A Light on the Hill

Order of Service – Christmas Day 2025

The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

December 25, 2025. 9.00am

Welcome to Brougham Place Uniting Church.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land on which our church is built.

As you wait for worship to begin, please turn your phone to silent.

Prelude

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

Naa marni?  (Are you all good?)
Marni Ai!     (Good I am)

Lighting the Christ Candle

Introit

See Him Lying in a Bed of Straw (Perry/Calypso Carol)

Introduction

We sing: O Come All Ye Faithful

Together in Song 304

  1. O come, all ye faithful,
    joyful and triumphant,
    come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
    come and behold him
    born the king of angels:

Refrain:
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

  1. True God of true God,
    Light of Light eternal,
    lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
    Son of the Father,
    begotten, not created:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

  1. See how the shepherds
    summoned to his cradle,
    leaving their flocks, draw nigh with holy fear;
    we too will thither
    bend our joyful footsteps:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

  1. Sing, choirs of angels,
    sing in exultation,
    sing all ye citizens of heaven above,
    ‘Glory to God,
    glory in the highest’:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

  1. Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
    born this happy morning,
    Jesus, to thee be glory given;
    Word of the Father
    now in flesh appearing:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

Prayer of Adoration, Confession and Assurance

…We are a forgiven people.
Thanks be to God for a love like that!
Amen

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.
And also with you.

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:8-20

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

“Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
    who pleases God.”

After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. Everyone listened and was surprised. But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.

We sing: What a World of Sound

Tune: Hymn to Joy (Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You)

  1. What a world of sound it must have been for Jesus, newly‑born —

Mother Mary singing songs of praise to God that Christmas morn;

Joseph, reaching for the child, whispering when the baby fussed;

Songs and whispers bear the promise: You are truly God‑with‑us.

  1. Surely there were sounds of women from that small community,

Stopping by to see the baby, offering hospitality;

Lambs were bleating, donkeys braying, children playing in the street.

Jesus, close against his mother, felt her heart’s rejoicing beat.

  1. In that town were shepherds calling; workers there were cutting wood;

In the distance, angry shouts and people begging for their food;

In a doorway, someone weeping, saddened by some inner pain —

Jesus, in your incarnation, unto each of these you came.

  1. What a world of sound we live in; many words we daily hear.

Mid this world’s conflicting voices, be for us God’s Word so clear.

Help us listen to your story; help us hear you when we pray.

In you, Jesus, is our hope: God came to us on Christmas Day.

Children’s Time

Activities are available for children at the back, children can choose some items and take them back to your seat, or sit at the tables there. Please return resources after the service, but do keep your creations!

Anthem

Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem (Nairn)

Homily

We sing: While Shepherds Watched their Flocks

Together in Song 299

  1. While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
    all seated on the ground,
    the angel of the Lord came down
    and glory shone around.

  2. ‘Fear not’ said he (for mighty dread
    had seized their troubled mind),
    ’glad tidings of great joy I bring
    you and all humankind.

  3. ’To you in David’s town this day
    is born of David’s line
    a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;
    and this shall be the sign:

  4. ‘the heavenly babe you there shall find
    to human view displayed,
    all meanly wrapped in swaddling clothes
    and in a manger laid.’

  5. Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
    appeared a shining throng
    of angels, praising God, who thus
    addressed their joyful song:

  6. ‘All glory be to God on high,
    and to the world be peace;
    goodwill henceforth from heaven to earth
    begin and never cease.’

Offering and Christmas Bowl

To give electronically please go to bpuc.org/give

We sing: Angels from the Realms of Glory

Together in Song 309

  1. Angels, from the realms of glory,
    wing your flight o’er all the earth;
    heralds of creation’s story,
    now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Refrain:
come and worship Christ,
the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ,
the new-born King.

  1. Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
    watching over flocks by night,
    God with us is now residing;
    yonder shines the infant Light:

come and worship Christ,
the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ,
the new-born King.

  1. Wise men, leave your contemplations,
    brighter visions beam afar;
    seek the great Desire of nations,
    you have seen his natal star:

come and worship Christ,
the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ,
the new-born King.

  1. Though an infant now we view him,
    he shall fill his Father’s throne,
    gather all the nations to him:
    every knee shall then bow down:

come and worship Christ,
the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ,
the new-born King.

Offering Prayer

Prayers of the People

We sing: Joy to the World

Together in Song 268

  1. Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
    let earth receive its king;
    let every heart prepare him room,
    and heaven and nature sing,
    and heaven and nature sing,
    and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

  2. Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns;
    let us our songs employ;
    while fields and streams, rocks, hills and plains
    repeat the sounding joy,
    repeat the sounding joy,
    repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

  3. He rules the world with truth and grace,
    and makes the nations prove
    the glories of his righteousness
    and wonders of his love,
    and wonders of his love,
    and wonders, wonders of his love.

Benediction

Choral Blessing

Miracle of Christmas (Till/Nairn)

Postlude

Come and share morning tea together, in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park. All are welcome!

Thank you for joining us for worship on this special day!
If you would like to get in touch or request a prayer, please make use of the Contact Cards in the pews and next to the Offering Bowl. Alternately, you can email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver:

This service has been prepared with assistance from

Liturgy, Learning, & (Purposeful) Life (L3)
Rev. Dr Cathie Lambert
© 2025, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia

“Angels Among Us”
Worship Design Studio

The Bible Reading is from the Contemporary English Version (CEV).
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Congregation Hymns and Songs:

O Come All Ye Faithful
Together in Song 304
Words by William Thomas Brooke 1848 – 1917

What a World of Sound
Text: Copyright © 1998 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Used with Permission
Included in Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship (Geneva Press, 2000).

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
Together in Song 299
Nahum Tate 1652-1715 alt.

Angels, from the realms of glory
Together in Song 309
James Montgomery 1771-1857 alt. Public Domain.

Joy to the World
Together in Song 268
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 alt Based on Psalm 98. Public Domain

www.bpuc.org