Good News of Great Joy

December 17, 2017

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Scripture referenced 8 passages

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

Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary, her response, and the promise of the Holy Spirit

26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36 Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her.

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Luke 1:46-49

The Magnificat, Mary's song of praise beginning 'My soul magnifies the Lord'

46 Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.

47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

49 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

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Luke 2:8-20

The shepherds in the fields, the angel's announcement, and their response of glorifying God

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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Luke 11 (approximate)

A woman from the crowd blesses the womb that bore Jesus, and Jesus responds that more blessed are those who hear and keep the word of God

1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight, and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’

7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’?

8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.

9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

14 He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

16 Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls.

18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

19 But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore will they be your judges.

20 But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.

21 “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.

22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.

23 “He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.

24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’

25 When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.

26 Then he goes, and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”

28 But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

29 When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.

30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation.

31 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.

34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.

35 Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.

36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”

37 Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table.

38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner.

39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.

40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also?

41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.

42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.

43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces.

44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.”

46 He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build…

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2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus became poor so that by his poverty we might become rich, used to describe Christ leaving heaven to meet us on earth

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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Matthew 28 (approximate)

All authority given to Jesus, the commission to go to every tribe, tongue and nation with the good news

1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

2 Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

4 For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.

5 The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.

6 He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.

7 Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”

8 They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.

9 As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.

12 When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,

13 saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.”

15 So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them.

17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted.

18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

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John 16 (approximate)

In this world you will have trouble but take heart, Christ has overcome the world

1 “I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.

2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.

3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

4 But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’

6 But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

8 When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment;

9 about sin, because they don’t believe in me;

10 about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more;

11 about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.

12 “I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

14 He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.

15 All things whatever the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he takes of mine, and will declare it to you.

16 A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”

17 Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”

18 They said therefore, “What is this that he says, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what he is saying.”

19 Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?’

20 Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

21 A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.

22 Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

23 “In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

24 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.

25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. But the time is coming when I will no more speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father.

26 In that day you will ask in my name; and I don’t say to you, that I will pray to the Father for you,

27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.

28 I came from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”

29 His disciples said to him, “Behold, now you are speaking plainly, and using no figures of speech.

30 Now we know that you know all things, and don’t need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”

31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

32 Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

33 I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”

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John 6:29

Jesus says the work of God is to believe in the one he sent, used as the closing verse

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

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Recap

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

This message traced the Christmas story through Luke's Gospel, following the angel's words to Mary, then to the shepherds, and asking what it looks like to truly receive that message. Pastor Ray used photos from a 2010 mission trip to Morocco to help the congregation see the physical world the shepherds lived in, and he kept returning to one question: when the good news reaches you, what do you do with it?

What was said

Pastor Ray opened by admitting that Christmas messages are a genuine struggle for him. He likes to go in order, and Luke likes order too, but the challenge is that everyone in the room already knows this story. A text exchange with a church friend, Sam South, helped him reboot: Jesus came to earth to be like us so that we could be like him and go to heaven. Simple as that sounds, it became the anchor for everything that followed.

The message began with the angel Gabriel coming to Mary. Pastor Ray pointed out that the word translated "greetings" is the Greek word for grace, and "favored one" means "ingraced one." The angel was not complimenting Mary on something she had earned. God was showing her unmerited favor, and she was understandably perplexed by it. Her response, after the angel explained what was coming, was "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me just as you have said." That willingness, Pastor Ray said, is what it looks like to receive a message from God.

Before getting to the shepherds, Pastor Ray walked the congregation through a set of photographs from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, places where he and a team walked without cellphones through wadis, past shepherds on ridges, and into small villages with animals living inside the houses. The point was not a history lesson. He wanted people to feel the world the shepherds were sitting in when the sky lit up, because it was ordinary, dark, and a long way from anywhere important.

The Greek word the shepherds are described with, keeping watch over their flock, became a hinge point for the whole sermon. That word, which Pastor Ray read out in its range of meanings, guarding, protecting, preserving, observing carefully for the sake of well-being, appears only twice in the New Testament in that exact form. The second place is in Luke 11, where Jesus says "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Pastor Ray held those two uses together: the same posture the shepherds had toward their flock is the posture every believer is called to have toward the word of God.

The shepherds' response to the angel's message was immediate. They said "let us now go" and they went with haste. When they found things exactly as they had been told, they made it widely known. They had been given a message and they transmitted it faithfully, and Pastor Ray noted that the reason anyone in that room was sitting there at all is because they did. The shepherds then returned glorifying and praising God, the same glory the angels had announced now echoing back from the people who received it.

Pastor Ray spent time on the phrase "glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men," comparing several translations. He explained that a single letter difference in the Greek text produces a meaningfully different reading, moving from "goodwill toward men" to "peace to those on whom his favor rests" or "peace among those with whom he is pleased." He read through a long string of modern translations that follow the second reading. His point was not to create anxiety about which is right, but to press the question of responsibility: God's favor is real, and the message has gone out to everyone, but a person can receive it or reject it. Mary could have said no. The message requires a response.

He closed with Mary's own response, the Magnificat, reading it as the model of what it looks like when someone genuinely accepts what God has said. "My soul magnifies the Lord" is not a performance. It is what comes out of a person who has received the message with humility and believed it. He left the congregation with Jesus' own words from John 6:29: "The work of God is this, to believe in the one he sent."

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.

Sam South amended his first text to say that Jesus came to earth to be like us so that we could be like him and go to heaven. How does that fuller picture change the way you think about what Christmas is actually about?
The angel's greeting to Mary is built around the word 'grace', calling her the 'ingraced one' who has received unmerited favor from God. When has God's unmerited favor shown up in your own life in a way that left you pondering, the way Mary pondered that greeting?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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0:07 Sing we now but Christmas, oh, I'll sing weir.

2:03 And can y'all hear me? Alright, y'all can have a seat. I've got a few announcements to make this morning. Welcome. Glad you're here.

2:11 We get here early and we sound check and we go through it and it sounds pretty and I mean it. Really perfect and then we get up and something like that happens. We just don't know. Welcome. Glad that you're here.

2:23 Angel Tree is first in line. I don't know why but this is still out there. There are few tags left. If you'd like to take a tag today, most of y'all understand what's going on with the Angel Tree. We have Tanya administrates this and she puts up tags specifically for an age and usually with a specific gift on em and if you look back in my office, a lot of those have already come back in and if you would like to take a tag and bring one back, you still have time.

2:51 If you can get em here by Wednesday, we're going to have people we're going to be delivering those on Thursday, Friday this week. So, if you want to do that, you're welcome to and there are few tags left. You're welcome to it if you want to. Next week, Christmas Eve morning, there will be one service here at 10AM. It's just one service, combined service for everybody.

3:11 So, plan on being here at ten, not nine, and that'll be fun. We will also have services at 04:30 and six. We already have enough childcare volunteers for the 04:30 service but if you would like to volunteer for the 06:00 service, you're welcome to. You can contact Bailey and she will she will put you in touch with who how's that going to work? Bailey's Bailey's got Devin Rose but she's still.

3:38 Get in touch with Nick. How about that? Like, I don't want you calling Bailey right now. I'm not quite ready this morning, am I? Here we go.

3:48 There's a snowmobile retreat. It's happening January 26 through the twenty eighth. If you want to see Kyle Knutson for that. Kyle, are you here? Would you stand up just a second?

3:57 Wave your hand. If you want to go on that, see Kyle Knutson. There you go. Yes, sir. Perfect.

4:08 Sounds good and this is earlier than it usually is, right? January twenty sixth to twenty eight. Alright. Very good. Thank you, Kyle.

4:16 Monday nights at First B are happening. Tomorrow night, what you doing, Carl? Real music message. Amen. There it is.

4:23 And for all the other announcements, you can check your bulletin. Before I have you stand and greet one another though, I want to invite up a family to do the Advent reading for this Sunday. Here come the Lampas. It's it's up here. The red mic is up here.

4:59 On this third Sunday in Advent, the candle of joy is lit. Jesus came to give us fullness of joy and abundant life. Joy's is ours because of Jesus. His presence brings the promise of joy.

5:16 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them. And they were terrified, but the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you.

5:36 He is Christ the Lord. Thank

5:48 you, lampers. And now, if y'all would, you can stand and greet one another and we will bring you back together with a song. There's a swelling ties there.

6:51 A to We're be a child was born. Unto us, a son has given. Very unprepared throne. Let every let on day this and his name shall be from this day on wonderful wonderful counselor everlasting father. Let's sing that.

9:08 Everlasting father. Let's sing again. Wonderful counselor. Wonderful counselor. Everlasting father everlasting father.

9:31 Alright. My soul, my soul, soul, my things for me my soul magnifies the Lord my soul magnifies the Lord he's done

10:22 Let me share a verse here from Luke. It says after seeing Jesus, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child, and they went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. They saw, they shared.

12:55 Amen. That cool?

13:05 I've got a verse here from second Corinthians eight nine I wanna share you with you about Jesus leaving the glories of heaven to to meet us here on earth. And it says, you know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. That would that's what Jesus did by by coming to earth.

13:47 Light of the world.

17:10 And you all can be seated and I'll invite up the frontline team, but also Kyler Areola and Judy. He's gonna sing a a song here and this is where we're participating here in the worship through giving and I just like to to pray and give thanks if I could. God, we do sing to you because you are all together good and lovely and wonderful. And we do thank you, God, for stepping down from the glories of heaven to meet us here on earth in our in our brokenness. And I thank you, God, just for restoring the brokenhearted.

17:40 I thank you for for giving peace and love and joy and everything that we celebrate here at Christmas. They are eternal things that you bring. God and thank you. We have a we have a an opportunity to to share our our our treasures with you. Thank you God that as we do we're not just storing treasure here we're storing it.

18:02 You tell us that when we give we store up treasure in heaven and so Lord I pray that you'd use these gifts to advance the gospel and I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

22:59 Wow. Wow. It's time for children's church downstairs. I'm sure there are some Christmas festivities going on. We get to this point every year, Good news, a great joy and we've sung about that already and and we've sung about the shepherds and we've sung about Mary and the message is going be about the shepherds and Mary and you from Luke's gospel today but I want to talk about the struggle.

23:30 Each year, I went back and listened to my Christmas messages from the last five years and it's a struggle for me to do a Christmas message. I like to go in in order. I really, really like that And Luke likes going in order. Luke has an orderly account. He says it in Luke one.

23:46 I have set forth to give an orderly account of all the things. And I I pick up from Luke with the struggle with Christmas is, y'all know this story. Right? Do you know the story? Am I going to introduce to you a new character today?

24:00 Is there anything that you haven't heard about this story? I know when we have a new Christmas movie come out or something, there'll be a burrow and it'll be about the burrow because we've all heard this story, right? This story is awesome. Christ is amazing and Christmas is amazing. The story that we have, if we're looking at it from our human point of view, as I'm looking at it from the messenger's point of view today, I'm trying to transmit the message, you know?

24:28 And so I was talking earlier in the meet with somebody about the struggle. He's in Darien, Georgia. He sits right back there when he's here, and it's Sam South So, Sam South and his deep Georgia accent I said and he texted it back but I read it in his accent. So, I texted him. Yeah, I'm I struggling with the message this week and he sends this back.

24:48 It's simple. So simple Jesus came to Earth so we can go to heaven Let's go eat. You know, that's that's the way that that goes. Well, thanks, Sam He texted me again and wanted to amend his statement this morning. He goes Jesus came to Earth and be like to be like us so that we could be like him and go to heaven.

25:10 I thought that's a better amendment right there. I like that but that is pretty simple. It helped ground me and helped me reboot it, I think. I'm going to read the story for you that we've already had snippets from this morning. First of all, about the message to Mary to begin with, then the message to the shepherds, then the response of the shepherds, then the response of Mary, and then the message to you and the response from you, I hope.

25:34 Okay. Now, in the sixth month now, usually I have 80 slides. Some weeks, I have 40 slides. This I have a 100 slides. Listen fast, okay?

25:44 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 the statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. This greetings favored one has been taken a lot of different ways over the intervening two thousand years, but the word for greetings right there is grace. Okay? And then when it says favored one, it is ingraced one. So it's grace, graced one, and it's about the unmerited favor of God rather than the merited favor of God.

26:34 So greetings is grace, cheris, favored or ingraced one. The Lord has graced you. He has given you and shown you unmerited favor. And this is why she was perplexed at this statement. What does that even mean?

26:53 And kept pondering what kind of a salutation this was. Grace, grace, God's grace. The angel said to her, don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You have been graced by God and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him 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 said to the angel, angel means messenger, by the way.

27:30 How can this be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and will 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, we'll stop right there. Wait for the response on that. This is a painting of Bethlehem by Vasily Polin Polinov, 1882.

28:09 It's a hillside town. It's actually about 100 feet higher than Jerusalem, not much higher, 30 something meters higher than Jerusalem. It's not far away, 4.4 miles, they say. It's not a big place It did have some prophecies that pointed towards it such that when the wise men went looking, they asked, where is the king of the Jews to be born and all of them just said, immediately, Bethlehem, they knew that. That's what it looked like in 1800, late eighteen hundreds.

28:44 That's what it looked like on Christmas Day eighteen ninety eight. I just pulled these images from various sources. I don't know the photographer on that one. It's a bigger town now than it was. That's washed out.

29:00 Morocco. And actually Morocco and Western Sahara are actually right there in the northern part of Africa, And it's on the opposite side of the Mediterranean, which you can't really see that well right there. Blake's probably trying to fix that. Sorry, that's all on me, Blake. If I can just go to the next slide, I'm just passing these so it's not not going to stay there for long.

29:26 Spain and Morocco. In 2010, while I was out here serving as an intern, some of you all sent me away to go on a mission trip to Spain and Morocco. And we were in the southern part of Spain. We crossed over. We saw the marketplace in Old Tangier, yeah, and went from there on the Marrakesh Express down to Marrakesh, and then outside of Marrakesh there's a little town in the foot of the Atlas Mountains.

29:53 We got a chance to walk up those mountains. We started outside of this little town called Amishmij, And as we were walking along, we saw a lot of little villages on the hillside. And for me, I didn't think of it at the time, but we were walking everywhere we went. We walked a lot of miles that week. And we were walking in places like this.

30:18 There are dry riverbeds and wadis, spice market. We actually met our guide at the souk that day. Spice market was right there. There's the parking lot. Where we were going, we couldn't go in a car.

30:36 So we walked and we rode. Actually, one of us rode. All of us walked. We had a guy carrying water for us and stuff on the mule. We just saw him right there.

30:46 We're walking up and that right there is about the size and about the situation of Bethlehem around this time. That little town right there. Looking down on olive trees and out in the distance, we walked up wadis like this and most of us walked. There's one little person right there that's riding. That was Pascal, twenty ten We came upon a well right there with a sycamore fig tree and so the topography of the land is a lot like it and the whole feel of it I brought these pictures out of time, one time in the past at least.

31:29 Stop. Give the horses some water. I mean the mules, not horses. Those are ancient boundary posts right there. That tells the limits of your land.

31:41 We saw black cows and white sheep in little towns like a little town of Bethlehem and as we wandered by without cellphones and without all this normal stuff, you kind of get back into starting to see things. I wanted to show a few pictures just so you feel. That's inside of the house. We're walking by on the outside, so that animal's on the inside of that house. That is a there's a little fireplace right there to warm up the room inside.

32:13 There's soot all over that building. That's why it's blacked out. That is indoors and it is a place where the animals stay, so that's the stable. It's very much the same kind of construction that would have been around in Bethlehem at that time. That over in the corner is something for the animals to eat out of.

32:33 Had chickens, they had cows, they had lots of pigeons, doves. Pascal enjoyed that. That cow is eating out of that manger over there. The roofs were made the same way. The buildings were made.

32:56 There there was some concrete but most of it was made the same way that they used to be. Rabbit. That was how we had our meals for several days. It was a very, very simple thing. It was very hot, like hair dryer blowing on you kind of hot.

33:15 We slept on the roof, looking down on other roofs like that, and it really brings you back into that place. I wanted to do that before we got to this. Luke two eight through 20. Now, there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields. When we were walking along, we passed these two guys and they were laying down, laying down on the job.

33:37 They were keeping watch though over their flock and the shepherds in the biblical store were keeping watch over their flock by night which is a treacherous time. The predators out, Keeping watch. Fulat Sun Test. Fulat Sun Test is the word there and this is what it means. Basically, I highlighted them.

33:55 It is to guard, to keep watch, to watch, to guard a person or thing that they may may remain safe, to protect, to protect, to keep, to preserve safe, to guard, to guard, to guard, to observe, to keep it carefully. And that's what they were doing. Those guys right here don't look like that's what they're doing, but that's what they're doing. They're keeping watch over the sheep. They had them in a safe place.

34:20 The form right there, now the word's used a lot of times because it's an agrarian society. There's a lot about shepherds in the Bible. So, the form though, just this form is used twice in the New Testament. So, that's a jumping off point for me. I'm going to go to that towards the end of the message with the other place.

34:36 Keeping, guarding, protecting, observing carefully for the sake of well-being. That's what their job was. There is a shepherd we passed right there. That's the guy, and he's standing on a ridge and he's keeping his sheep from standing too close to that ridge. There he is.

34:54 That is a hedge of protection. Those are not gravestones, they're not it's not a boundary marker. That is a set of stones, flat stones, that have been stood up to protect the sheep from going into something that would be very dangerous for them, a dry stream bed there. Can you see that? Our projectors are getting more and more dim as we go, but that is a dry, wadi, that's kind of dangerous, a place that they could fall into.

35:27 So the shepherds take it upon themselves to protect their sheep by putting up these standing stones. They are keeping watch, guarding Fulat Santes. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were greatly afraid Lighting up the night air. Then, the angel said to them, do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy Good news of great joy. We just sang it.

35:59 Great good news of great joy. We come back to that refrain. It's good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. Now, it will be. Right then, who is getting the message?

36:08 They are. In the middle of nowhere, out in the fields, minding their own business literally. They get this message. Don't be afraid. Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.

36:21 You're getting the message directly, but it will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord and this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. So, what was their sign? Babies don't usually, I mean, y'all don't, we don't have mangers so much but Bailey's not keeping Devin Rose in a thing that we feed animals out of right now.

36:52 It's not a normal thing. So it would be abnormal to find that and that's the sign to them that they're going to find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes but lying in a manger. Lying over there in the corner. Of a building like that. And suddenly there was a name that there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.

37:15 One of the messages that I did a while back had to do with that translation. I use the New King James just as my normal Bible. This one is from the New King James. Glory to God in the highest on earth. Peace, goodwill toward men and we know that from the songs.

37:29 There's a lot of song. There are a lot of songs that are based off of that. That's a good translation but there's another translation to it. I'll get to the end but what was the shepherd's response? I waited on Mary's response till the end but I'm going tell you theirs right now and so it was that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, so the messengers did what they were sent to do, they delivered the message, and then they took off.

37:53 So, it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven and the shepherds said to one another, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us. Do you get that? It's a message that was delivered specifically to them and they took that message and they did something with it. They acted upon it. Let's go.

38:14 City Of David, that's Bethlehem. Let's go right now. See this thing that's come to pass which the Lord has made known to us and they came with haste immediately. They went and they found Mary and Joseph and they found the babe lying in a manger just like God had had sent the message to tell them and now, when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. Literally, it says, and having seen, they made it known.

38:42 You get it? Their response, pretty cool. It's immediate and it is very simple. We've been given a message and we immediately start spreading that message. And all of those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

38:58 They were first hand witnesses telling it to these second hand witnesses but Mary kept all these things in her heart and pondered them. Luke talked to Mary about this. Think about this. We think about Mary's age at Christmas and we say she's a young teenager, 13, 14, somewhere in there probably had not known a man. Fast forward thirty years to the crucifixion.

39:30 Mary is younger than me at Jesus' crucifixion. That might not surprise you, the gray hair and all, but Mary is younger than me at the crucifixion. She's pondered these things in her heart. She's still a reliable witness. She's been thinking about this and Luke gets his story from the reliable witnesses.

39:54 These shepherds, Mary Then the shepherds returned and they returned how? Glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. It was a message and they carried it and when they carried the message, they transmitted it faithfully and they glorified God for having had the opportunity to see it and hear it. They glorified and praised him. So, what was told to them, glory to God in the highest on earth, peace, goodwill toward men and they glorified and praised God.

40:25 So, the angels had the message of glorify glory to God in the highest and then the shepherds transmitted that message. The reason you're sitting in these seats right here is because they did. You get that? Then the shepherds returned glorified and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen and it was told them. So, this is the response Angel answered 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 also has conceived a son in her old age.

41:01 This is kind of an authentication for Mary. I mean, her response was great anyway but it's nice of God to give her this this authentication of the message too and the forerunner of Jesus. Behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age and she who has was called barren is now in her sixth month for nothing will be impossible with God and Mary said, what did she say? I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me just as you have said.

41:33 She was willing. She was willing to do and to be whatever it was that God wanted her to do or to be. It goes forward into the magnificat. I skipped the part where she's with Elizabeth because I had to leave something out. Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord.

41:50 My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord, my soul. That's what we were singing in the refrain a minute ago and my spirit has rejoice in God, my savior For he has regarded the lowly state, that's humility. The lowly state of his maid servant, for behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed. Now, when you walked in here this morning, you did not expect probably since it's a baptist church. You didn't expect Ave Maria Am I right?

42:21 About halfway through Ave Maria, you're thinking, Kyler's voice is amazing but I can't believe Ray is letting him sing that at this baptist church Where are you thinking that? Because of our little vignettes all over, that's Mary, that's Mary, holding Jesus. She was right when she said, and all generations will call me blessed Now, I think that we've gone off the rails at times about Mary and I think it embarrass her. I actually think it embarrassed Paul too. The way we lift Paul up and we, the great apostle Paul, when he says, I'm the chief of sinners Well, he's, this is a side, this is a rabbit trail but it's not long.

43:08 Paul Paul and Nero Nero great, mighty emperor of Rome Burns the city down because he wants to. Blames the Christians Persecuted him, lit him on fire in his garden to light the night Awful guy. Chief of sinners, Paul, but faithful messenger to tell what God told him. And nowadays, people name their firstborn Paul and they name their dog Nero. This is why Mary is blessed right here.

43:55 He who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. She lifts up God on every occasion. She lifts. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my savior, for he is regarded the lowliest state of his maidservant. That is humility.

44:12 That is the way to receive a message. For behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed. Why? Because he has done great things, and holy is his name. And it happened as he spoke these things that a certain woman from the crowd.

44:30 This is later on in the gospel of Luke. Luke 11, this is Jesus has already turned his face toward Jerusalem and he is starting on the road to the cross. He knows it. He's already told his disciples about it and he is going along and people are blessed in his pathway and then it says, and it happened as he spoke these things that a certain woman from the crowd raised out her voice and said, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast which nursed you. But He said, more than that more than that, Jesus said, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it and that's the other place where we see that form of fullassantes.

45:18 Keeping, guarding, protecting, observing carefully for the sake of well-being, the word of God. To guard what you've heard, the message that you've heard, to guard it, to hold on to it. When all around you is telling you it's not true, when all around you is telling you that it's foolish, that it can't be believed, that sure you can do whatever you want to, really? Come on. You put money in the plate.

45:47 They don't care what you do. To watch, to keep watch, to guard, to guard something so that it may remain safe to protect, protect, to keep, to preserve, safe, to guard, to observe. Are we keeping watch of the word of God that we've heard? I mean, we've had a steady stream of scripture, a diet of it. Those most of us in this building, there are a few extras here today probably for Christmas but for the most part, this ain't Christmas yet.

46:20 It's December 17, right? It most of us are home folks. Most of us have heard this message. Are we keeping it and watching it? Have we set up a hedge of protection to keep ourselves holy?

46:32 Do we have people around us that love us, that we know love us? That we're accountable to. Are we keeping the word of God that we have? Are we keeping ourselves from danger? Because of the word of God that's within us.

46:53 This guy's charge was that field. I just liked him. He kind of had a weird cold stare but he was taking care of what he was taking care of, you know? That was his charge. I'll go back to this for a minute.

47:07 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before him and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were greatly afraid and I think we can be greatly afraid carrying the message of God sometimes is scary. Receiving it sometimes is scary. The angel said, don't be afraid for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all people. Now, Jesus said, I'm going to build my church. The end of Matthew's gospel, he says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth and so, I send you.

47:41 Go out to every tribe, tongue, and nation carrying this good news of great joy. In this world, you will have trouble, yes, but take heart. I've overcome the world and I will build my church. I'll be with you always even to the end of the age of the age. For there is born to you, he says, this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.

48:04 And this will be a sign to you. Now, what is a sign to you? It's not a manger. Here we go into the glory to God in the highest. I've shared this with you before but I think it's important.

48:16 I'm going share it with you again. Glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace, goodwill toward men and that is true because it is toward men because God has sent this message. He sent it by the angels. He sent it by the shepherds.

48:27 He sent it through Mary. He sent it through Jesus. He sent it through Paul. He sent it through all these. It is toward men.

48:34 That's true. That's a good translation. There's one little textual variant and it's this much. It's a sigma and it changes the meaning from glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men to this. Sorry, those are all taken off of that text.

48:57 All of the rest of the modern translations go off of that one. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. Now, this is a persistent question because one of them has to do with the sovereignty of God and the other has to do with the responsibility of man. Everybody who's sitting here today has heard peace, goodwill toward men. You've heard God's message from his word.

49:29 Will his favor rest on you? That depends on how you take the message. If you take the message and you take it and you act on it, it shows that you receive the message. Do you get that? You can reject the message.

49:47 That is a possibility. It makes people mad to hear it, but I think Mary could have rejected the message. I think if she couldn't have rejected the message, it wouldn't have been a choice on her part. It would have been meaningless. I think Jesus could have at any point in his human life have succumbed to temptation, but he wouldn't have been Jesus.

50:09 He wouldn't have been son of God had he done it. But he always had the very real possibility of slipping up. Do you get what I'm saying? There is responsibility. There's sovereignty God but there is responsibility too.

50:22 Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rest. Here it is in the ESB. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Glory to God in highest heaven on peace and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. Glory to God in the highest heaven and earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.

50:44 Why is he pleased? Because they received the message They got it. They accepted it They took it Can you reject it? Absolutely, you can. Is that pleasing to God?

50:56 No, it's not and it's to your peril Keep on going Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to people he favors He favors the humble who accept the message with humility. Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favors. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. I like that one too. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men on whom his favor rest.

51:28 Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men in whom he is well pleased. Esteem to Elohim, this is great. This is the institute for scripture research. Esteem to Elohim in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor.

51:51 Now, there are a couple of possibilities that are not good possibilities. We've got some translations and this is an old one from 1867. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good pleasure in men. There's one more. The Douay Rheims Bible from 1582.

52:09 This is typically, this was the Catholic Bible of the time. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men of goodwill. Are there any men of goodwill without God? No. Without Jesus, without receiving this message, that cannot happen.

52:27 That one doesn't work either. There are great people, don't get me wrong. On a relative scale, there are great people. But when you're looking at it as being standing before God Almighty, none of us deserves salvation. None of us deserves the Lord's favor.

52:55 Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and goodwill toward men. That's what I've transmitted. But I pray that you will allow his favor to rest upon you and your response to the message is, do I do that? Do I do that? Jesus said, more blessed is the one who hears the word of God which you've heard today and keeps it protects it, guards it, holds on to it for the benefit and well-being of themselves and others What will your response be?

53:33 I pray that it's something like this. My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior for he is regarded the lowliest state of his servant for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. That's it. Amen. Can I get the band back up here?

53:50 And I'll give you a chance to respond that way because you can either respond this way or you can respond this way. No, thanks. He's done great things. He's transmitted the message. Will you accept it?

54:02 I pray you will.

54:09 How about this? Let's stand up again. We'll a chance to sing it again. We introduced it earlier. But could I just the bridge, we kinda raced through it.

54:18 So can I just say it before we sing it? It says, his government, there will be no end. And he'll establish it with his righteousness. And he'll reign on David's throne and his name shall be from this day on wonderful counselor, everlasting father.

56:21 And worship. And worship. Do not be afraid. I'd sing out my soul my soul my soul magnifies the Lord my soul magnifies the Lord on one for one counselor. Everlasting father.

57:24 Everlasting father. Sing it again. Wonderful counselor. Wonderful counselor.

58:39 Amen. So, the struggle I mentioned at the very beginning Sometimes, it's a struggle in that study. Getting something to come through, to get getting something to come out and I thought this morning on the way in here, thought, I I had two parallel messages that were developing. Nick put the one that I had planned on preaching in the bulletin on Thursday. I had two of em coming along and one baby just wasn't ready to be born.

59:04 Okay? But next week, coinciding with our celebration of the birth of Christ, I'm going be birthing that one that I feel like is a lot of the New Testament things that that just hit the impact of why Christ came and we heard about the message of good news of great joy. I pray next week, it will be a very, very joyful, great news of good news of great joy type message and I want to leave you with this. John six twenty nine, Jesus answered, the work of God is this, to believe in the one he sent. Amen.

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Christmas Story Goodwill Toward Men Mary Receiving The Message Sharing The Gospel Shepherds

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