Hey friends! Well, this is the week! We are gearing up for the day we have been talking about this whole month. CHRISTMAS!! As a reminder, we will be having our Christmas Eve service at 6pm. If you have never been, please come. It is really beautiful, quiet and just a way to reflect on the reason for the season. I know we are all super busy but if you can, please come. And bring someone with you!
Today is the last day of our Advent series. On Christmas Eve, we will light the Christ candle. Let’s talk about it.
So as you have been following along in our series, all of the outside candles have been lit. As a recap, we have lit the hope, peace, joy and love candle. The last candle not lit is the center candle. This candle is referred to as the Christ candle. The Christ candle is in the center because the Christ candle reminds us that Jesus is the center of Christmas. The four outer candles are all important, but they only make sense with Jesus at the center. Yes, Christmas is a time of hope, peace, joy and love, but once again, this is only because of Jesus.
Without Christ, there is no hope. When we looked at hope in the advent season, we talked about the hope in Christ gets you through the waiting. And we saw that hope in Christ does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5) All real hope in the world is centered on Christ. You see, Christmas is all about hope because it’s all about Christ. God sent his Son into the world so you and I have hope. We have hope today because Christ is with us. We have hope tomorrow because Christ will never leave us. And we have hope for eternity, because Christ is coming back to take us to be with him forever.
Without Christ, there is no peace. Jesus came to save us from our sins so that we could be restored with our relationship with God. When you trust Christ, you enjoy a wonderful peace in your heart, a personal peace that is unlike anything you can find in the world. I know what you are thinking here. Jennifer, I have peace in my heart but what about the world? Our world is severely lacking Jesus. You can’t look at religious or political leaders for peace. You have to seek the Prince of Peace.
Without Christ, there is no joy. Jesus brings the joy of salvation. Joy is sharing good news. Joy leads to praise. This is evident by the shepherds sharing the good news of Jesus’s birth. Joy is so much deeper than happiness. In fact, Christmas time can be an unhappy time for people. But Jesus brings joy to help sustain us when we are feeling every emotion. By having joy, that doesn’t mean you won’t ever be sad or mad. It means in your saddest or maddest hour, God is with you. And because He is with you, you experience true joy.
Without Christ, there is no real love. God showed us an immense amount of love by sending us His only son to sacrifice. The story of Christmas is all about love, because Christmas is all about Jesus. The Bible says: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10). God is love, and all love comes from him. There is no real love without Christ.
A lot of people celebrate Christmas and they are not christian. What they love about it is the lights, the decorations, the gift giving and receiving, and just the overall feeling they have during this time. But you want all those things with the Christ part. Kinda like wanting hope, peace, joy and love. I think most people genuinely do want those things. But Christ is the center, and we only enjoy the good things of Christmas because of him.
I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Love you all,
Jennifer
