Carol Service 2020

Introduction

How did Mary and Joseph know Jesus' weight when he was born? They had a weigh in a manger!

You do know what would have happened if it had been three wise WOMEN instead of men, don't you? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought disposable nappies as gifts!

There’s a part to the last carol that always hits me:

Here within a manger lies

The One who made the starry skies This baby born for sacrifice Christ, the Messiah!

Jesus wasn’t just a baby in a manger

‘Here within a manger lies The One who made the starry skies’

When we look at the wise men’s gifts they show us more of who Jesus was:

Frankincense

– prayer/ deity as to God

God is good, God is love, God is pure, He is also the creator and sustainer of life!

He is also righteous – what this means is that when we screw up it puts a wedge between God and us. We hurt ourselves and those around us and this hurts God. – hit my bro – don’t want to face parents - love both of us!

God wants the best for our lives because he loves us – unfortunately we chose not to do things his way because we want to be in charge, we believe we can make ourselves happy!

Even if we achieve everything in life there is still something missing, we are never fully content – WHY? Because we were made to have relationship with God!

Myrrh

anointing oil for death, suffering/death as to one who is mortal

‘Here within a manger lies This baby born for sacrifice’

God chose to fight the darkness and hate in our lives, with his light and his love.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

Love came down

Colossians 1:21–22 TPT

Even though you were once distant from him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions, he reconnected you back to himself. He released his supernatural peace to you through the sacrifice of his own body as the sin-payment on your behalf so that you would dwell in his presence. And now there is nothing between you and Father God, for he sees you as holy, flawless, and restored,

1 John 3:16a NIV

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Love, to be real, must cost, it must hurt, it must empty us of self. Mother Teresa

For Jesus his love was real, it did cost, it hurt massively, it was laying himself down, taking the punishment on himself for all our mess-ups – why? Because he loves us and wants us to be freed from all the guilt, the darkness and to have a clear relationship with God, nothing in the way!

Romans 5:8 TPT

But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!

Today God hold out this free gift to us, he paid the price himself to make sure the gift is free. He loves us that much!

He wants us to know personally his love. Not a list of rules and regulations, but a real-life relationship, where we are accepted for who we are;

God really knows who we are, we can’t hide anything from him, yet despite truly knowing us he still loves us and wants that close relationship. He wants us to find our identity and contentment in him.

This is the real thing!

The question is whether we are willing to get over our pride and accept this free gift for ourselves?

John 3:16 TPT

For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.

Gold

– as to a king

What does it mean to you today, not only that Jesus is God, that he came to die in our place. But that he reigns as King?

Are we willing today to accept Jesus as King, to bow our knee and let him be in control?

It’s easy to accept Jesus the baby

But it is much harder to accept Jesus the man

“Always keep the big picture in mind- you are greatly loved by Jesus and your job is to love Him and others in return. The rest is detail.” — Bear Grylls

Are you willing to accept the free gift, the present of Jesus presence this Christmas?

Lord Jesus, today I want acknowledge that You were not just a baby born in a stable but that You are also God. I want to thank you that You came not only to teach us about Father God’s love, but you actually demonstrated it. You died on the cross to pay the price for my hurting You, others and myself through doing things my way rather than God’s way. I am sorry for ignoring and rejecting You and for messing up as a result. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and Saviour. Fill the emptiness in me with Your Holy Spirit and make me whole. Guide me and help me now to learn from you, grow to know you and live for you now and for the rest of my life. In Jesus name Amen