Christmas Candle light Service 2023

Pastor Gail

1. Amen, we’re so glad you’re here for candlelight. It’s a night of great Joy. It’s absolutely a celebration, and we’re very glad you’re here. Today we want to light the 4^th candle for Advent, in this world and in this time in which we live. More than ever, we need to stop and reflect, is there more than the busyness and the troubles we see in this world. Yes, there is. We believe that the Lord Jesus is coming again. And this is a time at Christmas, when we reflect not on good deeds, but we reflect more on what Jesus did for us. It’s not a time to reflect on the gifts you will buy, or receive, but remember the birth of Jesus.
2. He came because He loved us. This is good news. Even the angels filled the sky with the message of love. The angels visited the lowest of society, back then, the shepherds. Because this love is no respecter of persons. So, as we have lit 4 candles today, let’s think about John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.” Because you see the Scripture goes on to say, “God did not send His Son in this world to condemn us, but that the world through Jesus Christ would be saved.” John 3: 17.
3. So, we’re so happy you’re here tonight, to celebrate the greatest gift, the world has ever received. Would you bow your heads with me; “Heavenly Father, we don’t have the words to express how much we’re amazed by your love, that even before any of us were born, You made a way, hallelujah, You sent Your Son, that oh Lod we would have a way, to journey through this life, finding You, calling You into our hearts and oh Lord living for you, not just here and now, but forever. And we thank You in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah, Amen.
4. We want to welcome you again, look at somebody next to you and welcome them tonight. This is the best place to be. Can you believe it, it’s one week before Christmas. It’s come so quickly; it seems this year. So, it’s wonderful, so we can stop tonight and just share the wonder of Christmas. So, we welcome you here to our home tonight, Christmas is meant for family. And so, we call you our family and it’s so good to have you here with us to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. I like that song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, I love that song. We celebrate with gifts, with trees, we visit friends, and our loved ones.
5. It really is a time of joy. But we do not want to forget, why we really celebrate this day. We don’t want to forget, why we give gifts to each other at Christmas. And the reason is that God gave us a special gift. What is that gift? It’s JESUS! It’s His Son, Jesus, Amen, I love that so much. I find nowadays when people say, ‘Merry Christmas,’ people they respond now with ‘Happy Holidays.’ But I think, the most wonderful thing we can say is, ‘Merry Christmas’. So, we want to remember Jesus, as we remember all the Christmas festivities this year. We want to celebrate Jesus. And who doesn’t like a good celebration? Don’t you like to celebrate? Celebrate Jesus, the best celebration of all. We want to give away a special gift this year. We want to give to each other, and those friends and family around us, the gift from the very heart of God – His Son Jesus.
6. So, this night, we will remember, that Jesus put His hands around the whole world, when He came to the earth over 2000 years ago. We are thankful for this time. Some songs to follow.
7. You may be seated. Can you imagine, a young woman, not yet married, and she’s excited for her life ahead. She will soon have a life with her soon to be husband, Joseph. Everything she ever wanted were in front of her. It’s about to take place. But her life is interrupted by the most amazing, unusual and impossible of all circumstances. Read with us form Luke 1: 26-38, ‘In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.’ Some songs to follow.
8. The story of amazing love. Hallelujah, we get to share that tonight. Why don’t you look to someone near to you and say, ‘I am so glad, we can celebrate that story tonight.’ We’re going to now move from Mary’s experience, were going to go to the story of Joseph, promised husband. He was a good man and was ready to marry a good virtuous young woman. So, let’s look at his story, Matthew 1: 18-25, ‘This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
   But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.’
9. It’s an amazing story. And I ask myself, if I had been Joseph, would I have immediately obeyed. But we will read that he immediately moved to obey God. The story is provided to us in Luke 2: 1-7, ‘​ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So, Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.’ Some songs to follow.
10. You may be seated. So, Joseph and Mary will make their way through the town. They go from inn to inn. Or in today’s terms, from hotel to hotel, trying to find a place to stay. They knocked on door after door, desperate for a place to stay. Looking for somewhere, maybe where Mary could give birth to her baby boy. I can just imagine, how Mary must have felt. She knew she was ready to deliver, and what is she going to do. Finally, Joseph knocks on a door, and there’s an answer. They lead him to a barn, to a stable, where at least they can have a place to lie down and sleep. And I invite you to stand with us one more time. Songs to follow.
11. Amen you may be seated. And isn’t it wonderful, this Jesus we know. He really wants us to live forever with Him. And it wasn’t only Mary and Joseph, who were involved in this story. Many people had been awaiting the birth of Jesus. They’d been awaiting the Messiah for a very long time. From people with the most important jobs, to people with the lowliest of jobs, throughout all of Israel, 2000 years ago. The people had been waiting for hundreds of years for the Messiah to be born.
12. Finally, this included the shepherds in the fields, who were watching over their sheep. Luke 2: 8-12, ‘And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”’ Some songs to follow.
13. We want pause here for a moment, and pray for peace on earth. We live in a very troubled world. And the hope of the world is Jesus. Would you stand with me, and feel free to pray out loud, or just however you’d like, but I feel it would be pleasing to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to pray for peace on earth. And if personally, you’re not sure about Jesus, it won’t do any harm, to ask Him for peace. Let’s pray together. ‘Father in the Name of Jesus, Your Name is Prince of Peace, You are King of kings. Oh Lord there is no one like You, Lord, we are in a very troubled time Lord, wars in so many places, people full of anger, people full of fear, people confused, but tonight we raise up Your Name, and we declare tonight, where we can find peace nowhere else, in Your Name, in Your Name, Prince of Peace, Jesus, You bring the ultimate answer, that this world needs. We thank You for coming, and we believe You’ll make a way, where there seems to be no way. Because You are the God of miracles. For You are a miracle. Hallelujah, You came to earth as a baby, Lord and You gave Your life, and You rose again. You live forever, and You invite us to live with You. Thank You, in the Name of Jesus.’
14. You may be seated. I would like to share a few announcements with you. ‘Wednesday night, we will be having just a short one-hour carols and prayer for our neighborhood, from 7 to 8 here. And Sunday morning 24^th Dec, which is Christmas eve, 11 to 12 in the morning, the Church will be open, for devotional and short time of singing Christmas carols too. And as you leave this evening, there will be ushers at the back, if you would like to give an offering to help this church to continue in this area of Athens. And we want to thank everyone who helped to bake cookies, to reach out in the ministry and in central Athens, thank you so much, I think one person baked 8 dozen, thank you. And until next Sunday Dec 24^th we are collecting extremely well kept used clothes, or new clothes and diapers for babies, and we thank you that if you have access to that, go buy some pampers, so that we can give to needy families of refugees here in Athens.
15. Now, we want to focus on the many people who came to find the new-born King, and they did find Him. And tonight, if you are searching for Him, you can find Him. Angels and shepherds, wise men, Mary and Joseph, and who knows whom else. What we do know, is that everyone who found Him, they worshipped Him. They opened up their treasures to Him. They opened up their hearts to Him. The best gifts that were given that day were just this. Praise, Love and Adoration for the new-born King. And that is the best gift we can give today as well. He’s not looking for your material gifts, or your good deeds, He’s ultimately looking for your hearts. Some songs.

Pastor Brian van Deventer

16. Go ahead and be seated. Look at your neighbor and say it’s good to be here. It’s good to be home with you. Go ahead and tell them, ‘It’s good to be home with you.’ That’s where we started out tonight. We are just going to spend a little bit of family time. We spent it doing what I think is the most important thing, which is to rehearse the story of Christmas. There is no more important thing than that Jesus came to earth. That He lived and died, but that He was raised from the grave, and He ascended into heaven, and one day, Children of God, one day He’s coming back again. That’s the story of Christmas.
17. Now before I begin, I want to thank some of the family members. You know, when you go over to your family’s house, usually there are those that prepare the food and then there are those who come and eat. And there are quite a number of our family, who came early today, to prepare the house, and get the food ready. So, I want to especially thank Korina, Stavro, Leto, Cecilia, and if I leave anybody out, I’m sorry, but for everybody who came early, the ladies upstairs, to get things ready. Michael, thank you. And I want to thank especially, those who came a day ahead, yesterday to do it all then. The worship team, give them a little bit of thank you. I want to thank all the special singers; I won’t go through it. Thank you to Lars and Trudy who helped at the back these days. It takes work to do stuff. So, we really want to appreciate it. And I want you all to welcome Natasha and Vicky back in the house again. It’s nice to see all of the family. It’s especially nice to see those who we haven’t seen in a while, especially when they walk in the door and go to work again. So, thank you Natasha.
18. We read the passage of Scripture from Luke Chapter 2, that is probably the most famous part of the story of Christmas, other than the baby being born in the manger. There was the story of the shepherds in the field. All of a sudden, an angel appears to them and gives them the good news that the Messiah is coming or has come, and then a multitude of angels appear, and they start singing, “Glory to God in the Highest, peace to all men on whom God’s favor rests.” What a wonderful event! What a wonderful change in the atmosphere! That the shepherds would receive the story of glory to God in the highest.
19. But last week as I was sitting in church, I read through that passage, and I kept reading, and I noticed something differently than I had ever before. It was not new to me but I hadn’t paid that much attention to it. So, let’s look from verse Luke 2:15-18, ‘When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”’ Our title tonight is ‘The celebrating of Jesus on this journey of love.’ It was love that the Father sent Jesus. It was love that the angels appeared and proclaimed the message, and it was a response to that love that made those shepherds hear it and believe it, but they did not just hear and believe this message, they acted on it. Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that we were just told. So, they took that step.
20. So, look at the journey of their response. They heard the message, they believed it for themselves, and acted upon it, they went to the manger, they went to the Savior. But the part that caught my attention was that that was not the end of the story. Because the shepherds did not just receive the message for themselves. That could have been the end of the story right there. They could have just joined the angels and said, yes glory to God in the highest, we love it. And then turn around and just go back down in the fields. They could have done that. But they didn’t. They moved to find the child, and I got to thinking, I wonder how many people, hear the good news about Jesus, and maybe they embrace it in their minds to some level, but they never actually act on that to move to the Savior. With all my heart I want you to hear this tonight.
21. Jesus loved you enough, let’s change the tense, Jesus loves you enough, that He came to earth, lived a life, died on a cross, came out of the grave, ascended into heaven, where the Bible says that to this day He prays for you, but I don’t want you to hear and believe that message, I want you to respond to that message. Don’t leave the Savior out there. Move towards the manger. Kneel down in front of the Child. Worship the living God. Bring Him into your heart and life. Because you heard and you believed and you moved. But that’s not the end of the story either.
22. Go back to that last Scripture (Luke 2:17 “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,”) The angels did not come to spread the message to the shepherds alone. they came to that field somewhere outside Bethlehem, because they wanted to sound a note, Victor, because through the shepherds they wanted the world to hear. The message was not just theirs to believe, and every believer in this room tonight, all believers all through this city and around the world, we must understand that the Gospel was given to us not just for us. It’s not enough that we believe and just act on that belief by coming to church and praying and giving.
23. But if we hear the message, and we believe it in our hearts, and we move to the Savior, then we must understand that final step. That when we see Him, and we start singing, ‘You are worthy of it all,’ that we then have to send that message beyond us, because it’s not just for us. And if we really believe it, I see a few heads nodding, you’re ahead of me. If we really believe it, that which you love, you display. And then I love the punctuation at the end of this, Luke 2:18, “And all who heard it, were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” Do we believe tonight? That we could share a story that’s so important to us, that when other people hear it from us, then some of them at least, will be amazed at what we say to them.
24. This is my heart’s cry this Christmas, ‘Don’t stop at the manger, but move out into the village, and begin to tell the story, that someday, somehow God delivered to you. When I was a child, we used to sing a song, ‘I love to tell the story, it will be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story, of Jesus and His love’. Amen.

Pastor Gail Stathis

25. If you’re here tonight and if you don’t have joy in your hearts, and you don’t have peace in your hearts, all you have to do, is to ask Him, ‘Come into my life, I need You.’ And we promise, He will hear you, and He will come. Because do you know why? He is here. The greatest joy you’ve ever known, the greatest love, is here now.