God with us
Matthew 1:18-25
Good evening everyone-
It is Christmas Eve- Advent season is finished and in the books- DONE CHECK
All presents, food, schedules down to the wire of getting done- if you are not done with them by now, it will be a late night for you.
A cerebration, a time with family, a time of expressing love by giving gifts.
The one that gave us the best gift, the one who not only opened his wallet but opened his heart. The one so that everyone of us could have an opportunity to receive the best gift ever is the one that most will put on the back burner in all the cerebration.
I have an extended family friend who shamelessly claims to be an atheist-
I spent some time on the phone trying to explain the goodness of God and the importance of understanding the Christmas season.
I hung up with a heavy heart.
A word to all atheist-
To the atheists…TO ALL THAT DO NOT KNOW JESUS AS LORD
If you are celebrating Christmas, what are you celebrating Christmas for? “A fool says in his heart there is no God”. (Psalm 53) Why not at this time open your heart to a wonderful Lord who has done everything possible to show you His dying love. “Have mercy on me Lord according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away my sin and cleanse me.”
We celebrate Christmas because the Lord came down to do what we could not do for ourselves. Open your heart…let Him in!
Jesus be glorified
Mike read for us this morning the Christmas story in Luke 2 and we will not reread that tonight but reflect back on it.
But I would ask you to please turn to Matthew 1:18-25 Read from Bible
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about!
Prophecy foretold that a savior was coming-
Two willing people who loved each other but were never intimate with each other.
Joseph and Mary pledged to be married and she became pregnant by the miraculous supernatural way of the Holy Spirit of God.
Joseph because he loved her was going to quietly break this engagement for obvious reasons.
An angel miraculously appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that the women he loves is with child but that she has been faithful and it is by the Holy Spirit of God that she will bear a child and he is to name this child Jesus.
Prophecy said “ the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (God with us)”
Very Important! Through a virgin, God will come and be with us and you will name him Jesus!
Scripture says that the savior will come through the seed of Mary-
Wait a minute- I don’t want to give a Birds and the Bees lesson but man is the seed and the women is the egg.
The savior will come through Mary because Joseph will not be the seed but Mary will be the egg. God will come in a miraculous birth by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Someone ought to be getting excited!
(25) “But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name of Jesus!”
God had a plan and he worked that plan to perfection! No greater love can God have for us to provide for us a savior in that manger!
Illustration
One valuable lesson I learned when I was first got married was the greatest support I could give her was not always my advise or my perspective of how we were going to fix something. It was by my presence! She taught me that she found comfort, safety, and yes even hope in not doing it alone.
JESUS SHOWS US IN OUR IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY OF NEEDING A SAVIOR,WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO DO IT ALONE.
HE WOULD BE THAT SAVIOR!
Immanuel “God with us”
While it is comforting and encouraging to know that other people are for us and with us, how much more comforting and encouraging to know that the creator of the universe is with us as well?
That God would send His Son Jesus to redeem mankind-
that blows my little mind away!
That God loves us unconditionally- He came for all who would receive Him
It does not matter where we live or our economic circumstance
We do not even have to have all our ducks in a row
I said this week at our Wednesday study
I bet the Innkeeper if he had a chance would of made room for Jesus.
I bet the second thief on the cross from Jesus wish He would have accepted His invitation
I bet king Agrippa would of became a Christian instead of almost a Christian.
YOU DON’T WANT TO ALMOST MAKE IT
YOU DON’T WANT THIS TIME TO BE THE LAST TIME AND NOT RESPOND.
Heaven came down-
That baby in the manger became the savior of the world
He was going to fulfill all prophecy, scripture, and command of God the Father and do what we cannot do for ourselves.
We need to stop just seeing baby Jesus in a manger- that is how you came, but it was the man Jesus who became our savior on that cross.
There is a big difference-one you just look at how he came- the other is looking and responding on why He came to this earth.
You have to do something with Jesus- you must respond.
You cannot have no opinion or respond at another time because we are not promised tomorrow.
I love presents- who doesn’t
Most gifts are wrong color, wrong size.
We have all gotten the elephant gift- thank you and it sits in the closet forever.
WE HAVE ALL GIVEN ELEPHANT GIFTS THAT WE THOUGHT WAS THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE PERFECT PERSON ONLY TO BE SHOWN IT WAS NOT.
The perfect gift is Jesus! It is perfect, no returns needed.
The picture we are shown is a pretty manger scene. The animals perfectly sitting around the manger and seem to have a heavenly glo to it.
The stable was dirty, the shepherds were dirty, the animals are dirty and messy and being animals.
God showed up in the flesh to redeem a dirty and polluted world that had got messy and needed him to clean up the filth.
Here is the message of Christmas that often gets diluted and over looked.
“God is the light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son purifies us from all sin.”
This year over-
29 million rolls of gift paper
372 million greeting cards
35-40 million Christmas tress- who knows how many strings of lights and how many rolls of scotch tape.
How many confused and irritated “rigging up the lights”
We still need Jesus!
He is the light of the world wither the world accepts him or not.
In Him is no darkness and we are to walk in His light!
He lights our path and when we get out of the light, we are to quickly get back in so as we are to not to walk in darkness anymore.
And when we walk in the light, as He is the light, we have fellowship with Him, and with each other. And he purifies us from all sin. Amen! That is an amazing God!
“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.”
The perfect gift!
“To you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is messiah, the Lord.”
No matter what gift you open today or tomorrow will have the value or be as precious as the gift of eternal life!
The Grinch tried to steal Christmas- He was offended by the people of Whoville.
Decorations disturbed him
Celebrations disturbed him
The noise of Christmas disturbed him.
He thinks the answer to all that is take it away from them.
They will be sorrowful and lose their joy. Christmas came despite all he did to them.
That is what Satan desires to do to us- make Christmas just another day.
Steal our joy, cause us to look at circumstances-
But the people of Whoville-
They were joyful and singing and even when they did not have presents.
He realized that Christmas was more than all that.
That is what Jesus desires for us- His Presence Matters!
He can change our circumstances.
He returns the focus on a God that redeems instead of a world that condemns
There is no baby Jesus in the Grinch story, but it does show believers there is more to Christmas.
Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value:
Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, "I love you."
Give something away anonymously.
Forgive someone who has treated you wrong.
Turn away wrath with a soft answer.
Visit someone in a nursing home.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Be especially kind to someone with whom you work.
Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
The Unspeakable Gift
Illustration-
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, "the unspeakable gift!"
As we close, Don’t’ let this moment of celebration just be about presents, but about a God that cares for you, loves you, and did everything to allow you and I to experience Him and His love.
I am going to ask the worship team to come and prepare a sing.
While they do that I will ask the ushers to come and we will get ready to light our candles.
Ask that you watch children with candles and as the ushers come, you light your candle from them and then allow the person aside of you to light their candle.
Special song /Silent night
Merry Christmas and love for them
Instructions for social
