Don’t Miss The Wonder of ChristmasMatthew 1.18-25
Luke 2.1-20
Matthew 2.1-12
John 1.1-14
I have heard a number of comments concerning Christmas this year. They have ranged from disgust with the commercialization of it to depression from a number of sources.
All of us can fall into some despair and disillusionment with the celebration of Jesus’ birth. In our attempt to fight the distortion of it, we can lose its Wonder.
Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth, is a time of wonder. The event of Jesus being born brings wonder and amazement to the soul. Every detail of it is sublime.
This Christmas Sunday we are going to spend a few minutes talking about some of the wonderful details. I pray that the wonder of Christmas will life your spirit and you will praise God for His Indescribable Gift.
1. The Virgin Birth Matthew1.22-23
This is a miracle. We are told how but it is still a wonder filled mystery. My friend Kim Richardson’s wife Marilyn makes artificial hearts. She works on them under a microscope. They end up going inside people and extending their lives. I understand how that happens but the construction and the surgery are beyond me- way beyond me. Yet this is just kid stuff when it comes to the Holy One of God being conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary giving birth without a human father.
Joseph struggled with this. He was going to divorce Mary quietly. We aren’t told whether or not Mary told him the whole story. If she did then he didn’t believe her at first. Either way Joseph concluded she had been unfaithful.
Matthew 1.20 Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
What a wonder Don’t miss this as you think about the true meaning of Christmas
Think about God’s power and His wonderful works in bring Jesus, His only Son, into this world.
2. Mary and Joseph
These young people were chosen by God to be involved in this miracle. Joseph, a righteous man and Mary found favor with God.
Don’t miss the humility of who they were and where they lived. They lived in a looked down town. It was widely held that nothing good ever came out of Nazareth.
There was no notoriety associated with it prior to Jesus’s coming.
Think about who they were. They ordinary people. Joseph was a carpenter.
So often the thinking is that in order for the LORD to use us we must have great training or education. Certainly they have benefits. But Mary and Joseph illustrate the truth that if we walk with God He can sovereignly use us for His glory and all we need to do is obey.
The things we think qualify a man or woman for service in the kingdom of God differ greatly from the things God knows qualifies them. I Samuel 16.6 shows us how even the man of God can think this way- God help us
We often think there must be great notoriety or large amounts of people for some thing wonderful to happen in the kingdom. God shows us the account of Mary and Joseph in part to show us how wrong we are in presuming that.
I love the way they both accept their roles in this whole wonderful story.
They were heading to David’s town... where Jacob buried Rachel, where David lived and where Jesus was to be born...
3. Bethlehem
Hymns have been written about it. Pilgrims journey there tomorrow night. This small village, or little town if you will, has great significance in the plan of God.
It was His. The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it. Each city belongs to God Look at how He was concerned for Ninevah. This little town had the mother of Israel buried in it and Israel’s most beloved king, a man after God’s own heart, was born there.
It put Him out. On that night when He had use of a place to be born no place suitable for a new born was to be had so he was born in stable and laid in a manger. Out among the animals the King of Kings came into the world.
Bethlehem means House of Bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Symbolized in the LORD’s Supper by the matzoh or bread without yeast. Yeast symbolizes sin. It puffs bread up and fills it with air. That is what people are without Jesus- just filled with hot air. Jesus shows us what life is without sin. He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, the burial place of Rachel.
4. The Manger
This week, Jack, a little fellow in our nursery school, after he listened to the account of the nativity, told his teacher the next day, “I was thinking about the story of Jesus being born all night.” There is something wonderfully attractive in this scene
Don’t miss the wonder of Christmas. Can I ask you something? When was the last time you were like little Jack, thinking about the story of Jesus being born all night? I would imagine some of us have sat up wondering what to get so and so. Others have pondered how much they have put on credit cards while others of us have thought about the gatherings we are cooking for. There is still time. There is tonight. Take some time out, as you work think about the story of Jesus being born. Sing your way through the story with familiar carols and choruses.
Sing “Away in the Manger”. Become like a little child. Get lost in wonder, love and praise
5. The Shepherds
God announced the good news to them.
They were lowly men. They were probably tending the sheep for the sacrificial system in Jerusalem. They were shut out of many things. That night they were let in on the greatest news anyone could hope to receive.
They were the only ones of Bethlehem that night that took the Savior in They hurried off (Luke 2.16) Speudo= earnestly desire, make haste. This was not their style but Jesus has a way of immediately changing us.
They came and saw. They worshiped God. They spread the news.
6. The Wise men
Magi. Learned and respected men from the east- Iraq/Iran.
They followed the star.
They came with gifts that they offered Him.
The Greatest of all these is that...
7. The Word Became Flesh
This is what Christmas is about. The Lamb of God coming down to earth from heaven. Jesus, the Son of God, coming in the flesh, so that He could go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. His name is called Jesus, Redeemer-Savior, because He will save His people from their sins
What a wonder, God in flesh, God’s Son being born into the human race.
He left the wonder of heaven
To come to this earth that night.
He was born as a baby,
Oh what a precious site.
Born in stable in Bethlehem,
Laid in a manger was He
He came to save His people
from their sins and to set them free.
Oh what a wonder that He came
What a wonder the way He was born
Oh the wonder of God’s great love,
The age of redeeming grace had dawned.
He left heaven to die on a cross
He died to save us from sin
He rose from the grave defeating death,
He forever will reign.
Don’t miss the obvious. Don’t miss this Divine simplicity!
The next few days and throughout the rest of your life let the wonder of Christmas come to you. Let the way He was born and where He was born and the events surrounding His birth bless your heart and fill your soul.
May the wonder of Christ’s coming stay in your heart all year through.
The LORD’s Day
December 23, 2007
We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
Don’t Miss The Wonder Of Christmas
Matthew 1-2, Luke 2, John 1
*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for bagels and coffee downstairs if you are visiting today.
This Week
Bible Reading Matthew 1-2, Luke 2, John 1
Monday Men’s Prayer Meeting 6:30am in the church basement, Christmas Eve Service -5pm
Wednesday &Thursday Bible Studies will resume next month
Next Lord’s Day
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children)
Spanish Service- 4pm
In Your Prayers For All of God’s People
Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son finished his third tour of Iraq- His parents thank us for praying for him. Billy Knapp, Jr. in Iraq with the Marines (neighbor of the church and Pastor- Billy’s sister graduated from Good Shepherd). Stateside now being redeployed in April... Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton. Pastor’s nephews’ and niece’s cousin Kim’s husband, Jay, in Iraq. Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan, Ken Brown and Tom Hindelang, Billy Knapp Jr. safe during their times in Iraq. Pray for peace. Katharina’s Family in the loss of her daughter... Remember Robert, her son-in-law and her grandsons, Norman, Raymond &Jonathan and their families. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for fibromyalgia. Thank God for answers to prayer for her. Pray for Eloise Brooks’ Family in their loss and sorrow... Remember Jean Louis on dialysis. Grace Martin, Edie Raevis’ daughter, recovering from surgery on her back and uindergoing Physical Therapy. Edie’s daughter’s mother-in-law, Millie Espisito remains in serious condition. Reginald Mooney, friend of Terri and John Garry, with a tumor in his kidney. Please remember Pastor’s friend Kim Richardson’s daughter, Kelly recovering from a mastectomy. Please remember this whole family in prayer..she has completed chemo therapy for now and is undergoing another round of radiation. Leah May’s cousin, Joan, respiratory problems now home... Lucy Mancini under Orthopedic Specialist’s care and physical therapy for pain and injuries resulting from the accident. Pastor’s Dad, Larry Mancini, Sr. was taken to the hospital last night with a fever from an infection. There is a blog for him: www.papa2all.blogspot.com . Stephen Huges, brother of a Good Shepherd Nursery School Mom, their parents home in Hewlett was destroyed in a fire.. Please remember Dr. And Mrs. Mucci in your prayers as well as Judy’s daughter Tatum. Alice Gordon’s family in the loss of her brother, Everette, Please remember his wife Monica and the whole family... Anka’s family in the loss of her dad. Joey Reda (Charlie and Diane Davison’s Grandson) experiencing some heart arrhythmia. Prudy’s Mom, Rose Ragusa, undergoing treatment- doing well. Jack Simon, a friend of Pastor’s, undergoing treatment for a lung problem...Pray for those children who will receiving Christmas shoe boxes this week. Remember those who lost family and friends in the cyclone in Bangladesh... Leah May facing surgery. Please pray for healing.. Bart Moleta, Helen and Bob Pawson’s son-in-law, tests came back well. Rianna’s brother’s family in their time of loss. Frank Watson, friend of Pastor’s from Bible College, who lost his wife... Pastor and Lucy’s Aunt Vivian has been placed in a nursing home rehab following a severe fall and has been diagnosed with a kidney disorder and cirrhosis of the liver. Janine Van Cott recovering from back surgery. Tania MacDonald’s Mom, Eloise Naves, went to be with the LORD this week. The funeral is this afternoon in Hempstead (1-4pm) at Hempstead Funeral Home, 89 Peninsula Blvd, Hempstead 1-516-481-7460.
Christmas Eve Service- 5pm, Tomorrow Evening December 24th
Notes on Our Time in God’s Word This Morning...
Don’t Miss The Wonder of Christmas
Pastor’s messages are now available online:
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/
Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
Church Phone: 631-969-1730
1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436
To come to this earth that night.
He was born as a baby,
Oh what a precious site.
Born in stable in Bethlehem,
Laid in a manger was He
He came to save His people
from their sins and to set them free.
Oh what a wonder that He came
What a wonder the way He was born
Oh the wonder of God’s great love,
The age of redeeming grace had dawned.
He left heaven to die on a cross
He died to save us from sin
He rose from the grave defeating death,
He forever will reign.
Don’t miss the obvious. Don’t miss this Divine simplicity!
The next few days and throughout the rest of your life let the wonder of Christmas come to you. Let the way He was born and where He was born and the events surrounding His birth bless your heart and fill your soul.
May the wonder of Christ’s coming stay in your heart all year through.
The LORD’s Day
December 23, 2007
We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
Don’t Miss The Wonder Of Christmas
Matthew 1-2, Luke 2, John 1
*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for bagels and coffee downstairs if you are visiting today.
This Week
Bible Reading Matthew 1-2, Luke 2, John 1
Monday Men’s Prayer Meeting 6:30am in the church basement, Christmas Eve Service -5pm
Wednesday &Thursday Bible Studies will resume next month
Next Lord’s Day
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children)
Spanish Service- 4pm
In Your Prayers For All of God’s People
Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son finished his third tour of Iraq- His parents thank us for praying for him. Billy Knapp, Jr. in Iraq with the Marines (neighbor of the church and Pastor- Billy’s sister graduated from Good Shepherd). Stateside now being redeployed in April... Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton. Pastor’s nephews’ and niece’s cousin Kim’s husband, Jay, in Iraq. Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan, Ken Brown and Tom Hindelang, Billy Knapp Jr. safe during their times in Iraq. Pray for peace. Katharina’s Family in the loss of her daughter... Remember Robert, her son-in-law and her grandsons, Norman, Raymond &Jonathan and their families. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for fibromyalgia. Thank God for answers to prayer for her. Pray for Eloise Brooks’ Family in their loss and sorrow... Remember Jean Louis on dialysis. Grace Martin, Edie Raevis’ daughter, recovering from surgery on her back and uindergoing Physical Therapy. Edie’s daughter’s mother-in-law, Millie Espisito remains in serious condition. Reginald Mooney, friend of Terri and John Garry, with a tumor in his kidney. Please remember Pastor’s friend Kim Richardson’s daughter, Kelly recovering from a mastectomy. Please remember this whole family in prayer..she has completed chemo therapy for now and is undergoing another round of radiation. Leah May’s cousin, Joan, respiratory problems now home... Lucy Mancini under Orthopedic Specialist’s care and physical therapy for pain and injuries resulting from the accident. Pastor’s Dad, Larry Mancini, Sr. was taken to the hospital last night with a fever from an infection. There is a blog for him: www.papa2all.blogspot.com . Stephen Huges, brother of a Good Shepherd Nursery School Mom, their parents home in Hewlett was destroyed in a fire.. Please remember Dr. And Mrs. Mucci in your prayers as well as Judy’s daughter Tatum. Alice Gordon’s family in the loss of her brother, Everette, Please remember his wife Monica and the whole family... Anka’s family in the loss of her dad. Joey Reda (Charlie and Diane Davison’s Grandson) experiencing some heart arrhythmia. Prudy’s Mom, Rose Ragusa, undergoing treatment- doing well. Jack Simon, a friend of Pastor’s, undergoing treatment for a lung problem...Pray for those children who will receiving Christmas shoe boxes this week. Remember those who lost family and friends in the cyclone in Bangladesh... Leah May facing surgery. Please pray for healing.. Bart Moleta, Helen and Bob Pawson’s son-in-law, tests came back well. Rianna’s brother’s family in their time of loss. Frank Watson, friend of Pastor’s from Bible College, who lost his wife... Pastor and Lucy’s Aunt Vivian has been placed in a nursing home rehab following a severe fall and has been diagnosed with a kidney disorder and cirrhosis of the liver. Janine Van Cott recovering from back surgery. Tania MacDonald’s Mom, Eloise Naves, went to be with the LORD this week. The funeral is this afternoon in Hempstead (1-4pm) at Hempstead Funeral Home, 89 Peninsula Blvd, Hempstead 1-516-481-7460.
Christmas Eve Service- 5pm, Tomorrow Evening December 24th
Notes on Our Time in God’s Word This Morning...
Don’t Miss The Wonder of Christmas
Matthew 1-2, Luke 2, John 1
Pastor’s messages are now available online:
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/
Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
Church Phone: 631-969-1730
1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436
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