Our candlelight service of lessons and carols on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite "special" worship services during the year. Here's a couple pictures taken by Jason Schaitel before (below) the service began and during the candle lighting (above).
Of all the OT verses forecasting the coming of Christ, there is a particular phrase I love which comes at the end of this section in Isaiah 9-6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
It brings great joy to know the zeal of the Lord has accomplished redemption for all those who believe on Christ.
5 comments:
You should be very grateful that the 11 Haneys in attendance chose a back row because 6 of them are under 5 years old. One of the choir members remarked after the service that the Haney row was quite a busy group. She must have been referring to potty breaks, trips to the cry room, breaks for a walk down the hall and the passing back and forth of babies. Our row must have looked like Times Square on New Years morning after we vacated it. In spite of all this, 5 of us made it all the way to the end of the service and I was blessed to have my grandson Max (aka the Nugget) sitting next to me peacefully holding a candle as we sang Silent Night. God is good. Amen.
You pastors look awfully small near the pulpit. How high are your ceilings on that side of the building?
super high...
Hahahahahahaha! Thanks. Hopefully you're not that vague while feeding and discipling your (God's) flock.
And so, another Christmas comes and goes. But what will I remember about this one? How precious it is to be with loved ones, to see our grandchildren grow up and to witness laughter and love lived out each day in homes where parents who are training them up in the ways of the Lord. And as I get older each celebration of Advent, Christ’s coming becomes even more precious. I reflect on the wonderful time we had with family this year and my heart was broken, for so many had no family to celebrate with. I pray that those with no family were able to find enough strength to come to our Christmas eve service. That in this special celebration at Redeemer, many new faces were able to find love and fellowship and a place where they can become part of a new family.
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