Christmas Eve service 12/24/2021

Well, good evening, folks. Welcome to our Christmas Eve service. I'm Pastor Lars Larson. We greet you in the name of God, our Father, His Son, our Lord Jesus. We trust that you obtained a candle when you came in through the door for the end of the service.

We'll move to the perimeter of the sanctuary and light candles and sing Silent Night. So if you don't have one, please obtain one. And then we also have a order of service for you also. I see we're kind of gravitating over to the left here tonight,.

Aren't we?

Everybody's sitting over there. Good to see you. Good to have you. We're also airing our service this evening for our shut-in. So a number of them are joining us right now, I suspect. And so before we invoke God's presence with us, we're going to have the lighting of the Fifth Advent candle.

And so Brad and Debbie, if you would do that, please. Thank you.

The Prologue of John and the Light of Christ

Tonight's reading comes from John. 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.

And 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.

The fifth and final advent candle lit tonight symbolizes Jesus's birth as the advent of life.

Go to our Father in prayer, please. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity, this occasion we have to gather together in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus. And we celebrate our God, the incarnation, when you sent your eternally begotten Son into this world to assume our human nature, truly God, truly man, so that we might not only learn of you, our God, but that we might be redeemed and brought into relationship with you, to faith in him.

We pray, our God, that you would help us to celebrate this occasion as we gather together in your Son's name. Help us, our God, as we sing and as we read Holy Scripture, as we also consider the message of this Christmas Eve.

And so help us now, our God, we commit this time to you in Jesus's name, amen. The carols that we'll be singing this evening, the hymns will all be out of the red hymnal. And so for the first hymn, if you'll please turn in your red hymnal to hymn 195, and we'll sing this familiar carol.

Let's stand, please.

Joy to the world, amazing grace

Matthew 1:18-25 and the Virgin Birth

Well, on the Lord's Day mornings this Advent season, we've been reading through the Gospel of Luke, the infancy narrative of Luke, Luke one and two. And so we thought this evening we would read Matthews.

And so Pastor Jason will come and we'll read Matthew chapter one, 18 through 25.

Thank you.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel.

Which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name Jesus.

Reading through Matthew's infancy narratives later on,.

Isaiah 9 and the Promise of the Child-King

We're gonna make some comments of an Old Testament passage, a prophecy of the birth of Christ. One well known to most of us, and that's from Isaiah 9. And so I'm going to read the first seven verses of this chapter.

Nevertheless, a gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice there before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and for fuel of fire.

For onto us a child is born, onto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

And upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. And so we have a foretelling of the birth of Jesus over 700 years before that event in Bethlehem.

Well, Jennifer and Lizzie Weir will come now and sing the Christmas miracle. Let's turn in our red hymnals to hymn number 214, and let's stand to sing, please. Be seated, and Pastor Jason will now come and read Matthew 2, verses one through 12.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

When Herod the King heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them the time the star had appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. After listening to the king, they went on their way.

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.

Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Number 213, please. Your red hymnal. Once again, let's stand to sing. Please be seated. And Pastor Jason, why don't you come and read this too. Matthew 2, just a few verses here, 13 through 15.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt, I called my son.

Walk in darkness deep.

Now see the light of morning. The mighty God, the Prince of Peace. A child to us is born. Behold, who takes away our sin. Behold, who takes away our sin. Your King has come. Takes away our sin.

Who tells again. Who takes away our sin.

Matthew 2:16-23, Herod's Violence, and the Exile and Return of Christ

Pastor Jason will come down and read the last portion of Matthew's infancy narrative. Matthew 2, 16 through 23. And then Jason, if you'll pray for us, please.

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old and under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children. She refused to be comforted because they are no more.

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. For those who sought the child's life are dead.

And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and he went and lived in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled that he would be called a Nazarene.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the incarnation, for the miracle of the incarnation, God becoming flesh, God entering into history, God entering into his creation. Lord, we rejoice that this happened because through Christ there is salvation and there is salvation in no one else.

And so Lord, as we reflect upon the incarnation, as we reflect upon his birth and his life and his death, we thank you, Lord, that you imputed his righteousness to us and our sinfulness you imputed to him.

Double imputation. Lord, this is why we are saved because of Christ's work, his life, his death, and his resurrection. Lord, help us to remember these things as we reflect upon your word. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.

Earlier, we read from the prophecy of Isaiah. Again, over 700 years before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. In reading that passage, Isaiah first spoke about the very difficult situation that existed among the people of Israel at that time.

It was a period of gloom. It was a period in which the people of Israel were greatly distressed because God had brought judgment upon that nation. Although God had been very gracious and merciful to that nation for hundreds of years, the nation had not been responsive to God as God required of it.

Rather than the nation ordering its life according to the laws of God, it rather sought after other gods, lived in sinful defiance of God. And ultimately, it brought the final and full judgment of God upon that nation.

The Assyrian Empire was raised up by God and it came down and destroyed the nation. And Isaiah proclaimed this event was about to take place. Again, it would be a period of gloom, a period of darkness.

The land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, speaking about the region in Northern Samaria or Galilee, more heavily oppressed by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan and Galilee of the Gentiles, the people walked in darkness.

They were in darkness because God had turned away from them and brought his judgment upon them for their sin. And yet there's a theme expressed here in Isaiah nine, one that is actually common to Isaiah's prophecy and one that is actually frequently seen throughout the Old Testament, is that God has purpose to bring salvation to his people through judgment.

In other words, judgment precedes salvation. And it was his purpose, God's purpose in bringing salvation to his people, but first he would judge that people for its sin. He brought them to a place where they realized their great defiance and rebellion against God had brought this misery upon them, that they warranted God's wrath upon them because they lived in total disregard of their God who had created them and been so kind to them.

And so in the midst of this difficulty and this hardship and this judgment, God promised through his prophet that he would send a savior for them. He would be a king, one who would truly lead them in the way of righteousness, one who would deliver them from the wrath that was upon them.

He would be as light shining in a dark place, that land of Naphtali, that land of Zebulun under great darkness, the clouds of judgment lying over that land. And yet the prophet declared that they would see a great light.

This was the light of the revelation of God. And when we turn into the New Testament, we discover that that was a prophecy of the Lord Jesus himself, that when he began his earthly ministry in Galilee, that passage from Isaiah 9 is quoted, that those people in Galilee saw a great light and it was foretelling the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in which he revealed the way of salvation for these people that were caught in sin.

And so afterward, more heavily oppressed, God more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

And indeed the Lord Jesus came in fulfillment of that prophecy and revealed the way of salvation, a way to return onto God. And so how would this be done? How would salvation would be obtained? Well, God himself would raise up a son of David, a promised king who would rule them and guide them into the way of righteousness, who would reestablish the kingdom of God as it were, inaugurate the promised kingdom of God that God had promised David so long before.

And so in verses six and seven of Isaiah 9, we have this child, this son proclaimed so clearly. For onto us a child is born, onto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And at the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. For upon the throne of David over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts would perform this.

And so this prophecy was given through Isaiah to Israel in the eighth century, long before the birth of Jesus. God would spare that nation, would spare that people, that is a remnant of that people and sending them a savior.

And so in contrast to experiencing the wrath of God, they would be delivered from the wrath of God by God himself, sending a savior. And those who looked to him and believed on him and trusted him as the promised king, as the promised Messiah, submitted to him as their Lord, he would save them from their sin.

He is the judge, God is a judge to those who reject him. We are to trust ourselves to the Lord Jesus to spare us from the judgment of God that is upon this world. Jesus Christ will indeed be a savior to any and all that come unto him humbly and believe on him as their savior, as their king.

Now, this is a word of hope for hopeless sinners. They had absolutely no resources on which to fall back on to deliver them from their enemies. They, God had abandoned them, they were weak, the Assyrian empire was far too great for them to withstand.

And so they were brought to be humble before God and they cried out to God for mercy. They had nothing by which to merit God's favor toward them, but it was solely based upon the mercy and grace of God to them.

And so this word of hope is given to hopeless sinners and that God himself would send a child, would send his son to be their savior. And so we have this promise of a savior in Isaiah nine, six and seven.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder. Again, the promise of a savior would have been understood as a descendant of King David and only he would be the legitimate heir to the throne of Israel.

It is said for unto us a child is born. This speaks of our Lord Jesus with respect to his human nature. He's a child, a holy child. It's written in the present tense to show the certainty that this child will indeed be born.

Unto us a child is born. He doesn't even say will be born, but is born to emphasize its certainty. Jesus Christ is God who became a child born unto us. It was necessary that the savior not just be the son of God, but that he be a man also.

And so he's depicted here as a child and only a man can be a redeemer of man, of fallen man. But this child born unto us is not only a child, but he's also described as a son who is given to us. This expresses the fact that the savior is God himself.

A child is born, a son is given. This speaks of the two natures of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the free gift of God to his people as was sung a little bit ago. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

Christ had to be a man to die as our representative in order to represent us before God, but he must be God so that his death upon the cross might be of infinite worth and be sufficient to pay for our sins.

And so God caused his child to be born among us, but he's also given us his son. And it's declared that the government would be upon his shoulder. Some ancient kings would wear a golden chain draped over one shoulder as a symbol of their kingly authority.

And the prophet declares that the authority would be laid upon the shoulder of this child, showing the honor that was conferred upon him. This child was destined from birth to be the king over the kingdom of God.

His government consists of giving forth his laws as the ruler of the kingdom. His government involves leading and enabling his people to submit to his rule. In his rule, he subdues the enemies of his people, protecting his own from all forces that would threaten their well-being.

The authority of the Lord over his kingdom is conferred upon him by his father. It rests upon his shoulder. He carries the responsibility because his father called him to the task and gave him the responsibility.

And the Lord Jesus himself, of course, declared after his resurrection, all authority has been given unto me in heaven and earth. And then this child who was given, this son who was given to us is described also as a ruler, a glorious ruler.

He's depicted, first of all, as wonderful and a mighty counselor, a wonderful counselor. Actually, these two words should probably be read together. Wonderful describes the quality of him being a counselor.

This is a prophecy of the wisdom that our Lord Jesus possesses. A king must be wise if he is to lead his nation rightly and be successful in defeating the enemies of his people. And our Lord Jesus Christ, of course, being the son of God, possesses all knowledge.

This speaks of his ability to wage warfare on behalf of his people and do all that is necessary to secure their eternal well-being. We pray for our nation's leaders, that they may be given wisdom from God to lead us rightly, that they might make wise decisions for our welfare.

And our nation's leaders have not always been wise in their leadership. They've not always foreseen the danger to which they've exposed us until it was too late. Not so with the government of our Lord Jesus in the kingdom of God.

For he, of course, is all wise. The life of the citizens of the kingdom of God are never threatened, they are secure. He is a wonderful counselor. He knows how to lead us. He knows how to protect us. He knows how to thwart the efforts of those enemies that would destroy us.

He knows how to guide his people in a flawless manner because he's a wonderful counselor. And then his name would also be called mighty God. Not only does our king know how to lead us, but he has all power that he might lead us.

He is not only omniscient, our wonderful counselor, but he's omnipotent, he is the mighty God. Not only does he know how to lead us, he in fact does so perfectly and absolutely because he's mighty God.

He is mighty God and that he is the creator of all things as the New Testament tells us. All things were created by him and without him, not anything was made that was made. Our Lord Jesus is mighty God and that he's also the ruler of all that is.

He manages all events of all creatures in all of history. He governs history through providence. That is, he acts behind the scene ordering all events of all people's lives in order to accomplish the purposes of his father.

And so our Lord Jesus, our wonderful counselor, is all-knowing and he's also mighty God and that he's all-powerful. And then his name will also be called everlasting father. We should not understand this as being equated with God the father.

Now indeed, God is a holy trinity. God the father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit are one God and they have one essence. We believe in one God, not three. Nevertheless, the son is not the father. The trinity manifests himself in three different persons but here the son of God is projected as being described as the everlasting father.

This describes his relationship to his people. We speak of George Washington as the father of our nation and here the Lord Jesus Christ is proclaimed, prophesied to be the everlasting father of his people and so this speaks about his concern for his people, his care for them.

He is watching over them as one once wrote. Christ is a father to these people unto everlasting. He will never die and they will never be left fatherless. He and they will continue in this relationship.

He as such supplies them with everlasting provisions. As a father, he clothes them with everlasting raiment, holiness, he gives them an everlasting portion, promotes them to everlasting honor, saves them from an everlasting salvation, bearing an everlasting love to them.

And then fourthly, his name shall be called Prince of Peace. A prince is one who rules in the authority of his father and here Christ is described as a prince, a ruler, whose realm is characterized by peace.

We read in the scripture that Satan is a prince of the power of the air. That is, he's been given rule over demonic forces in this present age. Christ is a prince too and that he rules. His kingdom is the opposite of Satan's, which is characterized by sin and violence, uncleanness and injustice.

Christ rules over a kingdom characterized by peace. Peace set forth in the Bible comes in two forms. There is the object of peace, a state of peace that all Christians enjoy with God. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

We are in a state of peace. Before coming to faith in Christ, we were his enemies and he regarded us as his enemies. He was our enemy, we were his enemies. We were in enmity with one another. But through the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, that came to an end for all those who believe on him and therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a state of peace, an objective peace that every child of God equally shares and enjoys through Jesus Christ. But the scriptures also speak about a subjective peace. Not only does Christ as the prince of peace rule over a kingdom at peace with God, but he sees to it that his people feel themselves to be at peace.

Now, this is subjective. This rises or falls depending on any number of things and will vary from individual to individual. But the true Christian may indeed experience this peace that passes all understanding, this subjective peace and it's brought to us through faith in Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, Isaiah's prophecy promises full salvation for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. We through faith are the citizens of his kingdom. When we believe on who he is, we mentioned at the outset that God brings salvation through judgment.

He did back in Isaiah's day and he does for each and every one of us who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. He brought us salvation through the judgment of God that fell upon Jesus Christ himself when he died upon the cross on behalf of sinners.

That's why he died. He was suffering in the place on behalf as a substitute for his people. But he also brings us salvation through bringing judgment upon us. The Holy Spirit convicts the world. He judges the world.

And when God begins to draw his people onto himself, he first convicts them of sin and shows them their great guilt and their helplessness and the fact that they need someone outside of themselves to deliver them.

And so God saves us through judgment. Coming to Christ, we are to judge ourselves. We are to acknowledge and believe what God has declared about us. We are sinners. We fall short of the glory of God. There's only room for one Lord in this world.

This is God's world and that Lord is not you or me. God has declared that Jesus Christ is Lord and those who humbly come to him in faith and embrace that, believe on him and submit unto him are graciously brought into that kingdom and they can enjoy this everlasting peace, everlasting joy, everlasting salvation through him.

And that's what we're commemorating and celebrating the birth of our savior into this world. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

Amen.

Candle Lighting, Silent Night, and Benediction

If you would, folks, please take your candle and let's go to the perimeter of the sanctuary, please. And we'll begin to light these candles and then we'll sing holy night, silent night. Perhaps somebody could help these folks over here.

John, why don't you go over here and help these folks against the wall, please. And just before we sing, let's pray. Our father, we thank you for this Christmas season. We thank you, our God, that we have this opportunity and privilege to gather with your people and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ into this world.

Thank you, father, for having given us this child, having given us this son, your son, our God, to be our savior, to be our Lord, to be our king. We pray that you would help each of us, our God, to have a sincere and full, a genuine faith in him.

And so we pray, our God, that you would be merciful and gracious. May the blessed Holy Spirit make the Lord Jesus Christ very vividly real and apparent and needful to each and every one of us. And we pray, our God, as we gather as families with one another tomorrow, perhaps, we pray that this spirit of Christmas, our focus and understanding of Jesus Christ would be foremost on our hearts and our minds.

For we pray these things, our father, in Jesus' name, amen. Check at the sign Glory stream from heaven afar Behold, sing hallelujah Christ the Savior is born of God He faith and love in grace Jesus, Lord at thy birth, Jesus, Lord at thy birth At night, holy night, wondrous star Thy angels let us sing Christ the Savior is Christ the Savior

Amen.

We'll ask Elder Dave Ferrer to come and give us a benediction. And upon his amen, we can blow out our candles.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Amen.