Christmas Eve
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12-24-23
This morning we light our 4th candle
The 1st candle was the candle of the Expectation of Hope
LIGHT CANDLE
14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’
That Hope is coming
That’s what is prophesied here that Hope is coming
Not the feeling of hope but the true Hope can and will change your life
That is what Christmas is about that Hope changed our life
That hope is Jesus Christ Himself
Then the 2nd Candle is the Preparation of Peace
LIGHT CANDLE
3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
That we are to be prepared
They were prepared for the coming Christ
First we are to be prepared ourselves for Christ’s 2nd coming
The way we do that is by repenting of our sin and trusting in Jesus to be Lord of our lives
That is how we prepare ourselves
To ensure we have our own personal relationship with Christ
Then church we are to prepare the lost world for His 2nd Coming
Jesus is faithful to fulfill His Promises and He has said He will come back
We do that by telling a lost world they are in need of a savior
They are sinners, the way they live their lives is sinful
And then we know that Jesus did not leave them there
That Jesus loved them so much that He paid their debt of sin by dying on the cross and 3 days later got up and walked out of the grave
We tell people that and we share with them they way to begin a relationship with Jesus is to repent of their sin
Which is to turn from it, stop doing it
Then trust in Jesus
Which is to believe He is who He said He was and that He will do what He says He will do, which by the way He says if you believe in Him you will be saved
Then our 3rd Candle was the Proclamation and Joy Candle
LIGHT PINK CANDLE
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
We learned last week that there is Joy in knowing Christ
Joy is more than a feeling of happiness that is dependent on the circumstances
But Joy is dependent on a person named Jesus Christ and He has done His part
You can only know joy through a personal relationship with Christ
Then we get to this mornings Candle, the Revelation and Peace candle
LIGHT THE REVELATION AND PEACE CANDLE
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
This morning church we celebrate that Christ came
The Savior has been revealed to us
And because of that savior there is now peace for the restless
We have talked a lot about the peace that Jesus brings
But to understand that at this moment in history the savior of the world has been revealed to us
It is good news to all the people
It means they no longer have to be enslaved to sin
Last was a Birth Announcement that was roughly 700 yrs before His birth
This is like He the baby has been born and boy oh boy is it the greatest news for all the people
But why is it the greatest news to the entire world
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Sin separates us from God
Sin divides us
Sin is the bad stuff, sin is the things we do that are against God
Sin is lying, sin is disobedience, sin is stealing, sin is murder, sin is adultery, sin it to disobey God
And so on
We don’t want to focus on the sin part but you and I need to understand that our sin separates us from God Himself
Our default setting is to sin
We have a sin nature from birth
21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
From our youth, from our birth our default setting is to sin
And then we sin and sin which only causes a divide between us and God
And because we could never deal with the sin problem ourselves
God knowing this sent His Son Jesus to do just that
To deal with the sin problem once and for all
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Jesus came and paid the debt of sin with His life so that you and I would not have to deal with the sin problem
Jesus did that because He loved you and I so much
Jesus will come a second time to collect those who have repented and trusted in Jesus
Jesus will come a second time to collect His Children
If Jesus wouldn’t have come to deal with the sin problem and we couldn’t it would have and it always will lead to death
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Sin will always lead to death
Sin came through Adam but Salvation comes through Jesus
Jesus death with the sin problem with His life
If sin came through Adam
Salvation and life comes through Jesus
That is why what we read in Luke this morning is so very very important
Good News to all people
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The good news for all people is that salvation is available to everyone through a personal relationship with Jesus
The good news that we celebrate on Christmas is the fact that the savior of the world was reveal to us and came to us
Came for us to save us
To give us life and freedom
That is what we celebrate this morning
Church that is the greatest news to the world
The Savior Himself reveals Himself to the world
CLOSING
as we move to our time of invitation
It is just that an invitation to do business with Jesus this morning
Maybe you showed up this morning thinking I will come to Church on Christmas Eve cause it sounds right
But after showing up this morning maybe you realized you are not saved and in need of savior because of the sin that divides you and God
I would invite you to the front to speak with someone who can show you and answer questions you have about salvation
They can show you how to repent of your sin and trust Jesus this morning
Or maybe you are here this morning and already have a personal relationship with Jesus and simply need to spend sometime in prayer at the altar
The altar is open
sin separates us from God
man is evil in his heart
God sent Jesus to deal with the sin problem
sin leads to death salvation brings life
sin cam through on man salvation comes through one man Jesus
Salvation is through Jesus and Jesus alone
Do you understand how the Birth of Jesus is the greatest news to the entire world
It truly means that Salvation has been given to us