From hymnsite.com:
Christmas Readings and Hymns:
Scriptural Reading, No. 1:
Theme: See, your Savior comes!
Isaiah 62:6-12 (New International Version, ©2010)
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat it
and praise the LORD,
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.
11 The LORD has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”
12 They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.
Scriptural Reading, No. 2:
Theme: The Lord Reigns
Psalm 97 (New King James Version)
Psalm 97
A Song of Praise to the Sovereign LORD
1 The LORD reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad!
2 Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
4 His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
7 Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O LORD.
9 For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.[a]
Footnotes:
a.Psalm 97:12 Or His holiness
Scriptural Reading, No. 3:
Theme: The birth of Christ
Luke 2:1-7; Luke 2:8-20 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Luke 2:1-7
View commentary related to this passage
Luke 2
Christ Born of Mary
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,[a] who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Footnotes:
a.Luke 2:5 NU-Text omits wife.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Luke 2:8-20
View commentary related to this passage
Glory in the Highest
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold,[a] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”[b]
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely[c] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Footnotes:
a.Luke 2:9 NU-Text omits behold.
b.Luke 2:14 NU-Text reads toward men of goodwill.
c.Luke 2:17 NU-Text omits widely.
Scriptural Reading, No. 4:
Theme: The Lord's mercy and grace
Titus 3:4-7 (New King James Version)
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Scriptural Reading, No. 5:
Theme: The bearer of good news
Isaiah 52:7-10 (New King James Version)
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“ Your God reigns!”
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the LORD brings back Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
Scriptural Reading, No. 6:
Theme: Shout for joy!
Psalm 98 (New King James Version)
Psalm 98
A Psalm.
1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
2 The LORD has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
5 Sing to the LORD with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
9 before the LORD,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.
Scriptural Reading, No. 7:
Theme: The Word made flesh
John 1:1-14 (New King James Version)
John 1
The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend[a] it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.[b]
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own,[c] and His own[d] did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Footnotes:
a.John 1:5 Or overcome
b.John 1:9 Or That was the true Light which, coming into the world, gives light to every man.
c.John 1:11 That is, His own things or domain
d.John 1:11 That is, His own people
Scriptural Reading, No. 8:
Theme: Christ, through whom all was made
New King James Version (NKJV)
Hebrews 1:1-4
View commentary related to this passage
Hebrews 1
God’s Supreme Revelation
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself[a] purged our[b] sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Footnotes:
a.Hebrews 1:3 NU-Text omits by Himself.
b.Hebrews 1:3 NU-Text omits our.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Hebrews 1:5-12
View commentary related to this passage
The Son Exalted Above Angels
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“ You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?[a]
And again:
“ I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?[b]
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“ Let all the angels of God worship Him.”[c]
7 And of the angels He says:
“ Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.”[d]
8 But to the Son He says:
“ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”[e]
10 And:
“ You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”[f]
Footnotes:
a.Hebrews 1:5 Psalm 2:7
b.Hebrews 1:5 2 Samuel 7:14
c.Hebrews 1:6 Deuteronomy 32:43 (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls); Psalm 97:7
d.Hebrews 1:7 Psalm 104:4
e.Hebrews 1:9 Psalm 45:6, 7
f.Hebrews 1:12 Psalm 102:25–27
Suggested Hymns:
189 Fairest Lord Jesus
196 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
203 Hail to the Lord's Anointed
218 It Came upon the Midnight Clear
232 When Christmas Morn Is Dawning
247 O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
248 On This Day Earth Shall Ring
250 Once in Royal David's City
180 Jesus Es Mi Rey Soberano
182 Word of God, Come Down on Earth
190 Who Is He in Yonder Stall
196 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
217 Away in a Manger
219 What Child Is This
240 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
246 Joy to the World
249 There's a Song in the Air
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