Good evening. Welcome. Merry Christmas! I’m Pastor Joseph Jurger, and I’m happy to see all of your smiling faces here this evening. Welcome to our visitors, family, friends, and guests.
Just a couple of announcements as we get started: this evening will be a candlelit service. At the end, it will be a service of lessons and carols. Ordinarily, I will ask that you do follow along with your Bibles as you have the inclination, but this evening, I’m going to ask that you actually just listen. Just listen to the Word of God and hear Him speak to you this evening as we read our scriptures.
Secondly, your bulletin has everything you need in it this evening. You don’t need to fumble through the hymnals to find out which verses and which pages and all the rest. We’re trying to keep everything easy and friendly for everyone here this evening. So lastly, as I said, please listen to our scripture and then sing with joy as we gather to praise our Lord and Savior and celebrate the miracle, mystery, and wonder of the incarnation.
As we begin to celebrate in joy, let’s go ahead and stand and spend a few moments passing the peace of Christ and wishing everybody Merry Christmas.
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So let us begin our evening of worship with a responsive call. This evening, scripture begins:
‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.’
Come, let us worship God with this service of light and song. Throughout this season of Advent, we spend our time lighting candles as a reminder of Jesus, who is the light of the world. This evening, we begin by relighting the first Advent candle called Hope.
Then we relight the second Advent candle called Faith, the third candle called Joy, the fourth called Peace, and this evening, we light for the first time the center candle, which reminds us of Christ, the light of the world.
Tonight for our scripture reading, we will be joining our voices with the psalmist King David, who wrote:
‘O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord; bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
‘Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.’
‘Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it. Let the field exalt, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes. For He comes to judge the earth; He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.’
Tonight, as we gather together here, we celebrate and remember the birth of our King with all of the elect of God—past, present, and future. We honor the Prince of Peace, who has come and is coming again to renew all things. We sing for joy at the wonders of His creation, and we rejoice in the salvation He brings to us.
We believe that the Lord is to be praised, that He who made the heavens and the earth reigns in glory and power for the benefit of His people. We look forward to the day of His coming with hope—His day of judgment and the day of our final redemption.
Let us join together and worship Jesus Christ, our newborn, risen, and returning King. Hallelujah. Amen.
Let us pray.
‘Lord Jesus, we thank You for the wonder of creation, for our lives, and the great salvation You have purchased for us. Help us to hear the glad tidings of Your gospel with joy and to respond to You with love all the days of our lives. In Your name we pray. Amen.’
Now, what’s not printed in your bulletin is we have a little Christmas surprise. If all of the kids would come down and bring one parent or adult with them too, please, we have a present for you all.
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We’re going to stay down here. No, we’re not sitting down; we’re going to stay up. It’s going to be short. We’re actually going to go through with this on Sunday, but we’re going to give them to you now. So we have books for everybody.
Now, this was actually a Christian storybook that was written by one of my seminary classmates. You’re welcome! For you guys as well. This classmate of mine is also a PhD candidate right now—not currently serving in a church but is, as he’s listed, a scholar in residence. But it seemed appropriate and good for this evening.
And then y’all can thank Miss Ashley for remembering and thinking about getting the candy canes for all the kids as well. I wasn’t that thoughtful. So if y’all turn around and look at Ashley and say thank you.
So, Merry Christmas!
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As we continue to worship, please join with me as I turn off my other microphone. Join with me in prayer.
‘Lord Father God, Creator of the heavens and earth, You have given us so much. You have given us the greatest gift of all in Your Son Jesus, who was born for us as the true Christmas gift. We thank You and gather together to worship You for all that He has done and all that He is doing even now for us. We pray that as we are gathered here, that You fill us with Your presence, that You join us, and that You lift us up in hope for life to come in Your eternal kingdom. That You strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ alone, and that You give us joy—a joy that we will share and pass forth these good tidings. Lastly, we thank You for the promised peace that Christ will bring with Him in the end at the restoration of all things. We pray this in the name of the one who taught us to pray by praying, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Our first lesson this evening comes from the prophet Isaiah, beginning in chapter 9.
Isaiah writes:
‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with justice and with judgment from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’
Amen.
From the scripture, we turn to our first carol, ‘The First Noel.’ Please stand.
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You may be seated.
Our second lesson comes from the Gospel of Luke.
If I can turn to the right page:
‘And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
‘And the angel came in unto her and said, ‘Hail, thou that art highly favored; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.’ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
‘And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of His father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom, there shall be no end.’
‘Then said Mary unto the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God, nothing shall be impossible.’
‘And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.’
Our second carol is ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.’ You may remain seated.
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For our third lesson, we turn to the Gospel of Matthew.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
‘And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.’ Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,’ which being interpreted is ‘God with us.’
‘Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called His name Jesus.’
Our next carol is ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful.’
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Our fourth lesson, we turn back to the Gospel of Luke.
‘And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
‘And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.
‘And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.’
Our next hymn is ‘Away in a Manger.’
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And Luke continues:
‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
‘And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
‘And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’
‘And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, ‘Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.’
‘And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child. And all they that heard it wandered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
‘But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.’
Our next hymn is ‘While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.’
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Please stand.
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Please be seated.
Let us pray.
‘Lord, we thank You for the joy that is within us. We thank You for the opportunities to gather together and celebrate and worship You and all that You have done. We ask now that You continue to be with us, to open our hearts and open our minds to receive and understand what You have given for us to hear and that You may expand us, that You may strengthen us in faith, in joy, in hope, and in love for You. Amen.’
Now, the Apostle Paul hasn’t been mentioned yet this evening, but he wrote in his letter to the Ephesians words about Jesus which may best summarize our Christian faith and feelings concerning our Christmas holiday remembrance. He wrote:
‘In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Him—things in heaven and things on earth.’
The birth of Jesus, the incarnation of Christ, the occasion of God the Son taking on flesh—is that moment, or at least the beginning of that fullness of time moment. The fullness of time is best understood as being the whole of Jesus’s earthly life, from His conception to His ascension and heavenly enthronement—from His humiliation to His exaltation. Because in Jesus, all of the promises of God were and are being fulfilled, this truly is an amazing thing—the most undeserved gift for sinful humanity: salvation in Christ.
But the wondering miracle of the incarnation itself is not the Christmas miracle which draws our attention this evening. Tonight, we’re drawn to the miracle of the timing of the planning of the fullness of time and how it came to be—the whys of the whos, the where’s, and the winds.
First, we consider the begats of Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Matthew’s gospel lineage of Joseph, Jesus’ father under the law, describes Jesus as being the heir to both David and Abraham—heir to the eternal throne of God’s people and heir to the promised grace which the Lord covenanted to give Abraham and his descendants. Thus, Jesus was afforded the title Son of David and membership in the ethnic Jewish race.
Now, while Matthew’s lineage offered the legal parentage and ancestry of Jesus, Luke’s account is different in two distinct ways. One, Luke traces Jesus’s ancestry all the way back to Adam, emphasizing the humanity of His flesh and His right to reclaim the spiritual headship which our first ancestor forsook, and accord Himself the title Son of Man.
Two, Luke traces Jesus’s natural or biological parentage, proving Him as the natural Son of Mary to be the prophesied offspring of the woman from Genesis 3:15 who would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. So, Jesus was born as the heir to, and consequence of, some 3,000 years of prophetic preparation to be the Son of Man, the Son of David, a child of Abraham, and the Son of God—all united together within His unique person. This is the why of the who Jesus is.
Secondly, Luke’s gospel goes into some very specific and ordinarily verifiable details concerning the circumstances of Jesus’s birth.
‘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. Now, unfortunately, we do not have a sure date or a verified and certain historical record for this particular census. Various records point to some time between a span of about 10 years, but regardless of the when, scripture declares that this event, prompted by the Roman authorities and still remembered by the gospel’s initial audience, caused Joseph to leave his place of residence and employment up in Nazareth and make the three-day journey to Bethlehem with his betrothed at a very inconvenient time during her pregnancy.
‘And the village of Bethlehem, to which they traveled, known also as Ephrathah, features heavily in the biblical narrative of Ruth—she who married Boaz, the father of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David—therefore making it David’s hometown. So, Joseph and Mary, they needed to travel there because they were of the house and lineage of David. This is the why of the where for Jesus’s birth.
‘But the question is begged: why wasn’t Joseph living there any longer? If the town of Bethlehem still has such a tight grip on him under the promises which God had given to the Israelite people through Moses, each tribe received property in the promised land. This property was then divided by clans and then by families to be their hereditary possession. And if an Israelite ever sold their property, it was valued based upon the length of time between the next year of Jubilee, because in that year, the property got returned back to their hereditary owners. Yet by the time of Joseph and Mary, the kingdom of Israel had been divided and dissolved. Judah was carried off into exile in distant Babylon until years later when the people were allowed to return home to a land that was now strange to them to start again.
‘And at the time of their return, Zerubbabel, the governor of Judea and a common ancestor to both Joseph and Mary, had power and authority over the whole land. But sometime during the intervening 10 generations and 500-ish years, Joseph’s family seems to have lost their property rights. It may have been recent; it may have been in a more distant past. Scripture does not say, and our speculation does not help.
‘But what is likely is that these were the efforts of the world trying to keep the members of the messianic line from being where they were supposed to be. What scripture teaches us here is that despite the challenges and problems of life in the world, which we God’s people all face, the Lord God will always work His will and way to achieve His intended purposes against all satanic opposition—even turning the world’s efforts against itself.
‘Scripture tells us nothing about the particulars of Joseph’s situation in Nazareth at the time of Jesus’s birth—whether he was prosperous or poor, whether he was a widower or previously unmarried, or whether he was even yet a professional carpenter or merely still an apprentice. But what we know is that the man who would become the Messiah’s adoptive father was not yet in the locale where God wanted him to be when God wanted him to be there. Cue Caesar’s census and Roman taxes.
‘It pleased God to allow His servant Caesar and his human desire to raise funds and increase his military might to further the Lord’s divine plan. Caesar’s command to register drove Joseph back down to the ancestral homeland in Bethlehem of Judea at the fullness of time so that the Messiah, God the Son, Jesus, was born exactly as the Lord purposed him to be.
‘Where, when, how, and why—have y’all ever tried to gather your family together for the holidays? Kids, grandkids, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings—to get everybody all together in the same place at the same time just for one meal against all of the many distractions, all the other options or opportunities or events which try to pull each one of us in oh-so-many different directions? It feels almost impossible for us.
‘But God did it better. Across the lengthy span of history, across all the occupied world, to have His only begotten Son, Jesus the Messiah, be born in just the where and the when and as who He needed to be—all so that He would be the one perfect, acceptable sacrifice of atonement for all of our sins and the Redeemer of His chosen people. This is the beauty of God’s eternal plan; circumstances which we could not reasonably expect to occur by simple chance happened just so through the ordering and divine will of God according to His eternal plan.
‘There was no infringing upon the free will of men, no forcing of anyone’s steps onto a certain path. God uses the desires of men—our free will—to accomplish everything which He has ordained and decreed must come to pass, including our past redemption in Christ as well as His impending return. God decrees the end result, and we will all work together to achieve it.
‘Caesar Augustus commanded his census for his own tax and military purposes. Joseph dutifully traveled several days to his ancestral hometown to register for this tax and responsibly perform his civic duty; and so, Jesus was born in that little town of Bethlehem—too little to be among the clans of Judah—fulfilling three thousand years’ worth of biblical prophecy and sending out the ruler in Israel whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days—all as part of God’s plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.
‘Then at the cross, it again pleased God to permit and allow the will of wicked men to be the vehicle for completing this Christmas miracle—satisfying justice and granting mercy to His chosen people. Jesus Christ paid the price on that cross which He was born to pay, redeeming all of His elect across history—past, present, and future—hanging from a Roman tree in the fullness of time. No effort of man, the world, or Satan can change this or thwart the decree of the Lord.
‘Isn’t it wonderful how God truly works all things together for the good of those who love Him, for those who are called by His name and for His purposes? This, that is the miracle of Christmas.
‘So while we gather here to celebrate Christmas, in truth, we are remembering and celebrating the fullness of time and God’s plan for our redemption in Christ Jesus. We remember and celebrate inseparably the incarnation of God the Son and the true reason for the season—His death, resurrection, and enthronement for our eternal salvation.
‘So, whenever life throws you those strange and unusual twists, when the curve balls of life come your way, when unexpected taxes come due, don’t worry about it. Instead, go with the flow of life in faith. God has an eternal plan, and it is good. God has everything under control. Just wait and see where the Lord is taking you, and one day you may understand just what your part in His plan has been. Against all the evil intent in the world, God will transform it; He will turn it for good, for the salvation of many, for all of His chosen people, for all those who trust in Him alone. Amen, and Merry Christmas!’
Let us pray.
‘Jesus, light of the world, Prince of Peace, King of kings, Lord of lords, we thank You that You have established and decreed Your plan, and truly we love it when Your plan comes together. We ask that You continue to sustain us, that You build us up, and that You use us as You will to further Your plan and to hasten Your return until we are all together gathered, singing around Your throne. In Your name we pray and worship. Amen.’
Our next hymn is ‘Joy to the World.’ Please stand.
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Oh yes!
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I’m sorry we couldn’t sing that sitting down, so please remain standing just for the last little bit for our final scripture reading, coming from the Gospel of John.
‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
‘He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’
As we close our time of celebration and worship, we will be having a small ministry of light. I will go ahead and light my candle first from the central candle of the Advent wreath, and then I will come down the aisle and light the first candle on each aisle. Please pass the light on down, lighting everybody’s candle. When we light the candles, hold the lit candle upright and turn the unlit candle to that, raising it up and passing it down.
Any questions? Is anybody missing a candle who needs a candle? Speak now or forever hold your peace.
Once all of the candles have been lit, we will begin singing the first verse of ‘Silent Night.’
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Yes!
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So all is calm, all is bright.
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
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Heavenly hosting, hallelujah!
Christ the Savior is born, on Christ is—
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Holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace.
Jesus, Lord—
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Jesus, Lord—
I
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Let us—
Christ the Savior is born!
Merry Christmas! As we leave this place, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His peace. Amen. Merry Christmas!
Carefully blow out your candles.
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