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A Sermon by Jay Gallatin

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Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

Preached: December 24, 2020 Main Topics: Why did Jesus Come? Objective: Series: N/A Sermon Materials: N/A

Perspectives - God Ω1

Good Evening and Welcome. I am Pastor Jay, and we are so glad you are here. This is absolutely one of my favorite times of year. I love all the sights and sounds of the Christmas season but one of things I like most is listening to and sharing the “Greatest Story Ever Told”. No, not about Santa Claus and the Red-nosed Reindeer. I am talking about the story of God’s love for all people and the birth of His son Jesus, the Savior who came to save us from our sins. The last few weeks we have been in a short series of messages entitled “Perspectives”. We have been looking at the Birth of Jesus and the message of Joy, Peace, and Hope through the lens of Joseph, Mary, the Star, and tonight we will look it from God’s perspective too. The story of Christ’s birth is found in Matthew 1 & 2, and Luke 1 & 2 and I encourage you to take a few moments and read this meaningful account with your family as you take pause and remember the real reason the celebrating Christmas.

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

Over the last few weeks, we have really tried to immerse ourselves into the story as if we were right there witnessing all these events in person. And I invite you once again to do so tonight. When I think of Joseph, I think of how he must have felt when he found out that Mary was pregnant, and he knew it was not by him. I can image all the emotions that must have welled up within him and the uncertainty of how to handle the news that it was God who was the father. Ω2

And yet, Joseph responds as we hope we would do. You see, the Bible says he was man of integrity and righteousness and so he chose not to bring disgrace upon Mary. But before he could secretly divorce her an Angel appeared to him in a dream and told him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.” Matthew 1:24 This experience while alarming, must have brought some comfort to Joseph and probably a few more questions. But one thing is clear Joseph was a man who God trusted and who had God’s trust. Why else would he have been chosen to be Jesus’ earthly father?

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

Next, Pastor Bonnie shared a beautiful firsthand account of Mary’s perspective and of her encounter with the angel. The angel said: “Don’t be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Luke 1: 30-32 Luke 1:29 tells us Mary was confused and disturbed. Who wouldn’t be? But like Joseph, Mary responded well given the surprising announcement. She said to the angel; “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Luke 1:38 Ω3

Mary showed us that we can trust God’s plans and be willing to step into His divine assignments no matter the costs. Sometimes there is a cost to following Jesus but the benefits far out way those costs. God wants nothing but the best for us and the moment we believe in Him, He adopts us as one of His own and we become heirs with Christ in all things. When we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and receive Him as our Savior, we can be secure in our faith knowing we now belong to Him. We can always find joy and peace in Him because He IS Joy, and He IS Peace. Then this last Sunday, Pastor Jason reminded us that even the Star has a unique perspective and meaning in the Christmas story. The star reminds us of “Hope” because Jesus is the light of the world.

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

God placed the Star in the sky to direct all who heard of the Messiah’s birth to come and find Him. Ω4

Hope light’s the way to faith for all who seek new life in Christ. And Hope light’s the way to New Beginnings. I do not know about you but there was a time when I realized I wanted and needed a new life, eternal life and it was Jesus, the light of the world who shone so brightly that directed my steps to him. Giving my life to Him was the greatest decision I ever made. Jesus said: “I have come to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:10 and “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 All of this is true and provides some unique insight and perspective into the people God chose to be the parents of His only begotten son. But we must be careful to not only think of Jesus as a baby in a manger. That was just the beginning!

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There is so much more to the story. Have you ever stopped to fully consider God’s perspective? He is after all the author and finisher of the plan of salvation. Not only is He a loving father to Jesus, but He is also a loving father to you and me. And it is precisely because of that great love, he sent Jesus to become the Savior the world desperately needs. I think Dr. David Jeremiah captured it so well when he wrote:

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

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In those first speechless moments, new parents gaze with fascination. They lovingly examine every inch of their newborn child's face. No matter how we prepare ourselves, the reality of new birth astounds us. Here, nestled in our arms, is a brand-new member of the human race. Here is the future in flesh, our legacy to the world. We check eyes, mouth, ears for telltale family resemblances; we marvel at the delicate pink skin. Most of all, we silently thank the Lord over and over for a gift so unimaginably wonderful. Can you imagine how intently Joseph and Mary must have studied the Child who came to them in Bethlehem? His coming had been foretold not by physicians but by angels. If those angels were right and how could they not be? - here in the starlight was a Messiah who had been the subject of poems, songs, and dreams for a thousand years. Messiah: Perhaps the couple stammered when they tried to speak the M-word aloud. It was just so hard to imagine such a magnificent personification when they looked at the sleeping infant. After all, everyone knew (or thought they knew) that the Messiah would be the ultimate military commander. He would arrive on horseback, with sword held high, crying out for vengeance and redemption in the name of the Lord and his favored nation. The Chosen One would have the

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

wisdom of Solomon, the charisma of David, the godliness of Moses, and the military genius of Joshua. Yet here was a baby - just a baby. Joseph and Mary had to admit that here was a baby who seemed, at first glance, like any other newborn child. He cried in the middle of the night. He hungered for milk. He needed fresh "swaddling clothes" every now and then. If this was just an ordinary childlike cousin to Elizabeth's new addition, how could he be "one whose origins are from the deep past," as the prophet had insisted? How could an infant be the Son of God? Or for that matter, why would the Son of God be an infant? The need of crumbling, dying Israel was urgent. First the Greek and now the Roman influence was wiping away a bit more of the legacy of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each day. Why, indeed? Why did Jesus come as a child? Jesus is the One like no other, for he was fully human and fully divine - simultaneously. Nothing about his humanity could detract from his godliness; nothing about his godliness could detract from his humanity. Only because this is true can he reconcile the Father in heaven with his children on earth. He is the Man of both worlds; he is the bridge by which God comes to earth and people come to heaven. In that regard, we have seen that the Virgin Birth is the sign of his divinity. He comes to the earth from Why Did Jesus Christ Come as a Baby? Dr. David Jeremiah, Author December 19, 2006 19

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

outside, pure and clean, and he is in no way a product of this world. Now we see that, in the same way, the infancy of the Child is the sign of his humanity. He is one of us in every way. He arrives from heaven with perfection and godliness of which no man or woman is capable - yet he takes the full human journey, which even God in heaven had not taken. How could we follow his footsteps as a man if we hadn't seen him crawl as a child? How could we believe he had undergone all the temptation we have faced if he had bypassed the most difficult years in which we struggle to earn our adulthood? To make the full sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus had to make the full commitment. It would have meant very little to us if he had sprung from heaven fully formed, bathed in heavenly glory, saying, "Here are my hands and my feet - place me upon the cross, for I am willing to die." Instead, we see him as a child in a manger. We see him at the Temple as a boy on the verge of maturity, already about his Father's business. We see Mary and Joseph wondering at him, trying to understand, as he grew "in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people" (Luke 2:52). Finally, we see him as a young man, quietly beginning a ministry that will change all of human history. We overhear the whispers from his neighbors: "He's just a Why Did Jesus Christ Come as a Baby? Dr. David Jeremiah, Author December 19, 2006 19

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A Sermon by Jay Gallatin

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers - James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us" (Matthew 13:55-56). We see him in the desert, wrestling with temptation and the matter of his destiny, and we know he is fully human. We see his love for children, and we can believe it because he, too, has been a child. And then, when those crude spikes are drilled through his wrists and his ankles, we know he feels the pain that any man would feel. We know the price of our sins is on the table, being paid in full with no credit plans or easy payment schedules, but by every last drop of blood and every brutal slash of the whip. We are bought with a price that could never have been paid without the full burden of humanity having been accepted. If he had been God only, his sacrifice would have been cheap and unconvincing. If he had been man only, his sacrifice would have had no power; he would have been a martyr like ten thousand others. But he was man and he was God, and therefore he was all in all. He came as a child to confront and conquer every challenge and every temptation common to humanity. We trust him with our lives because he was God. We love him with our hearts because we know that once he was a tiny baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Why Did Jesus Christ Come as a Baby? Dr. David Jeremiah, Author December 19, 2006 19

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A Sermon by Jay Gallatin

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

So, this Christmas let us not just think of him as a baby in a manger. Let us think of him as who he is, The Savior, who came to save us from our sins. Let us give worship Christ the Lord. Would you please stand with me? Ω7

If you’re here this evening and you have this great sense, that the Lord is inviting you into a new relationship with him; there’s no greater gift that you could ever receive then to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. And there is no greater gift that you could ever give to the Lord than to say here I am Jesus, I am yours! Christmas is the perfect time to ask Jesus into your heart! If you would like to know more, I invite you to come see me or one of the other Pastors. We would be honored to lead you into a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father. ------------------------------------------------------------------------In your chairs each of you, should have found a candle. It is our custom here to shine our lights brightly to let one another know we belong to Christ and so as the staff come and begin to light the candles along the isle please take care to light the candle of the person next to you.

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Ω1 Color Key: Blue – Main Points; Red – Scripture. Green – Examples & Questions; Orange – A/V Cues

Please safely light your candles by holding the candle that has been lit straight up and down and extending the unlit candle over the flame until lit. And so on. And as the candles are being lit let us all join in singing Silent Night. Merry Christmas everyone!

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