Christmas Eve Message 2019

This is an old time story… One night there was an accident at a railroad crossing. The old signal man in charge of the crossing had to appear in court. After a severe cross-examination, he was still unshaken. He said he had waved his lantern frantically, but all to no avail. The following day his boss called him into his office. "You did wonderfully well yesterday, Tom," he said. "I was afraid at first that you might waver." "No, sir," replied Tom, "but I was afraid that old lawyer was going to ask me whether or not my lantern was lit!"—Sunday School Times.

Lights are an important part of Christmas… they are used to illuminate; to decorations… they provide beauty… they reveal the surroundings. Tonight I want to touch briefly on the importance of the Light of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas...

The importance of light…

Several years ago I came across a story about 3 rays of light from the Sun. They all thought they were unimportant to shine when needed, so one by one they set out on their own. The first one departed when a young man decided to purchase a diamond ring for the girl he had been dating and ask her to marry him. When he was looking at the ring, the ray of light disappeared and he purchased a diamond with a flaw in it. The principle behind the story was that he entered into a relationship with someone that was unhealthy and eventually led to separation and divorce because he had not allowed God to be part of his decision making process when it came time for him to marry.

The second ray of light set out on its own when a surgeon was about to perform surgery on a young person when needed it to keep his eyesight. Because there was no light at the proper time, the surgeon made a fatal cut which cause the person to lose their eyesight. The principle behind the story was that we all need proper light in our life to help us do the tasks we have been created for, so that we can do them the best we can for the sake of others.

The Bible clearly tells us that on the night Christ was born, an angel appeared before the shepherds, a great light. It was announced that tonight in the city of David, a child has been born who is Christ the Lord.

Later in the gospels we read about the wise men who saw a star, which led them to where Christ Jesus had been born. There they gave Jesus their gifts in honor and respect of who he was, as the Son of God.

The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is the light of the world and in him there is no darkness. When we come to Him for Salvation, for wisdom, for direction, he promises us that he will show us the way, for He Himself said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no comes to the Father but by me.

When we come to him in our sin; in our time of great spiritual need, he will give us what we need to for salvation. And that is why we have Christmas… that is why he came. … He came as light, who would never depart from us. Our responsibility is to follow that light be faith in all things.

The real meaning of Christmas is this… So when you think of the meaning of CHRISTMAS know that

C - represents Christ, the light of the world.

His light came to shine in the darkness so that we could see how sin separates us from him, but that he came to give us the gift of eternal life.

H - represent the Heaven,

the place God has prepared for all those who accept that they are sinners and need Jesus, who Himself was sinless; who died in our place, that we might have eternal life with him in Heaven.

R - represent the radiance of God’s throne in Heaven

The place where God Himself sits and sees all things, knows all things, and is able to provide all that we need in life, to help us overcome the temptations of the world, to bring reconciliation, and lead us into eternal life, where the light of men, Jesus is and always will be.

I - represent the Inn where the family wasn’t known

It also represents the inner place where Jesus comes to live when we accept his gift of salvation through faith and repentance of sin - turning from sin - and begin living our life in obedience to Him.

S - represent the Star that shone over Bethlehem

The light that shines so we may know God’s love for us in Jesus!

T- represents the travelers from afar who saw the star

We are all travelers, on a journey through life, but he has come to show us the way to true life by faith in him. Wherever you are in your journey of life, God is here with us to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life -

M - represents the manger where Baby Jesus lay

Jesus lay in peace and he comes to help us find peace in the midst of a tumultuous world. Where sin rules, but Christ came to overcome the sins that so easily entangles us.

A - represent the angels God sent to proclaim the Good News of Jesus

The Good News the angels proclaimed is that God Love us; He sent his One and Only Son, to the world to die for our sins and to give us eternal life.

The good news is about how God who gave Jesus to destroy death, for which we all deserve and receive because of sin. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God; in other words we cannot earn our way or be good enough to enter into eternal life with God on our own.

If you wonder whether or not you are one of those “all” who have sinned, the answer can be found by you asking yourself one simple question: Have you ever broken any of God’s Commandments? Who of us hasn’t lied or used God’s name in vain or coveted what our neighbors have? Or made idols out of our homes or our recreational toys? We all have.

We all need a Savior. If you have failed in one area of God’s commandments, it is a sin against God and you are not good enough to enter into heaven. “No one is good, but God alone.” That is why we need a savior. That was the message of the angels…

But merely asking for forgiveness is not enough. The law demands that justice be satisfied with a punishment or payment that is appropriate. For sin it is death. It requires the blood of a perfect, sinless man. That man was Jesus! That’s why Jesus came… to take our punishment upon himself so that we could be forgiven and saved from our sin, and given a place in eternity with him in heaven.

After he was crucified at Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead, demonstrating His power over death. If you believe the ‘Good News’ of Jesus whom the angels came to proclaim on that first Christmas night, you will be saved from God’s wrath when you face Him upon death. Then you will know the true meaning of Christmas.

S - represent the Savior who came to save us from our sins. Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us, the one who came to suffer and die on the cross, and then rose again from the grave to give us hope unto eternal life with Him.

Dear God, I accept the fact that my sin deserves death. I also accept that you love me enough to send Jesus to pay the price for my sins. I confess my sins to you and ask you to forgive me all my sins, past, present, and future. Jesus Come into my heart; into my life. I accept your love and sacrifice for me and give you my life, for you to not only save, but to guide me in all truth. I pray this in your name Jesus. Amen.

Blue card in the pew in front of you. If you prayed to ask Jesus into your heart, then let us know by sharing your name and the decision you made.

If you have already asked Jesus into your heart, but have drifted away from him, and decided tonight to recommit your life to Jesus, let us know that too. We want to be an encouragement to all who are here tonight, so please share the Good News with us.

Now as we come to the close of our service, Pastor Caleb is going to come and together we are going to light our candles the Christ Candle, from which we will take our light and pass it along to you and you to the person next to you. As the candles are lit, think of Jesus as the Light of the World. The more we let his light shine from us, the more people will come to accept his light for themselves. For truly his light is a blessing to all who will receive him, confessing with their lips that Jesus is Lord and Savior of the World.