The Christ Story
We celebrate the Holy One from God who came to us, in order to die for us, so that we might be made righteous in the sight of God. The chorus of the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14)
„« O Holy Night
„« What Child Is This
In the Beginning:
The Christmas story-it begins in the beginning. Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.¡¨ (¡§Day¡¨ is God¡¦s love and light from the beginning; this is God¡¦s love story which has been coming for you since the beginning. It begins with ¡§the always coming of Christ. ¡§
It is God¡¦s voice who is there in the beginning, the voice calling out of darkness, an echo in cosmic emptiness¡¨ which says: ¡§LET THERE BE¡K¡¨ Let there be light and land and living beasts. We know that the subject of John 1 is Jesus, and John describes the beginning this way: ¡§1 In the beginning was the (¡§Forever¡¨) Word, and the Word was (¡§Forever¡¨) with God, and the Word was (the Eternal) God. 2 He was (forever) with God in the beginning. 3 Through him (JESUS) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.¡¨
He made everything ¡Kand He made you! Gen. 1:26-27 says: ¡§Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.¡¨ Gen. 2:7 says: ¡§The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.¡¨ ¡§The authority of God made all of creation, but it was the affection of God that made (Human beings)¡KFather God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit gathered close together to imagine (and create) you. God in three persons, uncontainable affection, knelt down and kissed warm life into you with the breath of His (Life and) His love.¡¨ (God came closer to man than any other created thing; God created him body and soul, and then He came closer to him and kissed him with the breath of God.)
Every human being has been ¡§formed to be a spectator of the created world and given eyes that he might be led to its author¡Kfirst {to} cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the world in which {God} wishes to be seen by us¡KAs soon as we acknowledge God as the supreme architect¡Kour minds must necessarily be ravished with wonder at His infinite goodness, wisdom and power.¡¨ (John Calvin) Ravished with wonder!
We should be ¡§ravished with wonder¡¨ but ¡§ravished¡¨ by the even larger, bigger, more infinite, perfect and eternal Love.¡¨ We should be ravished and awed that we were made by the God, who alone is LOVE, THE Light, and the only one who created, and that we have been created by Him, and for Him. John 1:4-5 says: In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.¡¨ Many in the world do not understand this Light of the World, the Lord Jesus Christ who has come into Our World.
„« O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Two Questions: Where are You?
The Story of man quickly changed: Man did not remain content in his relationship with the loving, light-giving ONLY God who created. in Gen. 3:6 ¡§When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, (sin comes as enticing and pleasing to the senses) and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
The first question of the Bible is asked by GOD¡K¡¦WHERE ARE YOU? Where are you in your life? Where are you¡XWhy are you hiding from Me? To get where you want to go, the first question you always have to answer is, ¡§Where am I?¡¨ ¡§Our fall (into sin) was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren¡¦t satisfied in God and what HE (alone) gives. We hunger for something more, something other.¡¨ (1,000 gifts by A. Voskamp)
Where is the One?
Man continued to WONDER and WANDER, to search and to ¡§TRY HARDER¡¨ throughout the Old Testament, and at the beginning of the new, after 400 years of silence from God, the first question asked by the wisemen in Matthew 2:2 is: "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Where is He who is born King of the Jews?) We only find out where we are when we find out where He is. We only find ourselves, WHEN WE FIND HIM. TRUE wise men are only wise because God has moved in hearts to turn their priority from self to the seeking of God in Christ¡K
¡§In all humanity¡¦s religions, man reaches after God. But in all HIS relationships, God reaches for man. (God) reaches for you who have fallen and scraped your heart raw, for you who feel the shame of words that have snaked off your tongue and poisoned corners of your life, for you who keep trying to cover up pain with perfectionism. Three words come through the dense thicket of failure: WHERE ARE YOU?...Your God looks for you when you¡¦re feeling lost, and your God seeks you out when you¡¦re down, and your God calls for you when you feel cast aside. He doesn¡¦t run down the rebel. He doesn¡¦t strike down the sinner. He doesn¡¦t flog the failure.¡¨ (A. Voskamp) He comes to where you are in order to SAVE YOU AS you are!
„« When Love Was Born
When Love was Born
John 1: 9 ¡§The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.¡¨ 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.¡¨ Love was always coming into the World: in creation, in creating, in breathing life into man, and then man fell into sin, and he hid from God. Human beings have been trying to get back to Eden on their own, trying religion, trying somehow to impress God with a human righteousness that cannot possibly please God or appease Him for their own Missing the mark of the Holiness of God. Today many still do not recognize that the saving and redeeming love of God has come down to be their SAVIOR in the eternal one of a kind, unique, one and only JESUS.
John 1:11 explains it: ¡§He came to that which was his own,(own creation) but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.¡¨ A question remains for every person who is living on the face of this earth today, and it is the same question that God asked in Eden: WHERE ARE YOU? Where are you concerning ME? Where are you concerning Jesus?
„« God With Us
Immanuel: God with Us
The Baby child we worship is none other than Immanuel: God with us! Immanuel, God with us! God coming to earth NOW in Christ, the Living Breathing Word of God from the Father, God¡¦s LOVE INCARNATE, so that we¡¦d find ¡§the Creator born Redeemer for mankind and the hand of God is reaching out for mine.¡¨ (Todd Agnew) Isaiah 7:14 had proclaimed Him 500 years before: 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.¡¨ Matt. 1:22-23 revealed of whom Isaiah spoke: ¡§All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ¡§The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel¡¨ (which means ¡§God with us¡¨). He was named JESUS, which means God SAVES, and the WAY that God saves is IMMANUEL. HE CaME TO MAN TO DIE for sin.
The one and only Jesus came to reconcile sinful man to the one and only Eternal Almighty Holy God. Jesus came to SAVE US. It all began at a certain tree in a Garden called Eden, and thousands of years later, with wanderings away from the God who created, in another Garden called Gethsemane, the Savior who was Born from heaven to a human being by a Miraculous Holy Spirit birth struggles in prayer, asking God if there is any other way¡K Luke 22:41: He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY: God PROMISED TO SAVE because He alone CAN save and God would fulfill that promise HIMSELF.
The Lord Jesus Christ continued to the cross to accomplish what sinners cannot. 2 Cor 5:21 explains it this way: ¡§He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, (A substitutionary payment )so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.¡¨
One tree in the Garden of Eden was the place where man LOST HIS INNOCENCE and became sinful. Not far from the Garden of Gethsemane, another tree was planted at a place called ¡§The Skull¡¨ or Golgotha. It is on that tree made into a Crucifixion Cross the Lord Jesus was executed in order to provide forgiveness, Light and Life, through the ONLY ONE who can provide it, God Himself in the Flesh. God¡¦s Grace and Love reach out to us in Christ¡¦s hands nailed to that ¡§tree¡¨.
Oh! the Extravagant, Almighty Love of God which comes down from heaven and enters the earth microscopically but mightily in order to REDEEM and Give LIFE. Oh the tiny hands that would open wide for all who would come to God through Him! That is who ¡§THIS CHILD¡¨ is! The Creator of the World visits the Created. Love from the Father speaks to us in the appearance of His very Eternal Word, the Son of God. God speaks in fulfillment of all His Old Testament patience and promises, based, not on the performance of people but on His Lovingkindness, His Long-suffering, His Reliability, full of grace and truth and He speaks from the tree at Calvary: Come to me and be saved!
There is another tree mentioned in Rev. 22:1: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6 The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true.¡¨
Man sinned against the Holy Creator God but God alone comes to save from Sin. Jesus came from His ¡§FOREVER¡¨ Heaven in a human flesh nature and lived among us for a while, and died for us, so that we can live in His Forever Heaven. You may know much ABOUT Jesus, but do you know Him as your Savior from sin and as your FOREVER Lord. Where are you with Him? Do you know the one who was born King of the Jews as your complete and only Savior?
He alone is trustworthy and true! He came close and BREATHED life into man, then stooped to die for man. He comes and breathes second life, new birth, rebirth into those who hear Him and drawn to Him. Way back in Psalm 2:12 there is an invitation for you to come close to Him; God says: ¡§Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.¡¨
„« Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
„« Silent Night (Lighting of the candles)
Our focus is not on Candles or lights which will burn out. The only Light that will last is the Eternal Light and the only Life that will last is Eternal Life. The only one who gives both as gifts from God is the Eternal God. Jesus came into the world as THE LIGHT to the Father and He is THE WAY to the Father. He died so that we would have LIFE and to have it eternally. The Light of the WORD is present tonight. He is very near. He is not present in the candles but His presence is always near when His Word is preached. He comes to forgive and to save and to breathe His life and His light into anyone who will receive and believe Him, His Word and Holy Spirit and then obey and follow Him. What a gift! The Christmas Story is the Christmas gift that keeps giving because Christ is the gift from God who God comes in the flesh to save.
1 John 1:5 says: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life¡KWe know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.¡¨
Romans 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John Calvin: ¡§We must be sure of the infinite good that is done to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, in order that we may be ravished in love with our God and inflamed with a right affection to obey Him, and keep ourselves strictly in awe of Him.¡¨
Ann Voskamp: ¡§The only thing that will satisfy our hunger for more is to hunger for the One who comes down to Bethlehem, (the) house of Bread, the One who comes after us and offers Himself as Bread for our starved souls.¡¨
