Christmas Eve Service

Christmas On Location, part 3 of 3
Underneath many Christmas trees and spread out on many lawns you will find the manger scene where baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, wise men, shepherd’s, animals, and the like are spread out for us to observe and appreciate. But what was it like to be one of the on-lookers on Jesus Christ the God-Man born in a humble feeding trough? In this talk we will look at some of the key onlookers to the new born baby, Jesus Christ, and what God did for each of them as they understood who Jesus Christ was. We will also apply some of those principles to our lives so that we can fully appreciate Christmas for all its worth and all it means.

Download the notes.

I) THE WISE MEN: EVEN SMARTER THAN WE THINK

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”
(Matthew 2:1-2, NIV)

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until the place where it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
(Matthew 2:9-12, NIV)

II) THE SHEPHERDS: A REASON TO LEAVE SHEEP

“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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’”
(Luke 2:8-11, NIV)

“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… The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen…”
(Luke 2:15-18,20, NIV)