Beyond the Nativity: Became Flesh

Merry Christmas and I said, most wonderful time of the year and enjoy Christmas for the last couple of years.

Suns have been taking care of buying Christmas for our. Grandchildren. But this year, I got back actively involved in the one of my kids is going to really be put out with me. So, I know some of you know who they are. Don't tell him, just, just startled, secrets, you know. I just try not to smile when I think to look like when those presents were opened. I look for a picture of a baby as we thought about, and I wanted a certain one. I wanted a certain look had to buy this one, but I mean, really, it's just so perfect. It's just, this really says, what you want to say. When you think about a baby in the manger, it just such an ideal picture. It's this long and Winding Road. That began all the way in the Garden of Eden in our Bible. And we're starting to know about this baby in Genesis chapter 3. The next side is the prophecy between the snake and the human He will crush your head and you will strike his heel of first Messianic suggested in my mind of this Jesus is on the way. And over hundreds of years, people are going to look for that promise in that idea and then according to Galatians 4:4.

but when the time had fully come Post. What does it mean? I don't have any idea. At some point in time God, through the Trinity says it's time. It's time for the promised Messiah. To leave the glories of heaven and to descend to the Earth and take a form of us. Little baby boy. Lot of people try to talk about. Well maybe it was the estimate was that could have any number of things and if we were to discussion Bible class to be interesting to talk about that but for some reason God who created time works within the construct of time to utilize the right moment and it's here. Actually the arrival of Jesus Emmanuel God is with us. The stories in Matthew and Luke are precious and we haven't focused on those this year. While you may want to do that with your own family as you go into the holiday. But John puts it. So sustained succinctly as we've looked, he tells in the beginning was, the word was with God, and the Word was God. Everything was made in conjunction with the word because the word has always been here. Then he goes on to describe Jesus as the light and that's what we talked about last week and then John 1:14, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the father, full of grace and truth. I appreciate so much what he was actually there. He actually saw and witness that if you could or witness the ministry of Jesus rather, we look at Paul and Paul invites us to find people. Actually witnessed the events of Jesus life and his defense of Jesus. He's going to say, there are people out there who were who were there. They were there on the spot. They were people who saw this is their people saw that their people Clearly he sing. If you were motivated to do so, you can go and find those individuals and have a conversation with them. About the Christ. So, we put up a tree and light up the house by nice gifts and maybe we pitched money into the basket. While we go to the store. We have a celebration before and we draw family, we take our time off, work. If maybe we go to church and then it's just step back a little bit, you start to think.

What kind of response would be appropriate? For Emmanuel, God With Us.

God came to Earth. The visit, he came to Earth to stay a lifetime and that lifetime would be ended. By that important sacrifice that you makes for all of us.

When we think about it in lecture Ali, it really gets to the place where you can kind of overwhelming. Has Jesus voluntarily chose to leave the Perfect Harmony and Splendor of Heaven. He relinquished the status, but not the Divinity, he gave up the prerogatives and the appearances of Vine go by and Glory but not as essential nature. He becomes the embodiment of human nature and this allows him to experience as a human being, everything that we experience at any moment. When you go to God through the son, he understands what you're experiencing because he was willing to come and experience that same thing. He was willing to be that sacrifice and he was willing to be a model for believers. So that we know how did it go. She ate this life. I read the passages in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. God sent him there so that we could look to him. Constantly is a, what do I need to do? How do I need to act? How do I use a few things? What perspective should I have it over and over and over again? Answers come through him.

Those emotional eBay stories have so much power. The baby in the manger in the shepherds in the field and all of those things when you see the vice band and even the danger of hair into, those are rich and full stories. What does intellectual narrative gives us so much information? It's useful and beneficial. And we see another side. Another story. And yet, there's something very painful about this. Recollection in John chapter one and many of you already thinking about it. Because down there, in verse 10 and 11 of John one right before, it says the word became flesh. It says he was in the world and though, the world was made through him. The world did not. Recognize him. He came to that, which was his own, but his own did not receive him in that, be The native people, the Jewish people had waited all this time to witness the Messiah. There were so many who wanted to be alive during the moment when Jesus was actually here on Earth. And then he shows up. And because he doesn't match necessarily what they thought he was going to be, or what they thought me should be. You're not willing to accept them. When I was a very young boy, I can remember. Hearing Isaiah 3:3. Where it says, we esteemed him not. That's something James. I like the Poetry of the King James there.

The gods made all this plan. How was it possible? That the Trinity has put this in motion? How it is possible? That Jesus has made so many sacrifices? Just that people say they're not really interested the nice holiday and I enjoyed the things to go on in our culture. All kinds of things that are positive and useful and beneficial perhaps, but what is it really done to change who I am. And the way I live my life. And the way I replied to other people. There were people like Simeon and Anna, who met Jesus? His family in the temple, they have been longing for the seeing of the they've been longing to see the Messiah and they were certainly

Inspirational, they respond to him. We all know this kind of easy to play at this 3 game, we've developed a good person, take care of things in life, and we can start to think will baby. I'm just one of those people that you're just kind of lucky to have

We know that's not really the case. I'd like to encourage you during this holiday time. To take some time to do two things. to remember and to remind, remember what it was all about, remember what the purpose was and then remind other people to do that same thing. I'm going to share with you one story today where gently the story is purported. LOL, I won't mess up, it was made famous. Let's put it that way by Paul Harvey, man, I used to be able to say that. People go, people say who's Paul Harvey told radio broadcaster, who would give the rest of the story. Had a marvelous voice and every year, he would tell this story. And so it became it became his Christmas story that he shared. Now, I can't do it. The justice of Paul Harvey County going to try, but if you'd like to hear Paul Harvey do it, just go to YouTube and look for parihar read of the birds in the barn and let's do it last night. It really is a useful to listen to

Here's a story. The man I'm going to tell you about was on a scrooge. He was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe in all that Incarnation stuff that the church is Proclaim it Christmas time. It just didn't make sense, and he was too nice to pretend, otherwise, he couldn't just swallow. The Jesus story about God, coming to Earth as a man. He told his wife, I'm truly sorry to distressed you but I'm not going with you to Christmas Eve service this year. He said he would feel like a hypocrite much rather just stay at home. That he would wait up for the rest of the family. So, he stayed and they went to the midnight service. Shortly after the car drove away, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch. The floor is getting heavier and heavier and then he went back to his Fireside chair. Begin to read the newspaper. Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound been another. And then another at first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against a living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found the flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They've been caught in the storm and the desperate search for shelter. They have tried to fly through his large landscape window that's what was making the sound. Well, they couldn't let the poor creatures just lie there and Fries. So we remember the barn where your children stable their Pony that would provide a warm shelter. All they would have to do a directive bird into the shelter quickly. He put on his coat and galoshes and Tramp for the deepening. Snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turn the light to the birds, get know the way in. But the birds did not come in. So he figured that food would have tossed. He hurried back to the house and fetch some bread crumbs. He sprinkle them on the snow, making a trail of bread to the light to the yellow lighted. Open doorway of the stable but he is the birds ignored the crumbs, the birds continue to Flap around. Helplessly in the snow. He's tried touching their butt naked. If only, I could think of some way to let them know that they could trust me but I'm not trying to hurt them but the help them but how he made tended to frighten them and confuse them, they just would not follow, they would not be led or shewed because they were afraid. he thought to himself, if only, I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language, I could tell him not to be afraid. Then like you're shoving her way to the safe warm to the safe warm Barn. Forgot. I have to be one of them so that they could see. And here. And understand. At that moment, the church bells began to ring the Sound reaches a years above. The sounds of the Wind and he sank to his knees in the snow.

The analogy. It needs absolutely no explanation. Would you go out with me?

Dear God, our Father in heaven. We know that we can't ever truly comprehend what you did for us by sending your son to this earth. Know, the sacrifices he made it doing. So the involvement of the spirit in that process but father, we are so grateful that it just happened and my prayer today is who is show that gratitude father that we could demonstrate in our lives, the reality of the fact that we want to be like your son Help us to serve him, help us to share camp with other people, help us to try to our greatest ability to be the people that you want us to be. Father forgive us of our many mistakes guide us to Higher Ground and we pray this to your precious son. Amy.

This morning, we extend the invitation of Jesus Christ. If you would like to respond to that, we encourage you to do that right now. I'll be standing sing together.