Christmas Eve 2009

you. My thought tonight is the Lord Jesus is an entirely new kind of man that has come on the planet. He's not from this line of humans. Even though he's born into this human existence, he's not from Adam. He doesn't have any sin. He came from outside of humanity, yet he's incorporated into this humanity through the virgin birth. He came from an altogether other humanity. There's never been this kind of man here before. He's the first of his kind to arrive. But he existed before he became a human. He's existed from all eternity.

So John 1.1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and He was in the beginning with God. When the beginning was, He was already there. So where did He come from?

In 1 Corinthians 15.47 it says, The first man is out of or from the earth. The earthly man, he's made of the dust of the earth. The second man, who is Christ, is from or out of heaven. But heaven's a pretty big place. Where do you think he came from from heaven?

In John 1.18, it says, No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten of God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. He came out from the bosom of the Father. It's a really unique place for him to come here from heaven, but from the bosom of the Father to declare who God was and is. So before he's incarnate, before he's the babe of Bethlehem, he's known as the Word of God. He's the one that declares God.

In John 1.14, it says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

So when he comes here, what does he bring with him? He brings into this world something that was really not here before. There was some grace here and some grace manifested in the way God dealt with Israel and with the people. And there was some truth here, primarily manifested in the Mosaic system. But he brought the fullness of grace and all truth because he is truth. He isn't the possessor of truth. He is the thing truth.

So John 1.17 says, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth were realized through the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us have received the grace in our salvation. Every single one of us. But the grace that comes with Christ is grace upon grace.

It is more and more all the time. You cannot exhaust it. You cannot use it up. It's unlimited and it's boundless. And that's what Christ brought. And He is full of grace. And like John says, of His fullness, we have all received. So you can't use up the grace that He brought.

John 1.16, for the fullness we have all received, grace for grace. Maybe you could illustrate it this way. If grace were a commodity and you could put it in a bottle, if you went and took a gallon out, there would be billions of gallons more. You can't use it up. And the more you use, the more there is.

So why is he so different than all other men? Several things. Because he is the very essence of God. And so therefore, His life has its own unique characteristics. His life has its own configuration. It has its own meanings. It has its own standards and its own objectives. His life has its own mentality, its own rationale. It has its own ways.

And you know, when someone says he really did have a mind of his own, he really did. And he'll take his own path. He will not take instructions from anybody on the earth. He's going to take a path that he and his father have already determined. All others, all other ways of thinking are other indeed. Do you understand what I mean by that? Every thought of every man up to this point is other than his thinking. There's no association between the natural life and spiritual life, his life. at this point.

He's holy. He's righteous. He's without mixture. He's pure. There's no suspicion or suggestion of darkness in him. There's no cloudiness. There's no lack of transparency in him. There's no darkness at all. And he is truth. Colossians 115 says he is who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Verse 19 says, For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. 1 John 1 verse 5 says, And this is the message which we have heard from him and announced to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. So why did he come?

John 3.16 says that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whosoever would believe in him should not perish. He came to give eternal life.

However, Hebrews 1.3 says, who being the radiance of God's glory and the very essence of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had made purification or he had purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. So he came to die to satisfy God about the sin so that we might have eternal life.

Colossians 2, 2 and 3 says, Paul is praying that their hearts might be opened or comforted. They being knit together in love and unto all the riches of fullness of understanding that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ. A mystery in this sense is something that was never revealed before. He comes, he's a mystery. In whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in this one Christ.

Colossians 1.25-27 says, wherefore I was made a minister, Paul says he was made a minister, and oh by the way, so are all of we, all of us. according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me towards you to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery, which has been hid for the ages and generations, but now has been manifested to his saints, which is all of us, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery. And what is it? Among the Gentiles, it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So he is really here to inhabit you with himself so that he may bring you back to the glory of the Father in the Father's bosom. So he really is, this babe, is in fact a totally new man. Good evening. We're going to be stepping our way at intervals through the account of how this new man, Christ, came into being as the Son of God and the Son of Mary.

Interestingly enough, although we could go over a number of passages that talk in advance about Christ's coming, one of them that's particularly relevant is the promise to David about a thousand years before Christ was born. In 1 Chronicles 17, verses 14 and 15, it goes like this. But I will settle him in my house, and this is the Lord speaking, and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. This was a promise given to David directly about his own descendant.

And then about seven centuries before the birth of Christ, the Lord had, through the prophet Isaiah, this be written, Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel, which means God with us.

Well, it turns out in this Little town called Nazareth. It's in the area around Galilee, but it's kind of between Galilee and the coast. It is over this valley that's over the valley that later on gets the name Armageddon, okay? So that's where it will be, the big battle. So here in Nazareth is the place where this story starts.

And it's a small town, oh, historians and archaeological investigators look at it and say, somewhere between maybe 80 and 300 people. So real small. Everybody knows everybody's business. Everybody knows what everybody else is doing. You can walk around the town, which wouldn't take very long, and meet just about everybody pretty quick. Everybody in the whole town, was quite aware of what was happening with everybody else in town.

And now here in this kind of reconstruction of what Nazareth might have looked like, we see this town, nothing fancy. There's probably no Nazareth Walmart, you know. There's nothing you say, hey, let's go down and get a bite to eat. Well, unless you're making it, you're not getting a bite, okay?

This is a reconstructed version of the synagogue there in Nazareth where the Jews would have gathered. And so this would even have been the place where Mary and Joseph would have gone. They would have various places around town. Nobody lived high, well I say high on the hog, that's not right for a Jewish town is it? No, that's not right. Nobody lived very fancy. Carpenters, they really didn't have much of a shop. Most carpenters were also loggers because there was no Nazareth lumberyard. And so they had to be loggers as well. Get the trees for whatever it was they were called to build and work away at.

It was in this kind of little town then, that Mary, in her young teens, maybe 13, 14, had an appearance from an angel. I'm reading to you tonight from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 through 38. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth. to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you. But she was very perplexed at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.' And Mary turned and said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you And the power of the most high will overshadow you.

And for that reason, the holy child shall be called the son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age. And she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, the bond slave of the Lord May it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

So there in the little tiny town of Nazareth, there up in the hill country between Galilee and the Mediterranean coast, was a place where Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married. I have a picture here of what a typical bride of the time would be like. That, to them, would be gorgeous. And by the way, the color white, you know, we look at that as a symbol of purity, to them it was blue. So, you know, figure that one out. So, to them it was blue, but the point with that is this.

In the Jewish customs of the time, a couple would be engaged, and it was typically something in which the parents had a significant part in the arrangements. And when they were engaged, they were called betrothed. They were actually called husband and wife at that stage, although they weren't married. The husband and wife title didn't allow them to have sexual relations. Matter of fact, that was considered very much off limits and simply not allowed.

But here, in this engagement process, and by the way, just imagine some of the things that Joseph would have said to Mary. Joseph would have said to Mary when they got betrothed, engaged as we say it, he would have held up a cup of wine and said, this is the new covenant. And you know what he would say as he was leaving? I go to prepare a place for you. Interesting words, huh? So here's Joseph and Mary engaged and Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant. Oh, ghastly discovery. What to do? What to do? And so Joseph and Mary are soon to make this trip down to Bethlehem that's discovered and So that's got to take place now.

Let's have a reading from Matthew chapter 1 18 to 25 and Matthew 1, 18-25, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child who has been conceived in her as of the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Which translated means God with us.

And Joseph awoke from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. So Joseph took Mary as his wife which actually was true when they were engaged. But he did not have any relations with her because it was not allowable when they were betrothed and it was not allowable under the Jewish laws and customs for him to have relations with her even until after the baby was born. so likely they were not married until after Jesus was born.

How's that for, in that culture, incredible shame in a small town no less. So here in Nazareth they got this notice that they would have to respond to the order by the Roman Emperor to go and register for the census. Each was to go back to their ancestral family home And that meant that Joseph was to go down to Bethlehem, all to fill out a piece of paper declaring, I, Joseph, my wife, Mary, we have this son, Jesus, etc. And so to go down to Bethlehem, they would travel from Nazareth and travel most likely along the Jordan River, which was about a 600 foot descent. As they drop down there, down the Jordan River, go along there, and then once they got to Jericho, then they head up a very steep road up towards Jerusalem. And by the way, the donkey, You see it in the pictures. You see it in the postcards. Unlikely. It's very likely that Joseph could not afford one. Nonetheless, they made this trip.

They made a very steep climb from Jericho all the way up to Jerusalem. Coming over into Jerusalem, this is the roadway that comes over from the east. And you begin to look at Jerusalem as you come over the roadway, the one that Jesus would come across later in what's called the Triumphal Entry as he'd come over the hill on this very roadway here. About six miles south of Jerusalem then would be the town of Bethlehem. Oh, about 3,000 inhabitants, maybe 800 homes, something of that sort. And it was kind of off the beaten path, actually.

Not a lot of traffic through it. But that's where Joseph and Mary had to go. No exceptions. No exemptions. They must be there. So from Jerusalem they traveled down to Bethlehem. That was actually one of the easier parts of the trip. About six miles, pretty flat territory for the most part. So they would come into Bethlehem and this is a black and white that's been colorized, but you can kind of get the idea of what it would be like coming in towards the town. and finishing their journey. It's a place where Joseph had been before, but this was going to be a visit like no other. Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered would soon deliver you. Mary, did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man. Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know Oh, your baby boy has walked where angels trod When you kiss your little baby You've kissed the face of God Oh, Mary, did you know The blind will see The dead will live again The lame will leap The dumb will speak The praisers of the Lamb Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? This sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am.

So there in the town of Bethlehem where you would think that Joseph and Mary might have gotten away from the shame of having this pregnancy in this little tiny town of Nazareth. Ah, we get away from it. No. They come to Bethlehem where it's basically a forced family reunion. How do you like that? Because everybody who has descended from David is now coming to town, like it or not. And so, While the whole town is full of not only those who live there, most of whom are descended from David, and all the others from out of town, like Joseph and Mary, who are also descended from David. But here is Joseph, desperate to find a place. And as he looks for a place, the typical arrangement in the houses there was to have a one-room home and then have a place next to the home.

Sometimes it was a place carved out, maybe occasionally a natural cave, but a lot of times just carved out of the stone and the soil there. Sometimes built out of maybe masonry or something of that sort. At best a little alcove. Just a place to keep the animals in for the night. That's all it was. And that little place there would be this overnight stable for animals. And it was only just kind of an overnight stable, no great barn.

It was contrary to Jewish law to have in that same room and have connected another family. Isn't that interesting? And so you had this rule they would, if there was a connection between this little stable and the residence, they had to wall it off. They couldn't, they'd have to put a temporary wall in there, which was a bit of a problem.

That little inn, that little spare room, which is really just a small overnight stable for the animals, a little alcove, that's the catalooma or the inn where Jesus was born. Joseph was going around from house to house. You know, there were about 800 houses there. I hope he didn't have to go to all of them before he found one. But he had to go from house to house until he found somebody with a spare little overnight stable there. Somebody that would let him come. He had to find one with room, and he had to find one where the people would let him come there knowing that Mary was not a baby conceived in wedlock. Now, since Joseph quite likely knew a great many of the people, that was a tough task.

It was not likely an inn like we think of an inn. An inn would be on a major road. They would typically be about 15 or 20 miles between inns. And so Bethlehem was not only on a major road, but it wasn't the right distance away from Jerusalem where you would have had an inn. So not likely they had an inn and the innkeeper was hard-hearted. No, it was really a matter of does anybody have a spare room, even a little stable, an overnight stable, where they will let me have my wife and my baby and have the baby be born right there. Who will allow that?

This child of shame. to be born in their stable. Well, they apparently did find somebody, and that's why the manger was just the right place. A little stone manger was just the right place to place Jesus there. And so there in that little stable, and by the way, typically they were about four and a half feet high, so crouched down.

And to bear the baby, it was tough. We're not sure how it happened. It was actually against the Jews' established laws to have Joseph in there while Jesus was being born. So either they found somebody who would come in and help, or Joseph was forced to violate the Jews' laws and be there and birth Jesus. So under those circumstances, our Lord was born.

Somebody gave him a little spare room, a little overnight stable. Well, nearby, it turns out, there were some shepherds. And these shepherds would keep their sheep in fenced in areas sometimes and the fences were made of stone like this. And matter of fact, this was one little area where the shepherd would be at the one opening and that's why he would be called the door. As Jesus himself said, I am the door. Here's another area of a shepherd near Bethlehem and again the stone fences. And so the shepherds would watch over their sheep day and night, looking for predators, making sure that the animals had plenty of feed and get them to water as well.

They would sometimes, if they had any place to stay, stay in a cave like this. This is a cave right near Bethlehem. And so these shepherds barely living above caveman level would be there. Now it turns out these shepherds may well have been the shepherds that raised the sacrifices that were used in the temple.

Here is a picture of shepherds watching their flocks by night right in the area of Bethlehem. Many of the ways things are done now are similar in great degree to what was done then. So while these shepherds were there doing what they had done for many, many centuries, and what these very shepherds were thinking of, this is just another night, it was that kind of a time when the angel appeared.

They were not used to seeing angels appear, believe me. It was that kind of a time when the angel appeared. and told them about this child who was wrapped, a newborn, wrapped in these newborn tight banded cloths and lying in a manger. They would know that this was a brand new baby. They would know since he was in a manger that he would be in one of these little overnight stalls in one of the houses in Bethlehem.

So that's where they would look for him. It was after that, about 40 days, that they would take Jesus, as required, into the temple. And that's where Simeon and Anna show up in the account in the Gospel of Luke. And that was about six miles to the north, a little over a month after Jesus was born. Then they would go back to Bethlehem.

We have then, following the account in Matthew, in chapter 2, where it tells of the Magi, or wise men. We don't know that there were three. There may have been. There may have been two. There may have been five. We don't know. But these wise men came, and they had come from an area far to the east. Matter of fact, they had come from an area that was an area that Herod was supposed to look out to make sure that no invaders came from. So he would be very interested in some strangers coming from the east, from the area where the invaders might come from. And so any such strangers, he would most certainly want to ask about. Well, these particular strangers, however, were asking about something that also got his interest. Matthew chapter 2. So I'm reading from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born of the king of the Jews? For we saw a star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all of Jerusalem was with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

And they said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea. For this is what has been written by the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will be shepherd my people Israel.'

Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you found him, report it unto me, so that I too may come and worship him.' After hearing the king, they went their way, and the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly and with great joy. After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way. What child is this? Leave to me, just keep me there Why lies he in such mean estate Where ox and ass are free? So bring him incense, gold and myrrh His face is Christ the King Who sheds His cross and angels sing His face to bring Him peace So there, after coming from Jerusalem down to Bethlehem and presenting the gifts to the one born King of the Jews. They gave gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Those would all be very valuable gifts. And the last two items, by the way, are things that would be used in the typical and therefore likely Christ's burial.

Matthew 2.13-15 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him. So Joseph got up and took the child and his mother while it was still night and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was fulfilled what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Out of Egypt I called my son."

So what's the good news for all mankind? You know, many would say, well, Roger, the birth of Christ obviously is a good news for all mankind. Christ came as a child, and Mike, so beautifully, he's a God-man, and Vern showed us how the angels proclaimed him. But is that really the good news that our Lord and Savior would have us know? And I would say it's part of that, and it's critical to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the God-man.

But there's actually more to the story than that. And actually, Christ revealed it specifically to Paul, what the good news, what the gospel really is. And it certainly includes who he is, but there's more to that story. If you think about it, his birth focused on who he was. We gave His lineage. He was both man and He was both God. But the gospel will focus on His death, His death on the cross for all mankind.

I'd like to read you from 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 through 5. Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved. if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believe in vain. For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

And He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve." You know, this passage, Paul reminds us, he talks about the Corinthian believers. He says, you know, I came to those believers And I proclaimed the Lord Jesus. I proclaimed him. I proclaimed his death. And I proclaimed his being buried and rose again. And he said, you know, people believe that. They took it to themselves as you would take a wife, as you would take in a present. They took it in and they believed that and they were saved.

But he says, you know, that's not the full story in that passage in 1 Corinthians 15. He said the full story is I need to precisely tell you this good news. And this good news didn't come from me. He says, you know, the good news is the most important thing I can tell you. I did not receive it from man.

I received it from Jesus Christ personally. And he explains that more fully in Galatians 1 and verse 11. He says, For I would have you know, brethren, the gospel which was preached to me by me is not according to man, not out from man, literally. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." You know, some of the expanded translations of that it has, but I received it through a direct revelation given to me by Jesus Christ.

You know, we saw the angels appearing to Mary and to Joseph and to the shepherds. Here's Paul. a unique individual in Scripture. He personally spent time with our Savior, the risen Savior. And the Savior personally gave him these words that are in 1 Corinthians 15. And it's actually, in a context, it's like Paul saying, and I quote.

His first quote is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And as our brother Hal Malloy used to say, that's a power pack passage, power-packed verse. And it's actually literally he died on behalf of our sins at a point in time. There's a couple passages that kind of amplify that. One of those is in Galatians 4, who gave himself for our sins so that we might be rescued from this present evil age according to the will of God and Father. Once again, it's on behalf of our sins. He gave himself on behalf of our sins.

But probably the most potent one here is in 1 Peter 2.24.

I read this sometimes and it's just mind-boggling, the description here. And he himself, Jesus, bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by his wounds you were healed. Another literal translation of that is just so wonderful. "...who himself carried up to the cross our sins in his body and offered himself there as on an altar, doing this in order that we, having died with respect to our sins, might live with respect to righteousness."

So that's the first part of this quote, Christ died for our sins according to the scripture. Part two is kind of short, and he was buried. And you don't bury a man who's alive. You bury a dead man. So Jesus Christ died, literally died. He was put in the grave.

And that's important to know. And the third part of the quote is, and he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures. Or better, he has been raised. And this is this wonderful tense in the Greek. He has been raised in the past. He continues to be raised in the present and on into the future. We serve a risen Savior.

And in Romans 4.25, he was delivered over because of our transgression and was raised because of our justification. And therefore, God can declare us righteous.

So in preparing for this, I came across this little summary that Chester McCauley put together. And I thought it just really was to the point. He summarizes the gospel as follows. is about a specific person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, a specific work, He died, a specific accomplishment, a perfect payment for sins. All of this coupled together with a receipt saying, paid in full in His resurrection.

So what should we do with that information? In Scripture, there's a couple of gentlemen that, actually a jailer I guess it is, that asked Paul and Silas a question. They said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Paul and Silas said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We're simply to believe in the person, as we saw in the first part here, and His work on the cross for our sins. That's the good news that needs to be proclaimed. Thank you.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of I wish you all a Merry Christmas. And now it's just you, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me you. O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave to me. Oh, the days when we were kids, oh, the days when we were kids. The days when we were kids, the days when we were kids. Heavenly Father, we praise you again. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to come and look a little bit deeper and look a little bit closer.

Lord, what you're sending your son to earth meant, what it meant to you, Lord, a new man. Lord, you chose to send your son to us in the most shameful circumstances. Lord, in the most painful, in the lowest way imaginable, to save us all, Lord. Thank you for this opportunity to ponder your son. Thank you for this opportunity to ponder the wonderful news of your gospel. Lord, I pray that each of us may drive home safely and enjoy a blessed holiday, just constantly rejoicing, constantly beholding this amazing son, Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. Amen.