Christmas 2023

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Announcements

No Sunday School today, nursery is available but no dedicated staff. We’re all together today!
Annual Business Meeting is coming up- January 17th?
Membership class coming up for a couple families who are interested, so if you’re interested let me or Mike know! It’s a long class, but it’s a one-time commitment we knock out over a few hours together, going over the core beliefs and practices of this church. If you’ve already been through the class and we’ve been waiting for you to take the next steps, this is an opportunity to not get lapped by the next class!
Pray for: unity, peace, and grace. Comfort and hope for the many people, both in this room and around the world, going through illness, grieving loss, struggling to exist.

Candle Lighting

This morning, we get to light the final advent candle for this year!
The flames of these candles have represented the spark of light that Jesus’s birth brought to us, and which has continued to burn brightly ever since. They represent the spark of joy and hope manifested in a glorious little newborn baby.

Isaiah

Isaiah 9:2–7 LSB
2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them. 3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall make great their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their taskmaster, as at the battle of Midian. 5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. 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 Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.
This is the promise of Advent, the promise of accomplishing the impossible…of establishing peace. But not the way in which it was expected.
John explains how God accomplished this:
John 3:16–19 LSB
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

Kids’ Songs

Reading: Luke 2

Luke 2:1–20 LSB
1 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child. 6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. 7 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. 8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 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 “And this will be the 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.” 15 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.” 16 So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (123)

Our hymnal introduces this song with the following poem:
Who shall come in the fullness of time to gladden the hearts of men? Who shall bring new joy to the world and the poor and lonely defend? Who shall come on a cold winter’s night, when the world is hushed and still? Only the silent stars keep watch as a promise is fulfilled. Just as a Child newly born He shall come to a stable rough with sod. ‘Tis gentle Jesus, Prince of Peace, the blessed Son of God! We await Him with reverent hearts, O come Lord Jesus, come! -Mary E. Caldwell
Christmas is a celebration of the gift of Christ. Of GOD WITH US (EMMANUEL). This song reminds us of the world’s need for God - of the mess of our mistakes, into which God has willingly stepped and said “I am with you to the end.”
Isaiah 7:14 LSB
14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. REJOICE! REJOICE! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thing advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. REJOICE! REJOICE! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, And order all things far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go. REJOICE! REJOICE! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind; bid envy, strive and quarrels cease, Fill all the world with heaven’s peace. REJOICE! REJOICE! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

The First Noel (136)

Luke 2:8 CSB
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.
The first Noel, the angel did say, Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay; In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, On a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
They look-ed up and saw a star Shining in the East, beyond them far, And to the earth it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far, To seek for a king was their intent, And to follow the star wherever it went. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
This star drew nigh to the northwest, O’er Bethlehem it took its rest, And there it did both stop and stay, Right over the place where Jesus lay. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
Then entered in those wise men three, Full reverently up on their knee, And offered there in His presence Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lrd, That hath made heav’n and earth of naught, And with His blood mankind hath bought. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.

Silent Night! Holy Night! (147)

Luke 2:16 CSB
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.
Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin mother and child. holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night, Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing alleluia; Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born!
Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light. Radiant beams from they holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Good News!

These songs/hymns, and passages of scripture are all promises and proclamations of the good news! By singing them together we are proclaiming the good news.
The good news of Christmas is that God loves us so much that he sent his only Son to be born as a human being, to live among us, and to die for our sins. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, and the Lord, who fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. He is the light of the world, who came to shine in the darkness and to give us hope, peace, joy, and love. He is the gift of God, who offers us forgiveness, grace, and eternal life. He is the reason for the season, the source of our celebration.
To receive the good news is not only to hear it, but to believe it. To accept it, repent of our sins, and follow him as the author and perfecter of our faith. And accepting Jesus is cause for much joy, on earth and in heaven. So, of course celebrating the birth of Jesus is a season of joy. Jesus is Joy to the World and Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men, right?
But many of his disciples did, and still do misunderstand what exactly that means.
Was there peace on Earth while Jesus was on Earth?
No. There was all kinds of turmoil and unrest
Is there peace on Earth today?
No.
Is everyone everywhere happy all the time?
No.
But, Jesus taught that no matter what is going on in the world, we can cling to an inner peace, that only comes from understanding him.
Paul wrote to the Philippians to encourage them about this:
Philippians 4:4–7 LSB
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The concepts of Joy and Peace originate in God, and as God is constant, they are constant, and are not diminished by any circumstances or powers of the world. Though we may lose sight of them or choose not to accept them, especially during difficult times.
But it’s especially during difficult times that we need to cling to joy. After all, what does James say about joy?
James 1:2–3 LSB
2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.
Ultimately, he can say this because Joy, like love, while tangible, it is also a choice. In fact, and the same is true with love, it’s when we chase feelings that we really end up in trouble.
As Thomas Aquinas puts it:
Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.
Thomas Aquinas
In other words, we are naturally inclined to seek joy, and when we do not derive our joy from God, then we sometimes can waste our worship on fleeting, physical pleasures and happiness.
One of my favorite quotes on this topic comes from Oswald Chambers. He says:
Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not.
Oswald Chambers
Dwight L. Moody said something very similar, and he expounds a bit more:
Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the day; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about. The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him.
Dwight L. Moody
So, let this season be a reminder of the joy that we ought to have within us, and the willingness with which we ought to be sharing that joy with those around us.
Ultimately, we rejoice in our redemption and freedom in Christ, not just because he was born, but because he fulfilled his mission in his life, death and resurrection. He gave himself to humanity so that we might have a chance of knowing God, and of being with him forever.

Reading - Psalm 96

Psalm 96 CSB
1 Sing a new song to the Lord; let the whole earth sing to the Lord. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples. 4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised; he is feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; bring an offering and enter his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.” 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. 12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy 13 before the Lord, for he is coming— for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.

O Come, All Ye Faithful (145)

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold Him, born the King of angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, O sing, all ye bright hosts of heav’n above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Yea, Lord we greet Thee, born this happy morning, Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
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