LIFE Church Sermons

 Christmas Eve Service – 2020

Subject – God Sent, Jesus Came, We Receive and Rejoice

By Rick Welborne

--Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for coming out for this Christmas Eve service to celebrate all it means and to have communion together as a church family. 

--So what is the message of Christmas? Glad you asked.

1. God sent.

John 3:16-17 (NLT2)
¹⁶  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁷  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

--Maybe 2020 has been a tough year for you. It has definitely been a tough year for many. The chaos of Covid, the loss of a loved one, health issues, family problems, financial problems, and whatever else.

--No matter what we have been through we still have much to celebrate! God sent His One and only Son to save us from our sins and ourselves.

Matthew 1:21-23 (NKJV)
²¹  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
²²  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
²³  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

--It is so difficult for us to comprehend the kind of love God had for us that He would send His Son as a little baby in a manger with the idea or plan of making sure all of us made it to heaven.

--Another mind blowing truth is that God has had this plan of sending Jesus to save us even before the world was formed. Say what?

--This shows the Omniscience of God…how He is all knowing and how He is Jehovah- Jireh…the God Who provides what we need when we need it.

1 Peter 1:18-22 (NLT2)
¹⁸  For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.
¹⁹  It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
²⁰  God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.
²¹  Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
²²  You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 

--Yes, we are here today to celebrate God Who sent His Son to save us! Wow! Merry Christmas!

2. Jesus came.

--I feel so much like the Apostle Paul. God may have gotten a prize when He got you but not me. I was a mess!

1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NLT2)
¹²  I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him,
¹³  even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.
¹⁴  Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
¹⁵  This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.
¹⁶  But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
¹⁷  All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. 

--If Jesus’ coming is not enough for you to celebrate Christmas, I don’t know what is. Jesus came into the world to save sinners and we were all sinners when He found us. Now we have been washed and saved! PTL!

--Jesus came from heaven…Jesus came in a manger…Jesus came to a wedding…Jesus came preaching…Jesus came healing…Jesus came to a funeral…Jesus came to a garden…Jesus came before Pilate. 

--I typed in my search engine the two words “Jesus came” and many things came up but nothing struck me more than this verse.

John 19:1-6 (NKJV)
¹  So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.
²  And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
³  Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
⁴  Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
⁵  Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"
⁶  Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." 

--Yes, Jesus came as a baby but He came to die for you and He came to die for me. How can we not celebrate this Christmas Eve the Savior of the world Jesus Christ?

3. We receive and celebrate.

John 1:9-14 (NIV)
⁹  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
¹⁰  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
¹¹  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
¹²  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-¹³  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
¹⁴  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

--God sent, Jesus came, and we receive and celebrate! Will you receive Him today? Merry Christmas!