Christmas Day Service

A New Bundle of Joy!

Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.””

Revelation 12:1-6 “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.”

Psalm 2:7-9 “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.””

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Jeremiah 23:5-6 ““The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.”

Luke 2:1-7 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Micah 5:2 ““But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.””

Luke 2:8-12 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.””

Luke 2:12-17 “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,”

Luke 2:19-21 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”

Questions I asked

Why did he come in human form?

Why be born in a feeding trough?

What is the danger of leaving Jesus in the manger?

Why did he chose the family tree that he came through?

When was he actually born?

Why did the religious elite not believe he was Messiah?

Why did not everyone listen to what the Shepherds heralded?

Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 9-133: Why Christ Had to Come (Christ, Jesus)

Why Christ Had to Come

CHRIST, JESUS

Galatians 4:1–7

(POSB, note 2, point 6.c.)

There is an old missionary tale that describes in a simple fashion why Jesus Christ’s coming was so important.

The missionary was becoming frustrated over his inability to communicate the gospel to his lost friend. There was a very real mental and spiritual block. One day while walking in a field they came upon an ant hill. The missionary and his friend were struck by how hard these ants were working. As they were observing this wonder of nature, they suddenly looked up to see an anteater lumbering toward them.

“Well, this looks like the end of this ant hill,” remarked the missionary in a casual tone. Sorry that their study of this ant hill was coming to a close he said, “I wish I could warn them about the anteater.”

“That’s it!” said the missionary. “My friend, God saw man as ants who were working as hard as they knew how to. But sin was killing them. The only way to warn them was to become one of them. Then they would understand and take action to save themselves.”

Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

3 Markers of Jesus’ Geneaology

Gen 12:1-3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

2 Sam 7:12 “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.”

Deut 28:58-59 “If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God—the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.”

However amongst the men there were

Adulterers

Murderers

Liars

Three Shady Ladies

Tamar – Deceitfulness

Rahab – Prostitute

Ruth – Outsider

to name but a few

God’s Providence

Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 9-124: Christ Was Right on Time (Christ, Jesus)

Have you ever watched and waited for a pot of water to boil? It seems to take forever! In the same sense, we sometimes look at God and wonder when is He going to do this or do that? No matter how impatient we get, God will do things in His time—the right time.

Just as water boils at the right temperature, God sent His Son into the world at the right time. God was not early. God was not late. He was right on time … just in time!

The Joy of Christmas

INTRODUCTION:

My children have been the greatest gift but it hasn’t been easy

Not always happy, but filled with Joy

Christmas isn’t always a great time for some

What we can all agree with is we love getting presents, they don’t last long and they fade, break and bore us. Happiness is fleeting (Story of elite sports people recieivng a champioship)

STRUCTURE:

Gift of Truth

Gift of Identity

Gift of Joy (Gospel)

Gift of Truth

Question: Why do some people then and now not believe it?

Always Plan A and overwhelming evidence of fulfilled prophecies and promises (list some)

Geneaology Matthew 1 (just touch on it as focus in identity)

Truth equals all of the advent series (Hope, Peace, Love & Joy)

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Always Plan A

Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.””

Revelation 12:1-6 “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.... She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne...

You will know no Joy, Peace, Love, Hope if you cannot trust the one who promises it and more importantly keeps them.

Prophecy List

Prophecy of a coming ruler - Is 9:6–7

Prophecy of a virgin birth - Is. 7:14

Prophecy concerning his birthplace - Mic 5:2

Prophecy Fulfilled

Prophecy of a coming ruler - Acts 13:23

Prophecy of a virgin birth - Matt 1:22-23

Prophecy concerning his birthplace - Luke 2:4-6

Geneaology

Matthew 1:1-18 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David....”

3 Markers of Jesus’ Geneaology

Gen 12:1-3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

2 Sam 7:12 “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.”

Deut 28:58-59 “If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God—the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.”

2. Gift of Identity

Why did Jesus chose to come the way he did, through the way he did?

Who is he - Second person, Logos, Word in flesh, Messiah and Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Immanuel (God with us)

Shepherds, Feeding trough, hard life, Geneaology etc. - we all have access, we can identify with him, and he can identify with us.

Who is God - Father, Only God, Just, Holy etc. all governed by Love

Who are we - broken, lowly, messy, numb, unimportant. Remember i said some don’t have a great time at Christmas - Jesus can relate and has been through things we never have.

Question: Why did Jesus chose to come the way he did, through the way he did?

3. Gift of Joy (Gospel)

What is the danger of leaving Jesus in the Manger? - Make him who he isn’t, salvation is not accomplished in the Trough but on the Cross

Plenty of people are offered the gift, but think its to good to be true, or want to live life their way which leads to destruction

Difference between happiness and joy

Joy is the gospel of peace we have received

Preach the gospel!

The only presents that don’t fade warp break or we tire of his His Presence!

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”