Snapshots of Christmas Eve Candlelight Service December 24, 2024

At the November 30 First Advent Service, Pastor Steve talked about the beauty and joy felt by Christians as we gathered with family for Thanksgiving. That holiday fell on the Thursday immediately prior to the First Advent Service. He asked the congregation if Thanksgiving prepared them to take the next steps of embracing the wonder of Christmas, as well as contemplating the promise of The Second Coming of Christ. He highlighted the idea that, “The Gospel lesson for November 30 is a startling reminder that God doesn’t play by our rules, but He calls us to play by His. While we may yearn for the comfort of Christmas past,” Pastor remarked, “Advent calls us to anticipate the sometimes-uncomfortable possibilities of Christmas future.”  Pastor Steve concluded that the Season of Advent is both a time to look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and a time to prepare ourselves for new miracles. He explained to those gathered in the pews that Matthew 24, verses 36 to 44, give us insight to the nature of this preparation. Pastor said that Christmas preparations include celebrating the miraculous birth of our Savior but always being prepared for The Second Coming, as advised by Jesus in Matthew 24:36-44 (NIV), The Day and Hour Unknown:

 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Pastor Steve spoke on Luke 21 and the signs pointing to the victory of Christ. He elaborated on the part that Christians play, in looking into the future, with each Christian being a sign and pointing out to others what is to come. 

Luke 21:5-19 (NIV)  The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,⁶ “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.  And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.  For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.   Everyone will hate you because of me.   But not a hair of your head will perish.   Stand firm, and you will win life.

Guest speaker James Snodgrass asked the congregation, "What is the significance of the word '40' in The Bible?" He told those gathered that the number 40 generally signifies a time of trial and testing, or a significant block of time in a prophet's life. He then went on to explain the significance of the number "40" in the life of Moses, various books of the Bible, in the life of Jonah and other prophets, in the trial of Jesus fasting  in the desert and overcoming the Devil, and in the battle of the shepherd David vanquishing Goliath. There were many other details shared about Noah's Ark and other stories of The Bible wherein the lesson can be learned that, as the speaker Jim phrased it, "The rain will stop, the giant will fall, and you will walk into the Promised Land on day 41 so don't give up!"

Pastor Steve's November 9 sermon focused on Luke 20. verses 27 to 38 (NIV).  Pastor noted that these verses relate Jesus' response when asked an insincere question by the Sadducees, based on a made-up situation. Pastor Steve’s sermon highlighted how Jesus turned around the question of the Sadducees.  After focusing on the scriptural text from Luke, shown below, Pastor Steve acknowledged all veterans. The 9th was also a special service honoring veterans prior to Veterans Day on November 11.

Luke 20:27-38 (NIV)  The Resurrection and Marriage

 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.  “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless.  The second  and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too.  Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’  He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

"The greatest news is not that God made the world, but that God loves the world," said Pastor Steve to the congregation during his November 2 sermon. "What happens when Salvation comes to your home?" Pastor asked those gathered.  Pastor explained that this question is answered in Luke 19, verses 1-10, when Jesus visited the home and subsequently rescued the soul of a corrupt and selfish tax collector named Zaccheus. Pastor summarized and elaborated on the story during his sermon:

When Jesus arrived in the tax collector’s town, the Chief Tax Collector climbed a tree to see Jesus. The crowd noticed the tax collector and told Jesus he was up in the tree. Jesus looked up and told Zaccheus, whose goodness he could see through his countenance, to climb down the tree. He then told Zaccheus that he would spend the night at his home. After this connection between Jesus and Zaccheus, the Chief Tax Collector returned all the other money he had skimmed and overcharged from taxes. Pastor quoted the last words of this encounter between Jesus and the collector, “Today, Salvation comes to this house,” and also applied Jesus' words to those gathered in church on Sunday.

Luke 19, verses 1-10 (NIV)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Pastor Steve began his October 26 sermon by noting certain downfalls inherent in the arrogant tendencies of today’s society. It’s a society that’s characterized by attitudes that are self-absorbed and narcissistic:

• “all about me”
• “all about what you can do for me”
• “all about constantly comparing ourselves to others”
• “all about making judgement of others”

Jesus had something to say about these self-involved attitudes when he told the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18, verses 9 to 14.

Pastor Steve explained that looking at how we measure up against others and being prideful, as we wrongly make judgements, is one of the human traits that got Jesus’ attention. The parable below illustrates the old phrase, “Pride goeth before the fall.”  We’ve been created in the image of God, noted Pastor Steve, so let’s not tear ourselves down as we strive for humility, but simply strive to think less of ourselves as we think more of others.

Luke 18:9-14 (NIV) The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Pastor Steve's special Memorial Day sermon focused on John 14 and the assurance that Jesus gave the disciples, even before he was crucified, of his continued presence in their lives. Pastor highlighted Jesus' promise that he was going away but would still be present with them through the Spirit, which Jesus also referred to as his Advocate. Pastor Steve pointed out that Jesus wanted his disciples to know that they would not face the future alone after his crucifixion, and he makes the same promise to his followers today. "Peace be with you," Jesus said three times to his disciples after appearing following the resurrection, and Pastor highlighted the fact that Heaven's message is very clear: when everything changes God is constant. "Much has been sacrificed to make America great," said Pastor Steve as he shifted gears to a Memorial Day message. "We are a nation with a strong and invincible spirit and a determination to remain free... We must remember with Thanksgiving those who gave all that they have so that we may live in the land of the brave and that home of the free." Many other details about the founding of our nation on God and the sacrifices of our brave men and women in the military are included in this inspiring sermon. "May God bless America," concluded Pastor Steve.

Jennifer Johnson, Oliver Fox, Jim and Laurel Snodgrass, and Don Hasbrouck led the congregation in singing at the Thanksgiving Service.

Gary Hackbart and Frank Gagliardi opened the special Veterans Day Service on November 10, 2024.

Frank Gagliardi as the "First Veteran" presented colors at the special DCCC Veterans Day Service with Gary Hackbart leading the Pledge of Allegiance and Call to Worship. There was a special reading, songs, and prayer and Pastor Steve gave the sermon listed below.

The DCCC Candlelight Service included special songs, nativity for children, a sermon by Pastor Steve, and closing with all attendees singing Silent Night by candlelight. All guests received gifts of ornaments and cookies upon exiting. The children who helped with the Nativity received gifts as well. It was a beautiful night of honoring and remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Please listen to Pastor Steve's sermon below.