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The Eve of Something Great (Christmas Eve Sermon)

First Baptist Church https://fbcbartow.org

“The Eve of Something Great” [on screen]

(Selected Passages)

Christmas Eve Sermon

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

December 24, 2020

Introduction

Will you join me in prayer?

(Prayer)

One of my children asked me once what an eve was. We celebrate Christmas Eve, but what is an eve? An eve can mean the evening before something, such as Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, or All Hallows Eve (which is also known as Halloween). However, an eve can also mean the time right before something is about to happen. Such as giving your son a special pocket knife on the eve of him graduating high school. Or, receiving a watch or plaque on the eve of your retirement. 

Some of you may remember being in the eve of something great in your life. Sometimes you can even feel the significance of the moment. Perhaps you remember the eve of welcoming your first child into your home. Maybe you remember doing something significant in your job. You remember the eve of that moment and how it felt just before it came. Maybe you’re like me and you get excited as a vacation approaches. The eve of vacation is an exciting moment.

Well, on this Christmas Eve, I want to mention the eve of three great occasions in the life of our world.

First, . . .

I. The eve of a Great Savior.

Folks, we need a Savior. 

Ever since the entrance of sin into the world, this world has needed a Savior! In fact, God knew that and He promised a Savior. God promised One who would defeat evil! 

In Genesis 3:15, in the Garden of Eden, God pronounces both a curse upon the serpent (who is the devil) and a prophecy of hope for the world concerning a Savior who would be born. God said, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

From the very beginning of sin coming into the world, we were looking forward to the eve of the Great Savior! One who would bring salvation for the world! One who would rescue us from sin! One who would crush the head of Satan!

There was the eve of a Great Savior for the world!

There was also the eve of the great Savior in our own lives. There was a time when we were without Jesus. We were lost in our sin. It was in that moment, in the eve of our salvation that God reached out to us and brought us hope! He brought us salvation by the work of the Great Savior!

The apostle John tells us in John 3:16-17, “16 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

The world was cursed by sin and death, but God fixed that problem by sending the greatest blessing the world has ever seen. The Great Savior is better than the great curse. 

The world was once in the eve of a Great Savior. Praise God that the Savior has come!

Some of you may be in the eve right now of experiencing the Great Savior! Give yourself to Him now. Experience His love and salvation!


This Christmas Eve, remember the eve of the Great Savior!

Second, . . .

II. The eve of a great life.

Some of you can remember vividly what life was like without Jesus. Some of you also can remember what it’s like to have Jesus in your life but not realize the depth of the great blessings of God. 

Because of the coming of our Great Savior; who was born in a manger, grew up as a man, gave His life on the cross, and rose from the dead; we are now set free from death and we have great life!

Paul says in Romans 8:1-2 – 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Peter says that our life in Jesus is a “living hope.” He says in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

Our hope is not found in the blessings of this world but in the heavenly blessings of God!

Before Jesus, we were in the eve of a great life. In Jesus, we have a living hope!

Some of you are so close to experiencing the great life that God has in store for you in Jesus. You are moments away from Jesus changing your life forever. 

On Christmas Eve, as we look forward to what tomorrow brings with Christmas, let us now look to God with anticipation of the new life that He brings. 

Finally, let’s remember that we are now in . . . 

III. The eve of a great eternity.

As we read earlier, Peter spoke of an inheritance that is imperishable, kept in heaven for us. Part of that inheritance is the promise of a great eternity with God, our Creator and our Father. This inheritance is secured by the work of Jesus. 

Listen to how this eternity is described, in part, in Revelation 22:1-5: 1 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.

No matter what we are going through now, we know that we are on the eve of a great eternity where God will take away all suffering and pain and we will have a life with Him forever in a great heavenly city. Christmas made that possible!

Jesus Himself spoke about the blessing of eternity that would come through Him. In John 11:25-27, He spoke to a woman named Martha. The Scripture says, “25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ 27 ‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.’”

Folks, do you believe it? Do you believe we are now at the eve of a great eternity? The coming of Jesus into our world brought with it the promise of a great eternity with God that has with it beautiful and wonderful heavenly blessings forever and ever. 

Conclusion

As you remember Christmas Eve, look forward to tomorrow with anticipation as a great day. Also, remember that God has already brought about great days and we are at the eve of more great days. With Jesus, God has brought us, and will continue to bring us, all kinds of blessings. Let us enjoy them with joy and gratitude. 

Remember the Great Savior. Experience a great life. Look forward to a great eternity. 

If you don’t know Jesus, if you haven’t enjoyed God’s blessings, turn to Jesus today. 

Let me ask God’s blessing over us now.

(Prayer)

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