Christmas Eve 2021 (Jeff Kliewer)

Worship and Christmas Eve Greeting

We are so thankful that we can come before you and sing praises to your name because you came to this earth to die so that we could be saved and be with you in heaven. We adore you this evening. Let's sing that chorus again.

We adore you as your prayer. We adore you, Lord Jesus. We adore, adore, adore.

Notice about our church is the sides fill in much more quickly than the middle. One time I noticed the entire sides were full and the entire middle section was empty. I called that the receding hairline.

And this time it just looks like we have a little bit of a bald spot there. Well, it's exciting to see you all out tonight. This is really the best part of Christmas Eve. We have the opportunity to go home and fellowship with family and eat good food.

But this hour is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are here to worship him. We are here to adore him because he's worthy. We are celebrating in the year 2021, 2021 years since he came, thereabouts.

Time itself is measured from his coming. And so here we are now to worship him. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. So Father, we are glad to come into your presence. We are so thankful for the indescribable gift that you have given us.

Jesus, that you would come to earth, take on flesh and dwell among us and all for the point of dying for our sins and then rising from the dead. We look to you this afternoon with joyful hearts. We wanna say thank you.

Thank you for what you've done. We are filled with joy. We praise your holy name. And we ask now, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would come and take over this worship service. That in the preaching, in the singing, in everything that transpires, that you will receive glory, that we would worship you in spirit and in truth.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

It seemed like you hesitated to say this afternoon. I almost said this morning, didn't you? I almost said this morning. How many people say good morning when you see each other at church? Merry Christmas.

Paul says in Corinthians that it is required in stewards to be found faithful. And we are blessed with a very faithful and gifted staff here at Cornerstone. It has been our tradition over the years that the congregation takes up an offering to make a gift to present to our staff.

And it's always our tradition to do this at Christmas Eve. We wanna thank the staff because we recognize that to be in the ministry, it's not just that individual, but it takes the whole family, commitment and sacrifice.

And again, we are thankful to have blessed and gifted staff here. And at this time we present a gift from the congregation and thank you for your commitment to serve here. So we wanna recognize Pastor Jeff, Pastor John.

I saw him earlier in the middle. Pastor John, Michael Stockland and family, they're always serving here and thankful for that. And also Tim Robinson, I know you're back there. So thank you all for your commitment and your service and your faithfulness.

Thank you. Let's stand and sing again.

Hope we hold this starlit night. A king is born in Bethlehem. Our journey long we seek the light. That leads to the hollowed manger ground. He felt in the silent age. 400 years can he be found.

But broken by a baby's cry. Rejoice in the hollowed manger ground. Praise God for the hollowed manger ground

Thank you, Amber, for sharing that gift. How blessed are we as a church to have a gift like that? Thank you, Lord. Let's pray and we'll open the word together. Gracious Heavenly Father, we do give you all the praise and all the thanks.

Everything we have comes from you. You are the God who gives good gifts to your children. You do not change like shifting shadows. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we thank you that here we are, years after the greatest gift ever was given, Jesus born into the world, that we have peace with you and we await his second coming.

We pray now as we read in the scripture and look to you, that you would remind us of the hope that we have in Christ. And Lord, we pray for any who are here today that maybe have not yet believed the good news, that you would grant them faith.

Make peace with them through the Prince of Peace, Jesus, our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen. The year was 1914. Because the Germans had turned, by and large, away from their Christian roots, a world war broke out.

We understand from history that the German higher criticism movement came in and most of the German elite rejected the old tradition. They rejected old time religion. They rejected faith in the Bible.

And for many reasons, war precipitated in Europe in the early 1900s. As World War I began, both sides began to dig in. It was a terrible war, devastating on both sides. And as the two forces clashed against each other, neither could make headway against the other.

And so they began to dig trenches and encamp themselves in the trenches. But on December 25th, 1914, something miraculous happened. Christmas morning. As a token of God's power to bring peace, the war halted for just one day.

Soldiers from the British side and from the German side emerged from the trenches, not shooting at one another, and met in the middle of no man's land. They began to exchange gifts. They even played a soccer match at one point along the line.

And they sang hymns and prayed together in the middle of no man's land. There was peace for just one day. An old hymn goes this way. I heard the bells on Christmas day. Their old familiar carols play.

And wild and sweet, the words repeat, of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And thought how as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom had rolled along the unbroken song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

But see, December 25th was a day of peace, a miracle, really. And then came December 26th. And just as quickly, the fighting resumed. So the hymn continues. And in despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

It's been 2 ,021 years since the Prince of Peace came into the world. And many will look out at the world and see the Russian troops amassing themselves along the border of Ukraine as we meet here tonight.

And Chinese soldiers threatening neighboring peoples. And many globalists who would do harm to all 190 countries in the world. There is no peace on earth, I said. How is it that the Prince of Peace has come and yet the world is still at war?

How could this be so? The answer is that in Jesus's first coming, he came to make peace with you. As an individual, he came to make peace with all of those who will accept the King's terms of peace. But he is coming a second time to bring peace on earth.

A government run from Jerusalem from which all of the world will derive peace. That day is coming and sooner than we think. Let's turn to Isaiah 9, verses six and seven. I bluffed, we're not gonna have a four-hour sermon, just two verses today.

This will be a 15-minute devotional. There is a supernatural peace that only the Prince of Peace can give without which you will experience unending war. There is a peace, Isaiah 9, six and seven. For to us, a child is born.

To us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The thrust of this passage is toward the peace of the nations, that one day the government will be upon his shoulder and there will be peace, a peace that has no end, an everlasting peace. Last Sunday, we looked at this passage briefly as evidence for the fact that Jesus is the Christ.

There are many prophecies written in the Old Testament that prove the Christian claim. One of them is the birthplace of the Messiah. Micah 5, two said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Another is here in Isaiah 9, six.

The coming Messiah is called Almighty God. Isaiah 7, 14 said, a virgin shall give birth to a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel. The time of Messiah's birth is told in Daniel chapter nine and time itself is measured from the coming of Messiah.

The first thing to note as we look at Isaiah 9, six and seven is that these words that we are reading this morning were written more than 700 years before Christ came. That's marvelous, that's astounding that God through a prophet foretold events yet future and 700 years later, when Jesus came, he fulfilled these words perfectly.

So let us look at them briefly. It begins this way, for to us, a child is born. The Jewish scribes recognize that this was referring to the Messiah, one who would come born to a woman and this child born was the son given.

Michael, if you could turn these two speakers off. Those are the poppers, thanks, appreciate it, Rob. Oh, thanks, Jay. For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. Now notice this, folks. It doesn't say the son is born.

Why does it say that the child is born but the son is given? The answer is that Jesus was the son before he was born. He has always been the son of God and yet he came and was given into our world, born to the Virgin Mary.

Notice next that the government shall be upon his shoulder. Have you ever looked out across this world and noticed that government is corrupt? That seems a self-evident statement. All the governments of the world are run by fallen, sinful man.

Imagine a world where the government is upon the shoulder of this one, this child who was born. Everything will be different at that point in time when the government is set upon his shoulder and he is seated on the throne of David.

And now let's look at the four names given. In fact, there's only one name but that name is described in four ways. His name singular shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.

The name of Jesus describes a wonderful counselor. And this is not the kind of counselor that you go to when your marriage is in trouble, although that would also well describe him. You can go to him with any trouble.

But here the word in Hebrew is referring to the kind of counsel that you have when you're the one on trial. It is a legal term. The counselor is the advocate who stands with you like a lawyer when you are the one on trial.

Isn't it good to know that we have a wonderful counselor? In fact, he is the only one who can mediate for us. All of us stand guilty before a holy God and we have a counselor, a wonderful counselor, who stands between us and the justice that we deserve.

And he pleads for us and he advocates for us, but he does not plead our righteousness, rather his own. He is a wonderful counselor because he himself is our righteousness. Next it says, he is called mighty God.

Mighty God. Let those words sink in for a moment. That the prophet of old, Isaiah, who told that Yahweh is the only true God, would say that Messiah would be called mighty God. That is a bold claim and it is fulfilled in none other than Jesus Christ.

The name Jesus means Yahweh is salvation. Jesus is God. He is Yahweh. Next we're told he's everlasting father. And is there any but God who can provide for our needs, care for us, be a father to us? God alone is the everlasting father.

And lastly, we focus now on Prince of Peace. When you look at the world, you recognize there is no peace. Why is that if the Prince of Peace has come? Says in verse seven, of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end.

And yet the world in which we live is not at peace. And that is because in the first coming of Jesus Christ, he came to reconcile individual sinners to himself. He's coming again to reconcile the world, to redeem the world, to restore the world.

But not all who are here this morning or listening will be in that kingdom. Only those who come to him in faith. The Prince of Peace has come to make peace between sinful man and a holy God. Now understand this.

When Isaiah brought these words, he told them a way of peace. In Isaiah 48, he says, had you obeyed the commandments, you would have peace. Like a river. Who here wouldn't love to feel peace like a river?

And yet the problem is, none of us keep the commandments in full. We each fall short of the glory of God. And at certain points, we break the commandments. And so we are found to be sinners. And that is what has broken the peace between a holy God and a sinner like myself.

There is enmity. Between a sinner who is a rebel and the God who made the sinner. And this is the bad news that we must first come to grips with. Sadly, I think that most prophets and priests who claim that for themselves are preaching a false message of peace.

Jeremiah saw a coming judgment on the people of Israel, on Jerusalem. And he said, the priests and the prophets, they bandaged the wound lightly, saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. The prophet Jeremiah was a true prophet of God.

And he said, there is coming judgment from a holy God. And that explains the war in your own heart. But the false prophets said, peace, peace, when there was no peace. They bandaged the wound lightly.

What does it mean to bandage the wound lightly? It is to give a false sense of hope. A false assurance of peace. When there is no peace. Imagine yourself in World War I. And the mortar shell comes across into your trench and you are hit by it.

And it is a mortal wound. And along comes the medic saying, fear not. I have a medical kit. And he opens the medical kit. And he takes out a Band-Aid. What help is this to you when you need a tourniquet?

A Band-Aid is bandaging the wound lightly. Peace, peace, when there is no peace. You are dying. No, you are dead. You don't need a tourniquet. You need the paddles. You need resurrection. See, this is the description of all of us who are fallen in Adam.

The soul who sins shall die. The wages of sin is death. The war, the war is in our hearts. And it's not out there. So many people are concerned about who is oppressing who. And where is the justice on earth?

But they're unwilling to look inside and say, is there war in my own heart? The false prophet says, peace, peace, when there is no peace. You see, there is an enmity, a war between sinners like us and the God who made us.

And this problem is great. It cannot be solved by a bandage. There is only one way to solve this problem. And this is the good news of Christmas. The Prince of Peace. That God himself would come in the flesh and his name is Jesus, the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the Prince of Peace, the Messiah.

He alone can make peace between sinful men and a holy God. He alone can raise the dead, the resurrection and the life. There is no life apart from him. He said, I am the way. The truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.

Jesus is the only hope of the world. He is the Prince of Peace. That is the meaning of Isaiah 9 .6. And so, any of us who come to Jesus for forgiveness of sin will find the Prince of Peace to be a perfect savior.

He is the one that reconciles us to a holy God. He died the death that we deserve. They buried him and on the third day, he rose from the dead. And he sits at the right hand of the father. And so, this is the bridge.

This is the peace. He himself is our peace. Come through him and you will find mercy and forgiveness of sin. Bandage your own wound or say that you're not dying and you will depart from him. There is coming a kingdom, a glorious kingdom.

The war of this world is almost over, but not yet. Until that kingdom is populated by those who come in faith. The war continues. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.

And according to Romans 5 .1, the Bible tells us, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Just a few weeks ago, there were missionaries bringing a message of peace, the gospel, to Haiti.

And some terrorists, seeking to extort money from them and hold them hostage, took captive 17 Christian missionaries and held them against their will, demanding payment from their friends in America. After 17 days of this trial, even little babies, you hear this beautiful sound of toddlers in the room.

It's a glorious sound, we love it. These children were held hostage. But as a token of God's grace, peace was brought, they were released, and this week, they made it home. Isn't that something to praise God for?

The hostages were released, some of them actually escaped, and they issued this statement back to their captors. We got a good amen back there. Here's what they said, we extend forgiveness to you. They said that to their captors.

These hostages, they told you plainly how you can also be forgiven by God if you repent. Our desire is that you and all who hear or read this statement may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace.

You see, there's horizontal peace offered through Jesus Christ. Having been held hostage for all of those days, even their children in peril, they could turn and forgive because of what Jesus did in their heart.

But they offered to the captors, more than their own forgiveness, they offered them the message of how they can be reconciled to God. God is the one with whom we have to do. Each of us has been at war.

Maybe you didn't realize that you were in a war. Maybe you've always looked out at the world. Maybe the last two years you've been rattled. You've seen how crazy the world has become and your heart has been stirred up.

And you look at all the injustices and you wonder, where is peace? The answer is not to be found outside, but rather to look to the one who can change you from the inside out. And that is Christ the Lord.

For these last couple of years, for me, it's been peace like a river. I haven't lost a night's sleep. And that's not because of me, that's Christ in me, the hope of glory. Christ himself is peace. Have you been lacking peace?

Has your heart been like turbulent waters? The answer is Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Would you invite him to come into your heart? Would you invite him to take away your sin? This is Christmas Eve. No better time of the year than now to think about this offer and to receive it by faith.

He's offering you the forgiveness of sin. What does that mean? It means that you're at war with a holy God. You've been in rebellion and he is offering you forgiveness. And that forgiveness is through the shed blood of Jesus and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

We're gonna close in a word of prayer. Maybe you're here this morning and you're not sure if you've ever experienced that kind of peace, peace with God. It's offered to you right now. Pray this prayer in your heart between you and God and God, he will hear you.

And if you have that peace already, you spend your time thanking God for the gift you have and praying for others to likewise receive that gift. Let's pray. Father, I wanna pray for all those who have come here tonight.

It's by no accident, it was you that drew them here and arranged the circumstances for them to hear of the Prince of Peace. So I pray for them, Lord, that you would help them believe, open their eyes.

Lord, I pray that you would give them resurrection, something they cannot do for themselves. Raise them from the dead unto eternal life. Guys, if you're here and you've never accepted Jesus, just pray these words in your own heart.

You don't have to say it out loud. Just say, God, I'm a sinner. I deserve punishment. I deserve to die. I've been at war with you, but I believe you sent the Prince of Peace. I believe in Jesus. His blood was shed on the cross.

He was buried, yet rose from the dead on the third day. I accept these terms of peace. Forgive me for my sins. I submit to Jesus. I bow the knee. I'm done fighting. I accept the gift of peace through Christ.

I turn from my sin to follow Christ. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. If you just prayed that prayer, would you talk to myself or Michael or Rob or Pastor John, one of us, and let us know that we can get you a Bible and continue to disciple and encourage you in the faith.

Praise God for the gift of salvation in Christ. Let's stand. In that same passage in Isaiah chapter nine, there were a people that dwelt in darkness, Zebulun and Naphtali. And God said, on you a light has dawned.

So this light represents Christ. Jesus is the light of the world. And he sent us out into the world. If you don't have a candle, Pastor John's got some here. You can pass them out. I hope we have enough.

It looks like our bald spot is even filled in in the back. So somebody brought us some just for men. All right, so I'm going to light the first candle and then we'll pass this flame around so that everybody can get that.

And we will sing O Holy Night and Silent Night by Candlelight. And the sun is just going down so the timing is perfect. Once the candles are lit, could someone over there just turn off all the lights?

There, I think we just saw a glimpse of what it will be like in the kingdom.

The light of the world, the Prince of Peace. As we blow out these candles, let's take the light of Christ in us to the Christmas parties you're about to go to. Share the gospel, the good news with your family and friends.

The light of the world has come. All right, thank you all so much for coming. We do have church on Sunday. I'll be teaching on ministry, what makes for effective ministry because all of us need to know that.

So please come back Sunday for one of the two services. God bless you all. Go in peace. So good to see you again.