Worship Programs

Christmas Eve Sermon

God Is With Us!

Matthew 1:18-23

It's Christmas!  God is with us!  That should set the church bells pealing and the choirs singing.  We never tire of the annual celebration of the birth of the Son of God.

There is reason enough to respond with joy and exultation at the fulfillment of the announcement of the angel of the Lord to Joseph:  "Listen!  The virgin shall conceive a child!  She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called ‘Emmanuel’ (meaning ‘God is with us’)" (Matthew 1:23, LB).  This is the good news of Christmas.

In those times of loneliness, which come to all of us, it is good to know that God is with us.

When sorrow disrupts our happy, well-ordered lives, it is comforting to know that God is with us.

Should disappointment enshroud our rainbows or discouragement bedim our sunshine, it helps to know that God is with us.

God is with us not only in His role of Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things; He is with us in the person of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

That is why Christmas and its celebration are important to the Christian.  It also explains why the Christ-follower can be uplifted by yuletide festivities without feeling let down by post-holiday depression.

The central message of Christmas stays with us.  Because of Christmas God is with us, and not only during the holidays but every day.

To those who have not yet taken advantage of God's gracious offer of forgiveness, the message of Christmas is:  "God is with us.  Salvation is available!"

God offers.

We accept.

This, too, is the good news of Christmas:  "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

If we need assurance that life is worth living - God is with us!

If we need to be convinced that our lives have purpose and that what we are doing counts for something - God is with us!

We don't have to face up to life in our strength alone.  Nor are we left to drift aimlessly in the dark currents of loneliness, sorrow or discouragement.

The good news is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to do for us as only He could.  It is the Son of God, during the days of His flesh, showing us how to live.  It is the sacrifice He made on the Cross, dying in our place, paying the price for our sin, bearing the burden of our guilt.  It is the Son of God coming back from the dead to be the Savior of mankind and the Lord of heaven and earth.

God, in His own personal way, dropped in on our world.  He lived among us, and He lives among us in His Son, Jesus Christ.  He is, indeed, Emmanuel, "God with us."

It is Christmas!  God is with us!