2015 Christmas Eve

do do so so you you you you I'll be waiting for you I'll be waiting for you I'll be waiting for you so Oh, oh, oh, oh so so you you so so so I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back I'll be back, I'll be back So, let's open it with prayer.

Lord, we do thank you as we gather together and anticipate the celebration of your birth. And we just look to you to guide and lead our thoughts and understandings as we take a walk through the life of Mary here. And so we entrust our time to you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Please stand. We will sing together, What Child is This?, and three verses, 150, if you'd like to fall in your hymnal.

What child is this who laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ, the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. He's here to bring Him love, the Babe, the Son of Mary. Why lies He in In such mean a state where ox and ass are feeding, Good Christian people, sinners here, the silent word is plain. This, this is Christ, the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him, Lord, the Babe, the Son of Mary. So bring Him incense, gold, and myrtle rich, and pour to own Him the King. that loving hearts enthrone Him. This, this is Christ, the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. His taste to bring Him love, the Babe, the Son of Mary. Very good. Please be seated.

And we will ask Jacqueline Jenkins to come up and play Away in a Major. oh oh oh I am going to be reading Luke 1.26. I'll pause momentarily to see if anybody wants to grab at Bibles. Looks like a couple, so I'm stalling. Alright, I'm going to start.

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 a salutation this was. The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, he will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great, and he 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. Mary 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 bondslave of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Well, this evening we're going to trace Mary's life, kind of from the first time we see her in scripture, in Luke there, as was read. And we're going to see, basically, from the angel appearing to her, to the cross, to Pentecost. So I have the privilege of doing the part of the angel appearing.

And then subsequently, she visits her relative Elizabeth. So as you go through that, first of all, we find that Mary is a virgin who's engaged to a man named Joseph, who's of the descendant of David. And also, if you look in scripture, you'll find that Mary is also a descendant of David. So from both sides of the Mary situation, they're both the descendants of David. Kind of interesting.

And they lived in the city of Nazareth in Galilee. And the angel was sent, so we first see here that Mary is from this very humble surroundings in Nazareth, it wasn't a big city. And Gabriel is one of the few of the named angels in scripture. Actually, they're all also male. So all the things you see about these pretty ladies being angels really isn't too scripturally correct. It's men are angels. So that's kind of an interesting thing there too. And Gabriel is one of the named angels. And he is sent on a mission, literally.

He was sent from God on a mission to Mary. and he comes and he greets her and his greeting is kind of unusual and it's not maybe so doesn't jump off the page necessarily it says greetings favored one but that actually means in the original language it's the idea of be rejoicing you have been favored you've been graced by God you are a grace person and it says secondly and the Lord is with you Well, if an angel appeared to you and said that, you might be a little perplexed about that because it's really a wonderful thing. She said, you're favored one, you're blessed. So Mary was perplexed and was kind of troubled and didn't confuse maybe. And she kept pondering, well this is an interesting salutation. I'm blessed.

What's going on here is kind of maybe her reaction. So then the angel Gabriel, he proceeds to explain a little bit more. Secondly, he kind of says, well, he kind of senses apparently that she was afraid or frightened. And he says, literally, stop being frightened. Stop being afraid. For you found favor with God. You found God's grace. And it's with God, and you're not to be afraid here.

And then he explains what his mission is about. His mission is about And behold, you, Mary, will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. And then he doesn't stop there. Then he names five things about the Lord Jesus that are going to be true of him in his life. He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end.

And Mary, you know, maybe she was impressed by that, but she still was kind of hung up on the fact that she was going to conceive a son. Because she says, so Mary answered the angel and said, well, how can this be? Because I'm a virgin. I've never known a man. How can I, how can I have a baby? It's impossible.

So what's interesting is at that point, he goes back to the life of Elizabeth and John the Baptist. And he says, well, Mary, think about this. He says, and listen, even your relative, Elizabeth was her relative, has conceived in her old age and is six months pregnant. So he uses that to kind of set the stage. And he says, with God, nothing is impossible. So that's interesting. He tells her that she's going to conceive a child, and then he relates to Elizabeth, well, this is something that God has done also.

It's not so unusual. And he says, for nothing is impossible with God. And at that point, you know, Mary could have said, well, hey, I don't get this. It doesn't make any sense. But she believed him. It says, and behold, the bond slave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your words. So she believed him and the angel departed. So that's part one. So Craig is going to read the next part. To be continued.

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And she cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me, for behold, When the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy, and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. And Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has regard for the humble state of His bondslave. For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

So now we see that Mary, you know, it's interesting, it seems like maybe in her thinking, well, the only one that can possibly understand what's going to happen to me is Elizabeth, because the angel mentioned to Elizabeth that something miraculously happened with her.

She was apparently beyond childbearing age and she had a child. So she leaves immediately. She travels hastily to the hill country of Judea and she enters the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth hears a greeting, two things happen. The baby leaps in her womb.

And here's what's even more important, but not always recognized. Elizabeth was filled by the Holy Spirit. And we're going to see the Holy Spirit's going to have a lot to say about what's going to happen with Mary and with her child. And that's going to be significant in our understanding of the Lord Jesus. So Elizabeth, and some of them have songs here or psalms or whatever they're saying.

So Elizabeth says, she lifts up her voice with a great outcry and said, As for you, Mary, you have been blessed, and this is key, blessed among women. Not above women, blessed among women. Mary was a very special person, but she was a woman like any other woman. And she was blessed among women. So that's pretty important to kind of pick up on, and sometimes not realized.

And the fruit of your womb has been blessed. And then she says, wow, how has it happened to me? that I deserve, that I should be granted the honor of being the mother of my Lord. How is that possible? She was just overwhelmed that she would meet the mother of the Savior, basically. For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb, and it's actually for extreme joy.

And she said, blessed is Mary who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. So what's interesting here is we find out the heart of Mary. We find out that Mary believed when the angel told her what was going to happen, she believed him totally. And Elizabeth is expressing that and basically commending her, if you will, that she believed what was going to be done to her.

So next is Mary's turn. So Mary says, my soul exalts the Lord, or magnifies or praises the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. And literally that's God the Savior of me. So this is pretty astounding. Before we ever have the beginning of the church age or anything, she realizes about God being a Savior, being a Savior God, and that's really interesting.

And she believed that Like any other woman, any other man or woman, she needed a savior. And that's pretty interesting. And then she goes on to say, for he had regard for my humble state of his bondservant. She was in a lowly station. She wasn't a mover and a shaker. She was in a small little village. She probably had no more friends in that village. Very small. But she said, wow, look at the privilege I have.

For behold, from this time through all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name." So I just kind of have a question here. You see God entering time, if you will, and bringing forth His Son, Mary's Son, and the God-Man. So we see God acting here. So the question is, what is God doing today? Do we have indications of what God and the Holy Spirit are doing in today, in today's world? And I think there's a verse that kind of speaks to that. It's in the Gospel of John, chapter 16. And the Lord Jesus is speaking here.

He's getting ready to leave. And he's telling his disciples what the game plan is going to be, if you will. And it's kind of interesting. He's going to tell them that it's to their advantage that he goes away. And if he were them, they'd probably scratch their heads and say, it is? It doesn't seem right. You're going to leave? It's to my advantage? So here's the verse. Verses. But I tell you the truth. This is the Lord Jesus speaking. But I tell you the truth. It's to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will not come to you. But if I do go away, I will send him to you.

And when he comes, the Holy Spirit, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see me. And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. So I just want to focus on that first aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.

So the Lord Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit's going to have a ministry. He's going to be convincing men and women. And so what's he going to convince them of? And so, what's the message that the Holy Spirit wants to give men and women? It's concerning sin, that we're sinners, but more importantly, about who the Lord Jesus is and what He's done. His person, sometimes it's called His person and His work. The Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, as we've seen in this passage. But what is the message we're to believe about the Lord Jesus? And we find that in 1 Corinthians 15, it talks about the fact that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He only buried a dead man. And he was raised on the third day.

So that's the message. That's the message that goes out to us. And my prayer would be, we'd be like Mary. We would believe the message that the Holy Spirit of God is speaking out to us through the scriptures, through people who explain the scriptures. So that's our prayer for this evening.

And now we have some more special music from Zara's granddaughters. It was silent night, it was holy night, in the dark through my awesome light. All around town the people were seeping, and out in the field the shepherds were keeping. Where in manger a baby lay, a tiny boy laying to hang.

All the angels shouted loud and clear, Hallelujah the King is here, Jesus our Savior is born today, this baby is here to stay. Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright, Round yon virgin mother and child, Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, Holy Night Shepherds quake at the sight Glory streams from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah Christ the Savior is born Christ the Savior is born Silent Night Holy Night Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Joy to the world, the Savior reigns Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat the sounding joy He rules the world with truth and grace and makes The nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love. And wonders, wonders of His love We sing joy, joy to the world Glory to the newborn King For the light has come, He's the Holy One So with great joy we sing We sing joy, joy to the world, glory to the newborn King.

For the Light has come, He's the Holy One, so with great joy we sing. For the Light has come, He's the Holy One, so with great joy we sing.

Now we want to track the life of Mary after the time of Christ's birth. Mary and Joseph went to the temple and it was to present Jesus as required by the law of Moses. And that is where Mary met Simeon and Anna. And then we find Mary next mentioned with Joseph and Jesus at the temple, and that was when Jesus was about age 12. We then find Mary as his mother, is how she's referenced, and the sons at the wedding at the Cana in Galilee. At that point, it's interesting, Jesus sort of lets Mary know, you know, I'm not under you at this point in time, not under your command, but he graciously proceeds to perform a miracle to save the situation. Then we find Mary and the sons then after that going to Capernaum after the wedding and staying there in Capernaum for a few days.

Mary and the sons and sisters also at another time are coming about to talk with Jesus, but they can't get in to see him because of the crowds. Jesus uses that as a teaching opportunity to talk about these people that he's spending time with, his spiritual mothers and sisters and brothers, etc., spiritual family. Then we find, however, in John chapter 7 that Jesus' brothers So here's Mary's other sons don't believe until after the resurrection. And what's kind of startling is they're actually very alienated and negative until after the resurrection. Now, Mary is next mentioned among others, and by the way, several of those are named Mary, right? Among others at the crucifixion. And now we'll have Luke come up and read for us. John 23 through 30. John 19, 23 through 30.

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic. Now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece, so they said to another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture. They divided my outer garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore the soldiers did these things.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother, from that hour the disciple took her into his own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished to fulfill the scripture, said, I am thirsty.

A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to his mouth. Therefore, then Jesus had received the sour wine. He said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Thank you. Mary, it's evident, is very thoughtful about these things.

However, it does appear that she doesn't really understand all that's going on. What's interesting is as we look at the rest of the events that are recorded, Mary does not appear to be named or mentioned among those seeing where Christ was buried. She does not appear to be named or mentioned among those seeing the empty tomb. She is not named or mentioned as being among those seeing Christ resurrected. That's very interesting. She probably was included, I would guess, maybe in the 500, but it's interesting that scripture does not have her tracking through all these things. As a matter of fact, Mary is named just one more time, but we'll let Mike cover that one.

And now we will ask Crystal and Tristan to sing and perform I Wonder I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus, my Savior, did come for to die For poor, ornery sinners as you and I I wonder as I wander Out under the sky When Mary the Jesus Was in a castle With wise men and farmers And shepherds and all But high from God's heaven And the promise of ages it did then recall. Jesus had wanted for any, We sing a star in the sky, For heart of God's angels in heaven to see, He surely could have it, cause He was the King. I wonder as I wander out under the sky of Jesus my Savior, Poor ornery sinners like you and like I I wonder as I wander out under the sky I wonder I wonder O my Jesus, my Savior, for to die did come, for to die Acts verses 13 and 14, And when they had entered, they went into the upper room where they were staying, Peter, James, John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 2 verse 1. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2 verses 21-24 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by your God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. So when the disciples came back from Christ being ascended, they all went in the upper room and it says that Mary was with them. So that's the last mention of Mary anywhere.

And so she's with them all. But in chapter 2, verse 1, that Jaclyn read, it said, on the day of Pentecost, They had come, they were all together. So I'm assuming she was there with them then too. And then the last reference here to Mary, but it's very interesting what's going on here because in just a few verses Peter gets up and begins to talk to the crowd assembled for the day of Pentecost. And there's a lot of people there because of this loud noise.

And he gives them the gospel. He says, And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then he explains what the gospel is. This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and for knowledge of God, you, he's talking to these Jews, he says, you nailed to the cross and put him to death. But God raised him again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held. in its power.

So things really change at Pentecost. And as we were discussing about this, do you think Mary really knew what was going on? I doubt it, because even the disciples and the apostles at this point weren't really sure of all that was happening. But I think Mary being at Pentecost Believed in the Lord Jesus knew who he was and probably was one of those Who were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

So now she's a member of the body of Christ now if you think about the Lord Jesus in terms of who he was prophesied to be and how he was referred to the the term that keeps coming up is the term Emmanuel and And Emmanuel is a very interesting term, it means God with us.

But now, all that changes. Because for those who believe in the person and work of the Lord Jesus, it is now Christ in you. It isn't Christ with us, it's you in Him, and Him in us. So it's striking at a point in time that Mary that Christ as a infant or as a conceived was in Mary. But now the roles have been changed. The roles now are that Christ is now in her and she's in him.

And so it's a matter of biblical fact that lots of blessings are now true of her whether she knows them or not. It's the same with us. there are these unfathomable riches in Christ that we may or may not be aware of, and if we are aware of them we may or may not believe them, but they are ours and they're true of us no matter what. So when anyone believes in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, Instantly they are enriched with all of the spiritual riches that are in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1.3 says that blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.

In Colossians 2.9 and 10, Paul says we are declared to be whole or complete in Christ.

In fact, the Apostle refers to these blessings in Ephesians 3.8 that they are the unfathomable riches of Christ.

I looked up that word unfathomable in the Greek and I can't pronounce the Greek word, but I can tell you what it means. It means past finding out. It means unsearchable. You can't track it to the bottom. The idea is that a believer's blessings in Christ are too deep to be measured.

And we have them all. So who is this Lord Jesus now that the scene focuses on him? He is the only one through whom all things were made. He is the only man whose birth and death and exaltation fulfilled hundreds of prophecies. He's the only man conceived miraculously as we've talked about apart from any human father. He is the only man whose birth triggered a public celebration by multitudes of angels. He is the only one who existed long before his physical birth.

He is the only man who never disobeyed God, but always did those things that were pleasing in his sight, and he never committed one act of sin. He is the only man who could claim to be equal with God without committing blasphemy. He's the only man who died for sinners as their sin-bearing substitute sacrifice.

He's the only man to rise again and never to die. He's the only man who will return to earth in power and great glory. And he's the only man destined to be the world's king and only ruler. He is the only man who will judge all other men. He is the only man who will be the center of worship throughout eternity, worthy as the Lamb who was slain. He is the only person that men must trust in order to receive the gift of eternal life. There is no salvation apart from Him. Many of these blessings are clearly defined for us in His Word.

However, if you have never believed and receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith as the only begotten Son of God who died on a cross in your place to pay the penalty for your and my sins and rose again to ever reign with God the Father, then you'll forfeit these unfathomable blessings. So I'm going to list a few of them. Some of these, past finding out, unsearchable but not tracked out, too deep to be measured blessings in Christ are reconciled.

We have been changed from being an enemy of God to friendship. We've been redeemed. We were purchased out of the slave market of sin. His work totally satisfied God in terms of its value. All sin has been removed by His blood. We were crucified with Him. We were buried with Him. We've been raised with Him. We walk in a brand new principle of life in Him. We're free from all law principles and we live under now the principle of grace. We're a child of God. We're children of God. We are now the legitimate, organic offsprings of the God of the universe.

We've been adopted. In ancient times, adoption meant to be placed in a position of sonship and inheritance. We're accepted by God. in Christ. We're made righteous. We've been set apart. We're perfected forever. We've made accepted in the Beloved. We've been qualified for all of these blessings. We've been declared righteous. We've been forgiven all trespass. We've been made close or near to God. We've been delivered from the power of darkness.

We're actually a gift of God, the Father to the Son. We have access to him anytime. We are objects of his love, of his grace, of his power, of his faithfulness, of his peace, of his comfort, of his personal care and intercession. Peter says we're a chosen generation, a holy nation, a people of God's own possession. We're heavenly citizens. We're of the family and household of God.

We're glorified We're complete in Him. We are possessing every spiritual blessing. So, you talk about the perfect Christmas gift. Can you match these unfathomable, past finding out, unsearchable, not to be tracked, too deep to be measured riches in Christ?

When you open up your presence, think about that. Okay, the next thing on the schedule is two special musics. One, Nancy Peterman, who will sing In Christ I'm Eternally Blessed. And then Crystal and Kaylee will come up and perform Handles Come Unto Him.

In Christ crucified, I'm freed from sin By grace no longer need sin reign within Buried with Christ, the sin reckoned down He now lives within. In Christ alive I dance, broken core, raised to new life. we depart, great message we tell. Ascended with Him in heaven we dwell. In Christ our By faith in God's work I daily am blessed. I'm seated with Christ in heavenly place. Glorious His life, unending His grace, We praise You, O Lord, for Your precious Son, And thank You, our Father, for the work You have done. In Christ I am eternally blessed, By faith in God's work I daily am blessed.

Come unto Him, all ye that labor Come unto Him, ye that are heavy laden And He will give you rest Come unto Him, all ye that labor Come unto Him, if thou art heavy laden And He will give you rest For he is meek and lowly of heart, And ye shall find rest and joy Take His yoke upon you, and learn from Him, for He is meek and He shall find rest, and you shall find rest unto your souls.

Oh OK, thank you for joining us. We're going to have, after prayer, I'm going to dismiss you. We've got some goodies out there in the foyer. And so you'll want to take advantage of that and have a time of fellowship. And then the elders have a gift for you. It's a booklet that is on the little round table that's off to the left-hand side. So feel free to go ahead and take that home and read it as well. So, let's pray.

Lord, we do thank you that as we look at this and ponder this, what an amazing thing. Here is Mary who once had Christ physically inside her and then she was spiritually in him and he in her. That's rather an amazing thing to ponder. And Lord, we just thank you for the ways that you've blessed us In many ways, just like Mary was on that day of Pentecost. And we just give you thanks as we ponder the depth of this and what wondrous things you've done. The unfathomable ways in which we, and in fact she, have been blessed. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. you so