More Than a Baby (Christmas 2022)

Good morning, everyone,

(More than a baby)

Reading – Matthew 1:18-23

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The story of Christmas is one that is amazing in all aspects. The events that surround the birth of Jesus is one that still Baffles us in many different ways. Last Year I preached on why we need the love and mercy of God. We live in a world where we rely on ourselves, and we do not ask for help. We pull ourselves up by our own boot strings. The key question that baffles Believers and something that racks my brain as I was struggling with this Topical. Why do we gain mercy and grace? We did not deserve anything given to us and the events that led to Jesus being born to Mary as a virgin far from home with no place to lay his head.

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Christmas, we focus on Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus but this is just the beginning of the story. Last night we sang songs and read scripture that told us about the beginning ranging from the foretelling of a Messiah that saves us to the wise men who gave gifts of Frankenstein, Gold and mer. Christmas is more baby but the sacrifice of God to send his son to become human and die on a cross to that saved us from ourselves and the punishment that we all deserve no matter how good of a person you think you are. The aspect of Christmas in our world sees everything as what you can buy from amazon, the next gift for yourselves and your loved ones. The Christmas lights, the twinkle of the cold and failing ignoanas. However, all of these things are the effect of Christmas but not the reason.

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I don’t know about you, but millions of people are not in the mood for Christmas this year. my Neighborhood last year was lit up like a tree but this year just a few houses are decorated. We have seen the darkest events and they are only getting worse.

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Christmas is a wonderful time of year but is so much more than everything I mentioned before and the things we think about during this time. It is more than presents, decorations, and obligations to do for the season. Trying to cram many events into a few days just because we think it will make us happy but it’s a sloppy slope because we are putting new paint on an old dog. what I am meaning is that it does not fix the problem but delays it so that we think we can fix it by covering up the situation.

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How many people think that just because you are not murdering someone or running them off the road on interstate 75 that you are a decent person and do not deserve punishment for your sins and transgressions. The issue is that even if you are the pope or a monk you still are sinful and deserve to pay the payment of transgressions towards our Creator and sustainer of the heavens, the earth, the supreme being that created the air that we breath and the water that our bodies are made of. You might not be a murderer or something scary you see on crime tv but that doesn’t mean that you are the perfect angel that you see in the cartoons of the little figures on your shoulder. The angel with wings and white while a harp is playing or the little creature that has red clothing, horns and is telling you to do whatever you want no matter the consequences or actions.

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Romans 6:23

ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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The Apostle Paul has always had a way of stating the gut checking things that we need to hear. Without paying for our sins and transgressions that go against the law of life we are destined for death. There is no get out of sin card that we can buy from the local grocery store, or you can buy online. Christmas and the birth of Jesus was the beginning to the end. The solution and the way that our sins and transgressions were paid. Remember what we just read that all sin and transgressions against our Heavenly Father require a payment of Death. This is Spiritual and Physical death including the separation of the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father. Our abba, the supreme being that created the sun that is so big it can fit hundreds of Earths inside of it. The one that creates the sunrises and the sunsets. The cold snaps that make Floridians grasp for sweaters and those from Canada go for their shorts and T shirts.

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We think that we are perfect but no matter what we do, no matter how much money we throw into the offering plate, how many presents we give someone, gift cards we send in the mail, soup kitchens we volunteer at or how many mission trips we go on. The key thing we have to constantly, religiously reminding ourselves that we are fallible, we are sinful and no matter what we cannot pay the debt without death.

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We view Jesus as a baby that born from a virgin in a dirty gross manger but there is so much more. Jesus was the human version of God. Remember the topic of God being human and God at the same time is one that is very confusing, sloppy slope and one that we cannot understand completely. God loved us enough to become a baby that was required to grow from a fetus to a baby that was required to learn how to walk, interact with others, earn skinned knees and experience all of the pain and joys of being a human being.

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Romans 1:4

ESV

and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

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All Through God’s word we see that God is three in one just like our body is muscle, bone and nerves all working together but without one we cannot have a body. The dangers and the reason why myself and Pastor Rich do not like Topical messages is because you can twist it to say whatever you want, and this can be dangerous. Without, having the relationship with your Heavenly Father, by reading his word and spending time with him anyone that walks up to the pulpit could tell you whatever you want, and you would think it is okay. We need to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father just like we have a relationship with social media, our Cell phones and other devices. Imagine if you took a Tablet from a toddler and see what happens? You will see crying, tantrums, screaming, and just bad attitude. Imagine if instead of that Tablet it was a relationship with our Heavenly Father. The supreme being that put everything on the line for you, me and others.

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Do we crave that relationship and his word just like a toddler craves and wants that screen time? Will we beg, borrow and barter just so that we can gain an extra ten minutes to take a journey with our father. The importance of that time with our Creator is more than anything else and we as a society view this as something on a to do list but it should be the only thing that matters.

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We were selected to have our sins taken care of before the very first day of Creation before anything. We were chosen not because we are perfect with no issues but because we are loved and have a merciful and gracious Father. Max Lucado in his book on Bethlehem uses an example that points it out perfect which jogged my thought pattern.

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When we were all searching for a Christmas tree to decorate our homes, we did not grab the first tree, but we looked for the perfect looking one. The perfect height, the perfect width, smell and color. everything had to be just right to ensure that we were going to have the perfect holiday. We are the Tree but instead of us being perfect with no blemishes we are really a broken, messed up, loop sided, slanted, old, frail Charlie Brown Christmas tree that is beyond pathetic looking.

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The Charlie Brown Christmas tree adds nothing to the decoration of the home or the owner. We do not give anything to our Heavenly Father but received everything.

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John 1:29

ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

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The small tiny baby that we see in a manager, in the nativity scenes took away the sins of millions if not Trillions of Souls transgressions away by being the martyr and accepting our punishment. In today’s world he would be the Parent that jumps in front of a car to save their Child. We are the child, and the parent was Jesus taking that hit. He died on a Roman Cross, the most extreme, severe, painful method of punishment and death in the Roman Empire so that we did not have to pay for our Transgressions. However, the death aspect was the easy part. Jesus Our Savior was humiliated by the very people that were worshipping him earlier in the passion week and now they are insulting him, belittling him and just being nasty.

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Next time one of your grandkids mentions high school and how they are two faced tell them this story and how things changed so quickly.

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After the insults and words were thrown, he was beaten 32 times with a whip that was full of broken pottery, bone and other materials. Gashes, cuts, tearing into his muscles so severely that they were exposed. He was beaten almost to the point of death but then the Roman Soldiers stopped and forced Jesus to carry the burden of his cross.

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John 19:17

ESV

and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

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I apologize for jumping everywhere but the story of Jesus death is covered by many human others, and I am trying to give us a picture of the amount of punishment that was paid for us so that we did not have to do it ourselves in hell. Yes, the warm and toasty place. I am sure some people up north wish it was that warm, but they would not want to be there because there is no escape and no time. Just for reference Biblical Scholars estimate because there is no real way to know the weight of the cross beam that Jesus carried but it was 70-90 pounds. Jesus carried this massive beam after he had the snot beat out of him and then had to walk through the town of Jerusalem to be hung at Gol-Go-Tha. Even his fellow prisoners that were being executed thought he was guilty and were taunting him.

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either way the sins that we complete on a daily basis has to be paid just like our check books. We are not the government, so it has to balance out at the end of the month, or we have some major issues about to happen.

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Now before you think the story is over Jesus Raised on the 3rd day. Death could not Conquer the son of Man. God in human form who took our sins and transgressions. The same human that we worship for being born in a manger took everything so that we did not have to pay for it.

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John 3:16

ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

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Of course, this story has been condensed and there is so much details that you would miss Christmas dinner and the presents under the tree. My point in telling you about the death and Resurrection of Jesus was to show everyone that Christmas is just the beginning to the solution that God foretold before anything. God knew that we were going to be selfish, nasty, dirty rotten babies. Smellier than a newborn diaper or how smelly your other half smells after work. We must remember that gifts, sweets and Christmas decorations are good things, but they are not the reason for Christmas. They are not the reason why we shut down stores, distribution networks and other things. We shut down so that we can remind ourselves that we do not supply the solution, but it was provided to us in a form of a baby who grew up and was sent to die on a cross.

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Here are some things that we must write down and remember in the new year.

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You are not your own life boat

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God supplied a way to pay for our sins because payment must be completed for our sins and transgressions. We cannot save ourselves. It does not matter how much money, effort, time, energy or anything else from you - the price of sin is death.

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God wants a relationship with us

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We have to treat God like we treat our devices or most treasured items. We cannot put him on a shelf and only take him down when it is Christmas, Easter and at someone funeral. We need to spend time with him every day, multiple times a day. Where you do you spend time with him? Is it on a patio, in the car, or you could be weird, and it is the shower for me. I put on some worship music on, and I just pray to God as the hot water runs over my body that feels like it is 2000 years old. “I wash the world away and clean with the time with my Heavenly Father.”

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as the new year starts next week. Take this time to start time to carve to read your bible. We as a church do a Bible Plan every year and it doesn’t matter if this is your 8th time or your first time. You will see things that open your eyes to how amazing God is. What God wants you to see in the pages or the spoken words to you. We have directions to ours starting Jan 1st on the back table. It doesn’t matter if you do it with us or yourself, but this is paramount and should be like taking your maintance meds or drinking water.

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God is Love

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God loved us so much that he foretold the Birth of Jesus over 700 years before he was born. the love of a parent so much that he sent his son to die for each and every one of our sins even though we do not deserve it at all. No one is perfect not even. One.

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So, as you are opening your Christmas presents keep in mind that we were given the most precious gift of all. - The gift of our salvation and eternal happiness to party in Heaven with Jesus beyond any measurement of time and is why we celebrate the day not to get the latest gadget or gift.

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Merry Christmas

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Let’s Pray