Christmas Eve Candlelight
Through Adversity Comes a Promise
Prelude:
Call to Worship:
Rejoice, for God is with us — Emmanuel.
In the darkness of our world shines God's holy light.
Now there is reason to hope, to love, to laugh, to live.
God is truly with us. We are not alone.
Thanks be to God!
Songs of Praise: - Everyone
Joy to the World (2 minutes)
O Come All Ye Faithful – Casting Crowns (4 minutes)
Prayer:
Reading:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. On the first day he separated the light from the darkness. On the second day he separated the seas and the skies. The third day vegetation appeared on the dry land. The fourth day the sun, the moon and the stars – to govern the day and the night and to mark seasons, days and years. The fifth day the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The sixth day all the animals and God saw that it was good.
And also on the sixth day – God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them and it….was….very….good
UNTIL
The serpent tempted the woman and lied to her and convinced her to eat from the tree of knowledge and she gave some to her husband and he ate as well and what was very good was now…..devastated.
The Lord cursed the serpent and said in Genesis 3, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” And the need for a Savior, for a redeemer began.
Later… a chosen nation would struggle and through adversity came prophecies of one to come….one who would save them….one who would set them free.
Song: Adore – Tomlin (everyone) (5 minutes)
Reading:
And so began a century’s long struggle. The people would struggle to follow the ways of the Lord, after a time they would cry out and God would save them only to repeat the cycle again and again. There was hope however. The prophets began to tell of one that would come and save his people. And then….silence. But that silence was about to be broken.
Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. Like all young brides there was both excitement and trepidation about being married, but the day was coming soon. Mary was waiting for that day when all the preparations that Joseph had been working so hard on would be complete and they could come together in marriage as husband and wife.
It was during that waiting period that an angel came to her and Mary was terrified. The gospel writer Luke tells us about this in Chapter 2. The angel spoke to her and told her not to be afraid and that she would be with child and she would give birth to a son and she was to give him the name Jesus. He would 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.
Mary asked how this could be since she had not been with Joseph and the angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her.
What would people say? She had been a good girl. No one would believe her. Her family would stand to lose the bride price because surely Joseph wouldn’t stay with her. She would be disowned. Yes, it would be a struggle and even though she didn’t fully understand all that would transpire she simply said, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”
Song: Mary Did You Know (special) (3:30 minutes)
Reading:
The struggle wouldn’t be Mary’s alone but also to her betrothed, Joseph. An angel also appears to this carpenter named Joseph. Joseph was a descendent of the great King David. Joseph’s life was far from royalty. He made his living as a builder…..a carpenter. He had taken a young virgin girl to be his wife, Mary. But….now she was pregnant and it wasn’t his.
She had told him about being pregnant by the Holy Spirit and this being God’s son. He wasn’t sure what to think but he knew that he was not the father. This hurt him deeply and the gospel writer Matthew tells us that he planned to divorce her quietly until an angel appeared to him and corroborated Mary’s story… “what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Facing possible shame from friends and family, Joseph stays with her. If things weren’t difficult enough a census had been called and even though the baby could come any day, they would make to long journey to Bethlehem to be counted.
Song: Away in a Manger (2 minutes)
Reading:
After a long journey in more ways than one, the baby was born. In an empty stall in a stable because there was no room for them in the inn. Scared and quite possibly alone, she had given birth to this beautiful baby boy. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger. The King of Kings had come and for just a moment everything else faded away as Mary and Joseph watch him sleep, making sure he is breathing. His face contorts as infants do. He was finally here.
Song: Hallowed Manger Ground (3:30 minutes)
Reading:
As Joseph and Mary gazed at their newborn, shepherds were out watching their flocks on the hillsides surrounding Bethlehem. They were a rough bunch some of them might even have a criminal past. Often they were not even allowed to worship in the temple anymore, just as well, they had little time to be away from their flocks.
If they wanted to be with God they could lay back at night in a moment of peace and gaze into the heavens. Theirs was a life of hard work and struggle.
So imagine to their surprise when on an evening just like any other an angel suddenly appears to them. This was not normal and they were terrified. Instead of striking them dead because of their rough lives he said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord!
And suddenly the sky lit up with a whole host of angels singing “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on home his favor rests.” And then…..they were gone. They knew the stables well as sheep were often kept there. And they found the baby and his parents….just like the angels said. They were amazed the long awaited Savior had come! They left rejoicing and told everyone who would listen…what had happened to them that night! The birth announcement of the newborn King had come to the lowest in society. A light had now come, Immanuel, God with Us.
Song: What a Glorious Night (5 minutes)
Reading:
It was an incredible night filled with awe and wonder and I’m sure some fear. Sometime later Wisemen who had made a long difficult journey showed up at the home where Mary and Joseph were now staying and they told of following the star here to Bethlehem. They worshipped the baby and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Was there anyone in this story who didn’t have a struggle? Through all of their struggles….the promise had arrived. The Messiah was now here and all of creation rejoiced because God had now made a way to be forgiven and to be with him forever. It was a struggle and it would continue to be a struggle but Emmanuel God with us how now come.
Struggle – now there’s a word that we know all about this year. If we were to rewind to a year ago as we sat here on Christmas Eve, it would have been impossible for us to know what kind of struggle this year would be.
Some of us have lost people that were very special to us. Family relationships have been strained because of political differences.
No one had ever heard of COVID-19 much less the chaos that it would throw our lives into. Social distancing was something that you did when you were upset with someone and mask wearing was something you did at Halloween. Now they mean something totally different.
Many across the country have lost their jobs or had their daily lives disrupted this year in ways that we never could have dreamed of. What has your struggle been or maybe even current. It has been a struggle to say the least.
Struggle is nothing new. People have struggled for centuries. Followers of God have struggled, in fact scripture tells us that we should actually expect it.
All those involved in the Christmas story, except possibly the angels struggled to be a part of the greatest story ever told.
Struggle is because of sin. I won’t say that God is punishing us, I will simply say that struggle is a result of sin….which is precisely why God came to earth in a little baby named Jesus.
After the pain and struggle of giving birth I would almost guarantee that there was a moment that Mary held Jesus and Joseph looked on and time stopped and all was right in the world.
When the shepherds found the baby just as the angels said, for a moment they weren’t ashamed of who they were but instead filled with joy that they encountered God.
You see that’s how it is when you bring Jesus into your life. For a moment, all struggles cease and you experience the peace, hope, joy and love that comes from Jesus. Your life will forever be changed
Struggles in their lives didn’t end just because they had met Jesus but because Jesus had now come. Jesus walks through the struggles with us and he promises that one day he will put an end to them if you give your life to Jesus.
Encounter Jesus and let your life be changed. Jesus has come and he will come again and he shall reign in his kingdom forever and forever. Amen
Song: He Shall Reign (3 minutes)
Last Advent Video (2:30 minutes) –Skit Guys Advent Series
Christmas Prayer:
Sing Silent Night and light candles.
Benediction
