The Star of the Show - Matthew 1:23
December 24, 2022
could have saved you 111 minutes and 52 seconds over last month… that was time of previous four sermons… could have condensed whole thing to 3:15…
ever wanted something for Christmas and didn’t get it (rifle and pistol)… can be disappointing… people wanted a Messiah… year after year they waited for promise to come true… yet, year after year after year expectations were disappointed…
Gen 3:15… “He will strike your head… you will strike His heel…”
Isa 9:6-7… “Child will be born… Son given… named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace… reign with justice and righteousness forever…”
Micah 5:2… “Bethlehem… One will come from you to be ruler over Israel…”
Zech 9:9… “your King is coming… righteous and victorious… riding on donkey…”
never got that toy rifle and pistol… I got something better (guns pic)… people never thought their Messiah would come… then, they got something better… pray…
Matt 1:21-23… “give birth to Son, name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins… all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord thru the prophet… virgin give birth to Son, name Him Immanuel, God with us…”
this has all the makings of a great show… intrigue, drama, danger, heroes and villains… but this is a true story… this is real… yet, still people didn’t believe…
Luke 2:38… “talked about child to all who had been waiting for God to rescue Jerusalem…”
Luke 3:15… “people were waiting expectantly… wondering if John were the Messiah…”
John 4:25… “I know that the Messiah is coming… when He comes…”
Acts 26:7… “stand on trial because of hope God promised… 12 tribes share same hope…”
all those written after star of our show was born… even FB said it was fake news… how do we know the story is true… let’s look at some real news of the day…
Luke 1… “eyewitness reports… carefully investigated everything from the start… to write a careful account… so you may know the certainty of these things…”
Luke 2… “Caesar decreed census be taken… Quirinius was governor of Syria…”
Luke not eyewitness… but talked to witnesses… investigated everything… added historical details… confirmed from non-biblical histories… so we can know truth…
John 8:30-32… “many believed… you will know truth and truth will set you free…”
Luke is longest, most detailed account… not only true, but miraculous… for Mary, for Elizabeth… for Shepherds… for us… miracles possible because of Immanuel…
Luke 1:26-38… “angel sent to virgin named Mary… conceive and give birth to son, name him Jesus… how can this be… the Holy Spirit will come upon you…”
Luke 1:36-38… “Elizabeth has conceived a son in her old age… this is the 6th month for her who was called childless… nothing will be impossible with God…”
Luke 2:8-20… “angel stood before them… I bring good tidings of great joy for all people, there is born to you this day, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…”
remember last week… sometimes we need a re-run… story gets too familiar… know beginning, middle, end… but this story is worth repeating…
Luke 2:15-20… “let’s go to Bethlehem, let’s see this thing that has happened… hurried to village and there was the baby, lying in a manger… after seeing Him, shepherds told everyone what had happened… all who heard were astonished…”
2Tim 2:2… “all these things… teach these truths to others… who will teach others also…”
Titus 2:11-15… “we wait for hope… appearing of Jesus… these are things you should teach…”
weren’t pastors… didn’t have seminary degree… they just told others what they knew about Jesus… story is worth repeating because it changes everything…
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear —Buddy the Elf
story is true… it’s miraculous… it’s worth repeating… it’s worth thinking about what really happened… pondering, treasuring not just at Christmas… but often…
Luke 2:19… “Mary treasured these things in her heart… meditated on them…”
syntereo… preserve a thing from being lost; keep in mind, lest it be forgotten…
symballo… bring together in one’s mind; consider, confer, ponder…
even though she was a part of the story… Mary continued to treasure things in her heart… continued to ponder… continued to remind herself what happened… even 12 years later… she continued to watch re-runs… remind herself of His story…
Luke 2:19… “Mary kept these things in her heart and thought about them often…”
Luke 2:51-52… “His mother kept all these things in her heart… and Jesus grew…”
when Walmart puts out Christmas decorations in September… I’m generally thinking that’s way too early… but is it… isn’t this a story we should celebrate all year long… not just birth of Jesus…. but His life, death and purpose for all this…
Matt 1:21-23… “she will give birth… He will save His people from their sins…”
Luke 2:20… “shepherds returned… glorifying and praising God…”
John 1:29… “here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…”
John 10:10… “I have come to bring you life… and life more abundantly…”
1Tim 1:15… “Jesus came into the world to save sinners… and I am the worst…”
1John 3:15… “Jesus came to take away our sins…”
This Gospel anticipates a world far different from Narnia, where it is always winter and never Christmas. The promise of the Gospel is that it is always Christmas. To be in Christ is to enjoy each morning as a Christmas morning celebrating with the family of God the gift He has given us. —Kevin VanHoozer
all over the world people celebrate Christmas… even those who don’t believe in Jesus… what an opportunity to tell them who’s the real star of this show… pray…
Luke 2… “don’t be afraid… I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people… today, a Savior was born for you… who is the Messiah, the Lord…”
John 3:16-17… “God so loved the world… He gave His Son… so everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life… to save world thru Him..”
Immanuel, God with us. It is hell’s terror… satan trembles at the sound of it. When the devil comes to you, whisper but that one word, Immanuel. God with us. Watch as satan falls back confounded and confused. Immanuel is the believer’s strength. How could he preach the Gospel, how could he bend his knees in prayer, how could the missionary go into foreign lands, how could the martyr stand at the stake, how could sinners receive Him, how could men labor if that one word were taken away? Immanuel. God with us is eternity’s sonnet, heaven’s hallelujah, the shout of the glorified, the song of the redeemed, the chorus of the angels, the everlasting song of the great orchestra of the sky. Let Him have a place in your heart this Christmas. —CH Spurgeon