Okay, I didn’t get a podcast done before Christmas but let me share this with all of you who have stuck by Wired Jesus over the past year. Visual media and worship is kind of “my thing” and recently I did a study for a local group of pastors on preaching on Christmas. If any of you pastor people would be interested in the study, I can record it and post it but the gist of it is this.
Christmas Eve Candlelight services are probably the most memorable and moving services for Christians and non-Christians alike. It is multisensory, experiential, and mystical, and the mistake churches and worship leaders make is that they consider it the exception for the year rather than the standard for all worship services.
The other truth is that no one really remembers the sermon. Its not that no one cares or that pastors don’t have good sermons on Christmas Eve – its just not the most memorable part, its not the moment when God seems to show up and take on flesh again.
So, tonight, I’m taking a different angle and the focal point of a three part readers theater is this video called The Power of Love. Its by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, the last group that you would ever dream of doing a traditional Christmas video. However, along with this traditional image of the Christmas story you also have a song that uses the Christian imagery of the fire of Pentecost, Baptism, and the concept of the Incarnation presented in John’s Gospel. This will lead into Communion and the candlelighting.
So, for you my listeners, here’s the Power of Love as my Christmas present to you. Can’t play it in a podcast because of the copyright issues but so far YouTube links are just fine.
May you be blessed by the Power of Love as God sings you into a new year encountering Divine Love and Mystery in a new year.
“The Power Of Love”
I’ll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door
Feels like fire
I’m so in love with you
Dreams are like angels
They keep bad at bay-bad at bay
Love is the light
Scaring darkness away-yeah
I’m so in love with you
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
[1]-The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
I’ll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down I’ll be around
With my undying, death-defying
Love for you
Envy will hurt itself
Let yourself be beautiful
Sparkling love, flowers
And pearls and pretty girls
Love is like an energy
Rushin’ rushin’ inside of me
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
This time we go sublime
Lovers entwine-divine divine
Love is danger, love is pleasure
Love is pure-the only treasure
I’m so in love with you
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
The power of love
A force from above
A sky-scraping dove
Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
I’ll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door