He is here!

Good morning,

I am so happy to see you very few that made it

I know that everyone else is on leave

But that is ok.

What does the Bible say in

Matthew 18:20 NLT

For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Verse, “Where ever two or more are gathered in my name, we still have a church”

So with today being the final weekend before Christmas

I wanted to take a break from our series on 1 John

And go with a story I feel is more appropriate

More seasonal,

Can’t have Christmas without telling the story about the birth of Christ

So how many of you all in here come to my Bible studies?

If you do then

You’re sort of familiar with how academic those can get

And there is a reason why I do it that way

Because it’s the details that truly matter

Its the details where you get the substance of the story

Where you get the meat and potatoes of the story

It’s the details in the story

That help us understand what’s really going on

Because when we just glaze over certain topics

When we don’t take the time to appreciate the tiny details

We miss the moral of the story

We miss the point of the story

One of my favorite examples was in a sermon that I once preached

This particular sermon was on John 4

Or the first person Jesus shared the Gospel with

Real fast, cause I don’t want to take away from the point of today,

But did you realize that in John 4 or

What most call the woman at the well

Jesus is absolutely determined

To share the Gospel with someone no one would have thought of

I mean the lowest of society

The bottom of the barrel so to speak

A Samaritan woman!

I realize most you would say, so what

What does that have to do with anything

Well it’s the details that truly matter

See when you realize that Samaritans were hated by Jews

Considered to be half breads

I mean when I say they were despised by Jews

That’s putting it lightly

When you realize that Samaritans were considered

To be thief’s or criminals

The out cast of society

And the fact that Jesus would even speak with a Samaritan,

Brings something deeper

More profound to our understanding,

Brings emotion to the story

Then when you realize

That Jewish men had such a low view of women

That they actually made poems and songs, thanking God that they weren’t women

And then

When you realize

That adultery not only condemned you

But it actually was a societal death sentence

And then when you consider that the woman Jesus first spoke with

Was in fact a Samaritan, A woman, and an Adulterer

When you realize those specific details

And you look at the heart Jesus had for those of us that are

Rejected,

Cursed,

Considered to be the outcasts of society

I’m telling you when you realize those details,

You Fall in love with Christ

You begin to see his purpose

And his heart

And that’s what I want to do for you all today

I want to bring in a deeper understanding to the story

Maybe give you a few details that will help you truly fall in love with Christmas

Fall in love with our Savior

If you would please open up your Bibles to Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1–20 NLT

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 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. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 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. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 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.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 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.

You know

When you really think on it

When you really dwell on the facts

The way Christ entered the world

It was something truly special

I mean there is a message here

A message of hope

of acceptance

A message unlike any other

I mean we see the polar opposite of his entrance

Everywhere in society

And really think on this

Because our idea of success

Our idea of a king

Is someone with money

Someone with Power

And we see this every day within our own country

Look at our politicians for example

We hold elections

Each candidate backed by millions

Sometimes billions of Dollars

We look at the average person

And we think there is no way

They could run for office

They don’t have the platform

The money

The influence

I mean this is our world

Polar opposite of the kingdom of God

For months

We watch both candidates

Desperately try to show the world

How powerful they are

Literally putting on a show for all of us to see

Desperately trying to prove to us how wonderful they are

You ever stop to think whey they do this

Why do they have to sell themselves to us

Because we don’t belong to them

They don’t own us

Think on that for a moment

Politicians sell themselves

Because they don’t own you

Contrary to how this may sound

I’m not trying to make a political statement here

What I’m trying to say

is that when you look at Jesus

He didn’t have to earn your approval

He doesn’t have to win elections

He doesn't’ have to win any popularity contest

He is God

He is in charge

He already own everything

And when you look at Christ

Look at how He entered the world

It is entirely different from what we are familiar with

Look at the details of this story

Because like I said

There is a message here

A message that says

THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYONE

Let me say that again

THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYONE

First off notice Joseph and Mary from Nazareth

A no name back water town.

Traveling to Bethlehem

Another town of really no significance

I mean you would have thought the King of Israel

Would have been born in Jerusalem

But no

He is born of parents from a town of no significance

Born in a city of no significance

I mean if you were to compare both places to something today

You might say this is redneck ville Mississippi

or town in the middle of Kansas that no one has heard of

Not a place you’d expect a king to be from

This is why you constantly hear in the Gospels

Can anything good come from Nazareth

Because this is most certainly not were a king should be born

Second

You have Jesus parents

Joseph was a carpenter

Not a bad job but blue collar to say the least

His mother was probably just a 15-16 year old girl

At the time she was pregnant with Jesus

She wasn’t the queen of Egypt

The wife of the Roman Emperor

No she was a no name girl

From a little town called nazareth

She was nothing

No power

No influence

Neither of them came from powerful families

Neither of them came from any type of influence whatsoever

Think on what we are used to in this world

Think on what we are familiar with

Doesn’t make sense

Then their is the manner in which he was born

I mean really think on this

His parents were so poor

And their situation so awkward

They couldn’t even get a room for the night

Mary ends up giving birth in a barn

Probably with the smell of animal poo everywhere

I’m sure Joseph was desperately trying to clean the area up

I mean can you imagine

Shoot my wife can barely handle any displeasing smells

Can you imagine giving birth in a barn

Then eventually

Laying her new born son

In a feed trough

Wrapping him in strips of linen

Because that’s all she had

She had no blankets

Nothing to really wrap him in

I mean if this was today

It’s about this point

The wife is taking her husband to divorce court

Mary had no real comfort

She had

No mid wife

No hospital

Nothing sanitary

Nothing comfortable

I mean can you imagine

What Mary must have been going through

What doubts what questions may have entered her mind

Keep in mind she just a teenager

I mean look at us

We have all the comforts in the world

Right at our finger tips

We take showers every day

Sometimes twice a day

We have hospitals

Doctors

Nurses

Medicine

We have everything we need

and when you compare our average situation to the birth of Jesus

Its incomparable

But that’s the point

That’s the uniqueness of Christ

He didn’t come for the rich

He came for the needy

The down and out

Those that most would reject

He came for the lepers

for the handicapped

for the sinners

the prostitutes

the depressed

those struggling with addiction

Struggling with Anger

Acceptance

Thats the point here

Thats the message

THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYONE

Take the shepherds for example

Because it’s no accident the angels appeared to the shepherds first

Its no accident the Gospel message was presented to the woman at the well either

I mean if you recall

The video we just watched

Shepherds are no body in Jewish society

Always looked upon as the outcast of society

Looked upon as that guy that couldn’t get anything better

That low life minimum wage loser

That everyone hates

One author put it

These are the guys that society didn’t know what to do with

So you had them watch the sheep

You had them watch the live stock

Because that’s all they are good for

It kept them away from people

It kept them in their place

And yet the Angels from heaven

Introducing to the world that

The Messiah has been born

The Savior of the world is here

The King has come

To a bunch of low life shepherds

To a bunch of guys the world would have thrown away

These are the people God finds the most value in

Maybe you feel like you don’t belong

Maybe you feel like the outsider here today

Maybe just maybe you’ve been hurt by the church in the past

Maybe you’re venturing out here

Testing the waters to see if it’s safe to come back

You know the more you study this story

I’m telling the more you fall in love with Jesus

The deeper you go the better it gets

It’s the details that truly matter,

Its the details of the Christmas story

That tell me it’s safe to come back

That tell me you are exactly what Christ is looking for

This story tells me that you’re loved

You’re accepted

And that no one is too low to gain the forgiveness of God

God has never taken the mighty and put them on a pedestal

He has never taken the proud

Never taken the people that feel they're too good for God

That they don’t need God

And made them an example of our salvation

That message is consistent throughout Scripture

Think on this

The king of the universe

The creator of all of creation

Stepped down from his thrown

Was born in a barn

To insignificant parents

In an insignificant town

To a people group that was conquered by the Roman Empire

And His entire purpose

Was to spread the message of Hope

And to share with the World

The message of salvation

The forgiveness sins

Do you realize this little baby

Born on Christmas

that

33 years later

Through the cross

He would

Suffer and die for us

So that we can be with God

And when you take this message

You begin to see a pattern

An understanding of his purpose

Ladies and gentlemen

Jesus Christ

Came to this world

To become a servant

To the world

To die for our sins so that we could spend eternity with Him

This week we celebrate the birth of the Messiah

The promised Savior of the world

That’s what makes this so powerful

That’s what makes today so incredible

The separation that happened in the garden

The eternity apart from Him

Has been corrected

Has been paid for

Bought

Sin Forgiven

Eternity gained

All through the cross

AND IT

All started in a tiny little town

Called Bethlehem

On a night

Enveloped and casted by a bunch of nobodies

With a message of hope

and that message is

THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYONE

In Luke chapter 2 verse 11

It tells us

Luke 2:11 NLT

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Guys today is a day of celebration

The source of our hope

The reason for everything

The king was born into this world

To save you

To save me

Guys walk out of here today with a smile on your face

Heads held high

You have everything to look forward to

Jesus Christ

The baby in a manager

He is the center piece of the Gospel

He is the center piece of every book of the Bible

He is the culmination of everything we hope for

He is our King

Our High Priest

Our Best Friend

He is everything

As we walk out of here today

Take this message of hope

Cement into your heart

Into your head

and as you wake up Christmas morning

drop to your knees

And say a prayer of thanks

Because today is the greatest day in the history of our world

The Savior, our King has come to be with us

and His message is clear

HIS GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYONE

Lets close in prayer

Numbers 6:24–26 NLT

‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’