WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.780 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.780 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:21.540 Just invite you to bow your heads in prayer for a moment. Father, we ask, Father, that your Holy 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:29.800 Spirit would help us to hear these words and think about these words. And Father, for those of us in 00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:37.440 Christ, we give you full permission, without qualification, to have these words come into 00:01:37.440 --> 00:01:43.180 our heart, into the very center of who we are, and form us. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, 00:01:43.320 --> 00:01:47.040 your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:55.260 Amen. So some of you might know this. Probably most of you do. Some of you don't. What we do, 00:01:55.300 --> 00:02:00.219 one of the, I do my Christmas Eve and Christmas morning sermons a bit differently. The sermon will 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:05.320 be punctuated with four mini-movies. I think three of them are about two minutes long, and one of them 00:02:05.320 --> 00:02:10.180 is about four minutes long. So that's just something to help with the kids, a bit of a not-seeing-me, 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:15.439 but something. They're not really super kid things, necessarily, but I don't know, a lot of kids will 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:22.680 look at screens, and it just helps break up the service a bit for children. So no big surprise, 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:29.199 probably, but most ministers don't like preaching Christmas sermons. Everybody knows the text pretty 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:35.879 well. In my case, I don't know, I've preached Christmas sermons for many, many decades. Well, 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:42.039 not many decades, for many years. And so often we don't really like preaching on Christmas. 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:48.120 No surprise, probably, if you think about it. But here's the thing. I was thinking about this a lot 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:55.379 this week. In fact, I said to my wife, Louise, I love these Christmas stories. I really like them. 00:02:55.979 --> 00:03:02.459 And I love pondering them. So it's sort of this odd, I have this odd week. On one hand, it's almost as if 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:09.320 I say to myself, oh, goody, I get a chance to meditate and ponder on these wonderful stories. 00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:16.340 And every year when I meditate and ponder on them, I see both all familiar things, but I see new things, 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.520 and I make new connections with my life, or with the rest of the Bible, or with what's going on in 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:27.480 the world. So I really enjoy meditating and pondering upon these texts. I just don't necessarily enjoy doing 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:34.560 the sermon. So I don't know if my pondering will help you. My week of pondering will help you this 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:41.899 morning. But let's see. Let's go. So we're going to be looking at this story from Luke. It's Luke 00:03:41.899 --> 00:03:46.239 chapter 2, verses 1 to 20. If you don't have your own Bibles with you, there are some Bibles here if 00:03:46.239 --> 00:03:50.759 you'd like to follow along. If you don't own a Bible, you can keep it. The words will be on the screen. 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:58.560 And, I mean, this always looks sort of fancy, but originally, before this was recognized as being 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:06.359 in the Bible, it was written as, and that's what it is, it is an eyewitness-based biography of Jesus. 00:04:06.899 --> 00:04:12.759 And it's an eyewitness-based biography of Jesus that was written when there were literally thousands 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:18.800 and thousands and thousands of eyewitnesses still alive. In fact, actually, one of the enduring 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:25.340 powers of this as a biography is that it survived, that it wasn't just laughed out of all the pubs 00:04:25.340 --> 00:04:32.980 and tabbouleh houses and hummus houses of Judea. This was written, people would have known about it, 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:38.180 eyewitness testimony, and that's what we're reading. And just before we start with Luke chapter 2, 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:45.360 verse 1, Luke chapter 2 implies that there was Luke chapter 1. And in chapter 1, the most important 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.000 thing that happened, there's lots of important things that are said, but one of the important 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:55.980 things is that we are told that an angel comes and speaks to Mary, and that, and basically says to 00:04:55.980 --> 00:05:02.620 Mary that God wants to do a miracle in her womb and create a zygote. I mean, that's not the word they 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:07.460 used then, that's the word we would use now. Create a zygote in her womb, which would be attached to her 00:05:07.460 --> 00:05:13.460 womb. In other words, that she would conceive. But God needed her permission. God needed her to say yes. 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:21.639 She says yes. And so there is now a baby growing within the womb of Mary. And in that announcement, 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.959 it's sort of said that he's like, he'll have this eternal throne. It's implied that it's God 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:32.659 in some way, which the rest of the story will make clear. And now the baby still has to be born, 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:38.699 and that's where the story takes up. So if you join with me in Luke chapter 2, verse 1, here's how this 00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:46.519 ancient eyewitness-based biography of Jesus continues. In those days, a decree went out from 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:51.500 Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. I'll explain what that means in a 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:57.599 moment. This was the first registration when Cornelius was governor of Syria, and all went to 00:05:57.599 --> 00:06:03.699 be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:10.060 to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. Why? Well, because he was of the house 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:16.060 and lineage of David. He went to be registered with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and she was with 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:23.500 child. And we'll just sort of pause there. So on one hand, this is the most familiar story of the 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:28.779 world, especially, I mean, good grief, we're in Ottawa. So basically what's going on is the very, 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:34.879 very first Caesar, the very first emperor, Augustus. He's reaching the end of his life. He might think 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:39.259 he's immortal, or he knows he's going to be dying within a couple of years, or maybe like a lot of 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:44.099 people, they think they have another 5, 10, 20 years left. But he does what every government wants. 00:06:44.679 --> 00:06:50.839 They want to make sure nobody's avoiding their taxes. Do I hear an amen? Well, no, that would be an 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:56.000 amen in parliament, or the Senate, but not necessarily in a church. They want to do a very normal thing. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:02.000 They want to make sure there's no tax avoiders anywhere. And so he figures it's just time to 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.100 get everybody registered. They do it in different ways in different regions. And in the case of Judea, 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:14.420 they do it in sort of the way that's familiar to that basically rural area, which is ask people to 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:20.740 go back to their ancestral homes. Now, I don't know how many of you are from small towns or rural towns. 00:07:20.740 --> 00:07:26.759 I'm from Montreal. And I guess compared to New York City, that's small, but it's not a small place. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:31.400 But I lived in Eganville for seven and a half years. And so I know a little bit about how small 00:07:31.400 --> 00:07:35.240 towns are like. And small towns know other small town people. They know their families. 00:07:35.840 --> 00:07:39.340 And they know them for many, many generations, like quite a few generations. So it's actually a 00:07:39.340 --> 00:07:45.100 very smart way in a rural area to do it. And so they want people to go back to their ancestral homes, 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:53.300 where they can be registered to make sure that the proper tax rolls are maintained. Now, Mary is pregnant. 00:07:53.580 --> 00:07:59.960 Well, I'm not putting down bureaucrats here. Far from it. But there are schedules to keep. 00:08:00.520 --> 00:08:06.300 There are rules to follow. And frankly, if you're pregnant, that's your problem, not our problem. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:11.300 Joseph and Mary have to show up at the right place at the right time, even if you're pregnant. 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:20.060 And that is where we come to in this particular story. But there is something to ponder in this 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:26.439 story. And one of the things that happened to me this week as I was pondering is I realized that 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:33.680 a key part of the story is that Mary ponders. So what I'm doing today is I'm not so much giving 00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:39.759 you four points as four things to ponder in this Christmas story. And if you could put up the first 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:45.879 thing that would be wonderful, something to ponder. Who has true world-changing power? 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:52.220 Finite human beings or the triune God who created all things? Something to ponder. 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:59.980 Who has true world-changing power? Finite human beings or the triune God who has created all things? 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:06.139 Now, why do I ask that? Well, I ask that because there's this very, very curious bit in the first 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:12.919 verse where Caesar Augustus says the whole world has to be taxed. Now, Luke knows that Rome doesn't 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:19.919 control the whole world. So Luke isn't making a mistake. What Luke is doing is accurately reflecting 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:30.740 how Caesar thinks. I rule the world. I change and control the world. It's how the powerful think. 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:39.759 It's how woke majorities think. It is how the Ayatollahs think. It's maybe how the U.S. thinks. 00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:44.639 It's how Apple thinks or Microsoft thinks. It's a very, very common thing to see themselves 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:51.320 as having this type of world-reaching, world-changing, world-transforming power that everybody 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:56.759 needs to recognize. And Rome was definitely making it all recognized here. But if you think about it for a 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:00.179 second, we know that there's several things about this. And Luke would have known this very well. 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:05.799 First of all, Luke would have said, you don't actually control the whole world. You think you do, 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:11.580 but you don't. And the second thing, us now looking around here, where's the Roman Empire? 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:20.279 Died a long time ago. And yet, interestingly enough, we are here this morning to remember the birth of a 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:29.259 baby during the Roman Empire. The baby's empire vastly outlasted Rome's empire. Now, why is this 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:34.699 an important thing for us to ponder? Who has world-changing power? As some of you have heard 00:10:34.699 --> 00:10:40.539 me talk about it before, the problem that we often think that Christians, we Christians often have, 00:10:40.579 --> 00:10:47.879 is we think that God is small and other things are big. What can we do about our society? What can we do 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:52.019 about the Supreme Court? What can we do about the government? What can we do about capitalism? 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.860 What can we do about woke stuff? What can we do about this? What can we do about Putin? What can 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:01.139 we do about China? These things are all really, really, really, really, really, really, really big. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:07.240 And frankly, it becomes bigger and bigger in our view. And in our own world, God becomes smaller and 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:14.200 smaller and smaller. Or maybe it's our teacher or our boss or our problem or our illness. And these 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:19.080 things become bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. And God becomes 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:25.500 smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller. And this story is an opportunity for us to ponder whether 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:33.180 that's true. Who actually does have world-changing power? Who has world-reaching, world-changing power? 00:11:33.180 --> 00:11:41.520 Who is really, truly big and who is small? Putin will die. Biden will die. Trump will die. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:54.740 Trudeau will die. Jesus is alive. Who has world-changing power? Something to ponder. While we ponder it, 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:57.779 let's look at our first mini-movie called The Light of the World. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:23.939 A brilliant light pierced the darkness on that first Christmas night. It wasn't the immense star so bright 00:12:23.939 --> 00:12:32.500 that intrigued experts of the night sky to follow it. It wasn't even the multitude of angelic messengers 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:43.379 with the light so intense, so radiant, it frightened brave shepherds to fall to their knees. No, this light 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:57.860 was far greater, more powerful than every star and every sun. This light was a baby. A tiny newborn wrapped in 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:11.860 cloth lying in a manger where animals feed. A baby named Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Because Jesus was a gift 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:22.500 for each one of us, and he arrived with a purpose to shine light into all dark places. You see, Jesus is the way, 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:32.419 the truth and the light. A light that shows us there is no place you can go that can escape God's love. No dark 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:40.360 corner where his love cannot find you. A light that has the power to cut through any darkness, to calm the 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:49.440 most anxious thoughts, and to fill every heart with unspeakable joy. There is a light that shines brightly 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:56.960 in the darkness, and his name is Jesus, light of the world. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:05.760 If I had a title for the next couple of verses that we're going to read, it would be called 00:14:05.760 --> 00:14:14.460 The Letdown, or The Profound Disappointment. Let's look at what verses 6 and 7 have to say and why I say it. 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:19.960 Verse 6, and while they were there, we now have Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, and while they were there, 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:25.920 the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in 00:14:25.920 --> 00:14:31.620 swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:39.040 Now let's be honest, from a Canadian point of view, that's a letdown. Verse 7, that's all? 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:47.519 Like, where's the mighty warriors? Where's the explosions? Where's the chase scene? Where they're 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:55.459 chasing people? Where's, you know, where's the really muscular guys and gals? Like, giving it some, 00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:03.439 like, pizzazz. Like, where's the light show? Where's the crowd? Where's the important people? Where is 00:15:03.439 --> 00:15:07.899 there a crowd so that at the end of when the baby comes out, Joseph and Mary kiss, and everybody 00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:12.819 applauses, right? That's how blockbusters like to end, right? Whether it's, you know, the latest Tom 00:15:12.819 --> 00:15:17.840 Cruise thing or something, the guy and the girl kiss, and people all applaud. Like, this is a very 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:22.679 disappointing story. Like, where's the famous person? And the fact of the matter is, our Muslim 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:26.779 friends, one of the things our Muslim friends will say to us, is that there's no more glorious 00:15:26.779 --> 00:15:33.059 written work than the Quran, that you just have to read it, and you're just overwhelmed with how 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:38.479 beautiful and wonderfully it's written. And this is very, very plain. Like, it's not, like, there's no 00:15:38.479 --> 00:15:44.439 Shakespeare here or anything like that. It's just pretty plain. It's a bit of a letdown. It's too 00:15:44.439 --> 00:15:51.500 simple. Hollywood would be pulling their hair out and say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's get some 00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:56.579 other stuff in there to try to make it look like what it deserves. They have to know it's important. 00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:03.180 So here's the second thing to ponder. Second thing to ponder, if you could put it up. Whose 00:16:03.180 --> 00:16:12.940 criteria should you live by? Canada's criteria in 2023 were the triune God's criteria. Whose 00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:22.320 criteria should you live by? Canada's criteria in 2023 were the triune God's criteria. Now, 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:28.420 just think about it for a second. Most people in Canada live by Canada's criteria in 2023. 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:35.420 And I know I might be this a little bit of a put down, and I apologize for it. But the fact of the 00:16:35.420 --> 00:16:41.200 matter is that if you live by Canada's criteria in 2023, you'll be living by different criteria by 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:48.100 the end of 2024, different criteria gained by the end of 2025, and different criteria gained by 2026. 00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:54.480 You, in fact, are living your life like a cork floating along a stream just going wherever. 00:16:55.379 --> 00:17:00.120 Ricky Gervais has made piles and piles and piles of money just making fun of it. Like, 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:04.559 who would have seen that coming, they say, right? Who would have seen this being canceled? Who would 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:09.480 have seen this been put down? And it's going to continue to go on. One of the things that's so 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:17.620 going on sort of underneath the surface froth of our culture is the profound attraction of many 00:17:17.619 --> 00:17:23.339 people to somebody like Jordan Peterson, who's in his talk basically tries to say there are things 00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:29.839 which in fact are enduring, that are deep. And he roots it in the nature of human beings. He roots it 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:36.899 in psychological studies that show these fixed things of us. He roots it in evolutionary biology. 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:42.359 And there's a profound attraction to the Stoics and other types of thinkers that people are realizing 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:47.359 you can't just live by the criteria of Canada in 2023. It'll just make your life a mess. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:54.919 And so there's this attempt to find criteria that are not flighty, always changing. 00:17:54.920 --> 00:18:05.440 And by Canada's criteria, this story is too simple. But it's not too simple for God. He chose to reveal 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:14.539 himself this way. And that's why we need to ponder. Whose criteria are we living by and judging 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:22.019 ourselves by and the world by? And if we are just judging everything, including ourselves by the 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:28.420 criteria of Canada 2023, I think surely you must realize that's not something that you should be 00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:36.379 doing. Like it is, it is like buying the cheapest toy in the dollar store and giving it to a kid, 00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:39.539 which they might delight them for about 10 seconds and then it's in the garbage. 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:47.019 Doesn't it make more sense to live by the criteria of the triune God? And if you think about it, 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:55.500 why isn't plain and simple without being simplistic and true and no applause, why isn't that a good way 00:18:55.500 --> 00:19:04.480 to live? Why isn't that a good way to live? Why isn't that a better criteria? As we ponder it, 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.359 we'll look at a second mini movie called The Christmas Light. 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:11.579 Picture this. 00:19:11.579 --> 00:19:16.919 It's a cold winter's night. 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:21.399 Snow is gently falling. 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:25.619 Darkness surrounds you. 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:28.460 And you struggle to see. 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:32.399 Everything is obscure. 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:35.179 Every direction. 00:19:36.939 --> 00:19:37.579 Meaningless. 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:40.919 But suddenly. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:44.000 Light. 00:19:45.639 --> 00:19:50.419 The night Jesus was born, they tell us that a light appeared in the sky. 00:19:51.159 --> 00:19:54.559 A light that not even the greatest of astronomers could identify. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:00.240 A light so bright that even darkness had to flee. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:06.480 A light so powerful that even the worst of what we had done was not only exposed, 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.740 it was cleansed, 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:08.640 it was cleansed, 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:08.660 it was cleansed, 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:09.799 forgiven, 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:11.799 and forgotten. 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:18.360 You see, this is why Jesus came to earth, to give us that light. 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:24.759 So that we would have the same joy and the same love and the same light everywhere we go. 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:29.220 And the best news is, this is a light meant for all. 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:31.319 It is freely offered. 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:36.439 You see, Christmas is more than the warmth of friends and family, 00:20:36.659 --> 00:20:40.079 more than nostalgia, the gifts and memories. 00:20:40.859 --> 00:20:44.619 It is about the greatest gift ever given. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.379 Because a world in darkness has not only seen a great light. 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:53.939 No, we have seen the greatest light. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.519 And his name is Jesus. 00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:57.759 Jesus. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:12.960 These simple verses in 6 and 7, how they go and the baby's just born and wrapped in sloth and clothes 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:14.799 and put in a feeding trough for animals. 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:19.240 There's one more thing we can ponder that this story asks us to ponder. 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:26.200 Hopefully, you understand, if you don't understand what's big and what's small, 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:30.680 you're going to live an unexamined and fearful life. 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:34.960 And if you don't start to think of what criteria you're living by, 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:37.180 you're going to be pushed and pulled 00:21:37.180 --> 00:21:41.839 by the most ephemeral and, in fact, people that you don't even respect. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:44.839 And this is another thing to ponder. 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.379 Like, think about the oddness of the story. 00:21:50.139 --> 00:21:56.799 It's, on one hand, very, very public, yet also, well, not public enough. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.659 Why is it public but not public enough? 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.279 Well, just think about this for a second. 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:04.980 There are some women here who have given birth. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:10.480 And if you shared around later on how long it took for the, 00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:12.700 how long you were in labor for your first birth, 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:18.779 my best guess is nobody here would say under 15 minutes quietly with no pain. 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:21.160 If you did, we wouldn't believe you. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.940 You might, somebody, say for your first baby, 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.740 oh, it was really quick. 00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:25.819 It was only eight hours. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.180 It was really quick. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:28.119 We were so blessed. 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:28.940 Only eight hours. 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:31.880 So here's how it works. 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:37.580 People from all over Judea have all come together to Bethlehem. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:40.279 The city, it's small, but it's crowded. 00:22:40.580 --> 00:22:42.920 And so Mary and Joseph are in an inn, 00:22:43.019 --> 00:22:45.279 and she goes into labor, 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:50.539 which is probably eight hours and probably not quiet. 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:55.840 There's crying from Joseph, not from Mary, probably, 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:59.419 and mashing of teeth and all of that type of stuff. 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:01.319 And listen, this is how it would work. 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:05.539 And some of you who've grown up in small communities, rural communities, 00:23:05.659 --> 00:23:06.459 you know what it's like. 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:08.500 I mean, on one hand, it's the worst place to live 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:11.000 because everybody knows about what's going on. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.559 On the other hand, it's the best place to live 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:15.500 because when you're in trouble, people come out to help, right? 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:18.559 So what is not in the story is what you can definitely know. 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:21.480 There's a whole pile of other women around Mary at this point in time. 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:23.460 And what do men do? 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:26.720 Well, they make a fire, probably. 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.880 And there's some food to eat, and there's conversation, 00:23:31.120 --> 00:23:34.400 and there's updates, and there's cries, 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:39.440 and everybody in Bethlehem knew a baby was born that night. 00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:44.339 Everybody in Bethlehem knew there was a baby born that night. 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:51.039 If the baby had just been born quietly and privately 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:54.619 in a very even smaller town of Nazareth just in Mary's house, 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:57.659 and then later on people are talking about the angels 00:23:57.659 --> 00:23:58.819 and all that type of stuff, 00:23:58.879 --> 00:23:59.399 they would have just said, 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:00.539 you're just making that stuff up. 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.240 It's just you and a couple of your family members making up stories. 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:05.119 You always think you're better than you are, right? 00:24:05.139 --> 00:24:07.199 That's how we put people down, right? 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:09.159 But this is very public. 00:24:09.159 --> 00:24:12.079 Everybody knows that there's this baby that's born in Bethlehem 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:13.139 on that particular night. 00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:15.360 And later on when Jesus becomes famous, 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:16.580 and there's these other stories, 00:24:17.180 --> 00:24:19.259 and after the resurrection there's this, 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:22.420 you know, there's the prophecy and all whether or not Jesus was born. 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:25.240 Like all of that, it's all become very, very, very public. 00:24:25.800 --> 00:24:27.780 But here's the point. 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.020 If you could put up the third thing to ponder. 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:32.100 Something to ponder. 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:35.500 Who knows human beings best? 00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:37.100 You? 00:24:38.300 --> 00:24:38.700 Sorry. 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:40.900 Don't mean to insult you. 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:44.220 But if I said, I think I'm the one who knows human beings best, 00:24:44.340 --> 00:24:45.600 you would all laugh at me, right? 00:24:47.840 --> 00:24:50.160 My family would laugh the loudest, by the way, 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:53.620 if I claimed that I know human beings better than anybody else on the planet. 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:55.380 Who knows human beings best? 00:24:55.700 --> 00:24:56.019 You? 00:24:56.800 --> 00:24:57.820 Some other person? 00:24:58.360 --> 00:24:59.320 Some other human being? 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:01.560 Or the triune God who created you? 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:04.280 You see, if you think about it, 00:25:04.320 --> 00:25:05.000 this story, 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.519 it puzzles people. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:10.559 Many people who would describe themselves as atheists 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.400 would say, listen, why doesn't God just give it, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.480 make it way more obvious? 00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:15.119 Like, why doesn't he make it obvious? 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:20.779 There's this odd thing about how God has revealed himself to human beings. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:26.099 There's this odd aspect of obviousness and hiddenness, 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:28.740 of public and private, 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:32.339 of reason and logic 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:34.120 and of intuition. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:37.299 There's this odd balance that goes back and forward with it. 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:38.880 You know, you look at the book of Romans 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:42.380 and it says that anybody just looks like... 00:25:42.380 --> 00:25:43.380 I had a... 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:45.299 There's a fellow who used to be part of our congregation 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:49.180 who was doing his PhD in biochemistry 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:50.160 and he said, 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:53.420 nobody who understands DNA can believe that we happen by chance. 00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:55.500 Absolutely nobody can think that. 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:58.680 And the same fellow said 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:00.400 that if you look at the life of a cell, 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.599 just one single cell, 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:03.380 nobody believes it can happen by chance. 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:05.279 The more you see the world, 00:26:05.380 --> 00:26:06.400 the more obvious it is 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.299 that there's some type of design to it, 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.759 which implies there's a designer. 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:12.599 And on and on and on. 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:14.519 There's this odd mixture in Christianity 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.519 of stuff which is public, 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:18.359 like the crucifixion, 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:19.359 like this birth thing, 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:21.079 but private in terms of the meaning. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:22.920 There's this odd mixture. 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:25.000 And here's the thing. 00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:27.019 You might wish that it was just more obvious. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:32.920 And there's other times when... 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:34.519 I don't know. 00:26:34.580 --> 00:26:35.940 I guess we sort of like the fact 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:38.580 that there's something that we have this flash of insight 00:26:38.580 --> 00:26:40.779 and that's sort of enjoyable and delectable 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:42.600 to anybody who has a flash of insight. 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:49.279 But this odd mixture of fact and faith, 00:26:49.439 --> 00:26:53.079 of reason and intuition and illumination, 00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:54.539 this odd combination, 00:26:55.219 --> 00:26:58.079 which we would probably want to change, 00:26:59.699 --> 00:27:00.939 well, let's just ponder of 00:27:00.939 --> 00:27:02.500 who knows human beings better. 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:07.900 If, in fact, the triune God exists 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:08.819 and he has created us, 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:11.599 he knows us better than we know ourselves 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:12.579 than I know myself. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.220 And he knows that there's something 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:17.960 that's unbelievably important to us as human beings 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:20.819 that sort of balances the mystical and the rational, 00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:22.920 the hidden and the public, 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:31.140 the revelation and the search. 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:33.779 To ponder. 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:36.960 Who knows us best? 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:39.099 God or other people? 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.539 And has he dealt with us 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:45.099 in a way which truly is best for us? 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:46.500 Something to ponder. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:47.920 While we ponder it, 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:49.960 we're going to look at something called 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:50.799 the other shepherd. 00:27:55.059 --> 00:27:57.019 Glory to God in the highest. 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:00.740 Peace on earth and a new middle toward men. 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:10.640 Tobias! 00:28:13.099 --> 00:28:14.059 There you are. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:16.160 Got the coffees. 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:19.160 Land of Goshen, that line was long. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.140 All right, a couple of coffees. 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:25.640 Tobias, here's yours with extra goat milk. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:27.579 Had to smell that the whole way here. 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:28.579 Thank you so much. 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:31.000 And I have a juniper tea. 00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:33.179 Which one of you guys have the juniper tea 00:28:33.179 --> 00:28:34.879 with two extra shots of honey, huh? 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:37.379 You look like the juniper. 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:41.919 And an extra large boba tea for me 00:28:41.919 --> 00:28:42.740 because I made the run. 00:28:43.859 --> 00:28:44.759 And it's all good. 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:50.399 Ira, if you will. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:54.460 Guys? 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:57.420 Where's all the sheep? 00:29:04.620 --> 00:29:05.100 Zeke! 00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:06.100 Come back! 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:06.960 No thank you! 00:29:07.300 --> 00:29:08.720 We're not making this up! 00:29:08.840 --> 00:29:10.400 Oh, you're not making this up? 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:12.380 Oh, golly gee then, Eamon! 00:29:12.540 --> 00:29:14.280 Then maybe I will believe that what? 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.280 A gaggle of angels came down? 00:29:16.580 --> 00:29:18.240 Technically, they're called heavenly hosts. 00:29:18.320 --> 00:29:19.700 Not the time, Tobias. 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:22.000 It's always the time for proper nomenclature. 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:23.200 That's the motto I live by. 00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:24.100 Fine. 00:29:24.580 --> 00:29:26.860 A heavenly host of little cherubs. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:27.559 No, no, no, no. 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:28.420 Not little. 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:31.500 They were humongous. 00:29:31.819 --> 00:29:34.259 Yeah, Ira buckled like a newborn lamb. 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:35.519 I might have a new concussion. 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:37.620 I taste pennies right now. 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:39.299 Okay. 00:29:39.860 --> 00:29:40.799 Come on, ladies! 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:42.259 Sweetpea! 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:43.480 Zeke, we're leaving the sheep. 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:44.380 Bathsheba! 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:47.319 Bathsheba! 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:49.160 The angel told us where to find the Messiah. 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:49.259 Yeah. 00:29:52.380 --> 00:29:52.740 Figures. 00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:54.759 Figures. 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:57.560 Figures the angels would tell you and not me. 00:29:57.620 --> 00:29:58.340 You want to know why? 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.400 Because I am always, always, always, always left out of things. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:02.240 I am left out. 00:30:02.340 --> 00:30:03.019 Every time! 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:03.920 That's not true. 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:04.519 It is so true. 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:09.580 How about the time that I stayed back and I watched the sheep while you all went to go chase those wolves for that farmer? 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:10.779 And what did you get in return? 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:13.220 A year's worth of free olive oil! 00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:14.820 You guys remember that olive oil? 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.600 Remember when we put them on those crackers? 00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:17.039 Oh. 00:30:17.939 --> 00:30:18.379 Hey! 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:18.779 Hey! 00:30:18.980 --> 00:30:19.339 Hey! 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:23.159 How about the time that I missed out on that amazing water spot at the Sea of Galilee? 00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:26.920 Because I was searching for herbs for Ira's weak stomach. 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:30.420 Can we just say my stomach was disappointed in me? 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:31.180 Fine. 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:31.620 Fine. 00:30:31.620 --> 00:30:31.720 Fine. 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:31.920 Fine. 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:32.120 Fine. 00:30:32.120 --> 00:30:32.400 Fine. 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.680 Then riddle me this. 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:43.540 How about the time that my best friend forgot to tell me about Tobias' surprise birthday dinner for some strange oversight of, oh, forgetting that I exist? 00:30:43.539 --> 00:30:46.639 I am left out of everything. 00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:48.960 So why shouldn't I be left out of this? 00:30:50.259 --> 00:30:51.159 The Messiah. 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:55.680 I guess he's just leaving me out, too. 00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:04.039 Get off me! 00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:05.060 Stop it! 00:31:05.220 --> 00:31:05.799 Not the face! 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:06.600 Leave me alone! 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:07.160 Stop! 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.060 Think! 00:31:08.340 --> 00:31:08.740 Stop! 00:31:08.840 --> 00:31:09.299 You stop! 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:09.720 Hey! 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:10.580 Come here! 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:11.140 Listen to me! 00:31:11.140 --> 00:31:11.779 Listen to me! 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:12.860 Listen! 00:31:13.799 --> 00:31:14.580 I'm sorry. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:16.640 I'm sorry you missed out on so much. 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:18.640 That's on us. 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:25.600 But today, in the town of David, the Savior was born to us. 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:27.360 All of us. 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:31.320 I can't let you miss out on that. 00:31:34.780 --> 00:31:37.440 Well, better not keep that baby waiting. 00:31:40.080 --> 00:31:40.520 Idea! 00:31:41.100 --> 00:31:42.920 Pit stop for more boba teas on the way? 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:44.820 Not a chance. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:52.960 Let's catch up with what the eyewitness history said. 00:31:53.320 --> 00:31:56.540 That was sort of a bit of an addition to it. 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:58.540 It continues in verse 8. 00:31:59.560 --> 00:32:04.740 And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:10.980 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 00:32:11.080 --> 00:32:12.580 And just sort of pause here for a second. 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.980 Spielberg would be saying, what? 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:15.059 What? 00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:21.700 These people should be at the shh, at the inn, with the baby, not five miles away. 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:22.900 Like, what's going on? 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:25.640 Like, that's what political aides would say to you, right? 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:33.759 The prime minister wants to do something, or the leader of the opposition, and the big shebang is five miles away from where they are, 00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:36.019 and they'd be saying to the aides, like, what are you doing? 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:38.420 That big thing's supposed to be with me. 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:39.339 I'm the big thing. 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:42.440 But it's five miles away, and it's to the wrong type of guy. 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:52.880 It's to lower working class guys doing a lower working class thing, not a whole pile of PhDs or billionaires or artist types or anything like that. 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:55.740 It's a whole pile of working class guys five miles away. 00:32:55.900 --> 00:32:56.740 But it continues. 00:32:56.900 --> 00:33:03.799 And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:33:04.600 --> 00:33:10.019 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. 00:33:10.140 --> 00:33:11.420 And we'll return to that in a moment. 00:33:11.420 --> 00:33:17.360 So what we're getting here is the story has happened, and now the meaning of the story is being revealed. 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:20.100 But it's five miles away, and it's to the shepherds. 00:33:20.460 --> 00:33:23.740 Verse 12, and this will be a sign for you. 00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:29.400 And one of the things which is so wonderful about this sign is it's a sign appropriate to shepherds. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:34.300 Because shepherds will know where animals are fed. 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:40.139 And it's also a wonderful sign because, you know, so it's a lower working class thing. 00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:41.500 It's not like the owner class. 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:45.500 Like, you know, like how many billionaires know where the gas stations are, right? 00:33:45.619 --> 00:33:47.659 Probably, like, I'm not putting down Trudeau. 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:49.419 Like, he's been prime minister for a while. 00:33:49.419 --> 00:33:51.339 He probably doesn't know where the gas stations are. 00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:55.519 Like, he doesn't know where sort of normal things are, where you buy groceries. 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:58.759 Like, he probably hasn't been to a grocery store in forever unless it's a photo op. 00:33:58.759 --> 00:33:59.700 And I'm not putting them down. 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:02.700 It's just the way a certain class of people are. 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:06.460 But here's a perfect sign for lower working class guys. 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:07.779 This will be a sign for you. 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:10.920 You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:13.699 They know where animals are fed. 00:34:14.699 --> 00:34:16.400 And that's, like, weird. 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:20.099 Like, you can bet a million dollars or a million shekels. 00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:24.400 It's the only baby in a feeding trough of animals in Bethlehem. 00:34:25.059 --> 00:34:26.360 And then something else happens. 00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:30.960 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 00:34:31.620 --> 00:34:33.579 Glory to God in the highest and on earth. 00:34:33.720 --> 00:34:36.860 Peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:34:37.720 --> 00:34:41.480 Now, verse 11 is almost creed-like. 00:34:41.620 --> 00:34:43.860 If you look at it again, verse 11, it says, 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:49.880 Unto you, in other words, for you, for you. 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:53.099 Because God is for you. 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:58.839 If you resist him, of course, you resist him. 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:01.860 But he is for you. 00:35:03.319 --> 00:35:04.639 He is for you. 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:08.579 And he's for you. 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:16.279 And born this day in the city of David is a Savior who is Christ the Lord. 00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:18.900 So here is something to ponder. 00:35:21.740 --> 00:35:24.540 Who is Jesus and does he really matter? 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:27.040 Who is Jesus and does he really matter? 00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:34.380 Canada, in 2023, there are sort of three types of views of Jesus and whether he matters. 00:35:35.120 --> 00:35:39.760 For many, it would be, maybe the majority, I don't know, it's just a hobby. 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:46.340 You know, some people, they like playing video games. 00:35:46.620 --> 00:35:48.300 Some people like going to church. 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:50.400 Some people like going to bars. 00:35:51.100 --> 00:35:54.920 It's just whatever turns your crank, whatever gives you a little bit of peace and security. 00:35:55.080 --> 00:35:56.420 Like, if it's good for you, that's fine. 00:35:56.560 --> 00:35:58.420 As long as just, you know, life moves on. 00:35:58.420 --> 00:36:05.820 For others, if, as I, I love this line, it's a line from a famous feminist. 00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:10.420 And she said, the original line is, a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:13.200 I think it was Jermaine Greer who said that. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.360 But it's a, it's a very wonderful line that can be borrowed. 00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:20.760 And many Christians, many Canadians would just say, I need Jesus like a fish needs a bicycle. 00:36:22.240 --> 00:36:22.639 Right? 00:36:22.720 --> 00:36:24.960 Like, it's a little bit lower than a hobby. 00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:26.800 I can understand video games. 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:28.019 I can understand going to bars. 00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:31.480 This Jesus thing, like, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:34.539 And then, of course, there's many people who would just see it as toxic. 00:36:35.179 --> 00:36:40.920 This is the whole source of all of our colonizing problems, all of our backwardness, all of our wars, 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:43.320 all becomes from people like Jesus. 00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:45.820 But there's something to ponder about this. 00:36:45.900 --> 00:36:47.119 Like, what if it's true? 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:51.880 Like, what if it's true? 00:36:52.720 --> 00:36:54.800 Like, and why would we think it's true? 00:36:54.800 --> 00:37:01.180 We think it's true because of the resurrection, the context of this overarching story from which we get justice 00:37:01.180 --> 00:37:11.140 and the dignity of human beings and the worth of women and the veneration of life and a concern for true justice. 00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:14.220 What if it's true? 00:37:15.539 --> 00:37:17.160 What if there really is a savior? 00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:17.299 What if there's a savior? 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:21.179 Like, if you think about it for a second, 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:27.440 every human being, if they spend any type of time in reflection, 00:37:28.539 --> 00:37:31.179 will realize that there's something off about them 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:34.619 that doesn't fit. 00:37:34.619 --> 00:37:38.900 There's something off about us. 00:37:38.900 --> 00:37:43.619 What if we have that insight and we really do need Jesus? 00:37:44.819 --> 00:37:48.219 That he is big and all else is small. 00:37:48.500 --> 00:37:51.539 That he has the criteria by which we live. 00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:53.880 He knows what it's like to be a human being. 00:37:54.380 --> 00:37:55.819 He is the one who saves. 00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:57.000 He is the Messiah. 00:37:57.199 --> 00:37:58.179 He is God himself. 00:37:58.460 --> 00:37:59.799 What if it's true? 00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:02.960 Show the last mini-movie, please. 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:24.320 Long lay the world in bleak midwinter pining. 00:38:25.320 --> 00:38:28.940 From Adam's fall declining, sorrow mining, hope resigning. 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:31.840 Yet this song to heaven inclining. 00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:34.860 Come, O come, Emmanuel. 00:38:35.699 --> 00:38:37.000 Ransom captive Israel. 00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:40.000 Descend and all our dark dispel. 00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:42.059 Be pleased as man with man to dwell. 00:38:43.380 --> 00:38:45.119 This countdown to the first Noel. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:46.000 They did foretell. 00:38:46.139 --> 00:38:47.240 The prophets preached, Emmanuel. 00:38:47.900 --> 00:38:48.599 God with us. 00:38:49.240 --> 00:38:50.119 Come to break the spell. 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:53.380 So low within that manger lies 00:38:53.380 --> 00:38:54.980 he who built the starry skies. 00:38:55.740 --> 00:38:56.119 Surprise! 00:38:56.940 --> 00:38:58.019 That's God with us. 00:38:58.380 --> 00:38:59.260 The royal son. 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:01.720 The second of the three in one. 00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:04.940 Three is first when counting down. 00:39:05.059 --> 00:39:06.519 The father, son, and spirit bound. 00:39:06.820 --> 00:39:08.440 The four all things behind above. 00:39:08.539 --> 00:39:10.280 A unity, joy, hope, and love. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:13.159 Then sent by love and filled with joy. 00:39:13.740 --> 00:39:15.960 God's hope became a baby boy. 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:19.240 See him lying on a bed of straw. 00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:21.579 The little Lord Jesus. 00:39:22.139 --> 00:39:23.340 Whom angels adore. 00:39:23.340 --> 00:39:25.900 And all will surely ask, 00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:27.140 What for? 00:39:28.340 --> 00:39:30.340 When Adam's ruin beckoned, 00:39:31.160 --> 00:39:32.880 God sent down a second. 00:39:34.160 --> 00:39:37.180 Word of the father now in flesh appearing. 00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:39.280 Christ was volunteering. 00:39:39.500 --> 00:39:40.880 Human nature commandeering. 00:39:41.660 --> 00:39:43.400 Adam's life he would redo. 00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:46.500 This, the meaning of the two. 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:51.219 The second of the three became the second of humanity. 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:53.940 And he would do it right. 00:39:54.920 --> 00:39:56.280 And bear our wrongs. 00:39:56.800 --> 00:39:58.699 And take our curse where it belongs. 00:39:59.860 --> 00:40:01.780 And rise again like morning sun. 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:03.659 And ask us all, 00:40:04.219 --> 00:40:05.880 Will you be one? 00:40:05.880 --> 00:40:08.980 What child is this? 00:40:09.579 --> 00:40:12.480 Shares our abyss that we might share in all that's his. 00:40:13.519 --> 00:40:18.000 Made one with us that we might be united for eternity. 00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:20.680 So joy to the world. 00:40:20.840 --> 00:40:21.860 The Lord is come. 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:26.660 Good tidings sing in three, two, one. 00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:51.679 I invite you to stand as I read the last few verses of the story. 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:57.219 When the angels went away from them into heaven, 00:40:57.339 --> 00:40:58.799 the shepherds said to one another, 00:40:59.299 --> 00:41:02.579 Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, 00:41:02.779 --> 00:41:04.539 which the Lord has made known to us. 00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:07.659 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph. 00:41:08.259 --> 00:41:10.399 And they found the baby lying in a manger. 00:41:10.899 --> 00:41:12.159 And when they saw it, 00:41:12.179 --> 00:41:15.539 they made known the saying had been told them concerning this child. 00:41:16.239 --> 00:41:19.339 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 00:41:19.340 --> 00:41:22.180 They would have told them that this baby was the Savior, 00:41:22.460 --> 00:41:24.039 that this baby was the Messiah, 00:41:24.240 --> 00:41:26.840 that this baby was Lord God himself. 00:41:27.900 --> 00:41:31.700 But Mary treasured up all these things, 00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:33.320 pondering them in her heart. 00:41:34.019 --> 00:41:35.480 And the shepherds returned, 00:41:36.059 --> 00:41:37.740 glorifying and praising God 00:41:37.740 --> 00:41:39.420 for all they had heard and seen, 00:41:39.960 --> 00:41:40.880 as it had been told. 00:41:42.840 --> 00:41:44.039 Things to ponder. 00:41:46.160 --> 00:41:48.059 Who is big and who is small? 00:41:49.340 --> 00:41:50.860 Who knows human beings best? 00:41:51.400 --> 00:41:53.780 What criteria will we live by? 00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:58.220 Is Jesus the Savior and Messiah and Lord? 00:42:00.059 --> 00:42:01.059 If he is, 00:42:01.900 --> 00:42:05.019 well, maybe you want to ask some of us 00:42:05.019 --> 00:42:06.800 about how you begin to believe in him. 00:42:08.380 --> 00:42:11.460 Or learn of him. 00:42:12.100 --> 00:42:13.620 Or go deeper into him. 00:42:14.180 --> 00:42:15.920 But the story invites us to believe, 00:42:16.640 --> 00:42:17.260 to tell, 00:42:17.260 --> 00:42:18.460 and to ponder. 00:42:18.720 --> 00:42:19.240 Let's pray. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.300 Father, we thank you for your word. 00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:24.400 We thank you for Jesus. 00:42:25.300 --> 00:42:26.160 We ask, Father, 00:42:26.220 --> 00:42:28.320 that you help us to not just read the story, 00:42:28.440 --> 00:42:29.720 but to ponder the story. 00:42:30.580 --> 00:42:31.120 And, Father, 00:42:31.200 --> 00:42:32.520 as we ponder the story 00:42:32.520 --> 00:42:33.860 and the deep truths in that, 00:42:34.060 --> 00:42:36.180 will you change us and transform us? 00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:37.640 Help us, Father, 00:42:37.720 --> 00:42:39.440 to be more solid people 00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:40.900 living by your criteria, 00:42:41.240 --> 00:42:44.020 to trust that you understand who we are, 00:42:44.019 --> 00:42:45.940 to understand, Father, 00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:46.820 that you are big 00:42:46.820 --> 00:42:48.699 and the things we come across are small, 00:42:49.139 --> 00:42:50.860 and that Jesus is our Savior. 00:42:51.099 --> 00:42:52.840 He is the fulfillment of your promises, 00:42:53.320 --> 00:42:55.940 and that he delights not only in saving us, 00:42:56.019 --> 00:42:56.980 but in being our Lord. 00:42:57.840 --> 00:42:58.159 Father, 00:42:58.300 --> 00:43:00.719 grow these truths deeply in our lives, 00:43:00.860 --> 00:43:02.420 and we ask this in the name of Jesus. 00:43:03.219 --> 00:43:03.559 Amen. 00:43:14.019 --> 00:43:16.980 Amen. 00:43:16.980 --> 00:43:17.380 Amen. 00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:18.800 Amen. 00:43:18.940 --> 00:43:19.320 Amen. 00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:19.699 Amen. 00:43:19.840 --> 00:43:20.980 Amen. 00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:21.900 Amen. 00:43:21.900 --> 00:43:22.360 Amen. 00:43:22.440 --> 00:43:26.340 Amen. 00:43:29.239 --> 00:43:29.880 Amen. 00:43:29.880 --> 00:43:30.079 Amen. 00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:30.699 Amen. 00:43:30.699 --> 00:43:31.099 Amen. 00:43:33.219 --> 00:43:33.739 Amen. 00:43:34.739 --> 00:43:35.199 Amen. 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:35.679 Amen. 00:43:37.759 --> 00:43:39.000 Amen. 00:43:41.460 --> 00:43:41.980 Amen. 00:43:42.259 --> 00:43:42.800 Amen. 00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:43.179 Amen.