Christmas Eve: Do You See What I See?

Message by:
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

Recognizing the True Light of the World: Jesus

John 1:9-10
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

Christmas helps us recognize who Jesus truly is.

Blind eyes and hard hearts keep people from seeing Jesus.

John 12:37, 40-4 (Message)
All these God-signs he had given them and they still didn’t get it, still wouldn’t trust him. This proved that the prophet Isaiah was right: Their eyes are blinded, their hearts are hardened, So that they wouldn’t see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts, And turn to me, God, so I could heal them.

John 12:42-46 (Message)
On the other hand, a considerable number from the ranks of the leaders did believe. But because of the Pharisees, they didn’t come out in the open with it. They were afraid of getting kicked out of the meeting place. When push came to shove they cared more for human approval than for God’s glory. Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, “Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won’t have to stay any longer in the dark.

Life in the dark is not God’s plan for us.

John 1:11-12
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

The “True Light” has come into our world, what will you do with Him?

Christmas Re-Gifted Week 2: A Gift to Brighten Your Day

Message by:
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:4-5
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The 3 words we need to pay close attention to are life, light and darkness.

Our gift from God was not a what but a who.

He began all things with life and came as a life to give us life. Life begins with him and is sustained by him. Stuff will never satisfy, so all the wants leave us empty. But in Jesus, the way, the truth, the life, we find our rightful place in God’s kingdom.

Life - Sun (gives us life, but also illuminates our darkness) power source

Light -

Our gift from God was not darkness but light.

This is important because the use of light here represents life and the ability to see our path to God clearly.

John 3:19
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Darkness deals with the motives of our heart and the actions of our lives.

Darkness - Our ways, sin, it will always desire to overcome but cannot.

1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

So darkness is the power of evil and unbelief. The darkness is the world of evil and unbelief and death and judgment.

What you will experience in darkness.

1. Fear
2. Confusion
3. Hopelessness
4. Lack of movement
5. Faulty Confidence

Following Christ brings light into our lives to see clearly.

Micah 7:9
Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

Paul before King Agrippa (Jesus spoke to Paul)
Acts 26:17b-18
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The gift of life and light is for everyone.

John 1:9
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

Overcome - direct and powerful attack

Motives of the heart

So the first reason the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it is that this light is living—it has energy and purposefulness and growth and reproduction. It is not a static thing, like a stoplight that might be ignored. The light that shines in the world today is the very life of the Son of God.

That leaves one last reason for why we can be sure that the light will not be overcome by the darkness. Not only is the light a living light, and not only is the life of this light the life of God's Word through whom he created all things, but this Word, this life, this light, IS GOD! And God Almighty cannot be overcome.

And the light shineth in darkness,.... Which, through sin, came upon the minds of men; who are naturally in the dark about the nature and perfections of God; about sin, and the consequences of it; about Christ, and salvation by him; about the Spirit of God, and his work upon the soul; and about the Scriptures of truth, and the doctrines of the Gospel. Man was created a knowing creature, but, not content with his knowledge, sins, and is banished from the presence of God, the fountain of light; which brought a darkness on him, and his posterity, and which is increased in them by personal iniquity, and in which Satan, the god of this world, has an hand; and sometimes they are left to judicial blindness, and which issues in worse darkness, if grace prevents not: now amidst this darkness there were some remains of the light of nature: with respect to the being of God, which shines in the works of creation and providence and to the worship of God, though very dimly; and to the knowledge of moral good and evil:

Christmas is the end of religion as we know it. We don’t get a religion, we get a person.

Covenant Church Website

Storms of Sudden Tragedy

Message by
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

Storm Winds

Job 1:18-19
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

Not Free of Tragedy

We do not live in a tragedy-free world.

Allowing this to be the reality in our lives may help with the start of the mourning process if tragedy hits in your life. This is not utopia or heaven. It is a world affected by sin and its consequences. When we start with the mindset that nothing bad can happen then there is a wider gap to overcome when tragedy hits.

Job Reacts

Job 1:20a
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.

Mourning

Mourning is a natural reaction to tragedy.

5 Stages of Grief
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

God can handle your feelings.You can bring your complaints and questions to God. He’s big enough to handle your doubts, complaints, questions, and feelings. He’s even big enough to handle your anger. That’s why you can release your feelings to God. In Mt. 5:4, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Literally, God blesses those who mourn. So, it’s okay to grieve. It’s okay to mourn. God doesn’t expect you to be happy all the time. You can face your feelings honestly. You can release it all to God.
Although grieving is an individual experience, there are symptoms many people share after suffering personal loss:

Feels physically drained

Can't sleep at night

Forgetful and unable to think clearly

Noticeable change in appetite

Physical distress such as chest pains, headaches or nausea

Stays extremely busy to avoid thinking about his or her grief

Eats, drinks watches television, etc. excessively

Participates in harmful activities

Becomes withdrawn, lonely and apathetic

Frequent sighing and crying

Job Worshiped

Job 1:20b-21
Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Great and Good Lord

Even in tragedy, Job praised the Lord because he was confident that:
1. The Lord was Great.
2. The Lord was Good.

I believe he knew that if any good or healing or restoration would come, it would only be because of God’s greatness and goodness. Where else can we go? Our own strength?

2Ways to Help in Storms of Tragedy
1. Bear one another’s burden. Galatians 6:2
2. Be a comforter not a curser.

Friends in Tragedy

Job 2:11-13
When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

How to not React

Job 2:9-10
His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

Comfort from God

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God".

Blessed after Tragedy

Life is not the same after a tragedy but it can be blessed.

More Blessed Later

Job 42:12
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.

Heard and Seen

Job 42:5
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime

The glory of Jesus Christ shines more clearly when we see him in his proper relation to the Old Testament. He has a magnificent relation to all that was written. It is not surprising that this is the case, because he is called the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14). Would not the Word of God incarnate be the sum and consummation of the Word of God written? Consider these summary statements and the texts that support them.

1. All the Scriptures bear witness to Christ. Moses wrote about Christ. John 5:39, 46: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. . . . If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

2. All the Scriptures are about Jesus Christ, even where there is no explicit prediction. That is, there is a fullness of implication in all Scriptures that points to Christ and is satisfied only when he has come and done his work. “The meaning of all the Scriptures is unlocked by the death and resurrection of Jesus.” (Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, p. 54) Luke 24:27: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

3. Jesus came to fulfill all that was written in the Law and the Prophets. All of it was pointing to him even where it is not explicitly prophetic. He accomplishes what the Law required. Matthew 5:17-18: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

4. All the promises of God in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That is, when you have Christ, sooner or later you will have both Christ himself and all else that God promised through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20: For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

5. The law was kept perfectly by Christ. And all its penalties against God’s sinful people were poured out on Christ. Therefore, the law is now manifestly not the path to righteousness, Christ is. The ultimate goal of the law is that we would look to Christ, not law-keeping, for our righteousness. Romans 10:4: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

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Used with permission By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org