Keep sharing good news without ads.
No description available
Well, good evening. Welcome to the First Baptist Church. We greet you in the name of God, our Father, and His Son, our Lord Jesus.
Welcome.
Pastor Lars Larson, as probably most of you know. And we're pleased you're able to join us this evening for this Christmas Eve service. We will be singing some Christmas carols congregationally. And we have a handful of passages of scripture that we'll be reading regarding this Christmas event.
And then a short message toward the end of the hour. And then, of course, we will conclude with singing Silent Night, Holy Night, along with the candle lighting. So we trust you have a candle in hand and perhaps an order of the service as we begin.
So let's pray and ask our God's blessing upon our gathering, please. Our Father, it's with great joy that we're able to gather together this evening and to celebrate, commemorate the birth of your dear Son into our world.
We thank you, our God, for the salvation from sin that you give us through faith in Him. And we pray, our God, that as we sing familiar Christmas carols and perhaps read some familiar passages of scripture, that the blessed Holy Spirit would take these words, Lord, and impress them once again freshly upon our souls.
Help us, our God, to love the Lord Jesus supremely, believe on Him completely, and yield unto Him as our Savior, as our Lord, fully. And so we commit ourselves to you, our God, this hour to you, for it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Well, Alan will lead us in singing this evening. And so the first hymn is hymn number 208. All the hymns this evening are in your red hymnal. Come and light the fifth candle. We've been lighting the Advent candles every Lord's Day this month.
And this is the fifth, the Advent of life. Thank you.
Tonight's Advent reading is from John chapter one, one through 14 in chapter eight, verse 12. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through Him all men might believe. He himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and through the world was made through Him. The world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.
Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
This candle that we light tonight symbolizes Jesus' birth as the advent of life.
Sing another carol. Please turn to your red hymnal, 196, 196.
Passages from the Bible this evening, and we're gonna begin with an Old Testament prophecy of the birth of the Lord Jesus. It was given by the prophet Isaiah well over 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
And so this is in Isaiah chapter nine, the Lord was revealing to Isaiah that He would send a king who would inaugurate the kingdom of God. It was a time of great difficulty and darkness for Israel, and so this was a word of hope.
It was to be embraced in faith, because as they looked about themselves, looked about their land, there seemed to be no indication of relief. And yet this word of promise came from God, Isaiah nine. But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish.
In the former time, He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time, He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of His burden and the staff of His shoulder, the rod of His oppressor, you have broken, as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle, tumult in every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For unto 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. And of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end.
And on the throne of His Father, David, over His kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
And so the promise of the kingdom of God and a descendant of King David who would rise as its king. Well, at this time, we'll have a duet. Two young ladies will come and sing for us, Jesus, joy of the highest heaven.
Passage to be read is in the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter one. So we advance 700 years and here we have the beginning of announcement that the Savior will be born and Jason Austin will read for us. This is Luke 1, 26 through 38.
Luke 1, 26 through 38. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom, there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, how will this be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you.
Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, I am a servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.
All right, and if the choir will come at this time and they will sing for us, still, still, still. And we'll come, he'll read for us Luke two, one through seven and so in the Isaiah passage, we saw a prophecy of the coming Savior, Jesus Christ, 700 years before the birth of Christ.
And in the previous passage read, it was the annunciation of Gabriel to Mary that she would be the mother of the Savior. And now nine months later, we read of the birth of Jesus, Luke two, one through seven.
Luke two, verses one through seven. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria and all went to be registered each to his own town.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the household and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
And then the choir at this time will sing the anthem, the Christmas miracle. Next passage we'll read follows immediately after the one that Jason just read. This is Luke two, eight through 20. And so after the birth of the Lord Jesus recorded at the beginning of Luke chapter two, we have angels appearing to shepherds in the field and the implications and the importance of the birth of this child is revealed to them that he is the savior of people everywhere, even lowly people such as shepherds.
And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling claws, 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 among those with whom he is pleased.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. And now the choir will sing one more piece for us. And this is God So Loved the World.
Let's turn again in our red hymnals.
To the Christmas carol angels from the realms of glory. And Alan's gonna come, Lord willing, and help lead us in this song. Hymn number 218 in the red hymnal. And why don't we all stand to sing, please?
The passages that we read, beginning with Isaiah nine, and then into Luke one, and then the two passages in Luke chapter two. And that common thread, of course, was the coming of Jesus Christ as the promised king and the son of David.
In fact, in each of those four passages, David was mentioned personally and directly, Jesus Christ being the son of David. And then we just sang a Christmas carol about the newborn king. And this is really a central aspect of our Christmas message.
In fact, we would say further, it is really a central fact of the entire biblical message. And it's one that's not greatly emphasized, frankly. Oftentimes, the gospel of Jesus Christ is set forth in a rather simplistic, all too simplistic manner, in which this is how you can have your sins forgiven and have eternal life.
It's free, free gift, just believe on Jesus. And oftentimes, that would seem to be the substance of the message that's proclaimed. It really doesn't do justice to the entire biblical message. Actually, the primary theme, the major theme that was on the lips of Jesus throughout his whole earthly ministry was that of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God, we would argue, is really the overarching theme, the unifying theme that is found throughout all of the Holy Bible, from Genesis all the way to the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation.
And of course, it centers in the birth of Jesus, his life as the promised king, his death upon the cross, his resurrection, his ascension, and then his enthronement as king over all. He's Lord of lords and king of kings.
This idea of the kingdom, again, dates way back all the way to the early chapters of Genesis when God created Adam and Eve. He, of course, placed them within a beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden, which was a little sanctuary, a little haven, as it were, in which they were to basically manage or govern the creation of God on his behalf.
Adam and Eve were made to be kings, a king and a queen over governing on behalf of God. In fact, they were appointed to be not only a king, but also a priest representing God and prophets, bringing forth the word of God to the creation.
They had a great, great role, and they were given authority, and they were given access, of course, to everything that God had made within that garden. They knew, of course, that God was actually the king of his creation, and that is suggested throughout the Genesis account of creation.
God is the king of his creation. And Adam and Eve and their descendants were to reign in the name of, on behalf of God over his creation. It was a wonderful privilege, opportunity. And yet, of course, it's one they did not long hold, for we read of Adam and Eve sitting in the garden.
Basically, they rejected the authority of God as their king, and they insisted that they would be their own lord. They wanted to be the ruler of their own lives and the ruler of their own destiny, and so they took that fruit.
They sinned against God, and when they did, they fell. And so no longer were they rulers over the earth, but rather the earth ruled over them, and sin ruled over them, and they were cast out of paradise, of course.
And we read of the terrible consequences of their sin as it increased and manifested itself in the subsequent generations, culminating, of course, soon in the flood that destroyed the world. All through history, however, God has remained the true king over all his creation.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the whole creation fell with them and by them, through them, and upon sin entering the world, there was really nothing that was subjected to God as king. He was still authoritative king, he was sovereign, but nobody or nothing submitted to him as rightful king.
And basically, the Bible story is the account of God recovering his creation to himself, bringing his creation ultimately back into a willing subjection to himself. And so God is king, and by the time history is completed, all of creation will acknowledge once again and submit to God as king, and those who refuse will be banished forever from his presence into everlasting contempt, it's said, everlasting condemnation.
But those that submit to his rule as king, of course, will inherit a kingdom that the Father prepared for them from the foundation of the world, as Jesus said at the end of Matthew chapter 25, a glorious kingdom of peace and joy and righteousness with King Jesus as their king and their ruler.
And so the Bible is a history that's unfolding account of how God brings about the recovery of his lost creation. And of course, fallen man would not respond to God, submit to God, so God began to call out people to himself, first individuals, hopefully they would submit to him as their king, and a few did.
You had early on, you had of course Enoch who walked with God, you had Noah, his family, that were spared and there were some after, there was Abraham, the patriarchs, of course, but God desired a kingdom.
And so he began to form a people collectively through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And of course, he sent them as a family into Egypt and then 400 years later, brought that family out as a nation and gave them his laws.
And again, Israel was to order its existence, its life with recognizing that their God was their king. And they were to order their existence, their life within the promised land, kind of like a renewed paradise according to God's laws with God himself as their king.
But of course, they failed in every way. And the history of the Old Testament really is a history of failure and rebellion on the part of the Israelites rejecting God their king. God ruled over them directly for some time and yet they again refused his rule.
They would, due to sin, become captive. They would lose their liberty. They would become captive to other peoples. And so God in his mercy would raise up judges. They were his representatives. He was the king and he'd send them in, judges as, say, saviors or deliverers.
You have the book of Judges that recounts these things. But of course, by the end of the book of Judges, it's revealed that this was not sufficient to bring a people into a willing submission and subjection to God.
In fact, in those days, the Bible says, it concludes with the book of Judges, there was no king in Israel, but rather every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And so they would need something more than just God in heaven as king and with them as fallen creatures attempting to live before God.
They would need someone who could deliver them and guide them and direct them and enable them to live before God in his kingdom. And so God created these kings, the dynasty, to rule over Israel. And he first appointed these kings.
They were supposed to rule on behalf of God, just like Adam was in the garden. But instead, that first king appointed, King Saul, what a disappointment he was. He ruled over Israel according to his own will.
And he brought misery, difficulty, defeat to the people of Israel. But God in his mercy and grace raised up a king, King David, who took over after King Saul. And David is described in the Bible as a man after God's own heart.
And what that simply means is when David ruled as king over Israel, he recognized that God was the true king and that he was ruling on behalf of God. And so what he sought to do within the kingdom of Israel was the will of God, apply that rule over the people accordingly, to deliver his people from oppression and enemies and allow them and enable them to live a life of godliness, righteousness in submission to the true God in heaven.
Of course, David himself failed miserably in several ways. But in comparison, in contrast to the others about him that preceded him, he was a stellar man to such an extent that God came to him on one occasion because David had it in his heart.
You know, I'm living in this great palace here in Jerusalem and God's down there dwelling in that tabernacle, in that tent. He wanted to build God a great palace, a great temple far greater than his own to give glory to God as the rightful king.
But because different reasons, God told David, no, you're not gonna be the man who's gonna build a temple, but rather I'm gonna have your son build the temple. But it was good in your heart that you wanted to.
And so David, you're not gonna build me a house, but rather David, I promise that I'm gonna build you a house and what he meant by that is that he was going to build David a dynasty, his household. In other words, his descendants, those who came forth from his lines would rise to be kings over Israel.
And he promised that if those kings of Israel lived before him and governed his people rightly, that they would be blessed, the land would be secure, the people would be safe and blessed before God. And of course, Solomon, the son of David, seemed to be that promised son in every way, at least for a time.
But in the latter years of his life, he too fell terribly. And as a result, the kingdom of Israel, of course, underwent civil war, was divided into two kingdoms, Israel in the north, Judah in the south.
And then different sons of David rise and there was an optimism. Every time one of these sons of David came to the throne, maybe this is the one in whom the glorious kingdom of God is truly gonna be realized.
But it was only met with further deterioration of the kingdom, disappointment on the part of the people. And finally, over the course of several centuries, the northern kingdom, because of its rebellion, of course, was destroyed by God's judgment through the Assyrians.
And then God destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah through the Babylonians. He cast them off into the nations in exile. And there were no longer any Davidic kings, it would seem. And yet God, in his mercy and grace, kept a son of David alive, even in exile in Babylon, preserving that lineage.
And this is when the prophets of Israel really came to the forefront. In the midst of this darkness and gloom and hopelessness, they held forth the fact that God was indeed gonna raise up a son of David.
He described Israel as being like a clear-cut forest. There were no trees left. And yet he said there's going to be what appears to be a dry stump. And that was David's family, his father Jesse. And out of that stump, a little branch would come forth.
And it was a prophecy of Jesus, ultimately, the son of David coming forth to be this king that no other king could have been. And so the promises came down through the Old Testament as the Jews anticipated a Messiah.
And they were looking, of course, one, to be quite like David, who led them in great victory and expansion of the kingdom, in which there was peace, enjoyed for quite some time prosperity. And so when we have Jesus come on the scene when he was 30 years of age and he began to speak about the kingdom of God and there was anticipation through his miracles and whatnot, this must be the one, there was disillusionment, disappointment, and even rejection.
This couldn't be the one, for he wasn't the kind of king that we were anticipating. But rather he was going about the land serving, humble, never retaliated when he was abused. He wasn't acting and living like anything they were anticipating.
But he was one who was completely obedient to his heavenly father. And then of course, when they anticipated him coming into Jerusalem, finally in that last week, they thought this was he. They threw palm branches down, they celebrated.
They sang out, the people sang out, Hosanna is he who comes in the name of the Lord. This is the son of David, he's king. And within a week, of course, he was crucified because the leadership of Jerusalem wanted nothing of him.
They were threatened by him. And so he suffered and died upon that cross. He lived a life of difficulty and hardship, a life of deprivation. He had no place to lay his head. There were times when his own mother and his brothers thought he was insane.
There were times when his own disciples were tempted to walk away from him. Nobody really understood who he was and really what he was like. And when he died, he died alone on that cross. And yet throughout his entire life, he was obedient to his heavenly father.
He had submitted to the law of God completely and fully. He lived the kind of life that was demanded of Adam and Eve and of every one of us. A life that none of us could live, however. He did, however.
And then, of course, when he died upon the cross, it wasn't because they took his life from him, he gave his life. He paid for all the transgressions of his people, all the culminated acts of sin that his people ever committed against God, all the transgressions of God's law, breaking God's law, failing to keep God's law in every action and every word spoken, every thought that coursed through our minds, every attitude ever exhibited contrary to the law of God.
He paid for those sins on the cross, suffered the penalty. He endured the eternal wrath of God in that cross on behalf of his people, thereby satisfying the justice of God, the law of God. And then they buried him.
Of course, death could not hold the son of God because he was sinless. Death is a penalty of sin. He was without sin the third day he rose again, and he didn't just come back to life. He came back to life and ascended right up to heaven, and God the Father, when he came, he handed Jesus Christ, Revelation 5, a scroll, which is an emblem of the authority of the kingdom.
And the lamb that was once slain took that scroll from the Father's hand, and he began to open that scroll, executing the judgment of God in history. And King Jesus, since the day he rose and he ascended into heaven, he's been doing two things.
He's been judging the world. Who's in control of this world now?
People? The devil?
No, King Jesus is. And what we're seeing manifested is the righteous judgment of God within history. But thankfully, he's doing something else also, and that is he is calling a people out to himself. To populate his kingdom.
And how do people come into that kingdom? They come by recognizing he is the promised king. He is the deliverer. He is the one who can save us from not just the penalty of sin, but also the power of sin, and ultimately from the very presence of sin when he returns.
And so those who bow the knee now and confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he's king, they do enter that kingdom now. They submit to Jesus and follow him. They look to him to enable them by the power of the Holy Spirit to live the kind of life that he would have them live.
And so we live that way as Christians. It's a life of faith demonstrated in how we think, how we feel, how we speak, Lord willing, how we act. And yet we're saved not because of these things that we do.
We're saved because of who he is and what he did. And one day he's coming back. And the Bible tells us he's gonna be like a shepherd. He's gonna cause all to come forth from the grave. And he's gonna separate all humanity into two groups, just like a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats.
He'll pronounce blessing upon his sheep. Come, you blessed ones, inherit the kingdom prepared to you by the Father from eternity. And of those who live their lives here in this world in defiance of him or ignoring him, disregarding him as God's Lord, as God's king, they will be consigned to everlasting contempt, destruction, cast out of the kingdom.
And then there will be an eternity of blessedness when we're delivered wholly and fully from the very presence of sin. That's basically what the Bible is about. And this story of Christmas, of course, is the coming into history of this promised king.
And it's our responsibility to recognize this. We sing the carols, we hear the stories, we read it in our Christmas cards and whatnot. But do we truly understand what this is all about? And have we embraced him, Jesus, your Lord?
And I humble myself and believe on you. I know I'm rebellious, I know I'm sinful, I know I don't deserve the least of your mercies, but I need a savior. And you're the one whom the Father's appointed.
And therefore, I entrust myself to you. And those who do receive the glorious gift of everlasting life and entrance in and enjoyment in the everlasting kingdom.
Amen?
That's right.
Thank you, Father, for your word and this glorious gospel story, the good news of the kingdom, of our savior, of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help each and every one of us, our Lord, to comprehend these matters and believe them wholly and solely because you set it forth in your most wholly authoritative word.
And help each of us as Christians, Lord, to rejoice in our savior as we commemorate this incarnation when your eternal son took upon himself human nature and became one of us in order to save us and to govern us and lead us into your everlasting kingdom.
Help us, our Lord, in these things. We believe, help us, our unbelief. And if anyone here, Lord, is a stranger to these things, we pray that this word would grip their soul and that they would ponder it and think upon it until they come to the place where they rest in Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.
Well, if you'll take your candles, please, and let's move to the perimeter of the sanctuary. And be sure and have your sheet with you. There you have three verses of silent night that we'll be singing in a moment here.
And if someone will begin to light the candles, we'll get them all lit before we sing. Maybe a couple of you men can bring a lit candle up and get it started up in front, too, and on the sides. Alan, we could use one up here, right here, up here.
Dave, thank you. Yeah, Glenn.
All right, Dave, thank you.
For this Christmas season, we pray your blessing on everyone here this evening. Help us to go forth from this place, Lord, with faith in Jesus Christ. Help us to enjoy and rejoice with family over the glorious news of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ.
For we pray in his name, amen. Thank you, and God bless you.