Christmas Adam Service - Pastor Miles | Sunday, December 23, 2023

Merry Christmas to you all! I am so glad that you are here. Welcome to Cross Connection Church. If you're visiting us from out of town or maybe visiting us for the very first time tonight, my name is Miles, and I am the pastor here at Cross Connection Church. We are grateful that you have come to celebrate with us this evening. It’s such a great time to celebrate together.

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love this time of year. I've shared that many times before. It’s a wonderful time to rejoice, sing praise to God, and reflect on the words of some songs that hopefully are familiar. I assume they probably are, even though we don't exactly have carol singing as much in our culture today as we once did in the past. However, it’s good to think on those older songs.

In Jewish history, there is a huge celebration every single year called Passover. It’s a different time of year and a totally different celebration or focus, but there is a question that starts the time off every single time they gather together for a Jewish Seder Feast on Passover. The question is simply this: Why is this night different than all other nights? It is in that celebration that they remember their Exodus out of Egypt. It’s an important part of their history to reflect on that.

As I was thinking about us gathering together tonight to worship the Lord and rejoice in Him, I was reminded of that question: Why is this night different from any other night? Of course, this is December 23rd. We do things a little bit differently here at Cross Connection Church. A lot of times, people gather together on Christmas Eve, December 24th, to have a service like this. We gather together on December 23rd for some unique reasons. Many years ago, we would gather at the California Center for the Arts here in Escondido, and their employees would not work on December 24th. So, we had to have it on December 23rd, and it just became a part of what we do here at Cross Connection Church.

I've been thinking about that question this week: Why is this night, or the night that this represents when we gather together to celebrate these things, different than any other night? In many ways, the night we celebrate when we observe Christmas Eve is a night just like any other night. It seems, in some respects, to be kind of insignificant—not that big of a deal. But it is one of the most significant things that has happened in all of history that we celebrate. It is, perhaps, a night like any other.

Tonight, we are celebrating an event that happened in relative obscurity. Even though it occurred in a little-known part of the world, it is the most significant thing that has happened in all of human history. When you look at it, it seems remarkable that this event took place in a location that, if it weren't for what happened there, would likely not be given much thought.

The challenge with the celebration we have on this night is that we don't exactly know what day of the year it happened. You will hear people make a big deal about Christmas or the birth of Jesus, claiming it didn't really happen on December 25th. I don't know any Christian theologian who would argue that it did occur on that day; we are simply celebrating it on that date. We don't know the exact day or year of the event, and there is speculation about when Jesus was born.

As for the specific location, it is believed that the event took place in or near the city of Bethlehem, possibly in a cave. Many historians and theologians suggest that there are numerous caves in the hills of Judea, where people often kept their animals. When we think about the events that took place on Christmas, we often envision a stable or a stall. However, it is likely that the birth occurred in a place that resembled a cave, perhaps just outside the city or within its walls.

This event, which took place in that location, is one of the most amazing occurrences in all of human history. While we may not know the exact day or location, we do know that it happened. As a result, for the better part of the last 1,500 years, all of Western history has centered around that event. We refer to this as the year 2023, and sometimes people say "in the year of our Lord." Our entire calendar is structured around the event that took place there, and we read about it in Luke's Gospel.

You've read, even over the last week or so, parts of it that were read this evening by our leaders who were leading us in worship. It says in Luke, Chapter 2: "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into 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 wife, who was with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. She brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn."

It's a familiar story to most of us, a very simple story that we have in that passage. But though it is a simple story, it is anything but insignificant. The most important event, I think, in all of human history took place there in the city of Bethlehem, with Joseph and Mary. What's amazing is that as we look back to that event, our entire culture is centered on the events that took place there in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. Our calendar is built around all that.

The awesome thing about it is that for centuries before that birth, many people in Israel were looking forward to and anticipating what was going to happen there. We look back to it; they looked forward to it. The reason they looked forward to it is maybe one of the most remarkable things about this book, the Bible, that we study here at Cross Connection Church. When you look through the first 39 books of the Bible, you see that the Bible is a book of books. It's 66 books, and the first two-thirds of it, the first 39 books, are what we call the Old Testament.

There, in that section, we have all of these prophetic pronouncements and promises looking forward to the coming of this one who is going to come and bring salvation to the world. Now, what is it that we are being rescued or saved from? Well, the story begins in the very first book of the Bible, in the third chapter of Genesis. Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis give us the creation account, how all things were made by God, and when God made all those things, they were good. But then, in Genesis Chapter 3, we read about the temptation of the serpent and the deceiving of Adam and Eve, and how through those two individuals, sin came.

Into this world, and as a result, all of the death, all of the brokenness, and all the things that we see in this world that are off or wrong, it all came about because of that. The New Testament says that through one individual, through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Death has spread to all of humanity.

However, in those verses where we read about the fall of humanity, we are given the first prophetic announcement or promise of the one who would come to redeem us from sin and death. This promise is found in Genesis 3:15. As God is speaking to the serpent that deceived Adam and Eve, He says in this passage that from the seed of a woman, an individual will come. There is going to be a man who will crush you, Satan. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.

So, in Genesis 3:15, we have the first allusion to the coming of Jesus, thousands of years before He would arrive. This is why all of those who understood or read the Old Testament scriptures thousands of years ago were living in anticipation of the coming of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas and look back to. They were looking forward to it.

As you follow the storyline through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and all the other books of the Old Testament, until the very last book, Malachi, we find these little hints along the way. I have shared this before, and I think it's true: How many of you really love giving gifts? Any of you? Okay, you're going to give some gifts over the next couple of days. How many of you gift-givers love giving gifts so much that you can't contain the secrecy of the gift and have to give hints to the recipients along the way? Any hint-givers here? Really, none of you? Come on! Let's see if you're one of those people. Don't you want to know what it is? Don't you want a little hint?

My wife is like that. She's not here tonight, so I can say that. She loves to give gifts and cannot help but try to give hints to the recipients. It's like, "Don't you want me to open it eventually and find out what it is?" No, she wants to give hints along the way. I think God is like that because throughout the storyline of the Old Testament, God is dropping these hints to us about the one that was promised in Genesis 3:15.

What we know in Genesis 3:15 is that there will be an individual, a man who will descend from a woman, who will come to destroy the sinful, tempting work of the devil. That's all we know in Genesis 3:15. But as you fast forward a little bit through the story, you get to Genesis 12, and in Genesis 12, we're told what...

Family, this one is going to come from a man, a descendant of a man named Abraham. We know that this one who is going to come from the descent of Abraham is going to bring a blessing to all nations. It's not just going to be for one small group of people there in the land of Israel; it's a blessing that will come through this individual. Through Abraham, there will be a blessing to all nations.

As you follow the story through the Book of Genesis, you learn that it's going to come through Abraham's son Isaac. Ultimately, we are told that it will come through Isaac's son Jacob. This individual, Jacob, is going to have twelve sons, and as we go through the storyline of Genesis, we find out that it will come through Jacob's son Judah.

Continuing through the story in the Book of Exodus and beyond, we learn that the blessing will come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. Eventually, we get down to a descendant of Judah named Jesse. Jesse has many sons, and his youngest son is a man named David, who eventually became the anointed king of Israel. God gave a promise that this one who is going to come to destroy the work of the devil and be a blessing to all peoples will come through the line of David.

As you follow the storyline, you reach the prophet Isaiah, who lived about seven or eight hundred years before Jesus came. The prophet Isaiah tells us that this one who will come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and David will be born by miraculous means. A virgin shall conceive and bear a child, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, which means "God with us."

Throughout the Old Testament, we are given these little pieces of the puzzle to help us understand who this individual will be. A man born from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and David will be born by miraculous means; he will be God incarnate, God in the flesh.

Then, the prophet Micah, about five hundred years before Jesus would come, tells us that he will be born in the city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). One of the most remarkable things about the Bible is that it provides all of these predictions and prophecies about the coming of Jesus. When Jesus shows up on the scene, he fulfills these prophecies perfectly. All of these allusions were there for the children of Israel for many hundreds of years, so much so that by the time Jesus did come on the scene, many people in Israel lived in constant anticipation of his arrival.

His coming was eagerly anticipated by many young women in Israel who hoped and prayed that they might be the one through whom He would come. They were waiting expectantly for His arrival. In the middle of all of that, we read this in Luke's Gospel, chapter 1. It says, "Now in the sixth month, an angel named Gabriel was sent by God to the city of Galilee named Nazareth."

The sixth month of what? It was the sixth month after an older woman, who was barren and had never had children, conceived miraculously. She was also going to have a miraculous child, who we learn later is a man named John. He becomes a central figure in the Gospels, known as John the Baptist. Six months after Elizabeth became pregnant with John, the angel Gabriel came to Galilee, to the city of Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. This is mentioned in Luke 1:27. Joseph was of the House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

Having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women." But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David, just as the prophets foretold. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end," just as the prophet Isaiah had predicted in Isaiah chapter 9.

Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have never known a man? I've never been with a man before." The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God, Emmanuel, having the same nature as God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who is called barren. For with God, nothing will be impossible."

Then Mary said, "Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

During the time that Mary became pregnant with this little child that we know of as Jesus, the people of Israel were living in anticipation and expectation of His coming.

They were looking forward to His arrival in the same way that our entire culture is really built around His coming. Their entire culture was anticipating His arrival. In the Gospel of Matthew, we read this in Matthew chapter one.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. He was betrothed to her, engaged, and suddenly she was found to be pregnant. It was a little precarious. Being a good man, he didn't want the law to come against her, so he decided to put her away secretly.

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

What is He saving us from? He is fulfilling the promise of Genesis chapter 3. The name Jesus means "God is salvation" or "Jehovah is salvation." He will save His people from their sins. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and you will call His name Emanuel," which is translated "God with us."

Then Joseph, being roused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took to him his wife and did not know her until she brought forth her firstborn son and called His name Jesus. Jehovah is salvation.

For centuries, the children of Israel were looking forward to the coming of this one who was foretold by God all the way back in Genesis chapter 3—the male child that would come from a woman who would destroy the work of the enemy that brought sin into this world. They knew that He would come through the line of Abraham, through Abraham's son Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob, and Jacob's son Judah. They knew that He would come through Jesse and Jesse's son David. They knew that He would be born in Bethlehem and that He would be born by miraculous means; a virgin would conceive and bear a child. They were looking forward to this one who is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Establish the rule and reign of God that would continue forever and ever. They were looking forward to that, and what we celebrate every single year when we gather together—whether it's on this night, December 23rd, or if you gather with family and friends on the 24th or the 25th—is the coming of this one into the world. In and through Him alone, as we've been looking at over the last several weeks here at Cross Connection Church, is a hope that does not disappoint, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. In Him alone is the love of God manifested and demonstrated for us. I think His coming to this world is a reason to rejoice. Amen.

So would you stand with me? I'm going to close in prayer, and Anthony and our worship leaders are going to come back up. They are going to lead us in one more song, and this is a song you probably know well. You've heard it many, many times before, and because you know it, you have to sing it ten times louder than you normally would. Sing like when the little kids come up here and sing super loud; you have to sing like that.

Father God, we thank You that we have this awesome reason to rejoice, to celebrate, and to remember the wonderful things that You have done. Why is this night different than any other night? In so many ways, it seems like it's just like any other thing, but it's not. You came to the world, and we celebrate and remember Your coming. We celebrate in anticipation of the time when You will return and come again. We look forward to the time when You will return and establish Your kingdom forever and ever, that kingdom that the prophet Isaiah predicted would have no end.

Lord, we look forward to that. We pray that You would cause our hearts to praise You and rejoice in You for what You've already done, what You've promised to do, and what You will ultimately accomplish in and through us, Your church. So God, rejoice our hearts and help us to sing ten times as loud as we sing this song. In Jesus' name, Amen.