Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/sjv/sermons/47080/nine-lessons-and-carols/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Amen. Amen. [1:00] Amen. Amen. [2:00] Amen. Amen. [3:00] Amen. Amen. [3:25] Amen. Beloved in Christ at this Christmas tide let it be our joy and delight Zu heard, und auch mehr Dank, fuckin dich, Amen. [4:06] Amen. Amen. [5:06] All those who are sick, those who mourn, those who are lonely and unloved, and those who are aged. These prayers and praises let us humbly offer to God in the words which Christ himself taught us. [5:22] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them their trespass against us. [5:41] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. [5:51] Amen. The first lesson is a reading from Genesis chapter 3, verses 8 to 15. [6:06] And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. [6:20] But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. [6:34] He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, The woman who thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. [6:51] Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all cattle, And above all wild animals. [7:12] Upon your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat, All the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed. [7:24] He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise his heel. This is the word of the Lord. All the days of salvation. Your house i shall purise your head. All the days of Eden, I will visit them together. All the days of why God bless you and theely Whoever has hit you and he succesfully and runs. [7:40] Thank you to God, and you shall Biology. When you shall see your footing, And you shall bring matters to your moi as a song, That you shall bring forth the Word of Eden. [7:51] You shall bear to my mother. So They shall bring me together and be together. Amen. Amen. [8:52] Amen. Amen. [9:24] Amen. Amen. A reading from Genesis, chapter 22, verses 15 to 18. [9:38] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. [10:09] And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice. [10:22] This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Amen. [10:46] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [11:00] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [12:07] Amen. Amen. [13:07] Amen. Amen. [13:38] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [13:50] Amen. Amen. Amen. A reading from Isaiah chapter 9 verses 2, 6, and 7. [14:02] The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. [14:14] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [14:31] Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness, from this time forth and forevermore. [14:49] The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. [15:08] Amen. Amen. Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [16:17] Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [17:47] Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [19:49] Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Amen. [20:33] Amen. Amen. [21:33] Amen. Amen. [22:33] Amen. Amen. [23:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [23:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. A reading from St. Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter 4, verses 1 to 7. [23:31] I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate. But he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the Father. [23:47] So with us, when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [24:11] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So through God, you are no longer a slave, but a son. [24:26] And if a son, then an heir. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Amen. [24:37] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [24:50] Amen. Amen. Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [25:53] Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [27:23] Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020 [28:33] Mit der notationen том wird, mit der so Eine genähterilden!" bitte alle siten, dijo und schlafen ao ihn. [28:56] Wenn Sie alle saints alle mals kwestianden.ина Vielen Dank. [29:33] I'll tell you the questions, and if you know the answer, will you put up your hand and I'll ask you to tell us. All right? [29:44] The first is about a person, and he was a very important religious leader. He was a... [29:54] No way. Let me give you some more clues. He was a Pharisee, and so was very pious. [30:09] He was impressed with Jesus' miracles. He thought Jesus must have been sent by God to be able to do such miracles. [30:23] And he suspected that Jesus had something very important to teach. Now, when you're like him and know almost everything, for somebody to be able to teach you something is quite surprising. [30:41] But he thought Jesus had something very important to teach, and perhaps even to teach him, though he was an old man. [30:53] Do you know what his name was? Yes. No. I'm sorry. You know? Sorry? God. [31:04] That covers a lot. But that's not quite the... We want a more specific person. Now, can anybody think what his name was? Shall I ask those people out there if they know? [31:15] I'm a little embarrassed that... Does anybody out there know who it was? Ah, yes. [31:28] Well done. Thank you very much. I would tell you to stand up, except you almost are already. That was Nicodemus. [31:41] And you know what Jesus said to him to teach him something? He said, Nicodemus, you only need one thing. And that is to be born again. [31:55] To be a little child. Because for all that you know, the one thing you need to know, you have to become a little child. Now I want to tell you some more clues about another person and see if you can handle this. [32:11] A great king, he established a rich and powerful empire. He died and his son succeeded him. [32:23] The Lord told the son in a dream, you can have anything you wish for. The new king answered, I am among your people. [32:42] And they are too many to count. And I am like a child who does not know his way around. [32:54] Give me an understanding mind. Who was that king? Yes? Solomon. Well done. [33:06] And he was a king, but he knew in his heart that he was a child and needed to be led by God. Well, I have another story and there are several answers to this one. [33:20] And I don't know whether you can get them or not. But I suspect you might be able to. When a wolf comes trotting along and sees a lamb out in a field, what does it do? [33:37] Yes? What to do? He goes after the lamb and tries to kill it. [33:49] You know what it said in the book? It said the wolf and the lamb will start living together. Isn't that a surprising thing to happen? Then there is a leopard in this story. [34:03] And the leopard is up in the mountains and he sees climbing up the mountain a kid. Do you know what a kid is? What? You're not one of them, though. [34:17] A goat. Thank you. He sees a baby goat. And what does the leopard do when he sees the baby goat? Yes? [34:31] Eats it. It says here that they live at peace together. Strange. It's not what I would have expected. And then there is a story of a calf that has been lost by its mother. [34:48] And it's bleeding loudly, mooing loudly, which is, I guess, what calves do. And a lion comes along. [35:02] And what does the lion do? Well done. Yes. [35:14] He sees that the calf is safe to go and find its mother. But if you take all those things together, the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, the lion and the calf, it says somebody is needed to lead them so that they live together at peace and look after each other. [35:43] And you know who has to look after them? Yes? No, not a leopard. But, well, I think you're right. [35:55] But we don't know that. All we know is that they need a little child that will lead them. The child is to bring the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, the lion and the calf together. [36:17] And it's a little child that's needed to lead them. Now I've got another story for you and another question for you. And this is about a very elderly couple. [36:30] And their names were Abram and Sarai. Only God changed their names to Abraham and Sarai. [36:42] And God told them that one day they would have so many descendants, that is, children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. [36:56] He said, you look at the stars up in the sky, and your descendants will be more than the stars in the sky. And that was the promise God gave them. [37:07] And they accepted that promise from God. But they got older and older and older until Abraham was 100 years old. [37:20] And Sarah was almost as old. And finally, they had a baby. And through that baby, the promise to them was to be fulfilled. [37:35] Do you know what the baby's name is? Yes? Abraham Jr. But I... Do you know what the baby's name is? [37:50] Isaac. Good for you. And it was through Isaac that all God's promises were to be fulfilled. Well, I have another story. [38:03] One day, Jesus was busy teaching. And you know what? Some parents were rude enough to push in to where Jesus was and to bring their children. [38:16] And they wanted Jesus to touch their children and to bless them. And the disciples said to the parents, do you know what they said? [38:30] Yes? What did they say? Go away. Jesus is busy. But do you know what Jesus did? [38:42] What did he say? Benjamin? What? Yes, he said, let the children come to me. And the reason he said that is that children have the kind of faith that adults need. [39:03] And so, Jesus wanted to show them, through the children, what kind of faith would be required. Well, now I have one more story I want to tell you. [39:16] One day, Jesus told his disciples, I'm going to be betrayed. And they didn't have any idea what he meant. And he meant that he was going to be betrayed and arrested and crucified. [39:32] But the disciples thought that he was so popular, and everybody loved him so much, that he would soon become a king. [39:44] And then the disciples thought quietly to themselves, when he becomes a king, how important we will be, because we will be his closest companions. [39:59] And they dreamed about what they might be when Jesus became a king. And they didn't let Jesus know what they were thinking, but he knew anyway. [40:11] And so, do you know what he did? What did he do? Do you remember? For the disciples? What did he do? [40:23] He told them? Right, he did. He said to a child that was near there, you come and stand with me. [40:39] Okay, do it. You've got to have a humble smile on your face. And when he got there, he told the disciples, whoever is least among you is the greatest. [41:07] And that's because he was talking about not the world in which we live, but he was talking about the kingdom. In the world in which we live, the greatest people are generals who command armies, politicians with great power, businessmen who are very wealthy, actors who become great stars, athletes who rise to the top of their profession. [41:40] Those are the great people. But in the kingdom of God, he said, and he pointed to this child, those who are least among you are the greatest of all. [41:57] So that you people here are the greatest of all in this congregation because of what God has to do for you and with you. [42:09] and you see what Jesus went on to tell them. He said, if you are careful to welcome a child like this, then you are welcoming me. [42:24] and if you welcome me, you welcome my father. And so, in this wonderful way, you see, with the lions and the calf, with Abraham and Isaac, with King Solomon, with Nicodemus, it was all very important that they should become a child because as far as the kingdom of God goes, the person who will lead you there is not the great and powerful people in the world, but it's going to be a little child. [43:13] And so, in the wonderful purpose of God, at Christmas, he came among us as a little child. [43:27] And that's why children are very important at Christmas because Jesus was a little child and he was the instrument of people coming to all people in all ages and times coming to know God. [43:46] And that when John was nearly closing the New Testament, he said, everybody who believes Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. [44:00] Now, I tell you this for one reason. When you're little, you think that it's very important to grow up and be big and all the things you're going to do when you're grown up. [44:13] But you know what Jesus says to grownups? You might grow up to be like your father or your mother or somebody important. [44:25] But Jesus said, what I want you to do is to become as a child in order to enter the kingdom. [44:35] among us at Christmas time. [44:51] And because he came as a child, we are to become as children in order to be a part of his kingdom. Bow your heads and I would pray. [45:07] Lord Jesus, we thank you for all the children in Scripture that help us to know you and to know your purpose. [45:19] Thank you for all the children in this congregation. And thank you for Christmas, which is especially a time for children. [45:29] and we ask that you will bless children and make them a blessing to their parents and friends that they will help to lead their friends to the kingdom. [45:47] We ask this, Lord Jesus, in your name. Amen. Thank you, boys and girls, for coming up and helping. And thank you very much for all your answers. [45:57] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [46:16] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [46:26] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [47:27] Amen. Amen. [48:27] Amen. Amen. [49:27] Amen. A reading from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verse 5 to 11. [50:05] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. [50:27] Even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [50:49] This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Amen. [51:01] Amen. Amen. [52:01] Amen. Amen. [53:01] Amen. Amen. [54:01] Amen. Amen. [55:01] Amen. Amen. [56:01] Amen. Amen. [57:01] Amen. Amen. [58:01] Amen. Amen. [59:01] Amen. Amen. [59:33] A reading from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? [59:55] We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. [60:08] And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. And they told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written in the prophet, And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, by no means least among the rulers of Judah, from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel. [60:33] And Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. [60:50] And when they had heard the king, they went their way. And, lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. [61:03] And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. [61:18] Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. They departed to their own country by another way. [61:30] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Because the people of the world visit them perhaps shop in here for hundreds of years or still we're in the north. And,野 for MPH, that I've been given for the young kids. … Amen. [62:27] Amen. Amen. [63:27] Amen. Amen. [64:27] Amen. Amen. [65:27] Amen. Amen. [66:27] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. A reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1 to 18. [66:41] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [66:52] He was in the beginning with God, all things were made through Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. [67:08] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. [67:19] He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light that all might believe through Him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. [67:33] The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him. Yet the world knew Him not. [67:44] He came to His own home, and His own people received Him not. But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [68:08] And the words became flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. We have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. [68:21] John bore witness to Him and cried, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, for He was before me. [68:34] And from His fullness have we all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [68:46] No one has ever seen God. The only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. [68:59] This is the word of the Lord. The Holy One, He has made Him known. [69:11] Amen. Amen. Amen. [70:14] Amen. Amen. [71:12] The Lord be with you. Amen. As we remain standing, let us pray together. O God, who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the birth of Thy only Son, Jesus Christ, grant that as we joyfully receive Him as our Redeemer, we may with sure confidence behold Him, when we shall come again to be our Judge, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the Holy Spirit, now and forever. [71:40] Amen. Amen. And now may the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to Himself. May the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in His service. May the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts and our lives. [71:54] And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [72:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. [73:06] Amen. Amen. [74:06] Amen. Amen. [75:06] Amen. Amen. [76:06] Amen. Amen. [77:06] Amen. Amen. [78:06] Amen.