Night Of Carols 2022

Tonight is a tradition in our church. We've been doing this for, I would say, at least a couple decades. The first night we ever did a night of carols, we just sang that night. And I think we sang all the carols and at the end of the night we all had sore throats and we could hardly talk.

And so it's developed over the years into this tradition in which we we like to worship. Worship together as we gather together. And you can worship as you sing. When you sing, you're singing to the Lord.

And you can worship because you're learning again. You're hearing the story again. Now the temptation at any time we sing Christmas carols is that it brings up kinds of memories. All kinds of memories.

And that's not a bad thing. I mean, you hear a song and you think about grandma or you think about sitting around the Christmas tree or something like that. But tonight, try to think about the words of every song.

Think about what every word is saying. Think about the message it's conveying. Think about it. You know what I found is even as I read scripture, as I pay careful attention to the words, things, I get a different perspective on them.

So I would encourage you tonight, pay attention to the words, listen to the message of all of these songs, and let it lead you in worship to our Savior, the Lord Jesus. So let's pray and then we can enter into worship, all right?

Father, we are here tonight. We're here tonight singing these songs, hearing these scriptures, hearing others speak to us because of what you did in the Lord Jesus. Our Savior entered human history. He knows every struggle we have.

He knows every joy we've experienced. Knows all of that. And he gave his life as a perfect sacrifice for us. Tonight, Father, we would ask that you would help us think clearly about our God becoming man so that we might know you and love you.

Help us tonight and we thank you already for the blessings we know we'll receive. In Jesus' name, amen.

The Light Shines in Darkness and the Child Is Born

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 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 for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

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.

In 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.

Zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Please stand. As a congregation we'll sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

Joseph and Mary in Matthew's Nativity Account

It 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.

The Shepherds and the Angelic Announcement

Please stand again. There were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their.

Flocks 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 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 clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts 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 shepherds 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 they had heard and seen as it had been told them.

Christmas Carols and the Joyful Response of Worship

A dazzling light, the voice of an angel, grip to a fell, one like a man, yet awesome and holy, a face so fierce, and yet strangely calm. Do not be afraid of great joy, your Savior is come, he is Christ the Lord, as a sign to you.

The one asleep on the hill, and all the air filled with angels, gloriousness they smelled. A stampede of great joy, your Savior is come, he is Christ the Lord, as a sign to you. The one asleep on the hill, and all the air filled with angels, and all the air filled with angels.

Stand again, sing joy to the world.

The Wise Men, Their Gifts, and God's Provision

Indulgent, I'm always stupid nervous, because I always point out little details from the familiar story that maybe we don't notice. And it's kind of scary up here. If you've been online for any length of time, you know about memes.

They're everywhere. Some are political, some are poignant, some are riotously hilarious. One of my favorite ones makes the round this time of year. It's a text only meme that, I told you I was nervous, it's a text only meme that posits the differences that might have been, had the three wise men been the three wise women.

They would have cleaned the stable, brought food and clothing, and given the Holy Family practical gifts. Aside from being one of the few memes that make me chuckle every single time I read it, there are a few things wrong with this.

Perhaps the most glaring is that there is no set number of the wise men, or magi, listed in their appearance in Matthew 2. And the accepted names of the magi, Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar, seem to have come from a manuscript written 500 years after the events.

You might have heard of the most famous iteration and things that these names appear in. It was written by a civil war general and it's called Ben-Hur. All we truly know from the biblical record is that the magi came from the east and went to Herod the Great to ask about Jesus.

The king assembled his advisors and they figured out that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem and he dispatched the magi to find Jesus and tell Herod about the child, quote, that I too may come and worship him, end quote.

The Christmas star, whatever astronomical event it was, showed the magi which house to go to and they were delighted once they were there. They entered the house, saw Jesus, left him three gifts, and left for home another way to avoid Herod.

Those are the bare bones of the story. Now let's look at a couple of things. First of all, verse 11 of Matthew 2 makes it plain that the small family is living in a house. This indicates that the mad rush to Jerusalem for the child's presentation and Mary's purification is over and they can stay somewhere a little more stable than an inn, pun unintended.

After all, the census was still going on, so after Jerusalem and a stopover in Nazareth that Luke mentions at the end of his nativity story, the family went back to Bethlehem. But more to the point, let's talk about the three gifts that the magi gave them.

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, according to verse 11. What odd gifts to give to a baby, but were they really that odd? I've read that each of these gifts symbolized one of the three roles that Jesus holds.

Gold for his kingship, incense for his priesthood, and myrrh for his role to die as our Savior. And each of these interpretations is completely true. I would argue though that these gifts were also very practical.

The magi were very wise men. They were in touch with God. They were shown when, where, and why to go. Though it's not explicitly stated in Scripture, I think they were also told what to bring. There was no way for them to know just how greatly God used those gifts to provide for the young family.

The very night of the magi's visit, after they had left, an angel told Joseph to get Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from King Herod, who was about to do something terrible. Verse 14 tells us that Joseph obeyed instantly, and verse 15 says they stayed there in Egypt until Herod died, though maddeningly we're not told how long that takes.

The only thing we're certain of is that the entire events of the Nativity story took approximately two years to unfold, and we're sure of that because Herod's order in verse 16 is to kill all the baby boys aged two and under.

And in the flight to Egypt was where Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides, did just that. Joseph and Mary were so poor they could not even afford a lamb for Mary's purification sacrifice after Jesus' birth.

They had to use two birds. How is a family that poor supposed to survive in one of the most expensive places to live in the entire ancient world? They could do it because through the magi God had provided them with very expensive herbs, very expensive oils, as well as a stash of gold.

Supplemented with Joseph's carpentry skills, which were universally needed and continue to be so to this day, the young family would be alright until it was safe for them to return to Nazareth. Matthew 2 .22 specifically says they did not return to Bethlehem, though the census in question historically went on for around four or five years.

Gotta love bureaucracy. Because Herod's son was reigning there and they were afraid of him, so instead they went home. So you see the gifts of the magi turned out to be practical ones after all. No matter what you have to give, God can and will use it to care for his people.

And yes, if you're one of his.

People, he'll take care of you. After all, God keeps his word. Now there was a man in.

Jerusalem whose name was Simon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all people, and a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people.

Israel. You just stand once more and sing Silent Night. ...reasons to worship our Lord and Jesus, Jesus Christ. He has came, Son of God, and.

Joined fellowship with God the Father, God the Holy Spirit. And he took on flesh for us. He died for the death that we deserve. He is a good God. He has done great things for us. There's every reason for us this holiday season to remember him and to praise him for being so good to us, for taking on our sins, if we just simply look upon him for salvation.

It behooves every one of us to place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ because he's our only Redeemer, our only Savior, our only hope. And so there's every reason this holiday season to be full of joy because he has done the work.

He has accomplished salvation for us to have eternal life. So let us praise him. Let us pray to him now. And we're not done yet because we have a great feast waiting for us in the back. So let us pray to God that he would bless that meal as we enjoy it together.

So let us pray. God in heaven, thank you so much for sending your son down as a babe. He deserved all royalty. He deserved all renown, but yet instead he, Lord, condescended all the way down to be born to poor parents.

And Lord, he lived a life despised by men, rejected, and yet he lived a life perfect in your eyes, perfect according to your standard, but yet was murdered anyways. Lord, we know that he did this all willingly so that we can have salvation if we place our trust in him.

So I pray, God, that as we look to Jesus, as we see his story, as he came to be born only to die, that we would place our trust in his sacrificial work and that his work would have its way in redeeming us and changing us and causing us to live a life of hope because Jesus Christ has accomplished salvation for his people.

And so may we look to him and reject our sin and grab hold of Jesus and praise him all our days, including this December, including this holiday month, Lord, because Jesus Christ is worthy. God in heaven, I thank you that we can enjoy a meal together as we consider what Jesus has done.

May you bless the food to our body and bless the fellowship that surrounds it. And may your name be glorified in us tonight. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. You're dismissed. You're welcome to go in the back and enjoy a meal.