Ashe Alliance Church
Chritsmas Eve Service 12.24.25
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  • Angels We Have Heard On High
  • O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
  • Texts: Matthew 1:18-25, Titus 2:11–13, Revelation 21:3–4, Revelation 19:6-9, Revelation 22:1–4,
    Main Idea: The Light that came at Christmas will one day conquer all darkness. And as we live between His comings, we walk in Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

    Series Intro: Darkness → Light

    This is sermon 4 of 4 of our Advent season, through the perspective of darkness and light:
    Sermon 1: The Darkness We Cannot Escape
    Sermon 2: The Light We Cannot Ignore
    Sermon 3: The Light We Cannot Hide
    Sermon 4: The Light We Eagerly Await
    Advent has a Latin root that means ‘coming,’ so we use it to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the birth of the Light of the world. Let’s begin our time together by reading that account together.

    I. The Progression from Darkness to Light

    Tomorrow, we will celebrate the birth of the Light of the world. Let’s read that account together.
    Matthew 1:18–25 CSB
    18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.
    The Advent season uses 4 candles to walk through the four themes of the Messiah's birth, and through our specific series, we have discovered…
    1. Hope in the Darkness – Week 1: The Darkness We Cannot Escape
    Candle: Hope
    We began by acknowledging the inescapable darkness of our world—sin, brokenness, and despair.
    But even in the darkest night, a spark of hope appeared. Christ, the Light, who was promised over the course of 1,000+ years, has finally come.
    2. Peace Through the Light – Week 2: The Light We Cannot Ignore
    Candle: Peace
    On the first Christmas, Jesus, the divine Light, entered our world. Through His teaching and deeds, He revealed the light of the gospel and the reality of His kingdom. In His death, darkness seemed to overcome the light, but at the resurrection, Light defeated darkness.
    The Light revealed His divine nature to us, exposed the darkness and hardness of our hearts, and offered enemies of God a way to be made right with Him once again.
    And when a person is made right with God, the peace of God rests on Him because that relationship has been restored by the Prince of Peace.
    3. Joy in Bearing the Light – Week 3: The Light We Cannot Hide
    Candle: Joy
    The Light that pierced the darkness also brought life.
    The spark of new life as a new creation in the Light wasn’t meant to be hidden. Because we have been adopted as children and restored to our Heavenly Father, we also have joy in His presence.
    We have the joy of being entrusted with a role and a mission: to exalt, reflect, bear fruit, and walk in the Light of Christ as children of light and citizens of the Kingdom of light.
    There is great joy in knowing that the Light now shines through us.
    4. Love That Came Down – Week 4: The Light We Eagerly Await
    Candle: Love
    If hope was the promise, peace the plan, and joythe result—love was the motive.
    Why did God send His Son into our darkness? Because He so loved the world (John 3:16).
    Love is what moved Him to pierce the darkness. Love is what held Jesus on the cross. Love is what now shines through us.
    The themes we celebrate during Advent are fulfilled in Jesus. When the God of creation put on human flesh to dwell with the people He came to redeem and to die as the atoning sacrifice for their transgressions…
    The hope of the Messiah’s arrival was satisfied
    The peace He brought to His enemies was given
    The joy of His presence has come and will forever remain
    The love that compelled Him to step down from heaven has completely transformed us
    In short, they have been fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus… or I should say…partially fulfilled.
    Now, 2,000 years later, we still celebrate the Advent of the Christ… His first coming, which accomplished the mission of salvation and redemption. However, we also recognize that things aren’t perfect. We still live in a broken world affected by the fall. The power of sin and death were defeated at the cross, but they still have disastrous effects in the world today.
    While we celebrate Jesus' first coming in the manger, we also eagerly await His second coming in power and glory. This is the proclamation we make each month as we celebrate communion. As we remember His sacrifice on the cross, we also eagerly proclaim that He will come back again.

    II. The Second Advent: What We Eagerly Await

    Just as the first coming of Jesus brought light into the darkness, so His second coming will come to a darkened world desperate for light. But this time, He will not come as a suffering servant and a sacrificial lamb—but as a reigning king and the lion of Judah.
    He is not coming to die, but to make all things new, so each Advent candle now points us forward, not backward.
    1. Hope Renewed – His Return is Certain
    Candle: Hope
    Our hope is not wishful thinking—it is confident expectation.
    Every promise will be fulfilled.
    The same Jesus who came in a manger will come again in majesty (Titus 2:11-13).
    Titus 2:11–13 CSB
    11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
    2. Peace Restored – The War Will End
    Candle: Peace
    The battle between light and darkness will be decisively ended.
    He will bring shalom—wholeness and harmony forever.
    Peace will not just be internal—it will be cosmic. No more tears. No more death. (Revelation 21:3-4)
    Revelation 21:3–4 CSB
    3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
    3. Joy Completed – The Celebration Will Begin
    Candle: Joy
    The joy we feel now is just a taste of what is to come.
    The eternal wedding feast awaits.
    When we see Him face to face, our joy will be complete (Revelation 19:6-9).
    Revelation 19:6–9 CSB
    6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns! 7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
    4. Love Fully Realized – The Presence of God Forever
    Candle: Love
    At His second coming, love will no longer be believed by faith—it will be seen.
    Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is LOVE (1 Cor. 13:13).
    We will dwell with God, our true Father and Bridegroom, forever (Revelation 22:1-4).
    Revelation 22:1–4 CSB
    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.
    Love came down at Christmas to sacrifice, but love will reign forever at His return.

    III. Application: Living Between the Comings

    We live in the already—but-not-yet.
    The Light has come, and the Light will come again. (Beginning, Bethlehem, Easter, Us, End)
    Until then, we wait actively—as lampstands, witnesses, and faithful followers.
    The Light pierced the darkness once, and it will do so again. We remember His first coming so that we can long forand live for His second. And until that day, we shine with hope, peace, joy, and love—because the Light lives in us.

      • Matthew 1:18–25CSB

      • Titus 2:11–13CSB

      • Revelation 21:3–4CSB

      • Revelation 19:6–9CSB

      • Revelation 22:1–4CSB

  • Silent Night (Stille Nacht)
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Ashe Alliance Church
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