Matthew 1:18-25 The Wonder Of Christmas

As we focus our hearts and minds on the birth of our Savior, we celebrate the fulfillment of all God’s purposes from before creation. The coming of Christ heralds the salvation promised from the earliest pages of scripture and the goal to which all of history has moved. Though many of us have repeatedly heard the story of Jesus’ birth through the years, we should not let the wonder of God’s love in the incarnation fail to amaze us. Sunday, we will read Matthew’s account and marvel at what the angel tells Joseph regarding the child in Mary’s womb. Matthew repeatedly chronicles Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. He does so from the very first verse of chapter 1 as he declares Jesus Christ as the son of David and the son of Abraham. Matthew continues chronicling Jesus’ fulfillment of all God has promised throughout his early chapters. In Matthew 1:18-24 we will see that being conceived from the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin fulfills God’s very first promise for humanity (spoken to the Serpent) in Genesis 3:15:

15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

God, the eternal Son, took a human nature upon Himself and was born into His own creation to overturn the fall’s curse and bring salvation to sinners. Joseph is told to call the baby “Jesus,” for He will save His people from their sins. This is only possible because Jesus is “God with us.” Forevermore, Jesus – God and Man – reconciles sinners with God and brings us into the eternal love relationship of the Trinity. Today, He is still God with us. That is the wonder of Christmas.

I. Jesus is The Seed of The Woman (Matt. 1:18; 20; Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14-15)

II. Jesus is Our Salvation From Sin (Matt. 1:21)

III. Jesus is God With Us (Matt. 1:22-23)

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John 1:14-18 The Glory Of Christmas

This year, our Christmas Eve Service will be at 10 am on Sunday. I look forward to celebrating our Savior's birth as we sing praises to our King, observe the Lord's Supper, and open God's Word together. Last Sunday, Cameron preached from John 1:6- 13, showing us the light of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we will continue that passage and examine the glory of Christmas. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Although John 1 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, it should still amaze us that God would take upon Himself a human nature to bring salvation to sinners. The Son, the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature, who upholds the universe by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3), became a man so that He might be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. For His birth in Bethlehem, myriads upon myriads of angels filled the skies, singing glorious praises to God. They celebrated this wondrous act of our gracious God, who humbled Himself to redeem us. This Lord's Day, which is also Christmas Eve, let us join their celebration and marvel at the Savior, who is God with us.

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Hebrews 2:14-18 Why God Became Man

Sunday we will continue focusing on the birth of the Savior. Last week in Philippians 2:5-11, we studied how the eternal God emptied Himself to become man and then humbled Himself to become obedient to death. And we rejoiced in the fact that now, the eternal Son of God is now the exalted Lord who is both God and Man. This Sunday we will turn our focus to the question, "Why?" Why did the eternal God become Man. Why was it necessary? What does it accomplish for us? How do we walk in what Jesus has done? To answer these questions, we will delve into Hebrews 2:14-18 and examine the reasons given to us by the Spirit through the author of Hebrews. In His coming, His death, and His resurrection, Jesus destroyed the one with the power of death, He delivered us from our slavery to the fear of death, He became our perfect High Priest, and He is able to help us who are being tempted. Sunday we will examine these four reasons in depth, and what they mean for our lives.

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Philippians 2:5-11 The Glory of The Gospel At Christmas

This Sunday, we will take a break from our exposition of Acts to focus ourselves on celebrating the birth of the Savior. Of course, we can’t discuss the birth of Jesus without also having an eye toward His purpose in coming. So Sunday, we will examine one of my very favorite passages of Scripture, Philippians 2:5-11. Often called the "emptying" passage, we will see how the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, emptied himself by taking the nature of a human being and entering into His own creation. Not only did He enter His creation, being born in Bethlehem, but He humbled Himself even becoming obedient to death so that the wages of others’ sin would be paid in full. And finally we see Jesus exalted to the right hand of the Father and given the name above every name. We will examine all these things in full and marvel at the love of God in the coming of the Savior. The story of Christmas and the truth of Jesus’ exaltation as God and Man is the foundation of everything. It is the joy of our lives, the glory above all others, and the very need of our souls. I hope you can join us the Sunday.

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Micah 5:1-7 He Shall Be Our Peace

Having paused our study in Acts in order to focus upon Christmas, this Sunday we will examine one of the most well-known prophecies of the Savior’s birth - Micah 5:1-7. When the wise men came from the east, asking Herod where the King of the Jews was to be born, it was this text that the chief priests quoted to show that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (See Matthew 2:1-6). Micah prophesied during a time of upheaval and fear in Israel. The Assyrians were conquering everything in their path and the people of Jerusalem were terrified that they would be next. Micah called the people to repent and turn to the Lord and he foretold the judgment that was coming. Yet in the midst of the doom and gloom, Micah also foretold a coming ruler - a Messiah who would be born in the tiny town of Bethlehem. He would be the shepherd of Israel and, Micah says, He will be their peace." Sunday we will examine how Jesus fulfills the prophetic picture that Micah puts forth. For those who seek peace, Jesus is the only answer. And that peace is what we celebrate in the coming of the Lord to Bethlehem. That peace is what the angels announced to the shepherds on that fateful night. That peace is our possession when we are united with Christ is salvation. For He shall be "our" peace - as Micah proclaims

Luke 1:46-55 My Soul Magnifies The Lord

As Christmas quickly approaches, we will pause our study in Acts for a few weeks in order to focus our hearts on celebrating the incarnation of our Savior. God the Son took on the nature of man and was born in the likeness of a servant so that we might be reconciled to the Triune God. This Sunday we will also be led in worship by the children as they sing praises to our God and recite Scriptures testifying to His nature. As you prepare your hearts for worship, take a moment and read Luke 1:46-55. This is the song Mary sings as her heart is filled with praise, knowing that God has given her the blessing of bearing the Messiah. Her song is often called "The Magnificat" because the first word in the Latin text is Magnifies. She says, "My soul magnifies the Lord" and then breaks into a psalm of worship, thanksgiving, and rejoicing in who God is and for what He has done. As we center our thoughts on the birth of Jesus, our hearts should magnify the Lord. We should stand in awe of the glorious salvation that the Lord has given to us. Let us prepare our hearts to come together in worship of our King this Sunday.

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Psalm 98 - Joy To The World

The Psalmist exhorts all creation to break forth in joyful praise because of the wonderful works that God has done. This Psalm inspired the writing of the Hymn, Joy to the World.

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Micah 5:1-5 The Promised Shepherd King

Micah foretells the coming of a ruler from Bethlehem, who would also be savior and shepherd. In this prophecy, Micah assures the people of God that His promises have not failed and the Messiah from the line of David will come.

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Isaiah 9:1-7 Unto Us A Son Is Given

Although judgment is coming to God's people, Isaiah prophesies of a time when light will pierce through the darkness and deliverance from oppression will come. This deliverance is promised and described in 9:1-7. He also tells us that this deliverance will come through a child, but a child who is the "mighty God." We celebrate the fulfillment of this promise in the coming of Christ and rejoice in the deliverance He brought.

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Psalm 24 - Who Is This King of Glory?

The Psalmist speaks of God's authority and the requirement God has set upon fallen man. Man must have clean hands and a pure heart to be accepted before God. Only the King of Glory, God and man fulfilled that role.

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Luke 2:8-20 Good News of Great Joy

God announces the good news to shepherds watching over their flocks. The good news of the gospel is that because of the birth of Christ, man can now have peace with God. This message changes the shepherds in the same way that the gospel changes hearts today

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John 1:1-14 What Child Is This?

The prologue of John gives us a clear description of who Jesus is. Only the real biblical Jesus is the savior. He alone brings the perfect righteousness that the Father requires

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Genesis 3:15 Rejoicing in The Christmas Promise

God gave the first promise of the coming savior in the garden after the fall. The promise is that a "seed" will come to destroy the serpent's work and that God would put enmity between His people and the serpent's. The birth of Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of that promise and it will be consummated in the new creation. 

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