WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.720 we actually become too familiar with Christmas. 00:00:03.800 --> 00:00:07.839 It's like when you have the relative or the friend visiting you from overseas 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:10.519 and you take them in to see the city. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.679 And they're marvelling at the architecture and the engineering brilliance 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:15.960 that is the Harbour Bridge. 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.800 And all you can think about is the traffic that you get stuck in 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.179 each day on the way to work. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.300 You've totally stopped noticing anything impressive about that bridge. 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:27.199 It's become completely functional. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:30.199 And you take for granted that it is one of the most impressive 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.280 and beautiful bridges in the world. 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:36.920 Or when that same guest comes to stay with you from overseas 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:38.500 and you serve them Vegemite. 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:43.560 And their body knows to respond to the disgusting substance 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:46.859 that has entered their mouth by expelling it as quickly as possible. 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:52.620 But you have conditioned yourself into thinking that it might be some sort of food 00:00:52.620 --> 00:00:55.399 and so you don't notice just how vulgar Vegemite is. 00:00:55.399 --> 00:01:02.219 When you become familiar with something, you can start to miss the details. 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:03.899 You can start to miss the significance. 00:01:04.759 --> 00:01:08.799 I've been married for just over seven and a half years now. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.459 And it's interesting to think back to what it was like in my relationship 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:15.319 with my now wife when we first met. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:20.939 So when we just started dating, I remember meeting her for the first time 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:25.700 or beginning to spend time with her and being absolutely infatuated with this woman. 00:01:25.819 --> 00:01:29.239 I thought she was the most amazing thing that God had ever created. 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:33.179 And I would annoy her with text messages and I would follow her around 00:01:33.179 --> 00:01:35.560 and I would just appear where she was spending time. 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:40.319 And the way that I would communicate with her is nowadays, you know, 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:42.979 it's just a quick text, the one word yes, no. 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:47.019 But back then, I would want to make sure that she had to reply to my text. 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:51.719 Because this person was the only person whose attention I needed in the world. 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:56.420 And so for me, there was no sweeter sound than my phone going beep, beep. 00:01:57.140 --> 00:02:00.899 Because that was, you know, her letting me know that she was thinking about me as well, 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:03.459 letting me know that I was important to her as well. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.000 But it's interesting seven and a half years on, 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:09.859 how when I get a text from my wife, if I reply, 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:14.260 it tends to be a little bit shorter, perhaps a little bit more functional, 00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:17.660 a little bit less affectionate or caring. 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:20.600 It's not that she's less valuable now, 00:02:20.660 --> 00:02:22.660 but it's just that I'm going to see her at some point today. 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:23.340 We live together. 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:25.820 You know, I know her so well now. 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:30.860 And so the problem is that when you get familiar with something or someone, 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.800 you start interacting with some sort of vague memory of what they're like, 00:02:35.940 --> 00:02:38.500 rather than the reality that's right in front of you. 00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:41.580 And so you start missing the detail. 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:43.219 You start missing the value. 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:45.500 You start missing the significance that's there. 00:02:46.139 --> 00:02:49.819 And I have to confess that coming up to this Christmas, 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.020 preparing to speak on this passage, 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.219 I felt a little bit familiar. 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:58.639 I mean, I know how this story goes. 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:01.000 How am I going to write a sermon about this? 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:01.939 There's no suspense. 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:03.740 You know what's going to happen. 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:05.580 Jesus is going to be born. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:09.940 There's no way to keep you interested with sort of a plot twist. 00:03:10.760 --> 00:03:13.860 But I confess that not to say that that's a good pattern, 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:16.939 but to challenge you like I had to challenge myself. 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:19.280 When we come to any story in the Bible, 00:03:19.420 --> 00:03:22.360 and especially one as familiar as the Christmas story, 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.700 we need to come with fresh eyes and fresh ears. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.760 So we need to look at this story and we need to hear this story 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:31.380 as if we're hearing it for the very first time. 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:34.599 You've got to try and put yourself into the story 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:36.419 as if you're one of the characters, 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:41.419 as if you're the one experiencing this for the very first time. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.659 Because you have to imagine, 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:47.800 without 2,000 years of Christmas tradition and history, 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:52.139 what would it have been like that first Christmas Eve? 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.719 Did they have any idea what was about to happen? 00:03:57.780 --> 00:03:59.439 I mean, everybody that we've just read about, 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:02.780 did they understand how significant Christmas would become? 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.639 Even Mary and Joseph, they had an angel visit them and say, 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.300 the child you're going to have is going to be the saviour. 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.539 But did they understand what that meant? 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:16.740 When, you know, after pondering that for nine months 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:20.800 and then holding this little naked crying mess of a baby, 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:23.459 were they looking at that baby thinking, 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:25.759 this baby has the power to save us? 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:29.680 Or the shepherds minding their own business in the fields, 00:04:30.039 --> 00:04:34.079 angels appear, sing and announce the arrival of the king and the saviour. 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:37.339 The shepherds at least understood enough 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:39.620 to go and check out who this baby was. 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:42.000 But when they arrived and they saw Jesus, 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:43.860 did they know what they were looking at? 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:45.879 Did they know what was right in front of them? 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.120 Even the wise men who travelled for years 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:51.439 following the star to find the king of the Jews, 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:55.579 when they arrived, did they know what that meant? 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:59.199 Did they know just how important this king would be? 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:02.420 Did they understand that this was not a king like other kings, 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:04.439 that this was the king of all creation? 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.379 Did they really comprehend what was going on? 00:05:09.659 --> 00:05:13.100 Or did they think this is going to be a significant 80 years 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:14.420 to see what this baby does? 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:22.120 Could they have understood that that night the world changed? 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:25.160 Reality changed. 00:05:25.460 --> 00:05:27.240 Human experience changed. 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:29.980 I mean, the birth of Jesus was not a one-off. 00:05:30.420 --> 00:05:32.439 It was a history-defining event. 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:36.439 Christmas is not the sort of thing that we remember or reminisce 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.300 or that we know well or hear lots. 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.180 Christmas is more than angels singing in the sky, 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:43.960 which is impressive. 00:05:45.020 --> 00:05:48.340 It's more than a star that is able to lead men on a journey 00:05:48.340 --> 00:05:51.100 from one side of the earth to the other to find a king, 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:52.420 as impressive as that is. 00:05:52.900 --> 00:05:56.860 It's more than a virgin birth, as impressive as that is. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:02.740 Christmas is a reality-defining event 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:07.860 because at Christmas, when you look at Jesus laying in the manger, 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:11.639 it's God showing up. 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.959 It's God putting skin on. 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:21.219 God, the God, the one who created everything just by speaking. 00:06:21.539 --> 00:06:24.839 The God who is all-powerful, the God who is all-knowing, 00:06:24.919 --> 00:06:26.180 the God that is infinite. 00:06:26.539 --> 00:06:27.479 He has no beginning. 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:28.620 He has no end. 00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:35.680 The God who rules over all creation shows up in our experience as a baby, 00:06:36.340 --> 00:06:39.259 as a human, as one of us. 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:43.099 It is a reality-defining event. 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:45.779 When you look at Jesus, it's not just a baby. 00:06:46.019 --> 00:06:47.180 It's not just a birth. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:48.659 It's not just a nice story. 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:50.120 It's Emmanuel. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.180 It's God with us. 00:06:54.540 --> 00:06:56.800 This baby is not like anything else. 00:06:57.180 --> 00:06:58.860 It's not even a special baby. 00:06:59.780 --> 00:07:01.980 This is a divine baby. 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.079 This is God with skin on. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:09.439 The message of Christmas is so much more than a cute narrative. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:13.399 It's so much more than a great well-made nativity scene, 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:17.019 which we have on display here in church or that you may see acted out in a drama. 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.060 The story of Christmas is actually a proclamation. 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:23.720 It's God communicating with you, delivering a message. 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.159 His message is, I am Emmanuel. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:31.240 That is, I am a God who wants to be in your life. 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:33.839 I'm not a God who enjoys being distant. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.860 I'm not some vague concept of God. 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:39.900 I'm not the God that you just kind of think is off in the ether or up in the clouds 00:07:39.900 --> 00:07:43.220 that you turn to on the odd occasion when life's getting difficult. 00:07:44.080 --> 00:07:47.879 Christmas is God's way of saying, I want to be in your life. 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:52.540 I love you and I'll do what it takes for you and I to have a relationship. 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:58.199 We have to be so careful not to get familiar with a story like that. 00:07:58.520 --> 00:08:02.920 Not to take Christmas for granted because taking Christmas for granted, 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:06.759 taking God for granted is what caused the problem in the first place. 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:13.180 If I was to continue taking my wife for granted unchecked, 00:08:13.640 --> 00:08:17.720 if I was to keep presuming that she should do certain things for me, 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:19.060 that she should care for me, 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:23.639 and in no way see that I had a responsibility in the relationship, 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:28.000 if I was to expect her to cook and clean and say nice things 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.540 and look after me and clean the house and do whatever else 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:32.820 and see no value in it, 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.200 but see it as her responsibility and my entitlement, 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.360 it would not take long for our relationship to break. 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:44.179 Because relationships by definition need two people investing. 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:47.120 If you've only got one person investing, 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:49.519 then at best you've got a servant, 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:51.539 at worst you've got a stalker. 00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:56.279 A relationship requires two people that are investing in one another 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.579 and as soon as one of those people stops investing 00:08:58.579 --> 00:09:00.659 and starts taking the other one for granted, 00:09:00.839 --> 00:09:01.959 relationships break. 00:09:02.339 --> 00:09:04.059 And that's what happens with God. 00:09:04.579 --> 00:09:06.319 When we take God for granted, 00:09:06.439 --> 00:09:08.860 the way it becomes obvious is we start thinking 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:10.839 that God should do things for me, 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:12.759 God should do good things, 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:13.759 should look after me, 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.079 but we start treating Him like He has no claim on us. 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:19.579 He has no authority over us. 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.920 He has no place to make decisions or dictate our lives. 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:24.820 And when we do that with God, 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:25.920 when we take Him for granted, 00:09:26.020 --> 00:09:27.100 the Bible calls it sin. 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:30.440 It's essentially rejection of Him as King. 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.000 It's saying, I know that you think you're in charge, 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:35.940 but I want to do it my way. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.680 And the result of a broken relationship with God 00:09:39.680 --> 00:09:42.700 is that you actually separate yourself, 00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:45.400 you cut yourself off from the one who gives life, 00:09:46.060 --> 00:09:47.379 from the one who creates you, 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:48.660 the one who sustains you. 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:50.579 And when you cut yourself off from life, 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:52.159 the only other option is death. 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:56.439 When we actually take God for granted, 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:58.240 which we all have, 00:09:58.639 --> 00:09:59.839 and which we all do, 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:03.679 we cut ourselves off from life and death results. 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.059 Death becomes the immovable object in our life. 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:08.219 It becomes the inevitable. 00:10:08.219 --> 00:10:10.240 It becomes the shadow that dictates 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.220 our greatest fears and our highest hopes. 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:17.540 All that's left when you cut yourself off from the God who creates life 00:10:17.540 --> 00:10:20.740 is the best case scenario, 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:22.519 is minimizing the pain you have 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:24.879 and trying to hold off death for as long as possible. 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:27.460 That is your highest aspiration 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:31.540 when you separate yourself off from the one who is life. 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:37.139 Emmanuel is more than a name or a title for Jesus. 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:39.860 He is God showing up with skin on, 00:10:39.959 --> 00:10:41.360 but it's his job description. 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:45.500 Emmanuel is what Jesus has come to achieve. 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:48.740 It is why God enters the earth as a baby, 00:10:48.819 --> 00:10:53.039 because he wants you and I to be able to be with him. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.839 He wants to deal with the problem of death. 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:57.559 He wants to take that barrier away 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:00.699 and give us a chance to know God again. 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:03.240 Give us a chance to do what we were designed to do 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:05.259 and enjoy forever with God. 00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:06.259 Enjoy heaven. 00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:08.079 When Jesus shows up, 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:10.339 hope shows up. 00:11:12.079 --> 00:11:14.639 You've got to understand that before Jesus, 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:17.579 there is no hope. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.299 Before Jesus, 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:22.659 all you can do is try and hold death off 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:24.339 for as long as you possibly can. 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:26.120 But when Jesus is born, 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:28.939 death is defeated. 00:11:29.479 --> 00:11:30.659 When Jesus shows up, 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:32.079 God deals with the problem. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:34.579 When Jesus is born, 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:40.479 hope arrives for more than just 60 or 70 or 80 or 100 years. 00:11:41.439 --> 00:11:44.059 Hope arrives because God offers heaven 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:46.500 to people that don't deserve it. 00:11:47.579 --> 00:11:48.519 Before Jesus, 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:49.579 there was no hope, 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:50.300 and now, 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:51.600 without Jesus, 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:52.860 there is still no hope. 00:11:53.900 --> 00:11:56.440 Christmas is so much more than a story. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.080 Christmas is God saying to you, 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:02.300 even though you don't deserve it, 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:03.720 I love you 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:05.420 and I want you in heaven. 00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:07.879 Christmas is God saying, 00:12:08.020 --> 00:12:08.860 you don't deserve it, 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:09.940 you've caused the problem, 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:11.500 you're the one who ran away from me, 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:12.520 but I still love you 00:12:12.520 --> 00:12:14.120 and I can make a way 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.080 for us to be together. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.940 I can make a way for you to be forgiven. 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:22.300 And Jesus is that way. 00:12:23.420 --> 00:12:25.740 That little baby lying in a manger 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:29.540 turns up so that we might see God with skin on, 00:12:29.620 --> 00:12:31.300 so that we might have a chance to know him, 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:32.419 but more than that, 00:12:32.419 --> 00:12:35.059 that baby has to be born 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:38.439 so that in a few years' time, 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.359 he might die in your place. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:45.319 The birth of Jesus 00:12:45.319 --> 00:12:46.759 is essential 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:49.599 for us to be able to have a death 00:12:49.599 --> 00:12:52.459 that can substitute for the one that we deserve. 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:58.680 We must never get too familiar with Christmas. 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:01.680 Imagine what it was like 00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:04.139 that very first Christmas night 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:06.900 after centuries and generations of people 00:13:06.900 --> 00:13:09.220 with no hope for anything more 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:10.720 than a limited pain 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.480 and a longest life possible. 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.300 Imagine after waiting and waiting and waiting, 00:13:18.780 --> 00:13:21.060 finally, hope is born. 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:24.259 Finally, a second chance is on offer. 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:25.859 Finally, God says, 00:13:26.239 --> 00:13:27.539 I can give you another way. 00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:30.199 And you just have to wonder 00:13:30.199 --> 00:13:31.519 when you read that passage 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:32.979 that's so familiar in Matthew, 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:35.159 did they know 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:37.039 what was laying in front of them in the hay? 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:39.439 Did they have any idea 00:13:39.439 --> 00:13:41.599 that this baby changed everything? 00:13:43.099 --> 00:13:45.859 That this baby shone light into darkness, 00:13:46.599 --> 00:13:48.459 offered life where there was only death, 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:51.920 and you have to wonder 00:13:51.920 --> 00:13:54.100 if a couple of thousand years later 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:54.960 as we gather 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:56.940 to honour that baby that was born, 00:13:57.740 --> 00:13:59.160 whether or not we grasp 00:13:59.160 --> 00:14:01.879 the significance of Jesus, 00:14:02.060 --> 00:14:02.940 not as a story, 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:04.840 not as something that we've heard before, 00:14:05.180 --> 00:14:07.300 but as a message from God to us 00:14:07.300 --> 00:14:08.720 which says, 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:10.500 even though you don't deserve it, 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:11.139 I love you, 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:13.000 I want you in heaven, 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.000 and I've made a way. 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:19.039 Jesus is Emmanuel. 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:22.279 Jesus is God with us. 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:25.860 Christmas is the undeniable proof 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:27.879 that God loves you 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:29.639 and he will do whatever it takes 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.279 to give you a chance to be in heaven. 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:36.679 It is never just a story. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:37.639 It is never something 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:38.579 you've heard before. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:40.639 Christmas 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:42.459 is God's offer 00:14:42.459 --> 00:14:43.459 of hope. 00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:46.819 Let's pray. 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:50.620 Father God, 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:51.779 we want to thank you for 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:53.679 this story, 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:55.299 but that is so much more 00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:55.899 than a story. 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:57.699 We want to thank you 00:14:57.699 --> 00:14:58.939 that you were willing to come 00:14:58.939 --> 00:14:59.579 as a baby 00:14:59.579 --> 00:15:00.740 so that we might know you. 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:03.220 We want to thank you 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:04.519 that even though we don't deserve it, 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.360 even though we have done 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.639 so much to reject you, 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:08.299 that you are a God 00:15:08.299 --> 00:15:09.060 who forgives. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:10.379 You are a God 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:11.000 who loves. 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:13.580 And we ask 00:15:13.580 --> 00:15:14.500 that you would help us 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:15.100 to see 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:16.060 in this 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:16.919 manger, 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:18.720 to see in this baby, 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:20.539 the hope for forgiveness, 00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:22.279 to see the one 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:23.060 who would grow 00:15:23.060 --> 00:15:24.500 to die in our place 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:25.560 so that we could be forgiven, 00:15:26.560 --> 00:15:28.240 that we might see in him 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:28.940 an invitation 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:29.860 to know you 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:31.300 and to be in heaven 00:15:31.300 --> 00:15:31.740 with you. 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:33.120 Amen.