Christmas Eve Service

Advent Reading

THE FIFTH CANDLE OF ADVENT DECEMBER 24, 2024 THE FIFTH CANDLE

Through the Advent candles this season we have been looking at the ways in which the Child that was born in Bethlehem on the first Christmas impacted each of us through his life and ministry.

The first candle…. He has given us hope.

The second candle…. He has given us peace.

The third candle…. He has given us joy.

And the fourth candle…. He has given us love.

As we celebrate His birth this Christmas Eve, we come to the fifth candle of Advent, the Christ Candle that speaks of the life we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Katherine

In the Upper Room with His disciples on the night before He was crucified, Jesus said to them,

I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Wow! Jesus didn’t say that He will merely show us the way, He is the Way; He didn’t say that He will merely teach us the truth, He is the Truth; and He doesn’t say that he will merely give us life, He is Life itself!

What does He mean when He said that He is the Life?

The answer on this Christmas Eve takes us in the Bible from the beginning of time to the end.

The Apostle John wrote in the first chapter of the Gospel

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

And the Apostle Paul added in the letter to the Colossians

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

It is Jesus, who, in the creation of the universe, gave and sustains life. Without Him, there would be no living thing upon this earth.

But more….

Ben

It is again the Apostle John who completes the story in his first letter:

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life".

Jesus is the giver of eternal life through His finished work on the Cross to all those who accept Him as their Savior. And that takes us to the end of time because, as Jesus Himself said,

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

We are secure in Him forever. It is indeed eternal life! That’s a wonderful Christmas promise!

[LIGHT THE FIFTH CANDLE SAYING….]

The fifth candle, the candle that speaks of the life, physical and spiritual that we have in Jesus.

Now let’s join together and sing “Jesus Messiah,” a carol that takes us from Bethlehem to the cross to our eternal heavenly home.

The Light of the World

Opening:

As we gather together tonight I want to spend just a few moments reflecting on how Jesus is the radiant hope for all who repent. Paul writes to the corinthian church stating,

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul points the Corinthian church to where God first brought light to our world. He says it was God who said “let light shine out of darkness.” Let’s look at Genesis 1:2 it says,

Genesis 1:2 ESV

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

and with simply his voice God said, Genesis 1:3

Genesis 1:3 ESV

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

God brought to the darkened world light, and crafted creation and then us, mankind he took special care and attention in our creation as he created us as his image bearers and breathing life into the first man’s lungs.

Yet, with a single action Adam and Eve snuffed out the light of life from God’s perfectly created image bearers. Death plunged humanity into the greatest darkness we have experienced. Yet, God speaks of a coming victory… telling the serpent that a Son will come and defeat the serpent. Yet, as time progressed sin multiplied, Cain kills his brother, Lamech brags of his own immorality, greed, and godlessness. Mankind runs amok and only Noah and his family remain to be preserved…God’s special creation, has fallen into darkness.

As history continues to march on the majority of the world continues to reject God, even his own chosen people the Jews ride a rollercoaster of closeness with God and hatred for God and his laws. Yet, God never failed, he never left humanities side. He continued to love them and the light of life was coming. God’s prophets preach of a coming Messiah who will bring a great light to the deep darkness.

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

God continues to speak through his prophets for a short time then…silence…for around four hundred years not one God inspired prophet uttered prophecy. Israel was left to listen, study, and look for the humble Messiah, the light of the world to come…yet, the vast majority ultimately fell deaf and blind. Yet, God did not fail, nor did his plan stop. The promised one was coming, and his birth would change the world.

The forerunner John the Baptist is promised and his father falls silent because of his unbelief. Then, God’s messenger Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she will be the one who will give birth to Jesus, the Messiah, the promised one. After 400 years of silence, God speaks. The light of the world is coming and he is going to born!

Then on that faithful night, Mary and Joseph witness the Son of God born into their family. Celebration of the saviors birth rings out in the heavens, shepherds come to witness with their own eyes the message the received from the Angel and the heavily hosts. The light of the hope has come into the world!

As Jesus grew and matured his ministry took shape. He served and gave sight to the broken, and then, the time for his slaughter came. The light of the world, his death serves as a reminder of our darkness without him, Luke tells us, Luke 23:44

Luke 23:44 ESV

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,

from 12pm until about three pm there was darkness across the whole land. Yet, with Jesus’ death, the darkness of sin is paid in full, with his resurrection darkness is defeated and we have now in Jesus the light of life! We are able to experience the love of God like never before.

So when Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

What he is saying is that apart from Jesus, darkness is all we know, but when we place our devotion and faith in the work of Jesus, we experience the great light of God through saving faith in Jesus.

We are about to partake in the Lord’s supper, this is something exclusively for those who have received Jesus into their life. Also, it is not to be taken without first having a time of reflection and confession for sins that you have committed and not yet confessed to the Lord.

Lord’s Supper

As we prepare to enter the time of the Lord’s supper ask God to reveal any unconfessed sins and surrender them to the Lord.

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Let us prepare our hearts and bodies to receive the Lord’s supper…give about 60 seconds.

Pray

Read

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Instructions: we will begin with our instrumentalists, then we ask you to get up as a row beginning with the first row and work your way back, you will come down front get your bread and juice, then go to the cross as a family to take the Lord’s supper together, you can throw your cup in the bin there at the cross, then you can go around the wall and around back to your seat. If you are in the balcony you can go ahead and come down and join the line. We will start with the section on my left your right and then move to the center, then to the right/left.