For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; there are four Scripture Readings before the Sermon. The Scripture Readings for this day were: Micah 5: 2-5; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10 and Luke 1:39-55. (This Message was reworked December 2015).
In 1865, ...... shortly after the Civil war,.... the Pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts., .....was helping with a Christmas Eve service ...... in Bethlehem of Judea.
He later wrote about his feelings...... as he descended from Jerusalem into Bethlehem ..... riding a horse.
He said, ......"I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, ..... close to the spot where Jesus was born.
The whole church was singing hour after hour .... splendid hymns of praise ....to God, .... it was as if I could hear angelic voices....... telling each other of the Wonderful Night of ...... of our dear Savior's birth."
Two years later, ...... in 1867, ...... this Pastor,.... Phillip Brooks, ......... put his pen to paper and wrote a very special ...... and very biblical song ...... that we often hear .......during the Christmas Season.
He wrote these glorious words.....
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears ...of all the years ..... are met in thee...... tonight.
Those verses .... declare the heart .... of Christmas.
It is a time of celebration, .... a time of salvation .......and a time of ......contemplation. (Pause)
The prophet Micah put his pen to paper ...... and wrote about this little town ..... of Bethlehem.
In forty brief words, ...... Micah tells the story ..... of a very special town.
Though his words may be brief, ...... they contain a wealth ......of spiritual truth.
The Story Of Bethlehem ...... is a special story that needs to be told ..... and retold.
Especially in these trying times ..... in which we live.
We are living in a day .....when the real story of the birth of Jesus ..... is lost amid the trees, ......the decorations, ...... the shopping.
And The story of Christmas ..... is also a story of a little town ...... a town ......called Bethlehem.
And the Story Of Bethlehem ..... (Slow) Is The Story .....Of A Place.
When Micah writes of Bethlehem ..... he writes about a little town ...... that will produce ..... great things.
While Bethlehem may have been a tiny hamlet, ...... it had a colorful past ...... and brilliant future.
When we think of Bethlehem, ......we often Only remember ...... that it was the birthplace ..... of our Lord.
But, ..... within history..... this little town, ...... contains a wealth of ..... spiritual truth.
The town of Bethlehem ...... is only five miles south ...... of the great city ..... of Jerusalem.
Bethlehem ....is first mentioned...... outside of the Scriptures ...... in a historical letter ...... from one of the kings of Palestine ...... to an Egyptian Pharaoh ..... in 1250 BC.
This would have been during the time ..... of the Judges.
It would seem that Bethlehem existed ... when Israel invaded ... the promised land .... of Canaan.
The name "Bethlehem" means "House of Bread".
Micah also calls it by another name "Ephratah" (F --ra --tha).
Which is an older name for the city....... And means "Place of Fruitfulness".
Bethlehem ..... the House of Fruitfulness..... the House of Bread.
How fitting .....that Jesus should be born ....in Bethlehem!
For He is the true bread....."The Bread of Life".....
The Bread of Life ...... that takes away ....the sin of the world.
Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Scriptures in Genesis ....... the first book of the Bible. (Genesis 35:16-20)
When Jacob and his family ....are journeying home to Canaan, ...... Rachel goes into labor ..... and gives birth to a son.
Rachel dies in childbirth,.... and as she is dying, she calls her son's name "Benoni" ( Ben -- O --nI), ....... which means.... "Son of my sorrow".
And Jacobs wife Rachel ..... was buried ..... just outside of Bethlehem.
Jacob changed his son's name from Benoni (Ben-O-nI) .......to "Benjamin", ....
Which means.... The "Son of my right hand".
So Bethlehem is initially associated with ......sorrow and death..... but was transformed prophetically.... knowingly or unknowingly .... into a place .....that seats the son ..... of my right hand.
Jesus too ...... took a place ...... associated with grief and suffering ..... and transformed it ...... into a place..... of strength and glory. (Pause)
Jesus was called by the Prophet Isaiah ........(Slow) "A Man of Sorrows", Isaiah 53:1-3.
The One Who created the universe ..... had nowhere .... to lay ..... His head. Matthew 8:20.
The One Who left Heaven ......to come and die .... Was rejected by the those He came to reach, John 1:11.
He knew pain .... He knew sorrow ..... and in the end, .... Was crucified. Isaiah 53:4-6.
He is our "Benoni" (Ben-O-nI)!
He is ......the "Son of My Sorrow"!
But he is also the King of Kings ......and the Lord of Lords.
The Son of the Right Hand. (Long Pause)
Beloved.....The beautiful story of Ruth ..... also transpired .....in the town of Bethlehem.
It was in Bethlehem ..... that Ruth found...... redemption from her pain ...... and from ....her past.
She found grace, ....she found mercy, .....love, .....and acceptance,
She found restoration, .....hope, ......family and a future, ..... all in that place ..... that place ...... called Bethlehem. (Pause)
Beloved.......The salvation found in Christ Jesus...... promises all these same things that Ruth found in Bethlehem ...... and so much more, (Pause) (Ephesians 2:1-10; Hebrews 7:25.)
It was a drink from the well in Bethlehem .... that refreshed the soul of David during a day of battle, (2 Samuel 23:14-16).
And....When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, ..... a spiritual well ..... was given .....to all of humanity.
And Everyone who drinks from this well .... From this living water ..... will thirst no more....their thirst is quenched ..... for all eternity, (John 6:35; John 7:37-38.)
Bethlehem ....was the focus .....of an amazing prophecy ....by the prophet Micah.
And...That prophecy ...is the focus ....of our text ....today.
Bethlehem ....witnessed the most amazing miracle ..... the world ...has ever seen.
Jesus Christ, ..... the very Son of God, ..... God in flesh ..... came into the world ...... (Slow) and was born Bethlehem. (Pause) Luke 2:1-20.
Bethlehem ....was where the wise men found the Christ Child..... the child Jesus ...... and offered Him ....not only their gifts.... but their worship. (Matthew 2:1-12.)
And Beloved....Wise men ....and wise women ..... still seek Him!
For he is ...... the King of Kings .....and the Lord of Lords.
Wonderful Counselor, .....Mighty God,..... Everlasting Father, .....The Prince of Peace
Yes......Wise men and wise women ..... still seek Him! (Pause)
(1 Finger) Bethlehem is a story of a place.
(2 Fingers) Secondly ....it is also ...... a story .....of a plan.
The words from the Old Testament proclaim ...... BIBLE "From you (Bethlehem) shall come forth for me .... one who is to rule Israel" END (Micah 5:2)
These words .....speak to God's glorious plan for humanity.
And Bethlehem .... was part of his plan.
When mankind turned from God in Eden,..... God gave humanity ..... the first glimpse of His plan.
He told Adam and Eve ...... that a Redeemer..... would be born, (Genesis 3:15).
And As the years went by, ..... more and more of God's plan ..... was revealed.
When God saved His people from bondage in Egypt..... through the blood of a Lamb, ....He revealed ...... (Slow) a little more ..... of His plan. Exodus 12
When He gave them Manna in the wilderness ...... and brought water from the rock,...... He revealed ...... a little more ..... of his plan.
When He gave Israel the Law ...... and the sacrificial ceremonies, ...... He was revealing ...... more of His plan.
Every aspect of the Tabernacle, ...... the priesthood and the sacrifices ....... revealed more and more ...... of God's plan.
Through the mouths of the prophets ...... God gave insight Into His plan.
When Isaiah wrote of a virgin birth, he was writing about the plan. (Isaiah 7:14)
Then ....the prophet Micah ....revealed the birth place ....of the Messiah.
He shared where the King ....would be born.
He proclaimed that the One Who would fulfill the plan ..... would come .... from the little town ..... of Bethlehem.
This glorious plan ....involved God becoming ..... a human being.......To come into this world .... and to live .... as a man.... As one of us.
It involved Him going to the cross.... to die ....to be the sacrifice..... for the sins of the world.
The plan called for our Lord's resurrection and for his Assention.
And Beloved.....it involves Him coming again .... Returning in glory .... to rule ....and to reign .....for eternity.
It is a plan designed .....with you and me .... in mind!
The prophet Micah closes his prophecy with these words concerning the Christ: BIBLE "Whose origin is from of old, from ancient days." END (Micah 5:2)
These words reveal the truth .... that this One .... ...... This One ....Who would be born in Bethlehem ...... was no ordinary Man.
The Prophets tell us that ..... that while He may be coming... out of Bethlehem,..... (Slow) .....He is eternal!
He may be born in Bethlehem, ....but His beginning is not there.
Beloved ......He is Eternal.... Jesus is eternal ...and he is in our midst ....this very day.
For where two or three are gathered together in his name...He (Jesus) ....is in their midst.
Jesus is in our midst ... He is with us.... here this day.
Grace Cairns a number of years ago shared a poem with me titled.... " If you look for me at Christmas".
The first stanza is so appropriate for this day:
If you look for Me at Christmas
you won't need a special star --
I'm no longer ...... just in Bethlehem,
I'm right there .......where you are.
Beloved... the gift .... The treasure from Bethlehem is right here..... here in our midst. (Pause)
The story of Bethlehem .....is a story of a miracle.
It is a miracle more profound than the healing a leper, .....restoring sight to the blind, ..... casting out demons, ..... or even raising someone from the dead.
The miracle to which I refer .... is the miracle that took place in Bethlehem ..... When The God man was born...... when Jesus Christ ....was born.
The story of Bethlehem ....is the story.... of God becoming man.
He did not stop being God!
He merely added ..... humanity .....to His deity.
Theologians call this "The Hypostatic Union".
Miraculously, ..... God placed Himself within Mary's womb.
Some nine months later ..... Mary gave birth to a Son.
And when she looked into the face of her little boy, ..... she was looking .... into the face of God.
God .....in human flesh!
We cannot fully comprehend ..... the incarnation ..... of our Jesus.
He was Fully God.... Yet, ......He ..... was fully man.
He was as much God ...... as if He had never been a man.
And, ....He was as much man ...... as if He had never been God!
He experienced humanity ..... in its fullness.
He suffered, ...He was hungry,.... thirsty,
He knew loneliness, ...He knew grief, ..... He grew weary, ....slept, ...wept, ....was rejected, ..... and He died.
Yet, while He was absolutely human, ..... He lived His entire life ...... sinless! (Pause)
Jesus came to this earth... because He loves you .....and he gave His life.... as a ransom ..... for you.
He came to offer you..... salvation.
As the poem clearly stated:.... "I'm no longer just in Bethlehem,... I'm right there ....where you are."
O' Beloved He loves you so much .....that he offered himself upon the cross .....for your sins ....... and for the sins ......of the whole world.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord ...Emmanuel!
Amen & Amen!
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