The Advent of Life in Christ – Christmas Eve 2020
Christ has come that we might experience true, full life, now and eternally.
Romans 5:1-5
The Advent of Joy – The Life of Joy
All people are motivated by the search for joy and happiness, but the route to real joy is through the shadow’s valley and into the wide-open arms of your Lord.
John 15: 9-11
The Advent of Love
God showed His love for us by sending His Son to sacrificially lay down His life for us, and we are to follow His example by laying down our lives for others.
John 15:13; 1 John 4:7-12
The Advent of Peace – It’s an Inside Job
Peace comes from within through the strength that Christ provides, not from our external circumstances or possessions.
Luke 8:22-25
The Church – God’s People on Mission Together
The Church has been given the Spirit to empower us to be on mission together, taking the Gospel forth and displaying the love of God to others from our location to the ends of the earth.
Luke 4:16-19; Luke 24:45-49
The Church – The Community of Servanthood
The local church community is where we are taught humble servanthood as a virtue, where we practice acts of servanthood, and where our souls are shaped so that our whole life becomes characterized by the attitude and practices of servanthood.
Galatians 5:13-15
The Church – The Persecuted Community of Faith
The Church is the community of those who are God’s people through faith in Christ and are therefore exiles in this world. Consequently, they must persevere through suffering and persecution, knowing God is worth far more than this passing age.
Hebrews 11
The Church – God’s Nation of Exiles
The Church is God’s Nation in the world today, comprised of believers from every earthly nation, scattered throughout every earthly nation, and with ultimate loyalty and affection reserved for God and His kingdom.
1 Peter 5:1-2; 2:9-12; 5:13-14
The Church – The Community of Worship
Worship is the assembly of the local church where God speaks to us through His Word, meets and strengthens us in the sacraments, and we respond as a community in spoken and sung prayers.
Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16
The Church – Elders
Each local church must have a group of elders who shepherd the flock by God’s Word, are servant leaders for those under their care, set a godly example in character and conduct, and point people to Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.
1 Peter 5:1–7
The Church – Universal and Local
All Christians are called to be part of local churches where they are led and cared for by elders, worship God, learn the Scripture, receive the sacraments, pray together, serve one another, and carry out the Great Commission together.
1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Acts 14:23
Who Is This King?
Christ is the all-sufficient Savior, Lord and King to all his people. He is a King who has done wondrous things for us, and as a result we ought to give him our allegiance, obedience and love.
Colossians 1:9-23 (ESV)
The Church – The Communion of Saints
The Church is the communion of the saints, all of those in every age who have been united to Christ in faith and draw their life from Him and who are therefore spiritually united with one another now and in eternity.
John 10:16; Hebrews 12:22-24
The Church – The Temple of God
The Church is God’s Temple, where He dwells by His Spirit as His people gather to worship and live in holiness and unity.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NIV2011
The Church – The Bride of Christ
The Church is the Bride of Christ, Whom He loves and for Whom He gives Himself that she might be glorious, full of the beauty of holiness.
Ephesians 5:22-33
The Church – The Body of Christ
The Church is the Body of Christ, in which believers are united with one another and with Jesus Christ, their Head and source of life.
1 Corinthians 12:12–13
The Church – The Community of Believers
The Church is the community of those who have personally responded to the Gospel, gather for worship, and care for one another.
Acts 2:36-47
Blessed to be a Blessing
All Christians are blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
Luke 5:1-11
The Beautiful Community – Mission
The Church is the beautiful community of those blessed by the Trinity and sent forth to spread the blessing of God throughout the earth.
John 20:21–23
The Beautiful Community – Blessing
The Church is the community of blessing, where those who are in Christ and walking in unity receive every spiritual blessing promised by God.
Ephesians 1:3-14
The Beautiful Community – Forgiveness
To express the love of the Trinity, the Church must be a beautiful community where the forgiveness offered in the Gospel is celebrated, received, and given.
Ephesians 4:29–5:2
The Beautiful Community – Humble Servanthood
If the Church is to be a beautiful community of unity and diversity, we must walk in humility, being willing to sacrifice our own rights in order to serve our brothers and sisters.
Philippians2:1-11
The Beautiful Community – Diversity
The Church becomes a beautiful community of diversity as we embrace each other with our different gifts, experiences, ethnicities, and backgrounds and submit to God’s Word together.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
The Beautiful Community – Unity
All humans are descended from Adam and are the image of God, but there The Church has been given a unity that flows from the life of the Trinity, but we must work to maintain this unity in practice.
Ephesians 4
The Beautiful Community – Reconciliation
All humans are descended from Adam and are the image of God, but there God has reconciled us to Himself and one another through the work of Jesus on the cross, creating the Church as the beautiful community of reconciliation in which He lives by His Spirit.
Ephesians 2:11-12