The Collect

Eternal God, who made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of your one true light: bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth, to see the radiance of your heavenly  glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

¶ The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Isaiah 9.2-7

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Psalm 96

Refrain: O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Sing to the Lord a new song; * sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord and bless his name; * tell out his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples. R
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; * he is more to be feared than all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are but idols; * it is the Lord who made the heavens.
Honour and majesty are before him; * power and splendour are in his sanctuary. R
Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; * ascribe to the Lord honour and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; * bring offerings and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; * let the whole earth tremble before him.
Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is king. * He has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity. R
Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad; * let the sea thunder and all that is in it;
Let the fields be joyful and all that is in them; * let all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord.
For he comes, he comes to judge the earth; * with righteousness he will judge the world and the peoples with his truth.

Refrain: O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Second Reading: Titus 2.11-14

The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Gospel Reading

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory. John 1.14

Luke 2.1-14(15-20)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. There were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Prayers of Intercession

Visual Liturgy offers:

Let us pray to Jesus our Saviour.

Christ, born in a stable,
give courage to all who are homeless:
Jesus, Saviour,
hear our prayer.

Christ, for whom the angels sang,
give the song of the kingdom to all who weep:
Jesus, Saviour,
hear our prayer.

Christ, worshipped by the shepherds,
give peace on earth to all who are oppressed:
Jesus, Saviour,
hear our prayer.

Christ, before whom the wise men knelt,
give humility and wisdom to all who govern:
Jesus, Saviour,
hear our prayer.

Christ, whose radiance filled a lowly manger,
give the glory of your resurrection to all who rest in you:
Jesus, Saviour,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, child of Mary
you know us and love us,
you share our lives
and hear our prayer.
Glory to you for ever. Amen.

Post-Communion Prayer

Lord God, you draw us by your beauty
and transform us by your holiness;
let our worship echo all creation’s praise
and declare your glory to the nations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

^{Copyright acknowledgement Some material included in this service is copyright: © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Pub. Hodder & Stoughton Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2000Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2002Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council}

The intercessions are taken from Ian Black’s book, Intercessions for Years A, B and C –. The link takes you to a ‘Look Inside’ version of his excellent book.

It is published by SPCK, who say the following:

Ian Black

Ian Black is Vicar of Peterborough and Canon Residentiary of Peterborough Cathedral. He previously served for 10 years in Leeds, as Vicar of Whitkirk and as a member of the Chapter of Ripon Cathedral. He has also worked in Kent in Maidstone and as priest-in-charge of a group of parishes 10 miles north west of Canterbury. He was a Minor Canon of Canterbury Cathedral, a prison chaplain and Assistant Director of Post-Ordination Training for the Diocese of Canterbury.

Prior to ordination Ian had a career in tax, both with the Inland Revenue as a PAYE auditor and in a firm of chartered accountants as a tax accountant. Ian is married with two sons. He is the author of three books on prayer: Prayers for All Occasions (SPCK, 2011), Intercessions for Years A, B & C (SPCK, 2009), and Intercessions for the Calendar of Saints and Holy Days (SPCK, 2005). He has been writing online since the late 1990s and you can catch his ‘Byte-sized spiritual comments’ via his blog at www.ianblack.org.uk.

A collection of intercessions to accompany the Church of England Common Worship Lectionary, years A, B & C, all in one volume. Each petition includes a focusing bidding with some dots (. . .), to indicate where intercessors may address specific concerns, a gathering sentence and a responsory. The intercessions are compatible with the traditional areas of church, political governance/world concerns, neighbourhood, sick and deceased.

As the author has drawn primarily on the gospel for inspiration, the prayers will be relevant however many readings are used in a given service