Christmas Lessons & Carols

Good evening. It’s good to see
y’all out on a crisp, cold night. I think this is one of our favorite
events of the year because we get to read through and sing
through the stories of the Bible that tell us of God coming to
redeem us from our sin. And so we get the whole, expanse
in one night of the Bible stories and the Christmas songs. And
so this is a great time to be together and to think on all
that God has done for us in Christ. It’s good for us to do it early
too, because as y’all know, what, about three weeks ago we were
thinking, well, Thanksgiving’s coming. And now it was already
like 10 days ago. And before we know it, it’ll
be like January 10th and you’ll be Craig’s listing your exercise
bike you just bought, right? So it won’t be long before we’re
just through the holidays paying taxes and paying credit card
bill and all that. Let me encourage you in the spirit
of what we’re doing tonight to be thinking about your read through
the Bible year plan. for 2023. So we have these down
in the resource room on the main hallway. It lets you read a couple
chapters of the Bible a day and by the end of the year you’ve
read through the whole entire Bible. If you’re not interested
in these, the table talks have a similar Bible reading program,
also daily devotionals from a book. I think they’re finishing Exodus
this year and not sure where they’re headed in the new year,
but those are always helpful as well. And if you want something
different, let me know, we’ll, we’ll find a good resource for
you. Well, as we gather tonight to think on all that God has
done for us in Christ, we want to pause and pray. Before we
do that, let me give you three instructions. First of all, we’re
going to stay seated tonight. So you don’t have to, Yes, hallelujah. You do not have to wear your
knees out getting up and down. We’re going to, we’re going to
stay seated for all the singing. Now I know that’s not good for,
um, singing, but, um, it’s better for our knees. Uh, the second
thing is I hope you will, uh, listen to the word of God. God’s
word is powerful and active and just the reading of God’s word
in and of itself, uh, blessed by the Holy spirit is quite Quite
a great blessing. So listen well to God’s word.
And then when we get to the postlude, which is going to be joy to the
world, we’re going to ask that you stay seated until she finishes
playing it and just meditate. If you want to turn to 299, I
think that’s where it is. You’re welcome to meditate along
the playing with the words. So other than that, let’s enjoy
God’s word together. First, let’s pray. Our God, we
thank you for tonight. We thank you in the midst of
a busy season, fast and noisy times, we can stop, we can look
and we can listen to what you have been doing in real space
and time. We praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for being
our creator, our sustainer, and our redeemer, and pray that the
words that we sing, the words that we hear, that they would
sink deeply into our heart, that they would be etched into our
minds, and that we would know without shadow of a doubt that
you love with an everlasting love. You play for keeps and
you love your people even to death. We thank you for Christ,
our great savior. And it’s in his name we pray.
Amen. Our first lesson is from the book of Genesis and contains
the sad story of sin entering into the world. It also tells
us of the glorious hope of the gospel that will save us from
our sin. Hear the word of the living God
beginning in Genesis three, verse eight, speaking of Adam and Eve. They heard the sound of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the
man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the
sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked
and I hid myself. He said, who told you that you
were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of
which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, the woman
whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the
tree and I ate. Then the Lord God said to the
woman, what is this that you have done? And the woman said,
the serpent deceived me and I ate. So the Lord God said to the serpent,
because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and
above all the beast of the field. On your belly you shall go and
dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity
between you and the woman and between your offspring and her
offspring. He shall bruise your head and
you shall bruise his heel. And to Adam, he said, because
you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of
the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it.
Cursed is the ground because of you. In pain, you shall eat
of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles, it shall
bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face, you
shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it
you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Amen, the word of the living
God. We want to sing together number
300, come thou long expected Jesus. so so so Jesus, born to save Thy people
free From our fears and sins Jesus, let us find our place
in Thee Nature’s strength and love Dear reserve of ev’ry nation
Joy of ev’ry body part Joy to those who long to
sing I. Come to earth to taste our sadness,
peace, love, and joy. ♪ Highest high he brings us gladness
♪ ♪ Thou Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend ♪ ♪ May we praise you,
praise you, praise you, praise you ♪ For my people to be there on
the triumph ♪ Dead the King ♪ ♪ Born to reign
in us forever ♪ ♪ Now thy gracious kingdom bring ♪ ♪ Thine I, O
eternal still ♪ Our second lesson reminds us
of God’s promises to our father, Abraham, Paul tells us in his letter to
the Galatians that those of faith are the sons of Abraham. Genesis
chapter 22, 15 through 18 tells us that the angel of the Lord
called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, by myself
I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and
have not withheld your son, your only son. I will surely bless
you. And I will surely multiply your
offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the
seashore. And your offspring shall possess
the gate of his enemies. And in your offspring shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned to his young men and they arose and went together
to Beersheba and Abraham lived at Beersheba. Our next song is
number 234, The God of Abraham. Praise. ♪ The God of Abraham raised ♪ ♪
Through praise and all the power of God ♪ Ancient of everlasting peace,
friend of all. Tell of a great higher love, higher than ever there
was. I love and bless thy sacred name. of of I shall only those wings that
were to wed another set free. I shall behold his face, I shall
kneel down at home, and sing the wonders of his grace forevermore. I sing with these heavenly voices,
a hymn of sacred liberty and endless praise. ♪ And trees of pine or red or black
♪ ♪ With mercy crowned ♪ ♪ Where dwells the Lord and His sheep
♪ ♪ The Lord, our righteousness ♪ ♪ Triumphant o’er earth, wind,
and sea ♪ ♪ The presence of peace, a dying sacred light ♪ ♪ Which
did love invent in us, and bore us free ♪ There’s a place in my heart for
you, there’s a place in my heart for you There’s a place in my
heart for you, there’s a place in my heart for you Our third lesson is from the
prophet Isaiah, who spoke 700 years before the birth of Christ. He told Israel that God’s judgment
would be theirs. And then he spoke of grace, that
a savior would come to them. Isaiah chapter seven, verse 10
through 14, and then chapter nine, verses two, and then six
and seven. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz,
ask a sign of the Lord your God. Let it be deep as Sheol or high
as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
and I will not put the Lord to the test. And he said, here then,
O house of David, is it too little for you to weary men that you
weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. The people
who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt
in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 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. on 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. Our next song is number 293,
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. you you. shall come to thee ♪ New to the tribes of Sinai has
come ♪ ♪ In ancient times we hear him alone ♪ ♪ With God and majesty in the home ♪ ♪ Rejoice,
rejoice ♪ shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou God of jealousy
free, Thine own consanguineous Rejoice Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee,
O Israel and open wider than before. They saved the way that leads
on high, and those gone after Our fourth lesson is from the
prophet Micah, who speaks hard words of indictment to God’s
people. He also speaks of hope that is
to come, that a savior would come from their own tribe and
their own town. Micah chapter five, verses two
through five. But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you
shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose
coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore,
he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor
has given birth. Then the rest of his brothers
shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and
shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of
the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure for
now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall
be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into
our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him
seven shepherds and eight princes of men. Our next song is number
323, O Little Town of Bethlehem. so ♪ Is still in life ♪ ♪ How long
the deep and dreamless sleep ♪ ♪ The silence of the wild ♪ ♪ Let in my thoughts re-shine ♪ ♪ The everlasting
light of day ♪ ♪ The hopes and fears of all the
years ♪ ♪ Are measured in thee tonight ♪ ♪ For Christ is born of Mary ♪
♪ And gathered all the world ♪ ♪ Come, Lord, oh, sing the
angels ♪ and praise How silently, how silently the
wondrous gift was given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings
of His heaven. O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend
to us, we pray. Bless Thou our sin and in turn
be forgive us today. We hear the Christmas angels,
the break of time is near. O come, Our fifth lesson is from Luke’s
gospel, wherein we read of the visitation of the angel Gabriel
to tell Mary that she will bear the Messiah of God’s people.
Luke chapter one, beginning at verse 26. In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.
of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he
came to her and said, greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with
you. But she was greatly troubled
at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might
be. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive
in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most
High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and
of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the
angel, how will this be since I am a virgin? And the angel
answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to
be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, your
relative, Elizabeth, in her old age has also conceived a son,
and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren, for
nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, I
am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to
your word. And the angel departed from her. Our next song is number 301,
the song of Mary. And this is her response that
we find in the next verses of Luke that follow the ones we
just read. you O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O come ye, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ♪ To Him who made the mighty bold
and the lonely brave ♪ His mercy will on earth abide,
His righteous love displaces fear, their thrones, and lift them
up to tell the world their sight, their love and praise. His mercy sure has told of all
our pain, what else but to receive Our sixth lesson is from the
gospel according to St. Luke. In this passage, we read
of the providence of God sending Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem,
the city of David, where Jesus will most appropriately be born
into our world. This is Luke chapter two, verses
one through seven. 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. And Joseph
also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was
of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his
betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the
time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn
son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger
because there was no place for them in the inn. Our next song
is number 306. To us, a child of hope is born. Christ the child of God was born
to us, and so it has been. And it shall be a child birthed
by way, and by way of Jesus our Bed. In this day shall be a breast
of peace for evermore and more. This towering three-ceinged citrus
frame is where you each shall bow. Thus we shall know his power
above, and peace around thee. Our seventh lesson is from the
gospel of Luke and tells us of the divine birth announcement.
This is Luke chapter two, beginning at verse eight. And in the same
region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch
over their flock 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 great 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 cloths and 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
among those with whom he is pleased. When the angels went away from
them into heaven, the shepherd 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
they 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 the 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.” Our next song is number
310, While Shepherds Watched Their Flock. so so The shepherds watched their flocks
by night, all seated on the ground. The angel of the Lord came down and bore witness you. shall be We who live shall fly to him
and hear his praying. Oh, we may grant his spotting glance, but it will be too late. I’m ♪ To God on high and to the earth
we raise ♪ ♪ The goodness both from hand to hand ♪ ♪ We give
and never cease ♪ ♪ We give and never cease ♪ In our first lesson from Genesis
chapter three, God told Satan, I will put enmity between you
and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring.
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Our eighth lesson from Matthew’s
gospel reminds us of the hostility between Satan and Christ as it
appears through Herod’s desire to murder Jesus. This is Matthew
chapter two, beginning at verse one. Now, after Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod, 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 the 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 what time the star
had appeared. And he sent to Bethlehem saying,
go 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. Our next song is number 320,
As With Gladness, Men of Old. you. ♪ As with joy they hail with light
♪ ♪ Leading onward gleaming bright ♪ ♪ So much gracious power they
bring ♪ ♪ Ever more we lend to thee ♪ ♪ As with joy those steps
they sway ♪ you. all that bring us in the narrow way. And
when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last, where they need not struggle
to find, where no clouds hide nor revive. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of Our ninth lesson is from John’s
gospel and echoes the words of Genesis chapter one, where the
preexistent Christ was active as the creator of the universe.
He now comes to us as a man to be the redeemer or the recreator
of all that has been broken by sin. John chapter one, beginning
at verse one says this. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things were made through
him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from
God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear
witness about the light that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light
to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world
and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know
him. He came to his own and his own
people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became
flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory
as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Our
final song is number 332, Songs of Thankfulness and Praise. ♪
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise,
where’er Christ did by us go, to Thy stages from afar, where children of David stand, in Your birth
that There’s nothing else to ask,
but if you speak, then you’ll have us. There is no joy in speaking, you are silence and fainting song. Manifest
them, manifind, thrilling, all-powerful stride. Manifest in gracious you are After the benediction, you can
stay seated and hear joy to the world. You’re welcome to turn
to page 299 and look at the words. Now receive God’s blessing. May
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming to this earth
and the fellowship of God, the father who loves us with an everlasting
love and the fellowship and grace of the Holy Spirit who hovered
over the face of the deep and hovered over the womb of the
Virgin Mary and gave her the Christ child. May he give you
rest and peace now and forever. Amen. so so Amen. Go in peace.