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Dec 24, 2024

Christmas Eve 2024

Preacher: John Repsold

Series: Advent 2024

Keywords: incarnation, future, glory, past, present

Summary:

Our Christmas Eve recap on the glory of God past, present and future through the incarnation.

Detail:

Christmas Eve 2024

O Come All Ye Faithful

(JR) Welcome to Christmas Eve—our celebration of the revealing in time some 2,000 years ago of the glory of God.  As we have been all month this Advent season, tonight we will be focusing on the glory of Christmas—the revelation of the majestic nature of God in the humility of a baby born in Bethlehem.  Come and celebrate the true magic of the season—the Deepest Magic of the incarnation.

Pray (JR)—Inviting God to COME to each of us tonight.

Congregational Set #1:

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (2 verses)

O Come, O Come, Immanuel (3 verses)

Meditation #1—God’s Glorious Christmas Plan before Time Began

          We often refer to Christmas as a “magical time of year.”  Hallmark makes movies by the bushel about magical romances at Christmas.  Hollywood does the same with a jolly ol’ guy named Santa Clause who flies through the air in a sleigh and magically slims to fit himself and presents down narrow chimneys.  And somehow people like us magically discover kindness at Christmas that we all-too readily abandon the rest of the year. 

          Speaking of magic, we know that the actual “magic” of a human magician is just something hidden from our understanding and sight that the magician has spent days or months planning, devising, preparing and, in the ‘magic show’, is now unveiling for us to marvel at.

          C.S. Lewis, in the now-famous Chronicles of Narnia, speaks of magic--a deeper kind of “magic” in life—the often hidden spiritual dimension of human existence.  He frames it as the ‘magic’ of the White Witch who holds Narnia seemingly forever in the icy grip of her ‘deep magic’. 

But in Narnia, there is a Deeper Magic that even she does not understand.  That is the magic of Aslan who, by his own death at her hands, breaks the spell that sin has had over Narnia and leads to resurrection life that the evil White Witch had no idea would eventually spell her doom. Lewis’s Chronicles go on to play out an ever-unfolding Deeper Magic of the Christ-figure, Aslan, that unfolds through successive and magical generations (and Chronicles) of Narnia. 

          In a way, this is the magic of Christmas we celebrate in a far inferior way when we give gifts.  We chose things we hope those we love will enjoy for days if not years to come.  We wrap them to disguise and hide their true nature until that much anticipated ‘unveiling’ of the magic of giving. And if our gifts are really good, they not only bring joy and wonder on the day they are opened; they actually grow in their ‘magic’ over time. 

My very generous parents gave all of us children hundreds of gifts in life.  Most of them lasted just a few months or years before they wore out—toys, clothes, bicycles, even cars.  But the best gifts just kept delivering more ‘magic’ the older we grew, gifts like love and discipline and education and character. 

Over this past month here at Mosaic, we’ve been looking at the ‘magic’ of Christmas—actually ‘the glory’ of Christmas. God’s glory is simply the increasingly-visible manifestation of all the greatness of who He is—his beauty, splendor, holiness, righteousness, purity, justice, mercy, love, kindness and a hundred other glorious attributes of His nature. It is the glory that the angels spoke and sang about in the skies over Bethlehem that night.  It is the glorious light the star gave to guide the magi.  But above all, it is the glory…the nature of God…manifested in the eternal plan of God for our salvation that became visible that night in Christ the Messiah revealed in a manager. 

Tonight we want to trace through readings, meditations and songs, that glorious arch of history in which God has revealed His magical plan to restore us to himself through the human birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is a story of Deeper Magic that has its beginning before time and even this universe were created.  In eternity past, before a single glorious angel or sinless, untested human was created, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit fashioned and wrapped a ‘present’ of eternal magnitude that we are still unwrapping today. 

Join us as we journey from eternity past, through time, and into eternity future tracing the glory of God in the incarnation of God the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Readings

1 Corinthians 2:6-8—We…speak a message of wisdom … not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 

2 Timothy 1:9-10-- This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

(Congregational Singing—Set #2)

Hark the Herald Angels Sing (4 verses)

What Child Is This (3 verses)

Meditation #2—The Glory/Magic of the Incarnation Future

The magic of the incarnation of God in human flesh began before time OR this universe came into existence.  It began in the heart and will of God—God who would pay the greatest price of all to open once again the divine portal to eternal life with Him. 

But the Bible tells us that the magic of the incarnation is still growing.  As sinners like us simply respond to the grace-born offer of Jesus Christ, this eternal kingdom grows larger and more amazing with each new child of God.  The glory of Christ in His now-present body of the Church, continues to be demonstrated in every sinner saved by His grace.  As we exchange our old self-centered self for our new Christ-centered life in the Spirit, the glory of God continues to be demonstrated in power in this world.

But there will also come a day when the blazing glory Jesus Christ shared with God the Father before the incarnation will be visible, on earth, as our resurrected Lord returns and sets up His kingdom.  Then He will reign with power and authority.  Then His perfect, righteous and holy leadership will be seen as never before in this world.  The majestic ‘magic’ of the reigning Christ will finally be made visible in this dark, sin-soaked world. 

Several old beloved carols speak of that glorious time yet to come as do many more contemporary ones.  Let’s join our voices with saints of old as we sing of that coming glorious, yes, ‘magical’ reign of Christ.

Music Set #3

He Shall Reign

Readings:  Listen to just a few of the Scriptures that speak to us of the Future Glory of the incarnate Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:9-11—Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 11:16--The…angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Revelation 21:3-4--3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Joy To the World

Meditation #3:  God’s Glorious Plan to Save Us through the Incarnation

From the very first day sin entered human experience in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, God has been unwrapping His deep, divine magic.  It is a magic designed before humanity to rescue the souls of men and women, young and old. 

When God gave Adam and Eve the skins of an animal for clothing rather than the fig leaves they had manufactured for themselves, He was showing them graphically, tactilely that death was the natural consequence of separating themselves from the Author of life.  Sin always leads to death.  From the animal that was slain in the Garden of Eden to temporarily cover the shame of their sin to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was slain in Jerusalem to take away the sins of the world, God has been unwrapping His gift of reconciliation and salvation for thousands of years. 

It is a gift whose glory came hidden in a newborn baby… born to peasant-parents…in a back-water village…in Israel.  In fact, had angels not announced this gift of God to shepherds late that night, perhaps no one but Jesus’ parents would have been able to recognize the gift of God.  Had a star not announced His birth to distant magi looking for God’s prophetic fulfillment, it would have been another 3 decades before anyone would have had an inkling of the magnitude or magic of this divine gift.

God wrapped in humanity.

God hidden in a baby.

God come in humanity’s most innocent form…to solve our problem of sin and become the substitutionary Lamb who would take away the sins of the world. 

This is the glorious magic of Christmas we celebrate tonight—an eternal gift, wrapped in humanity, for every one of us who will receive Him.

What is the appropriate response to a wrapped gift? 

Isn’t it to take hold of it…to examine it, perhaps shake it, all the while asking questions about it?  But gifts are meant to be unwrapped, to be experienced, to be enjoyed. 

The same is true with the Gift of Jesus Christ.  We cannot earn Him or he would cease to be a gift.  We can only “receive Him”, embrace Him, accept Him. 

Won’t you do that tonight?  Perhaps tonight is the very first time you’ve understood that Jesus is actually God’s most glorious and magical gift to YOU.  Perhaps tonight you’ve understood that the gift of God himself is a gift like none other, but one that you must still personally accept and embrace. 

If that is so, won’t you take God’s gift of Jesus right now?  By a humble act of faith, receive Jesus as YOUR Savior, your Lord, your God and King.  (Sinners PRAYER.)

And no matter how long you’ve been enjoying the gift of God in Jesus for you, reach out in faith to Him again.  Ask Him to reveal yet more of the gift of himself to you this night and this coming year. 

Music Set #4:

Angels We Have Heard on High

Reading

John 1:10-12--He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 3:16-- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 2:8-14--8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

O Holy Night  (with cello)

Closing/Candle Lighting: (Andrew)

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Reading

John 15:9-11—Jesus said,   “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said to His people, the church, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 

Silent Night

PRAYER?