WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:13.000 ! Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:21.000 ! Father, what a child. Jesus, we worship you. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:29.000 You're born the King, the Great I Am. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:43.000 The one who always was, took on flesh and dwelt for a while among us, for us. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:51.000 We marvel at that. We wonder at the glory and the greatness of that. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.000 And Father, we confess how much we need it. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:04.000 And how often we forget the glory of the incarnation. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:10.000 Would you speak to us through your word this morning as you're already doing? 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:23.000 That our hearts might be a fresh turn to Jesus in wonder and worship and trust and hope and comfort and joy. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.000 Work in us by your spirit, through your word. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:33.000 We ask that Jesus would be exalted in our hearts, in our church, and in this world. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.000 We pray in his name. Amen. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:47.000 Every single birth is special, right? 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.000 No doubt about that. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:02:00.000 Every time that I get in that hospital elevator and I'm going up to get to see a new baby and new parents, there's this energy. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.000 I still feel this excitement in the hospital elevator of all places. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.000 Every single birth is a gift from God. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.000 The one who's the giver of all life. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:21.000 Who's personally knit that child I'm going to see together fearfully and wonderfully and uniquely in his mother's womb. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:31.000 But there are three births that I've been associated with that were extra special for me. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Every one is special, but three of the best days of my life, three of the biggest celebrations I've gotten to be a part of when my girls were born. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:55.000 God's story has been marked with some really special births, too, if you think about it. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.000 Some of them to parents who were beyond childbearing age. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:11.000 Some to mothers who were suffering long and praying long because they were barren and longing for a child and then God sent one. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:17.000 But this one is extra, extra special, right? 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:20.000 Because it is his son. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:25.000 As many of our songs have highlighted this morning, we sing of it a lot this time of year. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:33.000 This is the only begotten son of God being born into this world. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:39.000 This we saw last week is the long awaited Messiah, right? 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:45.000 The Christ promised for generations to rescue God's people, the one. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:04:00.000 And so after tracing that background of Jesus being the Christ, Matthew highlights now this morning the circumstances surrounding the child's birth. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:09.000 And they are extra special because they highlight that the child is extra special. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:17.000 Next week we're going to look at this same passage and notice his names that show us that he's special in what he comes to do. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:26.000 This morning Matthew highlights the unique nature of his conception that shows us he's special in who he is. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.000 This is, I'm going to read these eight verses in Matthew 1. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:37.000 I want you to notice four times the unique circumstances surrounding this special child are mentioned. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:51.000 This is God's holy, inerrant, infallible word that you can always trust, that will guide you right today, that will endure forever. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.000 Matthew 1 at verse 18. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:59.000 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:07.000 When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:14.000 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:20.000 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:29.000 Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:36.000 She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:41.000 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:51.000 Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.699 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. 00:05:55.800 --> 00:06:00.620 He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.819 And he called his name Jesus. 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.139 Thus far God's holy word. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:19.339 I promise to you that when I decided to walk through Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus for our Advent and Christmas sermons this year, 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.120 that I wasn't planning on talking about the virgin birth. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:31.500 More exciting, perhaps, is Emmanuel and Jesus and what those names mean, and next week we get to talk about that. 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:38.800 But you just can't miss how important this is to the story. 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:40.079 It's not a footnote. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.740 So I didn't want to treat it that way. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:50.139 But before we get to why it's important, let's clarify what we mean by the virgin birth. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.519 That's what it's commonly called. 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:55.360 What does Scripture actually say here? 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:56.639 Verse 18. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:05.120 Verse 20. 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:05.120 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:09.379 That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:10.939 Verse 23. 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:16.459 Verse 25. 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:25.560 Afterwards, yes, and there were siblings, but not before. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:37.000 This teaching, this doctrine long held by the church and many of its oldest creeds, like the Nicene Creed we said together this morning. 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:38.339 That's longer than we're used to, right? 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:45.439 The Apostles Creed conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:54.719 Now, this teaching of the Virgin birth is actually referring more precisely to the supernatural conception. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:08.579 A child conceived miraculously, not by normal means of human sexuality, but by the power of the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary. 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:16.159 Dr. Luke tells us, he uses a word that highlights there the special presence of God. 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:22.379 But beyond that, there aren't a lot of details as to how that happens. 00:08:22.599 --> 00:08:25.479 Just that God does it. 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:32.600 Because, Luke tells us, nothing is impossible for God. 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:44.840 We're just told that God, through the Spirit's power, directly places a child in the womb of Mary to develop then like other children. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:46.720 No help from Joseph. 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:49.200 Joseph is taken off guard, isn't he? 00:08:49.340 --> 00:08:54.920 During this one-year betrothal period where you were already bound to one another. 00:08:55.080 --> 00:09:00.440 You were committed, just not yet formally married and living together. 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:04.420 So, what a shock to Joseph, right? 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:06.900 All of a sudden, a pregnancy. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:13.500 An angel has to come to him, too, to explain what's going on and how he should proceed. 00:09:13.760 --> 00:09:14.880 But why is that important? 00:09:15.800 --> 00:09:18.940 See, this child, Joseph, has a father. 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:23.560 He's the eternal son of God. 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:25.840 Fully God. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.940 Now also becoming fully man. 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:32.500 Just without sin. 00:09:34.020 --> 00:09:36.620 There's a lot of mystery still there, isn't there? 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.740 You got some questions still, perhaps. 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.340 Yeah, but can you imagine Joseph and Mary? 00:09:44.420 --> 00:09:45.780 How they might have felt? 00:09:46.040 --> 00:09:50.000 But what do I tell my parents? 00:09:50.420 --> 00:09:51.220 My friends? 00:09:51.220 --> 00:09:56.019 We don't get much more explanation. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:05.980 But I encourage you that the unique entrance of the Son of God into this world seems fitting for some mystery. 00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.039 It's not repeated. 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.039 It's not like anything else we know. 00:10:11.560 --> 00:10:16.100 It's not God taking over a human child. 00:10:16.300 --> 00:10:17.800 Some have described it that way. 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:18.180 No. 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:26.419 This God-initiated process means, as the great Scottish theologian Donald MacLeod writes, 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:36.279 The human nature of Christ does not exist for a single moment except as the humanity of God. 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.259 As the humanity of God. 00:10:39.699 --> 00:10:40.159 Wow. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:41.120 What? 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.339 What's going on? 00:10:42.459 --> 00:10:47.079 From the very first moment, fully God and fully man. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:54.780 The Heidelberg Catechism explains what we mean by this in the great creeds when we say it, says it this way. 00:10:54.780 --> 00:11:07.200 The eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took upon Himself true human nature from the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.060 through the working of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:18.479 Thus, He is also the true seed of David, and like His brothers in every respect, yet without sin. 00:11:20.459 --> 00:11:33.219 As I've written it, we are affirming by virgin birth the supernatural, not natural, conception of the eternal Son of God. 00:11:33.219 --> 00:11:36.859 In other words, He already existed as God. 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:43.159 By the Spirit of God, not in any physical sense from God's end. 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:48.960 In the womb of Mary, though, a real woman. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:54.720 So that Jesus is born fully God, fully man, without sin. 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:58.399 Utterly unique, extra special. 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.500 That's what we mean by the virgin birth. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:09.320 Now, while the church has affirmed this universally for hundreds of years, 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:17.519 in recent years, some, many even while still claiming to be followers of Jesus as the Christ, 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:27.240 attempt to explain this away as unscientific, or passé, out of date, beneath enlightened thinkers. 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:32.860 It tends to be written off alongside miracles in general. 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.159 Miracles like the resurrection? 00:12:36.060 --> 00:12:37.159 Certainly not. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:46.519 I'm going to come back to this in a minute, but for now, I just want to demonstrate that this is the clear teaching of God's Word. 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:52.079 Specifically, it's emphasized here in Matthew, in his account of the birth of Jesus. 00:12:52.199 --> 00:12:53.139 You can't miss it. 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:57.779 But just as clearly, in Luke's gospel account that I referenced a minute ago, 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:03.019 which he seems to have sourced directly from Mary herself, among others. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:11.439 Don't buy the modern mumbo-jumbo trying to reread the Bible to suit our commitments, 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:13.779 predetermined commitments and comforts. 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:15.699 We want it to fit the way we think. 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:22.100 Even when this began to be popularized, the great American 20th century theologian, 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:28.199 J. Gresham Machen, was defending this miracle against many who were beginning to abandon it. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:34.639 But he clarified, even in that context, that wasn't the argument being made about the Bible wasn't saying this. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:35.539 Machen writes, 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:43.000 Everyone admits that the Bible represents Jesus as having been conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:48.919 The only question is whether in making that representation, the Bible is true or false. 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:51.240 Everyone agrees. 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:58.919 Even as they start to argue, this is the clear, repeated, long-passed-down teaching of God's word, 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:01.759 emphasized by Matthew no fewer than four times in eight verses. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:06.180 So that's what? 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:07.560 Why? 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:08.659 Why does it matter? 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:13.180 Why is believing the virgin birth of Jesus so important? 00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:16.179 Why does it matter if I believe it or not? 00:14:18.899 --> 00:14:23.839 Well, first let me answer that by telling you one sense in which it does not matter. 00:14:24.859 --> 00:14:25.079 Okay? 00:14:25.459 --> 00:14:27.459 It does not matter. 00:14:27.599 --> 00:14:35.299 It's not important as something that you must understand and believe in order to be saved. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:40.219 In order to be in right relationship with God. 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:41.939 Here's what I mean by that. 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:50.420 There's not an entrance exam that you have to pass with enough right answers to get into heaven. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:52.540 That's not how it works. 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:57.940 I feel sure that there are people in heaven who are united to Jesus, 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:00.200 who are covered by his blood, 00:15:00.300 --> 00:15:02.300 who are trusting in his righteousness, 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.600 who never heard of the virgin birth, 00:15:06.020 --> 00:15:07.000 don't know anything about it. 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:10.400 Probably the thief on the cross never made it to that lesson. 00:15:11.280 --> 00:15:11.520 Yeah? 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:13.500 Probably didn't come up. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.880 Aren't we thankful, y'all, 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:23.940 that our salvation hinges not on exhaustive and infallible knowledge, 00:15:24.300 --> 00:15:27.540 intellectually, theologically of everything possible, 00:15:27.880 --> 00:15:34.120 but rather on relationship with the one who himself is mighty to save. 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:35.660 He's the one who saves. 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:37.219 Not how much we know. 00:15:37.219 --> 00:15:41.100 So you can be saved without knowing about, 00:15:41.939 --> 00:15:45.339 therefore believing in the virgin birth. 00:15:45.340 --> 00:15:48.580 But that said, 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:51.280 it's really important. 00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:53.240 I want to tell you why. 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:59.120 It's not something to be considered and then just ignored or rejected outright, 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:02.160 except at our eternal peril. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:09.379 I think this passage indicates it's important for at least three reasons that are referenced here. 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:14.399 At first, it builds our faith in, our gratitude for, 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.480 and our wonder at God's word. 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:31.059 See, if we reject the virgin birth due to some naturalistic refusal to believe that God intervenes in this world miraculously at times, 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.279 we lose so much, 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:39.559 a bunch of other essential miracles like the bodily resurrection of Jesus. 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:47.079 We're no longer believing in a divine, supernatural Jesus whom we can trust to save us. 00:16:47.359 --> 00:16:52.039 May that never be that we would stop believing in him. 00:16:53.539 --> 00:16:59.639 Matthew points us to the reliability of the scripture when he quotes from the prophet Isaiah. 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:02.960 Isaiah, this Jesus, this Christ, he says, 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:06.220 is the seed of the woman promised all the way back in Genesis. 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:12.700 The Messiah, the Christ, promised hundreds of years before to be born of a virgin. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:18.519 Now, you can read plenty of debates on that Hebrew word, 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:22.039 but the context is pretty clear in Isaiah, 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:28.639 and it is very clear in Matthew that he means a virgin. 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:33.100 That's part of how it's a sign. 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.160 King Ahaz, I'll tell you a little bit more about him next week, 00:17:37.340 --> 00:17:39.240 but it's not just King Ahaz, 00:17:39.320 --> 00:17:42.620 it's all of God's people, if you notice closely in Isaiah, 00:17:42.620 --> 00:17:46.900 that get a sign of God's presence with them. 00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:49.259 Emmanuel, God's with you. 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:52.500 Even though, to be clear, short term, 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:57.559 that's more a threat than a promise in Isaiah 7. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.059 But by chapter 9, it's so much more. 00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:05.460 We see it's not merely a child born in Ahaz's day, 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:06.599 although there is one, 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:10.200 but a child coming to be wonderful counselor, 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:12.819 mighty God, everlasting father, 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:16.839 prince of peace on David's throne forever. 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:20.079 Never, that's yet another child. 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:24.299 And now, as that promise is fulfilled 00:18:24.939 --> 00:18:27.980 in the miraculous conception of Jesus, 00:18:28.199 --> 00:18:29.659 our faith is strengthened 00:18:29.659 --> 00:18:34.399 in trusting every one of God's promises in his word. 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:37.699 If we reject it for its miraculous character, 00:18:37.879 --> 00:18:41.159 we're going to be rejecting God and his word as a whole. 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:42.779 That's really the other option. 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:45.079 And Professor McLeod again, 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:48.879 the virgin birth is posted on guard 00:18:48.879 --> 00:18:51.519 at the door of the mystery of Christmas. 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:53.759 Still a mystery, even to the great professor. 00:18:55.579 --> 00:18:58.319 None of us must think of hurrying past it. 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:01.440 It stands on the threshold of the New Testament, 00:19:01.879 --> 00:19:03.180 blatantly supernatural, 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:05.819 defying our rationalism, 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:09.399 informing us that all that follows 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.880 belongs to the same order as itself. 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:17.400 All that follows, supernatural. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.720 You can't read a page of any of the Gospels 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.640 with a merely naturalistic explanation 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:27.100 of what's going on there, 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:29.240 of a merely human Jesus. 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:30.680 It doesn't make sense. 00:19:30.800 --> 00:19:31.480 Try it. 00:19:32.060 --> 00:19:33.460 Read through the Gospels. 00:19:33.560 --> 00:19:35.420 It just doesn't hold up that way. 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:39.820 The Bible is clear about the virgin birth. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.539 And we must marvel and trust God. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:48.360 Secondly, why is it important? 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.300 Believing the virgin birth aids our gratitude 00:19:51.300 --> 00:19:54.700 for God's work in this world, 00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:55.759 and specifically, 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.240 his work for our salvation. 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:00.779 I don't know about you, 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.059 but it makes me deeply grateful 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:10.200 to know that God can supernaturally intervene 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.220 in the natural processes 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:14.220 that he has created 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:16.259 for his sovereign and good purposes. 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:17.680 Because I live most days 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.099 in the midst of those natural processes, 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:23.460 and I need him to be able to show up there. 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:25.680 I don't want to lock him out of here, 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:27.079 and of my life, 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:28.620 and of our lives. 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:31.500 Especially not 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:33.519 when what he's doing 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:37.140 is working for our salvation, right? 00:20:38.120 --> 00:20:40.960 This is the child, verse 21 says, 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:42.900 who will save his people 00:20:42.900 --> 00:20:45.440 from their sins. 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:48.079 See, the Bible is really clear 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:49.940 about this sin problem 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:51.220 that we all inherit 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:53.440 all the way back from Adam. 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:56.660 Every person born with this problem 00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:57.759 that we're separated 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:59.740 from the relationship with God 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:01.180 that we were made for. 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:04.019 And Paul discusses this at length 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:04.920 in Romans, 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:05.920 how Adam, 00:21:06.100 --> 00:21:07.640 as the head of the human race, 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.360 when he sinned, 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.000 brought death into the world 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:12.440 for all men 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:14.080 through his sin. 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.259 Paul states it very simply 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:18.840 in 1 Corinthians 15. 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:22.259 For as in Adam all die, 00:21:23.399 --> 00:21:25.179 so also in Christ 00:21:25.179 --> 00:21:28.079 shall all be made alive. 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:29.199 In other words, 00:21:29.399 --> 00:21:30.939 we need a new representative. 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:32.519 Representative number one 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:34.659 brings death through sin, 00:21:34.699 --> 00:21:36.220 and we need a new representative, 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:37.740 a new head of our race, 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:40.619 a new head of a new creation, 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:42.779 one who is not marred 00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:44.480 by Adam's sin, 00:21:44.639 --> 00:21:46.159 who had a different origin 00:21:46.159 --> 00:21:46.980 altogether. 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:49.019 And how do we see that coming here? 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:50.200 The virgin birth, 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.160 with its explicit clarity 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:53.539 that no man is involved 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:54.900 in the conception of the Messiah. 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:58.420 It highlights the uniquely divine, 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:01.279 heavenly origin of Jesus. 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:04.539 Now I'm not saying 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:07.019 that it was definitively 00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:08.079 the only way 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.019 that that could have happened. 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:11.200 The Bible blames 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:12.819 neither the male gender 00:22:12.819 --> 00:22:15.460 nor human sexuality 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:16.740 for sin. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:17.319 Okay? 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:18.940 So maybe, 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:20.119 hypothetically, 00:22:20.379 --> 00:22:21.500 there's another way 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:23.400 besides a miraculous conception 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:24.980 that God could have brought 00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:26.359 his son into the world 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:27.500 to be the second Adam 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.039 who remains sin-free 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:29.879 and brings life 00:22:29.879 --> 00:22:30.599 in place of death. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:31.220 I don't know. 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:31.900 Maybe. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:33.779 I don't know if there's another way, 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.400 but I know the virgin conception 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:36.460 is the biblical way, 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:37.700 and that's the only one I need. 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:38.420 One way. 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:39.660 And that's the way he came. 00:22:41.840 --> 00:22:42.720 See, God wants us 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:43.440 to know something. 00:22:43.820 --> 00:22:46.920 I think there's a particular reason 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:48.300 we need to understand this. 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.720 God wants us to know for sure, 00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:51.840 even if we don't know 00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:52.740 all the details 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:53.740 of how that happened, 00:22:54.340 --> 00:22:55.640 that our salvation 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:58.240 is about his rescue, 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:01.000 not our recovery. 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:03.560 In this supernatural birth, 00:23:03.840 --> 00:23:05.259 God is most evidently 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:06.580 not picking up 00:23:06.580 --> 00:23:08.000 something man started, 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:09.380 but initiating 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:10.900 something man needed, 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:11.359 right? 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:13.359 Just so, 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:14.099 just like that. 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:15.220 He is the one 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:16.099 who initiates 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:17.119 our new birth, 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:18.519 Jesus tells us 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:19.660 in John 3. 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:20.480 The new birth 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.099 that we all desperately need 00:23:22.099 --> 00:23:23.019 if we want even 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:24.779 to see the kingdom of God. 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.720 New birth from above. 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:27.599 Born, 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:29.019 not of natural descent 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:30.079 or human decision 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:30.960 or a husband's will, 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:33.000 but born of God. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.140 God sees our need 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:37.420 and he acts 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:38.579 to meet it 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:40.420 rather than demanding 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:41.440 that we live up 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:42.019 to the task, 00:23:42.099 --> 00:23:43.220 that we figure it out ourselves, 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:44.759 that we get it done. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:45.420 Hey, 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:46.299 new birth, 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:47.599 you have to have new birth. 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:49.339 Do it yourself. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.440 Good luck. 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:53.420 I don't know how. 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:55.720 Give yourself life. 00:23:56.339 --> 00:23:56.680 What? 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:58.740 I can't do that. 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:02.299 That's why I say 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:03.160 we reject 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:04.340 the virgin birth 00:24:04.340 --> 00:24:06.380 at our eternal peril. 00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:08.779 We dare not reject 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.640 the God who saves 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:12.220 because we can't 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:13.440 save ourselves. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:16.680 We don't have a God 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:18.400 who helps those 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:19.759 who help themselves, 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:21.360 who comes along 00:24:21.360 --> 00:24:22.740 the great processes 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:23.680 we've started 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.100 and kind of 00:24:25.100 --> 00:24:27.279 fixes it all up for us. 00:24:27.360 --> 00:24:27.500 No, 00:24:27.600 --> 00:24:28.519 we have a God 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.480 who helps those 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.200 who cannot 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:32.640 help themselves. 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:34.400 We have a good God 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:35.700 who even as he sends 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:36.400 the one who will 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.039 accomplish our salvation 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:39.120 makes sure 00:24:39.120 --> 00:24:40.000 that we know 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.360 even in how the child 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:42.320 is conceived 00:24:42.320 --> 00:24:44.000 that our salvation 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.039 is in his strong 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:47.299 and loving hands. 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:48.820 It is safe with him. 00:24:49.100 --> 00:24:50.860 You are safe with him 00:24:50.860 --> 00:24:52.240 from any weakness 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.660 or failure in us. 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:54.000 Amen? 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:56.000 It has to be there. 00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:57.200 We have to be able 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:58.140 to trust him 00:24:58.140 --> 00:24:59.080 because we can't 00:24:59.080 --> 00:25:00.100 trust ourselves. 00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:02.759 I love the way 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:03.840 the Heidelberg Catechism 00:25:03.840 --> 00:25:04.860 again explains 00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:07.019 the benefit to us 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:09.000 of the holy conception 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:10.920 and birth of Christ. 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:13.720 Jesus is our mediator, 00:25:14.340 --> 00:25:15.299 the one who goes 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:16.560 between us and God, 00:25:16.620 --> 00:25:17.660 who represents us 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:18.320 to God. 00:25:19.100 --> 00:25:20.700 And so with his innocence 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:22.980 and his perfect holiness, 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.819 he covers in the sight 00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:25.420 of God 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:26.980 my sin 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:28.940 in which I was conceived 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:30.640 and born. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:32.819 King David writes 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:33.480 for all of us, 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:33.799 doesn't he? 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:35.420 Surely I was sinful 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:37.720 from birth, 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:39.519 sinful from the time 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:41.880 my mother conceived me, 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:43.480 sinful from Adam, 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:44.740 passed down 00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:46.460 before anyone teaches us 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:47.100 how to sin, 00:25:47.559 --> 00:25:49.000 before we start writing up 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:49.759 a list of things 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.619 we've done wrong. 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:53.099 We were sinful 00:25:53.099 --> 00:25:54.619 from birth and conception, 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:57.059 but Jesus was not sinful. 00:25:57.380 --> 00:25:57.880 Specifically, 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:59.039 he was holy 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:00.259 from birth 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:01.599 and conception. 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:03.160 Holy. 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:05.059 And that marvelous truth 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:06.140 helps us grasp 00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:08.140 this glorious reality. 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:11.440 would you take just a minute 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:12.060 this Christmas 00:26:12.060 --> 00:26:12.880 to stop 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:14.400 and say, 00:26:14.600 --> 00:26:15.020 yes, 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:15.560 Jesus, 00:26:15.840 --> 00:26:16.780 thank you. 00:26:17.040 --> 00:26:18.200 Thank you that it was 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:19.080 for us 00:26:19.080 --> 00:26:20.880 and for our salvation 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:22.240 that you came down 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:22.840 from heaven 00:26:22.840 --> 00:26:23.720 and were incarnate 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:24.700 by the Holy Spirit 00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:25.259 in the womb 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:26.360 of the Virgin Mary. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.580 I'm so grateful 00:26:28.580 --> 00:26:29.560 for the reminder 00:26:29.560 --> 00:26:31.660 of my desperate need 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:32.759 of such a Savior 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:34.040 who was conceived 00:26:34.040 --> 00:26:34.960 not in sin 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:35.800 but in holiness, 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:37.320 who lived 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:38.059 not in sin 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:38.939 but in holiness, 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:40.480 who passed 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.379 to those united 00:26:41.379 --> 00:26:41.819 to him 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:42.559 not death 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:43.559 but life. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:44.819 Thank you, 00:26:44.919 --> 00:26:45.159 Jesus. 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:49.839 Finally, 00:26:50.419 --> 00:26:51.519 in all of this, 00:26:51.639 --> 00:26:52.299 in case you 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:54.019 can't tell already, 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:54.939 what we're seeing 00:26:54.939 --> 00:26:56.179 most importantly 00:26:56.179 --> 00:26:57.019 is that believing 00:26:57.019 --> 00:26:58.000 the virgin birth 00:26:58.000 --> 00:26:59.899 helps us wonder 00:26:59.899 --> 00:27:00.899 at Jesus' 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:02.259 unique person 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:03.319 and nature. 00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:04.639 It's about him. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:05.620 what could be 00:27:05.620 --> 00:27:06.540 more important 00:27:06.540 --> 00:27:08.040 than knowing 00:27:08.040 --> 00:27:08.820 and loving 00:27:08.820 --> 00:27:09.620 Jesus 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:11.600 as he really is? 00:27:12.120 --> 00:27:12.600 That's why 00:27:12.600 --> 00:27:14.080 you need to know 00:27:14.080 --> 00:27:14.620 about this, 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:14.880 friends. 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:15.420 That's why it's 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:16.060 in the Bible. 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:17.100 That's why we're 00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:18.120 slowing down on it 00:27:18.120 --> 00:27:18.540 this morning 00:27:18.540 --> 00:27:19.860 because we need 00:27:19.860 --> 00:27:20.300 Jesus. 00:27:22.120 --> 00:27:22.720 It's okay 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.640 if parts of this 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:24.600 remain a mystery 00:27:24.600 --> 00:27:25.259 to you. 00:27:25.340 --> 00:27:25.740 You don't have 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:26.640 to have a PhD 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:28.820 to know Jesus more. 00:27:29.100 --> 00:27:30.160 Jesus is unique, 00:27:30.380 --> 00:27:30.640 okay? 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:31.920 I bet you don't 00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:32.820 know anybody else 00:27:32.820 --> 00:27:33.560 who came here 00:27:33.560 --> 00:27:34.759 from the Holy Spirit, 00:27:35.540 --> 00:27:35.840 right? 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:37.800 It's okay 00:27:37.800 --> 00:27:38.460 if you can't 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:39.240 explain it all 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:40.360 but as God 00:27:40.360 --> 00:27:41.660 gives you glimpses, 00:27:42.120 --> 00:27:43.340 they can lead you 00:27:43.340 --> 00:27:44.380 to greater worship 00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:45.940 of and love of 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:47.240 and living for 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:48.259 Jesus. 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:49.520 Remember, 00:27:49.620 --> 00:27:50.360 that's what Matthew's 00:27:50.360 --> 00:27:50.759 up to. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:51.800 He wants to help us 00:27:51.800 --> 00:27:53.480 understand Jesus 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:55.320 as the Christ. 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:58.079 first with his 00:27:58.079 --> 00:27:59.439 lineage that we 00:27:59.439 --> 00:28:00.399 talked about last 00:28:00.399 --> 00:28:02.559 week and now 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:03.299 with the special 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:04.559 circumstances of 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:05.240 his birth. 00:28:05.939 --> 00:28:06.759 Matthew says, 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:08.439 open your eyes. 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:09.480 You can know 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:10.200 from the very 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:11.299 beginning that this 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:12.279 is no ordinary 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:13.279 baby because this 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:13.819 is not the way 00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:14.500 babies come. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:15.799 His conception 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:16.419 and his birth 00:28:16.419 --> 00:28:17.379 involve angels, 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:19.639 dreams, 00:28:21.139 --> 00:28:22.119 prophecies, 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:23.919 the Holy Spirit, 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:25.860 supernatural 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:27.340 circumstances for 00:28:27.340 --> 00:28:27.640 sure. 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:28.140 He doesn't want 00:28:28.140 --> 00:28:28.720 you to miss that. 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:30.660 That's the point 00:28:30.660 --> 00:28:31.460 of four times 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:32.500 highlighting this 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:34.480 miraculous conception. 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:35.779 The virgin birth 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:37.000 highlights that the 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:38.480 baby is the 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:40.420 promised seed of 00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:40.759 the woman, 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:42.480 the long-awaited 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:43.019 Messiah, 00:28:43.340 --> 00:28:44.940 the coming king. 00:28:45.300 --> 00:28:46.259 In case we need 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:47.360 help seeing it, 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:48.779 this baby is the 00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:50.039 son of God 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:51.019 and the divine 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:52.680 God-man. 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:54.960 believing the 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:55.740 virgin birth as 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:56.840 the Bible presents 00:28:56.840 --> 00:28:58.180 it helps us to 00:28:58.180 --> 00:28:59.620 wonder at the 00:28:59.620 --> 00:29:01.620 incarnation of God 00:29:01.620 --> 00:29:02.220 himself. 00:29:02.580 --> 00:29:03.860 The infinite and 00:29:03.860 --> 00:29:05.180 eternal word 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:07.060 become flesh to 00:29:07.060 --> 00:29:08.480 dwell among us 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:09.720 and to share with 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:10.940 us his glory. 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:12.960 As John says it 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:13.320 that way, 00:29:13.580 --> 00:29:14.799 remember this baby 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:15.940 is the humanity 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:16.680 of God. 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.400 God. 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:20.720 Fully God 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:22.860 and fully man. 00:29:23.700 --> 00:29:25.140 Never been another 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:26.200 one like this baby. 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:27.700 Never. 00:29:28.620 --> 00:29:29.420 Utterly unique 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:30.060 person. 00:29:30.560 --> 00:29:31.519 Utterly unique 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:32.299 nature. 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:34.080 But that's who he is 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:34.900 and that's what it 00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:36.380 took to save us. 00:29:37.860 --> 00:29:38.100 Listen, 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:39.620 a merely human 00:29:39.620 --> 00:29:41.160 Jesus may live 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:41.840 perfectly, 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:44.299 but that doesn't 00:29:44.299 --> 00:29:45.199 give me 00:29:45.199 --> 00:29:46.179 righteousness. 00:29:46.439 --> 00:29:47.019 It just gives him 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:47.459 righteousness. 00:29:47.879 --> 00:29:48.619 Just a good man 00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:49.459 if that's all he is. 00:29:50.679 --> 00:29:51.439 A merely human 00:29:51.439 --> 00:29:52.639 Jesus may die a 00:29:52.639 --> 00:29:53.240 death that is 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:54.579 sacrificial and 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:55.459 exemplary, 00:29:56.159 --> 00:29:57.199 but it doesn't pay 00:29:57.199 --> 00:29:58.399 for my sins. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:29:59.519 If he's just 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:00.480 one man, 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:01.220 he just pays for 00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:01.619 his own. 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:03.599 A merely human 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:05.000 Jesus may teach 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:06.139 about a theoretical 00:30:06.139 --> 00:30:06.759 resurrection, 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:08.039 but that would not 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:08.679 give me 00:30:08.679 --> 00:30:09.859 relationship with 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:10.679 him today and 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:12.080 my lonely pain 00:30:12.080 --> 00:30:13.200 or hope for 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:14.100 life eternal 00:30:14.100 --> 00:30:14.880 from him. 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:15.500 He couldn't give 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.279 that to me. 00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:20.080 But friends, 00:30:20.220 --> 00:30:20.519 listen, 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.920 we don't have 00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:24.220 a merely human 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:24.700 Jesus. 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:26.680 No. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:28.640 We have an 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:29.279 infinite, 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:30.740 holy, 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:32.320 supernatural 00:30:32.320 --> 00:30:33.840 Savior. 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:35.299 Praise the 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:35.740 Lord. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:37.380 Just marvel 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:37.860 at that 00:30:37.860 --> 00:30:39.000 for a couple 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:39.660 minutes as we 00:30:39.660 --> 00:30:40.080 close. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:42.140 Think about 00:30:42.140 --> 00:30:42.779 who he is. 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:43.700 Think about 00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:44.060 who our 00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:45.100 favorite Christmas 00:30:45.100 --> 00:30:46.860 songs declare 00:30:46.860 --> 00:30:47.940 this baby to be 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:48.279 because you're 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:48.779 going to sing 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:50.519 these many times 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:51.779 starting tonight. 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:53.880 Christ, 00:30:54.320 --> 00:30:54.840 the newborn 00:30:54.840 --> 00:30:55.420 King, 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:57.160 Son of God, 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.320 loves pure 00:30:59.320 --> 00:31:00.100 light. 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:01.740 Christ, 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.720 the Lord of 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:03.640 heaven and 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:04.180 earth, 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:06.820 Lord of all 00:31:06.820 --> 00:31:07.539 creation, 00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:10.160 King of angels, 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:10.460 angels, 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:13.120 the incarnate 00:31:13.120 --> 00:31:14.279 deity, 00:31:16.220 --> 00:31:16.940 Prince of 00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:17.720 peace, 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:19.640 Son of 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:20.500 righteousness, 00:31:21.580 --> 00:31:22.680 the great 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:23.620 I 00:31:23.620 --> 00:31:24.800 am. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:27.400 Perhaps the 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:28.360 best description 00:31:28.360 --> 00:31:29.320 of his divine 00:31:29.320 --> 00:31:30.900 character is in 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:31.660 O come all ye 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:32.320 faithful, 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:35.380 him calling us 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:36.220 to come and 00:31:36.220 --> 00:31:37.100 adore him, 00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:38.219 adore him. 00:31:40.399 --> 00:31:41.439 Stanza reads, 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:42.079 God of 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:42.740 God, 00:31:43.219 --> 00:31:44.139 light of 00:31:44.139 --> 00:31:44.759 light, 00:31:45.659 --> 00:31:46.219 lo he 00:31:46.219 --> 00:31:47.299 abhors not 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.480 the virgin's 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:48.959 womb, 00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:50.539 very God, 00:31:50.939 --> 00:31:51.480 begotten, 00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:52.639 not created, 00:31:53.159 --> 00:31:53.959 O come, 00:31:54.159 --> 00:31:55.179 let us adore 00:31:55.179 --> 00:31:55.599 him, 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:56.579 O come, 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:57.699 let us adore 00:31:57.699 --> 00:31:58.139 him, 00:31:58.399 --> 00:31:59.119 O come, 00:31:59.439 --> 00:32:00.379 let us adore 00:32:00.379 --> 00:32:00.939 him, 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:01.839 Christ, 00:32:02.699 --> 00:32:03.299 the Lord. 00:32:03.299 --> 00:32:03.379 Lord. 00:32:05.639 --> 00:32:06.259 Just keep 00:32:06.259 --> 00:32:06.879 marveling and 00:32:06.879 --> 00:32:07.639 adoring him 00:32:07.639 --> 00:32:08.259 with me. 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:10.500 This child is 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:11.559 God breaking 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:12.639 into the normal 00:32:12.639 --> 00:32:14.220 operations of 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:15.379 the world in 00:32:15.379 --> 00:32:16.379 order to save 00:32:16.379 --> 00:32:17.460 the world and 00:32:17.460 --> 00:32:19.440 that means that 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:20.399 at Christmas as 00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:21.599 we behold 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:22.339 Jesus, 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:24.339 we see the 00:32:24.339 --> 00:32:25.559 Lord of all 00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:27.839 creation lying 00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:29.599 among animals, 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:31.519 the king of 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:32.119 all of the 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:33.399 nations in 00:32:33.399 --> 00:32:34.879 one tiny 00:32:34.879 --> 00:32:36.039 town, 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:38.480 the eternally 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.179 spiritual being 00:32:40.179 --> 00:32:41.039 in a tiny 00:32:41.039 --> 00:32:42.519 body held 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:43.259 by a teenage 00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:44.019 mom, 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:46.559 the prince of 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:47.319 peace in 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:48.099 Trinitarian 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:49.679 relationship in 00:32:49.679 --> 00:32:50.699 the Godhead 00:32:50.699 --> 00:32:51.799 entering a 00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:52.619 family with 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:53.559 conflict, 00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:56.099 the eternal 00:32:56.099 --> 00:32:56.599 God who 00:32:56.599 --> 00:32:57.539 exists outside 00:32:57.539 --> 00:32:58.599 of time 00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:01.019 waiting nine 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:02.179 months to 00:33:02.179 --> 00:33:04.099 be born and 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:04.939 many, many 00:33:04.939 --> 00:33:06.079 painful days to 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:06.879 grow up, 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:09.679 the savior of 00:33:09.679 --> 00:33:11.279 Mary in 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:11.899 her tummy, 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:14.819 the one who 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:15.699 breathes life 00:33:15.699 --> 00:33:16.439 into Adam, 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:17.199 who gives 00:33:17.199 --> 00:33:17.879 life to the 00:33:17.879 --> 00:33:18.119 dead, 00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:19.459 breathes air 00:33:19.459 --> 00:33:20.079 for the first 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:21.059 time himself, 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:23.719 the great 00:33:23.719 --> 00:33:25.019 I am, 00:33:25.219 --> 00:33:25.819 Yahweh, 00:33:26.199 --> 00:33:27.299 the eternally 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:29.119 self-existent 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:29.799 one, 00:33:30.139 --> 00:33:31.359 begins a new 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:32.000 form of 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:32.639 existence, 00:33:33.639 --> 00:33:36.839 or perhaps 00:33:36.839 --> 00:33:37.839 most simply 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:39.559 and amazingly, 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:41.440 God 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:43.000 becomes 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.000 man, 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:46.799 what a 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:47.740 special baby, 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:50.200 no one else 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:51.079 like him 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:52.220 for us 00:33:52.220 --> 00:33:53.759 and for our 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:54.440 salvation, 00:33:55.559 --> 00:33:56.519 come let us 00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:57.360 thank him, 00:33:58.100 --> 00:33:58.980 come let us 00:33:58.980 --> 00:33:59.960 trust him, 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:01.960 come let us 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:02.960 adore him, 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:04.779 Christ the 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:05.079 Lord, 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:05.860 let's pray, 00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:09.599 Jesus we bow 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:11.559 because you are 00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:13.159 unlike us, 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:14.440 we are not 00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:15.059 worthy, 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:16.639 but you are 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:17.139 holy, 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:17.699 holy, 00:34:17.860 --> 00:34:18.199 holy, 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:18.299 holy, 00:34:19.379 --> 00:34:21.639 and yet 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:21.980 you took 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:22.679 on flesh, 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:28.239 we worship 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:28.679 you, 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:30.299 we ask 00:34:30.299 --> 00:34:30.919 for faith 00:34:30.919 --> 00:34:31.599 to trust 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.179 you more, 00:34:33.219 --> 00:34:33.980 we ask 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:34.379 for your 00:34:34.379 --> 00:34:35.000 help that 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:35.619 the worship 00:34:35.619 --> 00:34:36.119 of our 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:36.480 hearts, 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:37.339 the adoration 00:34:37.339 --> 00:34:38.159 that we feel 00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:38.699 in a moment 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:39.279 might be 00:34:39.279 --> 00:34:40.799 that which 00:34:40.799 --> 00:34:41.599 sustains 00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:42.699 throughout 00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:43.659 the week 00:34:43.659 --> 00:34:44.059 and throughout 00:34:44.059 --> 00:34:44.799 our lives, 00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:47.100 we ask 00:34:47.100 --> 00:34:47.539 for your 00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:48.180 help in 00:34:48.180 --> 00:34:48.440 that, 00:34:48.660 --> 00:34:48.920 in your 00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:49.200 name, 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:50.240 amen. 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:52.140 For more 00:34:52.140 --> 00:34:52.640 information, 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:53.480 visit us 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:54.200 online at 00:34:54.200 --> 00:34:54.960 southwood.org.