Christmas Eve 2022

Homily

Luke 2:1–7 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

So much preparation goes into the Christmas season.

We have to have all of the lights in the perfect places, the ornaments have to be spaced at the correct ratio, the decorations have to be in the right place, the food has to be just right, the family traditions must be observed.

It doesn’t matter how much we prepare, something always happens.

We forget something.

Someone unexpected shows up.

A polar vortex throws the state into subzero temperatures.

This month, our church has been talking about the preparation that had to take place for Jesus to come.

Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and even the baby, John the Baptist all had their parts to play in making room for Jesus.

With so much preparation, you would think that Jesus’ entrance into the world would an event that defies imagination.

We are shocked to our senses when we hear the phrase “there was no place for them in the inn.” Some bible translations say, “no room.” We pass far to quickly over that phrase.

In the small town of Bethlehem, filled to capacity for a census, there was no room for a woman in labor with a small child.

Cows, goats, sheep, and the gambit of animals were residing in this manger.

Any of us who have spent any amount of time in a barn know that it is no place for a woman to have or keep a child.

And the question we have to ask is, “Did God miss a detail?” If we say that God didn’t miss a detail, then we have to say that...

The God of the universe...

the one who spoke everything - EVERYTHING - into existence,

the one who named the stars in the sky, who created each animal, plant, and landscape

the one who sent plagues upon Egypt showing that He was God of all creation

the one who causes the mountains to tremble at His word

… found that there was no room for Him in the small town of Bethlehem.

While Jesus homelessness is hard to fathom, I am thankful that Jesus didn’t come for a room. I am thankful that He came for me.

See, we may balk at the place of Jesus birth, but we forget that the same condition - a casual indifference - resides in our own hearts?

The human heart

created by God,

meant for God,

loved by God,

designed to worship God, and

yearned for by God, Himself,

has no more room for Jesus than Bethlehem did.

I noticed this in my own life this week - this tendency to take a holiday meant to worship my Saviour and busy myself in everything except Him.

Every soul, because of sin, is bent against knowing God.

The Bible would call this “turning from God” - darkness.

Such was the state of the world for the King who descended. And such was the heart of man towards the King who descended.

John 1:3-4 “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Jesus’ ministry did not end in the manger. It ended upon the cross.

The tragedy of Jesus reception is far out shadowed by the completion of his mission.

He did not come simply to be received but to redeem.

The God who created all things was that night descending into the muck and the mire, the brokenness and the pain, the uncertain and suffering.

Not only was he descending, but he was descending with the intention to redeem his creation one heart at a time.

This manger was sovereignly selected as the place the Son of God incarnate would lay his head.

That’s what’s so important about Jesus’ birth in the manger.

Had he been born in the inn, we might have breathed a sign of relief that he had not seen the world in its worst.

Had he been born in a family home, we might have been thankful that he was surrounded by those who loved him.

Had he been built in a palace, we might have worshipped while hiding the worse of ourselves.

Yet, he wasn’t. He was born in a stable with just his mother and father and a few shepherds who came to worship. So, we can drop the pretense. He’s seen the manger, and he’s seen your heart. And he came anyway.

Jesus has seen the worst of the world, yet He brought the best of Himself.

Romans 5:7-8 “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Christ came into the darkness of this world to save us, redeem us, and to bring us to glory with Him.

It was not our gracious attitudes, our perfect morality, or our stellar track records that caused Him to come.

Christ, moved by His lovingkindness and faithfulness to His people, stepped into our darkness to bring us light.

Lord’s Supper

This is why we take the Lord’s Supper.

The baby born in a manger would grown up to become a man.

That man, the Son of God, would take our sins upon Himself.

Find the Communion kit in front of you. If you profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we want to invite you to partake of the Lord’s Supper with us tonight.

If you do not have one, or your pew runs out, I am going to ask you to raise your hand, and one of our deacons will bring you one.

As music is playing softly, may we reflect upon the baby who became our sacrifice.

Luke 22:19 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Luke 22:20 ESV

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Candle Lighting

At this time, we light candles to display how the light of Christ fromspreads from heart to heart and shines in the darkness.

John 1:1–12 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Dismissal

As we conclude tonight, you are going to blow out your candles and drop them in a box in the back. But before you do, I want to read for you a prayer from Douglas McKelvey.

// Read “Missing Someone” aloud. //

“Versailles Baptist Church, Merry Christmas and you are dismissed.”