It’s Christ’s Birthday. So What?

Song – Joy to the World (270)

Greeting and Prayer

Welcome and thank you for joining this evening for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service

It is truly a joy to have you with us.

I am excited about what has come together to help us worship, celebrate, and reflect upon our Savior’s birth.

We have many special things planned.

Congregational songs

Choir

Special Music

Dance and Motions Team

Puppets

Many hands have gone into preparing this evening for ONE PURPOSE: To make much of GOD—to help us each SEE and SAVOR God. This is not about any one of us here, but only about drawing our gaze to God. We pray that this is the focus tonight.

Throughout this evening, we will be considering:

It’s Christ’s Birthday. So What?

We want to examine the fact that it is about God speaking to us.

The sending of His son to be born, to live, and to die is God speaking to us.

We are called to respond.

Will we?

How will we?

Those are the challenges we hope to lay out this evening.

It is a full evening and without any further ado, let me pray and get things under way.

Video – Advent – Christ (Unexpected Messiah) (Light Candles while playing)

Puppet Song – Welcome to Our World

Agape Gang – We live humbly/Orient Our Priorities

Special Music – O Come All Ye Faithful (Rachel Aubel)

Song – What Child is This (281)

Isabella Dance – Messiah (by Francesa Battistelli)

Agape Gang – We Fight Sin/We Live with Confidence

Skit

Choir – O Come Little Children (with kids staging live nativity)

Agape Gang – We Live at Peace with Others

Song – O Little Town of Bethlehem (250)

DFJ Dance – I Still Believe in Christmas

Agape Gang – We Set our Gaze on the Needy/We Run to Tell Others

Agape Gang Song – Go Tell It on the Mountain

The Indulgence of Joy

Have you ever overindulged in anything?

**Grin**

Like, pie, for instance.

Or turkey?

Or ham

Or potatoes?

Or whatever your favorite holiday food is.

We are currently living between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Honestly, if you told me you didn’t overindulge, even a little, I might not believe you.

**Smirk**

In the spirit of overindulgence, let me draw us back to why we are here tonight.

Throughout this evening, we have been being led to consider…what is significant about the fact that it is Christ’s birthday. Why does it matter?

How should it affect our lives?

How should we live in light of it?

What should be our heart and attitude toward it? Not just a Christmas time, but all year round?

May I suggest to you that our response ought to be one of—

OVERINDULGENT JOY?

You know, overindulgence is a bad thing—

when the object of indulgence cannot sustain your taking of it.

But with Jesus—

No such limit exists.

Charles Spurgeon said…

“Of Christ’s joy we cannot have too much, there is no fear of running to excess when his life is the wine we drink.” Charles Spurgeon

Oh, how right he is!

Jesus, God—

He is the one thing that overindulgence is not a problem for.

Jesus’ own invitation to us is to come and indulge. In John 7, Christ says…

John 7:37–38 ESV

37 …“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

The prophet Isaiah spoke a similar invitation when he said…

Isaiah 55:1–3 ESV

1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

The truth is, you can search scripture all you want…

We are warned about overindulgence when it comes to things.

Because overindulging in things which cannot sustain it turns those things, and our joy in them, into unholy desires.

Charles Spurgeon put it like this:

“The joy of sin is a fire-mountain, having its source in the burning soil of hell, maddening and consuming those who drink its fire-water; of such delights we desire not to drink. To be happy in sin is worse than to be damned, since it is the beginning of grace to feel wretched in sin. God save us from unholy peace and from unholy joy! The joy announced by the angel of the nativity is as pure as it is lasting, as holy as it is great. Let us then always believe concerning the Christian religion that it has its joy within itself.”

Joy in the wrong thing, is unholy joy.

Just as peace with the wrong person, is an unholy peace.

YET, we are never given a warning about overindulgence when it comes to Christ, to God.

We are invited to come, to drink, to feast — without limit—and God promises to be the satisfaction of our souls.

Friend,

This is why the message of the angels to the shepherds in the field that night is so potent!

Luke 2:10 ESV

10 … “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

It is a message of Joy.

It’s Christ’s birthday. Right?

So what?

This is the what!

This is God speaking to man.

And this SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE!

Joy.

Joy—The experience of gladness.

But not just any joy.

Great Joy.

Great Gladness

Excessive joy.

Excessive gladness

Abundant joy.

Abundant gladness!

Joy was the response of the wisemen, the magi when they saw the star - Matthew 2:10.

This is actually the first use of this word, joy, in the NT.

From the beginning of the NT, CHRIST IS THE CENTER AND FOUNDATION OF JOY.

Christ is the root and the source of gladness.

A person, Jesus, not circumstances, is the foundation of gladness.

And since Jesus is who Jesus is…

Eternal - John 1

The Great “I AM” (God himself) - John 8:38

Unchanging - Hebrews 13:8

for the believer…

Joy is perpetual.

In any state

In any condition

In any circumstance

Because of who Christ is and our relationship to Him, Joy/Gladness is (or should be) constant.

Incessant.

Unchanging.

Spurgeon again…

“Here is the subject of your joy. The God who made you, and against whom you have offended, has come down from heaven and taken upon himself your nature that he might save you.” Charles Spurgeon

The Joy of Christmas is that God came TO RESTORE relationship with His creation BY providing satisfaction against the debt that that sin has accrued.

The satisfaction was supplied IN THE substitutionary work of Christ who died on the cross for sins, not his own, but ours. Mine. Yours.

All so that we could be restored to a right relationship with him.

Joy is then an inevitable reality for one who has seen, embraced, and is living out of the reality of this gospel truth!

His birth, His life, His death, his resurrection is about the removal of the barrier that stands between us and Him.

Thus, IT IS the foundation and source of our gladness.

That is why HE is the foundation and source of our joy and gladness.

Jesus is the one thing/person who NEVER changes. Ever.

Period.

If you are here tonight and you have not repented of your sin and trusted Christ sacrificial work on the cross for the forgiveness of that sin, let tonight be the night.

Let tonight be the night you HEAR HIM and RESPOND to His call.

Let tonight by the night of your running to Him, that he might be all the joy for you that you need.

His arms are open to you. He invites you to come.

But you must come in humility and repentance, for his character and nature must deal justly and rightly with sin.

But the joy of Christmas is this…He already has dealt justly and rightly with sin, by sending His done to live and die in YOUR place; in my place.

All that remains is for you to agree with God that your sin is wrong, for you to confess, turn away from it, and surrender your life to Him…then the eternal joy of the Lord will be yours…forever.

See me, see Pastor Jeff, see someone tonight, before you leave, that can introduce Jesus to you in this way.

Church—

Hear Christ Tonight.

Respond to His call.

MAKE HIM your joy. Your ALL.

Ask yourself:

Are you delighting in God MORE than your are delighting in His gifts?

Are you sharing the joy of His coming with others?

Are you so full, so satiated, so brimming over that it spills out, drips out even without your intending it to do so?

Is your joy FULL in the Lord?

If not, what is holding you back? What has stolen your affections and joy MORE than Him?

Repent and may this be the year that you make HIM your everything.

May this be the year, you choose to live for Him and freely give him away so that others may feast on His fullness with you.

This year, may you SEE and SAVOR Jesus.

Play Video: The Child (A Nativity Story - Skit Guys)

Special Music – O Holy Night

Light candles during song

Choir - Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Closing

It’s Christ’s Birthday. So what?

God is speaking.

Are you listening?

God is inviting.

Are you responding?

Come one.

Come all.

There is nothing more inviting than a babe in a manger.

God came simply.

He invites us to come simply.

Come today.

Come in repentance

Come in faith.

Come in devotion.

Tonight is the night to embrace Him.

For the first time.

For the 400th time.

He came to bring excess of joy.

Will you know the overindulgent joy of a God who would send His son to die for you?

I pray you will. That you do.

PRAY

Thank you for joining us tonight. It has been a pleasure beyond pleasure to share this evening with you!

Merry Christmas to all!