Front Matter

Series’ Title

A Table in the Wilderness: Ecclesial Liturgies for Christian Pilgrims

Liturgy Titles

Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Community Liturgy for Advent, Nativity, and Epiphany
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed: A Community Liturgy for Lent, Good Friday, and Easter
O Spirit of the Living God: A Community Liturgy for Pentecost
It Is Well with My Soul: A Community Liturgy for Ordinary Time
Come, Lord Jesus: A Community Liturgy for Thanksgiving and Jubilee

Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Community Liturgy for Advent, Nativity, and Epiphany

Matthew R. Lynskey

York, Pennsylvania Noble Imprint 2025

Publishing and Licensing

Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Community Liturgy for Advent, Nativity, and Epiphany Pre-Release Edition

Series: A Table in the Wilderness: Ecclesial Liturgies for Christian Pilgrims

Published by Noble Imprint (<www.nobleimprint.com>), a church-based publishing collaborative and ministry of Noble Collective (<www.noblecollective.org>).

This book is published under a CC BY-SA license, which means that you have permission to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the content for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. License details: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/4.0/.

Scripture quotations are from the BSB (The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible), and are dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

Introductory Quotes

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, and became a man. Is he not rightly called Wonderful? Infinite, and an infant—eternal, and yet born of a woman—Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast—supporting the universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms—king of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph—heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son. Wonderful art thou, O Jesus, and that shall be thy name for ever.

Charles Spurgeon, “His Name—Wonderful”

The Word disguised Himself by appearing in a body, that He might, as Man, transfer men to Himself, and centre their senses on Himself, and, men seeing Him thenceforth as Man, persuade them by the works He did that He is not Man only, but also God, and the Word and Wisdom of the true God.

Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word

Blessed be that Child, Who gladdened Bethlehem to-day! Blessed be the Babe Who made manhood young again to-day! Blessed be the Fruit, Who lowered Himself to our famished state! Blessed be the Good One, Who suddenly enriched our necessity and supplied our needs! Blessed He Whose tender mercies made Him condescend to visit our infirmities!

Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on the Nativity

Light of those whose dreary dwelling Borders on the shades of death, Come, and by Thy love’s revealing Dissipate the clouds beneath: The new heaven and earth’s Creator, In our deepest darkness rise, Scattering all the night of nature, Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

Charles Wesley, Poetical Works

Poem

To the Place Where All Men Are at Home

There fared a mother driven forth Out of an inn to roam; In the place where she was homeless All men are at home. The crazy stable close at hand, With shaking timber and shifting sand, Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand Than the square stones of Rome. For men are homesick in their homes, And strangers under the sun, And they lay their heads in a foreign land Whenever the day is done. Here we have battle and blazing eyes, And chance and honour and high surprise, But our homes are under miraculous skies Where the yule tale was begun. A Child in a foul stable, Where the beasts feed and foam; Only where He was homeless Are you and I at home; We have hands that fashion and heads that know, But our hearts we lost—how long ago! In a place no chart nor ship can show Under the sky’s dome. This world is wild as an old wives’ tale, And strange the plain things are, The earth is enough and the air is enough For our wonder and our war; But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings And our peace is put in impossible things Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings Round an incredible star. To an open house in the evening Home shall men come, To an older place than Eden And a taller town than Rome. To the end of the way of the wandering star, To the things that cannot be and that are, To the place where God was homeless And all men are at home.

G. K. Chesterton, “The House of Christmas”

for Noble City Church— our family of fellow sojourners and exiles

Painting

Bruegel, Pieter. The Census at Bethlehem. 1566. Oil on oak panel, 115.5 x 163.5 cm. Oldmasters Museum.

Next → Preface and Introduction