The Christ Has Come

Welcome/

Opening Prayer??

--------------------------

Intro: Waiting “Promised” Packages?

Good evening everyone!

How many of you here have something that you’re waiting for?

HOPEFULLY NOT: AMAZON PACKAGES!

ANYONE ELSE HIT W/ EFFECTS of AMAZON STRIKE?

OUR HOUSE: LATE-NIGHT WALMART SHOPPING—AMAZON ISN’T COMING

---------

NO ONE ENJOYS WAITING

ESP. — WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW a FINAL DATE/ARRIVAL TIME...

---------

(T) Interestingly enough, WORLD WAS HERE— LONG TIME

O.T. PRESENTS PICTURE— COMING RULER — DETAILS FUZZY

NO ONE KNEW TIMING

DANIEL— ONE LIKE “SON of MAN”,, AN ANOINTED ONE

MICAH— RULER: BORN in BETHLEHEM

ISAIAH — CHILD of VIRGIN: IMMANUEL — “GOD WITH US”

THERE WAS STILL MUCH to be KNOWN of COMING MESSIAH

MESSIAH = ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION of HEBREW TERM: “ANOINTED ONE”

---------

(T) GOOD NEWS— CELEBRATED @ CHRISTMAS— THIS ONE HAS COME....

CAME in SURPRISING FASHION...

BEGIN — RE-READING PORTION of LUKE’S ACCOUNT of CHRIST’S BIRTH--

V8-14

The Scripture says:

🐢🐢🐢 --- 12 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

Text: Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:8–14 (ESV)

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

IMAGINE BEING in THESE GUYS’ SANDALS!

NIGHTTIME

HANGING W/ SHEEP

ANGEL APPEARS OUT of NOWHERE

SHEPHERDS FREAK OUT!

ANGELS = CONSISTENTLY SCARY— PROB. NOT LITTLE GUYS W/ HALOS

---------

ANGELS = PRIMARILY MESSENGERS....

COME W/ MESSAGE

COME to SHEPHERDS

NOT a HIGHLY ESTEEMED OCCUPATION

GENERALLY DISDAINED/SCORNED

REPUTED OFTEN as THIEVES

DISQUALIFIED FROM BEING LEGAL WITNESSES

THOSE REJECTED BY SOCIETY = BECOME FIRST to HEAR GOOD NEWS!

THOSE W/ GREAT FEAR RECEIVE MESSAGE of GREAT JOY!

---------

GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY! SPECIAL CHILD is BORN!

SAVIOR

DIVINELY APPOINTED—BRING SALVATION

CHRIST

MESSIAH— “ANOINTED ONE”

“fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a deliverer, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ”[1]

INITIALLY a TITLE—NOT NAME!

JESUS, “THE CHRIST”

LORD

WORD TYPICALLY USED of GOD in O.T.

ETERNAL WORD of GOD—MADE FLESH

IMMANUEL— GOD W/ US!!

---------

NOT an ORDINARY BABY

· He is Savior.

· He is the Christ.

· He is Lord.

GOOD NEWS—GREAT JOY!! FOR ALL PEOPLE— INCLUDING SHEPHERDS!

---------

(12) SIGN— GO & FIND HIM… YOU COULD “FACT-CHECK” the ANGELS MESSAGE...

SHEPHERDS = LOCALS ((“SAME REGION”, V8))

WISE MEN/MAGI CAME from AFAR

---------

WHERE DO YOU FIND a NEWBORN KING??

NO HOSPITALS...

A PALACE, RIGHT??

NICE PLACE??

BEST HUMANS CAN PROVIDE??

NO:..... a MANGER— PROBABLY LOCATED in a CAVE.

ANIMALS FOOD TROUGH

---------

ETERNAL WORD of GOD—BECOMING FLESH—

THE ONE THROUGH WHOM the WORLDS WERE MADE...

CAME DOWN… IN MOST HUMBLE FASHION

BORN to POOR JEWISH PARENTS

WITHOUT PROPER PLACE to STAY

PLACED in MANGER

--------------------------

(T) And as IF THIS WASN’T HUMBLE ENOUGH....

JESUS ENTIRE LIFE CONSISTED of HUMILITY

🐢🐢🐢 --- 7 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

Gospel: Christ-The Savior

PAUL: PHIL. CH. 2.....

Philippians 2:5–8 (ESV)

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

LEAVING GLORY of HEAVEN BEHIND...

PLACE of PERFECTION— TO COME to EARTH,, SIN-STAINED & BROKEN...

TOOK on HUMANITY— FORM of SLAVE

HUMBLED HIMSELF to DEATH

EVEN DEATH on a CROSS.

WHY DO THIS??

I WOULDN’T HAVE COME DOWN.

---------

HE CAME DOWN FOR US.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

---------

ALL of US HAVE SINNED— SEPARATED from HOLY GOD...

IMAGINE SIN = BEING STUCK in PIT—

CAN’T GET OUT BY YOURSELF

NO GOOD WORKS

NO RIGHTEOUS DEEDS

YOU NEED HELP FROM ABOVE....

SOMEONE to LOWER a ROPE to YOU

HE CAME DOWN to SAVE US....

BORN THIS DAY: A SAVIOR!

NOT to SAVE FROM ROME...

NOT to SAVE FROM EARTHLY TYRANTS...

BUT to SAVE FROM SIN/ETERNAL SEPARATION from GOD...

---------

MESSAGE TO SINNERS:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

HE CAME to BRING PEACE— PEACE BETWEEN US & CREATOR

Romans 5:1 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

---------

SALVATION = FREE GIFT GIVEN— RECEIVED THROUGH FAITH...

NO RIGHTEOUSNESS

NO GOOD WORKS

ARE ENOUGH.

ACKNOWLEDGE SIN & NEED BEFORE GOD— TURN from SIN to SAVIOR

TRUST/FAITH in CHRIST

MERITS of HIS LIFE,, NOT YOURS...

RIGHTEOUSNESS CREDITED THROUGH FAITH...

BELIEVE—GOD HAS RAISED HIM from the DEAD

YOU CAN BE SAVED, TODAY.

YOU CAN HAVE FORGIVENESS FROM GOD, TODAY.

HAVE QUESTIONS

STRUGGLE W/ ASSURANCE

DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU STAND BEFORE HIM TODAY...

TALK to ME AFTER SERVICE...

SAVIOR CAME— BROUGHT SALVATION from SIN— REASON to CELEBRATE

(T) And now, for THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST..., I want to ENCOURAGE YOU in closing with WHAT CHRISTMAS is ALL ABOUT....

🐢🐢🐢 --- 3 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

App:

CHRISTMAS = NOT ABOUT....

NOT ABOUT GIFTS

NOT ABOUT FAMILY

NOT ABOUT PARTIES/GET TOGETHERS

NOT ABOUT FOOD

NOT ABOUT LIGHTS…TREES…DECORATIONS...

NOT ABOUT SANTA....

CHRISTMAS is ABOUT CHRIST!!

NOT X-MAS

NOT “HAPPY HOLIDAYS”

IT’S CHRISTMAS.

THE CELEBRATION of the SAVIOR’S INCARNATION & COMING INTO THIS WORLD....

---------

SOME COMPLAIN:

“”CHRIST PROBABLY WASN’T BORN in DECEMBER””

WE MIGHT NOT KNOW WHEN HE WAS BORN....

BUT WHAT MATTERS IS THAT HE WAS BORN.

> WE SET ASIDE THIS TIME to CELEBRATE....ALTHOUGH YOU CAN & SHOULD CELEBRATE ALL YEAR LONG

THANKSGIVING: WE’RE THANKFUL (I HOPE) on MORE THAN ONE THURSDAY a YEAR

VALENTINES: BUY FLOWERS/CANDY— (I HOPE) MORE than ONE DAY in FEBRUARY!

CHRISTMAS = SET ASIDE—SPECIAL TIME WE HAVE APPOINTED to CELEBRATE

WITHOUT CHRIST—WHAT REASON is THERE to CELEBRATE DURING COLDEST/DARKEST PART of YEAR??

---------

MESSAGE of CHRISTMAS = THAT CHRIST HAS COME

MESSAGE of GOOD NEWS

GREAT JOY— REJOICINGG

FOR ALL THE PEOPLE

HE HAS COME

HE is SAVIOR

HE is MESSIAH

HE is LORD

AND HE is WORTH CELEBRATING, AMEN?

Close in Prayer