WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 I want to spend just a couple minutes tonight reflecting with you all 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:11.500 on this message that the angels pronounced to the shepherds on that first Christmas evening so long 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:23.580 ago. And as I was thinking about that, it made me wonder, when was the last time you heard a piece 00:00:23.579 --> 00:00:33.560 of news that really made you happy? When I was a kid, the news of a coming snowstorm was kind of like 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:42.840 that. The promise of sledding and making snowmen, and above all, of school being canceled. All of 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:51.000 that made a coming snowstorm pretty good news for a kid. But I imagine that that news wasn't such good 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:56.200 news for my parents, as they considered the shoveling that would need to be done and the 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:03.920 schedules that would need to be rearranged. It once got so cold where we lived in upstate New York 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:09.719 that my parents, and my older brother actually, woke up, had to wake up every few hours through 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:16.939 the middle of the night to start our old cars so that their engines wouldn't freeze over in the night. 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:22.259 It was a lot colder than 11 degrees, which is what we were suffering through today, right? 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.500 So it was good news for us kids, maybe not so good news for my parents. 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:37.180 But according to the angels in Luke's account, the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:43.359 for all people. Let me read that portion again, verses 8 through 11 of Luke chapter 2. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:48.539 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.900 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.400 and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, 00:01:57.579 --> 00:02:04.519 Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:12.139 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:21.900 Good news of great joy for all people. That's quite a staggering claim, isn't it? 00:02:22.640 --> 00:02:28.200 How could a child born so many years ago be good news of great joy for all people? 00:02:29.040 --> 00:02:34.580 How could this child be the key to universal worldwide joy? 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:43.700 Well, let's consider what the angels have to say phrase by phrase and see if we can't come to see how that might be true for you and me. 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:48.340 First, the angels call the birth of Jesus good news. 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:55.420 Now, living as we do 2,000 years after the fact, maybe Christmas doesn't seem like news anymore, right? 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.920 After all, it comes every year on December 25th. 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.099 Maybe it feels like old news to you. 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:07.439 Here we go again with the lights and the carols and the awkward family gatherings that we have to suffer through, right? 00:03:08.839 --> 00:03:12.819 But if we strip away all the traditions and all the festivities that have grown over the centuries, 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:15.659 what about the birth of Jesus? 00:03:16.619 --> 00:03:19.459 What about that central thing? 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:32.439 Well, often I think we're more apt to think about the birth of Jesus maybe as good sentiment or good vibes rather than good news. 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:40.600 After all, ask most folks on the street what Christmas is all about, and they'll say it's about the spirit of giving. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:42.700 Or it's about family. 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:45.319 Or it's about hoping the world can be a better place. 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:47.860 Now, none of those things are wrong or bad. 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:55.560 But there's a big difference between good sentiment or good aspiration or good vibes and good news, right? 00:03:57.260 --> 00:04:00.660 If someone asked you, what's the World Series all about? 00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:05.780 You wouldn't say, well, the World Series is all about the beauty of teamwork. 00:04:07.940 --> 00:04:09.260 Or something like that, right? 00:04:09.660 --> 00:04:13.060 No, the World Series is about determining the champion of Major League Baseball. 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.900 The scores, the records, the outcome of the World Series is not sentiment, it's news. 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:16.959 It's news. 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:18.199 Something happened. 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:21.779 And that's how the angels want us to see the birth of Jesus. 00:04:22.679 --> 00:04:23.519 It's news. 00:04:24.239 --> 00:04:25.139 Good news. 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:26.919 Because something happened. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:28.659 Something in history. 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:34.939 An event has occurred in real space and time that changes the course of things. 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:39.639 But what is it that's happened? 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:40.819 What is the news? 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:42.519 I mean, babies are born every day, right? 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.479 What is this good news of great joy for all people? 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:48.699 Well, the angels explain. 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.819 They say, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. 00:04:54.099 --> 00:04:55.319 That is a rescuer. 00:04:58.199 --> 00:04:59.839 Now, do you see what the angels are saying? 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:09.159 They're saying that right here in the birth of Jesus, God's rescue mission has at long last reached its climax. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:18.219 God's mission to reclaim his fallen creation, to defeat evil, to bring forgiveness and freedom from sin and death. 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:23.299 That mission is now in its final stage, its climax. 00:05:23.779 --> 00:05:24.139 Why? 00:05:24.139 --> 00:05:29.539 Because the one to bring it all about has just arrived on the scene. 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:37.959 It's as if the enemy lines have been breached, the beachhead has been secured, and the liberation movement is underway. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.000 And so it's good news of great joy. 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:45.219 Great joy. 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:49.920 Now, I'm sure there are lots of things that bring you joy, right? 00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:57.240 Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. 00:05:57.440 --> 00:05:59.560 You know, there's a list of your favorite things. 00:06:00.260 --> 00:06:01.880 Maybe you could make your own list, right? 00:06:03.760 --> 00:06:06.320 But what is it about those things that bring you joy? 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:11.460 You know, why is there joy in a warm fire and a mug of hot chocolate? 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:16.379 Why is there joy in a mathematical problem solved with elegant simplicity? 00:06:17.739 --> 00:06:20.879 Why is there joy in gathering with friends you haven't seen for ages? 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:24.060 Why is there joy in a story well told? 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:31.019 Is it all merely the evolutionary byproduct of survival synapses in our brains? 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:34.560 Is that why those things are joyful to us? 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:41.480 Or is our experience of joy an echo of a deeper reality? 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:47.600 According to the Bible, it is an echo of a deeper reality. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:56.699 In every experience of creaturely joy, we're catching a glimpse of the source of all joy. 00:06:56.699 --> 00:07:04.219 That in and through our joy-laden experiences is the hand or the echo of supreme joy. 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:05.879 The God of all joy. 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:12.060 There is speaking out to us through our small joy-filled moments. 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.480 Speaking out to us the one who made all things. 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:21.300 The God who made all things as an overflow of his eternal joy. 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:29.040 The eternal joy that God himself is in his very nature as Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.280 It was C.S. Lewis, I believe, who once said, 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:38.319 Joy is the serious business of heaven. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:48.180 So what if your life wasn't simply meant to be punctuated by fleeting joy-laden experiences? 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:53.300 But what if you were made to know the very source of joy? 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.579 To live in fellowship with the one who is joy itself? 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:02.939 What if you could experience each joyful moment, 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:06.280 not as something that's sort of fleeting and gone, 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.000 but as an echo or a foretaste of an even greater joy to come? 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:14.000 A joy that not even death itself could steal. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:18.779 There are lots of things that bring you and me joy, 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:20.259 but what if we could know joy eternal? 00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:26.300 Well, that is what the birth of Jesus achieved. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.220 How did he achieve it? 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:34.200 Well, to answer that question, we have to ask the question, 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:36.100 what keeps us from joy? 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:39.580 Of course, when we try to answer that question, 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:44.420 at first we think, well, it's all the things I don't have that keep me from joy, right? 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:45.860 I don't have enough money. 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:47.659 I don't have good enough relationships. 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:49.000 I don't have enough success. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:50.279 I don't have enough health. 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:51.460 I don't have enough beauty. 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:52.580 I don't have enough hair. 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:53.600 You know, whatever it is. 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:58.519 It's all these things I don't have that keep me from joy. 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:05.319 But remember, those creaturely things, though good in themselves, 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:07.419 they're just an echo. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:12.079 They're just a hint of real joy himself, of God. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:17.059 So the real question is, what keeps you and me from knowing God 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:22.579 and being reconciled to him, the source of overflowing joy? 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:26.620 Because if we had God himself, those other things, 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:28.840 they wouldn't be necessary to our joy. 00:09:29.300 --> 00:09:31.340 They'd be good, but not necessary. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.580 If we had God himself and health and beauty and money and relationships, 00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:38.360 they'd be good things, but not ultimate things. 00:09:40.400 --> 00:09:42.920 If you had God himself, nothing could steal your joy. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:46.700 So what keeps us from God? 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:53.400 Well, the thing that ultimately keeps us from God is what the Bible calls sin. 00:09:54.740 --> 00:10:00.560 And the nature of sin is that we human beings put ourselves in the place of God. 00:10:01.640 --> 00:10:04.220 We reject God and put ourselves in God's place, 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.820 try to run life our own way and try to find our happiness 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:09.240 and everything and anything that isn't God. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:13.520 And this rejection of God leads inevitably to misery. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:19.699 Cut off from joy itself, from the God of joy. 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:23.980 Now every joy that we experience is fleeting and it can't satisfy. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.059 But here's the good news of great joy. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.379 God doesn't leave us there. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:37.220 In love, God unfolds a plan that stretches across millennia of history, 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:41.759 a plan to reconcile us to himself and to restore us to his joy. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:47.139 A plan that comes to fullness with the birth of the king in a manger. 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:50.220 Why a manger? 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:54.740 It seems kind of foolish, doesn't it? 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:56.919 The king of the universe born into a manger. 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:00.080 I mean, a king born where animals feed. 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:05.439 But what seems like foolishness to us 00:11:05.439 --> 00:11:09.620 is in reality God's utter wisdom. 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:14.960 You see, humans have put themselves in the place of God 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.960 and the result is separation from God and misery. 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.519 But in order to undo this woe, 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:24.299 God puts himself in the place of humanity 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:28.340 and the result is reconciliation and joy. 00:11:28.340 --> 00:11:32.480 The Messiah wouldn't come to be praised. 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:33.480 He would come to serve. 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:37.420 He came and the life that he lived 00:11:37.420 --> 00:11:39.780 is the one that we ought to have lived. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:42.540 And the death that he would eventually die 00:11:42.540 --> 00:11:44.240 is the death that we deserve to die. 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:46.080 He put himself in our place 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.639 so that our sins could be forgiven 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:52.420 and so that all who admit their sin 00:11:52.420 --> 00:11:53.519 and trust in him 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.360 would be reconciled to God 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.019 and no everlasting joy. 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:01.399 And as the angels say, 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:03.059 this is good news of great joy 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:05.019 for all people. 00:12:05.939 --> 00:12:06.639 All people. 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:09.360 It wasn't just good news for Mary and Joseph 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.299 or the shepherds on the hillside 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:13.179 or the Jewish people in the first century. 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:15.139 This was good news for everyone. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:18.860 High and low, rich and poor, 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:21.159 Jew and Gentile, man and woman, 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:23.340 young and old, you and me. 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:25.519 All people. 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:28.519 But how could that be? 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.079 How could the particular event 00:12:31.079 --> 00:12:33.179 of one child's birth so many years ago 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:35.039 mean good news for all people? 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.059 How could the life and death 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:38.740 of Israel's long-awaited king 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:41.639 mean reconciliation and joy for all people? 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:45.120 Well, listen again to what the angels say. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:48.079 For unto you is born this day 00:12:48.079 --> 00:12:49.579 in the city of David a Savior 00:12:49.579 --> 00:12:51.899 who is Christ the Lord. 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.659 The baby born on Christmas Day 00:12:57.659 --> 00:12:58.899 so many years ago 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:01.759 was not just another baby. 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:05.539 The one God who created all things, 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:06.840 the Lord of heaven and earth, 00:13:07.199 --> 00:13:09.480 that's who took flesh that night in Bethlehem. 00:13:10.319 --> 00:13:12.799 The one God who made all things 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:13.860 and all people. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.840 The one God who sustains all things 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:17.799 and all people. 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:20.000 He took on human nature, 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:21.699 your human nature, 00:13:22.599 --> 00:13:23.579 my human nature, 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:25.959 and He dealt with our human sin 00:13:25.959 --> 00:13:26.859 once and for all. 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:29.719 You see, there's one Lord 00:13:29.719 --> 00:13:31.139 of the whole world. 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:34.899 So what Jesus did, 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:36.699 He did for the whole world 00:13:36.699 --> 00:13:39.080 because He's the God of the whole world. 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:42.679 And the question is, 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:46.159 have you embraced this good news 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:47.539 of great joy 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:50.100 as good news for you? 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:53.340 Now, maybe you don't feel like 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:54.139 you need rescuing. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.420 Maybe the things you've built your life upon, 00:13:57.540 --> 00:13:58.680 built your joy upon, 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:00.800 maybe they seem to be holding up just fine. 00:14:02.540 --> 00:14:03.060 But friend, 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:06.360 no created thing will last forever. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:08.480 Whatever good thing 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.300 you're basing your joy on, 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.040 it isn't going to last forever. 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:13.840 Beauty will fade. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:15.320 Health will fail. 00:14:16.020 --> 00:14:17.140 Relationships will end. 00:14:18.180 --> 00:14:21.180 The only sturdy foundation for joy 00:14:21.180 --> 00:14:22.820 is the joy of God. 00:14:23.640 --> 00:14:25.620 And God has opened the way for you 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:28.280 to be reconciled to Him in Christ. 00:14:31.060 --> 00:14:32.740 Perhaps you don't think you need Christ 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:34.040 to be reconciled to God. 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:37.000 Perhaps you think you can have God 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:37.780 without Christ. 00:14:39.900 --> 00:14:40.620 But friend, let me ask, 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.380 what other approach to God 00:14:42.380 --> 00:14:44.160 really offers you 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:46.000 what Christ offers you? 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:50.019 Many religions offer good advice 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:51.860 or good laws or good rules. 00:14:52.839 --> 00:14:53.980 And if you keep them, 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.459 then they say you'll have God. 00:14:57.319 --> 00:14:59.419 But only Christ offers you good news. 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:01.620 Christ says, 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:03.659 I'll keep the law for you. 00:15:04.219 --> 00:15:05.219 Even more than that, 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:06.899 I'll go to the depths for you. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:08.740 I'll be born in a manger. 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:11.000 I'll carry the weight of your failures 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:11.860 and your flaws. 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.300 And I'll love you to the very end 00:15:14.300 --> 00:15:16.300 and offer my life for yours. 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:21.180 Friends, it comes down to this. 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.600 Either we will stand before God 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:25.220 on the basis of our own record 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:26.080 and righteousness 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.720 or on the basis of Christ's record 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:29.639 and righteousness. 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:32.480 There's no third way. 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:35.840 If we try to stand on our own record, 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:37.679 the end will be misery 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.860 because we could never be good enough 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:42.139 for a holy God. 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:45.580 But if we stand on Christ's record, 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:48.220 the result will be joy 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:51.939 because his record is more than sufficient 00:15:51.939 --> 00:15:54.860 for absolutely everyone who trusts in him. 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:59.879 Perhaps you think you've heard all this before 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:00.500 and you're wondering 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:02.100 what real difference it makes in your life. 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.240 Well, think about it. 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:11.060 It means that even if you don't get 00:16:11.060 --> 00:16:12.960 what you really wanted for Christmas, 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.639 you can still live the day after Christmas 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.340 with unshakable joy. 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:22.500 I'm speaking metaphorically, of course, right? 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:25.399 What if you never get the big promotion? 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:28.980 What if you never get financial security? 00:16:30.420 --> 00:16:32.360 What if you never get to have children of your own? 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:34.000 What if you never get the success 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:35.120 you've worked so hard for? 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:38.120 Yes, those things will be disappointing, 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:43.759 but they can't ever possibly steal your joy 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:45.440 if you know Christ. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:49.640 Do you want to have joy in the midst of trial? 00:16:50.140 --> 00:16:51.720 Joy in the midst of sorrow even? 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:53.220 Joy that doesn't ebb and flow 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.960 based on your circumstances 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:56.960 and what you happen to find 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:59.940 under the proverbial Christmas tree of your life? 00:17:02.160 --> 00:17:04.120 If you want to have that kind of joy, 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:05.799 it's right here. 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:09.080 Unto you is born this day 00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:10.620 in the city of David 00:17:10.620 --> 00:17:13.420 a Savior who is Christ the Lord. 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:16.680 Lord, good news of great joy 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:18.320 for all people 00:17:18.320 --> 00:17:20.019 and for you 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:21.420 if you'll take him. 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:23.580 Let's pray together. 00:17:29.580 --> 00:17:30.759 Our Father in heaven, 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:33.019 on this night 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:33.980 when we remember 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:35.720 the most holy 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:37.320 and wondrous 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:38.620 and mysterious of nights 00:17:38.620 --> 00:17:39.680 so many years ago, 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.019 we pray that your spirit would come 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.759 and give us eyes to see 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:46.060 and hearts that are receptive 00:17:46.060 --> 00:17:48.120 to this good news 00:17:48.120 --> 00:17:49.360 of great joy 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:51.360 that Christ has brought for us. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:54.420 Father, you have spanned 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:55.940 the infinite gap 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:58.820 between heaven and earth, 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:01.080 between holiness and sin. 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:06.159 you've spanned that gap for us 00:18:06.159 --> 00:18:07.279 so that we, 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:07.980 creatures, 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:09.139 sinners, 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:10.699 far from you 00:18:10.699 --> 00:18:12.539 can be brought home 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:14.799 and know everlasting joy. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.000 Move in our hearts, God, 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:20.299 that we might take hold of Christ 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:21.679 and live 00:18:21.679 --> 00:18:22.859 and breathe 00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:23.919 and know 00:18:23.919 --> 00:18:25.460 that joy. 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:27.839 We pray this in his name. 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:28.339 Amen. 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:28.480 Amen. 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:43.019 Still hear me? 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:43.740 Ah, you can. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.019 Now we get to do something fun. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:47.799 You should have gotten a candle 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:48.439 on your way in. 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:49.019 Yeah? 00:18:50.619 --> 00:18:51.379 I hope you did. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.240 So for many, many, many generations, 00:18:54.879 --> 00:18:55.579 Christians, 00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:56.720 oh, look at that. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:57.439 I forgot my notes. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:58.000 Give me a second. 00:19:01.939 --> 00:19:04.119 Oh, I'm just going to make it up 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:05.279 because I didn't bring it up with me. 00:19:05.659 --> 00:19:06.919 For many, many generations, 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:08.240 Christians have lit candles 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:09.399 on Christmas Eve. 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.039 Why do we do this? 00:19:11.399 --> 00:19:12.179 Why do we light candles 00:19:12.179 --> 00:19:12.939 on Christmas Eve? 00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:14.699 Well, you know, 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:15.179 in the Middle Ages, 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:15.720 it was dark, 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:16.519 so they lit candles. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:17.679 Why do we keep doing it? 00:19:18.639 --> 00:19:20.819 Well, listen to what Isaiah has to say. 00:19:21.619 --> 00:19:22.819 Looking forward to the coming 00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:23.399 of the Messiah. 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.519 Arise, shine, 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:28.420 for your light has come, 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.380 and the glory of the Lord 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:31.519 has risen upon you. 00:19:32.600 --> 00:19:34.200 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:35.380 and thick darkness the peoples, 00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:37.880 but the Lord will arise upon you, 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:40.480 and his glory will be seen upon you. 00:19:41.300 --> 00:19:42.420 The coming of Jesus, 00:19:42.540 --> 00:19:43.880 the coming of the Messiah, 00:19:44.340 --> 00:19:46.180 the incarnation of God in the flesh, 00:19:46.560 --> 00:19:48.140 was spoken of throughout the Old Testament 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:48.759 into the new 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.860 as light coming into the darkness. 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.959 You remember the opening 00:19:53.959 --> 00:19:55.339 of the Gospel of John, don't you? 00:19:56.159 --> 00:19:56.979 Speaking of Jesus, 00:19:57.159 --> 00:19:57.519 John says, 00:19:57.619 --> 00:19:58.559 In the beginning was the Word, 00:19:58.639 --> 00:19:59.639 and the Word was with God, 00:19:59.679 --> 00:20:00.679 and the Word was God. 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:02.279 He was in the beginning with God. 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:03.579 All things were made through him, 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:05.119 and without him was not anything made 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:05.699 that was made. 00:20:06.219 --> 00:20:07.039 In him was life, 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:08.659 and the life was the light of men. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:10.759 The light shines in the darkness, 00:20:11.479 --> 00:20:13.559 and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:20:14.059 --> 00:20:15.619 And the Word became flesh 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:17.000 and dwelt among us, 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:18.619 and we've seen his glory. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:20.719 Glory as of the only Son 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:21.400 from the Father, 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:23.200 full of grace and truth. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:23.400 Amen.