December 22, 2013
Morning Service

The Prophecy and Birth of Jesus…..

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (6) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

An angel appears to Mary….Luke 1:31-38 “…And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Merry Christmas! 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” Merry Christmas! 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Joseph’s dream….Mat. 1:18-25  "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Merry Christmas! Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

The Birth of Jesus….Luke 2:1, 3-7 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.  4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The Shepherds….Luke 2:9-12. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 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, good will toward men.

Wise men see the sign, a star, and go to it looking for Jesus…Matthew 2:2  “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”   What a slap in the face this was to Herod!

Gold,Frankincense,Myrrh…meanings.  The gift of gold was given to Jesus to symbolize that He was God in the flesh. The second gift was frankincense. This is a word of Hebrew origin. It means “white” or holiness and righteousness. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool’” (Isaiah 1:18). the gift of myrrh (suffering, death)

John 1:9-14  The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  And 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.  Merry Christmas! This means we as Christians are celebrating “Christmas” every day.

John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Merry Christmas!

Today’s world sees Christmas as a huge compulsive gift centered event that has really gotten out of hand. It is a stressful time for many, it shouldn’t be that way.  We cannot buy blessing from God. The greatest gift can’t be found for sale on a department store shelf or on black Friday or on cyber Monday. The greatest gift of all is the same every Christmas, even every day.

The greatest gift of all…..John 3:16  For God so loved the world,  that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

So in closing, as we head into the next few days, every time you say or hear someone say Merry Christmas, let it be a reminder of these scriptures…….. Merry Christmas!

Lord, thank you for the gift, your son. Please help us to see more of you and less of us this Christmas season. Amen.