Special Christmas Services

Christmas Eve Readings and Carols

When the president of the United States visits a city, he does not stay at a discount motel. He stays in some posh hotel with luxury accommodations. Moreover, when making such trips, the president’s agenda generally does not include him spending time with common, ordinary people. He meets with heads of state—powerful, important people. If that is the case when the president makes a visit, what should we have expected when the Son of God came to earth? Not the events of Christmas Eve! Jesus is born into our world far from power, mired in poverty, and absent of any earthly fanfare. The first guests he receives are not kings or emperors, but humble shepherds. Because God put heaven’s best gift in earth’s unlikeliest place, there will always be room at the manger for you. You will not need to stand in line, wait your turn, or prove yourself worthy first. Instead, you can know with certainty that God gave this gift—and all the gifts he brought with him—“to you.”

All are invited to our special Christmas Eve Readings and Carols Service at 6:30 pm. In our service we will read through God’s plan of bringing about his special gift, his Son Jesus Christ. As we listen we will also sing both well known and some unfamiliar Christmas carols to rejoice and give thanks for this gift.

Christmas Day

Have you ever opened a Christmas present and had to ask, “What is it?” Perhaps it was some new type of technology or perhaps a unique toy. You were grateful for the gift, but also not 100% certain what you were looking at. “What is it?” Today, as we look into the manger, we ask that question. In this case, the question is not quickly or easily answered. It requires both deep thought and humble awe. We are looking at the same God who once told the prophet Moses, “No one may see me and live.” Yet Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds all saw their holy God and survived. How? God became human, hiding his glory within our flesh, so that he might come to us without instilling fear or dread. “What is it?” This gift is God and man in one person, exactly what humanity needed to deliver us from our greatest enemies: sin, death, and Satan. On the Festival of Christmas, we thank God for this greatest of gifts.

SOTL holds a Christmas Day service at 10:30 am. On this day we take a closer look at exactly who this gift of God really is and understand all the more just how special this gift really is.