Readings
The Nativity of Christ - Robert Southwell
Behold the Father is His daughter’s Son,
The bird that built the nest is hatched therein,
The old of years an hour hath not outrun,
Eternal life to live doth now begin,
The Word is dumb, the mirth of heaven doth weep,
Might feeble is, and force doth faintly creep.
O dying souls, behold your living spring;
O dazzled eyes, behold your sun of grace;
Dull ears, attend what word this Word doth bring;
Up, heavy hearts, with Joy your joy embrace.
From death, from dark, from deafness, from despairs
This life, this light, this Word, this joy repairs.
Gift better than Himself God doth not know;
Gift better than his God no man can see.
This Gift doth here the Giver given bestow;
Gift to this gift let each receiver be.
God is my gift, Himself He freely gave me;
God’s gift am I, and none but God shall have me.
Ephesians 2: 4-10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The Reverend Al Butzer III
Providence Presbyterian Church
Christmas Concert 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
