Candlelight at Believers Center

Welcome to Candlelight Twenty Twenty Four

Good Afternoon. Welcome to Candlelight Twenty Twenty Four. Whether you came by yourself or you came with a group of friends, or you came this afternoon with family. We are so glad that you decided to choose to spend at least part of the day with us. Of course, we celebrate an incredible event that happened over two thousand years ago. It was a special night then, and we celebrate it still today, now, tonight. It’s a night that everything, absolutely everything changed. It was a special night, another promise that God made and that God also kept.

If you ask what the nativity means, the simplest and perhaps the most profound answer would be it’s about you. You are the reason that God the Son became flesh. He moved into our neighborhoods as John wrote in his gospel. He sacrificed his young life so that we could regain what was lost through sin. Men could not find their way out of the dead and dark place that sin had taken him. But then Jesus came. Everybody said Jesus came. And we have gathered again this afternoon tonight to say thank you and to worship the one who made it all happen. Jesus put on display how he really felt about all of us when he came to rescue us.

So please make yourself at home, engage your heart and enjoy. Our church family and our staff, our own family. We look forward to sharing this holy night with you guys every single year. And if you’re joining us online tonight, as I know some of our family that lives far away and friends are, we’re glad you’re here with us online, leaning in here with us. It’s just a most amazing night. And I echo what Marshall said. It fills us with delight that you fill this room so that we can all turn our attention to what God has done. It truly is the greatest love story ever written. It is the greatest rescue operation ever launched. And guess what? It’s all true. It’s not a fable.

The Story of Christmas

Tonight we’re going to hear and be remembered the story of Christmas with song, with scripture, and we’re going to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ. So lean in, open your heart, and let’s receive our King together. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Joyful entry oh come let us adore him oh come let us adore him oh come let us adore the sea was sing in it so yeah since of glory to God let us adore him Oh come let us adore him Oh come let us the Christ the Y Lord we greet thee born this happy to the Now in bless of peering oh come let us come let us adore him Oh come let us You are the Lord. You are the Lord. We’ll praise your name for we’ll praise your name for will praise your name for we praise you, Lord. We praise you, we praise your name for praise your name, for praise your name for the Lord Christ the Lord.

Before There Was a Manger

Before there was a manger, before they were shepherds, before there was a star in the sky, there was a moment that changed everything. For centuries, the Jewish people had been watching and waiting for their Messiah, their promised king who would restore their nation. And every eye was on Jerusalem, on the temple, on the palace, anywhere that power lived. But on this very particular night, God’s not in Jerusalem. He’s in Nazareth. And we just want you to understand something about Nazareth. Nazareth is not just a small town, it’s a nothing town. The kind of place people made jokes about. Can anything come from Nazareth that’s good? That’s what they’d say.

And on this night, God’s not speaking to priests or kings or the wealthy or the influential. She’s probably 14, maybe 15 years old. No status, no influence, just a young girl with her whole life ahead of her.

Luke chapter 1, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, the virgin’s name was Mary.

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found it strange how concerned the Bible was at telling you that she was a virgin. Like they really want you to know that detail. And I feel like it’s a little bit like TMI, like too much information. If you think about it, like you don’t need to say someone’s a virgin. Like, imagine if I introduced my daughter like that. This is Grace, and she’s a virgin. It just feels like too much information.

It’s funny growing up, when I was in elementary school, the guys used to use virgin as an insult. They’d say, Oh, what do you know, virgin? I don’t even think we knew what it meant. But here’s why it matters with Mary. There’s two reasons. First, it fulfills what Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years earlier when he said, A virgin will conceive and bear a son. But even more importantly, it proves that this wasn’t just another pregnancy, that this was God doing something that was humanly impossible, that this miraculous conception could only be explained by the power of God.

God Chooses the Unexpected

And the angel Gabriel shows up and he says this greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. And this is a moment that changes the course of history. And what’s amazing is that God could have chosen anyone. But God chooses to send his son through a nobody from nowhere. And that’s what affects me about this moment. The God who spoke galaxies into existence, who could have shown his power in a thousand different ways, comes to a quiet room in a forgotten town and tells a teenage girl that she’s about to be a part of the greatest miracle in history. And in spite of doubt, in spite of fear, Mary simply says, I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.

And there was lots of prophecies. The prophecies had promised a king, a ruler whose government had no end, whose kingdom would be eternal. And let’s be honest, when they were probably thinking about this, they were expecting someone who would just show up and take charge. Someone who would prove to everybody that he was running things. But who could have imagined this? That the eternal God would choose to enter his world as a baby. Completely dependent, completely vulnerable. And you want to know what’s wild? This wasn’t God’s plan B. This wasn’t God scrambling while the powerful people didn’t work out. This was his plan all along. To come through the unexpected, to come through the overlooked, through someone the world would have never chosen.

And so if you’re feeling overlooked tonight, if you’re feeling like you’re a nobody from nowhere, I’ve got good news for you. That’s exactly the kind of person God loves to use to change the world. You see, Emmanuel, God with us, could have chosen anyone, anywhere to bring his son into the world. And he chose a young girl from nowhere who simply said yes to his plan. And through her faithfulness, everything changed.

God Shows Us His Heart

Oh come oh come well and ransom captivity that mourns in lonely until the sun of God rejoice rejoice Emenu shall come to the Israel come thou day spring community our spirits by thy night disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death’s dark shadows boom to fly Oh come thou key of deep make safe go and close up that we do three doch in shall come to shall come to the write you well has come to So Mary said yes. But what happens next shows us something profound about who God really is.

And think about this with me for a second. If you wanted to know what God was really like, where would you look? Nature? Beautiful but harsh. Religion, complicated. Even the Bible can feel confusing sometimes. Until you look at Jesus. And on the first Christmas night in Bethlehem, we get our clearest picture yet of what God is actually like. Because think about what’s happening. God doesn’t tell us He loves us, He shows us by becoming one of us.

And man, we sanitize the story, don’t we? We put it on Christmas cards, in nativity scenes, little ceramic baby Jesus with a perfectly glowing mother, like she just gave birth, but her hair’s perfect. Peaceful animals being quiet, but none of this was a hallmark channel moment. This was a teenage girl, nine months pregnant, riding a donkey for ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And when they finally get there, they’re really talking about. No place to stay. Nobody to take the mid. The God who created the universe couldn’t even get a room.

And for that first Christmas night, it wasn’t silent. It wasn’t calm. It was birth in a barn. No midwife, no family, just a carpenter and his teenage wife trying to deliver their first baby, surrounded by animals and hay. And the story is amazing because it’s counterintuitive. It’s not what you’d expect. The same God who spoke galaxies into existence chose to be born in an animal food bowl, basically. Not because he had to. This wasn’t God making the best of a situation. This was God showing us his heart.

See, when you look at Jesus in that manger, you’re seeing what God is like. A God who doesn’t stand far off, who isn’t looking for perfect circumstances, who’s willing to enter our mess, our chaos, our real lives. The Bible says that he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. And that word nothing, it means that he emptied himself. He poured himself out. The God of the universe became a baby. And he had to learn to walk and to talk and to eat. And this isn’t just a cute Christmas story. This is a miracle that’s happening in front of everybody. This is God himself becoming human.

Think about that. Eternal power contained in a tiny baby. He had to be fed, had to be changed, had to be taught how to walk, how to talk. I think it’s amazing that Mary had to burp Jesus. The God who created every star in the sky needed someone to burp him. The Bible says the word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us. And that word dwelling, it literally means he pitched his tent with us. And I love that because see, before Jesus in the Old Testament, God’s presence lived in a sacred tent called the tabernacle. And it was this holy space where people had to go and follow very specific rules just to approach God. But now God’s pitching his tent right in the middle of our mess. We didn’t go to him, he came to us. That’s what God is like.

God Breaks the Rules

Chooses to work through imperfect people, even though he never had to. The God of heaven and earth, wrapped in rags, lying in a feeding trough, powerful enough to lay his power down, glorious enough to take on humility, holy enough to enter our mess. God and sincerel joyful nations rise join the real in the skies with the jail host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem the hero angel sing to the newborn king Christ my dog Christing Lord in time behold him come three flesh the God seek us in flesh to dwell Jesus are making well the hero angel sing to the new for glory to the king always worthy of our born prince of peace hail the son of a righteousness light and life to all he brings risen with healing in his wings my he lace his glory by men die born to raise the sons of born to give them second angels sing to the newborn king to the king to the king King of King to the King O glory to the king

And you know what I love about the story is that God keeps breaking the rules for how things are supposed to work. First, he chooses a teenage girl from a nothing town. Then he’s born in a stable instead of a palace. And now look who gets the birth announcement. I mean, think about who’s out there in the fields that night. Shepherds, the graveyard shift workers of the ancient world. The guys nobody wanted to hang out with. They smelled like sheep, lived with sheep. And get this, they couldn’t even testify in court because nobody trusted shepherds.

And suddenly the sky splits open. And when you read the glory of the Lord shone around them, you miss, I think, how terrifying that would be. These guys aren’t just sitting there saying, like, oh, look, angels. They’re probably hitting the ground, faces in the dirt, probably thinking, well, this is gonna have this is gonna be how we’re gonna die. But listen, what the angel says don’t be afraid, focus on this. I bring you good news of great joy, and catch this for all people, all people, not just religious folks, not just the important people, for everybody.

And the shepherds, these guys couldn’t even go inside the temple because they were considered unclean. They’re the first ones to hear that God has come before the priests, before the scribes, before anybody who thought they had an inside track with God. And when they get there, what do they see? A baby in a food bowl. And you know what’s wild? While the important people were sleeping, while the religious leaders were doing religious stuff, God was showing up in a backwood stable to a bunch of shepherds who probably hadn’t been in a synagogue in years. This is who our God is. While everyone else was looking up at the temple, he was out in the fields with the shepherds. While everyone else was waiting for a warrior king, he was lying in a manger. While Jerusalem slept, heaven was breaking in at the edges of town.

And that’s one of the reasons why we’re here tonight. Because just like those shepherds, God’s still showing up in unexpected places to unexpected people in unexpected ways. Still breaking into our ordinary lives with extraordinary love. Will you stand with me?

Sharing the Light of Christ

So y’all should have received a candle on your way in if you want to get those ready. What we’re going to do is we are preparing to share the light of Christ to each other the same way that Christ shone his light and shared his light with us. And I’d like to invite my family and our staff to come on up to the front. Just a logistical piece, real quick that they ask us to say. Please never tip a lit candle. Just keep it straight and tip the one that’s not lit yet. There’s this thing called gravity that apparently if you tip the lit kit the wax goes everywhere. So please don’t do that.

And here in just a minute, our staff is gonna come and they’re gonna light all of your candles row by row by row by row. And we think that that’s a really fitting way to do it because person to person to person to person, that’s actually how the gospel message originally spread. First it was from the angels, and then the angels to these shepherds, and from the shepherds, anyone who would listen, and on and on, generation after generation after generation after generation, until the good news, the light of Jesus Christ finally found its way to you.

And so hearing the gospel and receiving the light of Jesus is both a privilege and a responsibility. On one hand, it’s a privilege because you didn’t earn it, you didn’t deserve it, you didn’t do anything for it. You just receive it by putting your faith in Jesus. So it’s a privilege. But receiving the light of Christ is also a responsibility because though we’re recipients of the light, we also have been charged by Christ Himself to be people who would pass that light on to onto the next generation, the next generation, the next generation, and the next generation.

And so we’d encourage you as we pass this. You know, it’s kind of fun just to worry about the, you know, not getting the wax and all that stuff, but I hope you can see and appreciate the spiritual significance of what we’re doing. What we’re here to do is it’s not just to light candles because it’s pretty. What was that for you? What was that like when you first received Christ? You remember what that did to you? Remember how that changed you. And then as you pass that candle, that light on to the next person, may it may you recommit your life to being someone who would pass the light of Jesus Christ on to other people. Let’s go ahead and do it.

Shine the last thing the hopes and fears of all the years are met thee tonight O holy child of Bethlehem decent to us, we pray, cast out our sinks today, we hear the Christmas, the great tidings who come to us abide with us, our Lord U come to us abide with us, our Love You and we worship you are our God, you alone, and you as your son to carry the heavy crossing which was laid my life you worthy of it all you worthy of it all for from you are all things and to you are all things you deserve the glory you lay the end of your way for from you are all things and to you are all peace you deserve the glory for from you all things and to you are need for from you are all things and to you are all things you deserve the glory amen

Our Assignment

We only have one assignment Jesus passed it on to the original twelve and those that would join him soon after as followers to their generation and now it’s our turn it’s in our hands to do to take the message of Jesus Christ to our neighbor to all the world there’s a promise in the scripture from Acts chapter twenty-six and verse eighteen that we lay hold of every time we do this, and before we extinguish our candles this evening, we’re going to again pledge ourselves to do our part in the Great Commission in 2025. But we claim this promise. We lay hold on the scriptures from Acts 26 and verse 18. It reads this way.

And you will open their eyes to their true condition so that they may turn from darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to the power of God. By placing their faith in me, they will receive the total forgiveness of sins and be made holy, taking hold of the inheritance that I give to my children.

I don’t have the words on the screen for you, but I want to you just please to repeat these words after me again as we pledge to be to do our part to be the light of the world, Jesus pouring Himself through us to a hurting world. Would you just repeat it after me? Lord, as we approach a new year, I pledge myself once again to work with you in reaching those who have not yet surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship and experienced eternal life through relationship with him. I will not be deterred. I will not quit until Jesus is fully honored. And a hurting world has heard the good news. You’re not willing that any man perish. And neither am I. Lead me to where they are. And lead them to where I am. Help me to connect with them. And to love them like you do. We believe your family will grow greatly in 2025. And that your kingdom will expand and increase everywhere. We give ourselves in every way to you. And to fulfill the commission before us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Please and amen. You may extinguish your candle.

Being a part of this moment, this very smoky moment. Sure do love you. Love this church. Let me say this. I want to say on behalf of all of us that whoever you are, we just want you to know that you’re welcome here. Amen. You know, saying a perfect church, we’re saying a perfect group of pastors. But we can say confidently that the Christian faith is easier and better when you do it alongside people who are believing for you, believing with you, ready to pray with you, ready to give you counsel. Hold your arms up. There’s hundreds of people in this room that could testify to the richness that we experience when we do the hard work of being in community together.

And so man, I was just, I was praying, I was praying about this service, and I just felt like I don’t know who it’s for, but I felt like God wanted me to tell someone that it’s time for you to come home. It’s time for you to come home. And I’m not saying that’s even it, maybe it’s some other church, I don’t know. But it is time for you because it’s not just about you receiving good feet, it’s about us partnering together to accomplish the mission of passing the light from generation to generation to generation.

I want you to know the story that we told today through music and through story. It’s not, it’s not just a historical reality, it’s something that’s still happening. The light did spread, but the light is still spreading. And when we participate in this, it’s not like the candles have been all lit. They’re still in the process of being lit. And what’s amazing is that God came close to humanity two thousand years ago. But you know what’s amazing is that Jesus is still drawing close to us today. Ready and eager to meet people where they’re at and to use people from unexpected places with unexpected gifts to do unexpectedly beautiful things.

We love the opportunity to do this. Church ain’t always easy, but it’s a privilege. And love for you and encourage you in whatever way we can. Get plugged into a local church. Because that’s when your Christianity takes it to the next level. We love you so much, man. Merry Christmas to all you. We just want to thank you all so much for being here and just let you know a couple little things. If for whatever reason you still needed to give your tithe or offering tonight, there are containers at the back as you leave. We will be here in the building next Sunday. Pastor Javi is gonna minister. And be a part of that. And then next Tuesday, which is New Year’s Eve, we will not be having service, and we wanted you all to know that. But we so appreciate you being here. Merry Christmas.

We want to end worshiping with you, so we’ve got one more song before we leave praise you. And come let us come let us do him Oh come let us adore him crime Let’s sing again who will come let us come let us come let us cry Yes you are the Lord This is why we sing you deserve the glory Yes you deserve the glory Yes you do Lord Yes we sing that you deserve the glory yes you do deserve the glory we sing to you Lord that you deserve the glory that you deserve the glory and oh come let us come let us The Lord over time. I think we ought to give him praise all across the room. Thank you, Jesus.

We want to thank you so much for being here tonight. Enjoy the rest of the night with your family and friends and eat lots of good food. This is the time to gain all the calories. Thanks so much for being here. Have a fantastic rest of your night. We love you guys. We’ll see you Sunday.