Luke's First Story About Christmas

[0:00] So, as you can see, I go to coffee shops often, and one of the coffee shops that I go to, there's a friend that I've developed there. He's a non-Christian.

[0:12] When I first met him, actually, when he found out that I was, he met me sort of because he suspected that I was a Christian, because I'd have my Bible out, and he began his conversation with me by saying about how he used to be an altar boy.

[0:28] And I know that whenever anybody tells me they used to be an altar boy, it's about because they're going to tell me they're no longer a Christian. But I waited patiently, because that's almost always how it happens, right? And anyway, he would now, some days he'd call himself an agnostic, some days he'd call himself an atheist.

[0:44] He sort of goes back and forward between the two of them, and he still goes to church two or three times a year, and he was raised in the church, and as he told me, and I now told you, he was an altar boy. Anyway, so on Monday, he asked me, he said, so George, what are you going to preach on this week?

[0:59] And I said, well, I'm going to preach on the difference between Christian Christmas and secular Christmas, or the difference between biblical Christmas and Canadian Christmas. And he said, oh.

[1:11] Gnawed in his head, said, so you're going to talk about gratitude and family and generosity? And I said, actually, no, that's secular Christmas. I'm not going to talk about that at all.

[1:23] And he was literally, like his head popped back, because he thought, I mean, he would tell me all the time he knows about the Christian faith, and he was shocked that I said that talking about thanksgiving and gratitude and generosity isn't actually Christian Christmas, it's secular Christmas.

[1:41] So we ended up having a 10 or 15 minute conversation, and I will return to it in a little bit, but we're going to look at the text. Because, in fact, I realized sometime later afternoon on Friday, or maybe this morning, there could be a real problem here today, because I will maybe preach against, not against, I'll try to reveal what Christian Christmas is, and how it's different than secular Christmas, and how lots of Christians are confused about that.

[2:12] And I'm really hoping that dance doesn't represent secular Christmas, which could be a little bit awkward at coffee time. But anyway, because, in fact, Christians in Canada are deeply confused about the difference between secular Christmas, or Canadian Christmas, or American Christmas, and biblical Christian Christmas.

[2:30] So this sermon, and actually the next three sermons that I do on the 23rd, and the 24th, and 25th, we're going to look at the four primary stories in the Bible that tell us what biblical Christmas is. So if you have your Bibles, and if you don't, it'll be on the screen, but Luke chapter 1, verses 26 to 38.

[2:47] And if you look online, I spent hours working on sermon titles. This one's called Luke's First Story. Next Sunday, it's Matthew's Story. Christmas Eve, it's Luke's Second Story.

[2:59] And on Christmas morning, it's John's Story. I had focus groups and everything to come up with those titles. They're really gripping. And anyway, so here's, just before we start reading this, and I should get my notes out or I will really be in trouble.

[3:16] Just before we start reading this, just, you'll notice it's part of a bigger book. It's not just an individual story, but part of a bigger book. And in fact, what's going on in the bigger book, if you read the verses beforehand, at least, the book is written by a man named Luke, and he himself is not Jewish.

[3:35] He was a pagan who became a Christian, maybe 15 years or a bit longer after the death and resurrection of Jesus. So he's a pagan, not Jewish.

[3:45] I think he's the only pagan writer in the New Testament, or pagan who became a Christian writer. That might be more accurate. And one of the things you see at the beginning of the book is that he says that he's pursued eyewitnesses and eyewitness reports to write a true story of what went on with Jesus.

[4:08] And that's a very important thing to see that that's his claim. He doesn't say that this is a story, my story is inspired by true events or based on true events.

[4:19] He'd say, no, every story I tell you is true. It really happened. It actually happened. I'm telling you not all of the stories of Jesus, but I'm telling you a true story of Jesus.

[4:31] And just before, after he introduces that that's what he's done, that he's done this historical research. He was a doctor, a well-educated man, and who's written this biography of Jesus, so to speak.

[4:42] That's what we would call it today. And then he tells you of a miracle that goes on just before this story of Jesus' cousin, future cousin.

[4:53] And it's the story of how John the Baptist, how he was conceived. And that's the story told just before this. And now the story continues on verse 26.

[5:04] And it starts like this. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

[5:24] And we'll just sort of pause there for a second. And my friend on Monday and I got into a bit of a conversation, not an argument, a conversation very quickly when I told him that I was going to be going back to the four Christmas stories that are recorded in the Bible.

[5:42] And he said, he basically said, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there. Hold it right there. I mean, those stories aren't true. Like they have angels in them and virgin birth and all that stuff, and it's not true.

[5:53] And I said to him after he said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there. And he gave me that. And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there. You know, and I said, you're confusing two things.

[6:06] And he, of course, would believe that he never confuses anything, that I'm the one who confuses things. And we're probably both a bit right. But I said, you're confusing two things. You're confusing that you think his story is wrong with what he thinks he's doing.

[6:22] And you need to extend to him the dignity to say what he believes he's doing. Like you can't take that dignity away from him. And you yourself might believe on other ground.

[6:34] Like I understand that when just because I tell you it's in the Bible doesn't mean you have to believe it. I understand that. Like I have no problem with that. But you can't say that he's writing as if there aren't angels and virgin births and all that type of stuff.

[6:49] But the story he's writing, he believes this actually happened. Like he believes there is an angel that's going to come. He believes that the birth actually happens. And you need to extend to him the dignity, like from your point of view, the dignity of being wrong.

[7:06] But you can't take away from him and say he's not writing what he's writing. Like if that's the case, you're not really listening to him. And so that's what's going on here. He's the story centers around God sending an angel to speak to a virgin.

[7:22] And the title, the word virgin here, it isn't a title. It's not like a class of women. We'll see in a moment. It means something literally a man, a woman who has never had sexual relations with a man.

[7:34] That's what the word means. And so the story continues, verse 29, 28, sorry. And he, the angel, oh, by the way, the one thing I missed, and it says here in the sixth month, what he's doing is he's timing it from the early miracle.

[7:49] So six months after the first miracle, this second encounter happens. Verse 28, and he, that is the angel, came to her and said, greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you.

[8:03] But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And oh favored one, it's an idiomatic expression.

[8:17] I keep trying to come up with new ways of expressing something like this. But if somebody says to you that they have a screw loose, if you say about somebody that they have a screw loose, you don't literally believe that they have a screw, you know, a cap in their skull that's screwed in and one of them's loose.

[8:37] You're referring to somebody who's a bit crazy. That's an idiomatic expression. And there's a bit of an idiomatic or Semitic, Semitism here in what the angel says. When he says, oh favored one, what he's saying is, I'm speaking to you who are a recipient of God's grace.

[8:55] That's what it means. You who are a recipient of God's grace. And God's grace is his unmerited favor, goodness, kindness, and love to you.

[9:10] That's what God's grace is. It's something unmerited. It's his mercy, his love, his forgiveness, his blessing, his peace, his power, unmerited, bestowed upon you.

[9:24] And that's what he says to Mary. He says, Mary, you are one who are a recipient of God's grace. And Mary's very troubled about this.

[9:35] She's troubled about it for several reasons. First of all, she's in Nazareth. And Nazareth is another way for saying, in the New Testament, we now think of Nazareth as being something important.

[9:47] But one of the ways, if you want to understand the New Testament, every time you see the word Nazareth, read nowhere. It would be as if you had a map and you looked at one empty spot and it looked at another empty spot.

[9:59] And then you wanted to go from one unimportant empty spot to another. In the middle of that would be Nazareth. Like it's nowhere, Bill. It's like a little hamlet if you somehow were lost or were wandering off in the far reaches of Canada and you were going.

[10:16] Anyway, it's nowhere, Bill. So she's in nowhere, Bill. And the second thing is angels, to be in the presence of a real angel is something that causes like a deep, almost shaking and terror almost regularly throughout the entire New Testament.

[10:31] It's something that causes you to shake, to almost feel like you're being unmade. So she neither understands why she, who is in nowhere, between nowhere and nowhere and nowhere, that she somehow is getting this vision from an angel which is just causing her literally to shake by being in the presence of something which is so holy.

[10:54] So she's terrified. So what happens next? Well, the angel has to speak to her. Verses 30, continue with verse 30.

[11:05] And the angel said to her, do not be afraid. Isn't that wonderful, eh? That's God speaking to her. Do not be afraid, Mary. For you have found favor with God.

[11:16] That's the same idea. You are a recipient of my grace. It's not that she is so perfect or holy that he goes, whoa, she gets the A plus in holiness. He wasn't looking throughout the world for the person who got the A plus plus plus bonus marks, got 110%.

[11:34] He wasn't looking for that. She is a recipient of God's grace. Sorry, read again. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. God's grace has been extended to you.

[11:45] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, will be called and will be called the Son of the Most High.

[11:58] 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.

[12:12] Now just sort of pause there. A couple of things going on. A couple of weeks ago, if I cough today, I have a, it feels like there's something in the back of my throat which is just irritating me a little bit.

[12:23] But a couple of weeks ago, I had an ear infection, and I had to go to a walk-in clinic. And it was an apple tree medical clinic. And so I go and I sit in.

[12:33] It was a walk-in clinic, and I had to fill out a form. And one of the very, very first questions was, what gender were you assigned at birth? Now, I'm not saying this for laughs.

[12:45] I really am not. But I literally, I almost left. I almost left. And the reason I almost left is because if I wanted to go somewhere and have my auras massaged, or if I wanted to go somewhere and have some, you know, obscure Norwegian Norse herbs given to me to balance things in my body, I would go there.

[13:09] But I go to a doctor because I believe that science is guiding their decisions. And as soon as I see in virtually the first question that they asked me, what gender were you assigned at birth?

[13:20] I say to myself, this is a company that has discarded science. Because scientifically, there is only male and female. I mean, it's amazing how much, I mean, one of the things I think that non-Christians think about Christians is that we're opposed to science.

[13:38] But the fact of the matter is that increasingly, it's only Christians who actually have a basis and an understanding and appreciation of science. Like, it's completely the opposite of probably if you ask the newsroom of CBC or many of the faculty at the University of Ottawa, they would see us as anti-science.

[13:57] But time and time and time again, we accept what is validly scientifically known. And so I'm saying this because, you see, when the angel says that the child to be born to you will be a son and it's named Jesus, the angel isn't assigning gender at birth.

[14:16] It's a prophecy. Now, just before I go any further, I have all sorts of things which I am prone to as sin, and I have all sorts of things in me that are broken.

[14:26] If you get my wife at the right time, she could give you quite a list of things about me that are far from redeemed and sanctified. But I have never struggled with feeling completely and utterly different from my biological sex.

[14:44] And if you are here today and you struggle with that, I mean, on one level, it's not something that I can tell you I have sympathy with in the sense of I experienced it. There's a lot of sins I could sympathize with you with or a lot of brokenness that I could sympathize with you, but that wouldn't be one.

[15:00] But I wanted to say that I'm not saying this to dismiss it. It must be a very, very horrible thing to feel as if you were in one body and you believe you should have a different type of body.

[15:13] And to discover that your own body is a source of distress must be deeply, deeply troubling. And so I would urge you to come and speak to us. We'd love to love you and to pray for you and to help you be whole in Jesus, if that's something you struggle with.

[15:31] But in the text here, the angel isn't assigning gender. It's the angel is prophesying. And the angel says, in a sense, you're going to conceive.

[15:42] But there's a bit of a catch because, of course, Mary has to say yes. And the angel says, you see, what you're getting here is you're getting here that the angel says God is going to do something.

[15:54] And it's not just that God is going to do something, but God is going to interpret and explain what he's doing. You see, he doesn't just sort of give words and fables and stories and do nothing.

[16:07] That's actually what most spirituality is. It's just words. Sorry if I have offended, but it's just words. So he doesn't just give words, but he says, I'm going to do something.

[16:20] And it's easy when I do something for people to misunderstand it or just miss it. So I'm going to explain what I'm doing. And what I'm going to do is you're going to conceive and I'm going to do it.

[16:32] And what I want you to know is it's going to be a boy and you have to name him Jesus because Jesus, as we'll see it in our next story, means I save, God saves, Yahweh saves. That's what it means.

[16:43] And the other thing is that you have to understand that this baby is going to be great. And in the original language, especially in the context with Luke 115, the word great here is used in an absolute sense.

[16:57] So it means just something more than like, I think Laurier is great. Great dad, four kids, he's great. No, this word great means great, like in an absolute sense.

[17:09] And it even goes on further that this boy is going to be the son of the most high God. The most high God. Whatever gods or idols you think exist, there is one who is the most high God.

[17:22] And this baby is the son of that, which means that he also is the most high God because he, if I have a baby, the baby is human.

[17:34] Let's pray that there is never a day when babies are not begotten, that there's only babies who are made in test tubes and mixed with the genetic stuff of pigs and foxes and dogs and horses.

[17:51] And you have something that who knows what that is that would come out. But as it is now, the babies, they're human. And so if the most, if it is the son of the most high God, then that which is within, going to be within the womb of Mary is the most high God.

[18:12] And as well as that, he is going to fulfill all these scriptures. He's going to ascend a throne. The throne of David means the true king of Israel.

[18:23] And on top of that, he will also establish a kingdom that will never end. Never end. Only God can have something that will never end. See how in these very, very, just, it's a very, very simple story.

[18:36] It's just an angel speaking to Mary. And it's just, his name will be Jesus and he will be great and he will be the son of the most high God. And he will take the throne of David and he will have a kingdom that goes on forever and ever and ever.

[18:47] And it's easy to remember. You could say that to a child five or six times and they could spend the rest of the day hopping around the house saying it over and over and over again. Or you could be the greatest philosopher, intellectual in the history of the world.

[18:59] And you could puzzle over that and puzzle over that and puzzle over that because it is so profound. And it is so shocking. Only God.

[19:11] That's what it has to be. And listen to Mary's response in verse 34. And Mary said to the angel, how will this be? And in my text it says, since I am a virgin.

[19:23] But it actually isn't what it says in the original language. What it says in the original language is, since I have never known a man. And knowing a man is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

[19:38] So she says to the angel, how will this be since I have never had sexual intercourse? And the other thing is, it's very interesting. You know, maybe some of us as parents would say, yeah, I could see having a kid who's like that.

[19:54] But she thinks of herself and she thinks of Joseph. And she realizes that Joseph and her having sexual relations and in her having a baby would never create a baby like has just been described.

[20:11] It's just not going to happen. Mix my DNA with Joseph's DNA and this result will not happen. So she asked, and you can well imagine there must be a lot of anguish in this asking.

[20:29] I'll read it again. And Mary said to the angel, how will this be? Since I have never had sexual relations with a man. And then look what the angel says in verse 35.

[20:39] And the angel answered her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. And the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.

[20:54] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.

[21:06] And just sort of pause there. Remember, the angel, it's not going to come to the point where Mary's going to have to say something about this.

[21:18] But the angel in very, very, very simple words. Once again, words that we could teach probably a three-year-old to say over and over and over again. Yet is very, very profound and very shocking.

[21:31] And remember, when Luke writes this, he believes he's writing a true story of Jesus. That all of this actually happened. And the angel says, Mary, you do nothing.

[21:46] And other than the fact that we're going to see in a moment, you contribute something very important in terms of your permission. But you actually do nothing. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. And the image of the over, which is a very wonderful image, isn't it?

[22:00] The power of the Most High will overshadow you. And this is an image. And the image of being overshadowed is an Old Testament or a Tanakh image, the first 39 books of the Bible.

[22:11] And it means that his God's, the Most High God's glorious presence will be at work. And that's the image of overshadow you. The Most High God, his presence will be at work as the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

[22:26] And then the angel says, by the way, just, you know, what the miracle that God's going to do in you isn't the same. But don't you know that Elizabeth, your cousin, God just did a remarkable miracle in her six months ago, didn't he?

[22:42] And then he says to her, and this is a profound cry of faith. It's often, I realized that often I was misremembering this verse. I sort of remembered it as nothing, for nothing will be impossible for God.

[22:56] But it actually doesn't say for nothing will be impossible for God. It says for nothing will be impossible with God. It's an invitation to faith. With God.

[23:07] You mere mortal. A pillar of dust. Inhabited by a soul.

[23:18] That animates it. Living in nowhereville. With God, nothing will be impossible for you. And how does Mary respond?

[23:33] Her response is very famous. Verse 38. Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.

[23:44] And the angel departed from her. And Mary, it's very, very interesting. Mary has to say yes. Even though it is the most high God, he doesn't force her.

[23:58] He doesn't overwhelm her or overpower her. She has to say yes. So, just sort of wrap this up.

[24:11] Back to my friend at the coffee shop on Monday. So this is one of the four stories. And I've spent more time on the story than I will with my few other comments. Because you see, it's way more important you remember the story than you remember my words.

[24:23] Because this is one of the four stories in the Bible that tell us what Christmas is. And you see, I think what my friend, I almost said his name, my friend Bob, thought I was going to say.

[24:34] When I said to him I was going to go back to the basics with the congregation, tell them what Christian Christmas is as opposed to secular Christmas. And he thought I was going to say something like this. Yes, I'm going to talk about how it's all about family and it's all about gratitude and it's all about generosity.

[24:50] And it's not about commercialism, consumerism and excess. That's what he thought I was going to say. He was shocked when I said that in fact generosity and gratitude is secular Christmas, not Christian Christmas.

[25:07] You see, neither what he thought Christian, what he really was thinking of is he was really thinking that moralistic, I don't mean to offend, I really don't.

[25:19] And afterwards you can maybe say, but I want to try to catch your attention. And really what my friend Bob was saying is that there's moralistic Christmas, which is Christian Christmas.

[25:30] And moralistic Christmas says you've got to take some time and you've got to be generous and you've got to be grateful. How often telling somebody to be grateful does that actually work?

[25:43] Be grateful or else. What? But you've got to be grateful. You've got to be generous. You've got to be kind. You've got to be, got to be, got to be, got to be.

[25:53] As opposed to those other boers who are saying, give me a couple of extra beers and a shot of Jack with that and woohoo Christmas. I mean, the irony is, is that actually not like both of those are non-Christian Christmas.

[26:07] They're both versions of Canadian Christmas, but neither of them are the biblical Christmas, are they? In fact, if you go on and read the stories of Jesus, the terrifying thing to my moralistic friends and most of the moralistic Christmas carols is if we know anything about Jesus, he would actually side with the guys with the second beer and another shot of Jack and not with the moralistic ones.

[26:29] Because the fact of the matter is, is that moralism keeps more people away from Jesus than having a couple of beers and a couple of shots of Jack does. Christianity is not moralism.

[26:43] It's centered on news. Everything in this story is about news. Everything on this story is about something completely and utterly different. And the fact of the matter is, is that on one hand, you have this nagging moralistic.

[26:59] And why it is that, I mean, this is, you know, and many people think that being moralistic and nagging is Christian. But Christianity is not anything to do with it.

[27:09] And the fact of the matter is, one of the things I explained to him was that what he was confusing a little bit was the difference between what Christianity is and the fruit of Christianity, what the gospel is and the fruit of the gospel.

[27:23] Because what this story does is ultimately help us to understand and appreciate both sides of how most Canadians celebrate Christmas. Christianity is centered first and foremost on news, not on advice or moralism.

[27:36] And it actually grounds both. So just very quickly, Andrew, if you could wrap up the first point. Here's the first point of the story. The Most High God entered his creation as a zygote in the womb of Mary.

[27:51] That's what the story says. And you know what? That makes virtually all religious and spiritual views of God. And that sentence messes with the head and the thinking of virtually all religion and spirituality.

[28:10] The Most High God enters his creation as a zygote? Almost all views of power are messed up with this story.

[28:24] It messes with our brain. It messes with our worldview as this story starts to grip us. If you could put up the second point.

[28:37] Remember I said the Most High God entered his creation as a zygote in the womb of Mary. And the second point, he came to reign forever. He came to reign forever.

[28:52] And the word is reign, not rule. There's a big difference. You see, one of the things that we, you know, Canada has been very upset about or worried about over the last year is if we enter into a certain free trade pact with our neighbor to the south or is a trade pact with China or relationships with Russia.

[29:14] In all of those cases, what we're worried about is losing sovereignty. That's what we're worried about. You see, but if we enter into this deal with the United States, we lose some of our sovereignty.

[29:25] The United States gets to dictate some of our laws. The concern about the United Nations and the migration thing is that we will lose our sovereignty to the United Nations. The concern about China is losing our sovereignty, our ability to make our own laws our own ways.

[29:39] And you see, the word rule doesn't imply sovereignty. It just means I have power right now. I rule right now. I got the TV remote. I rule right now. And if one of my grandkids said that, I'd come in and say, I have sovereignty.

[29:52] Give me the remote. It's my house, my remote, my TV. I choose. And that, you see, is the notion of sovereignty. And the word reign comes from sovereignty.

[30:05] Reign means ruling with sovereign power and authority. And that which is born in Mary, the Most High God who enters his creation as a zygote in the womb of Mary, he comes to reign forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

[30:27] And that can be very, very frightening. And that's why this story, that's why being gripped by this story is so important. If you could put up the next point, Andrew. Because what does this story say?

[30:38] How does this whole story work? The angel says to Mary, Mary, you are a recipient of God's unmerited love, mercy, affection, power to thrive, his blessing.

[30:52] You are a recipient of God's grace and it's unmerited. And all the way through, he says that. And at the end of the things, after he says, he reveals that he's speaking on behalf of the Most High God who creates all things, sustains all things, can do all things, could crush you and me like that.

[31:07] It wouldn't, he doesn't even have to, it just, whoa. And yet, Mary has to say yes. You see, by God's grace you come under his reign.

[31:21] That's why it's not moralism. What I, in a sense, try to have to tell my friend is all the nagging in the world, all the rules in the world, none of those things will get you into God's reign.

[31:31] You know, it's all about what Jesus did for you on the cross. It's all about the end of this story, what happens later on in the book of Luke.

[31:44] And that God has done everything that has to be done to make you right with himself in the person, in the work, in the death, in the resurrection of his son. And he does everything with nothing left out.

[31:58] And all he can say to you is, will you be like Mary? And will you say, let it be to me according to your word?

[32:10] And you cannot say, by the way, I have a PhD. God goes. By the way, I'm a victim. God goes. By the way, I'm really good looking. God goes.

[32:22] None of these things matter. All is the answer of yes to his invitation. So by God's grace, you come under his reign.

[32:33] With grace, he reigns. And by grace, you live. And you see, it's out of that. It's out of that, the fruit of that.

[32:45] Out of the fruit of that, as this story of grace grips us, a natural consequence is to be generous. As this story grips us, it often can, and as his reign comes over us, there starts to be the beginning of the mastering of the sexual appetites of a male so that he will not follow every sexual appetite and every time, and that he will seek to have those under the rule of Christ that he might enter into a marriage that is holy and is good.

[33:18] It is the fruit of the gospel. Just, you know, by the way, one of the things which is so wonderful about, so what is Christmas?

[33:31] Christmas is a time to remember this story. It's a time to rejoice. It's a time to recommit, which we're going to do in a moment. It's a time to recommit to his reign.

[33:44] And one of the things that the Bible tells us, everything from the Sabbath laws to the New Testament to the Old Testament, is it not only is what God calling us to a time to remember, to rejoice, and to recommit, but it's also a time to celebrate.

[33:57] It's a time to celebrate with others. It is a time to have, those of you who are able, a glass of wine. It is a time to have three Cokes rather than just one. It's a time to have lots of stuffing, and it's a time to think about the single neighbor that lives down the hall in your condo, or the couple across the street who look like they have no family.

[34:18] It's a time to remember the people in our church. It's a time to gather people together. Not only do you remember, not only do you rejoice, not only do you reconnect, but God wants us to celebrate and feast in terms of what this means because it's good news.

[34:33] And so it is that the longings of our culture are properly grounded. I'm going to ask you to stand, and Andrew, could you get up the final point, please? I mean, this is the call of the story.

[34:46] This is the remembrance of Christmas. Lord, reign in me today, every day, and forever. And I'm going to invite you to say that with me a moment. And if you are here today and you have never said something like that to the Lord, there is no better time than today.

[35:00] If you are here today and you struggle with being in a biologically one body, but finding the biological body that you are in is something that you find terrifying and repulsive or just problematic, there is no better time than now to come under the reign of the Lord who invites you under his reign by grace and will reign by grace and extend grace to you to begin to know his grace in the midst of your pain.

[35:35] And not just for those whom I mentioned because it came up in the sermon, but for all of us who are broken, there is no better time in your life than today to cross the great divide and be like Mary and say, in a sense, I just want to, whatever you say, I say yes to it all.

[35:51] And it's put in the form of this thing. So if you could all, those whom the Holy Spirit leads, if you could say it with me and then I will pray and then we will go into our offertory and then we'll have the dance.

[36:02] All God's people, if you would pray, Lord, reign in me today, every day, forever. Father, pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. Pour out the Holy Spirit upon us.

[36:14] Help us, Father, this Christmas to practice Christian Christmas, to be able to say, way to go to our non-Christian friends celebrating secular and Canadian Christmas, but Father, to take these times to remember the story, to recommit, to reconnect, and to celebrate all in the context of the Most High, entering human race as a Zygote, and he comes to rule, he comes to rule with grace.

[36:40] Father, move in our lives and help us to celebrate and remember Christmas well as Christians and all God's people said, Amen.