Christmas Eve Service 4:30pm.

December 25, 2021

Scripture referenced 12 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 8:12 Jesus declares He is the light of the world; whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness

12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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Isaiah 7:14

prophecy that a virgin will bear a son named Emmanuel, cited as a sign from the Lord

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

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Isaiah 9:6-7

prophecy of a child born to us, called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, ruling on David's throne

6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

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Micah 5:2

prophecy that a ruler of Israel will come from Bethlehem Ephrathah

2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

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Matthew 1:18-24

angel appears to Joseph in a dream, telling him Mary's child is of the Holy Spirit and to name Him Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.

20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”

24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;

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Luke 2:1-20

census decree, birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, angels announcing good news of great joy to the shepherds

1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.

7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”

15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.

17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

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Matthew 2:1-12

Magi arrive seeking the king of the Jews, Herod's troubled response, the star leading them to worship Jesus with gifts

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

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Galatians 4:4-5

God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem us so that we might receive adoption as sons

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,

5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.

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2 Corinthians 8:9

though Christ was rich, He became poor so that through His poverty we might become rich

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.

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John 3:16

God gave His only Son so that whoever puts their trust in Him might not perish but have eternal life

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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John 1:5

the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.

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Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus calls His followers the light of the world, telling them to let their light shine so others glorify the Father

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.

15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.

16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This Christmas Eve message centered on three New Testament verses and the grammatical structure within them, showing that God's actions in sending Jesus are certain, while the gift those actions make available requires a response. The preacher, a self-described grammar enthusiast, walked the room through what he called the "henna clause" to show that God has stated not only what He did but why He did it. The evening wove together the full nativity story, carol singing, and a candle-lighting as expressions of that same good news.

What was said

The nativity story was read in sequence, from the prophecies in Isaiah and Micah, through the accounts of Joseph's dream, the birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds in the field, and the arrival of the Magi. As each section was read, attention was drawn to the responses of the people involved. Joseph woke from his dream and did exactly what the angel commanded. The shepherds went immediately, finding things just as they had been told. The Magi rejoiced with great joy and fell to the ground in worship.

Herod's response was placed alongside these as a contrast. He was troubled by the news, sought to use the wise men for his own purposes, and was willing to destroy the child to protect his power. The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile, knew the scriptures well enough to answer Herod's question about where the Messiah would be born, yet the text says nothing about them going to see the child themselves. Knowing the word and acting on it, the preacher noted, are two different things.

The message then moved to three verses the preacher grouped together under the idea of the "henna clause," a grammatical construction that signals purpose or expected result. In each verse, God is the one who acts, and that action is stated as a certainty. But in each verse, the intended outcome for the hearer is expressed in the subjunctive mood, a form that carries possibility rather than flat certainty.

Galatians 4:4-5 says God sent His Son, born of a woman and under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Second Corinthians 8:9 says that though Jesus was rich, He became poor so that through His poverty we might become rich, meaning not material prosperity but the riches of heaven for those who are bound to earth. John 3:16, read from a close translation of the Greek, says God loved the world and gave His only Son so that whoever is putting their trust in Him might not perish but might be having eternal life.

The preacher held the "might" in each of those clauses up for the room. Does the uncertainty in that word bother anyone, he asked. It becomes certain, he said, depending on what a person decides to do with Jesus. For those who are troubled by the news and fight against it, the possibility closes. For those who hear it and receive it, as Mary did, as Joseph did, as the shepherds did, the might becomes a certainty.

C. S. Lewis was quoted to bring the three verses together: the Son of God became a son of man so that the sons of men might become the sons of God. The adoption Jesus experienced through Joseph was, the preacher suggested, a picture of the adoption God offers to anyone who receives His Son.

The service closed with the lighting of candles from the Christ candle on the Advent wreath. As the candles were blown out, John 1:5 was read: the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. Jesus calls His followers the light of the world in Matthew 5, the preacher noted, and the task of those who have received that light is to let it shine toward others so that they will glorify God in heaven.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The message pointed to four different responses to the news of Jesus' birth: Mary's willing acceptance, Joseph's immediate obedience, the shepherds' hurrying to find the child, and Herod's fear and opposition. Which of those responses do you find yourself closest to right now, and why?
The preacher spent time on the idea that Jesus, as an adopted son of Joseph, knows firsthand what adoption feels like, and that God's purpose in sending Him was so that we might receive adoption as sons and daughters. What does it mean to you personally to think of your relationship with God in terms of adoption rather than just forgiveness?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Read the full transcript 4,569 words

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Speaker 1Hey. Welcome, everybody, and Merry Christmas. How are feeling? I wanna direct your attention right over here to Ray while he tries to light those candles. Hey.

We're we're glad that you're here to worship with us. And and we got a full house, and it feels good. And I'm I'm glad to see each and every one of you. Merry Christmas to you. Couple of things just to note before we get started here.

We would love to give you a little gift this evening before you go just to say Merry Christmas and glad you came. So please, would you let us give you a gift? It includes a cookie, if you like cookies. But there's going to be some elders or people right by the door to hand you one on the way out. So please, please take that.

And if for any reason that you're not able to be in this room, there is overflow down the hall. And the service is broadcasted down there. So if you need to step out for any reason, you can do that. And also, the nursery is open downstairs. There is no nursery person down there.

But parents, if you have to run downstairs, be in the nursery, this service is also broadcasted down there, okay? Sound good? How's everybody doing? That good. So tonight is just meant to be a fun and reflective and worshipful night.

Does that sound good to you? And are you ready to sing? Because really, we'll have familiar carols. We really want you to sing. This is participatory.

Is that the word? We're we're here to celebrate the Christ in Christmas. We'll read the nativity story, sing Christmas songs. We'll light some candles. We're gonna be careful with those candles, aren't we, this year?

There's no hair gonna be on fire, no no losing eyebrows. So to begin here, the candle lighting, I wanna invite up, I think it's Kevin, this this one. And I see him in the back. And he's gonna light the Christ, the much anticipated Christ candle on the advent wreath. At the end of the service, not quite yet, yeah, you can come on up, Kev.

We're gonna use that candle to light our candles. So thanks for being here, Kevin.

Speaker 3Today marks the end of our Advent journey. We've prepared our hearts, our minds, and our spirits for the celebration of Christ's entrance into the world. As we light the Christ candle, we may devote our lives to reflecting his light. He is the light of the world. In John eight twelve, Jesus said, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Amen.

Speaker 1Would you stand with me? I'd love to to pray, and then we'll sing together. And God, we're grateful. Thank you. You are the reason for this season.

We look back at your first coming. We look forward to your second. Thank you, God, that we get to be here together corporately to worship you. You are worthy of it. Amen.

Hey. That's kind of fun. Shall we keep going? Yeah. Joy to the world from Luke 10.

This has been my favorite verse by far this Christmas season. This is the one that sticks with me. The angel's birth announcement to the shepherds. I bring you good news of great joy for all people. That good news is still good news today.

Amen? Let's sing it. Amen. You can have a seat for a little bit. We're gonna share the story.

Ray's gonna share the story.

Speaker 2From the prophets Isaiah and Micah. From the prophets Isaiah and Micah. 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 Emmanuel. It's Isaiah seven fourteen.

For a child will be born to us, son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephesians, too little to be among the clans of Judah for from you, one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago from the days of eternity. It's Micah five.

Speaker 1You can stay seated, Beth. Whatever comes up on that screen, love for you to sing with us, please. Please.

Speaker 2Now, the birth of Jesus was as follows. When his mother, Mary, had been 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, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit and she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which translated means God with us and Joseph awoke from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife.

Speaker 1Let's sing. Come on. Come.

Speaker 2Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus. Can you hear me now? Now in those days, the decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone was on his way to register for the census each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house of the family of David In order to register along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth and she gave birth to her firstborn son and she wrapped him in clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region, there were some shepherds that were staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them and glory of the Lord shown round about them and they were terribly frightened but the angel said to them, do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all of the people. Think about that. You're just minding your own business.

Shepherds in the field and angels announce, an angel announces to begin with and then as surrounded by the multitude of the heavenly armies of angels. Suddenly appeared with that angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace among men with whom he is pleased. When angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let us go straightway to Bethlehem right now and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us and so they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. Is there more?

There's more. It's okay. I've been preaching on this for three straight weeks now. We're not going to add any new characters. You all know the story.

Right? It's really, really good too. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child, and all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary, Mary treasured all of these things, pondering them in her heart, and the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that had they had heard and seen just as it had been told them. Think about this.

You're minding your own business. You get a specific message. It says, this message is for you, and he specifically tells them how they're going to find that baby lying in a manger. Tells them how it's going to be wrapped, what's going on specifically for you, and they got up straightway. Their response was to listen to the voice, listen to the message, and go, and that was awesome.

I gotta loosen up. I've dropped the microphone. I can't light the candles. It's a full room.

Speaker 1Y'all are all here. We're all

Speaker 2pulling for one another. Are we not? Would you stand up and sing the next song? I don't even know what it is.

Speaker 1Angels, please stay down. Shepherds, Noel, the announcement of the good news that Jesus was born. Let's sing a bit.

Speaker 2Y'all can have a seat. Now, 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 king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Now, I want you to keep up with the responses we've had so far.

Joseph heard from God in a dream and he woke up and he did exactly as the Lord had commanded it. The shepherds heard from God through angels and when the angels had gone back into heaven, they went immediately and found it just like the angel said it would be and now, these guys are coming from afar off. They're not even Jewish. They're coming towards the Jewish Messiah. From a long ways off, they got wind of it by a star and they followed after that star in anticipation of what God would do.

Herod, when he heard about it, he was the king. Herod was a bad dude. Really bad. He was known for building projects and brutality. By this point, he had already killed his wife and his wife's mother and three of his own kids.

He was a bad dude. Called Herod the great. He was fear... Fearful. He was a puppet king, but he had a lot of financial power and he had a lot of power.

And when he heard about this from the wise men that the king of the Jews had been born, he knew he was the king of the Jews and this guy was going to supplant him. Right? When he was killing all of those people, he was doing it to protect his power. This, when he was troubled, that's a response. To the good news of the gospel, to be troubled by it, and to be against it.

Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of all the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. He should have known, honestly. And they said to him in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet, and you, Bethlehem, land of Judea, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel. That's Micah five two. And they had studied scripture and they knew it but go forward.

Then he, Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them exact time the star had appeared because they were paying attention and he wasn't and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, now go and search carefully for this Christ, this child and when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him. What was he going to do? Come and worship and probably not. No. He was not.

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 it stood over the place where the child was. Now, those three kings or Magi or wise men, they were seeking from afar off. They get there. They talk to Herod. They hear from the chief priest.

It doesn't say anything about those chief priests and scribes. These were church folk and they didn't go with them. That's an that's a response too. But they did. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

That's a response. And after coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell to the ground and they worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Speaker 1Just as the wise men joyfully gave gifts to the Lord, we do have an opportunity to give. So I'd like to invite the ushers to come on forward. And Ian and Lisa are gonna sing, what child is this? They're an offer to her. While they're coming forward, I I want you to know you are not obligated to to give.

Let me just say that again. You are not obligated to give. We're just glad that you're here. Truly are. If you feel compelled to give, I want you to know what you're giving too.

Here at First Bee, we have a local benevolence fund, and we use it. Oh, do we use it? And it is so good to be able to say yes when people come and they have a need. And I just wanna thank you in advance. Thank you for your generosity in the past.

Thank you for your generosity in the future. It is so appreciated. But that sounds like something you'd like to give to, thank you. We encourage giving because God has given to us about 03/16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, will have eternal That being said, I'd like to pray, and then we'll ask these guys to say, Lord, we thank you for the gift of your son truly.

Thank you for the gift of your son. He is why we're here tonight. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for sending your son to live, to love, to die, to rise, and to reign. You are truly the most generous giver of all.

I pray that these gifts would just be a sweet expression of our love back. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Speaker 2I've got a few words. Yeah. I like using the slides. A very special clause. Alright?

It's Christmas Eve, a very special clause, but it's not this guy. Alright? It's not this clause. I'm a grammar nerd. Everybody who comes to church here knows that.

This is a clause, but it's not Santa or missus. It's three different verses in the Bible that are big picture. We've gone through the story over and over and over again, but there are three big picture verses that I wanna cover. It's Galatians four, maybe four verses four and five, second Corinthians eight, and then one more familiar one. So there's a clause in each of these.

It's called a henna clause. And so when I'm up here, I want to deliver as best I can exactly what it says. Right? And so for me, doing my job, I like to say, okay, I know this is why God did what he did when he tells me. Other than that, I don't really know why he did what he did.

He did it but I don't know why but in these three, he says why. So, a henna clause shows purpose behind what something's done or the result, the expected result of what would happen or in Bible, in the Bible because it's God that is the prime mover. It shows his purpose but also shows the results. Okay? So, here we go.

This is Galatians four four and five. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son. His son was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who are under the law. So he's already told us why he was born. He's born to redeem those who are under the law.

But that part of the sentence is in the indicative mood. Okay? The indicative mood says, this is certain, this has happened, it is fact, no doubt about it. God acted in a specific way. And then, the rest of this sentence is in the subjective mood, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

So so that we might receive adoption of sons. There is a contingency there. It is... We know why God did it but it is required of us to accept that. So so that we might receive.

So... But it is a question of two wills. God has his will and you have your will. Now, let me go forward to that so that. I love when it says so that because I don't have to guess and you don't have to guess.

We know exactly why God did what he did. He sent forth his son, born of a woman under the law to redeem so that we might receive adoption of sons. And I said last week when I was going through that to think about Jesus having been adopted by Joseph. It just hit me so squarely last week that Jesus was an adopted son and he knows what it's like. He had lots of different early troubles in life and one of them was all of the things that the people around them would be saying about him and his birth.

They weren't singing about it. They were whispering about it and Joseph was a good man and he was able to take that and he was a good father but he had left the best, the heavenly father for an earthly father. Let me go to the next verse. I'll I'll skip some of the grammar. Second Corinthians eight nine says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You know the unmerited favor that God has through Jesus that though Jesus was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor. We talk about him being born into a stable manger situation. Poor, no room in the inn, homeless, born homeless. Though he left the glories of heaven. Though he was rich, he became poor so that so that is the henna clause so that you through his poverty might become rich.

God has acted in a way that is there's no doubt about it. But the so that has the so that you through his poverty might become rich. So the might become rich there is in the adjunctive. Note the similar structure. God acted.

There's no doubt about that he did this. But the second part in the so that you might receive, okay? It doesn't say that you absolutely will. Do you get that? There is a possibility laid out there.

God has done everything that he needs to do so that you might receive some specific gift. The henna clause tells us his purpose. So, so that we might receive adoption as sons. I could go further here and say that in the first century, adoption as a son and adoption as a daughter was two different things. Adoption as a son meant you had all the rights of inheritance.

Adoption as a daughter didn't mean that. So that through his poverty, you might become rich. Now, you might think, oh, that's prosperity gospel. I'm far from it. He left the glories of heaven and took on this place on earth so that you who are earth bound right now might experience all of the riches of heaven.

So that you might become rich. Those are the two specific gifts and then, does the might bother anyone? Does it seem uncertain? It it is out there grammatically uncertain. It's it becomes certain when you decide what to do with Jesus.

I I talked about the responses above. If you're troubled by it and you fight against it and you wanna kill it off like Herod, then that's that's that might is not even a might for you. That's a no for you. But if you hear the word of the Lord and you internalize and say, that's what I want. May it be to me just as you have said like Mary or you get up from your dream and you go immediately and do what the Lord has commanded or you recognize the message and you accept it, then that might as a certainty for you.

So, I did the quick note on the subjunctive. There it is. How about one more familiar verse? And I'm going to I translated this one as wooden but I translated straight from the Greek. Indeed, indeed, God loved the world in such a way as this.

God loved. He acted. He has done this. There's no doubt about it. It's a certainty and he gave his one and only son.

There's no doubt about it. He did this. God loved the world and he gave his one and only son. There's a god acted and then there's a so that. It's hidden in the common version you're used to hearing but it's there.

Why did he do that? Why did he do that? So that whoever is putting their trust in him, whoever, whosoever, the one that, whoever is putting their trust in him might not perish but might be having eternal life. That's John three sixteen. It's a little weird translation but that's what it says.

With the sow that in there. This is why God did what he did but the subjunctive is out there. God's will is certain. There's no doubt about it. He has already done all that he needs to do but he has left that in each of our laps.

If you look at these three verses together, the first one says that so that we might receive adoption of sons. The second one says that so that you might become rich, and then the last one says, so that whosoever, it really is a very real invitation for anybody to put their trust in him. Have him born into your life at this Christmas season. That would be fantastic. So might you believe today and receive the blessing of God just as God has purposed and CS Lewis says it this way.

I like this. The son of God became a son of man and that's what we're celebrating at Christmas. The son of God became a son of man in order that or so that the sons of men might become the sons of God. That adoption that he went through with his earthly father. Was to exchange for us an adoption by his heavenly father.

So might this be the fullness of time for you? I think that's it. It's the last slide.

Speaker 1As Jesus grew and he began his public ministry, in John eight twelve, he said, he's the light of the world. He said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you don't have to walk in spiritual darkness because you'll have the light that leads to life. I want you to hear this very very real invitation for you. To trust in the one that God has sent, to believe on him, to accept him.

In response to this invitation, we're going to close in a candle lighting. And so I'll invite you to stand up. We can stand up. We can stretch a little bit. And while you're standing, I'm gonna invite Ray and a couple of the elders to just to come forward.

And if you would, elders, to light your candle from that Christ candle and begin to distribute that that candle to to each of us. That candle represents Jesus as the light of life. And then we're gonna pass that light to one another representing our task to let the light of Christ shine through us to the world. Know this, when your candle's lit, please be sure to hold it straight up. Alright?

Don't tip it. Let that person next to you with their unlit candle tip theirs toward yours so that wax doesn't spill. We're gonna keep our eyebrows. We're gonna keep our eyelashes this year, aren't we? We're not gonna lose them for Christmas.

And while we're lighting the candles, I'm gonna invite you to to sing a couple of songs with us. We're gonna sing Away in a Manger and Silent Night. Please sing with us. Such a sweet moment. I just hate for it to stop.

But you can blow out your candles here. This is what I want you to know tonight. We we blow out these candles, but there is nothing and truly nothing can extinguish the true light of Christ. Nothing can. First John one five...

Or sorry, John one five. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. That is good news that we need to hear today. Be encouraged by that. The darkness of this world cannot extinguish the light of Christ.

What's more is God has given us. Isn't that amazing? God chooses us. Mhmm. Us.

To let his light shine through us to the world. Matthew five Jesus says, you're the light of the world. In Matthew eight, he says, I'm the light of the world. But in Matthew, he says, you're the light of the world, followers of Jesus. A town built on a hill can't be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand and gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others. Jesus' light in you shining toward others that they may see your good deeds and glorify whom? Your father in heaven. That's what this last song is about.

I encourage you to sing out, sing loud. Go tell it on the mountain. Jesus Christ is born. And one more. That Jesus Christ is born.

Speaker 2Hey.

Speaker 1Merry Christmas everybody. Drive safely. Enjoy the ones you love.

Speaker 2Yeah.

Speaker 1Tell them that you love them. Be sure and let's celebrate Jesus as the reason for the season. Amen.

Speaker 2Amen. Good night. Thank you. Good to see you, man. I'll take one of those back.

For the next service. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you. There you go.

I understand. You got it.

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Adoption By God Christmas Meaning John 3:16 Light Of The World Why Jesus Was Born

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