Grace Lutheran
Christmas Eve 2025

      • Romans 8:1ESV

  • O Come, All Ye Faithful

      • Isaiah 9:2–7ESV

      • Isaiah 9:2–7ESV

  • O Little Town of Bethlehem

      • Micah 5:2–5aESV

      • Micah 5:2–5aESV

  • Away In A Manger (Cradle Song)

      • Luke 2:1–7ESV

      • Luke 2:1–7ESV

  • Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

      • Luke 2:8–20ESV

      • Luke 2:8–20ESV

  • Angels We Have Heard On High

      • Matthew 1:18–25ESV

      • Matthew 1:18–25ESV

  • What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
  • Title: The Unstoppable Fact of Immanuel Texts: Isaiah 7:10–14; Psalm 110:1–4; 1 John 4:7–16; Matthew 1:18–25 Theme: The exact date of Christ’s birth is debatable, but the historical and theological fact of His birth—that God became man—is the foundation of the Gospel and the final answer to every doubt.

    A Date Worth Arguing About

    Every year—right about now—someone feels obligated to clear their throat and say it: “You know… Jesus probably wasn’t born on December 25th.” It usually happens at the dinner table, or on a podcast, or somewhere deep in the comments section of the internet. And it’s said with that special tone—as if this is brand-new information. As if the Church has been running a 2,000-year cover-up, and finally, someone has cracked the case.
    Here’s the truth: Christians have known this for a very long time. The Bible never gives us a date. Luke gives us shepherds and a manger—but no candles on a cake. Matthew gives us a genealogy and a dream—but no birth announcement with a time stamp. Nowhere does Scripture say, “And lo, it was the twenty-fifth day of December.”
    This is not a threat to the faith. It’s simply how Scripture works. But that raises an important question: If the date is uncertain, does that mean the story is uncertain? If we can’t pin it to a calendar, can we trust it at all?
    That’s the question people are really asking. It’s not about December 25th. It’s about whether Christianity rests on tradition and nostalgia—or on something solid and true. We live in a world that loves to pull on loose threads. Once someone tugs on the date, they don’t stop. Soon it’s, “Maybe the virgin birth is metaphor,” or “Maybe Jesus is more of an idea than a person.”
    But the Bible is remarkably unconcerned with trivia and deeply concerned with truth. It may not tell us the date—but it is crystal clear about the event. God became man. The Word took on flesh. Christmas is not built on a day; it’s built on a deed. Not on when it happened, but on what happened. And what happened changes everything.

    God Didn’t Send a Myth—He Sent a Child

    Matthew begins the story in the least magical way imaginable. In Matthew 1:18, he says, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way." That’s not poetry; it’s a report. There is no glitter here. Just problems.
    Mary is pregnant. Joseph knows he’s not the father. He is a "righteous man," which means he knows the Law and the social cost. He does not say, "Ah yes, a virgin birth—of course." He doesn’t believe it. He plans to end the engagement quietly.
    The Bible does not ask us to pretend this was easy to accept. It shows us a man who struggles and hesitates. Then God intervenes—not with a biology lesson, but with a promise and a name: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
    Before Jesus ever preaches a sermon or performs a miracle, His mission is declared: to save. Matthew anchors this in the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive... and shall call his name Immanuel" (God with us).
    God entered history. Not symbolically, but bodily. A real child. Born into a real family. Into a real mess. For real sinners. That’s not myth. That’s Christmas.

    God Came Because We Needed Saving

    John tells us plainly why this happened in 1 John 4:10: "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son." Christmas is not God responding to our effort. It is not a gold star for good behavior. Jesus did not arrive to congratulate humanity on its progress. He came because the world was broken—and we were part of the problem.
    Christmas only makes sense if something is wrong. We like to think of Christmas as comforting—and it is—but first, it’s confronting. It tells us the truth: we need rescuing.
    God’s love is defined by action. He loves by coming. He saves by suffering. The wood of the feeding trough points forward to the wood of the cross. The swaddling cloths point ahead to burial cloths. The infant cries will one day give way to, "It is finished." If God came knowing exactly who we are—and still came anyway—then forgiveness is real, and grace is sure.

    So What? Why Does This Matter to You?

    So tonight, we’re not celebrating a date on a calendar. We are celebrating a collision. We are celebrating the moment when eternity crashed into time. When the Infinite—who holds the galaxies in place—contracted Himself to the size of an infant’s lungs.
    So, why does this matter to you tonight?
    It matters because if the date is just a tradition, then Christmas is just a mood—and moods change. But if the Incarnation is a fact, then your hope is a fact. It means that God did not stay distant, silent, or uninvolved. He didn't send a representative; He came Himself. He entered the dirt and the noise of our world so that He could enter the mess of your life.
    Because of the unstoppable fact of Immanuel, you can know this for certain:
    You are not alone in your struggle. God has entered your world. He knows the weight of human skin. He knows the sting of tears and the exhaustion of a long night.
    Your sin is not ignored; it is handled. Your past is not swept under a rug. It has been carried, judged, and fully forgiven in the flesh of this Child.
    Your death is not the end. We know the cradle has power because we know the tomb is empty. The child who was wrapped in cloths for a manger was the man who left His grave clothes behind.

    The Call: Receive and Rest

    In a world that demands you do more, be better, and save yourself, the message from the manger is different. The call tonight is not for you to work harder to find God. The call is simply this: Believe the news. Receive the Gift.
    Stop Tugging at the Threads. If you came here with doubts, stop looking inward at your own shaky faith and look outward at the Fact. The date doesn't matter, but the Child does. He is your certainty when your feelings fail.
    Bring Your Mess to the Manger. Don't try to "clean up" before you approach the Lord. God enters the mess. Whatever burden or grief you brought through those doors, leave it here at the feet of the One who came to carry it for you.
    Rest in the "With-ness" of God. As you leave this place, take this with you: You are a God-occupied person. Through your Baptism and by His Word, the Immanuel born in Bethlehem is the same Christ who dwells in you now. You do not walk into the dark alone.
    He is not just "God with us" in a general sense; He is "God with you"—for your forgiveness, for your life, and for your eternal salvation.
    Christ is born. God is with us. And because He is with us, everything has changed.
    Amen.

    Let us pray.

    Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You that You did not remain distant, but came near; that You sent not an idea or a message, but Your Son, born of Mary, laid in a manger, given for us and for our salvation. When our hearts are troubled by doubt, anchor us in Your unchanging truth. When our sins accuse us, remind us that Jesus has come to forgive. When death looms large, fix our eyes on the One who came to defeat it. Keep us steadfast in this joy, bold in this hope, and confident in this promise: that because Christ is born, You are with us now and forever. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
  • Angels from the Realms of Glory
  • Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
  • It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
  • God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
  • The First Noel
  • Good Christian Friends Rejoice
  • Silent Night

      • John 1:1–5ESV

      • John 1:9–14ESV

  • Silent Night
  • Joy To The World
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