Christmas Eve

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us’.”   Matthew 1:21-23 

Jesus which means “God saves us”. 

Immanuel which means “God is with us”. 

Gift #1: Rescue 

“Christmas is the moment when God launched a ‘divine rescue’ mission of humankind.” N.T. Wright 

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23 

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

Gift #2: Presence 

We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.  Hebrews 4:15 

His Presence brings Comfort

His Presence brings Courage

God has assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help;   I’m fearless no matter what.  Who or what can get to me?  Hebrews 13:5-6   (The Message)