Christmas Eve 2016 (3) First B Jackson 2016-12-24 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Hey. Good evening, everybody. Merry Christmas. How are you? You braved the elements. You're here. You're kinda wondering right now. I wonder what it's gonna be like when I leave. But we're glad that you're here, really, and Merry Christmas to you. Glad that you're here. Glad that what I'm hoping is that you feel at home here, because really I want you to consider this home. And if you're visiting for the first time, would you please stop by the back? Eric and Joanne made out these little care packages with cookies, and it's delicious. It just It's not your first time. Yeah. There are plenty of cookies and little baggies back there with bookmarks for free. So grab a cookie on your way out, would you? Tonight, you guys, is just meant to be a fun, reflective, worshipful night. We're here to celebrate the Christ in Christmas, through the reading of the Christmas scripture, through the story, through worship and song, through the candle lighting. And so to begin the candle lighting, I'll ask Ray to, light the much anticipated Christ candle on the Advent wreath. So today marks the end of our Advent journey for the last four Sundays. We prepared our hearts and our minds and our spirits for the celebration of Christ's entrance into the world. As we light the Christ candle, May we devote our lives to reflecting his light. He is the he is the capital l, light of the world. And in John eight twelve, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Amen. Would you stand up with me and we'll pray and then greet one another and sing. God, we are thankful for this evening. I'm thankful for the gift of your son, especially the greatest gift we could ever have here at Christmas to, be Emmanuel, God with us. And, I pray that, you'd meet us in a very real way, this evening, as we worship you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Hey. Would you take a second just to say hi to the people around you, and we'll we'll bring you back in song. Amen. Really, it is a privilege just to come, and that's why we're here, to adore him. So with that being said, how about joy to the world? You all can be seated. From the prophets Isaiah and Micah. Alright then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look, the virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel which means God is with us. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, his government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice. From the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity, the passionate commitment of the Lord of heaven's armies will make this happen. Isaiah nine six and seven. From the New Living Translation. But you, oh Bethlehem, Epaphra, are only a small village among all the people of Judah, yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. Micah five two. Please continue to sing with us here as long as you see these words on the screen, okay? God, rest you, Mary gentlemen. There's nothing you despair. Remember Christ our savior. It's grown upon this day to save us all from Satan's power. Were gone astray. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Comfort and joy. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Joy. And now to the Lord, sing praises within this place. And this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph but before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiance, was a good man, and he did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Joseph, son of David, the angel said, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will have a son and you are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet. Look, the virgin will conceive a child and she will give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel which means God is with us. Amen. When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and he took Mary as his wife. At that time, the Roman emperor Augustus decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee and he took with him Mary, his fiance, who was now obviously pregnant and while they were there, the time came for her to baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no lodging available for them. That's Luke two one through seven. Words are on the screen. Please sing with us. And That night, there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them and they were terrified but the angel reassured them, don't be afraid, he said. I bring you good news that will be bringing great joy to all the people. The savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David and you will recognize him by this sign. You'll find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. And suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about and they hurried to the village and they found Mary and Joseph and there was the baby lying in the manger and after seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and all they had heard. It was just as the angel had told them. You say we stand up and continue to glorify and praise God as well. Angels we've heard on Shepherds, why? Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strings prolong? The glad sometimes be which Noel means the announcement of the good news that Jesus was born. Y'all can have a seat. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. About the time, about that time, some wise men from Eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship him. King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priest and teachers of the religious law and asked, where is the Messiah supposed to be born? In Bethlehem and Judea, they said, for this is what the prophet wrote, and you, oh Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people, Israel. Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them, the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go worship him too. Wink wink. After this interview, the wise men went their way and the star they had seen in the East guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was and when they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chest and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Just as the the wise men joyfully gave gifts to the Lord, we too have an opportunity to be joyful givers as well. And so I'd like to invite the the ushers to come up to the front as well as the the Humphreys. They're gonna sing a couple of songs this evening too. We're happy to hear them. But while they're all coming forward, want you to know that you are not obligated to give. Please don't feel obligated to give. But if you do feel compelled to give, I I do want you to know what you're giving too. Here at First Bee, we have a local benevolence for anyone who comes to First Bee and needs some assistance. And I can tell you it's a blessing for our staff when we cannot only pray for, counsel, listen, just hear people, but also give and help them out with whatever they need help with. So if that sounds like something that you'd like to give to, please feel free and and know that we encourage giving because God has given to us. John three sixteen is, God so loved the world that he gave his son, that whoever believes in him won't die but have eternal life. So would you pray for me? Pray with me and pray for me. God, I thank you again for the gift of of your son, and he's why we're here tonight. You're why we're here tonight. And I thank you for loving us and sending sending your son to live, die, raise, and reign so that all who believe and trust in him can have eternal life. You really are truly the most give generous giver of all. And so for that, we we thank you, and I pray that these gifts be a sweet expression of our thanks. Amen. On a night so long ago by the light of one bright star two weary travelers far from Galilee took refuge in a stable from where a little child was born bring the gift of love to you and And lo these many years since then, that ancient star still guides us. How again our Christmas voices rain. Blessed we are unsafe at home how the angels told the shepherds of his birth a great rejoicing and tidings of great joy. Run to you this night a child is born. Run to you this night a child is born. Unto you this night, a child is born. Thank you. Well, it's nice to be here for a good reason. The birth of our savior. It's a great great night to celebrate and we wish all of you and yours a very Merry Christmas and don't forget the true meaning of Christmas. Here's a great song that Mark Lowry is responsible for writing this. He's with the Gather Band, but he wrote a great song. We sing this song to not only be sing at Christmas, but anytime. Has a great story to it. Hope you enjoy it. It's called Mary Did You Know. Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons this child that you deliver soon Mary did you marry did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man Mary did you marry did you know that your baby boy would call a storm with his hands did you know that your baby boy Mary did you know that your baby boy is lord It's a real treat. Thank you, guys. Really good to have you. Well, as Jesus grew and he began his public ministry in John eight twelve, he said, I am the light of the world. And if you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you'll have the light that leads to life. And tonight, I I want you to hear that very real invitation to you, to trust and follow Jesus, the one that God sent for you and I as the light of the world to rescue us from the darkness, sin, and death, and so that by belief in him, we are promised eternal life. And truly is the greatest gift of Christmas is Jesus. In a response to this invitation, we're gonna close on the candle lighting. And so, I'll invite you to stand up. And if you got your candle with you, I'll I'll invite Ray here to light his candle from the the Christ candle from the Advent wreath. That represents Jesus as the light of life. And then we pass that light to one another representing our task to let the light of Christ shine through us to the world around us. And so when your candle's lit, please be sure to hold it straight up and don't tip it. Let that person next to you with their unlit candle tip theirs toward yours. We've had some eyebrow casualties in the past, and burned hair is no no fun. So, watch for that. And then while we're lighting these candles, we'll invite you to sing a couple songs with us that'll be on the screen, Awena Manger and Silent Night. You can now blow out your candles. Here's something that I want you to to know tonight that we we blow these out, but there is nothing that can extinguish the true light of Christ that lives in those who put their faith and trust in him. First John or sorry. From John one five, it says, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish. And I want you to be encouraged by that, that the darkness of this world, as dark as it can be, cannot extinguish the true light of Christ. And what's more is God has given you and I the privilege of of letting his light shine through us. From Matthew five fourteen through 16, you're the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand that gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. And so that's what this last song is about. I encourage you to sing it out and sing it loud. Alright. Here we go. Go tell it. Go tell it on the mountain, over Christ is born. Amen. Hey. Merry Christmas, everybody. Drive safe. Enjoy one another's company. Enjoy knowing that Jesus loves you, and he sent his son for you.