CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE AT CAMP ELKTON

This is the script of the Christmas Eve service that McFreedom (and his friend Larry) wrote for the inmate-led service at "Camp Elkton" this year.  He said it was so well-received that I asked him to send it to me.  I wanted to share it with you all so you could share in the "ministry" that is going on in this Federal Prison.

So take your seats and let me present:  "Christmas Eve at Camp Elkton"

Welcome:
Good evening and Merry Christmas!  We welcome you to our worship service tonight.

I know we would all rather be somewhere else on Christmas Eve.  However, here we are in the Elkton Chapel.

God has brought us all together in this place to celebrate the miracle of Christmas -- the Lord Almighty sending forth His only begotten Son to take on human flesh, thereby securing our eternal salvation, which is the very foundation of the Christian faith!

As we worship tonight in word and song, we should contemplate the enormous depth and breadth of God's love for us.

We hear Jesus' own words from the gospel of John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

And so, tonight, let us joyfully celebrate together in song as we contemplate our greatest Christmas gift;  our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in a manger.

Let's begin by committing this service to God in prayer.  (prayer)

Instruction:
Our service this evening will follow a different format than what we usually have in the chapel.
We will be using a traditional format that has been used since the 19th century called "Lessons and Carols".  This is often used in candlelight services on Christmas Eve -- only tonight we don't have the candles.

Each lesson tells part of the Christmas story from the scripture.  After the scripture is read, we will respond together with some classic Christmas Carols found in your hymnals.

After each Carol is announced, the organist (Larry da Lutran) will play the tune through once to get you familiar with the melody.  Just follow the choir as they sing.

Let's begin our lessons. 

LESSON 1:
Please stand with me as we sing hymn #145 "O Come All Ye Faithful".

Please be seated.  (for those of you reading this blog…you don't really need to sit and stand…just feel free to sing the Carols!!!)

Approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in a small little town with nothing better than a feeding trough for cows, to lay in.  This is the event that brings us together every December as we celebrate Christmas.

However, the Christmas story doesn't begin here.  The story begins another 800 years before Jesus was born.  The story begins with the prophets of old who told us that this miraculous event would take place in this tiny little town.

Micah 5:2 tells us:
"But you, oh Bethlehem Ephrathah (eff-ra-tah), are only a small village among all the people of Judah.  Yet a Ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past."

Now we look at the book of Isaiah where the prophet proclaims:

The Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel - which means, God is with us."

Now let's fast forward approximately 800 years and read what Luke records in his gospel.

"At that time, the roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken through the Roman Empire.  This was the first census taken when Quirinius (Ker-in-ous) was governor of Syria.
Everyone returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.  And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home.
He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.  He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was now obviously pregnant.  While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her first child, a son.  She wrapped him snuggly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them."

Please turn to hymn #141 and join us in singing, "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

LESSON 2:
Here in prison, we receive messages through different methods:  Email, postal mail, inmate.com, and of course the loud speakers!!  

The shepherds received the message of Jesus' birth in a way they had never seen before that night.

Luke describes it this way:

Luke 2:8-14
"That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them."
"Don't be afraid!" He said.  "I bring you Good News that will bring GREAT JOY to all people.  The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"
"And you will recognize Him by this sign:  You will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
"Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying:

GLORY to God in highest heaven, and peace on Earth to those with whom God is pleased!"

Please stand with us as we sing Hymn #132 "Angels We Have Heard On High".

LESSON 3:
Please be seated.

After hearing the message from the angels, the shepherds followed their instructions.  Both Luke and Matthew record the story as follows:

Luke 2:15-15
"When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
"They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.  And there was the baby, lying in a manger."

Matthew 1:22-23
"All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through His prophet:
Look!  the virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son, and they shall call him Immanuel, which means God is with us!"

Please join us in singing hymn 137 "What Child Is This?"

LESSON 4:
They found the baby in Bethlehem.  But this was no ordinary baby.  This baby is our Lord and Savior just as Isaiah prophesied and Luke explains:

Isaiah 9:6-7 
"For a child is born to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And He will be called:
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and it's peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's armies will make this happen!"

 Luke 2:17-20
"After seeing Him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart, and thought about them often.
The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
It was just as the angel had told them."

Please stand as you turn to Hymn #133 "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

LESSON 5:
Please be seated.

The birth of our Savior was not without controversy.  There were people who wanted to worship Him, and there were people who sought his demise.  Matthew explains this further in his Gospel.

Matthew 2:1-12
"Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
About that time some wise men from Eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews?"  We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him."
"King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
"In Bethlehem in Judea," they said, for this is what the prophet wrote:
"And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel."
"Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.  Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.  And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship Him, too!"
"After this interview the wise men went their way."
"And the star they had seen in the EAst guided them to Bethlehem.  It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was."
"When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.  Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
"When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route,  for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod."

Please stand and open to Hymn #166 "We Three Kings Of Orient Are"

LESSON 6:
Tonight we walked together through the Christmas Story.  The story of God fulfilling his promise to send a Savior, a Messiah, to live on Earth along with us.  He came to show us the way to live in freedom.  He came to show us what it means to have true love, true healing, true hope.  He came to Earth to die on a cross.  He came to rise from the grave.  He came to give us the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation with Him, the one who created us.  This all began with his birth in the rural town of Bethlehem and Him -- lying in a feeding trough!

This is the very reason Jesus came to Earth.  The apostle John explains it further:

John 1:1-4, 14
"In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through HIm, and nothing was created except through Him.  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone."
"So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son."

Jesus IS the Word.  The Word came in the form of a baby in a manger.  He came to save us.  Will you let Him?  Will you accept His invitation of grace?

This same Jesus, is inviting you into a relationship with Him.  He desired to give you love, hope, healing and forgiveness.  All you have to do is accept His invitation, and He will pour out his grace over you.  He will clean up the mess in your life, He will mend your wounds, He will repair the broken mess of a life we created.

Please stand with us as we close our service tonight, let's sing Hymn #147 "Silent Night, Holy Night".  Sing it quietly and reverently in solemn reflection of our Lord Jesus.  The last verse will be sung without the organ.  After we sing, let's continue in quiet reverence as we exit the chapel.

Amen

Ever since this service, Bryan has had several of the inmates come to him to let him know how much they appreciated this service…that it felt so much like a Christmas Eve service back at their home churches.   Thank you, Jesus, for allowing McFreedom to be a flickering light in the darkness of the Federal Prison.

Mrs. McFreedom