Carol

O come, all ye faithful,

joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

come, and behold him,

born the King of angels;

            O come, let us adore him

            O come let us adore him

            O come let us adore him

            Christ the Lord.

God from God, Light of Light,

lo! he abhors not the Virgin's womb;

very God, begotten not created;

            Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,

sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;

glory to God, glory in the highest;

            Refrain

Yea, Lord we greet thee, born on Christmas morning,

Jesu, to thee be glory giv’n;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:

            Refrain

Readings:

Isaiah 9.2–7

The people who walked in darkness

   have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

   on them light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation,

   you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

   as with joy at the harvest,

   as people exult when dividing plunder.

For the yoke of their burden,

   and the bar across their shoulders,

   the rod of their oppressor,

   you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For all the boots of the tramping warriors

   and all the garments rolled in blood

   shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child has been born for us,

   a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

   and he is named

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His authority shall grow continually,

   and there shall be endless peace

for the throne of David and his kingdom.

   He will establish and uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

   from this time onwards and for evermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Psalm 96

1  Sing to the Lord a new song; 

   sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2  Sing to the Lord and bless his name; 

   tell out his salvation from day to day.

3  Declare his glory among the nations 

   and his wonders among all peoples.

4  For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; 

   he is more to be feared than all gods.

5  For all the gods of the nations are but idols; 

   it is the Lord who made the heavens.

6  Honour and majesty are before him; 

   power and splendour are in his sanctuary.

7  Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; 

   ascribe to the Lord honour and strength.

8  Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; 

   bring offerings and come into his courts.

9  O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; 

   let the whole earth tremble before him.

10  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.

11  Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad; 

   let the sea thunder and all that is in it;

12  Let the fields be joyful and all that is in them; 

   let all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord.

13  For he comes, he comes to judge the earth; 

   with righteousness he will judge the world

      and the peoples with his truth.

John 1: 1:14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Carol

Of the Father's heart begotten
            ere the world from chaos rose,
he is Alpha: from that Fountain,
            all that is and hath been flows;
he is Omega, of all things
            yet to come the mystic Close,
                        evermore and evermore.

By his word was all created;
            he commanded and 'twas done;
earth and sky and boundless ocean,
            universe of three in one,
all that sees the moon's soft radiance,
            all that breathes beneath the sun,
                        evermore and evermore.

He assumed this mortal body,
            frail and feeble, doomed to die,
that the race from dust created
            might not perish utterly,
which the dreadful Law had sentenced
            in the depths of hell to lie,
                        evermore and evermore.

This is he, whom seer and sybil
            sang in ages long gone by;
this is he of old revealèd
            in the page of prophecy;
lo!  he comes, the promised Saviour;
            let the world his praises cry!
                        evermore and evermore.

Sing, ye heights of heaven, his praises;
            Angels and Archangels, sing!
wheresoe'er ye be, ye faithful,
            let your joyous anthems ring,
every tongue his name confessing,
            countless voices answering,
                        evermore and evermore.

Corde natus ex parentis Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348–c.413) translated by  Roby Furley Davis (1866–1937)

Collect for Christmas Day

Almighty God,

you have given us your only–begotten Son

to take our nature upon him

and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin:

grant that we, who have been born again

and made your children by adoption and grace,

may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;

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

Carol

Hark, the herald-angels sing

glory to the new-born King,

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled.

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

join the triumph of the skies;

with the angelic host proclaim,

'Christ is born in Bethlehem.'

Hark, the herald-angels sing

glory to the new-born King.

Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

late in time behold him come,

offspring of a Virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see:

hail, the incarnate Deity,

pleased as man with man to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hark, the herald-angels sing

glory to the new-born King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace:

hail, the Sun of Righteousness.

Light and life to all he brings,

risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

born that man no more may die,

born to raise the sons of earth,

born to give them second birth.

Hark, the herald-angels sing

glory to the new-born King.