Christmas Eve Sermon
“Celebrate the Joy of the Eves”
December 24, 2019
Introduction
Today is Christmas Eve.
It’s a wonderful day where we look forward to the next day.
An eve is the day or period of time immediately before an event or occasion.
Tonight, we’re going to remember several eves, six eves to be specific. Let’s journey through these eves as we journey through the story of redemption in the Bible.
The first eve is . . .
I. The eve of creation [on screen]
The Bible reveals a grand plan for God in the universe and in our lives.
Before God created the universe, He was. He simply was. He was not created, He was. He wasn’t lonely. He wasn’t bored. He, in His divine power and sovereignty, decided He wanted to create the world, so He did.
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
God loved us and He created us in His image so that we might know Him and have a relationship with Him.
The eve of creation was a time that looked forward to something supernatural and beautiful, God’s creation of all things, including those made in His image: human beings.
The first eve: the eve of creation.
The second eve is . . .
II. The Eve in the garden [on screen]
That is Adam and Eve.
You see, the first people whom God created were the first partakers of the beauty and magnificence that God created. They had it all to themselves and it was good.
However, something changed.
You see, Eve was deceived by the devil to disobey God and to sin against God. Eve convinced her husband, Adam, to do so as well, and they brought sin into the world.
That which was beautiful was now scarred. That which was perfect was now flawed. Sin messed everything up.
The Eve in the garden messed up everything for all of us.
The truth of the matter is, we’ve messed up everything as well. We’ve sinned against God as well; we’ve disobeyed God as well.
The Eve (and Adam) in the garden brought sin. So did we.
That leads to the next eve . . .
III. The eve of death [on screen]
The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” Death is what we deserve for our sins.
As we sit in our sin, we are on the eve of death. Death is what awaits us.
This effects all humanity, everyone since the time of Adam and Eve. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Some of you might say, “That’s not really a hope-filled message, Pastor Matt.” Well, there’s more to the story.
The next eve is . . .
IV. The eve of the Messiah [on screen]
You see, God saw our sin problem. God knew that sin brought us death. God knew that we betrayed Him and His ways, yet, He still loved us and wanted to fix our sin problem.
So, He carried out His plan of sending a Rescuer, a Redeemer, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ.
Even from the very beginning of sin’s entrance into the world, God told the devil that He would send a descendant of Eve who would strike the head of the devil.
God also said through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
When all hope seemed lost of God’s people and for all the people all over the world, God had a plan: the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come as a baby into the world to redeem humanity.
That moment was prophesied and that moment came to be, as we heard from Luke 2 earlier in the service.
The eve of the Messiah looked forward to the one who would come and bring joy to the world: and come He did and it changed everything for all humanity.
That takes us to our next eve . . .
V. The eve of forgiveness [on screen]
God had a plan to bring forgiveness and, indeed, Jesus came and He brought hope and forgiveness for all the world.
John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
The world was looking forward to redemption from God, and redemption came. The eve of forgiveness had us looking forward to that hope, which came through Jesus Christ!
Some of you are still on the eve of forgiveness. You have not yet experienced that forgiveness yet, you can look forward to finding hope and you can find it in Jesus. Step out of the eve of forgiveness and step into the fullness of forgiveness found in Jesus!
First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Experience the hope of Jesus, which came in the coming of the Messiah. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas: the hope brought by Jesus.
Jesus makes all things new and brings us hope like no other.
He came to change the world, and He will come again to rescue His own one day.
That takes us to the last eve . . .
VI. The eve of eternity [on screen]
We who are in Jesus are now waiting for our King to return to take us to eternity with God in heaven.
He came as a lowly child first. He will come again as a mighty king.
There is great hope and joy in the fact that no matter what happens in the world, we know that our King is coming back for us with perfect love, perfect forgiveness, perfect healing, and perfect justice.
We are waiting for eternity spent with Him in heaven.
In Revelation 22:12, Jesus says, “Look, I am coming soon.”
We are on the eve of eternity. Put your hope in Jesus. As we look forward to the coming of Christmas, remember the coming of Jesus.
As we conclude this message, we have a video to encourage your hearts and remind you of God’s Work throughout the history of the world. [show video on screen]
Conclusion
This Christmas Eve, remember the eves and God’s work in this world. The eve of creation, the Eve in the garden, the eve of death, the eve of the Messiah, the eve of forgiveness, and the eve of eternity.
If you’ve not been changed by the love of God, He has a plan for you to experience His great love and joy as well. This Christmas Eve, give yourself to Him.
As we conclude we’ll sing Silent Night. That silent night God changed everything. He was thinking of us on the eve of creation. He’s waiting for us during this eve of eternity.
As we sing, we will signify the hope fo the light of Jesus by lighting candles throughout.
I have asked a family to help me with the lighting. As you light the candle, please light your neighbor’s candle and pass on the light.
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