South Roanoke United Methodist Church

SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS                                                                                   DECEMBER 26, 2004 

Christmas is the season which begins with Christmas Eve and continues through January 6, the Epiphany of the Lord. During these twelve days the church rejoices in the incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. The name Christmas comes from the season’s first service, the Christ Mass. Epiphany comes from the Greek word epiphania, which means “appearance.”

As Christ cares, we care… We care about all people.
We care about worship... We care about learning.
We care about service... We care about You.
We are a community of Faith growing in God’s Grace. 

ORDER OF SERVICE-11:00 A.M.

+ Indicates the people standing

                                                                           ENTRANCE
Words of Welcome, Registration of Attendance and Announcements               
     (We encourage all of our worshipers to please sign the registration pad as it is passed along the pew; visitors
     are requested to also list their address. After it has been passed, please return it to the center aisle. If you
     wish to join this church by letter of transfer or profession of faith, please check “wish to join” on the
     registration pad.)
Gathering Music                                       Angels We Have Heard on High                                                   Walters
                                                           (Sarah Newcomb and Sarah Kennedy)
                         (As the prelude plays, please use this time for quiet reflection in preparation for worship.)  
Call to Worship
     Pastor:    Christ is born; give him glory!
     People:  Christ has come down from heaven; receive him!
                    Christ is now on earth; exalt him!
     Pastor:    O you earth, sing to the Lord!
     People:  O you nations, praise him in joy, for he has been glorified!
                                                                                                    (Traditional Byzantine Christmas Prayer, Alt.)
+Opening Prayer
     O Almighty God, by the birth of your holy child Jesus you gave us a great light
     to dawn on our darkness. Grant that in his light we may see light. Bestow upon
     us that most excellent Christmas gift of love to all people, so that the likeness of
     your Son may be formed in us, and that we may have the ever brightening hope of
     everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
     Amen.                                                                                     (The Book of Worship 1965, Alt.)
+Hymn  246                                                          Joy to the World                                                             Antioch 

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

Children’s Time                                                  We Three Kings
                                                 (Children leave for Children’s Church. See * below)
The Old Testament Lesson                                                                                                                  Doug Newman
     (O.T. pg. 692)                                                                                                                           Isaiah 61:10-62:3
     Pastor:  This is the Word of the Lord.
     People: Thanks be to God.
+Hymn  254                                                        We Three Kings                                                      Kings of Orient
The Gospel Lesson  (N.T. pg. 59)                                                                                                         Luke 2:22-40
     Pastor: The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
     People: Thanks be to God.
Solo                                                        Mary, Did You Know?                                                     Lowry & Greene
                                                                   (Sarah Newcomb)
Sermon                                                             Silent Night?                                                   Dr. John S. DeVerter
Sharing of Joys and Concerns                                                                                                              Doug Newman
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer                                                                                                                           Hymnal, No. 895
     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. Amen.
Offering of our Tithes and Gifts to God’s Work
     Offertory Prayer
     Offertory                              
+Doxology                                                                                                                                        Hymnal, No. 95
     Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him all creatures here below; praise him above ye heavenly host;
     praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 

                                                                   SENDING FORTH
+Hymn 251                                  Go, Tell It on the Mountain                                  Go Tell It on the Mountain
+Benediction
+Postlude                                                    

+Indicates the people standing 

THOSE SERVING TODAY:
     Acolytes:  Michelle Woody and Davis Frith
     December Altar Guild Chairmen:  Natalie Rude and Tallulah Gregory
     Ushers:  Captain-William P. Wallace, Jr., William Brenton, Jr., Prentice E. Moran,
      Joseph L. Austin, William Richardson, Jay Williams, Ross Jeffries 

*CHILDREN (AGES 3 through 1st GRADE), may meet the acolyte to recess to Children’s Church. Please ask your child to line up behind the acolyte who will lead all children out together. After the worship service, parents must pick up their child in the Children’s Department; children will not be allowed to leave the room until their parents arrive. 

WELCOME! We're glad to have all who have joined us for this time of worship. Especially to our guests and visitors, we welcome you to South Roanoke and to our fellowship. We invite those who have no church home to make South Roanoke your church and add your witness to ours. 

START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT AT SOUTH ROANOKE! First Sunday of the New Year, January 2, 2005, 11:00 a.m. Covenant Renewal Service and Holy Communion. A worship experience of John Wesley for persons of faith to recommit their lives to Christ. We will also dedicate our 2005 church leaders that
morning.  Second Sunday of the New Year, January 9, 2005, 11:00 a.m. Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant. As the Water of baptism is blessed, all baptized persons are invited to come forward and receive the sign of the cross on their foreheads with the blessing “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” 

THE CHURCH OFFICE WILL BE OPEN on Monday, December 27, and will be closed on Thursday and Friday, December 30 and 31 for the New Year’s Holiday. 

THE NEW FLOWER CALENDAR for 2005 is on the bulletin board by the church parlor. If you would like to remember or honor someone on a special day, please sign up on the calendar, or call the church office,
344-4437 to reserve a Sunday. It’s filling up fast so hurry and sign up. 

THE PARSONAGE FAMILY is on vacation. In case of pastoral emergency call the church office, 344-4437.

DECEMBER IS THE TIME when we receive an offering for the United Methodist Family Services. Your gift will do wonders for a child who has grown up in an abusive environment, and it gives hope to a young teenager who can be placed in a loving foster care home instead of a mental institution or a juvenile
correctional facility. Won’t you open your hearts and give generously to this very worthwhile organization. Make your checks payable to SRUMC, earmark them “Family Services”, and place them in the offering plate. Received to date: $327.00. 

“WE CARE” PROGRAM NEEDS VOLUNTEERS! If you would like to be a volunteer who visits folks who have visited SRUMC for the first time, please give Brett Marston a call, 989-0623. 

DON’T THROW YOUR CARDS AWAY — Hidden Valley Junior High, special education class can use them. Place them in the “gold” box in the Sunday school entrance hall. Fronts only! Thanks.

_____________________________

CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON

Christmas Eve       December 24, 2004  5 pm    Santa Claus: the True Story
          Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20 

It is at Christmastime when the words of Jesus make the most sense to me, especially these words of Jesus:
     Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never
     enter it.                                                                                                    Mark 10:15
You see, at Christmastime you “gotta” believe, don’t you?  With all the music in the air and the excitement growing and the promise of wonderful things to come, you have to believe in the message of the season.  If you don’t believe the proclamation of “peace on earth, good will to all,” if you don’t embrace this rare experience in our culture when just about everybody seems to have finally found a common bond of humanity in the greeting, “Merry Christmas!”, then, like Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch, there is just not much hope for you. 

You just have to believe.  That’s the truth of the Gospel, isn’t it?  When you accept this child Jesus and let him rule your life, there is not only peace and good will in your heart, there is the real power of his resurrection shaping, molding, and changing you, restoring to the center of your life the very image of God in which you were created.  With the birth of Jesus the Son of God, creation is so transformed that the principalities and powers of this world are finally defeated and hope is restored by the King of kings. 

But you “gotta” believe, don’t you?  You have to have faith.  You just have to accept the gift of his grace with the trust and wonder of a little child. 

St. Nicholas knew that.  He knew that because he himself accepted the gift of the grace of Jesus in his own heart.  He knew that as he shared that love in his service as a minister and priest of the church.  He knew that as his church conferred upon him the responsibilities of Bishop.  His church honored his ministry in the name of Jesus in calling him Saint. 

That’s why Santa Claus gives gifts.  Although our culture has taught us well how to anticipate what we are going to get in this season, it was and is the giving spirit of the patron saint of children that inspires this entire experience.  It’s the church’s job, it seems to me, to instill in our hearts in this season that it is the giving, not the receiving, that is the true meaning of the Christian celebration of Christmas.  That’s the true story of Santa Claus.  You just “gotta” believe! 

An anonymous personal story seems to illustrate this point: 

I remember my first Christmas party with Grandma.  I was just a kid.  I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb:  “There is no Santa Claus,” she jeered, “Even dummies know that!” 

My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been.  I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me.  I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. 

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm.  Between bites, I told her everything.    She was ready for me.  “No Santa Claus!” she snorted.  “Ridiculous!  Don’t believe it!  That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad.  Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.” 

“Go?  Go where, Grandma?” I asked.  I hadn’t even finished my second cinnamon bun.  “Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.  As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars.  That was a bundle in those days.  “Take this money,” she said, “and buy something for someone who needs it.  I’ll wait for you in the car.”  Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s. 

I was only eight years old.  I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself.  The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.  For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. 

I thought of everybody I knew:  my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.  I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker.  He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade two class. 

Bobbie Decker didn’t have a coat.  I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter.  His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobbie Decker didn’t have a cough, he just didn’t have a coat. 

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement.  I would buy Bobbie Decker a coat.  I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it.  It looked real warm, and he would like that.  “Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. 

“Yes,” I replied shyly.  “It’s…for Bobbie.”  The nice lady smiled at me.  I didn’t get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. 

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and write, “To Bobbie, From Santa Claus” on it—Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy.  Then she drove me over to Bobbie Decker’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa’s helpers. 

Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.  Then Grandma gave me a nudge.  “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get going.” 

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.  Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open.  Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie. 

Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie Decker’s bushes.  That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were:  ridiculous.  Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. 

Sisters and brothers, make no mistake about it.  The spirit of St. Nicholas is alive and well in our world today.  When you give, when you find more joy in giving than in receiving, when your world no longer revolves so much around you but embraces the needs and hurts of others in the world, then you begin to really believe the kingdom of God and are more prepared than ever to enter it. 

Few experiences in my ministry have brought this home to me than the annual celebration of the Advent Angel here at South Roanoke Church.  Before our celebration was over on the evening of December 12 this year, this chancel area was full of wrapped packages, huge Christmas bags, and just plain yard bags filled with gifts for the less fortunate children related to the Henry Fork Service Center in Bedford County.   That one generous gift of the people of God amounted to over $13,000! 

You see, you “gotta” believe.  Like a little child believe what the angels announce and God proclaims in this season.  Like a child just trust the One who has made you and loves you.  Like a child be lost in wonder, love, and praise.