Worship at Hand – December 2025 | Whole Month [Save 10%]

Worship at Hand

Complete Lectionary-Based Worship Services for Sundays in the Church Year

By Philip Garside

December 2025 | Whole Month

About this month's material

Advent 2 | 7 December 2025

 Our readings from Isaiah 11:1–10 and Matthew 3:1–12 call us into a bold vision of Spirit-filled leadership and deep transformation.

Isaiah imagines a new kind of ruler – wise, just, and grounded in God's Spirit – while John the Baptist urges us to clear the way for what is coming.

Together, they speak of hope growing from what looks like loss, and of justice shaped not by power, but by truth and grace.

As we gather, may we open our hearts to both the challenge and the promise of God's renewing presence.

Advent 3 | 14 December 2025

Today we hear the echo of two voices – Mary’s song in the hill country of Judea, and John the Baptist’s question from a prison cell.

In Luke’s Gospel, Mary’s Magnificat bursts with joy, justice, and a radical vision of God’s upside-down kingdom.

In Matthew, John’s honest doubt meets Jesus’ quiet signs of healing and hope.

Together, these readings invite us to sing, to seek, and to trust in the God who still lifts the lowly and brings good news to the poor.

Advent 4 | 21 December 2025

Our readings from Matthew 1:18-25 and Isaiah 7:10-16 invite us into the mystery and meaning of the nativity story.

Together, we’ll explore how Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ miraculous birth speaks not just of history, but of deep truth – that in Jesus, God is truly with us.

Through ancient prophecy and poetic imagination, we hear a bold claim: that divine love chooses human vulnerability. 

May this time of worship help us recognise Immanuel moments in our own lives – signs that God is still showing up, here and now

Christmas Day | 25 December 2025

 Happy Christmas!

Today we’ll hear the joyous proclamation of Isaiah 52:7-10 and the profound poetry of John 1:1-14, both declaring that God has come among us in love and light.

This Christmas morning, we celebrate the wonder that the Word became flesh and moved into our neighbourhood, bringing hope for a weary world.

May our hearts be lifted as we rejoice in the love, peace, joy, and renewal Christ brings today.

Christmas 1 | 28 December 2025

Our readings from Isaiah 63:7-9 and Matthew 2:13-23 speak of exile and return, danger and deliverance – of a God who shares our suffering and walks with us through fear and dislocation.

We’ll hear how Jesus, like his ancestors before him, became a refugee – and how memory, faith, and hope sustain us in troubled times.

As we gather, may we be reminded that God’s love follows us even into exile and gently calls us home.

Reminder:

Do check out the A4 Leader's version of the Order of Service which contains a sermon, and suggestions for hymns and children's talks, in addition to the prayers and liturgy.

About Worship at Hand

You can purchase packages for individual Sundays or for a whole month:
https://philipgarsidebooks.com/collections/worship-at-hand

Use these flexible, all-in-one service scripts to:

• Prepare thoughtful, spiritually grounded worship with minimal stress
• Engage congregations with inclusive, poetic language
• Follow the Revised Common Lectionary with confidence and creativity
• Offer well-structured, theologically liberal worship experiences
• Save time with ready-made sermons and prayers, and children’s talk ideas
• Inspire participation with interactive and multi-age elements.
  

Features

A weekly worship resource based on the Revised Common Lectionary readings that comprises:

• A complete liturgy
• A 1000 to 1200-word sermon included for each service
• 10 engaging “Introducing the Theme / Story Time” ideas
• 12 hymn suggestions from NZ Hymnbook Trust music books
• A royalty free image illustrating the theme to use on the cover of the Order of Service, PowerPoint slides etc.

Material for each week comprises a zipped file containing:

• The Leader’s A4 version of the Order of Service (includes the liturgy, sermon, hymn suggestions and Introducing the Theme / Story Time ideas), in Word and PDF formats
• A draft A5 Congregation version of the Order of Service, ready for you to add hymn and Bible reading texts, in Word and PDF formats
• A .jpg format image
  

You will be emailed a link to download the zipped file when you complete your purchase.

Philip Garside Publishing Ltd (2025)

Praise for Worship at Hand

"Worship at hand is fantastic. inexpensive, easy to use and good quality. Each week is written to the readings and Gospel. it has made my life easier. Thank you for being there." DT 25 Oct 2025

"Helpful Resources:
It is very helpful to have a complete service with prayers and resources all relating to the lectionary readings. I find it useful as a template which I can edit or adapt for my own congregation. I also really appreciate the graphic which I can use in a powerpoint display as a focus illustration. I used to spend hours searching for a suitable theme illustration. As a New Zealander, I enjoy resources that are culturally relevant for my parish." RAG 13 August 2025

"I used Worship at hand Pentecost 6 for the first time - when I had a service to prepare with one week's notice - at a time when life was particularly busy! It was brilliant - easy to use and follow - I used my own hymn choices - used the entire service. Good comments back re the reflection from congregation. Have recommended to others at our church who take services." DW 27 July 2025

"Worship at Hand for August: Pertinent, very useful material to read, reflect on, spark thoughts and assist with services. I find it a good resource." JH 25 June 2025

"I find the Liturgies very helpful along with the sermon preparation guide. The prayers are thoughtful and easy to follow. Always relevant to the subject theme."
PJ 19 June 2025

"I have a variety of worship resources on hand that I use to prepare liturgy and have therefore to date not sourced your Worship at Hand. Because I have had a very busy few weeks, I thought I'd give your Pentecost resources a go, thinking there might be some ideas that I could incorporate. What I have found is a very balanced and well thought out liturgy and a sermon that in my view is one of the better sermons I have come across, certainly better than I would likely have come up with. Thank you so much for offering your talent to the church in this way, it is a gift to at least this tired Presbyter!" SW 5 June 2025

"I really appreciate the new resource as it provides a very helpful resource for creating church services. I don't need to spend as much time putting the services together, especially looking for songs or creative ideas for children/young people. It also means that if we don't have a preacher available at least there is a good talk that someone can read."  HW 28 May 2025

"Great material. A wonderful resource. I have recommended it to others as well." DE 10 May 2025

Description

Worship at Hand is your weekly solution for creating meaningful, high-quality church services that are theologically grounded and easy to lead. Designed for clergy, lay preachers, and worship leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond, each downloadable service in this growing collection includes everything you need to lead a complete Sunday gathering.

Each service is based on the Revised Common Lectionary.

Liturgies are responsive, reflective, and action-oriented – inviting congregations to participate deeply in the rhythm of worship. 

Whether you’re preaching every week or leading occasionally, Worship at Hand gives you everything in one place. Just open, read, and adapt as needed. Services are created with beauty, care, and a deep love for the church’s task of telling the Good News.

These services are crafted with pastoral insight, theological depth, and liturgical artistry. Use them as supplied or adapt to suit your context – each service includes permission for use with attribution.

While you can present them as is, we suggest that you personalise the sermons provided by adding your own stories and messages relevant to your congregation and local community.

About the Author

Philip Garside is a Methodist lay preacher, worship leader, publisher, and singer / musician based in Aotearoa New Zealand. With over 15 years of experience leading creative, multimedia services, he brings a special blend of theological depth, pastoral sensitivity, and liturgical imagination to his work. Through Philip Garside Publishing Ltd / Philip Garside Books, he equips worship leaders with tools to inspire thoughtful, inclusive, and engaging worship grounded in the life of the Spirit and the call to justice.

Contents

Each downloadable service includes:

Opening Section

• Welcome & Introduction
• Call to Worship (responsive)
• Lighting the Candle
• Opening Prayer
• Hymn #1 [You provide the hymn text]
  

Exploring the Theme

• Prayer of Approach (responsive)
• Words of Assurance
• 10 Children’s Talk / Story Time ideas
• Hymn #2 [You provide the hymn text]
• Bible Readings (RCL-based) [You provide the Bible text(s)]
• 1000 to 1200-word Sermon
• Hymn #3 [You provide the hymn text]

Community Time

• Sharing the Peace
• Notices
• Sharing Joys and Concerns
• Prayers of Intercession (responsive)
• The Lord’s Prayer in te reo Māori
• Offering Invitation and Blessing
• Hymn #4 [You provide the hymn text]

Closing

• Benediction / Sending Forth
• The Grace in te reo Māori