The Joy Of Christmas 2018
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Read Luke 2The Joy Of Christmas
Read Luke 2The Joy Of Christmas
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith!
Introduction:
Today I want to share with you about the Joy of Christmas
Joy = The spiritual state that results from knowing and serving God.
Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God.
It is not something people can create by their own efforts.
The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure.
The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word hedonism, the philosophy of self-centered pleasure-seeking.
Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
Isaac Watts the author of the lyrics
Joy to The World
understood the Joy of Christmas
Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; (psalm 98)
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
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,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
So, What is the "good news of great joy" for us here this morning?
First of all, it's the news that, through Jesus, God has entered into the daily life of this world and redeemed it.
God has saved the world and saved us.
How God has redeemed and saved us simply means that by God's grace All of our sins are forgiven and we've been given a meaning and purpose in life, defined as love.
8 And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened.
a [glory of the Lord] The Shekinah, or glory, always symbolized God's presence
16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Joy is:
The settled guarantee that God is in control of all the details of my life,
The quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright,
The determined choice to praise God in every situation
10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Following Christ puts you in a relationship to have present joys, and leads toward an eternal joy
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
c [Saviour] savior, deliverer, preserver.
e [Lord] The Lord of all power, hence able to save (Rom. 14:9; 1Cor. 8:6). Jesus is
Savior, Christ, and Lord. The "good tidings" of Lk. 2:10 concern a person, not some religion with its creeds, doctrines, confessions, and outward forms.
12 And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find [after searching] a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
13 Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest [heaven], and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased [men of goodwill, of His favor].
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.”
24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him
26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him.
35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.
43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first,
44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.
45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there.
46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”
49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 But they didn’t understand what he meant.
51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart.
52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
The Joy Of Christmas is The Joy of Giving –
Just Like God Gave To You and Me! Jesus His Son
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