CHRISTMAS EVE SPECIAL WORSHIP MESSAGE
DECEMBER 24, 2025
{LX 625-53}
DECLARATION
For
[we are not] ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
{ Rom 1:16-17 KJV}
SABBATH MEDITATIONS
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isa 53:4 KJV)
CHRISTMAS EVE MESSAGE
"THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST"
AND
"THE RIFLE AND THE WIDOW"
Luke 2:1-21
[Sing to the Lord, lift up your voices]
OPENING PRAYER
O' Lord, on this Holy Eve may it be Your will to grant this globe a period of calm and peace throughout as we welcome the birth of our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ, may it so be! Tonight, the KING of KINGS will be born of a woman, of flesh, blood and bone. The Living Spirit of God Himself will walk among us, in the flesh, and we the remnant shall be saved from eternal death and be redeemed by His blood, and in His Name, JESUS the CHRIST, AMEN
WE BEGIN in (Luk 2:1-21 KJV)-- And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luk 2:1-21 KJV)
MESSAGE
Since 2015, this tiny Bible Church Ministry has been so very blessed by God to serve the precious residents of seven seperate Assisted Living Facilities. For a few years, we were so blessed with servuce to all seven at the same time. I recently came across a letter from a most Godly man relating a true story passed down to him by his father. Daniel Goodman's father and grandfather were "Circuit Preachers", traveling and preaching at a serise of churches on a recurring schedule. His father traveled by automobile, and his grandfather by horse. I am sharing this letter with you for the first time on this Christmas Eve.
Daniel Goodman, Watermark/Camillia ALF
Gulf breeze, FL
December 18, 2019
Dear Chaplain Gary,
Digging through a pile of old papers I came across a letter that I received many years ago. I almost forgot about it, but I never forgot the lesson learned.
The top of the first page was torn off years ago, so we don't know from where it came. Here is the text of that letter; Merry Christmas and God's Blessings: Sincerly, Daniel
{TEXT OF HAND WRITTEN LETTER}
"Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their
means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were
genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him
that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from
receiving.
It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the
world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy
me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that
night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we
could read in the Bible.
After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the
fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling
sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read
Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and
went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the
chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in
self-pity.
Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there
was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold
out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle
for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly
reason that I could see.
We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what..
Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the
work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going
to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never
hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was
already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him.
The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa
pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He
got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said.
"Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I
wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were
going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.
After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came
out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down
from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What
was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you
doing?"
"You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen
lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so
before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd
been by, but so what?
Yeah," I said, "Why?"
"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the
woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was
all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another
armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to
wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to
our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and
a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled
and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right
shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the
little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had
gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this
morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be
Christmas without a little candy."
We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to
think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards.
Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was
still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split
before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that,
but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and
candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer
neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.
We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as
quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.
We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"
"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?" Widow
Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her
shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front
of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at
all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.
"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of
flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had
the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair
at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children -
sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She
bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes
and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted
to say something, but it wouldn't come out.
"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said,
"Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size
and heat this place up."
I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.
My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my
soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had
made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of
these people.
I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started
giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked
on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She
finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent
you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his
angels to spare us."
In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up
in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but
after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I
was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started
remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many
others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.
Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed
when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I
guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make
sure he got the right sizes.
Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave.
Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to
him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I
was glad that I still had mine.
At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to
invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey
will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous
if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about
eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here,
hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers
and two sisters had all married and had moved away.
Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to
say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."
SUMMARY
Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt,
I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little
money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but
we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money
from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real
excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into
town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out
scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I
knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy
for those children. I hope you understand."
I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very
well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my
list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look
on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.
For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block
of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt
riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle
that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life."
This true story from nearly 150 years ago is a divine gift from the Author of Light, our Lord and Savior. It was handed down to a father, to a son, to a stranger, and today....the miracle of the heart of God was shared with you. This eve, our Father handed down to us -- this precious record of HIS Love, TWO-THOUSAND-TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO!
CLOSING PRAYER
Father God, in in a few hours we will have the wondrous privlege of celebrating the birth of Your only begotten Son. This child, this birth, this Savior came to save, and through His perfect blood being shed on that rugged cross, we have received not only the Holy Spirit but salvation and eternal life in the kingdom to come. Words cannot express the depth of joy for this miracle at Your hand-and-will, through YOUR SON and our LORD Jesus the Christ, AMEN
[THE LORD'S SUPPER]
[Sing a song to the Lord, lift up your voices]
DOXOLOGY
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, Ye heav'n-ly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
AMEN
THE CALL
If you have never invited Jesus to be your Lord and savior, or, if you have in the past yet remain unsure of salvation and forgiveness of sin, Please pray with me now: Lord Jesus I need to fill a hole in my life that follows me where ever I go. I am a long-time Sinner and I CONFESS and REPENT of all my sins. I believe that You JESUS are the Lord, that you were hung on a cross and died. I believe that you were raised back to life by God, Your Father, ascended into heaven and presently sit at the right hand of The Almighty. Please come into me, clean me, take me and make me Yours and let me serve from this day forward and forever, Thank-You Jesus, AMEN
If you sincerely prayed with me, your salvation has been assured. {Rom 10:9 KJV} -That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Waste no time in finding like minded folks, to fellowship with, who also know the lord Jesus. Be introduced to a church that preaches the BIBLE. Email me. Begin the journey that you will never tire of; the discovery of the Majesty, Beauty and loving Power of Jesus the Christ. Welcome to the family!
Chaplain Gary
BENEDICTION: Num 6:24-26 The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.'AMEN
Christ go with you now...until we meet again
Christ go with you now...keep praying on till then
It really doesn't matter what the weather...
Just as long as we all are TOGETHER...
Christ go with you now...Till we meet again!
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE Rom 1:16-17/ Luke 1:5-25;26-45/ Num 6:24-26
SABBATH & SUNDAY WORSHIP MESSAGE
(Published every Friday evening)
CHRIST ETERNAL SENIOR MINISTRIES
HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?
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