Christmas Eve Service

Around Christmas and so many people have just made it about

the gifts and about traveling and about, you know, the, the

Christmas trees and the lights and all of those things.

And of course, nothing wrong with having those things as part

of Christmas celebration necessarily, but we cannot

forget the whole the whole purpose of Christmas, the whole

true meaning of Christmas. And of course that is Jesus

Christ and his birth. You know, you think about how we

celebrate our birthdays. Could you imagine if if you

showed up at your birthday and everybody gave gifts to

everybody else and completely forgot you, right?

No mention of whose birthday it actually was.

We just, we just going to give gifts to everybody else, but not

Jesus, right? It's, that's exactly what it is

when you take him completely out of it.

But it's, it's always good for us to go back and read the story

again. I know that that many of us have

grown up hearing it our entire lives.

And sometimes it gets old to you.

It shouldn't, it shouldn't. This is where everything

started. This is where God became a man.

This is where God humbled himself, lowered himself to the

point where He could be our Savior.

And that's such a wonderful thing.

This is Luke chapter 2 and verse #1 And it came to pass in those

Luke 2 · chapter mention

days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that

all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made

when Cyrenus was governor of Syria.

And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of

Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called

Bethlehem, because he was of the house in lineage of David, to be

taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was that while they were there, the days were

accomplished that she should be delivered.

She brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling

clothes and laid him in a Manger because there was no room for

them in the end. Now I'm going to stop right

there. We're going to read the rest of

the story. But I think there's a huge

misconception. And I and and when we were going

through the the discovering the stories of the Bible, I spent

some time talking about this. It wasn't Christmas.

And so maybe you don't remember, but very interesting thing here.

That word in this is not a hotel.

That word in is the, is the word Ketalumi, which is actually a

house. And, and back in those days and

and now it's become quite, quite common information that that it

was not that it was the in was actually like a guest room in

somebody's house. And so when when they obviously

Joseph being of the house in lineage of David, he would have

been a very important person, at least to the point where

nobody's just going to say, sorry, no room here.

Go sleep with the animals if that's what you want, right?

Nobody was going to say that to him because of his heritage and

because of his lineage. Not to mention that Bethlehem

was not a huge place anyway. But they, they came to to the

house and there was no room for them in the guest house.

Somebody had already been in there.

And I think it's actually very interesting when you read the

story of the Good Samaritan and the Good Samaritan picked up

that that man who had been beaten by the side of the road

and brought him to an inn. That's a different word that's

used there. And that is a word for hotel.

It's a different word than what we find used here in the Bible.

And so for, for Joseph and Mary to be it was it was not uncommon

for people to treat their animals in even their, their

donkeys and everything else in such a way that they were like

pets. And they would bring them into

their house. And they had a, a lower room and

kind of a go up the steps in a little bit of an upper room

here. And it was not uncommon at all

for them to have mangers in their house where they fed their

animals. And so for Jesus to be laid in a

Manger was not, you know, we just we automatically get this

in our minds. Nowhere does the Bible say that

he was that he was in a stable. Nowhere does it say that he was

in a barn, right. It doesn't say that we just that

that story was written a couple centuries after this was that

after this story was was done. What after this story was

written here that the the gospel account was written, but a

couple centuries later, the whole story was written about

that. That ended up becoming the

narrative. And so now Joseph and Mary, you

know, Mary ready to have a baby and you know, and knocking on

the door saying my wife is going to have a baby very soon.

We need a place to stay. And the only thing I got is a

barn Outback. You can go stay there if you

want. And Mary had a baby amongst all

the animals and nobody was there to see it or anything else.

That that's that's the story that a lot of us have in our

mind. But it doesn't, you know, that

the Bible doesn't say that. And what we know now, especially

when you interpret in light of what these words actually mean,

it doesn't seem like that was much of the case at all.

I mean, it could have been weeks or even months that Joseph and

Mary were in Bethlehem, right? It just said that she was great

with child means that she was probably getting close to having

a baby. But while they were there, the

days were accomplished that she should be delivered, right?

But we have this mindset because this story that was written

several centuries later is what has become the narrative.

And, and it fits perfectly to have a little, a little barn

with the, you know, a Manger that's made out of wood, which

very likely it was not made out of wood.

Almost, almost 100% certainly it would have been made out of

stone and it would have been in the house.

And the inn was just a guest room.

There was no room for them in that guest room.

So they brought them into the house and Mary had the baby

there. And it very interesting to

actually think about it in that way.

But the Bible says this as we continue in verse #8 And there

were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of

the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

And the Angel said unto them, Fear not.

For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which

shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in

the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you.

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a

Manger. And suddenly there was with the

Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and

saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace,

goodwill toward men. And it came to pass, as the

angels were gone away from them into heaven.

The shepherd said One to another, Let us now go even unto

Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which

the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the

Babe lying in a Manger. And when they had seen it, they

made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning

this child. And all they that heard it

wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for

all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told

unto them. What a wonderful story.

Could you imagine what it must have been like for those

shepherds to see the angels singing in the sky?

All of a sudden the entire sky is filled with light.

I mean, I had to think that they must have thought they were

dreaming or seeing something. You know, it's the middle of the

night and here they are just, you know, probably drowsy in the

field. And the next thing you know, the

whole sky is lit up and they're singing praises to Jesus Christ.

And of course, Mary, the Bible says she kept all those things

and pondered them in his heart, in her heart.

I think everything was finally coming together.

All the pieces were falling into place for her and everything

made sense. And then the shepherds, they

returned. They, they and, and it was all

about Christ and they didn't, they weren't talking about the

miracle of the angels being in the sky and hearing it and ever

they were glorifying and praising God for all the things

that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.

Reminds us of the song that we find there in Page 84.

Turn there if you will Silent Night where the Brian's going to

lead us in that song Bibles one more time, if you will with me

and turn to John chapter 1 John chapter one.

John 1 · chapter mention

I'm not going to preach a message necessarily.

I want to read you a story and and obviously we want to use the

word of God as well and kind of bring the whole thing together

tonight. But you know, I was thinking

about this Christmas is a wonderful time of year and I

love Christmas. I love everything about it.

And I mentioned this I think on Sunday that if we can't have

snow for Christmas, at least it's going to be over 60° and

I'll take it. Boy, it was beautiful today and

I was I was outside in a T-shirt and I was thinking, man, you

know what, I think I'd much rather have this than snow.

Christmas, just a wonderful time of year and I and I appreciate

you taking time away from all the busyness and everything else

that they to be here tonight and to, to remember the reason why

Christmas even exists. And I know that we have some

people that are sick and some people that are traveling and

things. But it means a lot for you to

take the time to be here on, on Christmas Eve when you could be

at home making cookies or eating the cookies that you've made and

getting preparations made for tomorrow.

But I, I got to thinking about this the other day.

You know what if what if Christ had not come, how different

everything would be if Christ had never come?

Could you imagine what life would be like if we did not know

Jesus Christ as our savior? Could you imagine what life

would be like if we didn't have the comfort and the peace that

comes from knowing that our eternal destiny is settled?

And I don't understand, I really don't understand how people that

don't know Christ go through their lives without knowing him,

without having that that same peace.

I really don't. But if Christ had never come and

and was never born as a baby, then there would be no

crucifixion, there would be no payment for sin, there would be

no resurrection, there would be no hope of heaven, there would

be nothing. It was just.

It would either just end or we'd be destined for eternal

punishment because nobody came to redeem us back to God.

Could you imagine what it would have been like if Jesus Christ

had not come? No baby laid in the Manger, No

shepherds or wise men because there was no baby to celebrate,

no Christmas because there never would have been a tradition that

got started around the birth of anybody because Christ never

came. You know the story.

It's a wonderful life. And I think the same kind of the

same idea behind that. What if, what if you had never

been born? All the things that have

happened because you were born never would have happened.

Multiply that by 10 million and that's who you have in Jesus

Christ. If he had never been born, this

world would be so different. Everything about it would be

different. Everything about your life would

be different. Everything about why would we

have church? There would be no church if

there was no Christ. There would be no, there would

be no body, there would be no community.

There would be none of that, you know, other than maybe a Country

Club or something like that. But there, there would be none

of that if Christ had never been born.

And boy, if you sit down and start going down that rabbit

hole and start thinking of everything that would be

different if there was no Christ, it gives you a great

appreciation for just what He did and who He is.

This story took place in 1948. As a young minister, Reverend

Howard Skade had been called to the First Reformed Church of

Nyack, NY. It was an old church that at one

time had been a magnificent edifice in wealthy part of town,

but now the neighborhood was in decline and the church was in

bad shape. Nevertheless, the young pastor

and his wife were thrilled with the church and believed that

they could restore it to its former glory.

When Reverend Skade took charge of the church in October of

1948, he and his wife immediately went to work

painting, repairing and attempting to restore that old

church building. Their goal was to have the old

church looking its best for the Christmas Eve service.

Just two days before Christmas Eve, however, a bad storm swept

through the area, dumping a couple inches of rain, and the

roof of the old church just couldn't handle it.

Just behind the altar in the sanctuary, there was a massive

leak. The plaster soaked up the water,

then crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

There was no way that it could be repaired before the Christmas

Eve service. Dejected over three months of

work in vain, the pastor and his wife set about cleaning up the

debris. That afternoon the youth group

was having an auction to benefit its projects, and the depressed

minister and his wife attended, out of duty more than anything

else. One of the items up forbid was

an old gold and ivory colored lace tablecloth.

It was big, nearly 15 feet long. Suddenly Reverend Skade was

seized with an inspiration. He can hang this ornate cloth

behind the altar to cover the ragged hole in the wall of the

sanctuary. So for $6.50 he bought the

tablecloth. On Christmas Eve morning

snowflakes mingled with the howling wind that had followed

the rain. As the pastor unlocked the

church that morning, you noticed the woman standing at the bus

stop on the corner. He knew the bus wouldn't be by

for another half hour or so, so he walked over and invited her

to come inside the church to keep warm.

The woman looked sad as she explained that she wasn't from

that neighborhood. She was in the area to interview

for a job as a governess for the children of a well known family

in town. But she was an immigrant, A

refugee from the Great War. Her English was not very good,

and she had been turned down for the job.

The woman took a seat on the back Pew of the church and bowed

her head in prayer. The pastor went about his work,

draping the big old tablecloth over the ugly hole in the

plaster. Suddenly the woman got up from

the back Pew, ran down the aisle and shouted.

It's mine. It's my banquet cloth.

In an excited voice, she told the pastor her incredible story.

She and her husband had lived in Vienna, Austria, before the

Second World War. They could see the horrible

things the Nazis were doing, so they decided to escape to

Switzerland, where they would be safe.

But to avoid attracting attention, they decided to

travel separately. She went first.

He never arrived. Later on, she heard that he had

been arrested and sent to a concentration camp, where he

died. The tablecloth was her own

creation, and they'd only used it for the most special

occasions. To prove it, the woman lifted

the corner of the cloth to reveal her initials embroidered

on the inside corner. Touched by her story, Pastor

Skate insisted that she take the cloth.

She thought about it for a moment and said no, she didn't

need it any longer, and it did look pretty hanging behind the

altar. She said goodbye and left the

church. That night at the Christmas Eve

service, the tablecloth looked even more magnificent.

The flickering candlelight transformed the white lace into

dazzling brightness. The gold thread woven through it

looked like the brilliant rays of a new dawn.

As members of the congregation left the church, they

complimented the pastor on the service and how beautiful the

church looked. As he came back into the

sanctuary, Howard noticed an older man standing at the altar,

admiring the tablecloth. As he approached, the man spoke.

It's strange, he said, many years ago.

My wife, God rest her and I own such a tablecloth.

She used it only on very special occasions, But that was long

ago, when we lived in Vienna. The night air was freezing, but

that was not what raised the chill bumps on the pastor's

skin. As calmly as he could, he told

the man about the woman who had been in the church that very

morning. Can it be, Gasped the old man,

tears streaming down his cheeks, that she is still alive?

How can I find her? The pastor remembered the name

of the family who had interviewed the woman, and with

the trembling old man by his side, he telephoned the family

and learned the woman's name and address in the pastor's car.

They drove to her home in the city.

Together. They knocked on the door.

When she opened the door, Howard Skate witnessed the amazed,

tearful, joyful, excited reunion of husband and wife.

They had been separated for more than a decade, each believing

the other to be dead. At last they were together

again. Some people would call that an

extremely lucky coincidence, the result of a hole in the wall, an

old tablecloth, a pastor's ingenuity, and so on.

But the combination of events was far too complex for it to

have been merely chance. If one link in the fragile chain

had been broken, the husband and wife could not possibly have

been reunited that Christmas Eve.

If the rain hadn't come, if the roof hadn't leaked, if the

pastor hadn't gone to the youth auction, if the woman hadn't

been standing at the bus stop at that moment, if the man hadn't

come to church that night. If the list of ifs is virtually

endless, that was no coincidence.

It was only God, a Christmas miracle.

God does work that way sometimes, doesn't he?

He can take the tiniest things, the smallest events, little

miracles, and 1 by 1 the gracious movements of God's

Spirit all fall together. Until you realize a relationship

is restored, a marriage is saved, a family is brought back

together, a sickness is healed, a Savior is born.

Through it all, steadfast love has been at work and the little

becomes large through God. The late Henry Newman left a

teaching and writing career at Harvard University to spend the

last years of his life caring for severely mentally

handicapped adults in a home near Montreal, Canada.

In his book The Genesee Diary, he tells about a man named

Anthony who set up a nativity scene there.

In the Chapel. There are only three small

wooden figures, hand carved in India.

The man, woman and baby were simple, almost primitive.

No eyes, ears or noses, just the suggestion of facial features.

They were only a few inches tall, not really a very

impressive nativity. But then a beam of light was

directed at the figures, and suddenly large shadows of the

three figures were thrown up on the wall of the sanctuary.

No one wrote that says it all. The light thrown on the

smallness of Mary, Joseph and the child projects them as

large, hopeful shadows against the walls of our life and our

world. While looking at the intimate

scene, we already see the first outlines of the majesty and

glory they represent. Without the radiant beams of

light shining into the darkness, there is little to be seen.

But everything changes with the light.

Everything changes with the light.

An old tablecloth, a simple nativity set.

And our lives and hearts. Isaiah foretold it.

People that walked in darkness have seen a great light.

They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death.

Upon them hath the light shined. And I want you to read with me

in John chapter 1 and verse #4 The Bible says this.

John 1 · chapter mention

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Verse #5 And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness

comprehended it not. Verse 14.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld

His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth. The light has come in.

This is the real Christmas miracle.

So I want to urge you tonight, if you've never recognized your

need for a Savior man, let let tonight be the night that you

recognize that you need him. You know the the light that

we've been given. He gave us he gave us all the

light we need. Jesus Christ.

That's the light that shines in darkness.

We read through a John chapter one in him was life and the life

was the light of men. Oh, we talk about, oh, I'm just,

I'm just fumbling in the darkness.

I'm just trying to trying to get along the best way I know how,

right People ask that what's the meaning of life?

I don't understand the meaning of life.

How can I know it when when everything around me is

darkness? No, the world is dark, but Jesus

Christ is that light. And when that light shines in

our hearts, we have the opportunity to respond to it.

The problem is that light shines on our sin and the light reveals

who we really are, and we don't like to see ourselves for who we

really are. Most times we're sinners, and

because we're sinners, we are on our way to spend an eternity in

hell. But because of what Jesus Christ

did for us in the cross, because Jesus Christ came, because of

everything that we talked about this Christmas story, because of

that, we can have a home in heaven someday if we accept

Jesus Christ as our Savior. But it takes allowing that light

to shine in those dark places that we don't like to see very

often. It takes me realizing I am a

Sinner, Takes me realizing I am condemned to spend an eternity

in hell. It takes me realizing that I

cannot do this on my own. I need somebody bigger and

greater, far bigger and far greater than me.

I can redeem me back to God. And so I ask you tonight, won't

you accept His death on the cross as the payment for your

sin? He came for you.

If there was only one person on this entire earth, Jesus Christ

still would have come and given His life.

We have over 8 billion right now.

He came and died for all of us. But even if there was only 1, He

loved you. For God so loved the world that

He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That whosoever could be one person could be a million, it

could be a billion, it could be 8 billion people.

The blood of Jesus Christ is enough to cover everyone's sins,

but He would have done it if you were the only whosoever.

The offer is there, it's for all of us.

Will you accept it? That's the question.

Or are you just going to recognize Christmas for what it

is, The birth of a baby? Wonderful story of Christmas.

A wonderful story of of Jesus Christ coming and being born in

a laid in a Manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

And the shepherds came and the wise men came and they brought

their gifts and wow, what a wonderful story.

Let's remember that at Christmas.

And let's make sure we keep the real meaning of Christmas in

Christmas. And as we're passing out the

gifts, let's remember whose birthday it is.

And then we move on and we forget all about it.

That's what happens with most people if they even acknowledge

that it's Christ's birth, if they even acknowledge the real

meaning of Christmas. But Christmas isn't just about

remembering somebody's birthday. Christmas is about remembering

that Jesus Christ came to be born as a baby, yes, but he

lived a sinless life and he allowed himself to be subjected

to the most heinous torture that anybody could have been

subjected to. Carried his own cross to

Calvary, was nailed to that cross and, and, and suffered the

pain of it being dropped into the hole on the top of that

mountain and suffered there in agony and shame and humility

until he finally said, it is finished.

What was finished? The work of redemption.

It was done. He had died and he had taken the

sins of the entire world upon himself.

And God the Father turned his back on his own Son, His only

begotten Son, because he took all the sins of the world on

himself. And He did it for you, and He

did it for me, that whosoever believeth in Him should not

perish, but have everlasting life.

Boy, there would be no better time to accept the gift that God

gave us. For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our

Lord. There would be no better time to

accept the gift of God's Son than at Christmas.

And I know in a, in a, in a crowd this size, not everybody

knows Christ as their savior. Maybe everybody would claim to,

but I know that not everybody does because we're good at

putting on the ACT. We're good at making people

think we're OK. We're good at making people

think we're fine. And I, and I do think that

probably the majority of you know Christ as your Savior, but

maybe you're one that never has come to know Christ.

You're still doubting it. You're still questioning whether

or not you really know Christ as your Savior.

Once you get that settled tonight, I'd be glad to take the

Bible and show you how you can know for sure that you're on

your way to heaven. Jesus Christ came for a reason.

He came for you. He came for you, and he came for

me. And now you have the opportunity

to accept him. He did it for us.

And we can be assured of a home in heaven someday if we're

willing to accept that gift. Let's pray.

Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us.

Thank you for an opportunity we've had to be here together

tonight. God may use this in our hearts,

may help us to understand the importance and the significance

of Christ coming, being born as a baby so that we can have

eternal life, so that we can have a home in heaven someday

for all of those who accept that gift of his death on the cross

and the payment for our sin. What a tremendous, tremendous

thing that is that you help us to leave here tonight

remembering everything that you've done for us.

Thank you again for all that you do for us in Jesus name, Amen.

Let's go and take our song books one more time and turn to page

one O 1. Page one, O 1.

Go and stand with me when you find it.

Let the whole world know Christ was born in Bethlehem many years

ago. Won't you die?

That man might live. Came to earth new life to give

born of Mary, born so long, many years ago.

And the Father gave his Son, gave his own beloved one to this

wickets in full earth to bring mankind is 1 new birth.

Ring the Bell's second verse Ring the Bell's.

What a glorious morning born and an angel's worship Him singing

Christ is born. Won't you die on Calvary?

Won't you sad his people free? God himself in human form,

telling Christ is born. He has left his royal crown, He

has gone to blink his own Christ the Lord has come to earth goes

spread the news of Jesus birth, ring the bells, ring the bells.

Let the whole world know Christ the save your lives today as He

did so long. Hug on.

Very good. Amen.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas and spend some time together

with your family. Hold them close.

You don't know if you're going to be able to hold them next

year at this time. Hold them close and let's make

sure as we leave that we grab those bags in the back.

Thank you, brother Kevin for reminding me of that.

And we'll I'll tell you what maybe the easiest thing is.

Let's bring it in here if we can.

And if you think of some places that you have in your mind, some

hotels and some gas stations around that you can take these

gift bags to tomorrow. And and then we'll just make

sure that before you leave that we're not going to the same

place. All right, Amen.

We're dismissed.