Is it possible for us to actually lose Christmas? Sure, but by the grace of God in the Christ of Christmas it is more than possible for Christmas to be found again. “Lost and Found” is the theme for the message this day as we see the boy Jesus in the temple, lost from his parents and then found again. In the larger scope of things, Jesus isn’t the one who is lost – we are. This is what Christmas is all about: God sending his only begotten Son on a search-and-rescue mission; to find and save his sons and daughters – that’s us – who were lost and didn’t even know it. That’s what sin can do to us – cause us to be so blinded to what God’s design and purpose for life are that we do not even realize we are hopelessly lost and headed to certain destruction. This is why Jesus came into the world - to save us from our sins.

Sometimes there's way too much assembly required in life - the pieces might be there, but they’re for the wrong thing, or the directions don’t make sense, or there is a part that’s missing. And then we call the customer service number only to go through endless menu options and never actually speak to a real person. In frustration, we may pack up that special Christmas gift and put it back in the box because it just isn’t coming together. The good news is that the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, comes to us fully assembled. This is God's Christmas gift to the world, and to each one of us.

The sights and sounds of the first Christmas Eve reveal God's love for us in our lives today.

We offer and receive the gift of music in these last days of Advent, singing carols that celebrate God's mighty work in Jesus, the Messiah, Son of God and son of Mary.

In the Advent season, we acknowledge our complacency and admit that things aren’t as they should be; however, we live in the reality that Jesus the Messiah is making things as they should be even now, working peace and hope in us as God's forgiven people.

Messengers hold an important place in history, bearing news to people about happenings and events. God's messengers include such people as Malachi (whose name in the original Hebrew literally means "my messenger") and John the Baptist. Both of these were called and sent by God to prepare the way for the promised Messiah - Malachi pointing ahead to John, and John pointing to Jesus. The message of the messengers was not always welcome because it was a message of repentance, confronting the reality of sin in our lives. With the coming of Jesus, He himself becomes both Messenger and Message - the One who brings good news of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

In this season, we look to the Advent wreath as a reminder of the light of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, who is coming into the world.

As humans, we tend to do a lot of worrying about many things - the economy and unemployment, growing need in our communities, global terrorism and combating it. As we pause for the Thanksgiving holiday, Jesus asks a very good question: "And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" (Matthew 6:27). The obvious answer is no. The antidote to worry, anxious fear, and nervious care is offering thanks - God's blessings great and small in our lives, not only at Thanksgiving, but throughout the entire year. And chief among these many blessings is the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that we have in Jesus. Our gracious God who loved us and gave his only Son for us promises to provide for our needs.

Jesus makes clear in his testimony before Pontius Pilate that his kingship is not from this world. He is a king from another world, and his kingship is different from earthly rule. Instead of being concerned with armies and ambassadors, politics and power, Christ our King is concerned with forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation - all of which He accomplished through his life-giving death on the tree of the cross. When the world sees Jesus again, it will see a very different Jesus than the one standing on trial bruised and bloody before Pilate. Whether people have acknowledged Christ as King in this life or not, when Jesus comes again the whole world will then acknowledge Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. And so we pray: Amen. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

As we see in the episodes involving the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17) and the widow's offering (Mark 12), God calls us to give out of our poverty, relying not on ourselves but on His grace.