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Dec 24, 2022

Advent 2022 - Christmas Eve - (click for resources)

Passage: Revelation 22:20-21

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Advent 2022

Category: Grace Brevard

Keywords: love, christmas, with, abide

Theme: God With Us. We continually long to return the the deep, intimate and beautiful Withness with God, one another and even ourselves. Christmas is God Himself breaking the infinite boundaries to come be WITH us so that, through Him, we can finally be WITH him

Theme: God With Us. We continually long to return the the deep, intimate and beautiful Withness with God, one another and even ourselves. Christmas is God Himself breaking the infinite boundaries to come be WITH us so that, through Him, we can finally be WITH him

 

Here's all of our Advent Readings

#1 -  Christ Our King - Center White Candle


The first candle of our Advent wreath this year was the Christ the King Candle. We were ushered into the Heavenly Throne Room to see Christ our King reigning with Grace and Power. The pathway to this Throne wasn’t through a great military procession but through the manger; it was through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to the cross; it was through the grace, from which he rose as our conquering King.


(LIGHT THE CENTER CANDLE)


Isaiah 9

6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.


Luke 1:28b-33

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

#2 -  Christ Our Joy - Purple Candle


Our second candle of the Advent wreath was the “Christ Our Joy” Candle. We are designed to experience constant and overwhelming JOY. Because we have substituted the Joy of Christ with the fleeting and toxic pleasure of self-satisfaction, Jesus was born as a Joy-Maker, turning our mourning into dancing.


(LIGHT A PURPLE CANDLE)


Isaiah 52

8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.


Luke 1:39-45

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

#3 -  Christ Our Love - Pink Candle


Our third candle was the “Christ our Love” candle. Our deepest longing and continual pursuit is to love and be loved. We were created for this intimate and glorious connection and, though we have pursued love in the darkest corners of the world, Jesus has pursued us and brought us to himself, throwing a Heavenly Marriage Feast to celebrate.


(Light the Pink Candle)


Isaiah 40

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.


Matt 2

9 After listening to the king, (the Magi) went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.


John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

#4 -  Christ Our Peace - Purple Candle


Our fourth candle of the Advent wreath was the Christ Our Peace Candle. We were made with restful hearts amidst a peace-filled world. But because of sin, our peace has been replaced with fear, and rest has been replaced with toil as our Enemy has thrown creation into chaos. But God has sent his Son as the Prince of Peace so that all division and conflict could be defeated, and replaced with unity and peace.


(LIGHT A PURPLE CANDLE)


Isaiah 11:1-9

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.


GOSPEL READING

Luke 2

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

#5 -  Christ Our Hope - Purple Candle


Our fifth and final candle of the Advent wreath is the Christ Our Hope Candle  - On this final night of Advent our hopes finally find their fulfillment in the birth of Jesus Christ. We’ve had our hearts prepared by seeing the Throne Room of God, Christ the sacrifice that has brought us into the presence of the Lord, creating Joy and Peace that surround and even overwhelm us. And tonight we finish by reminding one another of the vast, glorious and sure Hope that we find in Christ. We are between two advents where he has come as a newborn King and has fully assured us of the Hope that he will come again and make all things new.


(LIGHT THE LAST PURPLE CANDLE)


OT READING

Jeremiah 33:14-16 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’)


Matthew 1:18-24 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).