Christmas Eve 2023

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

Pray

It is a joy to see so many of you joining us this evening! * INSERT ANNOUNCEMENTS* And it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to celebrate the brith of Jesus Christ! It is a joyous and great happening that we should be excited celebrate. This evening I would like to ask for your participation as we are reminded of the great things the Lord has done for us. I want to begin by walking through the story of Jesus’ birth. You may have heard this story 1000 times or maybe tonight will be the first. Either way, it is a glorious tale, but more than that, it is a world-changing truth.

Allow me to read through the real Christmas Story.

Luke 1:26–27 ESV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke 1:28 ESV

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Luke 1:30–32 ESV

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

Then

Luke 2:4 ESV

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,

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Luke 2:6–7 ESV

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.

Not So Silent Night

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Angels We Have Heard on High

Luke 2:15–17 ESV

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.

The First Noel

Matthew 2:1–2 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:10–11 ESV

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

I can only imagine the scene. We celebrate all of this wonderful action of God in the Christmas season. A time marked by peace, hope, joy, and love! But

PERHAPS CHRISTMAS IS DIFFICULT FOR YOU—

I want all of us to know this evening that God understands. He’s been here. Through the incarnate Christ, God empathizes with our weakness. If he was willing to be born in a barnyard, then expect him to be at work anywhere. No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far. There is no limit to his love.

THE MIRACLE OF BETHLEHEM

Out of chaos, Christ came. In spite of, and out of, the pandemonium, Christ came.

On a cold night in Bethlehem, Joseph built a fire and heated water. Mary cleared a spot on the straw and set about the task of bringing God into the world. With cows as her witnesses and Joseph as her midwife, she did just that. It wasn’t long before the hand of the star hanger clutched Mary’s finger. The feet of the sky walker lay in Joseph’s palm.

In that moment Mary knew it was all worth it. The ache in her back, the ache in her heart—they faded away. The questions of how, and the wonderings of when—they didn’t linger. The surprise pregnancy, the sudden census, the long road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Unpleasant and difficult, yet they resulted in the world’s greatest miracle. Was the first Christmas different from what Mary had planned? Yes, but it turned out greater than she could have dreamed. God used the struggles to accomplish his will.

Don’t you need that reminder? Despite the chaos of the first Christmas, everything happened according to God’s plan. In your world of short nights, hard work, and high stress, remember that God holds everything together for his glory and for the good of those who love him.

LOVE IS BORN, HOPE IS HERE

When Christ was born, so was our hope.

Because Christ came, God is always near us. He is always for us and always in us. Jesus entered our world not like a human but as a human, and he endured everything that we do and more—God became human down to his very toes.

Jesus understands what you feel and has faced what you face. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.

Because of Bethlehem’s miracle, you can answer these fundamental questions: Does God care if I’m sad? Look at the tear-streaked face of Jesus as he stands near Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:28–44). Does God know if I’m ignored or rejected? Find the answer in the compassionate eyes of Christ as he stands to defend the adulterous woman (John 8:1–11).

Jesus knows the burden of a broken heart. He could have come to us as a shining light or a voice in the clouds, but he came as a person. If you ever wonder whether God truly understands you, remember that he sent his only Son, Jesus, to bear your burdens and save you from your sins.

HOPE IN THE SAVIOR

The Christmas promise is this: We have a Savior and his name is Jesus.

Each one of us entered the world with a sin nature. Even under the right circumstances you will do the wrong thing. You won’t want to, but you will. The Bible says that “sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

But the good news—the reason for hope this Christmas and every day of your life—is that Jesus entered the world to save you from your sins. Those who trust in Jesus have been saved from the guilt of sin, are being saved from the problems of sin, and, upon the return of Christ, will be saved from the punishment for sin.

“God . . . loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Jesus took on our sin. By his death on the cross, he endured what we should have endured and paid the price to save us.

“When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

“Christ . . . died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

You aren’t good enough to save yourself from sin. You aren’t strong enough to save yourself from death. You need a Savior, and because of Bethlehem, you have one.

HOPE OF THE AGES

NEVER TOO LATE

It’s never too late to come to the Savior for help.

Just like the innkeeper had the chance to open the door for Mary and Joseph, many still miss the opportunity to come to Jesus for help. They let the birth of Jesus pass them by and ignore his offer of salvation. But missing a message from God is a mistake you don’t want to make.

You are never too old, too messed up, or too worn out to come to Christ for help. Your stack of sins is never too high, and your list of failures is never too long.

When Christ was born, so was our hope. By sending his Son Jesus, God did away with every barrier, fence, sin, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished. All you have to do is open the door and invite him in.

If you’d like to receive Jesus as your Savior, here are some next steps:

REPENT and ask God to forgive you. All humans were born with a sin nature. Trusting that Jesus came to save you from sin should cause genuine humility and remorse for the things you’ve done wrong.

BELIEVE that God showed his love for you by sending his only Son Jesus to take away your sins.

PRAY: Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you died in my place and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for my sin. Come into my life as my Savior and cause me to love you and others in a way that pleases you. Thank you for saving me so that I can receive peace and eternal salvation in the new heavens and new earth.

ATTEND a Bible-teaching church where you can worship God and meet other Christians.

SHARE your faith. You’ve just received the wonderful gift of salvation—tell someone!

O Come All You Unfaithful

Pray

The best gift that you could receive this Christmas is faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He is the Light that pulls us out of the darkness. We follow Him as the light. As we follow Him, others see the light that we have and we are called to point them to the Father. This faith is contagious.

I’ve often seen these Christmas Eve services end with a lighting of the candles and a very somber song. I’d like to do half of that and flip the trend for the rest. In a moment of silent reflection, we’re going to turn off most the lights in the building I’ll light my candle and then we’ll share the light throughout the room. After that time of reflection, I would like to invite the room to zealously and joyfully join me in singing an acapella verse of JOY TO THE WORLD! This will conclude our service.

JOY TO THE WORLD