Celebration

Intro:

Joy to the World! #415

1. Joy to the world; the Lord is come; Let Earth receive her King; Let ev'ry Heart prepare him room, And Heav'n and nature sing.

2. Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns, Let men their Songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love.

1. Celebrate Kingdom Come

1. Joy to the world; the Lord is come; Let Earth receive her King; Let ev'ry Heart prepare him room, And Heav'n and nature sing.

Matthew 2:2 NASB95

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Matthew 2:6 NASB95

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Luke 2:10–11 NASB95

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

What is this new kingdom?

-The Kingdom of God is Valuable

Matthew 13:44-46

Matthew 13:44–46 NASB95

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

-The Kingdom of God is Contagious

Matthew 13:33

Matthew 13:33 NASB95

He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

-The Kingdom of God is Exclusive

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

Matthew 13:24–30 NASB95

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:36–43 NASB95

Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

2. Celebrate Enthusiastically

2. Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns, Let men their Songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy.

Luke 19:37–40 NASB95

As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

Luke 2:13–14 NASB95

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Matthew 2:10–11 NASB95

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

-Celebrating enthusiastically means without delay

Luke 2:16

Luke 2:16 NASB95

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

-Celebrating enthusiastically means without restraint

Matthew 2:11

Matthew 2:11 NASB95

After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

-Celebrating enthusiastically means without pause

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding Joy

Luke 19:37-40

Luke 19:37–40 NASB95

As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

Enthusiastically means

Now

without restraint

with all that you are

Repeatedly

Alyssa announcing her pregnancy

Jeslyn screamed and jumped up and down

She ran to her sister and hugged her

she didn’t calmly say congratulations

she didn’t wait till later to send her a card or a text

It’s a part of who she is to show her enthusiasm

3. Celebrate Freedom

3. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found.

Luke 2:11 NASB95

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Herod kills the babies

-Freedom comes at a cost

Galatians 5:1

Galatians 5:1 NASB95

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

-Freedom comes through submission

Galatians 5:13-14

Galatians 5:13–14 NASB95

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

-Freedom comes repeatedly

1 Corinthians 6:12

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;

1 Corinthians 6:12 NASB95

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

4. Celebrate Love in Action

4. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love.

Philippians 2:3–15 NASB95

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

-Love in Action is through imitation

Ephesians 5:1-2

Your attitudes should be like that of Christ Jesus

Ephesians 5:1–2 NASB95

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

-Love in Action is done in power

1 John 3:18

1 John 3:18 NASB95

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

-Love in Action is Available

Romans 12:9-11

Romans 12:9–11 NASB95

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

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