Grace Wrapped Up

Christmas Eve  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  23:44
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Christmas morning in our home consist of waking up, enjoying a fun breakfast of strawberry crepes, the reading of the Christmas story from Luke’s gospel, prayer and then the opening of gifts…
Combined Emotions of:
Expectation
Excitement
Discovery as the paper is torn back
Wonder & Awe filled with gratitude
All these emotions combine as the paper wrapper is removed to reveal the gift given!
I have often marveled how part of the narrative in Luke describes baby Jesus being wrapped (TWICE!)
Mary is described laying the baby “wrapped” in a manger
The Angels declare this is a sign: Luke 2:11-13
Luke 2:11–13 NASB95
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

A Sign For You!

Meant to be seen or found
Easy to find… baby’s are not usually put in animal feeding troughs
Here is your gift mankind… wrapped up for you (your name!!!) “God loved the world that He GAVE!
In our brief time together this evening I want to help us UNWRAP this Gift of “Grace Wrapped Up” for you and I…

Baby Jesus…

… “a SAVIOR who is CHRIST the LORD!” these three titles are given to Jesus in succession like this only here in the New Testament!
SAVIOR = One who would rescue, save us, deliver us… (indicates we needed saving too!)
He will save His people from their sin” found in Matthew
CHRIST = The anointed One (Messiah) the Promised One
LORD = He is God / Deity / Emanuel “God with us”
If you and I needed saving then as we unwrap this baby Jesus we begin to see that…

Jesus Born in Our Need

Man was lost in sin… LOOKING / WAITING / HOPING FOR… the Promised One
God was NOT slow in sending us His gift of His Son… but in our great need Jesus came at the right time!!! Galatians 4:4-5
Galatians 4:4–5 NASB95
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
He came for our redemption… there was a purchase price, we were slave to sin…
the cost of our freedom was too high for you and I to pay (no mere man could do this!)… this baby Jesus as we unwrap Him we see He was God’s Son…

Jesus Born of a Virgin

Mary and Joseph both come from King David’s line… rightful heir to the throne!
But Joseph would be his step father and Mary would be a Virgin… what are the implications of this?
Prophecy would be fulfilled and evidence given to His being the Messiah Matthew 1:20-23
Matthew 1:20–23 NASB95
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
But we also see that because of the virgin birth… He is God!
His Father is God Almighty…
He would be 100% human on His mother’s side and 100% God on His Father’s side… Luke 1:30-35
Luke 1:30–35 NASB95
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Because he did not carry on the sin of mankind through Adam… He is born without sin, able to be mankind’s redemption…
As we unwrap this baby Jesus we discover His ability to save us because He is God, and to do this He must die…

Jesus Born to Die

From Genesis to Revelation the scriptures declare…
God loves mankind
Mankind has sinned
Sin Separates us from a Holy God
God redeems mankind through Jesus Christ
In God’s love He gives Salvation as a free gift to be recieved!!!
I love how this is summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 NASB95
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
We look at baby Jesus wrapped in cloths lying in a manger and what an amazing gift!!!

There Are No Words!

Have you ever unwrapped a gift and what you discovered was too wonderful for words?…
Thank you seemed too little
To repay or try to express your awe would be AN INSULT!!!
That’s why we close these Christmas Eve services with the song “Silent Night”
We cannot adequately say thank you… so we just describe in silent form what God has done through His Son Jesus Christ!
I love the imagery of this time in our service
Jesus “the Light of men” came in our dark state of sin to bring light
As our candle is lit we in turn light another’s candle
In similar form we have recieved such a great gift in this baby Jesus wrapped and lying in a manger… In turn we share this gift wrapped up for you and me with others around us… may we share the Light of the Truth of Jesus Christ this Christmas!
Let’s stand and sing together as Faith leads us and Julia plays the piano…
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