Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday Jan 3, 2021
Message: Christmas is more than . . .
Reverend Glynis Faith
________________________________________

Announcements
________________________________________
* Thank you to John Young for leading the flock through the season of Advent.
* Under the current lockdown requirements of the provincial government, all worship services will be online for the month of January. The Sessions will consider the provincial guidelines in February, and you will be informed if in person worship will take place.
________________________________________
Call to Worship
________________________________________
We will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be upon our lips.
Our souls will ever boast in our LORD, our God. Others will hear our praise and they too will rejoice and join in the praise.
________________________________________
Prayer of Adoration & Confession
________________________________________
With the message of Christmas still fresh in our hearts, Lord, we pause to give you thanks and praise. You came and walked amongst us – Immanuel – God with us. You knew our joys and our sufferings – You knew hunger, cold, and rejection, and You also knew the love of family and friends. No greater gift has anyone received than the gift of Jesus in their lives, and we give You our thanks and praise.
Father, we love You. Jesus, we adore You. Holy Spirit we put our trust in You to guide us through the days, weeks, months and years ahead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all praise, honour, worship and glory belong to You.
In this, the new year, we pause to consider and to confess our need for the Holy Spirit to prompt and remind us of the gift of Christmas. God, we confess how quickly we pack away our nativity sets, and with them, the reminder that You came to walk with us. We confess that the joy of Christmas can often turn into a time of stress as we get back to routines, work, projects, busyness. Lord, we fail to see the ways we turn the peace You offer into deadlines, and growing demands. Lord, God, forgive us. Forgive us and open our eyes, ears and hearts to the presence of Your gentle loving Spirit, that we may be living examples of the hope, peace, joy and love Jesus came to give us. This we pray in Christ’s name, AMEN

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
________________________________________
Scripture
________________________________________
Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
________________________________________
Message
“ Christmas is more than . . . ”
________________________________________

I would like to begin this morning by reading you a familiar hymn, written in 1868 by a minister, often referred to as the Prince of the Pulpit, Phillips Brook. His writing was inspired by a trip he had taken to the Holy Land during the Christmas season years earlier. It was written for the church Sunday School class to sing on Christmas Eve. I don’t need to tell you that this hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem, has become one of the most loved and sung Christmas hymns of all time.

Please listen closely to these words:

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by:
yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and, gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King, and peace to all on earth.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings born of heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
oh come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emmanuel.
This is a Christmas hymn, but the words are as clearly for today as they are for Christmas day. These words will be as relevant in our January planning meetings, our February annual meetings, our March breaks, thoughout our April showers and well into the flowers of May. In June, July and August, as numbers grow in Muskoka, the meaning held in these words will still hold true. And as the fall unfolds and people return back to work and school after the summer holidays, these words will be relevevent in our lives. Even when the snow begins to fall in the winter of 2021, we can look to these words for inspiration, hope and encouragement.
These words speak to the nature of God’s gift to us. We celebrate the birth of Jesus every year, but I wonder if, when we are putting away all the decorations and gifts, if we don’t also put away the treasure that has been given.
Let me ask you this: What have you done with all the gifts you have been given? Perhaps you’re are wearing some right now. Some things have been set in a prominate place in your home so you can enjoy it all year long. Some you play with and some things you work with. My point is, even though the occasion of opening gifts is over, you continue to use and take pleasure in the gifts.
Christmas is about more than Jesus’s birth. The star – the angels declaration – the grand arrival of the Christ Child (God with us) are the yearly reminder of something we are intended to make use of all year long.
Phillips Brooks reminds us that:
o Christ shines light into our darkness (not just at Christmas, but any time darkness tries to overwhelm us)
o Both our hopes and our fears are met in Christ (Jesus calls us to bring Him our hopes and our fears, not just at Christmas, but everyday)
o Peace on earth comes through Jesus (all year – all year we are called to share Christ’s peace, not just one week during Advent.)
o The wonderous gift is given (again, this gift is given for us to enjoy all our lives)
o Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in (this is the heart of the message – the reminder to us to let Christ in – to open the gift God has placed in our midst – to open our hearts and invite the gift of God to remain with us always)
o Cast out our sin and enter in (within this hymn is the reminder to turn from our sin and welcome Christ in to reign in our lives)
o Abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel (Abide – live with us. Not just through Advent, not just on Christmas Eve, but every day)

Christmas is more than a perfectly planned Christmas Eve service. It is more that a candlelit service in the quiet country church on the hill. Christmas is more than Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, some shepherds, a heavenly choir and wise kings bringing gifts from afar. Christmas is meant to change us – to bring us hope and fill us with peace. Christmas is a gift from God – a gift, that once you have opened it, you not only want to enjoy it every day, but you also want to share it with EVERYONE you meet.
In our reading of Luke’s Gospel the shepherds heard the Good News and they went to see for themselves. When they met the Christ Child they spread the word of what they had learned. Mary, she was overwhelmed with it all and she treasured it all, pondering them in her heart. And those shepherds, well, not only did they spread the word, but they returned praising God for all they had heard and seen.
Friends, Christmas is more than a day – it is a life changing event. Christmas is meant to bring us hope, peace, joy and love throughout the year, and we are meant to treasure all Christ brings into our lives. We are meant to ponder what Christ is currently doing in our lives. We are meant to tell the story of Jesus and to praise God for all He has done through Christ.
So as we begin this journey into 2021, let us do so by keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year long. Let us ponder – let us praise God together – let us tell and show the world what a difference it makes to live with Christ in our hearts – Let us remain hopeful, be peaceful, share joy and in all things love one another, as Christ has loved us. Most of all, let us sing God’s praises morning, noon and night. And as you do, may Christmas live always within you. AMEN
Please pray with me: Father of love, we praise you for Your son Jesus. May we realize how precious Your gift is to us, and may we be inspired to share Jesus in our world. Father, Son and Holy Spirit we praise You, we worship You, we adore You. Grant that Your love, peace, grace and joy will live in us. May we shine the light of Christ into our homes and communities, that all will know the true gift of Christmas. AMEN
________________________________________
Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession & The Lord’s Prayer
________________________________________
Father, we thank you for Your son Jesus. Jesus we thank you for the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we thank you for continually drawing us close to God.
As we begin this new year, we do so with our prayers of intercession.
We pray for healing amidst this pandemic. We give thanks for healthcare workers and we pray for their protection on the from lines.
We pray for families and individuals who have lost loved ones throughout 2020. Lord, wrap them in Your comforting presence, we pray.
We pray for children who sense the financial and emotional stresses in their homes. We pray for adults facing financial and emotional tensions. Lord, grant that we might share the light of Christ into areas of darkness in our world.
We pray for the strength and knowledge to face whatever difficulties lie ahead. May need and generosity meet in the months ahead.
We pray for those who feel alone in these trying times. May they, now, more than ever before, feel the strength and comfort of Your presence in their lives.
We pray Your Word will sweep through the minds and hearts of all humanity – that people will come to know Your grace and love. Grant Your churches energy, motivation and direction to go out and share the Good News.

Bless your children now we pray together the words Jesus taught us… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever AMEN
________________________________________
Commission & Benediction
________________________________________

Go out and share the gift of Christmas every day of 2021, and as you do . . .

May the love of God, the Peace of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with you. AMEN

________________________________________
Offering & Offertory Prayer
________________________________________

“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.” (please pray with me)

What can we bring? This is a good question, Lord. What can we bring, since everything belongs to You. Yet the poet has it correct, we start by bringing our heart, for if what we offer comes directly from our heart, then Your blessings is upon it all.

Lord, we pray You will bless all we do, all we give, all we say in Your Name. May our generosity in 2021 reflect Your generosity to us throughout all time. This we pray in the Name of Jesus. AMEN
________________________________________
Support the Work of Knox and Zion in 2021
________________________________________

DONATIONS TO ZION, TORRANCE
Mail cheques to Zion Presbyterian Church 1046 Torrance Rd, Torrance, ON, P0C 1M0
E-Transfers to zionchurchpc@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765 3797 to arrange pick up

DONATIONS TO KNOX, PORT CARLING
Mail cheques to Knox Presbyterian Church Box 283, Port Carling, ON,
P0B 1J0
E-Transfers to KnoxChurchPC@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765-3797 to arrange pick up

Thank you for your continued support!