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🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 Good morning and welcome to Verity Baptist Church and Merry Christmas. Let's go ahead and take our seats, grab your song books, turn to song 423. 🎵Somber Music🎵 Song 423. 🎵Somber Music🎵 Joy to the world, song 423 on the first. 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 423 on the second. 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 423 on the third. 🎵Somber Music🎵 He rules the world with truth and grace, that makes our nations prove the glories of his righteousness, the wonders of his love, the wonders of his love, and the honor of the wonders of his love. 🎵Somber Music🎵 Good morning, I want to welcome you to this service here at Verity Baptist Church. We're glad you're with us and we of course want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We have a wonderful service lined up for you today and we'd like to begin the service with a word of prayer, so let's go ahead and bow our heads together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we thank you for Christmas and what it represents, the fact that you would send your son to die on the cross for our sins. Lord, we thank you for salvation, we thank you for fellowship, for friendship, for gifts, and Lord we pray that we would honor you today and that we would remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. We love you, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Turn to song 424. 4-2-4 🎵Piano Music🎵 O come all ye faithful, 424 on the first. 🎵O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,🎵 🎵O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.🎵 🎵Come and behold Him, perfect King of Angels,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵It entice the Lord.🎵 🎵Sing choirs of angels,🎵 🎵Sing an exultation,🎵 🎵O sing all ye high,🎵 🎵Pose of heaven above.🎵 🎵Glory to God, O🎵 🎵Glory in the highest,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵It entice the Lord.🎵 Good, let's sing it out on the last. 🎵Yea, Lord, we greet thee,🎵 🎵For this happy morning,🎵 🎵Jesus to thee we adore Him.🎵 🎵Lord of the Father,🎵 🎵Thou infest the bleeding rain,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵O come, let us adore Him,🎵 🎵It entice the Lord.🎵 Good, sing it. Amen, all right, well, let's take our bulletins this morning and we'll look at some announcements. If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, of course, Luke 2 11, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And we of course want to again wish you a Merry Christmas. We're glad you're with us on this Christmas morning. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. and that is our normal schedule. Of course, today we started a half hour later at 11 a.m. just to give you a little extra time on Christmas morning. But next week we'll be back to our normal schedule at 10 30 Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. That is again our normal schedule, but we're on a special holiday schedule for the next couple of weeks for this Sunday and next Sunday. So we'll talk about that here in a minute. And then Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. If you look at our solar times, our main solar times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional solar times on Thursdays and Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m. And of course, we are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the church service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. However, we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of those rooms have comfortable seating. They have monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use those rooms. If you're not sure where they're at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the restrooms are, where the mother baby rooms are, where the daddy room is. So please make sure you use those rooms as needed. If you are here this morning and you're a first time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're glad you're with us. We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning as you go out our main foyer. If you go out our secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up and on that table you'll see little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you. It'll look like this and we'd like to give this to you as a gift for being our guest this morning. There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have. The one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting. We think you'll like it. We think you'll enjoy it and we want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you do not leave here this morning without grabbing a gift bag on your way out. And if you are a guest, we ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. If you need a pen, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen. You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well. And we would like to have a record of your attendance. We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service. I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out. If you need to be baptized, please let us know on your communication card. You can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you in regards to that. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course today is Christmas and we have a special Christmas schedule and we've got different things going on today. One thing that we do want all the kids to be aware of that we have a small Christmas gift for all of the children. At the end of the service, after the preaching, while we're singing the last song, we'll have the ushers go through and we've got these Christmas candy bars for all the kids. It says, Merry Christmas, Verity Baptist Church, and it has the verse Luke 2.11, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. So all of the kids at the end of the service will have the ushers go through and pass out these small Christmas gifts for all of the children in the service. And then of course we want you to be aware of our New Year's Eve service coming up this Saturday, December 31st at 7 p.m. It is not a church service, it's just a fellowship time, but at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve we'll begin, we'll have a potluck, and we'll just have a time of fellowship. We're going to have a popcorn machine, we'll watch a film, and then we're going to pray in the New Year if you make it to midnight, if you stay until midnight with us, we'd love for you to join us. And then of course on January 1st begins nine chapters a day. January is Bible month here at Verity Baptist Church, and every January since our church started we have challenged our church family to read the entire New Testament in the month of January, and we call it our nine chapters a day challenge. The way it works is if you read nine chapters of the New Testament every day in the month of January, you'll read the entire New Testament in the month of January, and we've got these charts for you to be able to track your nine chapters. You'll notice that you've got two grace period days, and we want to challenge you to be a part of this. If you make the challenge, if you read the entire New Testament, we have a plaque that we have made every year with everybody's names for everyone who read nine chapters a day, so we hope you'll get excited and get ready for nine chapters a day in January. And then of course choir practice is going to be starting soon for the adult choir. They're going to be singing for I Love My Church Sunday, and that begins on Sunday, January 8th at 5 p.m. here in the auditorium, so please make note of that if you're part of the choir. Practice for I Love My Church Sunday begins on January 8th. Holiday schedule, we just want you to be aware, of course we started at 11 a.m., so we started a half hour later this morning, and actually next Sunday we will start at 11 a.m. as well. So next Sunday is the first Sunday of the year, and it's the first day of the year, and we want to encourage you to honor the Lord and put him first. We want to be in church on the first day of the year. I can't think of a better place to be than in church on the first day of the year, so we'd love for you to join us. We'll start at 11 a.m. to give you a little extra time, of course you'll probably be up late the night before, and we're going to be having lunch for both Sundays here for you if you are staying for the second service. So normally we have church at 6 p.m. on Sunday night, our second service or evening service, but today and next week we will have our second service at 1.15 p.m., it'll be a short service. The goal is to get you out of here by 2 p.m. So today, after the morning service, if you are staying for the second service, then we want to invite you into the fellowship hall, and we'll have lunch for you, and we'll have lunch from when the moment the service ends to about 1.15, at 1.15 we'll come back in the auditorium, we'll have a short service. The goal is to be done by 2 p.m., and that way you can have the rest of the day to have Christmas dinner and do whatever you need to do. So if you're staying for the second service, we want to encourage you to stick around for lunch, and we are not providing a Christmas dinner, all right? You will do that at your house. This is just a lunch, this is just to hold you over for the second service, so we've got some sandwiches from Costco, and we've got chips and sodas and things like that. So we'll have a quick lunch, and then we'll have the second service after the morning service in our fellowship hall. Upcoming cleaning crew, you can check for your name there, there's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of December, tomorrow is Brother Johnny and Ms. Tamara's anniversary on December 26th, and then on December 27th, we have Brother Ron and Ms. Tina Kolek's anniversary. Malia Jania has a birthday on December 27th, Penelope Pompa has a birthday on December 30th, Ms. Diane DiPasquale has a birthday on December 30th, Jackson and Shiny Samuel have an anniversary on December 30th, Brother Aidan and Ms. Ruby Roldan have an anniversary on December 31st, and Brother John and Ms. Irene Reed have an anniversary on December 31st. Praise report, money matters, all those things are there for you to look at. I think that's it for all of the announcements. Don't forget about the Christmas gifts for Jesus, you should have one of these inserts in your bulletin, and we're going to have this out until the New Year's, so if you'd like to purchase a gift for the church, there's a list here of things that we use on a regular basis, and we've got a drop-off station in the main foyer, you'll notice that there's a lot of stuff on there, we appreciate everybody who's been participating and helping, and this will definitely help the church. Everything on this list are things that we actually use, and there are also things that are not going to go bad or perish or anything like that, so they're really going to help us out throughout the year, so we appreciate all of you who've participated, and if you've not yet participated, you will have till January to be able to do that, and you can drop things off until the first of the year there at the drop-off station, all right? I think that's it for all of the announcements, so we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week, and we'll sing Angels We Have Heard on High. This is a little bit of a fancy song, so you've got to sing it on purpose, if you don't know it, let's learn it together, and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o'er the plain, And the mountains in reply, Echoing their joyous strains. In excelsis Deo, We're going to sing it out. On the second angels we have heard on high on the second verse Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sing The Lord embed in me Christ the Lord, the newborn King O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, in excelsis Deo O, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Lord of all, in excelsis Deo. Good singing out on the last. See Him in a manger rain, whom the cards of angels praise. Mary Joseph, plan your reign, while our hearts in love rejoice. Oh, Gloria, in excelsis Deo. Oh, Gloria, in excelsis Deo. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together this morning. Lord, we thank you for Christmas and what it means. And Lord, we pray that you'd bless the offering, the gift and the giver. We pray that you would be with us as we open up your word and as we look at scripture together. Lord, we pray that you'd bless today. Help us to minimize distractions. Lord, help us to be attentive to the word of God. Help us to leave here different than we came. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to 1 Timothy, chapter 2. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand, or an usher will bring you one. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. We will read the entire chapter, as is our custom. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. Just keep your hands up, and an usher will bring you a Bible. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. The Bible reads, I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, whereunto I am obtained a preacher and an apostle. I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, but which becometh women profess in godliness with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. Let's pray. Lord God Almighty, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless Pastor and the message. Let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen. Amen. Amen. All right, well again, we just want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas. We're glad you're with us today for our Christmas service and of course on Christmas Day. And we are there in 1 Timothy chapter number two. And of course we have been going through a sermon series called The Christmas Spirit. We've been going through a Christmas sermon series over the month of December. And we've been studying from the Bible these things, which I refer to as the Christmas spirit, and they're kind of the themes of Christmas or the attitude of Christmas. And over the last several weeks, we've been looking at these words. We started with the word joy, and we learned from the Bible what joy is and what it means to have joy and how to have joy. We talked about peace, we talked about hope, we talked about goodwill. And like I told you, I think last time we were together, the way that I've been kind of vouching whether these words truly represent the spirit of Christmas is I've just been paying attention to Christmas decorations and Christmas themes as I've been out and about. And these are the words that come up. You'll see these in Christmas decorations, the words joy and peace and hope and goodwill. And we spent a good amount of time just thoroughly studying these things out, and I hope you've been learning about what these things mean and realizing that they're not just a theme for Christmas, but they're a theme of Christianity. Joy should be something that Christians should have all year round. Peace should be something that Christians have all year round. Hope and goodwill should be things that we have all year round. And then the last time that we were together, we kind of transitioned a little bit away from these words that are characteristic of Christmas, and we looked at another word that is also used a lot in Christmas decorations, and it is the word emmanuel. And we talked about emmanuel and the fact that the word emmanuel is a word that you'll see displayed a lot during Christmas and used in Christmas literature and music and decorations. And emmanuel speaks to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we learned last time we were together about the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, which means that he's God in the flesh, he is deity, that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, that God was manifest in the flesh. So this morning, of course, being Christmas morning, we're gonna finish our series on Christmas, and we're gonna look at one more word that I think you will agree is a word that is often used in regards to Christmas in Christmas music, in Christmas cards, in Christmas decorations, and the word is noel, noel. And I wanna speak to you on the subject of the word noel or the phrase noel, and the name or term noel is definitely a theme of Christmas. It's something that you only hear around Christmas time. And the truth of the matter is this, that probably the vast majority of people don't know what the word noel even means. Let me just begin here in the introduction by reading you a little excerpt defining the word noel. Here's an article entitled What Does the Word Noel Mean? And it says this, a term, noel, is a term signifying the holiday season. Noel comes to us from the Latin verb nasi, meaning to be born. A variation of this word, nael, made its way into the Old French as a reference to the Christmas season, and later in Middle English as noel. Today, noel is used synonymously with the word Christmas or Christmas season. And of course, today, when we use the word noel, we are referring to this holiday season of Christmas, and like I just read to you, the word noel is used synonymously with the word Christmas. But I want you to understand that the word noel actually finds its roots in this idea, and the word literally means birth. And of course, we know that it's become synonymous with the term Christmas, because Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. I just think it's interesting, and I think it's very fitting and very balanced the fact that when we reference the Lord Jesus Christ during the holidays, we will often reference him in the term Emmanuel, which speaks to his deity, and we'll reference him in the term noel, which speaks to his humanity, because noel is a reference to the birth of Christ and the humanity of Christ. So last time we were together, we spoke about the deity of Christ, and this morning on Christmas Day, I'd like to speak to you for a few moments on the subject of the humanity of Christ, the birth of Christ, the fact that Jesus, yes, was God in the flesh, but that he was God who became flesh. Now, you're there in 1 Timothy chapter number two, and 1 Timothy two is not necessarily a passage you would normally turn to in Christmas and read at Christmas time, but 1 Timothy chapter two has a verse in it, which is the type of verse that I refer to as a non-Christmas Christmas verse, and it is a verse that really speaks to the subject of Christmas, but not a verse that we generally look at during the Christmas season. 1 Timothy chapter two and verse five, the Bible says this, "'For there is one God and one mediator "'between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.'" And that verse really speaks to the theme of Christmas and the purpose of Christmas. You say, what is the purpose of Christmas? It is this, that there is one mediator between God and man, and that mediator is, notice the last part of that verse, I want you to notice the emphasis, the man Christ Jesus. The Bible teaches, of course, that Jesus was God in the flesh, but the Bible also teaches that Jesus was a man, that he was a human being, that he was God in the flesh. We saw this verse recently, but I want you to see it again. You're there in 1 Timothy chapter two. Flip back to 1 Timothy chapter three, or forward, excuse me, to 1 Timothy chapter three, and look at verse number 16. 1 Timothy chapter three and verse 16, the Bible says this, 1 Timothy 3, 16, "'And without controversy,'" the word controversy means dispute, debate, contention, meaning there's no arguing this, "'without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.'" Notice these words, "'God was manifest in the flesh.' "'God was manifest in the flesh, "'justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, "'preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, "'received up into glory.'" And I think as Christians, it's good for us to take some time to remind ourselves, and I know it sounds trite on Christmas to maybe say these words, but it's good to remind ourselves that Christmas is not about gifts, that Christmas is not about receiving your favorite thing that you wish you would get, and I'm not against gifts, and I'm for gifts, and we buy gifts, and I hope that you did get gifts, and did get what you wanted, but let us remember that Christmas is about the greatest gift that was given, which was the gift of salvation, the fact that God became flesh and dwelt among us, and that God came to this earth, Jesus came to this earth, and he was born, the humanity of Christ, that God was manifest in the flesh. Now, you're there in 1 Timothy 3, and go with me, if you would, to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 2. You're there in 1 Timothy. If you just go past 2 Timothy, past Titus, past Philemon, into the book of Hebrews, chapter two, first and second Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter number two, and while you go there, let me say this. The New Testament will often emphasize both the deity and the humanity of Christ, and as Bible-believing Christians, we need to remember that we believe that Jesus was both 100% God, and at the same time, 100% man. He is the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, and we believe that he was God and he was man. He was the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout the gospels, you'll notice, Jesus is famously referred to as the son of God, and that is a reference to his deity, but more often than he's referred to as the son of God, in the gospels, he's also referred to as the son of man, which is a reference to his humanity. He was both God and man. Are you there in Hebrews 2? Look down at verse number 14, Hebrews 2 in verse 14, the Bible says, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, I want you to notice here, the Bible is saying the children are partakers of flesh and blood, and the understanding is this, that anyone who's ever been a child, which is 100% of all human beings, if you're alive today, you were born a child, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, notice what the Bible says, he, referring to Jesus, referring to God in the flesh, the second member of the Godhead, the son of God, he also himself likewise took part of the same. The Bible says that he, Jesus, took part of the same, took part of what? Flesh and blood, he became flesh and blood, he was born. What we are celebrating today is the fact that Jesus came to this earth and that he was born. Now I'd like you to keep your place there in Hebrews please, we're gonna leave it and we're gonna come back to it, and I'd like you to be able to get there quickly, so put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there in the book of Hebrews, and then go with me if you would to the Gospel of Luke, towards the beginning of the New Testament, you've got the book of Matthew, the book of Mark, and then you've got the book of Luke, Luke chapter two. Now Luke chapter two is probably the most famous passage in the Bible in reference to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what we are celebrating today. Luke chapter two and verse number six, the Bible says this, and so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she, this is of course referring to Mary, the Virgin Mary, that she should be delivered, notice verse seven, and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. What we are celebrating, the purpose of Christmas, the reason that we have this holiday is because we are celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fact that God was roped in flesh, came down to this earth, and I'd like to just for a few minutes this morning speak to you on the subject of the birth of Christ and the humanity of Christ. I'd like to give you five statements if you would allow me to do that. On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things and maybe you can jot these down if you'd like. Five statements regarding the birth and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, some things that we should remember and be aware of and that we should consider on Christmas Day. Number one, at the birth of Christ, or at the birth of Jesus, Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity. Of course, we know that he was born, that he was roped in flesh, but he did not descend from heaven as a 30-year-old man in a 30-year-old body. He wasn't like Adam was created as a grown man. The Bible tells us that he was born as a child, and at birth, Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity, and the point that I'm making is that he subjected himself to the experience of humanity. He experienced everything that you and I experience, even the things that we don't remember, birth and learning to walk and learning to talk. These are things that Jesus experienced in his life. You're there in Luke chapter two. Look down at verse number 39. Notice what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ at his childhood. Luke 2, 39, the Bible says, and when they, this is of course referring to Joseph and Mary, and they've got Jesus as a baby here, and when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth. Verse 40, and notice these words, the child grew. The child, referring to Jesus, grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. The Bible does not give us a lot of details in reference to the childhood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We really get just a couple of chapters worth of details regarding the birth of Christ, and then we get one real well-known story about the Lord Jesus Christ when he was 12 years old, and then other than that, we don't see him again until he's in a 30-year-old man. So the Bible does not tell us a lot about his childhood and the things that happened to him as a child, but the Bible does tell us this, of course, and we know it, that he grew and waxed strong. When he subjected himself to humanity, when the second member of the God had decided that he would come down to this earth and he would become a man, that he might die for our sins, he did not come as an adult, but he was birthed as a baby, he was birthed as a child, and at birth, he subjected himself to the growth of humanity. Look at verse 51, Luke chapter two, in verse 51, the Bible says, and he went down with them and came to Nazareth, notice what the Bible says, and was subject unto them. I mean, consider that. This is Jesus in his childhood. This is Jesus as a young child, and the Bible says that he was subject, meaning that he was obedient, meaning that he put himself under the authority, he was subject unto them, unto who? Unto Joseph and Mary, unto his parents here on earth. And you know, the Bible tells us that though Jesus was God in the flesh as a child, he was an obedient child. He was a respectful child. He subjected himself unto his mother and unto his stepfather, Joseph. The Bible says that he was subject unto them, but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Verse 52, notice again, and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature. The word stature is referring to his physical growth, wisdom referring to his mental growth, and in favor with God and man, a reference to his spiritual growth. And we can learn something about the birth of Christ and the humanity of Christ, and it is this, that at birth, Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity. So children, remember this on Christmas Day, when you're playing with all your gifts that you've received today, remember the fact that Jesus was once a child just like you. And Jesus, the Bible tells us, was subject unto his parents, he was respectful unto his parents, he was obedient unto his parents, and you can say, well Joseph wasn't really his dad, but it was his human authority here on earth, and he was subject unto him. And the Bible tells us that he increased not only in stature, but in wisdom. He not only increased in wisdom, but in favor with God and men. He grew spiritually, and he grew in favor with men. What does that tell us? That tells us that he grew in his social skills. Jesus was a kid that people liked. He grew in favor, the Bible tells us, with men. How do you know, what did he do to be liked? The Bible doesn't really tell us, but I bet you that he was respectable. I bet you that he wasn't some rude kid, talking to adults like he's on their level or something like that. The Bible tells us he subjected himself, and here's what I'm telling you, we often focus in on the ministry of Christ, and we should, but let's remember that we are celebrating his birth, and that child had a time of growth in which he grew into a man, and the Bible doesn't tell us a lot, but it tells us he increased in wisdom, he increased in stature, and he increased in favor with God and men. So at birth, we can realize and consider the fact that Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity. You're there in Luke. Go back one book into the book of Mark, if you would. Let me give you another thought. Not only did Jesus at birth subject himself to the growth of humanity, but at birth, Jesus subjected himself to the limits of humanity. Of course, we know that he was God in the flesh, but Jesus chose to lay aside his glory. He chose to lay aside his deity, and he subjected himself to the limits of humanity. Let me just give you a couple of examples. The Bible tells us we know that from scripture that Jesus experienced hunger. This is something that we experience as human beings. Mark chapter 11 in verse 12, the Bible says, and on the morrow, when they were come to Bethany, referring to Jesus, he was hungry. He was hungry. Now, is God in heaven in his glory and deity? Does he ever experience hunger? The answer is no. But Jesus here on earth as a human being, did he experience hunger? The answer is yes. Why? Because he subjected himself not only to the growth of humanity, but to the limits of humanity. Notice verse 13, and seeing a fig tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if happily he might find anything thereon, and he came to it and found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. So here we see Jesus hungry. He was looking for something to eat, and in this instance, he doesn't find it. Go to John chapter four. John chapter four. Not only did he subject himself to the limits of humanity, but he subjected himself to the weariness of humanity. John chapter four. John chapter four in verse six, the Bible says this, now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, notice these words, being wearied with his journey. Being wearied with his journey sat thus on the well, and it was about the sixth hour. Here the Bible tells us that Jesus was traveling, and he was weary, he was tired with his journey. We saw earlier that he was hungry, and the point is this, that Jesus at birth subjected himself to the limits of humanity, subjected himself to the growth of humanity. He subjected himself to these things. Now, you might think, well Pastor, why are you spending time explaining this? This is pretty basic. Why do we need to understand this? And the reason you need to understand is this, because remember, he was not just born for no reason. There was a reason for his birth. There was a major reason for his birth, and there was other minor reasons for his birth, and the reason that, one of the reasons that he came was to, of course, save us. Another one was to set an example for us. Another one was for him to help us, and to be our helper. We're gonna see that here in a minute, but I want you to understand that the context of that is that he grew like you grew, and he had limits like you had limits. So we could never look at Jesus and say, oh yeah, well he did it, but he was God in the flesh. No, yes, he was God in the flesh. He was God, but he was still in the flesh. And for example, here John chapter four is the perfect example, because in verse six we're told that he was weary with his journey, he was tired, but if you keep reading John chapter four, you know what he does? He goes soul winning. And that's a great example for us, because if you've ever used the excuse, I can't go soul winning because I'm tired, hey, don't give that excuse to Jesus, he got tired too, and he still went soul winning. And you can say, yeah, but he was God. Yeah, but he was also flesh. He was also man. So everything he did, he did with your limits. With my limits, with your experience, with my experience. Look, there's really nothing you can say of Jesus that if you say, I grew up in a broken home, Pastor Mendez, if I grew up in a home like yours where a mom and a dad was there and you were raised in Christianity, maybe I'd be different, but I grew up in a broken home and I had a stepfather and my dad wasn't around. And look, and I'm not trying to be cynical or rude, but Jesus could say the same thing. Obviously he wasn't abandoned by his father, his father was God up in heaven, but he could say, well, I didn't grow up with a dad either. And the point that I'm making is this, that the reason that Jesus was born and the reason that he grew and the reason that he limited himself to human nature, limited himself to the limits of humanity and to the growth of humanity is that he might have the same experience that you and I have, that he might relate to us. And that you might relate to him. Keep your place there in Luke, if you would. I'm not sure if you kept your place there. I'd like you to keep your place there. We're gonna come back to Luke. But go back to Hebrews, if you would. Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter number four. We're talking about Noel, the birth of Christ, the nativity. The fact that the second member of the Godhead was born in this world and he's objected himself to the growth of humanity and he subjected himself to the limits of humanity. But let me say this as well, and we could spend all day on this and I'm not going to, but let me say this. At birth, Jesus subjected himself to the temptations of humanity. Any temptation that you've ever faced, he faced. Any temptation that you've ever had, he had. Now, the difference between him and you and I is this, Hebrews chapter four and verse 15. For we have not in high praise, that is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, a position of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, for we have not in high praise, which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. What does that mean? That means he could be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. So wasn't this thing that Jesus was down here like Superman or something and he just didn't feel anything, never got hungry, never got tired. No, no, he was touched with the same feelings that you and I are touched. He was touched with the same weariness, with the same hunger, with the same temptations. The Bible says, for we have not in high praise, which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are. But here's the major difference. The Bible says about him, yet without sin. Now, that cannot be said of you and that cannot be said of me. It can be said about Jesus, he never sinned. But you know, the Bible says that he was tempted in all points like as we are. Now, that doesn't mean that he was tempted with every sin that you and I have ever been tempted. But if you consider the fact that sins generally are put into different categories. In fact, we're not gonna take the time to look at it but if you look at the famous temptations of Christ when Satan appears to him and tempts him, you'll notice that those temptations are representations of types of temptations. He was tempted with hunger. He was tempted with pride and fame. He was tempted with authority and money. He was tempted with really the same things that you and I are tempted. Now, they might look different for different people but it's all the same temptations. And the Bible says that he was tempted in all points. There's no temptation that you can look at Jesus and say, well, you never experienced. No, he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. You say, well, what is the purpose of him being tempted? There is a proving there. The proving of the temptations is proving that he really was who he said he was. He was the son of God because he was tempted, yet without sin. But I want you to notice that there's also a purpose to the temptations. Not only a proving but a purpose. What is the purpose? We saw there in verse 15 that he was tempted, he was touched with all the feelings of our infirmities but was at all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That proved his deity. That proved his sonship. That proved that he was who he said he was. But I want you to notice, there's a practical purpose behind it as well. Verse 16. Verse 16 is in the context of verse 15. Verse 15 says that he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And then within that context, we are told, let us therefore, the word therefore means for that reason. For what reason? The fact that he was tempted in all points like as we are and yet without sin. The Bible says let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The Bible says that you and I can have mercy and help from our high priest. Why? Because he understands. The same temptations that you and I struggle with. He never gave in to them. He was without sin. But he felt them. He experienced them. He understood them. Look at Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two and verse 16. Hebrews four, 16 tells us that we can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews chapter two and verse 16 says this, for verily. I want you to understand and look, we're looking at some passages today and I realize they're not the Christmas passages and we're gonna look at a Christmas passage here in a minute. These are the non-Christmas Christmas passages. But if you really consider what we're reading here in Hebrews chapter two, you'll realize that this is about Christmas. This is about Noel. This is about the birth of Christ. Here the Bible says in Hebrews 2, 16, for verily he, referring to Jesus, notice what it says, took not on him the nature of angels. He did not come down here in the nature of an angel like an angel, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. He took the nature of a human being, of humanity, wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren. Notice that he might be, why did he take on the nature of Abraham? Why did he take on the nature of humanity? That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest and the things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Don't miss that. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted. Notice, for that he himself hath suffered being tempted. When he was tempted, it was a real thing. He suffered through those temptations, yet without sin. And because he suffered being tempted, but was victorious, the Bible says that he is able to succor them that are tempted. That word succor means to aid, to support. He can help you, why? The purpose of his temptations, that he might show mercy and be a help in time of need. The Bible tells us that he did this, that he might make reconciliation for the sins of the people. We already saw it in 1 Timothy. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And please understand this. Please understand what we are celebrating today as Christmas Day, as the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, is this, that there was enmity. We've seen this already in our Christmas series, that there was enmity between God and men. They were at odds with each other. Unregenerated, unsaved man is the enemy of God. Sin has put us at odds with God. And there was no way to bridge that gap. That's why I think it's silly that most religions will teach, well, you know, you're an enemy with God, but just try to do enough good things and you'll get to God. No, see, the problem with trying to do enough good things to get to God is that God is perfect. And the Bible says that we all come short of the glory of God. The whole point is that you can't bridge your way to God. There's God, there's man, we're at enmity. There's no way that we could come together. You say, well, what was that bridge? That bridge was the God man. God became man and became that reconciliation between God and man, the mediator, the man, Christ Jesus. And by the way, the mediator's not Mary. God blessed Mary and God blessed her for being a good Christian lady in every way he used her, but she was a woman like any other woman. She was a human like any other human. She was not deity, she was not someone we should pray to. Or any other saint or any other God you wanna put in there. There's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. At birth, Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity, to the limits of humanity, to the temptation of humanity. Let me say this as well. You're there in Hebrews. You would go with me to 1 Peter. If you go past the book of James into the book of 1 Peter, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter two, at birth Jesus subjected himself to the sufferings of humanity. We already saw it there in Hebrews 2, 18, for in that he himself had suffered being tempted. I want you to know that Jesus truly did suffer on this earth. 1 Peter chapter two and verse 21, the Bible says, for even here unto where ye called, Hebrews 2, 21, because, notice these words, Christ also suffered for us. Say, why was he born? Why did he grow? Why did he limit himself? Why did he subject himself to temptations? Why did he suffer? The Bible says that he suffered, here are the key words, for us. Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Verse 22, who did no sin. I was clear about that. Who did no sin, neither was gall found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Verse 22, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Not salvation. Salvation's not that you can repent of your sins and do enough good things and say enough prayers and hopefully you'll go to heaven. That's not salvation. You'll end up in hell, friend, trusting in your works and trusting in yourself. Salvation is that I could not save myself, I could not reconcile myself to God, but he bear his own self, our sins, in his own body on the tree. Because I'm saved, I will never have to pay for my sins, but not because I paid for them, because he paid for them. Because I was unable to. Whose own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. That phrase, whose stripes you were healed, is a quote from Isaiah. I'd like to read to you a portion of Isaiah 53. You don't have to turn there unless you'd like to, but you don't have to, I'll just read this for you. Isaiah 53 is a famous prophetic scripture regarding Jesus. One of the most famous prophecies in the Bible written, we're told about 700 years, maybe 500 years before the birth of Christ, about Christ, and it describes both his growth and his suffering. Isaiah 53 says, who hath believed our report, and to whom is the armor of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground, he hath no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire in him. Listen to these words. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we've all turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shears is done, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off of the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people was he stricken. He was made, and he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. You might say, Pastor, you're reading Isaiah 53, isn't that an Easter passage? It's all connected. And by the way, let me say this to those people out there who say, I don't know about Christmas, Christianity. It's funny to me how the world wants to reject Christianity, yet the two most, the two biggest holidays celebrated in this world, celebrate the birth of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. Christmas and Easter. I mean, isn't it true? Tell me what holidays are bigger than those two holidays. St. Patrick's Day? Labor Day? Halloween? Which one? The biggest holidays recognized on this earth are about the birth, the life, the death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ. Why? That's what all history's about. All history is his history. It's about God, the fact that God sent his son. For he shall bear their iniquities that he might justify many. Go to Philippians, if you would, Philippians chapter two in the New Testament. We've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians chapter two, we'll be done here soon. Philippians chapter two. We talked about the birth of Christ, Noel, the nativity, that Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity, the limits of humanity, the temptation of humanity, the suffering of humanity. And of course, lastly, he subjected himself to the death of humanity. Because let's never forget, let's never forget the reason he was born. He was born to die. And please don't misunderstand that and don't confuse that with our humanity. There are some similarities because of the fact that he was human, but there are some distinct differences there. We are born and die. He was born to die. You and I cannot get out of the fact that we will die. When we were born, we were destined. There was a destination that started at that birth and it ends with death. That is not so of Jesus. He did not have to die. He could have called 10 legions of his father. He said, no man taketh my life from me. He said, I lay down my life. You and I are born and die. He was born to die. Philippians chapter two and verse five. Here's what the Bible says. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Notice these words. Who being in the form of God. Now why can the Bible say that? Because he was God. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of the servant and was made in the likeness of man. He put on the robe of flesh and being found and fashioned as a man. Notice these words. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Why? Because at birth, Jesus subjected himself. At birth, Jesus subjected himself to the growth of humanity, to the limits of humanity. Why? That he might have the same experience that you and I have. He subjected himself to the temptation of humanity. Why? That he might prove that he was who he said he was. He was tested in all points, tempted like as we are, yet without sin, and that there might be a purpose there that he could succor us, that he could have mercy on us, that he could help us in time of need. But he also subjected himself to the sufferings of humanity. He subjected himself to the death of humanity. Why? Because he was born, not like us, who die. He was born to die. Yesterday, my family and I were getting lunch somewhere after soul wedding, and we were sitting there eating our food, and of course, like most places, during the holidays, there was Christmas music being played, and there was a hymn being played over the speakers. It was not sung in a proper way, sung in a worldly way, but it was a hymn. It's kind of a unique time of year where you can walk into a store and hear a hymn, I mean, a hymn out of our hymn book, a Christian hymn, song sung in a worldly location, a secular location, because of, not Santa Claus, but the birth of Christ. And it's interesting to me, because one of my sons asked the question, he said, when unsaved people sing these songs, do they even understand what they're singing about? Do they even understand? We had this little discussion, because one thing that we've learned over the years, and in ministry we've learned this, and my wife herself had this experience, and it's interesting, is that, you know, forget about Christmas. Unsaved people will grow up hearing songs like Amazing Grace. Most people think Amazing Grace is a patriotic song. And then they get saved, and the first time that someone gets, after they get saved, the first time they hear the words to Amazing Grace, it's always just this funny thing, because it's like, whoa! That's about salvation! And it's like, yeah, we know. Like, do they know that? Like, no, they don't. And it's the same with the Christmas songs. They sing them, but they don't know. But they don't know what they're about. You and I do, if you're saved. I just want to read some words from one of the most famous hymns, Christmas hymns, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. I want you to listen to these words. Consider the birth of Christ in these words. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the sky, with angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the newborn King! Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings, mild he lays his glory by! Born that man no more may die! Born to raise the sons of earth! Born to give them second birth! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the newborn King! Let us not during this Christmas season subject ourselves to the Christmas of the secular world, where it's all about gifts and all about parties. Let us remember that the purpose of Christmas was that God became man. Mild and humbly he lays his glory by. There's a reference to the fact that he laid down his deity. He limited himself to humanity. He was born that man no more may die! Born to raise the sons of earth! Born to give them second birth! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the newborn King! If you would have liked to go to Luke chapter 2, we'll finish up. Luke chapter 2. I purposely had Brother Graham read a different passage of Scripture from the passage in Luke because I wanted to end the service this morning with reading the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2. I think it's always befitting that on Christmas day we should take the time to read the Christmas story. Last night on Christmas Eve as we were gathered with family we took the time to read the Christmas story and I'd like for us to do it as well here today. Luke chapter 2 and verse 1, the Bible says this, And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria and all went to be taxed, every one in his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea and to the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife being great with child. And so it was that while they were there the days were accomplished that he should be delivered And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night and lo the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And they shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven the shepherd said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen and it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus which was so named of the angels before he was conceived in the womb. Let us remember on this Christmas day that what we are celebrating is Noel, the birth of the Savior, Emmanuel, God in the flesh. And really it's only through him that we can find joy and peace and hope and good will. Like I read to you last time we were together, 2 Corinthians 5.19, my favorite non-Christmas verse, my favorite Christmas non-Christmas verse, to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. That's by our heads. Heavenly Father, Lord we thank you. We thank you for these words, these Christmas themed words and what they mean. Joy, peace, hope, good will. I pray Lord that you would help us to experience them, help us to have them in our lives. Lord we thank you for these additional words that characterize Christmas. Emmanuel, God with us, Noel, the birth of Christ, the birth of the Savior, highlighting both the deity and the humanity of our Savior, the God-man who can mediate between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Lord we love you. We thank you for salvation. We thank you for Christmas. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to give you a couple of reminders as we prepare to finish the Sunday morning service. First of all, let me remind you that as we sing this song we'll have the ushers come through. They've got some baskets with these candy bars for the children. All of the children in attendance this morning will receive this small Christmas gift from the church and just a nice little candy bar for Christmas. So we'll pass those out as we're singing the last song. And then I just want to remind you about the schedule for today. So immediately after the morning service, as soon as we're done, if you are staying for the second service then we want to invite you to have lunch with us in the fellowship hall. Again, it's not a Christmas dinner or anything like that. It's just sandwiches from Costco and we've got sodas and chips and stuff. But we have a nice little lunch to hold you over. And then we're going to have our second service starting at 1.15 p.m. The goal is for that service to be done at 2 p.m. And then you can have the rest of the evening. We didn't want to cancel a church service because of the birth of Christ. That just doesn't really seem right. But we want to try to help you and schedule that. So if you're staying for the second service we invite you to have lunch with us. And the service will begin at 1.15 p.m. If you're not staying for the second service, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and let you know that I think the McDonald's is open across the street. And I'm sure they'll have some sort of a Christmas lunch for you there. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. We want to, of course, wish you a Merry Christmas. And we'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us with the final song. Brother Matt, would you mind praying to dismiss the service and also praying a blessing on the food for lunch? Thank you. Turn to song 421. 421. 421 on the first. The first Noel, the angel did say, Whilst to certain poor shepherds it built heaven ray, In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, On a cold winter's night that was so deep, Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Lord is the King of Israel, And by the light of that same star, In the azured clay camp of a tree-flower, To see for a King was their intent, And to follow thus far wherever it been, Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Lord is the King of Israel, This star to guide to the north-west, O God, prepare me to work this rest, And here it did, O stop and say, All over the place our Jesus lay, All over the world, all over the world, Lord is the King of Israel. Good, sing it out on the last. Then it turned in, those wise folk three, O every tree above their knee, And up in there it was heard, Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Lord is the King of Israel. Amen, good singing. Before we leave here, if anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism past, we'll be at the door and we'd love to talk to you, or direct you to someone who's trained to talk about that. Let's go ahead and close with prayer. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this morning. We thank you for sending your Son to be born on this earth, to die in our place, Lord. I pray that you be with us the rest of this day, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray that you be with us, Lord. We pray that you be with us, Lord. Amen.