Christmas Eve

Hope

Mark

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Read over the text in the Bible explaining the Reign of Christ.

Isaiah was foretelling of the future coming of Christ. He had hope in the coming of the Lord and Savior. We now have that same type of hope as we wait for the coming of our Savior again and for a time when we can join with Him.

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The birth of Christ is nothing less than a miracle from God alone. We did not and cannot save our selves from the destruction of sin. However, we can be saved through our living savior in Jesus Christ. Yahweh saves!

Preparation

Rick

The second candle we light represents the preparation that God laid before the arrival of Jesus.

Mark 1:1–3 ESV

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”

This part of the scripture we are reading is quoted from Isaiah 40:3, predicting the one who would come before Jesus to prepare the people for His arrival.

Mark 1:4–8 ESV

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John was the one who was introducing the concept to the Jewish people of a New Covenant that Jesus would usher in. In the book of Matthew, when the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to be baptized, John told them they needed to come with a heart of repentance and not one where they were just doing another religious duty. They had heard of the people going to see John and being baptized. John is quite clear in his message to them about the One who was coming. John tells them he is simply baptizing with water, but the One who is to come will you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

He is already telling them how God is going to refine all of mankind. How is He is going to get to the heart of what it is they are doing and who they are doing it for.

Matthew 3:11–12 ESV

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

John is preparing the world for what the Messiah is bringing. The new covenant is coming which will fulfill the law that was given to the Israelites, but now, instead of being based on the law, our salvation will be based on what is in our hearts and the way. John is laying the groundwork for something fresh, something new. Something which will change the way mankind will interact with God.

Joy

Mark

Luke 2:1–20 ESV

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to 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, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Webster definition of joy = “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”.

Bible definition of joy = “a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is DEPENDENT on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God’s presence and from hope in His word.”

Joy is not dependent on other people, our situation, our surroundings, or anything else of this world. It is what we find in Jesus Christ. It is what people found when they heard of the coming savior.

Love

Rick

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

God loved so much He sent His Son to the earth. They both loved us so much that Jesus took on human form to live among us. Now how do we demonstrate this love He has shown us? We love each other. We put someone else’s needs before our own. Love is demonstrated many different ways. For most of us, we can think about the love which was demonstrated to us through our parents and the way they sacrificed for us so we could have what we need.

One of my own sayings is,

“You can never out martyr a mother.”

But isn’t this what Christ did for us. Love is expressed many different ways. My parents loved me. They sacrificed for me. They taught me how to behave. They disciplined me when I needed it. They were there to pick me up when I fell, dusted my knees off, and told me to try again.

The love God has for us is so much deeper if you can imagine that. He does all the things that I talked about up here, but there was nothing we did to deserve the gift of salvation which He offered us through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son. Amazing love, how can it be? The simple truth is in the love of God and Jesus for His creation.

Adoration

Mark

Titus 2:11–14 ESV

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Read summary in Bible on these verses. Talk about appreciation and adoration for the gift of salvation, for Jesus willingly dieing on the cross for our sins.