Christmas Eve, Candlelight, and Silent Night
John 1:14 (NIV) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This coming Saturday evening is Christmas Eve. My favorite service of the entire year is the 11 p.m. candlelight service at our church building. (We will hold this service once again this coming Saturday. Please realize that we have a 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. service that are identical!) The beauty of the 11 p.m. service is that right at midnight, when we officially greet Christmas morning, we are lighting our candles in the room and singing the carol written by Franz Gruber in 1818, “Silent Night.” Not only is it beautiful, meaningful, nostalgic, and almost romantic in its feel, but every time I light a candle in a dark room at midnight while singing these truthful words…
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at thy birth…
…I am drawn into an awe of the Almighty God. It gives me a sense of what it felt like to stand at the burning bush and hear the voice of God— but instead, before a child in a manger in a stall in Bethlehem. Those words from “Silent Night,” along with that glorious melody, enrich the understanding that we have witnessed the dawn of the Incarnational God that was laid in the manger in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
As you prepare yourself for this weekend’s worship, I challenge you to prepare your hearts and minds for the worship of the Incarnate God who came to bring the true light into the world. This is the light of the Almighty God, who arrived in the flesh to rescue us when we turn to him in faith.
preparing for Christmas weekend worship
- This week read the Christmas story accounts:
Plan to attend one or more of these worship opportunities:
- Saturday evening, December 24, 7 p.m. OR
- Saturday evening, December 24, 11 p.m.
(This will be a repeat of the 7 p.m. service)
- Sunday morning, December 25, 10 a.m.
This will be a brief candlelit service that will include reading and studying the powerful words from John 1. (There will be no normal Summit Adventures or Lil’Venture.)
I’ll see you this weekend at one of these worship services.
Patty and I both want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. We sure love this wonderful church family.
Billy & Patty Arnold