On December 24,
Bethlehem is known as the
The word comes from the Greek Sabbatikos = “of the
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. —Genesis 2:3 (ESV)
Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no on in your household may do any work…for in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. —Exodus 20:8-11 (NLT)
When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. —Leviticus 25: 2 (NLT)
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Before dark we rode out of town to the field where they say shepherds saw the star….As we passed, the shepherds were still keeping watch over their flocks.
I was standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with the splendid hymns of praise to God, how again and again it seemed as if I could hear voices I know well, telling each other of the Savior’s birth. —From Phillips Brooks’ log of his trip to Bethlehem
Rev. Phillips Brooks’ manuscript of the lyrics
Simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure almost on the Eve of Christmas. It was after midnight that a
whispered the strain in my ears and I roused myself and jotted it down as you have it. —Lewis Redner
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”—Micah 5:2 (ESV)
O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel. —Matthew 2:6 (The Living Bible)
No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your…your sun will never set; your moon will not go down…your days of mourning will come to an end. —Isaiah 60:19-20 (ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. —Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. —Luke 2:7 (ESV)
When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? —Job 38:7 (ESV)
How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.
At night I long for you…in the morning I seek you. —(Isaiah 26:9)
O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Immanuel!
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. —Revelation 3:16 (NIV)
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to see Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God is not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” … “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? —John 3:1-10 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. —John 3:16-21 (NIV)
Join us for 1 service at 11:00 AM Sunday, January 1.
