PROPHECIES FULFILLED told by the children
Christmas Eve 2025
St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660
website: StPaulsManistee.com
facebook: SPLCManistee
Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821
December 24, 2025 Christmas Eve
WELCOME – all the hymns are from the Red Hymnal
HYMN 52 “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”
CALL TO WORSHIP
L: For to us a child is born!
C: To us a son is given!
L: The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders.
C: He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Ever-lasting Father, Prince of Peace.
L: There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings
C: He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity.
ALL: The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
L: Almighty God, grant that the birth of your one and only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old bondage under the yoke of sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
P: Amen.
SONG: “Good News! Go, Tell!” Children 1. THE SAVIOR WOULD COME THROUGH ADAM
➢ PROPHECY - Genesis 3:15
I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.
➢ FULFILLMENT - Galatians 4:4,5
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.
SOLO: “Mary Did You Know” Sharon Spencer
2. THE SAVIOR WOULD BE OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
➢ PROPHECY - Jeremiah 23:5-6
Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, who will reign wisely as king and establish justice and righteousness on earth. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely. This is his name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.
➢ FULFILLMENT - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
1As a result, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we knew Christ according to the flesh, we no longer know him that way. So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come! And all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And he has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us. We urge you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteous-ness of God in him.
HYMN 63 “Angels We Have Heard on High”
3. THE SAVIOR WOULD BE THE PRINCE OF PEACE
➢ PROPHECY - Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity. The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this.
➢ FULFILLMENT - Ephesians 2:14-22
For he himself is our peace. He made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them when he abolished the law of commandments and regulations in his flesh. He did this to create in himself one new person out of the two, in this way making peace. And he did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it. He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
HYMN 65 “O Little Town of Bethlehem
4. THE SAVIOR WOULD BE BORN OF A VIRGIN
➢ PROPHECY - Isaiah 7:13-14
So Isaiah said: Listen now, you house of David. Is it not enough for you to test the patience of men? Will you test the patience of my God as well? Therefore, the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you. Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel.
➢ FULFILLMENT - Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible for God.” Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
HYMN 68 “Away in a Manger”
THE CHRISTMAS ACCOUNT – Luke 2:1-20
L: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governing Syria.
C: And everyone went to register, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family line of David.
L: He went to be registered with Mary, his wife, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.
C: And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
L: There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night.
C: 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,
L: “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying,
C: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” L: When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
C: “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
L: When they had seen him, they told others the message they had been told about this child. And all who heard it were amazed by what the shepherds said to them.
C: But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE – written by Pastor Himm
HYMN 62 “Joy to the World”
PRAYERS & LORD’S PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN 60 “Silent Night! Holy Night”
ANNOUCEMENTS
OFFERING BASKET BY DOOR
Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s and synod’s ministries. The basket is located next to the water dispenser.
FOR OUR VISITORS, PLEASE SIGN OUR GUEST BOOK.
It’s located in the entryway by the stairs going to the basement.
THANK YOU for worshipping with us today. If you are without a church home, St. Paul’s would welcome to opportunity to serve your spiritual needs. Sunday School & Bible Class at 9 am & Worship at 10 am.
SERVING YOU TONIGHT: We thank our children for reading and singing today: Camille De La Garza, Davina De La Garza, Isaac Keson, Levi Keson, & Sebastian; Soloist Sharon Spencer; Organist Nancy Skory; and our Worship Leader Russ Wrzesinski.
CHRISTMAS DAY WORSHIP: You are invited to the 10 am Christmas Day worship service at Redeemer Ev, Lutheran Church in Scottville.
Merry Christmas!
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version ® (EHV ®)