Oh Holy Night
Notes
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Good evening…PRAYER
Carols are memorable…sermons not so much…but the hope is that by doing sermons on the carols they will both be more meaningful.
VERSE 1
O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn
Verse 1 is all about the Hope we have because Christ came to shed light in the darkness.
O holy night the starts are brightly shining it is the night of our dear Saviors birth…
My favorite Christmas Story is found in John 1:1-15
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”)
Darkness
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
There is something about being lost in that feeling of darkness…and hopelessness.
It reminds me of the battle of Helm’s Deep in the Two Towers of J.R.R Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings.
With an inevitable battle ahead, the wizard Gandalf must ride away in hope of finding aid from a group of horsemen. He tells Aragorn, “Look to my coming, at first light, on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East.” The battle comes and it is fierce. An evil race of Orcs (Uruk-hai) was bred for the sole purpose of exterminated men, and they seemed to have the upper hand. Loses and set backs left the men of Rohan with little to no hope as the dark battle raged on. When all seemed lost suddenly a bright light came over the hillside from the East. The light from the horizon pierced the darkness and overcame it. It was Gandalf and the horsemen descending upon the Uruk-hai; forcing them to flee into an enchanted forest that completed the victory.
The Battle seemed helpless…The Uruk-hai were winning and it wasn’t until a light shown in the darkness that hope was restored.
Do you have hope in spite of the darkness that surrounds you?
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn
And it might not make sense…I mean we are talking about a baby laying in a food trough…but here is something you need to understand.
When it comes to encountering God’s presence…it’s unmistakable…it’s undeniable…and it takes faith.
VERSE 2
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from the Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
Matthew 2:1-12 — FAITH guides us to the Savior…
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Wise men followed the light to Christ
For the longest time we had an angel on the top of our Christmas tree at our house. It wasn’t until our daughter Elizabeth questioned us about why we don’t have a star at the top…signifying the star that guided the wise men to come and worship Jesus…that we changed things up.
She was right. We should have a star at the top of our tree.
Because Stars are lights in the darkness. And we can navigate by them.
If you have never been outside at night, it can be very hard to tell which way you are going…but if the sky is clear and you have the stars visible, you can find your way by the stars. That’s why we have the North Star…because it is always found in the same spot. It’s a light in the darkness.
And before Christ came into the world…there was a lot of darkness…
But he came, and when he came, there was a star that lit up the sky, so that even creation was proclaiming the birth of the savior. And these wise men, followed the star from a long way away to come and worship and see this new born king.
CHORUS 2
He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!
The proper response to encountering the light in the midst of darkness is exactly what the Magi did.
They fell on their knees and worshiped Jesus
But here is the great thing about this song…It isn’t just about the night that Christ came…it’s about why he came…
VERSE 3
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains He shall break
For the slave is our brother
And in His Name
All oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy Name
Jesus came to set the oppressed free. And to show us how to love one another.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
And he gave believers a new commandment…to love one another as he has loved us.
Unconditionally…
Patiently
And how do we love one another? Through Serving, through giving, through selfless acts of appreciation and placing others before ourselves.
We take 1 Corinthians 13 seriously and actually do the verb love.
We be patient with one another
We be kind to one another
We do not envy one another
We do not boast about ourselves or our accomplishments
We are not proud
We are not rude
We are not self seeking
We love by not getting easily angered
We keep no record of wrongs…in other words, we forgive others like Christ has forgiven us…
We do not delight in evil…and when we see evil happening, we, like Christ do all we can to set the oppressed free.
We rejoice with the truth.
We always protect one another
We always trust one another
We always hope for the best for one another
And we always persevere…Even unto death like our Savior…
Because…
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
GREATER LOVE HAS NO ONE THAN THIS…TO LAY DOWN ONE’S LIFE FOR A FRIEND.
