On Dec. 24, 2025, the Lord of Life church hosted their annual Christmas Eve service. The church
holds three services that consist of a 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. service. Every Christmas Eve, church members and fellow attendees come to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
“It is easy to forget what Christmas is truly about, but when I step into church, I feel like the true meaning of Christmas washes over me and lets me truly appreciate the history behind our Christmas,” Lord of Life member and sophomore Olivia Hatfield said.
The service started with Lord of Life’s band leading the church in Christmas songs that worship God. Then the pastor of Lord of Life Church, Matthew Blackford, began to pray for us before sharing his sermon. The main point of his sermon was sharing God’s love because love is the final advent theme. The final advent theme, on Christmas Eve, is always love. The days of advent are the four Sundays that lead up to Christmas. Each day has a theme: Peace, Hope, Joy and Love. When each candle is lit, it represents one of these themes.
After Pastor Matt’s message, the band then began to sing Silent Night. During Silent Night, everyone attending the service lights a candle and dims the lights. After singing Silent Night, Pastor Matt lights all the candles displayed at the front of the church on a wreath that represent each day of advent.
“When I think of Christmas, I think of Jesus, my family and surrounding myself with joy and happiness,” sophomore and Lord of Life member Emilee Pinks said. “Because I’m Christian, it strongly influences my faith more with Christmas because it’s what I believe in and practice.”
Many find the meaning of Christmas deeper to Christians because it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians share the tradition of attending a church service to celebrate this birth. Lord of Life broke their attendance record with 801 people attending the service.
If parents did not want their child to attend the service, they had the option to put them in a nursery. The nursery caretakers set up games for them to play while the service was occurring. This creates a fun environment for the children to bond and grow friendships with each other, and allows the parent or guardian to pay full attention to the service.
“The Christmas message is relevant, revolutionary, and reassuring to us today. I believe it can be summed up in three words: a cradle, a cross, and a crown,” according to Rev. Billy Graham in an article from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Billy Graham sums up the message many Christians share with others about Christmas: that Jesus was born to save us from our sins, which led to his death on the cross. Although after he died, he was resurrected, which is why many Christians celebrate Easter.
