Encountering Jesus This Christmas: John’s Encounter

ORDER OF WORSHIP:

Welcome
Lighting of the Advent Candle
Song of Praise “O Little Town Of Bethlehem”
Call to Worship Micah 5:3-5a
Song of Praise “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”
Confession of Faith Colossians 3:15
Song of Praise “Great Are You Lord”
Prayer of Adoration
Greet One Another
Confession of Sin from 1st Pres. Augusta
Assurance of Pardon Titus 3:4-7
Prayer of Intercession
Giving of God’s Tithe and Our Offerings
Song of Preparation “Christmas Day”
Scripture Readings John 20:19-23; John 21:20-25
Dismiss Children
Sermon “Encountering Jesus This Christmas: John’s Encounter” Craig Swartz
Prayer of Commitment
Song of Preparation “We Will Feast In The House of Zion”
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Song of Response “Jesus Shall Reign”
Benediction

SERMON NOTES:

C.S. Lewis:

“You may as well leave the future to God, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not.”

John 3:16

1. THE SOURCE OF TRUE 

A.W. Pink writes:

“Well might he have said, ‘Shame upon you!’ But, instead He says, ‘Peace be unto you.’ He would remove from their hearts all fear which His sudden and unannounced appearance might have occasioned…. Having put away their sins He could now remove their fears.”

John 14:27

Romans 3:23-25

Revelation: 5:9

2. THE SOURCE OF TRUE 

Charles Dickens described Scrooge as: “A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue… He carried his own low temperature always about him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas…Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, ‘My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?’ No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place of Scrooge. Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways.”

 Thomas Goodwin:

“When a believer, though but by faith, seeth the Lord Jesus Christ…it begets a joy which is unspeakable…. All the joys in this world are mean things, things that men shall be ashamed of, but this…is a magnificent joy…full of glory.”

3. THE SOURCE OF TRUE

Leon Morris writes:

“The church… is a group of people who have been saved by Christ’s saving death and resurrection and who, on the basis of that death and resurrection have been commissioned to bring the message of salvation to sinners everywhere.”

4. THE SOURCE OF TRUE POWER

 John Calvin:

“The principal design of preaching the Gospel is, that men may be reconciled to God, and that is accomplished by the unconditional pardon of sins.”

 Adrian Rogers:

“Glance at your problems and gaze at your Lord.”