Chirstmas Service 2018 - Littleby Baptist Church - December 23, 2018

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7:14; 9:2-7

“¹⁴ Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”

“² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. ³ You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. ⁴ For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. ⁵ For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. ⁶ For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.”

100’s of years before the birth of the King of Kings, Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the little baby Jesus and how He was going to accomplish so much more than anyone could ever imagine.

The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, Our Messiah, the Savior of all human kind was going to be born as a simple child.

Hymn #76 – O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7

“2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. ² This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, ⁵ to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Christ the child was born in the humblest of places. The creator of all things could have easily orchestrated it so He would have been born in a palace surrounded by servants. Instead everything went according to His plan and He was born in the humblest of places to show that He came to earth for not just the wealthy, but for everyone. Does not matter the color of your skin, the size of you bank account, who your ancestors are, or anything else… Jesus came for you.

Hymn #103 – Away in the Manger

Hymn #91 – Silent Night

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20

“⁸ In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹ Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.”

The angel and heavenly hosts were so excited they burst from heaven, glorifying and praising God. The shepherds went and saw the little child and they to praised God as they returned to their sheep.

The angels and the shepherds were so excited about the birth of our Lord Jesus that they could not hold it in. The angels shared with the shepherds and the shepherds in turn shard with anyone who would listen.

We should to should be this excited about the birth of our King and shout it from the roof tops if necessary.

Hymn #95 – Go Tell it on the Mountain

Hymn #100 – Angels we have heard on high

Message: 1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:7-12

“⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Jesus Christ became man to show us how much He loves us. He spent time sharing the Father’s love, He touched countless lives, and then in the prime of His life He took on all of our sins and died. He became the sacrifice needed to wipe away our sins.

Why did the King of Kings come to Earth? So that each one of us here today, every member of our families, all of our friends, and everyone else could spend an eternity in glory with God.

Christ came to this earth to show us what true love is really is.

There is a saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” From our perspective that is very true, we need to keep Jesus in front of us every day and especially as we celebrate Christmas. Gifts and parties are nice, but Jesus is the real reason we are celebrating today.

Now Jesus may look at things a little differently. From His perspective, He might say that He came to earth for us. He came to this earth so that He could spend eternity with you. He loves you so much that He had to come down as a little child to pave the way for you. You are the reason He stepped out of heaven and was laid in a manger.

Jesus demonstrated His love for you, and we need to demonstrate our Love for God by following His commands and our Love for others as we care for those in need.

As we celebrate the birth of our Messiah, remember to have Hope in His love for you, embrace the Peace that He has given you, and to take Joy in knowing that He Loves You.

Hymn #87 – Joy to the World



Merry Christmas and God Bless,

Robert