Sermon Central
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Christmas Eve 2017
Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Jan 2, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: This is not so much a sermon as it is a narrative and Scripture reading of the Birth of Jesus as found in the Gospels with video and Christmas Hymns mixed in. Requires several readers.
Christmas Eve 2017
Opening Video – Messiah.wmv
Prayer – Pastor #1
(Points of the prayer)
- The fabulous account which we retell each year
- How precious it is to those who believe
- Help us to set aside the worldly distractions from the story
- Make it real to those who do not yet believe
- Be born in our hearts today
- Glorify Your Name!
Reading - Pastor #2
The arrival of Jesus the Messiah was not unannounced.
We see His arrival being foretold in the ancient prophecy found in
“I see Him … but not now …
I behold Him … but not near …
A star shall come out of Jacob …
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.”
And in the ancient prophecy found in Micah 5:2 we see the revelation of the birthplace of the Christ Child …
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah (Eff’-fra-tha), though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me, One who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from the ancient times of eternity.”
But, when, oh when would these prophecies be fulfilled???
Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Verse 1
Come Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth Thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart
Verse 2
Born Thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a King
Born to reign in us forever
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone
By Thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne
Tag
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth Thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart
© Public Domain - Charles Wesley / Rowland Hugh Prichard
Reading - Pastor #2
All of Israel was waiting for the arrival of the Messiah.
What will He be like?
Will He be a fierce warrior King who would rule with power and might?
Will the rest of the world simply bow down before Him?
And yet, the greatest question of all was this.
When will He come? When? When? When?
The prophet Malachi had written the final words of Scripture to the remnants of Israel and Judah. And that prophecy is a rebuke to their unfaithfulness.
Even so, there are still a few faithful ones left in the land and they await their Messiah.
100 years go by ….
200 years go by … no Messiah
300 years go by … no Anointed One
400 years go by … no one to deliver Israel from the never-ending succession
of foreign rulers …
When?
Video – O Come O Come Emmanuel SFB.wmv
Reading – Pastor #2
Would the Messiah EVER come???
It seemed to almost everyone that the Messiah would never arrive.
But … quietly … in a village with a poor reputation … to an unknown teenage girl … the arrival of the Messiah was about to be set into motion …
Scripture Reading – Reader #1
And this is how the birth of Jesus the Christ came to pass:
Luke 1:26a-38
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Video – Be Born In Me.wmv
Reading - Pastor #1
Mary’s reply to the angel was truly beautiful. And her reply should be a pattern for all of us as we submit to the will of the Lord Most High.
