Your Personal Grow-Pray-Study (GPS) Guide

Join Us For Christmas Services

Leader:

Is there anyone here today whose life has left them afraid to hope and afraid to dream? Is there anyone here whose Christmas list is empty because they no longer know what to ask for, because they no longer know what could bring hope and joy, peace and love? Is there anyone here today who longs to know a life that is not just a slow dying? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! Emmanuel comes. In His presence are joy, and peace, and life abundant. Because He knew how to die, He can teach you how to live. Behold! The gift He gives you is Himself. He is God-with-us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Join Us For Christmas Services

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who feels that they have never, in all their life, had a firm foundation? Who feels that their life has always been shifting sand? Neither nation, nor family, nor church nor friends have given them any solid ground on which to stand and upon which to build? Who feels that their life is clay and their life is crumbling? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Against Him even the gates of hell cannot prevail. He is Emmanuel. He is Godwith- us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who thought they could hide their wickedness in the darkness but now realizes that the darkness possesses them? And even though they once hated the Light, they now know that only the Light can save them from this place of weeping and gnashing of teeth? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! The Sun of righteousness shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot master Him. He comes to give you righteousness. In Him, you will shine like the stars. His name is Emmanuel. He is God-with-us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who feels that they have been locked out of the House of Life, so that they cannot enter the peace and joy within? Is every door of opportunity locked tight against them so that they cannot open it—even the door to God? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! Look! Here is the Key who opens His heavenly home to you. Here is the Door, enter through Him and be saved! His name is Emmanuel. He is Godwith- us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who feels that they simply have no life left in them? Is there anyone here who feels that they are “used up” and “burnt out”—exhausted? And not only that, they fear that the whole people of God is nothing but “dead wood”? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! Look! From the dead stump of our failure, God raises up a new and living sprout. He comes to bring you life. His name is Emmanuel. He is God with- us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree,
Free them from Satan’s tyranny
That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who feels that they are still trapped in the ancient bondage in Egypt? Is there anyone here who feels that they are a slave to sin, or guilt, or death? That the promise of a new ruler and a new law is only the promise of new oppression? Who fears that no one can guide him through the wilderness to the Promised Land of Freedom? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! ‘When the fullness of time had come, God came, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those
who are under the law.’ His name is Emmanuel. He is God with us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, o come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Isaiah 11:2-3

Leader:

Is there anyone here today who feels that their life is not “mightily and sweetly ordered”? Is there anyone here who suddenly finds themself saying, “All I have are answers I can’t trust to questions I don’t understand?” Is there anyone here who is searching for a wisdom that will not turn out, in the end, to be vanity, or deception, or just more human folly? Then we say to that person, “Brother, Sister, take heart! The Wisdom from above now comes down to you. He comes from highest Heaven to your world, down to the manger, down to the cross. Emmanuel knows all things, and He knows you. He comes to teach you God’s ‘way of wisdom.’ He is God-with-us and He is with you, too. So rejoice and sing:”

People:

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who ord’rest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!