Sermons 2025

SERMON OUTLINE 

Introduction: Lights and candles used for Advent prepare us for the coming of Christ. 

I. The tradition of holiday lights originated in Europe and was brought to America. 

a. Candles on the Christmas tree arose in Germany to mimic the stars over the nativity stable. 

b. The use of electric holiday lights arose in America to extend the use of lights. 

II. Holiday light decorations remind Christians of the restoration of righteousness.

 a. Darkness symbolizes sin that separates us from God. 

b. Light signifies righteousness to live before God’s glory. 

III. Lights point us to Christ’s first advent. 

a. Zechariah announced the light that the Messiah would bring. 

b. Jesus’ birth was heralded by the light of a star and the appearance of angels. 

c. John’s Gospel describes the light that Christ brings to a dark world. 

d. By grace through faith, we now receive Christ’s light of righteousness and glory.

 IV. Lights point us to Christ’s second advent. 

a. Jesus’ return will inaugurate a righteous realm in which believers will dwell forever. 

b. The final chapters of the Bible use the symbolism of light to communicate God’s righteous and glorious presence with us forever. 

c. We look forward to the final advent in which Jesus will disperse the darkness of sin forever. 

SERMON INTRODUCTION 

We prepare for Christmas with many blinding and bright decorations, including candles and electric lights. We see lights everywhere during this season. Some strings of lights cover the wide spectrum of colors; others are simple clear white. We decorate our homes with lights both inside and outside. Some neighborhoods even have competitions to see which household can put on the best exterior light display. Communities string lights on their streets and poles. Businesses and shopping malls decorate buildings with dazzling displays of holiday lights. Amusement parks like Disney World, Bentleyville, and Silver Dollar City put up millions of lights to amaze their visitors. 

Here in our church sanctuary, we see lights blazing constantly. During this season, we display the Advent wreath, which holds five candles that we progressively light as we approach Christmas. Our Christmas tree, as you can see, has been wrapped with strings of electric lights that shine like a galaxy of stars. We have the eternal flame that constantly burns bright to remind us of God’s constant present with us. We have three candles to remind us of the praise and blessings that we receive from, give back in thanksgiving to, the Holy Trinity. On Christmas Eve, many churches hold a candlelight service in which the flame is spread from the Christ candle on the altar to the small candles held in the hands of all the gathered worshipers. This signifies that the coming of Christ brings the light of righteousness to all who believe. 

Why do we decorate this Advent with lights? Is it only for sentimental value? Or is there a deeper significance? 

To answer these questions, we will consider when lights were first used for Advent and Christmas and what their original meaning and purpose were. 

I. The tradition of holiday lights originated in Europe and was brought to America.

 Last week, we learned that the use of Christmas trees began in Germany in the Middle Ages. The practice of attaching candles to Christmas trees began in the 1500s. In fact, tradition says Martin Luther was the first to do this. One cold December night, as he traveled through the woods, Luther looked up to see the stars shining through the branches of the fir trees overhead. He decided to simulate this vision in his home for his children by tying candles to the branches of a Christmas tree. This would mimic the scene of stars shining over the stable at Christ’s birth. 

This practice caught on, and as it became more common, candles were attached to the tree branches by pins, then by holders, then by lanterns. These lights reminded Christians of the lights that accompanied Christ’s birth, including the Bethlehem star and the angels who lit up the night sky with the glory of God. 

They reminded people that Christ is the light of the world. Eventually, German immigrants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought this tradition to America. Over time, the practice of decorating evergreen trees with lights was adopted by other ethnic communities in the United States. Of course, Americans are known for innovation, and that includes the development of Christmas lights. After the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison in 1880, it wasn’t long until his company developed a string of incandescent lamps to be used for Christmas decorations. At first, one electrical string held eight bulbs, each the size of a walnut. But these lamps were expensive. By the 1930s, strings of lights became more affordable, and by the 1950s, they became standard decorations on the interior and exterior of American homes. Today, over 150 million sets of holiday lights are sold in the United States each year, lighting more than 80 million homes and consuming a whopping 6.6 billion kilowatt hours each December. In 2015, that was more than the country of El Salvador used the entire year, according to IGS Energy. 

II. Holiday light decorations remind Christians of the restoration of righteousness.

 Christmas lights are beautiful. But for Christians, they hold a much deeper meaning. In the Bible, darkness is the symbol for sin and light is the symbol for righteousness. So, lights at Advent and Christmas point us to the purpose of Christ’s advent: to remove sin and restore us to righteousness. 

The fall into sin brought spiritual darkness to humanity. People lived in the darkness of evil and deception. God promised a light to break the darkness of sin. That light would appear with the advent of the Messiah. 

The prophet Isaiah foretold the luminous impact the coming of Christ would have: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2). 

The prophet went on to announce this light breaking in through the birth of a child, the Son of God: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). 

III. Lights point us to Christ’s first advent.

 Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of Christ into the world. Jesus’ birth was signaled by the light of a special star that guided the Wise Men (Matthew 2:1–2, 9–10); this brilliant astronomical beacon led them to the newborn King. His birth was also heralded by the luminous glory of the Lord that shone around the shepherds (Luke 2:9). Even before His birth, John the Baptists father, Zechariah, declared , “Because of the tender mercy of our God, . . . the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78–79). 

John’s Gospel doesn’t narrate the events of Jesus’ birth, but it does describe the impact of that birth. John writes, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). Jesus came to enlighten everyone with His own righteousness and glory. Later Jesus announced, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

By grace through faith, we who were once in the darkness of sin now receive Christ’s light of righteousness and glory. The apostle Paul declared, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

The candles of the Advent wreath and the lights on the Christmas tree celebrate the first coming of Christ, “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). 

IV. Lights point us to Christ’s second advent. 

These lights also point us to the second coming of Christ. Jesus’ return will inaugurate a new creation in which the darkness of sin ends and the light of righteousness endures forever. We who are made righteous through faith in Christ will abide in that eternal righteous realm forever. 

CONCLUSION Light decorations are visible everywhere during this season, from candles to LEDs. They convey a powerful message: the light of Christ’s righteousness has come to disperse the darkness of sin. That’s what Advent is all about—the eternal glory that Jesus won for us at His first coming by His Death and Resurrection from the dead, as we look forward to experiencing that glory fully at His second coming. Every time you look at Advent and Christmas decorations shining brightly, remember their message: Jesus has come and will come again to bring you the light of His righteousness and glory!! 

In Jesus’ name. Amen.