Download or read book Lite Worship Services for Advent and Christmas written by Cynthia E. Cowen and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2000-07 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular CSS author Cynthia Cowen returns with three more imaginative programs that will spice up the Advent/Christmas season for any size congregation. Prepare Your Heart For Christmas is a service of carols and reflections that's perfect for a midweek Advent program. Designed as a youth program, Advent Bells includes a brief skit with bell ringers and unique chorus songs. We Welcome The Light Of Christmas is a memorable family service for Christmas Eve with a humorous sketch about the Good News and a lost Frisbee which has turned into the Christmas star. A prolific and enthusiastic writer of worship resources, Cynthia E. Cowen has produced numerous pieces for CSS Publishing Company since 1991. She received a B.A. degree in education from Northern Michigan University and is a graduate of the Northern Great Lakes Synod Lay School for Mission. Cowen serves on synod leadership teams for youth, women, and clergy, was a licensed lay minister in a small congregation, and is currently a rostered Associate in Ministry in Youth And Family at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Iron Mountain, Michigan. She was elected to the Executive Board of the churchwide Women of the ELCA in 1996, and has served on its Printed Resources committee.
Download or read book Symbols of Salvation written by Megan Gramzow and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Travel with Mary and Joseph as they make their way into Bethlehem, to the Inn, and as Jesus is born. Then walk with the Shepherds to see Jesus. Count the sheep as the story moves along and watch for the opportunities to join in. In this interactive and illustrated children's Christmas book, showcase the true story of Christmas in rhyme.
Download or read book An Advent Worship Service written by Eulonda A. Dreher and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Begin your celebration of the Advent season with this meaningful program that weaves together informative readings, scripture, and familiar hymns with the lighting of the Advent wreath and the "hanging of the greens." It's a wonderfully creative way to have members of the congregation participate in decorating the sanctuary while at the same time learning about the symbols of the season. A particularly special touch is the interpretive movement provided for "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The service requires four readers as well as individuals or groups to place the various items. While it is most appropriate for use in its entirety early in the season, An Advent Worship Service may also be excerpted for use throughout Advent building up to the Christmas Eve service. Worship leaders will find this special program to be a valuable resource in planning services to celebrate the coming of our Savior. Eulonda A. Dreher received a B.S. degree in secondary education from Southern Illinois University. She has been a schoolteacher, directed a Christian preschool, and is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the East Central Illinois Baptist Association. Dreher has written children's curriculum for the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Several of her dramas and programs have been published in National Drama Service by LifeWay Christian Resources.
Download or read book Everlasting Light written by Sandy Dixon and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2013-10-30 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of litanies, candlelighting services, a hanging of the greens service, and more offers worship resources for the three years of lectionary reading for Advent, including the Sunday after Christmas.
Download or read book Advent Christmas Worship Resources for Young and Old written by Mary Lu Warstler and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This diverse collection of eight worship services for all ages will enliven the worship of any church. The material wascarefully selected not only for creativity and content, but also for adaptability to use by churches of any size. None of these pieces require complicated props or settings, nor do they require lengthy rehearsals. There are a verse play depicting ten friendly barn animals, a dialogue between two angels who announce the coming of the Messiah, a service utilizing French, Spanish, and German hymns, a five-part choral reading, and a program featuring interplay between a narratorand a children's choir which signs its responses.
Download or read book Advent Worship and Activities for Families written by Margaret Anne Huffman and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ready or not, Christmas is coming Where better to prepare the heart for this special season than around the family Advent wreath. Here, for the four Sundays of Advent and Christmas Day, we will discover what it means to be so loved that we received the gift of God's son. Advent: Worship & Activities for Families is a 16-page booklet that includes... Two complete sets of family Advent worship services (one especially for families with young children) Easy to follow scripts including the words to songs Instruction to the custom of the Advent Wreath including the color of the candles and their meaning Activities and recipes to bring families together throughout the Seasons of Advent Check other items that can help enrich your family's Advent experience. See the Related Products Section below. Take a moment to look at our extensive on-line selection of Advent Candles and Advent Wreaths. Did you know. . . Christmas is centered in the new hope brought by the Christ child; Advent is the season of preparation leading up to the Event. It is a time when we prepare ourselves for the coming of our Messiah. The word 'advent' is Latin for 'a coming or arrival'. The symbolism of the Advent wreath is beautiful. The wreath is made of various evergreens, suggestive of continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The purple candles especially symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken at this time. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord's first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead. Some adaptations include a white candle or Christ Candle placed in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve.
Download or read book Songs for a Savior written by David M. Oliver and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2003-07 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive resource of five sermons with complete worship services provides a solid, thematically integrated worship and preaching program for Advent and Christmas Eve. It celebrates the deep songs of faith that result from personal encounters with Jesus Christ. The four Advent messages examine biblical personalities, revealing in their experiences real struggles as well as profound joy. You'll explore how Zechariah wrestled to believe what the angel told him concerning the birth of his son; how the prophets searched for God's Word of hope in times of personal and social ferment; how Mary was willing to sacrifice her life for God's purpose; and how the birth of Jesus, heralded by the angels and confirmed by the shepherds, combined fear and joy with divine music. In the final sermon (for Christmas Eve), Oliver links those accounts with our contemporary lives by asking what our personal response will be to the birth of the Savior. Will we allow a song of faith to arise in our lives, in our families, churches, and community? Illustrated with poignant stories and anecdotes, the sermons in Songs For A Savior invite us to hear again the truly good news -- that our song of faith is not so much what we create for God, as how we respond to meeting the Savior and receiving God's gift of salvation through Jesus. Songs For A Savior comes from the heart of one who knows the Savior. Oliver offers these worship resources from his years of helping persons discover the Savior. The liturgies develop a theme for each Sunday, and the sermons weave biblical truths into the complexities of our modern lives, enabling new insights and personal convictions. Congregations experiencing Songs For A Savior will grow in their commitment to love and serve the Savior William R. Harvey Pastor Emeritus, Church of the Savior Canton, Ohio David M. Oliver holds an M.Div. degree from Duke University Divinity School and a D.Min. degree in Spiritual Formation from Asbury Theological Seminary. Currently the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Dover, Ohio, Oliver has served churches in Ohio since 1980, and has participated in the Academy for Preaching. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at Malone College in Canton, Ohio, teaching in the field of spiritual growth and worship. He is the author of Gifts We Bring To Honor The King (CSS).
Download or read book Creating God s Family in Christmas written by Cynthia E. Cowen and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 1997 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is a family Christmas worship resource that provides opportunities to involve children from pre-kindergarten on up. Included are: - Call to Worship - Christmas hymns - The Christmas scripture lessons - Age group presentations from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade - A suggested bulletin layout - Leader's helps Cynthia E. Cowen is a Christian resource writer and liturgical evangelist. She has authored program resources for women, youth, and special congregational events. She holds a B.A. in education from Northern Michigan University and has completed requirements for certification as an Associate in Ministry in the ELCA Board of Publications. She is president of her synodical women's organization of the Women of the ELCA.
Download or read book Lights of Love written by Charles T. Brown and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 1991-06 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faith, Hope, Love, Joy, and The Light Of The World are themes in this candlelighting service for the four Sundays of Advent and Christmas Eve. Each service includes a scripture, message and prayer with optional listing of hymns and calls to worship. Lights Of Love provides a banner instruction section, a Christmas Eve candlelighting suggested order of service, and a brief explanation of the meaning of Advent. In addition to public worship, the services can easily be used in a family worship or Sunday school setting. Charles T. Brown is a pastor in the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, and Bangor Theological Seminary Bangor, Maine.
Download or read book Destination written by Anne W. Anderson and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology provides you with a great selection of dramatic material for memorable Advent and Christmas worship. With a variety of approaches, there's ample material to choose from to fit your needs, whatever your congregation's size or worship style. Included are a set of brief dramatic sketches for Advent candle lighting, an entertaining and educational presentation that combines the stories of several beloved Christmas carols with the story of Jesus' birth, a five-scene play telling the traditional Christmas story with a touch of humor and a few unexpected twists, and a Christmas pageant and congregational worship service that lets audiences eavesdrop on the thoughts, stories, and questions of ancient travelers as they make their way to Bethlehem.
Download or read book Lights Symbols and Angels written by Cynthia E. Cowen and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does a pastor who follows the lectionary make the Advent wreath relevant to the rest of the service? Here is a very easy-to-use resource, adaptable for any size congregation, that includes every Sunday in Advent, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Covering all three years of the lectionary cycle, it provides bulletin inserts, litanies, prayers, and scripture readings, plus original choral introits which can be sung by a choir, small ensemble, or as a solo.
Download or read book More Services for the Advent Wreath written by Robert Jarboe and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Advent wreath is a powerful symbol that draws our attention to the coming of Christ -- past, present, and future. But while it's a traditional element of Advent worship, the Advent wreath is often vaguely linked to the rest of the service, especially for those who follow the lectionary. Building on his successful volume Services For The Advent Wreath, Robert Jarboe offers a wide selection of adaptable resources that firmly place the Advent candles in the context of the day's scripture readings. There are complete orders of service based on each Cycle C lectionary text for every Sunday in Advent, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Each service is conveniently formatted, with reproducible sheets that can be given to participants as well as bulletin inserts with congregational readings. It's everything you need to make this important symbol a centerpiece of the worship celebration -- all in one place! Each service includes: - litanies - scripture readings - prayers - an original musical introit Robert S. Jarboe is a retired pastor who served congregations in the North Indiana conference of the United Methodist Church. He is the author of the CSS titles Services For The Advent Wreath and Services For The Lenten Candles. Jarboe is a graduate of Manchester College (B.S. in music) and United Theological Seminary (M.Div.).
Download or read book To Nativity and Beyond written by David Sinclair and published by Saint Andrew Press. This book was released on 2016-09-23 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Packed with practical ideas and original, ready-to-use seasonal material, this volume will be widely welcomed by hard-pressed ministers and worship leaders looking for fresh inspiration at a time of the year when there are always extra services to plan and as they seek new ways of enabling the familiar Christmas stories to be heard afresh amid the commercial frenzy.From the beginning of Advent right through to Epiphany, this volume offers: • Reflective introductions to the distinctive biblical emphases of each of the seasons • Responsive gathering and opening prayers • Interactive prayers of thanksgiving • Seasonally themed intercessions • Children’s addresses and activities • Sermon helps, scriptural meditations and reflections • New seasonal prayers of consecration for communion • Simple seasonal ceremonies, such as for lighting the Advent wreath
Download or read book Worship at Home Advent Christmas 2020 written by Mary Scifres and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Worship at Home: Advent and Christmas 2020 is packed with weekly worship services you can do on your own or with others and includes services for each week in Advent, Christmas Eve, the Sunday after Christmas, and Epiphany. This book is for congregations and individuals who want to stay spiritually connected and growing, even when they’re not worshiping together in the same space. It provides everything you need to conduct meaningful, spiritually fulfilling, traditionally rooted worship services at home or in other intimate environments. Each service includes essential worship elements, from gathering to benediction, with words and actions you can say and do yourself. Included are links for online musical selections plus traditional hymn suggestions from a variety of hymnals. You’ll find helpful ideas for how to use this resource in a variety of settings, and how to create worshipful spaces, even in your own home. The Worship at Home series is organized by the liturgical year, with a new book for each season: Advent and Christmas, Lent, Easter and Eastertide, Pentecost, and the weeks after Pentecost. Ways the resource can be used by individuals and families include: - Individuals can use the resource for personal devotion and worship at any time, wherever they like. Go through the entire service, or simply choose whatever portions are helpful. Read a prayer and meditate. Watch a video clip and reflect on it. Sing a song or hymn. - Families can use Worship at Home in the same ways, any time and any place. - Suggestions are included for creating worship spaces at home, and for involving children in the services. Here are some ways the resource can be used by a congregation or group: - Pastors or group leaders can use Worship at Home as the worship plans for weekly church services. The pastor might prepare a sermon or homily, but everything else is ready to go. - People can use the resource for worship in any space—at a senior care center, in a park, on the lawn, at the church, and so forth. No bulletins or hymnals are needed. - People gathered to worship via Zoom, FaceTime, Facebook or Instagram Live, or livestream will all be reading aloud the same prayers from these books, singing the same songs or singing along with a video. Worship at Home provides a participatory experience and a sense of community, even when people are worshiping remotely.
Download or read book The Light of Bethlehem Shines on written by Thomas Pilgrim and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impact of the miraculous event of the incarnation continues -- and the light of hope that appeared in the darkness of that night in Bethlehem two thousand years ago still shines on us today, even in the midst of life's most difficult situations. Illustrated with poignant stories and anecdotes, these powerful messages celebrate the heartwarming joy of Christ's coming, and demonstrate how we can rely on the Lord to serve as our steady lighthouse while we navigate the shoals of life. This seven-part series for Advent, Christmas Eve, the Sunday after Christmas, and Epiphany Sunday provides a comprehensive seasonal resource for busy pastors and worship planners. Each chapter includes a sermon, a children's message, a candle lighting response with scripture reading, and a pastoral prayer. Chapter titles include: - In The Darkness Of Despair -- Isaiah 9:2-7 - In The Darkness Of Suffering -- John 1:1-13 - In The Darkness Of Oppression -- Luke 2:1-5 - In The Darkness Of Fear -- Luke 2:6-11 - In The Darkness Of Anxiety -- Luke 2:12-17 - In The Darkness Of Uncertainty -- Luke 2:17-20 - In The Darkness Of Suspicion -- Matthew 2:1-12 Thomas A. Pilgrim, the senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, has served several United Methodist congregations in the North Georgia Conference since 1966. He is the author of six other books, including They Came Together In Bethlehem and The Man From Galilee (CSS). Pilgrim has served on mission trips to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, and his travels have included eight trips to the Holy Land as a tour host/leader. He is a graduate of LaGrange College and Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Download or read book Shine On Star of Bethlehem written by and published by Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. This book was released on 2004 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geoffrey duncan's worship anthologies have gained an established place in the market-all those looking for something new to add to the traditional range of Advent and Christmas services will be spoilt for choice in this fabulous collection which includes everything from invocations to final blessings, including complete service outlines for lighting Advent candles and a seasonal Eucharist. There is something for everyone here and the contributions from Third World countries are a timely reminder of what Christmas is really about.
Download or read book In Search of Christmas written by Elizabeth Morris-Pierce and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2002-07 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology of holiday material provides you with a complete collection of resources for drama, worship, and young people. It includes a wide range of resources from across the denominational spectrum. Copying privileges are included for all six segments. Come! See What God Has Done is a Thanksgiving children's event designed to heighten awareness of God's many blessings. Six learning centers -- each including posters, projects, a guided experience, follow-up activities, and a closing prayer -- focus on such topics as families, nature, our religious heritage, and our bodies. Intended for kindergarten through sixth grade, this is an ideal activity for your church school and can be held during a single session. A Chrismon Service portrays the drama of redemption through symbols of Jesus in the form of Christmas ornaments. (The word "Chrismon" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "monogram.") As appropriate scripture passages are read, each symbol is presented and explained; worshipers participate in the service by hanging them on the Chrismon tree. Eighteen designs are included so that you can make your own Chrismons based on such symbols as the Epiphany star, the Christmas rose, and the angel. The ABC's Of Christmas offers four easy programs for Christmas worship, celebrating angels, bells, colors, and gifts. Each incorporates scripture, carols, and simple props together with dramatic readings to create a meaningful worship experience that will linger in the memory long after Christmastime passes. The Angels' Point Of View is a play in two acts that looks at Jesus' conception, birth, and flight into Egypt from their perspective. Originally developed for a junior high Sunday school class, this piece is excellent for older youth and can be performed in a variety of settings. There are thirteen speaking roles, and complete directions for assembling props, costume, and scenery are included. In Search Of Christmas is a light, contemporary drama that intersperses a series of brief dialogues between a husband and wife, two teenagers, and others illustrating how we can lose the real meaning of Christmas with faith-affirming conversations among individuals who have kept the season's true spirit of joy and giving. Roles can be doubled up for the small congregation, and only a few basic props are needed. Last Year In Bethlehem: The Story Of Eli The Shepherd reminds us that the story of Christ's birth is more than a holiday tradition. It combines a dramatic monologue with hymns and candlelight for a moving Christmas Eve worship experience. On the first anniversary of the first Christmas, a gruff but friendly shepherd tells of the night that changed his life. Suggestions for costuming, makeup, and staging are included, along with historical background on shepherds during Jesus' time. O Holy Night brings together scripture, song, and poetic readings to create a touching Christmas Eve worship service that can involve several participants without requiring lengthy rehearsal. It is an especially attractive option for smaller churches without many resources, but this enchanting service will be a glorious experience for any congregation.
