The Christmas Story

Last thing, it is to sing of the wonderful things that You have done to show Your love towards us. We have read many times in the Scriptures, "For You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son."

Lord, we gather here tonight to praise You, to rejoice in the gift of Your grace and the gift of Your love, to enjoy that love, and to share it with one another. So God, we pray that You would be here in this place. We trust that You are because You promised, "Wherever two or more are gathered in Your name, there You are in their midst." We welcome You here tonight, and we honor and glorify You, Jesus.

We pray that You would be known, Lord, by those that we are connected with—those in our families who do not yet know, those who live next door to us, those we go to school with, and those we work with. We think of friends we have had for many years who still may not know the reason for this season. We pray that we would have an opportunity to share that You would be honored, glorified, and lifted up. That is our desire: that this world would praise You as we praise You tonight.

We thank You and we praise You that we have a place where we can gather together and rejoice in You as we celebrate Your coming to this world, knowing that we are looking forward to the day that You will come again. You are not dead; You are alive. So we praise You tonight as Your people.

Good evening! Welcome to Cross Connection Church. Why don't you take just a couple of minutes before you sit down to say hello to someone around you? Introduce yourself to someone you have never met before and welcome them.

Once again, welcome! I am Pastor Miles. If you are new here or a guest tonight, we welcome you to Cross Connection Church. We are so glad that you are here on the eve before Christmas Eve, our Christmas Eve Eve celebration.

I have had a number of people over the last few days ask me why we do this on the 23rd. Is there some sort of special spiritual reason why we do it on the 23rd? Actually, there is not at all. Many years ago, we used to gather together and do a service at the California Center for the Arts, and the union wouldn't allow us to do it on the 24th.

We did it on the 23rd, and it just became our tradition. So, welcome to Christmas Eve Eve at Cross-Connection Church! We're so glad that you're here.

Last night, it was kind of interesting. Maybe you saw the weird star in the West. There were people freaking out, thinking the end of the world had come or that maybe Jesus' star had appeared. No, it was just Elon Musk and SpaceX! How many of you saw that? It was kind of trippy and pretty awesome. So, Merry Christmas to all of you! We're so glad that you would take the time to gather together with us to celebrate as we remember and honor our Lord.

Here at Cross-Connection Church, over the last few weeks, we've been doing a series called "Why Christmas?" The point of our series has been to answer that question: Why do we celebrate this holiday called Christmas? There are many people in our society who don't really have a good answer for that. If you've been here over the last several weeks, you know that one of our other pastors and I went out to one of the Target shopping centers on Black Friday with a video camera. We asked people that question: Do you celebrate Christmas? Then we asked them why. We got a lot of blank stares and a lot of interesting answers from people. Most of it is summed up in family or tradition or something like that. There are some people who know the details of Christmas, but they don't always know the why.

Three weeks ago, we started by talking about the fact that we live in a broken world. We see the brokenness of this world perpetually; it's always around us. There's not a single person who doesn't recognize the brokenness of this world. Even if they don't go to church or have never read the Bible, they have seen it in their own lives. So, when we say that the world is broken, we generally get a nod from people, like, "Oh yeah, I agree with that. I understand that."

We believe, as we look at the Scriptures, that the reason Christmas exists is because the world is broken. But not only because the world is broken; as the Bible reveals, our God is the gift-giving God. Christmas is the revelation of His great gift for us. That wonderful verse, John 3:16, says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, trusts in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life."

Because of the brokenness of this world, we are all subject to death. Ten out of ten people die; it's an unfortunate reality. But that being the case, our Lord, looking at the brokenness of this world because of sin, desired to set out and fix that problem.

Last week, God reminded us that life is precious, and Christmas exists because the world is broken. Our God is the gift-giving God, and to Him, life is precious. Tomorrow is going to be our normal Sunday services, although they will be at 8:30 and 10:30. Normally, we have three services, but tomorrow we will have two. I hope that you'll come out as we finish up our series called "Why Christmas," where we will discover the fourth reason for why we have this great celebration that we will celebrate together with friends and family on Monday.

Though we've been talking about the whys of Christmas here at Cross Connection over the last three weeks, tonight I wanted to talk about the what's. For many of you, it's probably a familiar story. You may have read it yourself, heard it at church, or attended a kindergarten production at your child or grandchild's school. Perhaps you had a grandchild or a child who played a little goat or a lamb. My youngest son was a wise man this year, dressed in a whole bunch of white, which fit him perfectly—he's a wise guy, so it totally suited him.

You might know the details, but I thought it would be really good for us to take a few minutes tonight to remember the details of that story. It is found for us beginning in the Gospel of Luke. If you have a Bible or a wireless device with a Bible on it, you can check it out with me. We're going to pick up the story in Luke chapter 1.

In Luke chapter 1, starting in verse 26, we read: "Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. He was of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And 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.

Then 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 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 God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'

Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you.'"

The power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God, nothing will be impossible. I love that statement in verse 37: for with God, nothing will be impossible.

Every single one of us has come to circumstances and situations in our own lives where we feel like we're not up to the task. We think, "I can't handle this thing that is coming to me." Oftentimes, those things come at some sort of crisis point in our lives, where we are reminded of our frailty and our inadequacy. We feel like we cannot accomplish or meet the challenges that have come to us. In every one of those situations, may God, by His Spirit, bring us back to Luke chapter 1, verse 37: for with God, nothing shall be impossible. Amen.

Now, skip on down to chapter 2. Luke chapter 2 says, "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 governing 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. He went to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

So it was, while they were there, that 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.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch

And on earth, peace and goodwill toward men. So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." They came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

Now, when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told to them concerning this child. All those who heard it marveled at those things which were told to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them.

May it be that God, this season, in the hearts of those of us here tonight who believe these things, would know this account in the Gospel of Luke, and also told to us in the Gospel of Matthew. Those of us who know, understand, and believe that this is true would be like those shepherds who would not be able to keep these things back. Unto us, a Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord.

This Savior is the one we are told about in verse 10 of Luke chapter 2, the one who brings great joy, which is for all people—not just a small select few, but for all people. It is God's heart and His desire to bring this great joy to all people. All of us are affected by the brokenness of the fall, but it is God's desire that this joy would be extended to every single person.

If you would, if you're in the Gospel of Luke, just skip over a little bit to the left, and you'll find the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 2, I want to read the section that aligns with this passage of Scripture, beginning in verse 1.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star, just like we saw the rocket the other night in the east, and have come to worship Him."

When Herod the King heard this, he was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him. It's amazing that the story was sounding around Jerusalem; people heard about this. It wasn't something that was in secret. Sometimes we think that it just happened kind of tucked away in secret, but it wasn't. When he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people...

Together, he inquired of them where Christ was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also."

When they heard the king, they departed. And behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

When they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother. They fell down and worshiped him. When they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed to their own country another way.

These are the details; these are the accounts that we have in the Gospels about the story of the coming of Christ. For many hundreds of years, God, through the prophets, had been giving hints about this gift that was going to be the Savior, bringing joy to all peoples—those who are in darkness, in the shadow of death, experiencing the brokenness of this world. He has given us this great gift that brings joy to all people.

That is why, when we gather together at this time of the year, we sing these great songs filled with joy, hopefully to remind us of the joy that He gives. Not just joy, but peace, love, grace, forgiveness, and hope—all of these things are contained in that gift that is the Christ child. So we rejoice in the coming of Jesus. Amen.

It is my hope and my prayer for myself, for my family, and for all of us here at Cross-Connection Church that we would experience that joy fully, having Christ in us. I hope that we would not only experience it but also express it in our lives. I hope that as we gather together tomorrow or the next day, whatever your tradition is when you celebrate this holiday, that joy would be something you are experiencing and expressing. Even more than that, I pray that God would give us an opportunity to extend it to other people, because in every single one of our lives, there are people who are in need of that joy.

Deeply desirous of this joy, many people know the brokenness but do not know experientially that joy. It is my prayer that as you exchange gifts this week, the Lord gives you the opportunity to share this great gift that God has given to us. Jesus came and demonstrated God's love towards us. While we were still broken, while we were still in our sin, Christ gave His life for us so that we might have life forevermore. To God, life is precious.

Would you pray with me? Father, I thank You that You love life so much. You, who have life within Yourself, gave it to us. The first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, says that You breathed into humanity, into man, the breath of life. We became living souls because of Your touch and Your move.

But, Lord, through sin, we experienced brokenness, and as a result, we are all subject to death. Jesus, You came to die in our place so that You could deal with the problem of broken sin in this world and give us life forevermore. I pray that You would do a work in us, that we would experience this life, express this life, and extend it to other people. May we see Your light go forth into this world in a greater way this holiday season.

It may be that as we are seated here tonight, you have not yet trusted in Jesus. You have not yet received the gift of His grace. I want you to know that Jesus came to this world to deal with your brokenness, your sin. Every single one of us in this room is a sinner; we are all imperfect. Jesus, 2,000 years ago, came to deal with that brokenness so that we could experience His forgiving grace and have joy, peace, and hope.

I can't think of anything better to enjoy this Christmas season than those things. If you would like to receive that free gift of forgiveness, dealing with all of your past failures, if you would like to have not only the forgiving grace of God but also the grace of hope for an eternity with God in His presence, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, I want...

To give you a chance to receive the gift of Jesus tonight, all you have to do is as simple as ABC. First, admit that you are imperfect, that you're a sinner, and that you need a Savior. Then, believe upon Jesus. This means to trust in Him, not just to casually acknowledge that there was a guy 2,000 years ago in a city called Bethlehem named Jesus, but to actually commit yourself into His hands, to trust Him, and to believe in Him.

Third, confess Him as your Savior. If you'd like to do that tonight, admit your sin, believe in Him, and confess Him as your Savior. Just where you're at, in the quiet of your own heart, I want to lead you in a prayer right now. Simply call out to God in prayer to do just that. Pray with me where you're at:

"Dear Jesus, I recognize that I need You. I cannot deal with my own sin. I've failed in so many ways, too many ways to count. But I thank You that You came to this world to deal with my sin and my shame. I pray that You'd come into my life, that You forgive me of my sin, and that You'd help me to follow You by faith. In Jesus' name."

As our heads are bowed, if tonight you prayed that prayer, would you lift up your hand high so I can see it? Is there anyone here tonight who prayed that prayer? God bless you! Amen. I see you there in the back, and right here in the middle. I see it. Praise the Lord! Just lift up your hand high, and as you do, I want to pray a blessing, a Christmas blessing upon you this Christmas.

Dear Jesus, would You pour out Your joy, Your hope, Your peace, and abundance upon those who put their trust in You? Not just those who tonight for the first time, but also those who already have. Lord, would You pour out Your grace upon Your people in such an abundant way that as we gather with friends and family this week, it would be evident and seen—joy, peace, hope, and rest. We praise You, Jesus, and we thank You for Your love.

Grace, bless your church, we pray. It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Let's sing. It's a great word from Pastor Miles. I love what he's saying about being filled with joy this season. I imagine you can relate to me; sometimes, amidst all the running around of getting gifts and seeing this family and that family, we can get stressed and forget the reason for the season. The reason we can have this joyous occasion is all about Jesus; it's all about our Savior.

The song we're about to sing centers us back on what he was talking about, reminding us that Jesus is the reason we've gathered here today. I pray that these words encourage us as we sing. The song talks about the meaning of Christmas and the love that Jesus sent and gave to us when He came down, and how we should be sharing that love.

We have seen the same with beer. Oh, this is Christmas! Let's sing it together. This is Jesus, Emmanuel. We have a Savior; we have a stable.

We believe in His royal reign. Come on, for this is our Jesus, our Emmanuel. Let's sing it one more time. This is our Savior.

You have seen. I see. Are you with those in the cold?

Became brewery, so from angels bending to touch them.

It's all still missing.

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Merry Christmas to all of you once again. As we prepare to go from here, would you pray with me one more time?

Father, we thank you for your great grace, and we thank you that because of your grace, we have this celebration.

Called Christmas, I pray, God, that You would pour out joy upon Your church as we prepare to go from this place. Lord, fill Your church to overflowing with light, joy, peace, and hope. We pray in Jesus' name.

Now may the God of hope fill you all with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope to the glory of God. Amen.

God bless you. Have a wonderful Christmas! We'll see you tomorrow morning at 8:30 and 10:30 for our final service in our "Why Christmas" series. God bless, and have a great night.