6.30 pm Christmas Eve Cantata “One Night, One Star, One King”

In one paragraph

This was the Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Jackson, where Pastor Greg McDaniel led a brief message woven together with the choir's musical presentation of the Nativity story. The evening centered on Emmanuel, God with us, and what it means that God stepped into human history in the person of Jesus. The offering taken up that night went toward the church's local benevolence fund. Pastor...

Read together

1. Luke 2:1-14 read aloud as the nativity narrative, from the census decree through the angels departing
2. John 3:16 quoted and named explicitly as the message of how much God loves the world, mentioned twice
3. Isaiah 9:2 attributed to the prophet Isaiah regarding the people walking in darkness seeing a great light
4. Matthew 5:14 referenced as Christ telling his followers they are the light of the world
5. Philippians 2:7-8 paraphrased in the closing prayer about Jesus humbling himself, emptying himself, dying the death of a cross

Talk about it

1. Pastor Greg described Jesus coming to earth as God 'pitching his tent among us' and stepping out of eternity into space and time. What does that image mean to you personally, and how does it change the way you think about the incarnation?
2. The service reading from Luke described the setting of Christ's birth as humble and unexpected, with common shepherds as the first witnesses. Why do you think God chose to announce the birth of His Son that way, and what does that say about who He came for?
3. The narrative read during the service asked us to 'behold the birth of our king as if we are hearing about it for the first time.' What gets in the way of that kind of fresh wonder, and how can we guard against approaching this story with less than what was called 'astonished reverence'?
4. Isaiah's words were quoted: 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.' Pastor Greg then connected that to Christ's call for His followers to be the light of the world. What does it look like in everyday life to let that light burn in a way that draws others to Him?
5. Pastor Greg closed by saying that because of Christ's perfect life and willing sacrifice, 'we have a chance at becoming children of God.' What does it mean to you that this gift is described as free, and is there anything that makes it hard to receive it that way?