Family Christmas Service 2025
[0:00] Good morning everyone and a warm welcome to this family service today sorry we're running about late you can imagine with 30 or 40 children the logistics is a little bit more complicated this morning just getting started for 11 but it's good to see all of you here this morning good to see visitors with us and those who have come back home for the Christmas period we pray that will know God's blessing amongst us today there's tea and there's coffee at the end of the service so if you're able to stay behind please do so a couple of notices just to highlight first to say that this evening we've got the lessons and carol service so we'll read through the Christmas story and sing through the Christmas story that's six o'clock here at the church and then in the course of the week on 24th Christmas Eve we have the prayer meeting as usual at half past seven and then the watch night service at 11 15 through until midnight although we can gather from about 11 and there'll be coffee and mince pies and that kind of thing I think from then the services next Sunday the morning service I will take myself God willing the evening service will be a galaic service that Angus M will take and then we won't have the fellowship on Sunday night as we would normally have next Sunday evening just with so much going on this time of year there's a whole lot of other notices but you can read them at your own convenience they've been on the screen so let's begin this time of worship and we'll sing to God's praise the first carol of the service mission praise 539 once in royal David's city and it'll be on the screen in just a moment hopefully as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as we can read them as to shed with a mother named her baby in a manger for his bed may he hold son father by
[2:41] Jesus Christ her little child he came down to the earth of heaven who is God and Lord of all and his shelter was a stable and his cradle was a stone with the good and and holy with God and the Savior holy and through all his wondrous childhood he would honor and grow away the man watched the holy mother!
[3:51] in whose gentle arms he laid Christian children all must be kind!
[4:08] and he is he is! our childhood pattern!
[4:18] day by day what does he do? he was bitter weak and helpless tears and smiles like us he knew and he feels for all our standards and he shares in all our gladness and our eyes and thou shalt see him through his own redeeming love for thou child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heaven above and he leads his children on to the place where he has gone not in that word only stable when the auction standing by we shall see him but in heaven stand at what right had on high let his children gather round bright life starts with glory crown let's close our eyes and let's speak to
[6:21] God as we pray our heavenly father we thank you for this day and we thank you for the fact that we can come into this place and we can worship you and we can remember and know joy as we read through the Christmas story father we thank you for how much you love us that you sent your son the Lord Jesus into this world we thank you that he came to be our saviour we thank you that he came to live for us and he came to die for us on the cross and we thank you that he rose from the dead and every Sunday we gather we remember that on the first day of the week Jesus rose from the dead and we thank you that he promises everlasting life as a gift to all who believe in him so Holy Spirit we pray that you would help us as we sing the carols and as we hear the readings and as we think about all these things we pray that you would give to us faith that we would believe in Jesus and that we would know the joy of Christ with us this
[7:33] Christmas we thank you for all the boys and girls for them being here today and we thank you for the songs that they'll sing and the answers that they'll hopefully give and the time that we spend together we pray that they from their earliest years would be looking to and trusting in Jesus and we pray that we as we get older that we wouldn't resist Jesus but that we would ask him to come into our lives that he would be our saviour and our lord we thank you for the babies as well those in cress and those that we can hear with us we thank you for the joy that their little voices give to us as we hear them we thank you that they are an answer to prayer as they come into the church and we ask lord that they would bless them that you would bless them and as they grow up they would know Jesus loves them we pray for those who are up in years for some who might be at home just now we'd love to be here and as they maybe watch online we ask that you would bless them and be near to them and give them strength and give them joy we pray for those in hospital for those who are sick we think especially of
[8:46] Lydia who has been with us before at Christmas services we ask lord that you would be near to her and that your hand of healing would be upon her and for others who are sick some in hospital some at home we bring them to you we carry them to you in prayer and ask lord that you would help them that you would heal them that you would draw near to them we pray for those whose hearts are sad just now we are always conscious of those who have lost loved ones and we pray for the McLean family who lost a loved one this week Sean and we ask that you would draw near to them and lord we pray for the Campbell family having lost a a loved one this week also and as they prepare to come together for a funeral next week we ask lord that you would be close to them and that they would know your comfort and your presence with them and the hope of everlasting life that is given to all who are believing in
[9:48] Jesus we pray for those who find this season hard for some who maybe struggle not to do things that they wish they didn't keep on doing we pray for those who might struggle with with drinking too much and we ask lord that you would give them strength that they would look to you for the help that you can give we pray for those who might be worried about the money that's spent or the different things that happen at Christmas we thank you that you know everything that goes on in our hearts and minds and we pray lord as we think of people and situations that you would help them lord that you would meet them at the point of their needs so go before us we pray help us to concentrate help us to listen help us to understand and to trust you lord Jesus and we ask this in Jesus name and for his sake amen boys and girls normally you'd be over here but today you're all the way over there so I'm not sure how happy you'll be to speak to me all the way over there but what time of year is it just now there's a few clues around the place if you take a look
[10:59] Shawnee it's Christmas time do you like Christmas time yeah yeah and it's Christmas a quiet time or is it a busy time it's very busy isn't it tell me some of the kind of things that you've been doing and you like doing at Christmas time Benjamin presents you like giving everybody presents that's what you like is it buying the presents wrapping the presents giving the presents away yeah that's a good thing you're a very selfless little boy well done Katie you like opening the presents and there's a blast of honesty for us Olivia you had your hand up what do you like at Christmas time opening the presents as well oh giving the presents yeah there's lots of things at
[12:05] Christmas time that we that we love doing and there's lots of things about Christmas that we love we might love seeing the lights out on the street we might love the presents we might love who likes the food who likes Christmas dinners put your hand up if you love Brussels sprouts Callum Price well done and then there's the Christmas jumpers and there's the parties and there's the crackers there's lots and lots of stuff going on at Christmas time and it's a time of good fun and it should be a time of great joy now boys and girls can you remember some of you put your hand up if you ever went to Little Fish's do you remember Little Fish's there's quite a few of you now who are in Sunday school and the first time you were coming into church was when you were charging around at Little Fish's and Little Fish's are having their party on
[13:10] Tuesday and they'll be getting some presents and I was looking at the presents that the Little Fish's were going to get on Tuesday and without I don't think they'll understand anyway too much but there was a wee book that they're getting some of them are getting and the book is called Joy to the World Joy to the World what do you think that book's about the title is Joy to the World what do you think the book is about what's that coming Jesus thank you he didn't really say it but nobody else was answering it's a book about Jesus it's a book about Christmas joy to the world and what I'd like to do today in a bit of a shorter service is use that word joy to help us remember what the
[14:10] Christmas story is all about and also we'll use that word joy to help us remember how we can have joy and know joy in our hearts not just on Christmas day but every day so we're going to sing about that just now we're going to sing the next carol which is Mission Praise 764 while shepherds watched their flocks by night and when the shepherds got the news they were told that it was glad tidings of great joy so we'll stand to sing in just a moment this carol while shepherds watched their clocks by night all seated on the ground the angel of the Lord gave doubt and glory shone around fear fear not steady for mighty dread but cease their troubled mind but
[15:38] I did! joy to you and all mankind!
[15:48] to you in David stand this day is born of David's eye a Savior who is Christ the Lord and this shall be the time the heavenly baby there shall fight to you and you disgrace all in irrupt in swat hands and did a manger lay the state the angel and forthwith appear a shining throng of angels praising
[16:48] God who thus had blessed their joyful song O glory be to God on life and to the earthly peace goodwill as born from hell to men begin and never cease so boys and girls do you remember the word that we're going to help us to to think Christmas through with what's the word that we're going to remember today no remember the book Olivia joy well done good listening it's the word joy and do we have any spelling experts here put your hand up if you're a spelling expert yes
[17:55] Finley good job how do you spell joy Finley J O Y J O Y well done so we're going to take these three letters and we're going to think through the Christmas story so the first letter in the word joy is what Johnny J and what do you think J stands for Michael Jesus that's right so Christmas is all about Jesus J is for Jesus and when we open our Bibles wherever we open our Bibles every single page in the
[18:56] Bible is pointing us to Jesus so what I'd like us to do is read through just a few verses and we'll think about how all these verses are pointing us to Jesus so the first reading is from Isaiah chapter 9 you don't have to look it up because the boys and girls are going to read it for you and it's on the screen to Isaiah chapter 9 and we're going to read verses 2 and verse 6 so who's got the first reading Fraser you've got the first reading so Fraser before we read it let me ask you a question I know we didn't we didn't talk about!
[19:40] did we but do you know when this reading do you know when that was written what you're about to read guess how many years before Jesus was born that was written 200 it's a good guess it's actually six or seven hundred years before Jesus was born and God's people they were feeling sad and they were feeling lost they felt like everything was dark and so God saw how sad they were and he sent a messenger called Isaiah and this is the message that God gave to Isaiah that Isaiah then gave to the people so you stand here and if you read out the message from Isaiah chapter 9 and the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who dwelt dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them a light has shown and for to us a child is born and to us a son is given excellent reading you could do my job better than me good clear reading thank you
[20:50] Fraser so before you go let's have a little more of a chat I know can you stay up so so Isaiah or God said to Isaiah that everything was dark but there was light coming and the light was going to come through a child that was to be born through a son that was to be given who do you think that child was who do you think the son was Jesus so the first reading that was read so well it's pointing us 600 years before Jesus was born it's pointing us to Jesus thank you Fraser the next reading is from Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21 so who's got the second reading Christy so you come up for a wee chat now so Christy before you read it just so we can get in our minds what's going on so
[21:51] Joseph goes to bed one night and he's pretty stressed out because the girl that he was going to marry he's discovered she's expecting a baby and it's not his baby so he was thinking well we're going to have to finish this relationship and in his dreams at night God sends an angel who comes to speak to Joseph and Joseph is told by the angel that there's going to be a baby born to Mary and that baby was a special baby and what was the baby's name going to be let's hear your short reading you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their son so what was the baby's name let's hear that again you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their one more time he will save his people from their sins so the second reading as
[22:59] Joseph gets the message who is he being pointed towards Jesus excellent thank you Christy third reading is Luke chapter 2 verses 10 and 11 reading number 3 up you come Shawnee so what was going on Shawnee in this reading well there was shepherds out in a field one night just doing all the normal shepherd stuff it was all dark and suddenly the skies were lit up and there was the noise of all this praise singing in the skies and the shepherds were absolutely terrified but this is what the angels said to the shepherds so Shawnee let's let's hear Luke chapter 2 and verses 10 and 11 thank you so don't go yet so the shepherds skies lit up all the noise the angels then bring that message to the shepherds about this baby that's to be born so what did you think the shepherds did next they rushed off to the place where they could see the baby and when they went to that place where the baby was who do you think that baby was
[24:45] Jesus so the next reading your reading is pointing us to who excellent thank you last reading Matthew well last reading for this section is Matthew chapter 2 verses 9 to 11 so this will be reading number 4 Michael Michael so what's going on in this reading there were some wise men academics of the day very clever people they probably wore glasses like you and me looked highly intelligent more like you than me and they studied the stars they went to university they studied the stars and they were looking up into the stars every night and they started to see this star that was different to all the other stars they didn't recognize it and so they started to look more closely and they decided they would follow the star and where would the star lead them well let's listen to
[25:47] Matthew chapter 2 verses 9 to 11 thank you Michael so they saw the star they followed the star they went to the place and they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worshipped him who was the child Jesus and they had great joy and they rejoiced exceedingly because they came to see Jesus so your reading also points us to who thank you Michael good reading so right the way through the
[26:48] Bible what we see is that Christmas the Christmas story is all about Jesus and boys and girls young boys and girls and older boys and girls sometimes we're so busy with all the other stuff at Christmas time that we might actually forget what the message of Christmas is all about but the first letter in the word joy helps us to remember that Christmas is all about who shout out Jesus and boys and girls if you want to have a joyful Christmas and if we want to know joy in our hearts every day we need to come to and to believe in Jesus do you believe in Jesus boys and girls I hope you do well let's sing again and we'll sing this time we're going to sing
[27:57] Silent Night and after we've sang Silent Night the boys and girls are going to come and sing about the child in the manger so first of all Silent! night and then Richard a wee bit of notice for you here after that we're going to have child in the manger night night holy night here's the world hell on side day on Joseph and stable bare wash for the child be loved and unfair sleeping in heavenly rest sleeping in heavenly rest!
[29:09] high night holy night shepherds birds on the night heard the sounding clear and long I'll hear the angels song!
[29:38] redeemer is here Christ redeemer is here Christ redeemer is here the night night son of God o and bright love is swine from your face light was now in the hour of hate saviour sheds are born saviour sheds you are born so the boys and girls are now going to sing the first of three songs that they'll sing today
[30:45] Christy are they going to sing at all themselves or are we joining with any of this the first verse is in Gaelic and then we'll sing the rest of the hymn in English so we'll let the boys and girls sing the first verse in Gaelic themselves and then we can stay seated but we can join in with them for the next couple of verses five Sonia tenare, wie es gabi.
[31:52] Child in the manger, infant of Mary, outcast and stranger, Lord of all.
[32:08] Child in the manger, all our transgressions, all our demands, on Him fall.
[32:27] The most holy child of salvation, gentle and lowly, lift below.
[32:45] Thou hast our glorious, mighty Redeemer, see Him victorious, over each door.
[33:01] Love is foretold, infant of wonder, angels behold Him, on His throne.
[33:21] Worthy our Savior, call them praises, happy forever, are His old.
[33:37] Thank you boys and girls, that was excellent. I saw a fire girl with his notebook, he's taken a note of future presenters.
[34:07] So, Christmas is all about Jesus. Thinking about our word joy, the first letter is J, and J is for Jesus.
[34:28] But who is Jesus? That's the question, and the answer is that Jesus is the only Son of God.
[34:39] So, the second letter in our word joy, first letter is J, J is for Jesus. The second letter is what? O, and O is for only Son of God.
[34:56] So, who's got reading number five? It's half of John chapter three, verse 16. Who's got number five? Finley. Good job, Finley.
[35:11] So, don't worry, I won't chat to you. It's just to read out the verses that you've got. So, this is John chapter three, and it's the first half of verse 16.
[35:22] And this is a verse that tells us who Jesus is. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
[35:34] So, for God, Finley, for God so loved the world that who did he give? He gave his? Only Son. His only Son. So, what does O stand for?
[35:45] Only. Only Son. Thank you, Finley. That was excellent reading. So, you can take that, and you can sit back down just now. For God so loved the world that he gave, he gifted, his only Son.
[36:08] Now, we give gifts. You boys and girls, you were saying that. And we get gifts. And we give gifts to the people that we love.
[36:20] We get gifts from the people that we love. And when we think about that verse that Finley read, God must have loved us very, very much to give to us his only Son.
[36:38] And do you know what made Christmas so special all these years ago? In a way, every time a baby is born into the world, it's very special.
[36:52] But this baby that was born to Mary was a very, very special baby. Because he was the Son of God.
[37:04] God the Son was being born into this world. And so, thinking about all the readings that you've done already, the child that Isaiah promised us was coming, who would be the light in the darkness, was the only Son of God.
[37:25] And the child that the angels spoke to Joseph about, that would be born to Mary, he was the only Son of God.
[37:37] And the child that the wise men were led to, as they followed the star, and the shepherds went to see, after they heard the voice of the angels, he was the only Son of God.
[37:50] He was God with us. Who's got Matthew chapter 1, verses 22 and 23? Because Matthew tells us exactly that.
[38:01] Reading number 6. Miriam, out you come, please. So if you could read these verses that you've got there, Miriam.
[38:16] There you go. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.
[38:27] So the child that was born, what was his name there? Emmanuel. And what does Emmanuel mean? God with us. So who was the child that was born?
[38:37] Emmanuel. And who is Emmanuel? God with us. God with us. Thank you, Miriam. Thank you. And it's an amazing thing for us to think about.
[38:53] Not just the boys and girls, but any gray-haired theologians in the room. You can spend your whole lives thinking about this.
[39:06] And you'll never, we will never grasp it. The awesomeness of the fact that the God who made the world became so small that he was able to be within his mother's womb for nine months.
[39:30] the God who made the world was born into the world that he made. And he was laid in a manger.
[39:46] Because there was no room in the world that he made. There was no room for him. And I suppose the question that we have to ask, whether we're old, I'm pointing to the olds over here, or whether we're young, is do we have room for Jesus in our lives?
[40:09] I hope we do, because he's the only one. Whether we're five or whether we're 95, he's the only one who can bring us real joy. Let's sing again now.
[40:23] And we will sing Mission Praise 337. And it's a carol that challenges us to accept Christ, to take Jesus into our hearts, into our lives, in the bleak midwinter.
[40:40] And we'll stand to sing in just a moment. in the bleak midwinter, frosty wind below, in the bleak midwinter, Fallen snow on snow, snow on snow, in the green-bead winter, long ago.
[41:33] The earth of heaven not golden, nor earth's the city, heaven shall be a wing when he comes to reign.
[41:54] In the green-bead winter, a slave of faith suffice, the Lord, God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
[42:14] Angels and our angels, they shall gather there. Chant in the sand with all the air, but His mother only in our maiden place.
[42:43] Worship the beloved with a kiss.
[42:55] What can I give Him? Who does my love? If I bled a shepherd, I would pay a loan.
[43:15] If I bled a wise son, I would do my part. If I bled a shepherd, I would do my heart.
[43:35] Amen. Boys and girls, you have listened very well. And we're just going to do our last little bit now.
[43:51] So what's our word again? That helps us think through Christmas? Johnny, you're the only one putting your hand up. I'm going to start picking on the girls at the back.
[44:03] Johnny? Joy. And J stands for what? Jesus. Christmas is all about Jesus. O stands for what?
[44:15] Michael? The only son who is Jesus. Only son who is Jesus. He is the only son of God. That's what made Christmas so special. God the son was coming into the world that he made.
[44:28] And the question that we finish with is why was he coming? Why was Jesus born into this world?
[44:39] Why would he leave heaven, which was perfect, to come into a world which was not perfect? And the answer was, it was for you.
[44:53] So what does Y stand for? J is for Jesus. O is for only son. Y is for you. That's why Jesus came.
[45:06] And that's what the angel said to the shepherds. Look at Luke chapter 2, verses 10 to 11, reading number 7. Who's got that one? Kirsty Marie.
[45:19] We've had this reading already, but listen again to what the angel said to the shepherds. Become a speaker. Here.
[45:30] Fear not, for behold, I will give you a good joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a saviour who is first below.
[45:41] And this will be a sign for you. You will find the baby wrapped in four months lost from my own. How many times correctly did it say you there? What?
[45:52] I think it probably was, I didn't care. Thank you. But did you notice that the shepherds, when they got the message from God, they kept being told, this message, shepherds, is for you.
[46:08] This child that was born, he was born for you. Now, the child that came into the world, his name was Jesus.
[46:22] The name Jesus means God saves. And who needs to be saved? Sinners.
[46:32] And put your hand up. Every hand. Can you hear us in? All right, we've got a good squad of them over here.
[46:46] Every hand should go right up into the air. Because we are all sinners. Now, back in the day that we're reading about, shepherds, they weren't the kind of cute, cuddly people that we think of.
[47:02] Back in these days, shepherds were known for their bad reputation. They were super sinners. And they probably thought, God would never really care for us.
[47:16] But God sent his messengers, the angels, first to go to the shepherds. And they said, this child that will be born, he's for you.
[47:34] And he's for not just them, but he's for all of us. Every hand that went up, I said, I sinned.
[47:46] The angels are saying to us, this child is for you. We all sin. That's the bad news. But God so loved the world, that he sent his son to be the saviour of sins.
[48:08] And if we believe in him, we have the promise of everlasting life. So let's finish with that last verse that we know so well, that's so important for us.
[48:21] Reading number eight, John chapter three, verse 16. Henry. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
[48:42] It's a big, wide promise, Henry, isn't it? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever, whoever, whoever believes in him will not perish, will not die, but have everlasting life.
[49:02] So Henry, just to finish off, if we want to have joy this Christmas, then who do we need? Jesus. Jesus. And who is Jesus?
[49:14] He's the only son of God. And who did he come into this world for? For you and for me. So. Thank you, Henry.
[49:26] You can sit down and let's just pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the simple but powerful message of the Christmas story, that you sent your son into this world to be the saviour, that he came for sinners like shepherds, that he came for sinners like us.
[49:46] And we thank you that we have the promise that if we believe in him, we will not die, but we will have everlasting life. So help us to believe we pray and help us to know the joy of Jesus, the only son of God, in our lives this Christmas and every day that you give us.
[50:07] And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Boys and girls, you're going to sing two more songs and then we'll have our final song. So out you come.
[50:18] Workers and girls, So we need a video, do we? Which one need you to see in first? A long time ago in a faraway land. Richard, I think there will be a video on the screen just a moment.
[51:38] And in Jesus' name, Jesus is born, in the shepherd's unfathom in the star.
[51:55] Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, in the white man full of the star. As we think of this baby boy who came from heaven to bring us joy, we give our friends history, remembering him, Jesus our Savior, our friend and our King.
[52:22] Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the shepherds come from fields afar. Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the lights when follow the star.
[52:40] Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the shepherds come from fields afar. Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the lights when follow the star.
[52:59] Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the light when follow the star.
[53:10] Hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the angels sing, Jesus is born, hear the angels sing.
[53:40] Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[53:55] Lord turn his face. Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
[54:07] Lord bless you and keep you. Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[54:22] Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
[54:33] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[54:44] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[54:56] Amen. Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you.
[55:09] Be gracious to you. Lord turn his face toward you. And give you peace.
[55:25] Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you.
[55:36] And be gracious to you. Lord turn this face toward you. And give me peace.
[55:52] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[56:02] Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen Amen, Amen, Amen.
[56:30] I think we should give him a little clap. And now we're going to stand for our final praise.
[56:42] And it's Mission Praise 47. Now we're in a manger. The boys and girls are going to sing the first verse on their own. So you'll stay seated. We'll stay seated for the first verse.
[56:53] They'll sing it themselves. And then we'll stand up and we'll sing the first verse all together. And the rest of the praise. Thank you. Amen. Amen.
[58:00] Amen. And we'll pray to finish.
[58:52] Heavenly Father, again we thank you for the blessing of the story of Christmas. And we pray that we would remember, that we would believe, that we would rejoice in your Son, our Saviour.
[59:05] And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore. Amen.