Introduction
Before we begin today’s sermon would you join me in praying the words our Lord taught us to pray?
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be donein earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Amen
Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word
Jeremiah 6:16 ESV Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Deuteronomy 32:7 ESV Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
You May Be Seated
Play “Christmas Truce for CLC.mp4” Make sure to test this video well before service starts.
What you just watched was a representation of an actual even that took place in 1914. World War 1, or the Great War as it was then called, had just started 3 months earlier, but the bodies where already piling up. At one point on the western front, on Christmas eve, soldiers on both sides began singing Christmas carols, shocked to find out that they were singing the same songs, they began singing together.
The next morning, it was Christmas. The allies watched in what at first was described as confusion and horror as their enemies emptied out of their trenches unarmed… at first the allies thought it was a trap… but then they heard, in their native tongue, the words “Merry Christmas” being joyfully shouted by their enemies.
At that, the allies joined them, exchanged hugs, gifts, and stories. They even played soccer together, and lit Christmas trees.
In the following days the opposing soldiers refused to shoot each other, and when one side was about to bomb the other with artillery shells, they would first tell their enemies to come take cover in their won trenches. This went on for a week or two before military officials found out that no one was killing each other… so they replaced all the troops on the front with fresh, angry, troops, who were willing to fight.
I share this story this morning to make a point… liturgy is beautiful, and moreover, liturgy protects the church.Christmas, believe it or not, is a liturgical feast. It is something we Christians do all over the world, regardless of tradition, culture, denomination, or background.We sing the same songs.We have the same traditions.And we teach the same Bible story, that some 2000 years ago a virgin gave birth to a child who would one day die for the sins of the world.On this day in 1914, where men failed, where governments warred, when politics led to bloodshed… the Church prevailed… Christ prevailed.And on that western front, the Holy Spirit used Liturgy to show both sides that they were Christians first, and citizens of worldly nations second.
Show Title Slide
Liturgy Protects the Church…For the past two weeks we have talked about how returning to the ancient paths can give us a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are in Christ.We talked about how we are Jewish, because we are grafted into the vine by a Jewish savior…And I want to clarify something, when I say “We are Jewish” I do not mean that we are the same as those who practice religion in synagogue and call themselves Jews today, but without a savior…What I mean is that we are Israelites… we are Hebrews…That the God we serve is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that has never changed.That when Christ came, He came as the anticipated messiah that was prophesied even by Moses.I mean that those who call themselves “Jewish” today use the term in a way that I don’t think is biblical, because they reject the Messiah, but that we who are grafted into the vine, and those Jews by heritage who accept Christ, that we are the true church, call it Jewish, call it Hebrew, cal
