The Mystery of Incarnation

Welcome

Good morning!

And Merry Christmas!

I would like to welcome you all to this time of worship this Christmas Eve morning!

This is a very casual time of fellowship and worship.

We will sing a few carols this morning,

And I have an interactive story time we will go through together,

Then after we leave this morning,

You are all encouraged to come back tonight,

And bring friends and family with you,

As we gather at 7pm for a Christmas Eve Candlelight service.

So, as we prepare to start this morning,

I would like to invite you to please bow your heads,

And let’s begin with a word of prayer.

Pray.

Angels & Away

First, we will be singing Angels We Have Heard on High,

The lyrics will be on the screen to sing along,

The tempo is a little slower than you may be used to,

You will really have to take a big breath when singing Gloria.

Then, we will sing Away in a Manger together.

So, if you wish to stand,

Let’s sing together!

Sermon

Amen!

You may be seated.

This morning,

I would like to invite you all to join me on a mission!

Christmas is all about this King that God promised,

And as a King,

He has a Kingdom.

But we need the keys to get into this Kingdom!

Like many other parts of God’s story,

The way God kept His Christmas promise was a huge mystery to pretty much everyone at the time!

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So, together,

We are going back to the very first Christmas,

To solve the mystery of ___________!

Like I said earlier,

This is an interactive story time,

So, you are encouraged to discuss with one another,

And shout out thoughts or questions.

It is Christmas!

Don’t be afraid to let your inner child out!

Because the Bible is filled with sound wisdom,

Great advice,

And big mysteries!

This morning,

We are going to have to work together to solve a mystery.

The first part we have to solve,

Is what the mystery is.

On the screen are three pictures that make up what Christmas is the mystery of.

It is a single word,

Does anyone know what the word is?

Christmas is the mystery of blank.

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Right!

Christmas is the mystery of incarnation!

And that is the mystery we are solving this morning!

There are four key passages in the Bible that tell us the story of this mystery!

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These four passages are:

Matt. 1:18-23.

Luke 1:26-38.

Luke 2:1-17.

And Matt. 2:1-16.

These passages introduce us to a variety of people, places, and events that make up the first Christmas!

In these passages,

We find questions we need to answer,

And as we do,

We will learn how we get the Keys to the Kingdom.

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So, let’s look first at Matt. 1:22-23,

Where it says about the first Christmas,

That...

Matthew 1:22–23 ESV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Prophet?

Who is this prophet?

Well this specific prophet is a guy named Isaiah.

But he is just one of many prophets.

The prophets were like these whispering voices,

From a very dark time for God’s people.

Not many of them could really understand what the prophets were saying.

And even less people listened to or believed what they said.

But God was making great Christmas plans,

And the prophets knew this new king was coming.

But how?

That is our first question,

How did the prophets know this king was coming?

I mean,

The prophets said a bunch of things about this promised king,

Hundreds of years before the first Christmas!

Just a few examples include:

What we just read from Isaiah in Matthew,

That the King would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah also said the King would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,

And the King would save all kinds of people.

Micah said the King would be born in Bethlehem.

Hosea said the King would come out of Egypt.

And Daniel said the King would be a forever King!

And these are just a few examples,

There are dozens of prophecies that match up with the life of this Christmas King!

These prophecies came from a bunch of different people;

Moses, Micah, Isaiah, David, Daniel, Hosea, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Malachi,

Some of these guys lived hundreds of years apart,

Most never even met one another,

And all of them lived hundreds of years before the King came.

So, how could they have known the King was coming?

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If you look at the screen,

We have another clue,

What do you see on the screen?

Numbers!

Right!

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So, if that clue means numbers,

What could this clue mean?

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Yes! That’s it!

Numbers 12:6!

That must be what explains how the prophets know that this king was coming!

So, let’s check it out!

It says,

Numbers 12:6 (ESV)

If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.

So, the prophets know the king was coming,

Because God says that He told them the king was coming!

Specifically,

God said He makes Himself known to the prophets.

So, this means the King that is coming is also somehow God.

This is the first key to His Kingdom.

ACP (1-4)

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Let’s time travel in our minds,

Back to Nazareth thousands of years ago on that first Christmas.

Nazareth was a working class town in the region of Galilee.

It is a dusty little town,

Full of hard-working people who didn’t really have a lot of money.

And at this time,

The Roman Government raised taxes,

So, no one is really smiling or happy.

In Galilee is this girl who is in her late teens.

A girl named Mary.

Mary is engaged to be married to a young man named Joseph.

When she receives an unexpected visit and an unexpected message.

So, our second question related to our mystery,

Is who visited Mary and why?

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Mary is understandably really scared!

And what does the angel say to her when he sees her fear?

Does he say,

“Boo!”

“Why are you so scared?”

“Do not be afraid!”

That’s right, he tells her not to fear.

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So, now that she has calmed down some,

She is able to process what the angel says next.

“I’m gonna have a baby?” She thinks,

Then asks the angel,

“How can this be? I am still a virgin.”

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Then he explains that essentially the Holy Spirit will miraculously form the child.

Because the King is not only fully human,

But also fully God.

Mary embraces her role as God’s servant,

And expresses a desire for God’s Word to be fulfilled.

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But remember Joseph?

The guy who was supposed to marry Mary?

Well, when he finds out Mary is pregnant,

He thinks she did something wrong,

So, he decides he is going to divorce her privately.

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So, Joseph agrees to still marry Mary.

But going back to our question.

Who visited Mary and why?

Yes, it is an angel,

But he is a specific angel.

In fact,

This same angel spoke to one of those prophets we talked about earlier,

The prophet Daniel speaks to the same angel as Mary,

And the angel explains part of this mystery to Daniel.

So, who is this angel?

Yes!

Gabriel!

And why did he visit Mary?

To tell her that she was going to have a baby who will be the forever King!

This is the second key to His Kingdom!

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Because this baby is no ordinary baby.

This baby is the Son of God.

This baby is the promised King.

As King,

He should be born in a palace, right?

He should be part of a royal family.

But instead,

Our third question is,

Where will this King be born?

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Bethlehem was another one of those working class towns,

Kinda like Nazareth.

But it was busy with lots and lots and lots of people,

Because a census went out that required everyone to go back to their hometowns.

So, after a long journey,

Here is Joseph,

And his pregnant wife, Mary,

Being pushed around through this busy little town,

With donkeys braying,

And horses neighing,

And suddenly...

Its time!

The baby is coming!

Uh oh!

NOW WHAT?!?!

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The inn is completely full!

But this young couple is desperate!

So, they find a barn,

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But out in a nearby field were shepherds,

Watching their sheep at night.

Being a shepherd was a dusty and dirty job.

It was not necessarily the dream job that every kid wanted to be when they grew up.

They get stuck sleeping outside with their sheep.

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ACP(15-16)

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So, did Mary have a cute little onesie for her newborn baby?

No,

She had to wrap Him in swaddling cloths.

Did Mary have a nice, new, reliable crib for her newborn baby?

No,

She had to lay Him to rest in a feeding trough for barn animals.

Did Mary and Joseph have a room reserved for them at a local hospital?

No,

She gave birth to her baby in a barn in the little town of Bethlehem.

So, that is where this new King was born.

But if this baby truly was this promised new King,

Why wasn’t He born in a palace?

Why didn’t He have royal parents?

Because God wanted this King to have a humble birth,

So, that we would know that it is important to be humble like Him.

This is the third key to this King’s kingdom!

ACP (18-20)

These wise men are also called Magi.

They were like special astronomers during that time.

They believed the night sky was a canvas that displayed God’s artwork.

But they also believed the stars were almost like their own language.

They believed you could look at them,

Study them,

Then read them like a book,

And learn the outline of God’s plan for humankind.

So, this is what these guys were doing,

When they saw this very important star.

It compelled them to begin a long journey across a very cold desert.

The place they left from is somewhere around modern day Iraq or Iran or Saudi Arabia.

We don’t really know exactly where,

Nor do we know how many magi there were.

This group of wise men left their home,

To follow this star across the cold and barren desert.

But how did they know where to go?

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Well, as they follow the star,

They pass through Jerusalem,

Go to King Herod’s palace,

Tell him about this new King being born,

And ask to know how to find this new King,

Because they want to worship Him.

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So, Herod’s spiritual advisors check another one of those prophecies we talked about earlier,

Micah 5:2,

Which says,

This new King will be born in Bethlehem.

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The star led them all the way to Bethlehem,

All the way to this new King.

When they found Him,

They worshiped Him,

And gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But before they left,

They were warned in a dream to return home a different way,

Because Herod was trying to play a trick on them.

Herod actually wanted to kill this new King,

So, that He would never grow up,

And He would never threaten to take away Herod’s power.

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So, Herod was really angry when he found out the wise men deceived him,

And decided to take desperate measures,

Killing all the boys in Jerusalem under the age of 2.

So, the wise men were led by God.

We know they learned that Bethlehem was the destination,

According to Micah 5:2.

And we know the star led them there.

But how did the wise men know this star they saw was special?

Well, part of Isaiah 40:26 gives us a clue.

It describes God’s purpose with the stars this way:

“God is the Creator of every star. He brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls forth each one by name.”

So, the wise men knew where to go because God told them the way in His Word,

Then miraculously showed them the way.

This is the fourth key to His Kingdom.

So, there is only one final key left.

And it is the answer to the question,

Who is this King?

The Christmas promise shows us...

ACP (26-31)

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He is the King of kings,

And in this case,

The Key of keys!

He is the mystery of incarnation,

And the key to His own Kingdom.

God promised through the prophets that He would take on flesh,

The Spirit miraculously conceived a baby that was fully human and fully God in Mary’s womb,

And He was a humble King,

Born in a manger.

We all must also humble ourselves,

And like the wise men,

Be led by God’s Word,

Trusting in Jesus Christ,

Confessing Him as Lord and Savior.

The mystery of the incarnation,

Jesus Christ,

Is the key to His Kingdom.

A Kingdom that is already here,

But has not yet fully come.

And until it comes,

We must prepare.

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For many of us,

Christmas is one of the most important times of the year.

I mean, it’s obvious.

Think about how much time we give to prepare for it.

We adjust our schedules,

We make plans,

We begin budgeting,

All months in advance.

Family members travel from all over.

More decorations are put up than any other part of the year.

Specific meals are planned.

And I haven’t even gotten to the gifts!

The lists,

The shopping,

The hiding,

The wrapping!

There is so much intentionality,

Joy,

And anticipation around Christmas.

Why?

Clearly because it is significant.

AND

Because we believe it will really get here.

Christmas is not pretend,

It is not just something we hope might come this year.

It is real.

If it wasn’t,

We wouldn’t go through all the trouble making all these preparations, right?

We trust that it is going to come this year,

And the next year,

And the year after that,

And so on.

So, out of both the significance of Christmas,

And our expectations for it,

We make the necessary preparations.

So, that when Christmas does come,

We are ready!

It is interesting to think about.

We will spend months preparing and celebrating and remembering the mystery of incarnation,

When Christ first came.

But how much more should we be getting ready for His second coming?

When He brings His Kingdom with Him.

Because that day is also a reality.

We have absolute certainty that it will come.

At least, we should.

Now unlike Christmas,

Only God knows the exact day and hour.

But we do know He is coming.

The Bible says,

In the fullness of time,

Jesus will split the sky open,

He will descend and destroy all that is wrong in this world,

Receive all the worship that He deserves,

And usher in His Kingdom,

A time where unbroken and unending fellowship with Him will be given to all who have accepted the keys.

So, we must believe in,

Think about,

Look to,

And prepare for that day!

Just like God’s people before the first Christmas,

We wait for our King once more.

Yes, His second coming is certain,

But so far,

It hasn’t happened yet.

So, we find ourselves waiting.

And since we are waiting,

The natural question to ask is,

How shall we wait?

2 Peter reminds us that though the days of waiting seems long and weary,

God is not slow in keeping His promises.

Peter assures us of the absolute reality of a day when Jesus will return.

He then goes on to teach us what kind of lives we are to live while we wait,

Lives of holiness, godliness, and hopeful expectation.

We are living in the time of God’s patient mercy.

So, we need to be reminded of this,

That looking toward the reality of Christ’s return changes the way we live.

It reorients our hope and perspective.

It stirs in us a sense of urgency,

Mixed with giddy anticipation,

Like a child who cannot wait for Christmas morning!

So, may we, God’s people,

Be found ready as we wait.

May each of our hearts be full,

And our eyes bright as we hope in Christ,

And look toward His coming Kingdom!

Let’s pray.

O Holy Night

I want to invite you to stand,

And although it is morning,

Since it is Christmas Eve Day,

We will close by singing O Holy Night.

Again, it will be on the screen,

Let’s sing this together.

Benediction

Amen,

Let’s benedict this morning with Peter’s encouragement to us as we wait in 2 Pet. 3:14.

Please, read this with me.

Amen!

Hope to see you back here at 7pm tonight,

Merry Christmas!

Have a great day,

You are dismissed.