Having an angel's excitement
Notes
Transcript
Christmas candlelight service
Open service: Jesus, He rocks
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Welcome to our special candlelight service. as we look at a moment in history when God fulfilled what He promised the prophets that He would redeem the world by coming to earth through a virgin birth in Bethlehem in the house of David.
And at some moment the Angels were as excited as they were when God created the earth. They came to greet these unsuspecting shepherds in the field to announce good tidings of great joy.
Let’s stand and rejoice together as we sing a classic hymn from 1816 by James Montgomery called “Angels from the Realms of Glory!”
G/A - Angels from the realms of glory!
Turn to Luke 1:29
Many wonder what it must have been like for Mary or in Hebrew “Miriam” when she was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would be with child …let’s read
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.
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 name Him Jesus.
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Note how the Angel answers in a straight forward way. The power “dunamys” of the Holy Spirit would give her the ability to bring forth this child. But still, she had to wonder ‘how was this all going to work?’. Of course when Joseph heard this account, you can imagine his inability to believe it! He wasn’t thrilled and was minded to divorce her secretly but thankfully, the same Angel confirmed to Joseph what Mary said was true but as time passed I can imagine there were questions filling her mind during this heavenly pregnancy…
Breath of Heaven - Laurie
Now the time of her birth was near and you think you’ve had a bad day…? Joseph was suddenly called to Bethlehem during the census, It was a four day journey for a very pregnant Mary but the city of Bethlehem was packed likely due to the Feast of Tabernacles so there was no place for Joseph and Mary to lodge, then suddenly, Mary goes into labor so Joseph had to think fast and it’s likely he heard sheep and goats ringing out of a cavern nearby so as Mary was wincing in labor, Joseph quickly got her off that donkey on some hay and the Christ was born. There was no wood around so Joseph grabbed the closest thing nearby; an empty stone water trough which he filled with hay, as Mary wrapped the child in swaddling clothes. Luke 2:6-16 as some of our Kids come up….
Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
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.
For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
“And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
Recent archaeology tells us a ancient cavern was found in Bethlehem once used for keeping sheep, goats and cattle. That could explain how the shepherds found them so easily. The infant’s crying reverberated out of the cavern as they discovered everything the Angels predicted was true. [Now a song by some of our kids]
D – E - Away in a Manger
Thanks to the kids! So many years after this event the church created many traditions about it. But the religious clergy began to chain the scriptures to the pulpit and only the priests could interpret the word of God. And even though many could not read, it was forbidden by the church to have a bible. So parents had to think of creative ways to teach the gospel to their children.
From the candy Cane representing Jesus our good shepherd’ , the holly representing the crown of thorns, the Christmas Tree represented the tree of paradise as a feast day of Adam and Eve on December 24, the hymn “twelve days of Christmas” was a covert way parents could teach their children about Jesus, Old and New T, faith, hope and love, four calling birds were the gospels, five golden rings represented “the Torah” etc...– but as villages formed, churches were built in the center of the cities. Not only did they chime each hour but on Sundays they would ring to let everyone know it was time to gather for church as a community and honor the Lord.
This next song was based on a poem by Henry Longfellow. After losing his wife in a house fire and later his firstborn son in the war he sought spiritual guidance. While he never really confessed Jesus as Lord, he attended the Unitarian church. And during the civil war in 1863 he wrote a Christmas poem called “Christmas Day” as a call for faith to help those who mourned the loss of sons as he did to overcome doubt and despair by quoting Luke 2:14 “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men”.
Bb – I heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I’m going to ask Chuck to come up. As he does, grab your candles as we sing a familiar song about those shepherds who saw the baby and quaked at the sight. Because Emmanuel came to bring us light to a dark and sin-laden world. He came to die that we might have life and that more abundantly….in Him was life and in Him was the light of men! Maybe you have some dark spots that need to be exposed to the Lord. This is your chance to walk in the light as He is in the light!
I will begin by bringing my candle to you and we will begin to spread that light together until the sanctuary is illuminated. Then as Chuck and the gang sings we will ask the Lord to brighten those dark areas in our life. THEN BLOW THEM OUT TOGETHER
SILENT NIGHT - Chuck and worship team
After Candles are blown out –
Well, it has been a challenging year for many of us so I’d like to offer this familiar classic IN A GOSPEL FORMAT to offer blessing to all of you and then we will greet one another with a send off song.
Blessed Holy Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
