Glory to the Newborn King

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, all that good stuff. Thank you for joining us on this wet and balmy Christmas Sunday. We have a lot of great things planned today. The cantata, the choir will be singing here in just a few minutes. So we’re going to make you sing with us first. So we’ll kick off by singing “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Number 98 in your hymnal. Words are up on your screen. Dan will sing. The bells on Christmas Day. Choir all festive with Christmas colors and everything. Well, what’s your service? You got the bill? We’re glad to have you all here Sunday before Christmas. And we get gathered together and celebrate the birth of Christ. And we’ll do it today with music. Right, Donnie? We hope so. Yep. Satan was in the works when you walked in the door this morning, right? Yeah. You’ll know about it later. And that’s why he’s keeping his fingers crossed that you’ll have music this morning. But you can see our notices and our information in a church bulletin.

We are still accepting money for Lottie Moon. Our church goal is $1,500. And that goes to support the missionaries abroad. I don’t know. We can always use more. And then Wednesday night. Come out and have a good showing for our Wednesday night candlelight service. 6 o’clock right here. And have a good time together and enjoy it. And is there anything we need to know about that or any of the other events or anything we may be having? We do have Christmas cards in the back for some that we may not have gotten handed out. As we have our tradition for years of people filling out Christmas cards and putting them on the back counter. And Lee’s been trying to be the mailman and sort them and distribute them. But he can use all the help he can get back there picking them up. But there’s nothing else we need to go. We go to the own service. And let’s open with prayer.

And with gracious heavenly Father we thank you for this morning that you’ve given to us. That we could gather in your house Father and pray and worship you. Father we thank you for sending your son here as a child and a babe in a manger. To be born here in humble beginnings and humble starts. That one day that would go and die on the cross to take away our sins from us Father. That we may have everlasting life. Father we ask that you bless everyone here. And just bless this world as a whole. There’s a special time at Christmas. Put in our hearts the joy that we have right now. That we can have this joy and keep this joy year round. And how we talk to our friends and neighbors. And how we treat each other. This just could be a joyful year long celebration. And Father we ask that you be with those that are sick. That may not be with us here. That you heal them in the way that meets your purpose. And in your plans for each other. Father in your name we pray. Amen.

Alright we’ll continue to worship in song by singing “Come all you faithful.” And then we’ll do our offertory. So Stan will sing. This is a special day. And is going to be singing some great Christmas music. And I just want to take a few minutes to set the stage. Because we’ve been talking these days about what’s so special about Christmas. And I would even ask the question. What’s so special about these Christmas songs? Well they speak of something. Not just a manger. But the meaning of the message of the manger. Christmas and the songs of Christmas remind us of the relevance of what Christmas is all about. And that is that God came to earth. I want us to kind of use for the basis of our getting ready for the music. A passage that no one reads at Christmas. But I’m going to use it today. Philippians chapter 2. Beginning in verse 5 it says. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God. The relevance of Christmas. What’s so special about Christmas is that God came to earth. Now some of you are old enough to remember when the Allies landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day. And that was big news. But nothing compared to the news that God invaded earth. Some of you are old enough to remember. Others have seen it on television or video. When man took his first step on the moon. Big news. Nothing compared To God stepping out of heaven in the person of Jesus, because that changed all of history. In fact, history is split in two parts: before Christ and after. So the relevance of what we’re singing about today, and talking about today, is that God Himself came to earth. And there’s something else that the music is going to remind us of, and that is the reality of Christmas. The reality is that God became a real man. In fact, it says here in Philippians, that popular Christmas passage, you know, but He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man.

You know, if God had wanted to communicate with birds, He would have come as a bird. If He had wanted to communicate with cats and dogs, He would have come as a cat or a dog, but He wanted to communicate with mankind, with men and women and boys and girls, and so He came as a person. But He didn’t step into this earth as a full-grown King of Kings. Rather, He came in the form of what we could all relate to as a baby. Babies don’t intimidate us. The birth of a baby is an exciting time. It brings joy, and that Bethlehem baby ultimately brought joy to the world.

But He didn’t stay a baby. No, Jesus grew. He grew just like us because He was a man, and He learned just like us, and He worked just like us, and He suffered just like us. He was tempted just like us. He had desires and drives just like us. He was disappointed just like us. He got tired just like us. He was lonely at times just like us. He grieved. He cried. He was human just like us, which says that He understands what it means to be human. And so when the choir sings of that Bethlehem babe, just keep in mind that that baby grew up as a man and experienced life fully just like us.

Jesus was a man of many sorrows. In fact, He became just like us so we could become just like Him. He became a man, a person, born that Bethlehem babe, so that we could one day become like He is, the Son of God. We could become sons and daughters of God. We could be the children of God. But not just through this music remembering the relevance of Christmas, that God invaded earth, or the reality of Christmas, that God became a man, but let’s remember the reason for Christmas, and that is that in fact Jesus came to die. Back to that Christmas passage in Philippians, it says, “And He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Yes, He came as a babe, and He performed miracles, and He taught truth, but He ultimately came to die. Why? So that God could say to us, “I love you this much.” And so that Jesus, who was fully human but also fully God, could take the punishment for our sin. You see, He came to be the Savior.

Now, lifeguards are taught that if they swim out to save a drowning person, they have to be patient. Sometimes they have to wait until that person who’s flailing and trying to save themselves until they finally come to exhaustion and give up and sort of go down for the last time. As long as they’re trying to save themselves, the lifeguard can’t save them. And as long as any person tries to save themselves by being a good person, by trying to, you know, do more good than bad or go to church or give or, you know, help old ladies across the street or whatever people try to do in order to get in good with God, sort of trying to save themselves, that doesn’t work. In fact, if we could save ourselves, do you think God would have gone to the trouble to send a Savior? The fact is that once we give up any hope for heaven based on what we have or have not done and trust in what Jesus has already done on the cross, then He becomes our Savior. And so the reason He came was to seek and to save those that are lost. In fact, the angel said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior.”

But the last thing I want to mention to you that I hope we’ll kind of be thinking about as we sing these familiar songs is the result of Christmas. Look at what it says at the end of this passage. “Therefore God, who is highly exalted, has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every other name, that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven, of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” The result of Christmas is that indeed it proves that Jesus is Lord. You know, Herod and the other Jews didn’t understand who He was. The shepherds were amazed by who He was. The kings from the east, when they finally arrived, they acknowledged and worshiped who He was because indeed He was Lord of Lords and King of Kings, even that Bethlehem be. Of course, during the days of Jesus, it was risky to say that Jesus is Lord because people were expected to acknowledge that Caesar was Lord. You could actually be put to death if you were unwilling to say Caesar is Lord. And so to say that Jesus is Lord was quite the statement. But you know, even though not everyone acknowledges Him as Lord, everyone one day will know that He is Lord. So it’s not a matter of if you acknowledge Him as Lord. It’s a matter of when, because you will at some point. The great thing about Christmas is it reminds us that God invaded earth, stepped into our lives in the person of Jesus, was born as a babe, but died as a man, the God-man, so that He could be our Savior. But He didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead. He’s alive now. Now, and He is Lord. So come, let us adore Him. Christ is the Lord.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we’re just so grateful for who You are and what You did because You love us so much. Thank You that You stepped out of heaven, was born as a man there in Bethlehem, in that stable, laid out in a manger. Thank You that You came to live. To die. To be the Savior of the world. And now, Lord, with song and with joy, we adore You because You are our Lord. Amen.

The cantata is called, “Glory to the Newborn King.” That’s what I said. So please enjoy with us. Some of them are songs you know, some are not. Feel free to sing along or just listen and worship with us. So hope you enjoy.

Arrival both near and far dropped all they were doing to seek out this newborn king like the shepherds and wise men we too can come and worship him christmas gift giving however generous it may be can never compare with the unbelievable extravagance of the gift our heavenly father gave to us when jesus was born because of that gift we’ll never have to live in a world that hasn’t been changed by the love expressed to us through his precious son if only for one moment imagine what life would have been like if he had not come we had to live without the love of god and His mercy.

Isaiah wrote: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death. A light had already been seen in distant land. Wealthy men of learning were already on their way to work. Wasn’t just. He was more than a king. He was hope.” Wonderful story of hope once again. Go into the world and share the good news of Jesus with all those we meet.

The season, right? Appreciate he put into that, but we appreciate you reminding us just who our Lord is. So let’s stand together, and as you stand, let’s go ahead and tell them again how much we appreciate standing ovation, right? Let’s remain standing, and we’re going to sing our benediction, and God bless you, and have a very Merry Christmas. Close out with verse one of “He Hideth My Soul.” The Savior is Jesus. See you on Wednesday night.