ADVENT CANDLE OF LOVE Sun. Dec. 24, 2023. 10:30 am
1st Reader: Today, on this Christmas Sunday morning and Christmas Eve, we want to thank God for LOVING our world so much that He sent Jesus to be our Saviour. In our world where everyone needs to be LOVED, Jesus is the One who LOVES us the most. When we realize that Jesus LOVES us, we can know LOVE in life changing ways. Jesus wants each person to know that they are LOVED. Jesus LOVES everyone without exception! We can ask Jesus to guide us to LOVE as He LOVES.
2nd Reader: Jesus knows everything about us and He still LOVES us. Jesus never stops LOVING us. This is real LOVE. When we discover how much Jesus LOVES us, we can begin to LOVE each other the way that God has always intended. We can see and know the greatest example of LOVE in Jesus Christ Who came to be our Saviour.
Today we light this candle of LOVE knowing that Jesus makes LOVE possible! We want to hear and know the message of Jesus’ LOVE. We want to experience more of how others can discover Jesus’ LOVE when we LOVE. (Lighting the candle of LOVE)
3rd Reader: We will pray together, “Thank You God for the LOVE we have discovered because Jesus has come into our lives to be our Saviour. Thank you that because of Jesus, we have You God with us always. We have needed to rely on You and the LOVE that You generously give us in this past year. We want to continue to rely on You and the power of Your LOVE in the year ahead. Thank You that the LOVE that Jesus gives is not just for Christmas, but for every day. Thank You that You are Someone we can trust to LOVE us forever. We pray that we will keep on discovering LOVE in Jesus and that others will encounter Jesus and know His LOVE through us. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.”
CHRISTMAS EVE 2023 December 24th 7 pm.
1st Reader: As we have been lightingthe candles of HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE, we have waited for tonight, Christmas Eve. We have been wanting to know God and the HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE found in Jesus. We have been wanting to make room for Jesus. We have waited for tonight when together we will light this special candle at the center of the wreath, the CHRIST CANDLE. May Jesus be at the center of our lives.
2nd Reader: This CHRIST CANDLE reminds us of Jesus, God’s Son, who is God’s gift to our world. Jesus is worth making the effort to know and we can choose to make room for Him in our lives. His HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE are always available for us to experience when we make room for Jesus. On this, the night before Jesus’ birthday, we again light this CHRIST CANDLE and thank God that He loves us so much that He has arranged for us to discover Jesus and to know Him in a personal way. We light this CHRIST CANDLE celebrating thatHOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE all are found in Jesus, God’s Son! Tonight, we have come together to make room for Jesus and to be reminded again of why He came and Who He is for us! (Light the CHRIST CANDLE)
3rd Reader: We will pray: “Thank You God that You love us so much that you have given us Your greatest gift. Thank You for the gift of Jesus. We know that Your HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE will bring us closer to You. We know that we need You. Thank You that You have given us Jesus to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life for us. Help us to make room for Jesus this Christmas. We pray to continue to make room for Jesus and to love You more each day. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.”
LUKE 2:8-11
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 Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord.
Luke 2:8-11 LOVE IS FOUND IN JESUS: “MY SAVIOUR”
Springford Baptist Church: December 24, 2023.
On these Sundays leading up to Christmas, we have been considering Names for Jesus, God’s Son, whose miraculous birth we celebrate at Christmas. These Names remind us of Who He came into our world to be.
Jesus is: Immanuel-God with us. This reminds us that God loves us so much that He wants to be with us and also assures us that we are never alone. This causes us to find HOPE in Jesus.
Jesus is: Prince of Peace. We long for peace in our troubled world and in our own hearts. With all that threatens our peace, we can learn to trust God and to find PEACE in Jesus.
Jesus is: The Messiah. His followers recognized Him as the “Anointed One” that God promised to send. Jesus was not a random person with an inflated view of Himself, thinking that He was a Messiah. Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah by overcoming death when He was raised back to life. Our fear can be replaced with the JOY we find in Jesus.
Now this Sunday, we come to recognize Jesus as Saviour. More than that “my Saviour.” This is where we find LOVE in Jesus.
Think about a person introducing the one to whom they are married. Would they say, “This is a wife” or “This is a husband”?
Not if they hoped for harmony at home… Of course the introduction would be, “My wife.” “My husband”.
We think of relationships in terms of the significance of someone to us:
My daughter. My son. My friend. My neighbour. My coworker.
This indicates belonging and the same is true when we recognize Jesus as “my Saviour.” This reveals a relationship that is so much deeper.
I see this personal relationship in the words of Mary the mother of Jesus when she says in her Song recorded in Luke 1:46-55, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God mySaviour.” (Luke 1:46,47)
What cause us to move from the celebration of Christmas being about the Saviour’s birth to being about my Saviour’s birth?
It is all about how we see the relationship.
We will consider the experience of the shepherds because they had the chance to be the first to hear the amazing news of Jesus’ birth announcement.
Our birth announcements typically include details of the time the baby arrived, the baby’s name, the weight and length of the baby, and an assurance that mother and baby are doing well.
These announcements are expected when we are waiting to hear news of a new baby.
For the shepherds, this announcement was completely unexpected. They had no idea that a baby was about to be born. And of course, no ordinary baby, this was God’s own Son sent to be a Saviour, an extraordinary baby, ultimately, my Saviour.
So back to the shepherds. There they were doing what they always did. They were watching their sheep. They needed to keep them safe from thieves (sheep stealers) and predatory animals that would threaten their lives.
The shepherds were clear about their purpose and their routine night after night was fairly predictable as they watched their flocks and kept them safe.
But this night we read about here in Luke 2 is entirely different. An angel of the Lord appears to them. And the brilliant light of the glory of the Lord shines around them. Completely unexpected! These sturdy, field smart shepherds who would regularly stand bravely against thieves or wild animals are terrified. And certainly they do not realize that the angel has come with a birth announcement.
Hear again the words of the birth announcement for Jesus, “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 Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11)
This announcement is good news of great joy that is for all the people. Usually the news of the arrival of a baby is especially exciting for close family and friends. When Jesus arrives there is the potential of great joy and exhilaration for all people!
Why? Because Jesus has come to be Saviour for anyone and everyone!
When the angel announces, “a Saviour has been born for you” (Luke 2:11) there is so much wrapped up in those words.
It is an announcement for the shepherds, but it is also an announcement for everyone who has been born and lived ever since, including us.
A Saviour has been born for us!
This Jesus wants to be our Saviour.
He wants to save us from the sin and evil that grips our world and affects every one of us.
He wants us to introduce Him as my Saviour. This is where incomparable love is found in knowing Jesus as my Saviour, my Saviour.
We are like the sheep that the shepherds were keeping watch over. The sheep needed someone to keep them safe from the things that would threaten their very lives. The shepherds needed to be strong and reliable to keep the sheep safe.
Jesus is for us strong and reliable. He is our Saviour. He has been born for us!
What does threaten us? We may feel threatened by anxious thoughts of what could happen with our health and security and the health and security of those we love. The persistent effects of aging confirm that there are many things over which we do not have control. Ultimately, we know that we will face death and we know that we can never be good enough to face God and enter heaven on the basis of what we have or haven’t done. How can we be safe when we know our lives here will not be forever?
The safety comes in Jesus being “my Saviour”. The safety comes in knowing that nothing that happens can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“For God so loved the world (for God so loved ___________ insert your own name) that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life.”(John 3:16)
Jesus has come to give us the guarantee of life now and life forever. That is what my Saviour Jesus does!
We celebrate at Christmas that Jesus my Saviour has come to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
This is LOVE. This is the greatest expression of LOVE ever that Jesus has come to be my Saviour and Your Saviour!!
And this LOVE compels us to share the good news of Jesus our Saviour and the LOVE found in Jesus our Saviour with all people!!
This remarkable gift is not to just keep for ourselves!
The shepherds spread the word (Luke 2:17) and so must we!!