Christmas Eve Service 2023 - 4:30pm Service - John 8:12

December 25, 2023

Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 3:16 read at the lighting of the candle of love, God's gift of His Son

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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John 8:12

read at the lighting of the Christ candle, Jesus as the light of the world

12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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Isaiah 7:14

quoted from the prophets as a sign of the virgin bearing Emmanuel

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

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Isaiah 9:6-7

quoted from Isaiah, the child born to us, names and eternal government

6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

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Micah 5:2

quoted from Micah, Bethlehem as the origin of the coming ruler

2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

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Matthew 1:18-25

the betrothal of Mary and Joseph and the angel's announcement to Joseph

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.

20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”

24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;

25 and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

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Luke 2:1-20

the census, the birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds and the angels

1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.

7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”

15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.

17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

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Matthew 2:1-11

the Magi arriving from the East seeking the king of the Jews

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

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Mark 15:23

wine mixed with myrrh offered to Jesus on the cross

23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.

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John 1:5

the light shines in the darkness and darkness cannot extinguish it

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.

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Matthew 5:14-16

you are the light of the world, let your light shine before others

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.

15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.

16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

The Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Jackson centered on the nativity story read straight from scripture, woven together with congregational singing and candlelight. The message drew a line from the ancient prophecies through the birth narratives and out to the meaning of the gifts the Magi brought. The invitation at the close was simple: hear the story, receive the light, and carry it out.

What was said

The evening opened with the lighting of the two final Advent candles, the candle of love and the Christ candle. John 3:16 was read over the candle of love, and Jesus's words from John 8 about being the light of the world were read over the Christ candle. From the start, the service framed Christmas not as a sentimental occasion but as the arrival of a specific person with a specific purpose.

As the nativity passages were read aloud, a brief observation interrupted the flow at the shepherds' response. The preacher pointed out that every person who received a message from an angel that night acted on it immediately. Mary said let it be so, Joseph got up and did what he was told, and the shepherds said let us go straight to Bethlehem. The point was quiet but direct: the congregation was there to hear the same message, and the question was whether they would respond the same way.

The reflection on the Magi's gifts came through the hymn "We Three Kings," which the preacher used as a lens rather than singing it. The gifts of gold and frankincense make intuitive sense, pointing to Jesus as king and as divine. Myrrh is harder. Its primary use at the time was in embalming, and the preacher noted that bringing embalming resin to a newborn is a strange and sobering gift. That strangeness is the point: it foreshadows everything that follows.

Myrrh appears only three times in connection with Jesus in scripture, and all three were traced through. It comes first at his birth. It comes next in Mark 15, when Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh as a painkiller while being raised on the cross, and he refuses it. It comes last when his body is prepared for burial, though, as the preacher noted, he was only in the tomb from Friday to Sunday and had no need of it in the end. The final verse of "We Three Kings," the one congregations almost never sing, was the destination of all this: king and God and sacrifice, earth replying to heaven with its acceptance of the gift.

The candlelight that closed the service was tied directly to what had been said throughout. The Christ candle in the center was lit first, elders carried that flame to the congregation, and the congregation passed it to one another. John 1:5 was read as the candles were blown out: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome it. The act of extinguishing the candles was not treated as the end of the image but as the beginning of a question, because the light of Christ does not go out when the wax does.

The last word before the congregation was sent out came from Matthew, where Jesus tells his followers that they themselves are the light of the world. The preacher put the sequence plainly: Jesus says he is the light, then he turns and says his people are the light. A town on a hill cannot be hidden. The final song, "Go Tell It on the Mountain," was framed as the congregation's response to everything that had just been said and sung.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

When Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds each heard the angel's message, they responded immediately. What makes it hard to act on a message you have heard more than once, and what would it look like to respond the way they did?
The preacher pointed out that the Magi were not Old Testament scholars but people from outside the community of God's people who followed the light they were given. What does that say about how God draws people to Himself?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Speaker 1Well, hello, everybody, and Merry Christmas to you. Christmas. Glad you're here to worship with us. And, this really is one of our our our favorite worship gatherings of the year, and and we're just glad that you're you're here to be a part of it and worship with us. Just a couple of things before we before before we get started.

First, there is overflow down the hall. So if we run our seats in here, it looks like we have, the service is livestreamed in the Fellowship Hall, you don't have to go home. Also, we have a nursery downstairs. So if you have little ones that are feeling restless, we really want you to be here. But if you have little ones that are feeling restless and say, I'm not doing this, the the nursery is available downstairs if if needed.

So it'll be livestreaming there. That's all I have for announcements. Church, tonight is just meant to be a fun, reflective, and worshipful night. We're here to celebrate the Christ in Christmas, and we'll do that by reading the nativity story, singing Christmas songs. We'll close in a traditional candle lighting.

So to begin, I'd like to invite up the Owings family Owings family. So Glenn, Liz, Caleb, Logan, Cely, and Timber, and they're gonna light the two remaining candles on the advent wreath, the candle of love and the much anticipated Christ candle. Now at the end of the service, not quite yet, we're gonna use that Christ candle in the center to light ours and spread that light to one another. And thank you, allings, for the Advent reading tonight.

Speaker 3Alright. As we light the candle of love, it can remind us of God's greatest gift to us, his son Jesus. John three sixteen says, God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We also light the Christ candle, representing Jesus as the light of the world. As the candle is lit, may Jesus' words in John eight twelve resonate in our hearts and be reflected in our lives.

Whoever follows him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Speaker 1Hey. Would you stand with me? And we're gonna sing some songs together. This is very participatory. And, but may I pray first and just...

We'll open up in prayer. Lord, we thank you for the gift of Jesus. That is why we're here, the reason for this season, the light of the world. And as we gather here tonight to hear the story and sing the songs, may we open our hearts to you and truly joyfully praise you. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. Hey, are you having fun? Okay. I just want to check.

Joy to the world. I mean, if we're going to sing of joy, let's have it. You can have a seat here. And Ray is gonna share the Christmas story as it's presented in scripture. So it'll be kind of scripture song, scripture song.

And whenever you see lyrics on the screen, would you please sing with us?

Speaker 2From the prophets Isaiah and Micah. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Emmanuel. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness.

From then on and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. From Micah. But as for you Bethlehem Ephesians, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you, one, with a capital o, will go forth for me, with a capital m, to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.

Speaker 1You can remain seated, but what'd you what'd you sing, though? We'll sing God Rescue Mary Jones.

Speaker 2Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, which means salvation, by the way.

Yeshua, salvation. For he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us. And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife.

Amen. Wow. Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all of the inhabited earth. And this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and the family of David. In order to register along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region, there were some shepherds and they were staying out in the fields and they were keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all of the peoples. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

And suddenly, there appeared with that angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let's go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. May I stop right here for a moment? Have you noticed that when an angel spoke, angel is a messenger by the way. Angel means messenger.

When a messenger spoke to Mary, she said, may it be to me just as you have said. When an angel spoke to Joseph, it said he got up from there and did as was commanded him. And the shepherds, as soon as they had this message that was delivered to them, they said, let us get up straight from here and go into Bethlehem then and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. I like that. I think we're here to hear this message again.

Right? You all have heard this message before, have you not? May we act on the message that we hear. So they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which they had been told to them about this child.

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all of these things and was pondering them in her heart. Now the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and all that they had seen, which was just as it had been told to them. That's from Luke two. You wanna have them stand with us, Carl?

Speaker 1Yeah. So speaking of glorifying and praising God, let's stand again. We'll sing a couple more songs. Angels, we've heard on high Version

Speaker 2Y'all can have a

Speaker 1seat. Yes. You can have a seat here for a moment. Ray's gonna share more about those wise men that we've seen.

Speaker 2Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Now, for context, Herod was the king of the Jews as far as Herod knew. So somebody showing up on his doorstep saying, where is he who has been born the king of the Jews would be upsetting for a megalomaniac, which all history shows that he is. For we saw his star in the East, and we have come to worship him. Now when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Because when the king ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Really. He... Gathering together all of the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where this Messiah, new king was to be born. And they said to him, well, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet.

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. And then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. He was trying to establish a timeline. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report back to me so that I too may come and worship him.

After hearing the king, they went on their way. And the star which had they had seen in the East, it went on before them until it came and it stood over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Now, these folks were not old testament scholars. These folks were from beyond the lands of the chosen people of God.

This is people that were falling after stars. Astrologers, you might say. Astronomers for sure. And they had seen a great light. That's actually the answer of a prophecy also.

And they saw this great light and they followed after it. They went after the light that God was showing them. When they saw that star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, and they went after it. And after coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell to the ground and they worshipped him. And then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

I'll come back to that in a minute.

Speaker 1Now we're going to pause there for just a moment. And in the spirit of giving, the joy and generosity like the Magi and the story, we too have an opportunity to to give this evening. So I'll invite the ushers and Rachel and and James is already up here. They're gonna share special music. But while they're coming forward, I I I really want you to know that you, are are not obligated to give, like, at all.

You're not obligated to give. That's not why we hold this service. If you feel compelled to give, I want you know what you're you're giving too. At First V, we support missionaries all over the world, here in The US and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe. And you'll see a picture of just a few of them on the screen here in just a minute.

And this year, our staff and our elders and our mission team all agreed enthusiastically that we wanna bless our missionaries even more this year. These are folks who wholeheartedly share the good news of God's love and forgiveness and word and deed to some of the most spiritually dark places on earth. So if that sounds like something that you'd like to give to, wonderful. And if not, that's okay. Either way, we'll pause just for a moment here to reflect and give thanks.

And Ray, may I ask you to pray?

Speaker 2God almighty, we thank you for thank you for this evening where we're gathered here, Lord, in your name, to hear a retelling of the Christmas story, the greatest story ever told. Lord, I pray that, as these are serving in their various fields, they are carrying this same message about a God who loves so intently that he came in person to walk out this life, to be tempted in every way that we are tempted and yet without sin. Thank you for the life, the righteous life of Jesus. Thank you for the acceptable sacrifice which was made on behalf of all who would put their faith and trust in him. In Jesus' name, Lord, we ask that you'd bless this offering to do your kingdom's work here in this valley and also to the very uttermost parts, Lord.

Show us your way and allow us, Lord, allow us privilege to humbly walk in it. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. This is a hymnal. It's not the Schofield Bible.

But I've got a song that we're not singing tonight. It's called We Three Kings. So We Three Kings of Orientare, you all know that one, right? It's a nice bassy number for those of us who sing down in the bottom register. Most of the time when we sing it, we don't sing all three kings.

Usually, we sing the first verse, we three kings of Orientar bearing gifts, we traverse afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. That's the normal one. Yeah. That's the one everybody knows. If you sing a second one, you probably sing, born a king on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again.

King forever, ceasing never over us all to reign. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a gift for a king, in tradition. Doesn't say specifically that that's the case in Bible, but it was normal for kings to receive gold as a gift. Solomon and David and other kings received gold.

And so that points to Jesus' reign as king. Frankincense to offer have I incense owns a deity nigh. Frankincense is a symbol of his divinity or deity. By tradition, incense was used in worship, it was an aroma that would rise up to heaven. And so, that makes sense for a 100% human and 100% divine individual.

These wise men brought this. Prayer and praising all men raising worship him, God on high. That's what that third verse says. The one we skip and hardly ever sing is myrrh. How many of know what myrrh even is?

Right? Myrrh, what is myrrh? Myrrh is and I think it smells beautiful. We have a bowl at home that's made out of myrrh resin, and it just smells great. But it's an unusual gift for a baby.

It's an unusual gift for a baby shower because its primary use at this time was embalming. It's used in the embalming process. And so to receive a gift of gold as a king and to receive gifts of frankincense as deity, that makes sense. But to receive a gift of an embalming fluid has a foreshadowing that is kind of difficult. This fourth verse is about that.

It says, Myrrh is mine. Traditionally, Balthazar brought myrrh. Myrrh is mine. It's bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom, sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a stone cold tomb. There's a reason we skipped that verse.

That is a big downer, is it not? I mean knowing what we know now, the fifth verse will go into that. But man, that's a tough one. That's a hard one to take. Myrrh in this instance, gold frankincense and myrrh, that's what it says.

And we don't see... I I'm a... I like to do... I like to study kind of exhaustively. That's the way I like to do it.

And I like it when you look and there are only three instances of a word in scripture because you can kinda stop there, right, instead of going on and on. Myrrh is given to Jesus and his parents at his birth or shortly thereafter his birth. And I I can see the foreshadowing there. Difficult to bring embalming fluid to a baby shower. The next time we see it, it also has narcotic properties.

In Mark's Gospel, in Mark fifteen twenty three, he says, While Jesus was being raised up on the cross, they offered to him wine mixed with myrrh. And myrrh has mild narcotic. It's a pain killer. So he denies it. He's going up on the cross, and as he is going to be feeling what it feels like to have the sins of mankind placed on his shoulders, Jesus denies the narcotic and wants to feel that feel.

And the next time we see it in scripture is to prepare his body for burial. Turns out he didn't need that. He's only in there from Friday to Sunday. But 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes were placed on him, and that gets us to this fifth verse of We Three Kings. I'm making it my goal to always sing all five.

Glorious now, behold him arise. King and God and sacrifice. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Earth to heaven replies.

The song of the angels was that it's goodwill towards men. It's good favor, God's good favor on those who will accept this gift. And the last verse of this song says, Earth to heaven replies back that they've accepted that gift. That's pretty cool. Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding.

God almighty, please guide us toward thy perfect light. Amen.

Speaker 1Speaking of that perfect light, as Jesus grew and he began his public ministry in John eight twelve, he said, I'm 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, want you to hear that very, very, very real invitation to all of you to trust and to follow Jesus. He is extending his grace always in our direction. He has sent...

God has sent Jesus as the light of the world to rescue us from the power of sin and darkness and to give us light that leads to life, abundant life now and life eternal. In response to this invitation, we're gonna close in a candle lighting. So I'll invite you to stand with your candle. And while you're standing, I'll invite our elders. Our...

If our elders would please come forward, and our elders are gonna light, their candles from this Christ candle right here in the center, and they'll pass that along to you. And that candle in the center represents Jesus as the light of life. And once your candle's lit, then we'll pass that to one another representing our task to let the light of Christ shine through us to the world. So when your candle's lit, would you please be sure to hold it straight up? Let that person next to you with their unlit candle tip theirs toward yours.

Watch those eyebrows and eyelashes. We'll keep those at Christmas. And while we're lighting these candles, I invite you to sing a couple of songs with us. We're gonna sing Away in a Manger and Silent Night. And may I also ask one of our elders, would you please turn off the the sanctuary lights here while our...

While we're lighting the candles? We'll sing away in a manger in silent night. You can now blow out your candles. But as you do, would you please hear this that we might blow out these candles, but there is nothing that can extinguish the true light of Christ. John one five says, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it or overcome it.

And I just want you to be encouraged by that, that the light of Christ cannot be overcome by darkness. Jesus is that true light who gives light to everyone. And John goes on to say, all who believe and receive him, he gives the right to become children of God. And that's the good news. That's why we're gathered here, that we're light bearers and children of God through belief in Jesus.

And that's why Matthew... In Matthew Jesus goes on to say that you are the light of the world. First, he says, I'm the light of the world. Then he goes, no. You are.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp or put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. And then the same way, he says, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. And that's what this last song is about. So I encourage you to sing it out and then sing loud.

We'll sing go, tell it on the mountain. Merry Christmas everybody. Can I just? A little blessing as you... Do you

Speaker 2have one? I got one more thing to say. The angel tree back there. A lot of y'all all over the... Not just the church, but all over Jackson.

We had all kinds of people participating in this. And for the past couple of days, Tanya's been sick. And I've been involved in that like I have not been involved in before. And I just want to say thank you for your generosity to this from this community to this community and beyond. It's everybody.

There's all kind of folks, construction companies from out at the village and realtor boards and all kinds of people came together to just make a big deal out of the generosity of the season of giving, which was inspired by Jesus Christ. So anyway, I just want to say thank you to that, and y'all are spreading the love of God in doing that. Now go and tell it on the mountain, quite literally. Bye.

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