The promised king

[0:00] Who is this? Yeah, over there. Yeah. Thomas, the Tank Engine. I'm glad people still know who Thomas Tank Engine is. Who's this? Who knows? Freya. Puss in boots. Now, all those characters, they have a bit of a theme going on, I think.

[0:23] So we've got Bob, and then we've got a description of who he is, the builder. We've got Thomas. That's his name and a description of who he is, a Tank Engine. And then we've got Puss, who is a cat in boots, which is great fun, isn't it?

[0:42] We get their name, and then we get a description of who they are, what they've come to do. And this morning, we're going to think together about the name of Jesus and two of his kind of titles, two descriptions of what he came to do.

[1:03] The first is Christ, and then the other one that we'll look at is Emmanuel. And we're going to find out what these mean. And I'm going to ask you guys for a little bit of help to make sure we keep reminding ourselves of what these things mean.

[1:18] So we're going to look at Jesus, we're going to look at Christ, and we're going to look at Emmanuel. And the first one that we'll look at is Christ. Your Bibles might also say the word Messiah or anointed one, and they all mean the same thing, which is this, promised King, Christ, promised King.

[1:40] So every time, here's a challenge for you, every time I say Christ in the next few minutes, between now and the next carol, could you shout out promised King? Do you think you can do that? Shall we have a go? Christ, promised King.

[1:55] Excellent. So it means promised King, and God had promised that the Christ would come.

[2:07] Excellent. All throughout the Old Testament. And many people had in mind what he might look like, because he was coming as a great rescuing King to lead his people.

[2:21] And people might have had an image a bit like this. Captain America, a great hero, a soldier with superpowers.

[2:32] That's an idea of hero or rescuer that you might have. Or another idea of a hero or rescue you might have is this guy. Who's this? Superman.

[2:44] Come from the planet Krypton to Earth with superpowers coming to rescue. That's an idea of who we might think when we think about a rescuer.

[2:56] And people back in the times when Jesus was born would have had this image of a great, mighty warrior, maybe riding on a big horse coming to lead people to victory.

[3:08] But actually the Bible shows us that he comes in a very different way. That he comes as a baby. Born in a manger to this little tiny town of Bethlehem.

[3:26] That's who comes. He was going to be born to Mary and Joseph. We heard that reading in Luke about the angel coming to visit Mary.

[3:40] Mary was going to marry this guy called Joseph. They weren't married yet. But they were engaged to be married. And back then being engaged to be married meant a lot more than even now does.

[3:54] They would have made promises to each other that they would indeed be married. And a wedding party day would come. But Joseph discovers that his wife is pregnant.

[4:10] They weren't husband and wife yet. And Joseph knew that he wasn't the dad. And back then this would be a huge, huge shock to people.

[4:22] And so what is Joseph going to do? It would have made Joseph feel really sad. And confused. And so he wondered what would he do?

[4:35] And so verse 19 tells us. It says, because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man. And did not want to expose her to public disgrace.

[4:46] He had in mind to quietly divorce her. Joseph was a really good guy. And he didn't want Mary to have lots of shame and be embarrassed by lots of people.

[5:02] And so he's just going to very quietly go about divorcing her. It seemed to be the best option. But then something amazing happens.

[5:14] As he falls asleep, an angel appears to him in his dream. And says this in verse 20. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.

[5:36] Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The angel comes to tell Joseph this is no ordinary baby that Mary is expecting.

[5:48] No, this is a baby from God. This is God at work creating new life in the darkness of Mary's womb.

[6:01] And this was an amazing, miraculous birth of the Christ. The promised King. And you know what?

[6:12] This couple, they seem a fairly ordinary couple. Mary, a young, probably teenage girl. Joseph, an ordinary carpenter, chopping wood.

[6:24] But Joseph actually had a bit of a secret. And we see that in the few words that the angel says. The angel says, Joseph, son of David.

[6:38] This is big. Because Joseph can trace his family all the way back to a king. King David.

[6:51] Which is great because we're expecting the Christ. The promised king. Joseph is part of the royal family.

[7:06] It would be a bit like, and just a bit like, Prince William. Forgetting that he's a part of the royal family. And moving all the way down to Brighton.

[7:17] To work as maybe a bin man. And his mates just call him Will. Oh, it's just Will over there. Our colleague. But actually, he keeps it secret from people that he's actually part of the royal family.

[7:34] He's an heir to the throne. But this is even better. Because Joseph and Mary are going to have the Christ. The promised king.

[7:47] God had organized Joseph and Mary to have this child. Because the king was coming. And he was going to be born in the line of King David.

[8:01] In the royal family line. So this was perfect. And yet, it's amazing.

[8:13] Because Jesus is no ordinary baby. He's the Christ. From heaven. Who comes down to earth.

[8:24] And he chooses to come as a little, weak baby. To this little, fairly ordinary couple. Who have to travel to Bethlehem.

[8:38] So that this baby could be born. It's amazing. It's amazing to think that the Christ. The promised king. Cried.

[8:49] He's been to the toilet. He's laughed. He's played games. He's run around. He's got his clothes messy. His mom and dad have probably told him off.

[9:00] Even though he wouldn't have done anything wrong. This is Jesus. The Christ. The promised king.

[9:11] Come. As a little baby boy. We're going to think more about the significance of him in a moment.

[9:22] But first of all. Oh, there's a picture of a baby. But firstly, we're going. I think I heard people say Christ. The promised king.

[9:34] We're next going to think about the name Jesus. Jesus. And his name is very significant. But before we do that.

[9:45] I thought just for a very brief moment of fun. Because we can have fun. I'd tell you what some of the people in this room. What some of their names mean.

[9:56] I hope they don't mind. So the first person. Rosemary. Who is probably here somewhere. She's there. I wonder what her name. Do you know what your name means, Rosemary?

[10:08] No. Does anyone else know what Rosemary's name means? It's a herb. It is a herb, isn't it? It means Jew of the Sea. There we go.

[10:19] We found out something about Rosemary this morning. We've got an Isaac with us this morning. Hello, Isaac. We usually have two Isaacs. Do you know what your name means, Isaac?

[10:35] Love. Laughter. You are pretty much spot on. One who laughs or rejoices. Isn't that a good name? She's not here this morning.

[10:48] But Bethany. Does any of her family know what Bethany means? Isaac, do you know? It is House of Figs. Good knowledge, Isaac.

[10:59] Isaac over there. Final one. Our pastor, Phil. Do you know what your name means? It's fascinating. Do you want to tell people?

[11:11] Do you mind? It means that for horses. You are the horses. Apparently so. Extraordinary. But even better.

[11:23] And those are great names. And we love these people very dearly. Even better is what the name Jesus means. Jesus who was born all those years ago.

[11:36] Does anyone know? Saves. Saves. Yeah. He came to save us. We see that with what the angel says in this passage.

[11:49] If we have a look down at verse 21. The angel continues to talk to Joseph. And says she, that's Mary, will give birth to a son.

[12:01] And you are to give him the name Jesus. Because he will save his people from their sins. So I think between now and the next carol.

[12:15] Every time I say Jesus. If you could say this. He came to save us. That would be great. So Jesus. We can say this. Excellent. And that was louder as well.

[12:26] Wonderful. We're getting it. Jesus. Jesus. Excellent. Just testing you. He's the king who was born to save us.

[12:40] So the angel is still with Joseph. And we've heard what his name means. He was a baby born like us in all sorts of ways.

[12:54] But he's also unlike us. He's the king. Because he never says a lie. He never says a lie. And sometimes we do say lies to people.

[13:05] He never says nasty words. He never disobeys his mom and dad. Can you imagine? He never steals things.

[13:17] He never had to sit on the naughty step. Or be sent to bed early. Or be told you can't have dessert. Because of something wrong that he did.

[13:28] He's just like we should be. Just like how Adam and Eve were at the beginning. But then the world went wrong.

[13:41] As Adam and Eve rebelled against God. And sinned. But neither did Jesus come and say.

[13:53] Ha ha. Ah. Well done. Neither did he come to say. Ha ha. I'm better than you. You're going to be punished. For all the wrong that you do.

[14:04] And I'm just going to leave you at that. Because that's the sort of thing I would have said to my brother. When I was younger. Because I'll tell you a secret. I thought I was the good one. I still kind of think I am.

[14:16] And I'm really not. I think I'm the good one. And he's the naughty one. And I would say to him things when he was younger. And if he got into trouble.

[14:27] I'd be like. Ha ha. You have to sit there on the naughty step. That was a big thing in our home. Or you have to go to bed early. I'm good.

[14:37] You should be like me. I thought I was the better one. And I'm really not. Because like all of us. I do wrong things too. But Jesus truly is better.

[14:51] And he's come. I said Jesus. He's come. Come to save us. He's the one who's come to save people from their sins.

[15:06] We talk about sin a lot. Sin means this. It's when we say to God. Shove off God. I'm in charge.

[15:16] It's about me. Not about you God. I don't want to go your way. Not you. Shove off God. I'm in charge. Not you. I'm going to go my way.

[15:28] Not your way. That's what we do when we sin. But King Jesus. He came to save us.

[15:41] He came to save us. Because he loves us. He didn't just leave us on our own. In our sin. But he's come to do something about it.

[15:52] And now at Christmas time. We think. And rightly so. We think about his birth. We think about him being a baby. We think about all the fun things that we get to do.

[16:06] Because we're celebrating a birthday. Like wearing silly jumpers. Or putting up Christmas trees. Or wearing silly hats. And singing silly songs. But we can't just leave Jesus in a manger.

[16:20] He came to save us. We can't just leave him in the manger. And open our Christmas presents. We've got to think about what he did to come to save us.

[16:32] And for that we've got to think about Easter. And that's not just because I love Easter eggs. Because I really do. But there's something even better about Easter. Because here's the manger.

[16:44] But Jesus didn't stay a baby. Excellent. He came to save us. By going to a cross. To die for our sin.

[17:00] We think of him being made low at Christmas time. As he's born as a baby. But he went even lower to hang on a cross.

[17:11] To die as a criminal. The king. He's the promised king. He wears a crown. But not a crown of gold. A crown of thorns.

[17:24] But it's so that we could be saved. From the punishment of sin. Which is death. And he died.

[17:35] But wonderfully. He didn't stay dead. He rose again. So we can have new life from Jesus. Because he came to save us.

[17:50] Now I don't know what Christmas presents you're going to get this year. Maybe you'll get some new Lego. Maybe you'll get a cute cuddly teddy bear.

[18:01] Maybe you'll get your favorite film on DVD. Or bought on Amazon Prime for you. Or maybe it's going to be some socks. Some pair of socks.

[18:12] And there's nothing wrong with that. Because I absolutely love socks. And Steve's put a thumbs up. So there's really nothing wrong with getting socks. But you know what? None of those things that we might get at Christmas time.

[18:25] None of those things can forgive us our sin. And give us new life forever. It's only the one that Christmas is all about. Jesus.

[18:38] Because he came to save us. Marie is awake. And that is the best news.

[18:48] And you can know that today. You don't have to wait until Christmas Day. And we're going to sing a song all about the fact that Jesus. He came to save us.

[19:00] If I say Christ. What did we say for that? Promised King. Well done. If I say Jesus. He came to save us.

[19:10] Excellent. So the final thing that we get to say between now and the next carol. Is this. Emmanuel.

[19:21] Which means God with us. Do you think you could say that when I say Emmanuel? God with us. Excellent. So where do we see that happen?

[19:33] We need to read verse 22. Matthew 1 verse 22. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet.

[19:47] The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will call him Emmanuel. Which means God with us.

[20:01] This is so cool. God with us. You see. All this was happening to bring about a prophecy.

[20:13] Which some of us at a church looked at a few weeks ago in Isaiah. Prophesied like 700 years or so before. Saying that this child who was going to be born.

[20:26] Was going to be given this name. This title. Emmanuel. God with us. And we're going to get to think about it a little bit more this morning.

[20:40] And it's. As I was thinking about it. I was thinking about this. I'm really scared of thunderstorms. When I was younger. I was even more scared of thunderstorms.

[20:52] I used to scream and cry. And hide under my bed covers. Because it gets dark. It gets loud. It gets noisy. There's lightning flashing.

[21:05] It felt. It feels rather scary to me. But. When there is a thunderstorm. And I'm with other people. Particularly if I'm with other people.

[21:16] That I love. Like some of my family. Or some of my friends. It feels better. It still feels scary.

[21:28] But it feels good. Knowing that I'm not alone. That someone. That I know and love. Is there in the room with me. Even in the dark and scary times.

[21:42] Doesn't feel nice. But I know it's going to be. Okay. And the meaning of Emmanuel. Is that God. Is with us. God.

[21:54] With us. And this was first told. To a people. Who were going through. A dark. And scary. Time. But they were promised.

[22:07] That God. Was going to be with them. And the sign. Was in a child. Who was going to be born. And this child. Is the child.

[22:18] That we see born. In Matthew chapter 1. Jesus. Emmanuel. God. With us. And that's the same for us.

[22:30] We've heard. That we. Sin. That song. That we sang. Earlier. Told us. About. Sin. Being. Dark. It is.

[22:41] Bad. And it. Comes. Comes. With a deadly. Punishment. But Jesus. Has come. To save us. And he.

[22:52] Is Emmanuel. God. With us. God. Would. Leave. Heaven. To be. Born.

[23:02] Into this world. To be. With us. To die. Like a criminal. On a cross. So that we. Could know. Life. Forever. With him.

[23:13] God. He's not. Left us. Alone. At all. He's come. To be. Emmanuel. God. With. Us. Excellent. Not just.

[23:25] Near us. Not just. Over there. But. With us. With us. Even in the. Darkness. In our lives. Even in those.

[23:37] Scary things. Even. Even. As we sit. Around. The table. On Christmas. Day. And we. Look at. The chair. Over there. Where. Where grandma.

[23:48] Used to sit. Or the chair. Over there. Where dad. Used to sit. Jesus. Understands. Our darkness. Our pain. Our sadness. Is.

[24:00] Because he is. Emmanuel. God. With us. Even in the. Darkness. Of our. Temptations. We can know.

[24:11] That. Jesus. Has faced this. Because he is. Emmanuel. God. With us. And when we. Sin. Though Jesus.

[24:22] Did no wrong. We know. That he came. To save us. If he comes. To be with us. And he comes. To die. For us. And so.

[24:33] Because of this. Everything. Changes. If we are. Trusting in him. To save us. If we are. Trusting in him.

[24:44] To save us. Remember. Joseph. He was about. To quietly. Divorce his wife. To be.

[24:55] Mary. This was sad. He was confused. He was distressed. By this. But then. The angel. Comes. And tells. Him. About.

[25:07] This baby. Who was going. To be born. No ordinary. Baby. At all. A miracle. Baby. From. God. And so. When Joseph. Wakes up.

[25:18] Everything. Changes. Have a look. At verse 24. When Joseph. Woke up. He did. What the angel. Of the Lord. Had commanded him. And took Mary.

[25:29] Home. As his wife. But he had no union. With her. Until she gave birth. To a son. And he gave him. The name. Jesus. Before this dream.

[25:43] Joseph. Was going to. Quietly. Divorce. Mary. But now. Everything. Changes. Because. Of. Of. This.

[25:53] Child. Because. This baby. Jesus. He changes. Everything. He's turned the world. Upside down.

[26:05] 2022. Years later. We still. Celebrate. The birth. Of this. Baby. Who's come. To be Emmanuel. God.

[26:16] With. Us. Who's come. As the Christ. The promised king. Who's come. As Jesus. The one. Who's come. To save us.

[26:29] And so. If we. Look to him. Trust in him. To save us. From our sin. He changes. Our lives. As we go.

[26:39] On. And follow. Him. He truly. Is the greatest. Gift. You could ever know. And maybe. You don't know.

[26:51] Jesus. As your savior. Today. Today. Can be that day. And that's. Such good news. In a moment. I'm going to.

[27:02] Lead us in a. Prayer. And maybe this is a prayer. You want to join. In. With. I'll say it. Slowly. And you just need to say it. Quietly. In your heart. Between you.

[27:13] And God. God. But maybe. If you're. Not ready for that. Please. Keep coming. To church. There's also.

[27:24] There will also be a. Hope explored course. Which will run. After Christmas. Which you. Would love you to sign up for. There's. Cards. Over the back. We'd love to talk to you more.

[27:34] About. Jesus. So let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Thank you.