Read about it in their Short Article: Apollo 8 Christmas Message

Heavenly Father, good evening! Thank you for being with us. Thank you for being in our midst. Thank you for those NASA astronauts that chose to read from God’s Word as their message to everyone on earth. Thank you for the images from space that they sent along with their audio message. Thank you for the enormous impact those three men had then and how it reverberates even today! As they orbited the moon and saw the earth from afar … it was the Genesis creation that came to their minds. How fitting that they could intertwine the highly technical advances of man with the truth of how God created it all. And let’s re-read what those astronauts read from space to us:

William Anders
We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

James Lovell

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Frank Borman

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.

Lord, it’s me again. I’m back. Just like the three astronauts that were a light to millions of people who they had never met, so too let us be a light, but to those we DO meet. Lord, I ask that you stay close to each of us. We need you now. Oh, how we need you now! Be there for us not only when we pray to you, but be there throughout the day. Let us feel your presence all around us. Fill us with your joy and let that joy be our strength this day. And together we will give you the glory. The glory is all yours. GLORY! I pray this in the name and authority of Christ Jesus, King of kings. Amen.