Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Good news is louder than fear
Christmas Day – 25 December, 2025 – 9am or whenever possible
You may like to light a candle during your time of worship.
Feel free to text the Peace to other members of the congregation.
Introit: Come, let’s walk – (Words © Jennie Gordon 2019 – Tune: Twinkle, twinkle)
Come, let’s walk the path of light
through the darkness of the night.
Sing with hope and joy and peace,
life emerges, love’s increase.
Christ is here, who makes us one.
Christ is here, the day has come!
Lighting the Christ Candle:
Into a world often harsh and violent,
the Christ child was born
in vulnerability and innocence.
Hope was born, peace was embodied,
joy was proclaimed,
and love came to live with us,
Emmanuel.
Into this same world,
let us continue to bring the light of Christ.
Acknowledgement of Country:
This is God’s land and God’s Spirit dwells here.
As we gather I acknowledge the
Wurundjeri WoiWurrung people of the Kulin nations,
traditional custodians of this place,
part of God’s good creation.
God, you set humanity at the heart of your creation,
even slipping into skin to live as one of us.
You have called us to be stewards of all you have made,
and we give thanks for those who have heeded your call.
Call to Worship:
On this holy day, we come,
dazzled and awe-struck,
ready to sing alongside the angels.
On this holy day, we come,
eager and hopeful,
ready to journey alongside the shepherds.
On this holy day, we come,
quietly and tenderly,
ready to worship alongside Mary.
On this holy day, we come,
singing, trusting, believing, proclaiming:
good news is louder than fear.
Let us worship our good news, with-us God.
We Sing: Christians, awake – (TiS 306)
Christians, awake, salute the happy morn
whereon the Saviour of the world was born;
rise to adore the mystery of love,
which hosts of angels chanted from above;
with them the joyful tidings first begun
of God incarnate and the Virgin’s son.
Then to the watchful shepherds it was told,
who heard the angelic herald’s voice, ‘Behold,
I bring good tidings of a Saviour’s birth
to you and all the nations on the earth;
this day has God fulfilled the promised word,
this day is born a Saviour, Christ the Lord.’
A Tiny Place:
Tiny, tiny place
in the vast empire so insignificant.
Hidden in a remote corner.
It started with a whisper.
Tiny, tiny light
in the vast blackness.
So pure and divine.
Beyond the veil of darkness
it started with a glimmer.
A whisper of love.
A glimmer of hope.
A whisper of peace.
A glimmer of joy.
The calmness,
the stillness.
One tiny place,
one tiny light.
Advent Candle:
In a fearful world,
where do you see the presence of God?
We see God’s fingerprints all around us.
We see God in the beauty of the stars,
in the love of this community,
and in the dreams we hold for a better world.
You are right.
Even in a fearful world, God is here.
God is all around us.
So, on this holy day,
as well as the candles of hope, peace, joy and love,
we light the Christ Candle as a reminder of this good news.
May this flicker of light help us remember that even in a fearful world,
God’s love is all around us.
Thanks be to God for a love like that!
Amen.
Call to Prayer:
Family of faith, on the night of Jesus’ birth,
a crowd of angels appeared before a group of rag-tag shepherds
to tell them the good news.
The angels could have gone to Herod’s house,
could have sung in the city square,
could have found the most important, faithful,
and powerful to share the good news.
Instead, they told a group of ordinary shepherds.
The angels’ message was clear:
this is good news of great joy for all people.
The good news of Jesus’ birth is for you too –
no matter who you are, what you’ve done or left undone.
The angels are singing for you too.
So join me in prayer, drawing closer to God who has already drawn close to us.
Let us pray.
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Confession:
God who chose to come to us,
we are finally still enough to come to you.
All the preparations and presents,
all the cooking and cleaning
all the cards and conversations we leave them all, for this time.
We come to you with thanks and grateful hearts,
inviting you to fill us with your love and hope,
your joy and peace,
inviting the child of love to be born in the manger of our hearts.
God of angel choruses, you hang the stars in the sky,
but we do not see them.
You fill the night with angelic song,
but we do not hear it.
You send shepherds to tell the good news,
but we do not believe them.
You bring love into the world,
but we do not seek it.
Quiet the fear in us that works to rationalise, minimise and
distract from the good news you put forth into the world.
Tune our hearts back to your song.
With hope we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Family of faith,
when the angels arrived in the field that night, the shepherds were afraid.
But the angels said: “Do not be afraid.
I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.”
This good news is: love freely given, grace radically extended,
welcome always offered, belonging never restricted.
Friends, we are seen, loved, welcomed, forgiven, called, and sent to serve.
Thanks be to God for a love like that.
The Peace:
May the peace of the Prince of Peace dwell with you:
and also with you.
We Sing: The North Wind – (TiS 322)
The north wind is tossing the leaves, the red dust is over the town,
the sparrows are under the eaves and the grass in the paddock is brown,
as we lift up our voices and sing to the Christ-child, the heavenly King.
The tree-ferns in green gullies sway, the cool stream flows silently by,
the joy-bells are greeting the day, and the chimes are adrift in the sky,
as we lift up our voices and sing to the Christ-child the heavenly King.
The Fox’s Tale (adapted from story by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen):
Sometimes, grown-ups find it hard to believe in miracles, but God’s smaller creatures have no trouble at all understanding exactly what is happening …
Hello, I’m a fox. I live out on the hills. I sleep by day and hunt by night. If you’re lucky you might see me on a hilltop against the moon. But don’t blink or I’ll be gone. Here’s my story. It’ll make your tail bristle. Listen.
Last night I’m up on the hill near the town. The night is cold and clear. I lift my head and sniff the air. The scent of sheep is everywhere. There’s another smell too. It halts me in my tracks. The shepherd’s out … by my nose it’s more than one. That means the sheep are lambing.
I skirt around the hill, the wait a while, and listen. Somewhere up ahead a lamb is calling to its mother. Crouching low and keeping to the bushes I follow. Now I see it clearly sitting in the long grass. A speckled lamb, not one week old.
Suddenly a blinding flash sends me running to the bushes. Shaking to my toes and blinking in the light, I freeze. Across the hill a golden glow has fallen. And coming from the sky the sound of singing. All at once the air is filled with shining men!
I’m scared. I cannot smell these men. They have no scent. One of them is speaking to the shepherds. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he says. ‘We bring good news. Great joy has come to all of you. Today in Bethlehem a baby has been born. He is your promised King, your Saviour. You’ll find him lying in a cattle trough. Quickly, run and see!”
Suddenly, the shining men are gone. The sound of singing dies away. The shepherds stare at one another. Then all at once they start to talk. They laugh and shout. They jump and clap their hands. Then off they run towards the town to find the baby King. I follow on behind, at a distance for I know I’m not welcome in the town.
I am wary. The town is full of sounds and smells I do not know. But I would like to see this baby King. I keep to the shadows and watch the shepherds disappear inside a stable. Behind the stable is a high fence. Without a sound I am up and over it. My luck is in. There’s a light streaming through a crack in the back wall. From here I can see everything.
Inside are cows and sheep and goats. It’s odd. They know I’m here but they aren’t afraid. There are people too and no-one sends me away. A woman and a man, and by the door the shepherds. All of them are looking at a cattle trough lit by a lantern.
And there, just as the shining men said, a new-born baby sleeps. A King in a cattle shed. His mother smiles and tells the shepherds to come in. Quietly they stand and watch. The baby murmurs in his sleep. ‘His name is Jesus,’ says the woman softly.
One of the shepherds takes something from his cloak. It is the speckled lamb. A present for the baby. He gives it to the woman, then bends close to see the baby’s face. The shepherd’s smiling face glows in the light, just like the shining men. He has seen a King and so have I. Not many shepherds or foxes can say that.
The shepherds whisper their goodbyes and leave. My belly tells me that I too must be making tracks. It is a hard winter and life is hard for a fox. And for you too, little King, it seems. I wish you well. I hope the lamb will keep you warm. Sweet dreams.
We Sing: Away in a manger – (TiS 318)
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus
laid down his sweet head;
the stars in the bright sky
looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love you, Lord Jesus;
look down from on high,
and stay by my side until morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask you to stay
close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in your tender care,
and fit us for heaven to live with you there.
Bible Reading: Luke 2:1-20 – The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered.
4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
We Sing: Angels, from the realms of glory – (TiS 309)
Angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight over all the earth;
heralds of creation’s story, now proclaim Messiah’s birth:
come and worship Christ, the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ, the new-born King.
Shepherd’s in the fields abiding, watching over flocks by night,
God with us is now residing; yonder shines the infant light:
come and worship Christ, the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ, the new-born King.
Reflection:
It’s easy to believe that fear is louder than good news. You only need to turn on the TV, scroll your feed, glance at the headlines – fear dominates. It spreads quickly, echoes loudly, and lingers long. In a media world driven by algorithms and attention, fear thrives because it sells. It taps into our instincts. Studies show that it takes five positive messages to outweigh one negative one. Fear is sticky – it clings. But on this day, Luke dares to tell us otherwise.
Into a world defined by empire, surveillance, and oppression, a birth breaks in. Not in a palace, not under protection, but in the shadows of census and displacement.
Jesus is born in the time of Caesar Augustus, under an imperial system that controls bodies through taxation and travel. Luke isn’t writing a neutral tale – he’s offering a counter-narrative to Roman propaganda. Rome claimed peace through domination. Luke proclaims peace through incarnation. And into this fragile moment, the heavens split open. A messenger appears not to the powerful but to shepherds – people overlooked, underpaid, often mistrusted. The text tells us they were terrified, which is not surprising. When the angel says ‘Do not be afraid,’ and then declares ‘good news of great joy for all people’ (Luke 2:10) it is not a sentimental moment – it is a revolutionary one.
This ‘good news’ (euangelion) echoes Roman proclamations of conquest and dominion, but Luke reclaims the word so that the good news here is not Caesar’s victory, but God’s vulnerability – vulnerability made flesh in a newborn wrapped in banks of cloth and laid in a feeding trough.
Good news might not always be louder than fear, but it is stronger. That’s the tension we live in. For Mary: young, uncertain, and asked to carry more than she could have imagined. For Joseph: choosing to show up, even when it costs him reputation and comfort. For the shepherds: shaken awake in the night by glory and confusion. The fear was real. The risk was real.
The circumstances of Jesus’ birth – poverty, displacement, estrangement – are not erased by the angel’s song. And yet, the good news comes anyway. It comes with sound: loud and full of light. It comes with bodies: angels taking up space in the sky, shepherds running through streets proclaiming glory, and Mary holding pain and promise in her arms. It comes through fear, not after it.
Luke’s story insists that the good news of God has weight and presence, but it needs to be amplified. It needs to be proclaimed. In a world where fear is curated and fed to us, proclaiming good news is a countercultural act. In a world that tells marginalized communities to be quiet, that punishes joy and rage alike, joy becomes resistance.
Maybe the church is called to be like the angels: not polite, not palatable, but public. Not cautious, but courageous. The angels’ do not speak in a whisper, but sing a chorus. Yet the good ripples outward in quieter ways, too. The shepherds return glorifying and praising God – they become the first evangelists, telling anyone who will listen. The good news spreads, not through Caesar’s decrees, but through trembling, joyful witnesses.
We are invited to do the same. Not because our fear is gone, but because good news still breaks in. Even when it’s quiet. Even when it’s messy. Even when it feels like the darkness will never end. This is the shape of God’s dream: good news born in vulnerability, joy proclaimed by the overlooked, power shown not through force, but through flesh.
So let us proclaim the good news loudly. Let us make space for joy that shakes the walls. Let us resist fear’s domination by bearing witness to light, to peace, to Christ among us. For today, we remember: fear may be loud, but love is louder. Violence may be strong, but hope is stronger. God is here – and that good news will not be silenced.
Amen.
We Sing: Infant holy – (TiS 292)
Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the babe is Lord of all;
swift are winging, angels singing, nowells ringing, tidings bringing,
Christ the babe is Lord of all, Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true;
thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow,
Christ the babe was born for you, Christ the babe was born for you.
Prayer for Others (by Harriet Ziegler – adapted from Sanctified Art resources):
Holy One,
On this Christmas morning, we lift our hearts to you, filled with gratitude that today is a day for good news. We give thanks that the baby in the manger grew to be the man who showed us a new path to you.
Our joy in that good news is not uncomplicated, for we are sometimes fearful. Despite the joy of this morning, we live in a world where many people have good reason to be afraid.
So we turn to you also with our prayers for ourselves and others who struggle to hear the good news over the sound of fear.
We pray for our nation – for our friends and neighbours who fear for their own safety because of their religion or colour or disability. We especially pray for the Jewish community at this time, remembering that the baby we love lived and died a Jew.
We pray that our national leaders, whether in government or opposition, may relinquish their fears and provide leadership that unites us. May they deal fearlessly with hate crimes, with climate change, with homelessness and poor health.
Similarly, we pray for leaders of all faith communities, but particularly for those of the Uniting Church and of our own congregation. May all religious leaders hold to the inclusive, loving elements of their faith and relinquish those elements that promote fear and hate.
We pray for Heather, as she leads us, and for all members and friends of this congregation. Among our friends and families, there are those living with fear. The fear of illness, of poverty, of separation from loved ones, of death. In a few moments of silence, we lift before you those who are closest to our hearts.
(Silence)
We recognise our fears, and the fears of our world. But we know, too, that you are present among us, just as you were present in the manger all those years ago.
May you fill our hearts with a holy hope, and may we know, deep in our bones, that your good news is louder than fear.
And until the day when every reason to be afraid has been washed away, we ask that you would continue to inspire courage, conviction, and hope in us.
Point our hearts toward sources of joy.
Remind us of the good news of this day, and may we always hold onto some portion of the wonder, the mystery, and the joy found here.
With hope, we lift our voices together to pray the words your son taught us to pray, saying …
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
We Sing: Joy to the World – (TiS 268)
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
let earth receive its king;
let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns;
let us our songs employ;
while fields and streams,
rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.
Blessing:
Today we have heard the story as it begins,
but it is yet to end.
It continues to be re-born in us,
as we play our part in God’s mission in the world.
We leave from here, to live that story,
to tell the story of love born at Christmas,
of love which is stronger than fear,
and to be bearers of peace, love, hope and joy.
May Emmanuel, God-with-us,
be with you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Thanks to all those who have assisted in preparation for this liturgy with encouragement, prayers and conversation. I have also utilised the following resources: Fig Tree Worship and A Sanctified Art (What do you fear? Insisting on Hope this Advent).
Come, let’s walk © Words: Jennie Gordon 2019.
The Fox’s Tale © Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen 2012.