FHCC
20251224 Christmas Eve Worship

      • Galatians 3:10–13ESV

  • O Come O Come Emmanuel
  • O Little Town Of Bethlehem
  • Joy To The World
  • O Come All Ye Faithful

  • Intro

    Most of us are looking for something warm and loving on this Christmas eve. Why is that preacher still talking about a Curse? It is because good news becomes GREAT news when we realize the alternative.
    Due to modern chemistry, the fear of a fever is not what it used to be. For just 2-3 cents we can buy a pill (or even pediatric drops) that are labeled “fever reducer”
    There was a day, not too many decades ago when a fever was frequently fatal. Diseases like Typhoid Fever, Scarlet Fever or Rhumatic Fever have all but disappeared from our awareness, where they once were matters of life or death. Our deliverance from these diseases becomes a source of joy when we consider all who were laid in an early grave due to “the fever”.
    TRANSITION: Just as the deliverance from something like a warm forehead becomes glorious when we consider that it may have been a symptom of something deadly, The arrival of Jesus becomes more glorious when we realize the dark world into which He came. Paul describes this darkness as being...

    Under a Curse (Gal 3:10)

    We have invested the Sundays since Thanksgiving considering the impacts of this curse and the broken world in which we live.

    Satanic lies that people believe
    enmity with the minions of the talking Serpent
    Pain in home and work
    and
    Shame and Embarrassment as hidden things are revealed.
    TRANSITION: These results have been very man centered—How do we, as human beings, interpret life? But the birth of the Christ child doesn’t only impact our perspective of life, it reconciles God’s perspective of those He created for Fellowship.

    Becoming a Curse (Gal 3:13)

    Sin and rebellion are so serious that God cannot just ignore them. For holiness and justice to remain, their consequence must be paid for. That is the meaning of the second word of this verse - redeemed.

    Redemption means someone pays a price so that a being can be set free.

    we can’t earn our freedom, because we just are NOT good enough. That is the point of Gal 3:10-12.
    We can’t purchase our own freedom, because we don’t have the resources necessary.

    for us - middle of Gal 3:13

    Many in our world view Jesus different than we do. There are some who believe Jesus became a moral example to us. Or that His sacrifice is like us, when we choose to help others. But to us or like us is not what this verse says!
    Jesus came and offered himself as a substitute for us!

    By becoming a curse, Jesus both expiates (takes away our penalty) and propitiates (causes God to view us favorably).

    Words like this can be confusing and off-putting, so let me illustrate
    Many of us grew up with a telephone in our home. I was told very early on the difference between local calls, and something called “long-distance”.
    Years ago I got my first cellular phone. Each month I received a bill that said “you have used this many minutes and you must pay this much by this date.” That is expiation - pays the amount due.
    Years later I was put on a plan that said, “We will no longer track your minutes or texts, you now have nationwide unlimited access” that is propitiation— unlimited access. But even that unlimited access had limits.
    It wasn’t until recently that our propitiation was truly unlimited (both in calls, texts AND data).
    TRANSITION: When Jesus came to Bethlehem that first Christmas night, He made it possible for you and me to be on a “new plan”! Just as when broadband came to our county 4 years ago, it opened up all sorts of new possibilities.

    Victory over the Curse

    As I prepared for this message I found that the opposite of curse is not neutrality. The opposite of curse is blessing. Just as Christ substitution not only expiates the bad, but he propitiates through blessing.

    Made Alive (1 Cor 15:21-22)

    1 Corinthians 15:21–22 ESV:2016
    For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
    Jesus doesn’t make bad people better, Those who are in Christ are made alive!
    This life in the Spirit is where we find peace, love, and joy!

    Liberated from Fear and Slavery (Heb 2:14-15)

    Hebrews 2:14–15 ESV:2016
    Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
    Those who have seen the Christmas movie “A Christmas Story” know that Ralphie only wanted 1 thing for Christmas. But his mother’s fear of shooting his eye out stood between his longing and his dreams.
    We saw in our first week of Advent that we have been set free from Fear and slavery to evil because the doom of the Evil one is already cast. We live out the freedom of 2 Timothy 1:7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
    Because we are now alive and set free from fear, we no longer live bound by the curse of our original parents.

    a new Image (1 Cor 15:49)

    1 Corinthians 15:49 ESV:2016
    Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
    The resurrection from the dead entitles those in Christ to anticipate a new Image, one that is not flawed like our earthly image, but one that looks like the first one to resurrect never to die again.
    I’m looking forward to the image I will bear! One where Satan’s enmity is not a problem, One where pain does not impact my relationships, One where shame has been totally taken away. A new image of eternal life and true liberty.
    TRANSITION: By becoming a Curse, the story of Christmas is that Jesus reverses the Curse for all who place their trust in Him.

    Conclusion

    Angels told the shepherds “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” That news was celebrated by the glory of a multitude of heaven hosts.
    A similar word to glory is light. Light from a special star intrigued a group of consultants so that they needed to follow that light and find out for themselves what it all meant.
    As we prepare to leave this place and celebrate the Light that came into our world so that our curse could be reversed, I invite you to encircle this room and receive the light of your neighbor and share the light with your other neighbor.
    This sharing and multiplying of light is a symbol of God’s love that comes to each of us as individuals and is shared by all of us as God’s family.

      • 1 Corinthians 15:21–22ESV

      • Hebrews 2:14–15ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 15:49ESV

  • Silent Night

      • John 8:12ESV

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