Bulletin: December 28, 2025

 

First Lutheran Church                                                                
PO Box 153 - 240 Elm Street West                                             December 28, 2025          
Amery, WI   715-268-7135                                                            www.flcamery.org
Our mission is to know Jesus and to make Jesus known. Jn. 17    

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
The Word became flesh and lived among us.
And we have seen the glory of a God who chooses vulnerability.
In the face of a child, in the journey of a refugee.
Let us worship the Light that shines in the dark.
 
HYMN: Of The Father’s Love.............….(vs. 1,4,5)……Green 42
 
CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS: God of Grace, we confess that while we celebrate your birth, we often close our doors to your people. We prioritize comfort over justice and tradition over transformation. Forgive us for the ways we fail to see your image in the stranger and the migrant. Renew us to be a people of love and hospitality. Amen. Hear the good news: God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. In Christ, God comes to dwell with us, full of grace and truth. You are forgiven, loved, and freed to live for others. Amen.
 
GREETING: The grace of our newborn Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.
 
PRAYER:  Holy One, you come among us not in power but in vulnerability, not in domination but in tenderness. Open our hearts to the surprising ways you dwell with us. Make us bold in compassion, courageous in truth‑telling, and joyful in hope, that we may reflect your light in a world longing for healing. Amen.

HYMN: Joy to the World.......(verses 1 & 4)………….…Green 39
 
Isaiah 63:7–9 I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not act deceitfully,” and he became their savior in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. The Word of the Lord.  Thanks to...
 
HYMN:  The First Noel, The Angel Did Say...(vs 1-3)…Green 56
 
Hebrews 2:10–18 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given me.” Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. The Word of the Lord.  Thanks to you O God.
 
HYMN:  O Little Town of Bethlehem........(vs 1,3,4)………Green 41
 
Gospel: Matthew 2:13–23 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazarene." The Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you...
 
HYMN: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing…………….......Green 60
 
CREED FOR TODAY: We believe in God, whose love is the source of all life and whose Word became flesh among us.
We believe in Jesus Christ, child of Mary, child refugee, adult healer, teacher and liberator, crucified and risen, whose presence transforms the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, breathing energy into our lives and prayers, stirring us toward mercy, justice, and renewing all creation.
We believe we are called to follow the way of Jesus: to welcome the stranger, to seek peace, to dismantle oppression, and to embody God’s love. Amen.
 
SERMON: Pastor Tom Hahn

HYMN: Children of the Heavenly Father......................Green 473
 
Prayers: Petitions for: Those who are hungry, homeless, those seeking asylum,
children in conflict zones, local shelters, and those feeling the "holiday blues"
weariness or loneliness. Response: Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
 
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 and ever.  Amen.
 
HYMN: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (vs 1,2,4)..…Grn 54

Peace: The peace of Christ, born among us, be with you always.
And also with you.
 
Blessing: May the God who delights in humanity, the Christ who walks with the vulnerable, and the Spirit who stirs compassion within us bless you and keep you, now and always. Amen.
 
HYMN: Go Tell it on the Mountain (vs 1&3)……….........Green 70
May the God who traveled into Egypt travel with you.
Go in peace. Christ is born among us. Thanks be to God

 

 Thank you, Diane Amans, on the piano!  
Thursday & Friday – Office Closed
Sunday - 9am  WORSHIP, NO SUNDAY SCHOOL 10am Coffee/Treats, Choir