evermore proclaim
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This is the greatest story that can ever be told.
It stretches back beyond the creation of the world and it will continue for eternity.
And as we gather here together: right now, we look back to that moment when Jesus: ‘heaven’s joy’ stepped down from glory; into the world his father created with him and for him. We welcome the light that shines in the darkness. We welcome Jesus.
From John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
From Luke 2
And our story of light and life leads us to Bethlehem to young mother holding hope in her arms. Caesar Augustus had decreed a census should be taken so Joseph goes to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
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He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And in that moment, everything changed!
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Mary did you know
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Angels form the realms of glory / O Praise the name
Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye, who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah s birth.
Come and worship
Christ the new-born King
Come and worship
Worship Christ the new-born King
Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
Watching o'er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing
Yonder shines the infant light.
Come and worship
Christ the new-born King
Come and worship
Worship Christ the new-born King
Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations,
Ye have seen his natal star.
Come and worship
Christ the new-born King
Come and worship
Worship Christ the new-born King
O praise the name of the Lord our God
O praise His name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord, oh Lord our God
All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To the eternal Three in One.
Come and worship
Christ the new-born King
Come and worship
Worship Christ the new-born King
O praise the name of the Lord our God
O praise His name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord, oh Lord our God
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Around the world there were so many who caught a glimpse of heaven that night.
Stars and planets aligned creation burst to proclaim his birth.
Angels flooded the skies with praise and wonder as The Son of God came.
Some missed the whole thing and had to catch up later …
From Luke 2
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They went and they saw it all exactly as they had been told.
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They were changed in that moment.
They told everyone – we have seen the Messiah!
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And everyone was amazed!
They returned to their sheep – changed forever; giving glory to God and praising him.
Mary treasured up all these things in her heart.
I wonder if she remembered these words from Isaiah the prophet?
I wonder if she knew Isaiah was talking about her son?
From Isaiah 9
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor,
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Mighty God,
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Everlasting Father,
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Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
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Prayer
Father God you welcome us into this moment of celebration
You invite us to step out of darkness and into light
You have shown us yourself in Jesus your son.
Let us REALLY see him – the messiah, our lord, our saviour.
Amen.
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In the bleak mid-winter
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul, I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I’m awake
Lord have your way in me
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Talk
Richard Ellwood
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Hark the herald angels sing
Hark! the herald angels sing
"Glory to the new born King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! the herald angels sing
"Glory to the new-born King"
Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the favoured one.
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel
Hark! the herald angels sing
"Glory to the new-born King"
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
risen with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by,
born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth
Hark! the herald angels sing
"Glory to the new born King"
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Lord of all the earth
There is no one like our God We will praise You praise You
There's no one like our God We will sing we will sing
There is no one like our God We will praise You praise You
There's no one like our God We will sing
Lord of all the earth we shout Your name shout Your name
Filling up the skies with endless praise endless praise
Yahweh Yahweh we love to shout Your name oh Lord
O Come let us adore him
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We'll praise Your name forever
We'll praise Your name forever
We'll praise Your name forever
Christ the Lord
We give you all the glory!
We give you all the glory!
We give you all the glory!
Christ the Lord
For you alone are worthy
For you alone are worthy
For you alone are worthy
Christ the Lord
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Prayer
Father God, as we go from here, may we go in confidence
knowing that you are Emmanuel – you are God and you are with us.
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And as we go from here give us faith to believe that you have called us out of darkness and into your wonderful light
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Lord Jesus, we go with your joy,
with your peace
and we go as the shepherds went.
Praising you and ready to speak of you,
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Holy Spirit we chose to go with you wherever you lead.
May we be like Mary who heard your words of courage and gave herself into your care.
Amen
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Blessing
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Please stay behind for refreshments and we look forward to celebrating Christmas with you in the coming days and journeying together through 2023! If you have any questions about what you have heard please ask.
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If you would like to find out more about Jesus and the Christian Faith you might like to consider our next Alpha course. Find out more here>
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NEXT WEEK
NATIVITY - BIRTH OF A LEGEND
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WATCH THE PROMO HERE.