Candlelight Service: The Darkness of Sin and the Light of Christ

This Liturgy is taken from Faith Community Church and was used on December 24, 2024. This blog is written for a timestamp but also for use for other churches. 

Welcome to our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. This evening, we hope that you will glory in your redeemer that was born on that blessed Christmas morning. Tonight we will sing hymns as we edify one another and make a melody to the Lord. We will hear readings from members of Faith Community Church that capture the glory of Christ’s birth. And after the service, we invite you to enjoy hot chocolate and dessert with us. But to end our service, we will all light a personal candle that takes it’s flame from the Christ candle found in the center of the Rememberance table. In the flickering glow of candlelight, our hearts come alive with a sense of awe and unity. This timeless tradition, especially cherished during the Christmas season, transforms ordinary gatherings into extraordinary moments of spiritual reflection and celebration. Candlelight has been a symbol of divine presence and hope since the earliest days of Christianity. Rooted in the Jewish tradition of lighting lamps during religious rituals, early Christians embraced candles to signify Christ, the Light of the World, illuminating the path of salvation. This powerful symbol has endured through the centuries, reminding believers of the light that dispels darkness and brings peace to our lives. In church services, the act of lighting candles represents the spreading of divine light and the unity of the congregation. Each flame is a testament to faith, shared across generations, and a beacon of hope in challenging times.

Isaiah 7: 14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Thank you for being here and we hope your hearts will be encouraged and inflamed as we look to Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Savior!

-Portions taken from “The Timeless Tradition of Candlelight” (https://www.concordiasupply.com/church-supply-blog?p=what-is-a-christmas-candlelight-service#:~:text=The Origins and Significance of,of hope in challenging times.)

As we consider Christ, we must consider why he had to come. Christ, the preeminent, eternal, son of God, who is the second person of the Godhead, was there in creation when Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. God and man were in perfect harmony in the Garden of Eden. But the depth and darkness of sin was lurking in the hearts of Adam and Eve and before long they had disobeyed God’s good commands he had given to them. Paul’s description of man in Romans 3:10-18 is true of Adam and Eve and is true for every human, past, present, and future. Listen to this description of the depth and darkness of sin in the hearts of all mankind. 

““None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Though man is deep in the depth and darkness of sin, Christ, who is without sin, has come to be born to die for such wretched sinners. As we sing these next two hymns, consider the depth and darkness of sin in your own heart.

The Light of the World has come to shine brightly in the depth and darkness of sin. The prophecy of Christ’s birth is given in Isaiah 9:6-7: 

“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

In the darkness of sin, Christ came to redeem us from our sin.
In the darkness of confusion, chaos, and suffering, Christ came to be our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

The blessed prophecy was fulfilled when the angel spoke to the virgin Mary in Luke 1 saying, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

This Christmas season, be reminded that Christ, the light of the world has come to shine in darkness.

1 John 1:5-8 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Christ has not merely come to exist as light in the darkness. In fact, light and darkness cannot coexist–light dispels the darkness. It overcomes darkness with its glorious radiance. This is exactly what Christ came to do. He did not come to merely coexist with light but to dispel that darkness of sin in the hearts of those he came to save. 

This Christmas, if you are a true believer, you can have confidence in Christ’s victory over the darkness of sin.

Where does this victory come from? It comes thirty-three years after that first Christmas morning where Christ rose from the grave. Therefore, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, He was born to die, but he was born to bring victory over sin. Christ, the light of the world, has overcome darkness!

*at this time, two individuals come to the Christ candle, light their own candles, and then begin lighting the candles of the congregants. 

Luke 2:1-21
"
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 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.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14  “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."

Sin has separated us from God. Christ the Son is born and has redeemed us from sin and reconciled us to God. He has overcome darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of light. Now what? What is Christmas really about for us who are not looking forward to Christ’s birth but rather living in the reality of his birth and all the benefits that come with it?

Christmas is truly the endless celebration of Christ. So we should do just that, celebrate. 

This Christmas, celebrate Christ and his birth, 
Celebrate Christ and his life where he fulfilled the law on your behalf. 
Celebrate Christ who, though he was tempted he never sinned, therefore he can have sympathy with us in our weaknesses. 
Celebrate Christ, who is the greatest servant of all, though he is King of the Universe. 
Celebrate Christ who is worthy of all of our praise in every season and circumstance. 
Celebrate Christ who is Sovereign King over the universe and reigns from the right hand of the Father as he makes intercession for us. 
Celebrate Christ who took on flesh and was killed in our place. 
Celebrate Christ who was the payment for our sins by the shedding of his own blood. 
Celebrate Christ, who died and was buried. 
Celebrate Christ, who was raised from the grave. 
And Celebrate Christ who is coming again. 

This is the endless celebration of Christmas. 

As we sing this last hymn, Silent Night, consider the lit candles in the room as they represent the light of the world being born on that first Christmas morning and all the benefits that come with his birth for those who believe. Our hope is that your hearts have been encouraged and your hearts have been inflamed to celebrate Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. 

At the end of the last hymn, the lights will come on and you can blow your candles out. We invite you to stay for hot chocolate, dessert, and fellowship. Thank you for coming tonight to be part of this Candlelight Christmas Eve Service here at Faith Community Church.