Sermon Tone Analysis

Crown Him With Many Crowns (Christmas)

WELCOME

Good morning family.

Hear the Word of the Lord from Psalm 139...

Psalm 139:7-10—“Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

We walk into these doors in the presence of the Spirit who was hear before the first door was open.

We don’t welcome Him hear, He welcomes us.

If you’re not a Christian, He wants to make you new today

If you are a Christian, He wants you to leave here with a renewed confidence of the Father’s love for you.

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in Galatians 4:4-7.

Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 4 quick announcements:

1) A word about PBC.

We are Worshipers.

Part of faithful worship is faithful giving.

I don’t need your money, PBC doesn’t need your money, but you need to be a giver

That’s true.

But, God used you this year to meet the needs of this church and support ministries and missionaries across this region and the globe.

Thank you.

2) No TableTalk tonight

Will resume next week

3) Bible Reading Plan for 2022

Available in the bulletin or at the blue flag

4) Sunday School in 2022

Three new classes beginning next Sunday...

A new Explore the Bible class taught by John Rogers & Bubba Jones

How to Grow taught by Jake Rogier

Church History taught by Sterling Tollison

If you’re not in a Sunday School class, but you’re interested in one of these or our other classes, go to the blue flag after the service

Now look in your Bibles at Galatians 4:4 as Phoebe Garcia comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Galatians 4:4-7)

Prayer of Praise (God is Truthful), Phoebe Garcia

Lead Me to the Cross

Man of Sorrows

Prayer of Confession (Al Koth), Lying

We Fall Down

NEW CITY CATECHISM #52

Revelation 4 says the day is coming when the saints will gather around Jesus’s throne in heaven and cast down our crowns before Him, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

What hope does everlasting life hold for us?

It reminds us that this present fallen world is not all there is; soon we will live with and enjoy God forever in the new city, in the new heaven and the new earth, where we will be fully and forever freed from all sin and will inhabit renewed, resurrection bodies in a renewed, restored creation.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Thanksgiving—God the Spirit

You cause us to be born again

You help us to understand the Scriptures when we read them

You pray for us when we don’t know how to pray

You convict us when we sin

You give gifts to believers to serve the church

You call and equip men to be elders to lead local churches

You assure us of the Father’s love for us

Prayer for PBC—Those grieving the loss of a loved one

Help us to grieve, but not like those with no hope

Help us to grieve with those who are grieving

Help us not to say unhelpful things when others grieve

Help us to share our burdens so others can grieve with us

Prayer for sister church—Reformation Christian Fellowship (Kenny D’auria)

Covid outbreak—physical health of members

Elders as they finalize ministry plan for 2022

Prayer for US—Supreme Court

Chief Justice John Roberts; Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Stephen Breyer, Neil Gorsuch, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas

Humility to listen well, especially to those viewpoints that may challenge their presuppositions

Courage to make right decisions, regardless of how those decisions are received

Wisdom to make the decisions that would lead to the protection of the unborn, justice for the marginalized, and human flourishing for all

Dobbs v Jackson

Prayer for the world—so-called “People’s Republic of China”

Not a republic

Cares little about the best interests of its 1.5 billion people

President Xi Jinping (perhaps the most powerful man in the world)

Father, you have laugh at the power of renegade rulers and nations

Humble Xi Jinping and turn his heart wherever you choose

Against this bloodthirsty nation that has committed genocide against ethnic minorities like the Uyghur people and against the unborn.

Give world leaders and influencers courage to speak against the evils of this regime, remembering that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

Against the persecution of Christians in China.

Thousands of churches are damaged or destroyed, citizens are rewarded for providing information about Christians

Local churches—Faithful unto death

Laborers—especially the dozens of UUPGs like the Ah-jeh (Azhe), the Bow-nwow (Baonuo), and the Dah-lee low-low (Dali Lolo)

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

Christmas at the Boutot household was extra special this year.

After five years of planning, waiting, and praying for another son, we were finally able to celebrate Christmas with our youngest child Ezekiel.

Most of you know that our family traveled to Colombia, South America in February of this year to bring then two-year-old Ezekiel home.

Ever since we brought him home in March, we’ve been bonding with this little guy.

Celebrating Christmas together was just one more step in the bonding process.

Three Phases of International Adoption:

Planning phase (“paper pregnancy”)

Travel phase (“gotcha trip”)

Bonding phase (the rest of your life)

I believe this process gives us an analogy about the work of the Trinity.

Turn to Galatians 4:4 and I’ll show you...

We’ve been examining this text for the past few weeks in our study of the Trinity.

Our common refrain has been that you cannot rightly tell the Christmas story the Trinity.

We’ve zoomed in on what this passage teaches us about the Father and the Son.

This morning we’ll consider what this passage teaches us about the Trinity.

Galatians 4:4-7—“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba!

Father!”

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”