ESCHRISTMAS07 Carols by candlelight - Knock! Knock! (The whole service)

Welcome to our Carols by Candlelight Service. It is a great pleasure to have you here especially if you are a guest. Just so you know, do not rush away after singing your hearts out, for after this evening’s service there will be coffee, tea, and mince pies through this door after the service.

We have two more Christmas services: one is our midnight service that, you guessed it, begins at 11:15…that is 11:15 at night and we shall finish just after midnight on Christmas Day. Then our second service will be at 10am on Christmas Day. You are all most welcome to come to one or both of the services.

Prayer

As last year, I will start with a bible prophecy that was told about 700 years before Jesus came:

Micah 5:2 NKJV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

CAROL: Once in royal David’s city

Read by Helene:

Luke 2:1–20 NKJV

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

CAROL: O little town

Read by Judith:

John 1:1–18 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Carol: Silent night

Read by Julie:

Isaiah 9:2–7 NKJV

2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Carol: See amid the winter’s snow

Prayer

Carol: Angels from the realms of glory

Read by me:

Matthew 1:18–24 NKJV

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,

VIDEO: Immanuel

I always fancied myself a comedian and perhaps in another life in a parallel universe I might have been!

What did Adam say to his wife the day before Christmas? It’s Christmas, Eve!

What’s the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet? The Christmas alphabet has No-el.

I’m sure you are thinking by now that you did not miss your calling as a comedian! I have one more: And you are familiar with the format so do respond:

Knock, knock

Who’s there?

Jesus

Jesus who?

Really? You don’t know who?! How can you not know?!

I set you up there! But there is a serious point here: There is much that we take for granted as Christians in relation to Christmas. For instance, we assume that children know that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, right? But could it be that a 1/3rd of children here in the UK do not know that? Apparently not. So, the Jesus knock, knock joke would have left them confused - Jesus who? And if they are able to answer the who question it is because they hear Jesus Christ as a cuss word not because they know anything about Him.

I hope that you know the story of Christmas but I never like to leave anything to chance! And it is an opportunity to speak about the real meaning of Christmas.

Of course, there are some people who might say that Christmas is not Christian at all, and of course, they would be right; the festival has pagan origins, of course, and Jesus would never have been born in the winter and the wise men of the nativity scene did not turn up until about 2 years after Jesus’ birth. Tradition sometimes hides the truth.

But some of our Christmas traditions are rooted in church history, and if we know their origins we’ll appreciate them more.

For example, the hanging of stockings by the fireplace is just about the first and oldest of our traditions. For most of human history, most people didn’t have extensive wardrobes. Socks in particular had to be washed out at night and hung by the fire to dry for the next day. Centuries ago, a teenager named Nicholas from the city of Patara on the Mediterranean coast in ancient Turkey entered the ministry. He became a popular bishop in the city of Myra. In one of his ministry trips, Nicholas was in a particular city. While there he heard of a widower trying to raise three daughters.

They were on the verge of starvation, and this man was unable to provide a dowry for his girls. As a result, they were unable to get married. Even worse, they were in danger of being sold into slavery. Burdened for this family, Nicholas went to the home by night. The eldest daughter’s stockings were hanging by the fireplace, and Nicholas reached through the window and tossed a coin into the stocking. He reportedly later did the same for the other girls. Thus it became a tradition on that day for children to hang their stockings by the fireplace where, during the night, a treat would be place in them.

Lot’s of things creep into our minds about what Christmas is all about, whether it is about family and friends, about presents, about a break from work, about the food. But all these things are secondary for the clue is in the word ‘Christmas’. It is about Christ.

The original festival held in December may not have had anything to do with Jesus but this time of year now being called Christmas reminds us of the great love God has for the world. This is the true meaning of Christmas. The bible says that God became flesh and dwelt among us.

What a phenomenal thing to have happened! God, creator the universe, entered this little speck in space to be born like one of us, a human being. So, nearly 2000 years ago a baby was born in Bethlehem, (just about the only thing carols actually get right). This child was God showing His love to the world for He gave us the greatest gift anyone could receive: His own Son: Jesus Christ. As the Psalmist said:

Psalm 8:3–4 CSB

3 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 4 what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?

Jesus was born impoverished, sleeping in a feeding trough for the animals, rather than in a palace.

This child was called the light of the world. That’s because we are in darkness trying to feel our way through this world. The darkness has a name: sin. What is sin? it is all the wrong things we have done and all the right things we have not done. Sin is like an inherited disease and we are born in it, and because God is light, brilliant light, unapproachable light, light so white sin is so offensive to God who is holy; the only just sentence is death. The only One not born in sin is Jesus whose name means Saviour.

The light who had come into the world as a child at Christmas was rejected and put to death. While Jesus was dying darkness came over the whole land for 3 hours. In a mysterious way he took upon himself all our darkness; all our sin and as a result died. You see, God gave His Son at Christmas to solve a problem. He did not want us to die without Him in hopelessness, so He sent His Son to take our punishment. He paid for our sin with His death. And then three days after dying on the cross Jesus rose from the dead defeating darkness; defeating sin; defeating death. Now he wants to do an exchange with you. You give him your darkness…and he will give you his light. You give him your sin and he will give you his righteousness – in this way He will make you right with God.

Sounds like a great deal, a great gift, a great present to receive at Christmas for, as we Christians are apt to say; this is the reason for the season. Jesus was born at Christmas to grow up and die for all of us so that we could be reconciled with God and have peace and hope this Christmas.

The choice is ours: to stay in darkness or to receive the light of the world. What will you do with Jesus this Christmas? Will you come and worship the King?

Christians, it is also a time to share the good news with others, glad tidings as the angels said. Christmas for many can be a sad, lonely, heartbreaking time of year. Christmas may not be a time of celebration for for many others for one reason or another. We need to be mindful of others for depression and suicides rocket and family breakdowns increase because of the pressure of this time of year. We need to tell people of the hope that we have. We have been given the Holy Spirit to live in us and so we can apply the words that were first applied to Jesus found in Isaiah 61 and:

Luke 4:18–19 NKJV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Not only are we to tell people we are to demonstrate it in acts of kindness in the same way as Nicholas did way back when in helping a poor family and in the way Jesus went round doing good.

Will you give the gift of Jesus this year?

Knock knock!

Who’s there?

Jesus?

Jesus who?

Jesus stands at the door and knocks and says: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

That’s a direct quote from the bible: Revelation 3:20

If you haven’t already, invite Jesus into your hearts this Christmastime, invite Him into your hearts now! And when you’ve done that go tell and show others what He has done for you.

Prayer

Carol: O come all ye faithful

Benediction

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 1:5-6)

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