 |
| The Nativity by Norma A. Boeckler |
Happy First Birthday, Alice Rose Fagan, Daughter of Abby and Her Husband Corey - Granddaughter of Brett and Amy Meyer, Great-Granddaughter of Alicia Meyer.
Christmas Readings and Hymns
Christmas Eve Service, 7 PM Central Time, 2019
Springdale, Arkansas
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The
First Gospel
Genesis
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
KJV
Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double
for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every
valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of
the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth
of the LORD hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I
cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD
bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest
good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say
unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
The
Place of Jesus’ Birth
KJV
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
KJV
Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Virgin
Birth
KJV
Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign
of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But
Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear
ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye
weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose
the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the
good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Incarnation
KJV
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts
will perform this.
KJV
Matthew 1:18 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. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not
willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20
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. 21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 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. 24 Then Joseph
being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JESUS.
Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing
was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be
taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of
David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn
son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because
there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same
country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night. 9 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 unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a
manger.
Sermon
–
The purpose of the Bible is to teach faith in the Savior Jesus, the Son of God. But perhaps we should say – to install faith. The Word of God is not a set of rules where people say “I agree” or “I disagree.” The Scriptures are the very energy of God, the Spirit at work in the Word to establish this faith in so many ways.
Fear is the opposite of faith, so God
does not lecture us into faith, but unfolds His mercy in such a way that few can
resist the message, especially at Christmas. While the concept of God makes
people fearful, the real nature of God is quite the opposite.
How can God remove the fear and replace
that with faith? It is quite a combination of wonders. First of all, it is
humble nature of the birth of Christ, so lowly one can hardly imagine. One pastor’s
wife went out to help pioneers in the early days of settling the Great Plains.
A young mother gave birth without any medical care, in the crude cabin, with
only cold water and a brick-like piece of soap for cleaning up. The pastor’s
wife was struck by lowliness of that birth, which was appalling in those days. How
much more lowly was the birth of Jesus, the gulf between His majesty and His
nativity, among animals, in a feeding trough!
The birth is lowly but the miracle is
beyond comprehension, a mystery, that is an article of faith that transcends
human understanding and reason. This was predicted in Isaiah 7 and 9. As I
often point out, the rationalists and apostates attack at key points. They hate
the Virgin Birth of Christ and His deity, so they turn Isaiah 7 into a common
birth announcement – a young woman will give birth to a boy. They are too dense
to see “God with us” in Isaiah 7 and “the Mighty God” in Isaiah 9.
What we come to see over time is the
complicated schedule and descriptions that fall into place – Bethlehem the
village of David, and Jesus coming from that line (Eve believed and hoped – too
early. What Abraham believed – and it was counted as righteousness). The
details mount up - and the divine planning and revelation build an overwhelming
awe.
What is greater? – the angelic choirs
announcing this truth to terrified shepherds – the Good Shepherd revealed to
shepherds, or the Wise Men risking their lives to find this King and taking
this Gospel to the Temple and the Governor. Confirmation came from the Scriptures,
the shepherds, the Wise Men. Faith began to infiltrate Israel.
God’s general, Alexander, united the world
with Greek culture and the Greek language. Thanks to Alexander, Athens determined
all of Western achievements into the Renaissance and beyond to our age. Look at
Washington DC – full of Greek temples. That universal Greek culture carried the
Gospel in the Septuagint centuries before Jesus was born. The educated could
read the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, and that meant non-Jews also
looked for the Savior of the Nations. When the New Testament was written, God
used the universal language of Greek, common or Koine Greek to teach the world
about the Savior and keep the message straight. There is no more flexible and
expressive language than Greek, and it is surprisingly easy to learn, hard to
forget.
So Alexander sought to conquer and became
the vehicle by which the Word of God was made universal.
All these divinely planned miracles show
us how much God loves us, cares for us, and wills us to see Him as He is – forgiving,
compassionate, patient with our weaknesses, generous with ways of nurturing
that faith in Him. The Gospel of Jesus is so powerful that sin is conquered and
eternal life is victorious through the Gospel of Grace.
I see the power of the Word in so many
ways, because people are moved to care for the souls of others they will
probably not see in this life. People with faith in the Savior use their talents
to spread that message. Angels are literally messengers, and Ev-angel means the
Good Message, Old English – Gospel. Faith is beyond knowing - to trusting and being
moved to bear fruit in the Christian life. Faith means receiving the energy of
the Spirit in the message – God became man, born of the Virgin, sent to pay the
price for our sins, lead sin captive, and take us to eternal life.
Luke 2 And it came to
pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was
governor of Syria.)
8. The
Evangelist shows how, when they arrived at Bethlehem, they were the most
insignificant and despised, so that they had to make way for others until they
were obliged to take refuge in a stable, to share with the cattle, lodging,
table, bed chamber and bed, while many a wicked man sat at the head in the
hotels and was honored as lord. No one noticed or was conscious of what God was
doing in that stable. He lets the large houses and costly apartments remain
empty, lets their inhabitants eat, drink and be merry; but this comfort and
treasure are hidden from them. O what a dark night this was for Bethlehem, that
was not conscious of that glorious light!
See how God shows that he utterly disregards what the world is, has or desires; and furthermore, that the world shows how little it knows or notices what God is, has and does.
9. See, this is the first picture with which Christ puts the world to shame and exposes all it does and knows. It shows that the world’s greatest wisdom is foolishness, her best actions are wrong and her greatest treasures are misfortunes. What had Bethlehem when it did not have Christ? What have they now who at that time had enough? What do Joseph and Mary lack now, although at that time they had no room to sleep comfortably?
See how God shows that he utterly disregards what the world is, has or desires; and furthermore, that the world shows how little it knows or notices what God is, has and does.
9. See, this is the first picture with which Christ puts the world to shame and exposes all it does and knows. It shows that the world’s greatest wisdom is foolishness, her best actions are wrong and her greatest treasures are misfortunes. What had Bethlehem when it did not have Christ? What have they now who at that time had enough? What do Joseph and Mary lack now, although at that time they had no room to sleep comfortably?
All of the world
events had to come together for this to happen, for the taxing to draw Joseph
and Mary back to Bethlehem, the city of David.
God Incarnate was born
in history, in a particular time, with signs and events that marked His birth,
though it was not in the way one would expect for a great monarch.
3 And all went to be
taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out
of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed
with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
All the conditions had
to be followed from the Old Testament. The people expected the Son of David,
but the great Promises were revealed to ordinary shepherds, not to the rulers
and religious leaders.
6 And so it was, that,
while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the
inn.
In Luke's Gospel, we
have two verses to describe the birth of the Messiah. But the rationalists have
used one and even two thick volumes to deny His Virgin Birth, His divinity,
miracles, and of course - His teaching. That remains true today - volumes to
attack the truth, which is revealed in a few, easy to read verses.
God entrusted the
disciple Jesus loved - John - to transmit the most important material about
Christ. So the modernists pounced on the Fourth Gospel to say it was clearly
unreliable, because it quotes Jesus saying everyone should trust in Him for
forgiveness and salvation. John's Gospel had to be late, centuries later,
another message altogether than the message of Jesus. And yet, the Fourth
Gospel is clearly early (manuscript evidence) and reliable in geography (more
evidence) and in its language (even more evidence).
Luke was proven
correct in a trivial detail used to mock the precision of Luke. So Luke was
correct the critics were wrong. Nevermind - unbelievers remain unbelievers.
Evidence does not convert. The Gospel converts. They could have the captain's
log of Noah's Ark, notarized, and they would remain unconvinced of the Flood.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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 unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
God's unusual
method of working among us is shown in the revelation of His Son - as a baby
- first to the ordinary working people of the time, the shepherds. I have
asked children, "Why a baby?" They all agree - "No one is afraid
of a baby." A newborn is helpless in the normal sense of the word, but is
already full of intelligence and gathering information constantly. We had to
tell young parents that babies respond and learn when talked to. It is far
beyond that. I test my theories at Walmart. Babies are always scanning for new
information and friendly faces. It only takes a few smiles and looks for a baby
to think, "A friend!" And it works in all ethnic groups. One family's
baby responded to my faces by smiling and showing her parents I was doing that,
like she was telling on me.
Newborns are adorable,
as my Army Ranger neighbor said. He talked on and on about small children. So
the Savior came to us in that form. When His public ministry began, He
attracted people of all kinds by His gracious and welcoming attitude. Who is to
say that even those seldom seen members, who have so many grudges against the
institution, might be drawn by the same graciousness?
So the Savior is
revealed to ordinary people and hidden from the great, mighty, and wise who
feel no need for divine wisdom and forgiveness of sin.
36.
Therefore the Gospel properly apprehended, is a supernatural sermon and light
which makes known Christ only. This is pointed out first of all by the fact
that it was not a man that made it known to others, but that an angel came down
from heaven and made known to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, while no human
being knew any thing about it.
37. In the second place it is pointed out by the fact that Christ was born at midnight, by which he indicates that all the world is in darkness as to its future and that Christ can not be known by mere reason, but that knowledge concerning him must be revealed from heaven.
38. In the third place, it is shown by the light that shined around the shepherds, which teaches that here there must be an entirely different light than that of human reason. Moreover, when St. Luke says, Gloria Dei, the glory of God, shone around them, he calls that light a brightness, or the glory of God. Why does he say that? In order to call attention to the mystery and reveal the character of the Gospel. For while the Gospel is a heavenly light that teaches nothing more than Christ, in whom God’s grace is given to us and all human merit is entirely cast aside, it exalts only the glory of God, so that henceforth no one may be able to boast of his own power; but must give God the glory, that it is of his love and goodness alone that we are saved through Christ.
See, the divine honor, the divine glory, is the light in the Gospel, which shines around us from heaven through the apostles and their followers who preach the Gospel. The angel here was in the place of all the preachers of the Gospel, and the shepherds in the place of all the hearers, as we shall see. For this reason the Gospel can tolerate no other teaching besides its own; for the teaching of men is earthly light and human glory; it exalt the honor and praise of men, and makes souls to glory in their own works; while the Gospel glories in Christ, in God’s grace and goodness, and teaches us to boast of and confide in Christ.
37. In the second place it is pointed out by the fact that Christ was born at midnight, by which he indicates that all the world is in darkness as to its future and that Christ can not be known by mere reason, but that knowledge concerning him must be revealed from heaven.
38. In the third place, it is shown by the light that shined around the shepherds, which teaches that here there must be an entirely different light than that of human reason. Moreover, when St. Luke says, Gloria Dei, the glory of God, shone around them, he calls that light a brightness, or the glory of God. Why does he say that? In order to call attention to the mystery and reveal the character of the Gospel. For while the Gospel is a heavenly light that teaches nothing more than Christ, in whom God’s grace is given to us and all human merit is entirely cast aside, it exalts only the glory of God, so that henceforth no one may be able to boast of his own power; but must give God the glory, that it is of his love and goodness alone that we are saved through Christ.
See, the divine honor, the divine glory, is the light in the Gospel, which shines around us from heaven through the apostles and their followers who preach the Gospel. The angel here was in the place of all the preachers of the Gospel, and the shepherds in the place of all the hearers, as we shall see. For this reason the Gospel can tolerate no other teaching besides its own; for the teaching of men is earthly light and human glory; it exalt the honor and praise of men, and makes souls to glory in their own works; while the Gospel glories in Christ, in God’s grace and goodness, and teaches us to boast of and confide in Christ.
Heavenly
Host
Luke
2:13 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. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the
babe lying in a manger.
The
Prayers and Benediction
