Well, good morning. It's good to see you guys.
If you have your Bible, you can open the Matthew chapter 2.
We'll be in verses 19 through 23 today.
Just a reminder, Matthew is writing a book about the king
and his Kingdom, All right? So he's he's telling the story
of Christ the King. He's telling the story of the
Kingdom he's come to establish. And we'll see a whole lot about
that. But here in these last few weeks
and more today we are in what we just called an Advent miniseries
within this. He's still in the birth of the
king here, the coming, the arrival of the king.
And so as we come to verses 19 through 23, we're reaching the
final scene of Matthew's opening birth narrative.
Matthew's been carefully showing us from the very beginning that
Jesus is the promised king. He's David's son, He's Abraham's
offspring, he is Emmanuel, God with us.
All right, so this is the arrival of the king.
But this King's arrival has not been met with a celebration by
everyone, right? Not everyone's giddy, not not
everyone's over the moon excited about the arrival of this king.
We've already seen that. Herod the Great, which is Rome's
client king. He responded to the birth of
Jesus not with worship, but with fear and violence, Right.
Herod's jealousy led to the slaughter of the innocents.
It fulfilled Jeremiah's words of sorrow and laments.
However, God preserved his son by sending the family into exile
in Egypt. Now this echoes.
It's really interesting because that the travel of Christ echoes
Israel's own history, right? It reminds us that the child is
retracing the story of God's people.
Now, historically speaking, in this moment that we're going to
read today, Herod has died and Herod's no longer with us.
His Kingdom has been divided among his sons, and Judea has
fallen under the rule of Archelos, King Archelos, A ruler
so cruel and unstable that even Rome would later remove him from
power. It's bad when Rome removes you
from power, right? Politically, the land is still
dangerous. Spiritually, the nation is still
waiting and the promises are not yet complete.
And it's here. It's here, after the danger,
after the exile, after the sorrow of the slaughter of all
those male children, that Matthew tells us where Jesus
will grow up, right? This passage may feel brief, and
it is. It might even feel a bit
understated, but I want you to understand it is weighty and it
has a lot of meaning to it. Matthew's not merely closing a
chapter of the Christmas story. He's not merely explaining a
geographical footnote. He's showing us what kind of
King Jesus is, and He's showing us how God means to bring peace
to His people. It won't be through a spectacle,
it it won't be through force. It will it?
It will be, however, through humility, obscurity, and quiet
obedience. So with that in mind, let's read
Matthew 219 through 23. If you're able, would you please
stand to your feet in the honor of the reading of God's Word
this morning. Verse 19 But when Herod died,
behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt, saying, Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to
the land of Israel. Those who sought the child's
life are dead. And he rose and took the child
and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelos was reigning over Judea in place
of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.
And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of
Galilee. And he went and lived in a city
called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might
be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the opportunity we have together with the Saints
of God this morning to open up the scriptures.
Your breathed word, which is meant for our instruction, it's
meant for our in correction. It's meant to teach us and train
us in godliness that we might be equipped for every good work.
And so, Father, we do not look to this text as though it is
dead. We look at it with eyes that see
that it is alive, that it's active, it's sharper than any
double edged sword. And we ask, Lord, that you would
use it to penetrate our own hearts and souls this morning.
That you would speak to us, that you would train us for godliness
in every way, Lord, that you would help us to Revere your
name. That you would help us to Revere
Christ, That you would help us to be obedient, as we see here
in the text of Joseph, Father. And we thank you for the peace
that you have brought through Christ.
We ask these things in his name. Amen.
You may be seated.
So as we sit here just a few days away from Christmas Day.
All right, You do know it's just a few days away, right?
Yes. Your children are reminding you
daily. If it's like my home.
The word peace is everywhere around us.
We hear it in songs. We see it on cards and in
decorations. We even speaking to one another
in many ways, saying things like peace on earth, right?
And And yet, if we're honest, right?
Peace often feels elusive, right?
It feels like you are the beauty queen on the stage, wishing for
World Peace if you could have anything you want.
Our world is restless. Our schedules are slam packed.
Even at a time where things are supposed to slow down, our
hearts are often anxious. We long for quiet.
We long for safety. We we long for things to finally
feel settled, right? But we live in a world that
usually define P, usually defines peace in terms of power
and control, right? Peace comes, we think, when the
right people are in charge, or peace comes when threats are
removed, or peace comes when strength is displayed and
enemies are silenced. That's certainly how Herod
understood peace, right? That's how Rome enforced peace,
and it's how most kingdoms in history have tried to secure
peace. But the peace God promises at
Christmas comes in a very different way, right?
It does not arrive riding a War Horse, although he will.
It does not rule from a palace, although he'll rule heaven and
earth. It does not announce itself with
force, although trumpets will sound one day.
But in the beginning, that's not how it comes.
Instead, God's peace arrives rather quietly.
It arrives unexpectedly. It arrives humbly.
Matthew ends his birth narrative not in Bethlehem, the city of
David, as we might assume if you are familiar with the Old
Testament. All right.
He doesn't end his story in Jerusalem, which is the city of
the temple. He doesn't even end his story in
Egypt, the place of exile and deliverance.
He ends this story in Nazareth, a town so small and so
unimpressive that it would later become a term of reproach.
It's an insult, and Matthew wants us to see that this is no
accident. This is how God brings peace.
Now here's the truth that Matthew is teaching us as we
approach Christmas. If you're taking notes, it's
there and top of your worship God.
Because God brings peace through a humble king, we must rest in
his rule and receive his salvation on his terms.
Because God brings peace through a humble king, we must rest in
His rule and receive His salvation on His terms.
Matthew's going to show us this piece through three movements in
the text. The first will be in verses 19
and 20, where we see that God preserves his king according to
his perfect timing. Next, we'll see that God
established his king through humble obedience in verses 21
through 22. And then finally, in verse 23,
we'll see that God defines His King by lowliness, not by
earthly glory. So as we open up this final
Advent text, Matthew is preparing our hearts not just to
remember that Jesus was born, but to understand who He is and
how he brings peace and why His humility is our hope.
His humility is our hope. So point #1 God preserves his
King according to his perfect timing.
Verses 19 through 20. I'll read them again as you
write that down. But when Herod died, behold, an
Angel of the Lord appeared in the dream to Joseph in Egypt,
saying, rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land
of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.
But when Herod died, Matthew says, behold, an Angel of the
Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
Now Matthew begins this section with a phrase that is easy to
Passover, but it's loaded with meaning.
But when Herod died, Herod the Great has died.
He's the man who raged against heaven.
He's the man who slaughtered innocent children.
He's the man who attempted to destroy the Christ before he
could speak a word. And now he's gone.
He exit the story rather quietly.
There's no funeral describes. There's no legacy that's to be
honored. There's no that lasting victory
of his to be recorded. History just simply moves on.
But God's plan does not. Matthew wants us to see the
contrast. Herod's schemes.
But God waits, right? Herod grasp for control, but God
governs time itself. The King of Heaven does not
hurry, he does not panic, he does not react.
The King of Heaven simply rules. He rules all things.
Matthew Henry captures this beautifully when he writes.
God easily brings to nothing the greatest designs of his enemies.
When they have done their worst, God can do his best.
Amen. Herod's fury, fury felt
overwhelming in the moment. It brought real suffering, it
brought real sorrows, but it never placed the promise at
risk, right? Christ was never in danger, not
not because the world was safe, but because the Father was
faithful, right? Notice also how God acts once
again. An Angel appears to Joseph in a
dream, just as before, right? God is consistent.
He guides the same servants in the same way, with the same
clarity, so that there is no confusion, there's no
contradiction, there's no scrambling on Joseph's parts.
And look closely at the language of the Angel.
Those who sought the child's life are dead.
It's plural, all right. Those who sought the child's
life are dead. This reminds us that the threat
was never only harried. And it'll never only be harried.
The opposition to Christ is bigger than one ruler.
It's bigger than one regime. It's bigger than one moment in
history. And yet God removes the threat
decisively and effortlessly. John Calvin notes this.
He says the Lord sometimes permits his enemies to rage for
a season, not because he is powerless, but because he is
patient and because his appointed time has not yet come.
Amen. Those words from Calvin really
are deeply pastoral. God's delays are not denials,
right? His timing is not indifference.
His apparent silence is never absence.
Just read the book of Esther if you're curious about what God's
silence looks like even as he's working.
Here's what Matthew is teaching us beneath the narrative Peace
is not found in the speed of God's rescue.
Rather it's found in the certainty of God's rule.
I'd say that slower because I think we need to hear that peace
is not found in the speed of rescue.
Rather it's found in the certainty of God's rule.
That's where you find peace, brothers and sisters, in the
certainty of God's rule. RC Sprole often reminded his
hearers that there are no maverick molecules in the
universe, that God is completely sovereign over all things.
There's no maverick molecules, right?
Herod's throne was not maverick. His cruelty, his cruelty was not
random. He even his death came at the
exact moment that God had ordains.
The same God who numbered Herod's days was preserving his
Son and advancing redemption without haste and without risk.
Morden Lloyd Jones once said this.
He said the ultimate proof of God's sovereignty is that he can
afford to wait. How true is that?
I never feel less sovereign than when I feel like I have to
change the circumstance in a moment, and I have no power to
do so. And yet one of the proofs of
God's sovereignty is that he can afford to wait.
Amen. It's precisely what we see here
in this text. Brothers and sisters, this text
presses us to ask a question. And that question is this.
Where do you locate your peace? Where do you locate your peace?
If peace depends on immediate answers, if peace depends on
political stability, if peace depends on the removal of
threats, then peace will always be fragile.
It'll always be fragile. However, if peace rests in the
sovereign care of God, It becomes steady even when your
circumstances are not steady. John Piper puts it this way.
He says that God is always doing 10,000 things in your life and
you might be aware of three of them.
Amen. You may not see what God is
doing in your waiting. You may not see what God is
doing in your suffering. You may not see what God is
doing in your fear or your uncertainty.
But the same God who preserved Christ through exile, the same
God who preserved Christ through danger, the same God who
preserved Christ through delay, is governing your life with
equal wisdom and care. You can be sure of that.
So I want you to hear this clearly, especially as you
approach Christmas Day. Your peace does not depend on
how quickly God acts. Your peace does not depend on
who rules the nations. Your peace depends on the God
who rules history. Your peace depends on the God
who keeps every promise that He has made.
That's where we find peace. The child preserved in Egypt is
the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9, and the God who guarded him then
is the same God who holds His people today.
As God preserves His king through perfect timing, Matthew
now shows us that he is also establishes his king through
humble obedience, not only in Christ's path, but in the
faithful response of those who follow God's Word.
Point #2 God establishes his king through humble obedience.
God establishes his king through humble obedience.
Verse 21 and 22 again. And he, Joseph, rose and took
the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But he went. But when he heard that Arkilos
was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was
afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he
withdrew to the district of Galilee.
Right. So he rose, He takes the child
and his mother, He went to the land of Israel.
Now Matthew records this obedience with striking
simplicity. It's instructive for us.
There's no drama in the sentence.
There's no emotion described. There's no internal struggle
narrated. Joseph simply rises and goes.
This is now the third time that Joseph has responded this way in
Matthew's opening chapters. Each time God speaks, Joseph
obeys immediately, completely without qualification.
And yet disobedience is not an easy obedience.
The land of which Joseph returns is still unstable.
Herod may be dead, but his son now reigns in Judea, and he's a
ruler known even in his own day for brutality and incompetence.
Historically, he would later be removed by Rome for his cruelty.
So Joseph's fear is not irrational, it is discerning,
right? And once again, God speaks, and
once again, Joseph obeys. No complaint, no argument, no
insistence on clarity before going.
This is obedience that's shaped by trust, not certainty.
How many times should our obedience be shaped by trust
rather than certainty? Matthew shows us a repeated
pattern in God's work. First, we see God reveals his
will. Next we see God's servants
obeys. And 3rd, we see that God
advances his redemptive plan through this process.
You see, Joseph is not passive. He's active in his obedience,
but he he's never the hero of the story.
Right he he does not devise a plan, he follows a plan, right?
He does not demand safety. He trusts God's word.
John Calvin wisely observed. He said God does not always show
us the whole path, but he never fails to show us the next step.
Amen. That truth is embodied here.
Joseph does not know the destination when he begins the
journey. He only knows the direction God
has given. And this is again deeply
instructive for us. You see, peace and obedience are
not opposites. Brothers and sisters, peace and
obedience are not at odds with one another.
They're complementary of each other.
We often assume that peace comes when decisions are easy.
We'll assume peace must come if risk are removed.
We'll assume that peace comes when outcomes are guaranteed,
but Scripture teaches the opposite to his time and again.
Biblical peace is not the absence of uncertainty.
It is confidence in God amid uncertainty, Matthew Henry
writes. Those that would have the
comfort of God's guidance must be willing to follow it.
In other words, if you want to know the peace of God, obey him.
It's really that simple. Obey Him.
Joseph's obedience does not eliminate danger, but it places
him under divine care. And through this obedience, God
is establishing his king, again, not by force, but by
faithfulness. Martyn Lloyd Jones once said
faith is not a leap in the dark, it is obedience to the light you
have. Amen.
So many times people describe faith as some leap into the
darkness, that walking by faith must mean we're walking by
darkness. No, not at all.
Walking by faith is walking according to the light that God
has given us, right? Joseph walks in the light God
gives him, step by step, and in so doing he participates,
quietly and humbly, mind you, in the unfolding of salvation
history. There's something profoundly
fitting here. The king whose reign will bring
peace to the nations is establisher, a path marked by
submission. Before Christ preaches, he is
protected. Before he commands, he submits.
Before he reigns in glory, he is shaped by obedience.
John MacArthur notes this. He says from his earliest days,
Jesus was associated not with power, but with submission to
the Father's will and to God's appointed means.
So this is not accidental. Again, Matthew's not recording.
This is just some afterthought just to kind of wrap up the
story of the birth of Christ. No, this is not accidental.
What we're seeing here in the early life of Christ is the kind
of king that Jesus is. We're seeing the kind of key
peace that he's going to bring. This passage presses us, presses
us rather firmly. What we see here is that
Christian. What we see here is that peace
does not grow in hearts that demand control.
Peace grows in hearts that trust God's Word more than their
circumstances. When we when we demand control,
we lose peace. Why?
Because you aren't in control. You.
You can't exercise sovereign control over all things, but
peace can be yours. You can possess peace when you
learn how to trust God's Word more than the circumstances
you're in currently. RC Sparrow often reminded the
church that trusting God does not mean understanding His plan.
It means resting in His character.
When you sit down for counsel or you going through a difficult
situation and you say something to the effect of I really want
to trust God in this, but I just, I don't understand what's
going on. I don't understand, you know,
the outcome of this. I don't know what it leads to.
I don't know how to get through it right.
Whatever it is that's hindering you from trusting God, I want
you to understand that trusting God means you're trusting his
character in the midst of the situation, even if you don't
understand the plan that he's working out.
Trusting God means, I believe wholeheartedly.
Romans 828 God works all things together for the good of those
who love Him and are called according to His purpose, even
if I can't understand it in the moment.
All right, why? Because I trust His character.
I trust that He has eternal good for me on His mind in the things
that He's working out. May not look temporarily good,
but eternally it's the best, right?
Some of the most peace filled obedience you will ever practice
will feel quite unspectacular. Choosing faithfulness when the
future feels unclear feels pretty unspectacular.
Obeying Scripture when the outcome is unknown feels pretty
unspectacular. Walking forward with God's Word,
even when the path feels narrow, feels pretty unspectacular.
As Christmas Day approaches, these things matter deeply.
The peace announced at Christ's birth was secured not by angels
alone, but by ordinary obedience, by faithful man
rising in the night, trusting God, and leading a humble family
wherever the Lord directed. Brothers, sisters, God still
works this way, right? He advances His purposes, He
establishes His Kingdom, He grows peace in His people, all
of it through humble obedience to His Word.
Still, how God operates He has not changed His practice.
We must be obedient to His Word, and that obedience leads us to
an unexpected destination, one final place that defines not
only where Jesus would live, but how He would be known.
Nazareth, a place of humility, and it would shape the identity
of the King Himself. Point #3 God defines His King by
lowliness, not earthly glory. Verse 23 says And he went and
lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the
prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a
Nazarene. Matthew ends the birth narrative
with a single sentence and a single word that would have
landed with force on his original readers.
Nazareth, Not Bethlehem, the city of David, not Jerusalem,
the city of the Temple, not a place of promise or prestige or
power. Nazareth, a town with no
reputation, no political importance, no spiritual
standing, a place that was looked down upon.
It was overlooked. It was even mocked later in the
Gospel. Someone will ask, can anything
good come out of Nazareth? The question captures the
cultural weight of this verse. Nazareth was not neutral, it was
despised, it was rejected. And Matthew wants us to
understand this is exactly where God wanted His King to be known
from. Matthew tells us this fulfills
what was spoken by the prophets, plural.
Not one prophet, not one verse, but a consistent prophetic
pattern. This is not a citation, it's a
summary fulfillment. Across the Old Testament, the
coming Messiah is described again and again as one who would
be despised and rejected. Isaiah 53, Lowly and humble.
Zechariah 9A. Shoot from a stump, a route out
of dry ground. Isaiah 11.
And you could go on and on. Nazareth.
Nazareth fits the shape of the prophecies, even if it is not
named explicitly. To be called a Nazarene was to
be identified with obscurity and weakness and reproach.
John Calvin explains this kind of prophetic fulfillment by
saying Matthew does not point us to the syllables of a single
prophecy, but to the substance of many, that Christ would be
despised in the eyes of the world.
In other words, Matthew is teaching us how to read the Old
Testament rightly. The Messiah was never promised a
glorious beginning. He was promised a humble path.
Here's the crucial theological truth that we find here.
God did not bring peace by elevating Christ early.
He brought peace by humiliating him deeply.
From the beginning. Jesus is identified not with
prominence but with poverty, not with admiration but with
reproach. Spurgeon captures this
powerfully when he says the Lord of glory is content to wear a
name of reproach, that he might clothe his people with garments
of righteousness. You see, Nazareth is not some
footnote, brothers and sisters, it is a declaration.
This is the King who will later touch lepers, eat with sinners,
wash his disciples feet, be mocked, beaten and crucified.
The humility of Nazareth points forward to the humility of the
cross. John MacArthur writes this.
He says Jesus's association with Nazareth was an early indicator
that he would not conform to the world's expectations of
greatness. And that, brothers and sisters,
is exactly why Jesus is the only one who can bring true peace.
You see, you and I, we often want peace to come through
upward movement, promotion, recognition, success, security,
power. But God brings peace through
downward movements. Condescension, humility,
sacrifice. It's no wonder the Scriptures
tell us that those who humble themselves before the Lord will
be lifted up by him. We must learn how to go down in
humility, brothers and sisters, how to humble ourselves before
the King, how to humble ourselves in obedience to the
King. And Christ is our example of
this. Martin Lou Jones said the way to
peace is not self assertion, rather it is self abandonment to
God. That is the way of Christ and
it's the way that Christ forms his people.
The King who brings peace does not stand above suffering.
He enters into it. He does not demand honor.
He bears shame. He does not cling to rights.
He lays them down. John Piper puts it memorably.
Many of you would know the statement.
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him,
even when He is all that we have.
Amen. Nazareth tells us that God is
not embarrassed by weakness. God works through weakness.
Paul reminds the people in first in Corinthians this and and are
in Corinth this when he writes in First Corinthians that he's
chosen the weak of this world to confound the strong.
So again, this text is pressing us in a very practical way.
Brothers and sisters, if peace came through humility, we should
not be surprised then when God shapes us through humility.
It's humbling when faithfulness feels unnoticed.
It's humbling when obedience to God places you on the margins of
society. It's humbling when the Christian
life looks smaller than you expected.
But these things are not a sign that God has abandoned you.
It's a sign that God is conforming you to his son
Christ. Again, Archie Sproull, he once
said this. He said God does not promise us
comfort, but he does promise us purpose.
Nazareth reminds us that God's purposes are often hidden before
they are revealed, and humility is often the soil in which peace
grows deepest. And I submit to you that as
Christmas Day draws near, this is good news, right?
The peace we celebrate does not rest on atmosphere.
The peace we celebrate does not rest on tradition.
It rests on a humble king who entered obscurity so that
sinners could enter into his glory.
The King of Nazareth is the Prince of Peace.
And because he went low, brothers and sisters, we can
finally rest. We can finally know peace.
You see, Matthew ends the birth narrative not with angels
singing glory to God in the highest.
He ends with a family settling into obscurity.
And that's his point. The peace of Christmas does not
rest on sentiments or tradition or nostalgia.
It rests on a humble king who came low to lift centers high.
This king will later say in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 11,
verses 28 and 29. Come to me, all who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, for I'm gentle and
lowly in heart. So as Christmas Day approaches,
I want you to hear this clearly. Peace does not come in ignoring
sin. Peace does not come to our
hearts and minds, our souls, when we ignore the depths of
depravity that exist in US. Peace comes when we humbly
confess and submit those things to Christ, when we hide
ourselves in Him rather than hide ourselves from Him.
Peace does not come by achieving control.
Jesus asked this great question in Matthew chapter 6.
Who of you, by worrying, can add even a single moment to your
life? You might have worded it this
way. Who of you, by seeking to gain
control over every situation, can add even a single moment to
your life? Peace doesn't come by achieving
control. Peace comes in submitting
ourselves to the one who has control, to the one who orders
all things, to the one who governs all things.
Peace comes by trusting the humble King who bore our guilt.
He carried our shame and now reigns in righteousness.
So if you're weary today, I want you to know that Christ brings
you peace. Submit yourself to Him.
If you're fearful today. Circumstances, health reports,
relationships, whatever it may be, you're fearful today.
I want you to know that Christ brings you peace.
If you're sinful, Christ brings you peace.
It comes through repentance and faith, but Christ brings you
peace. Because God brings peace through
a humble king, we must rest in His rule and receive His
salvation on His terms. Church, as we move toward
Christmas Day, let us rejoice not merely that Christ was born,
although what a joyful thing it is.
Let us rejoice that the humble King of Nazareth still gives
peace to his people. Amen.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word today.
We thank You for this brief text in Matthew 2 and the way that it
reveals the path to peace. Just as we see Joseph humble
himself, we see Christ humble Himself before the Father.
God, would you help us to humble ourselves before You?
Would you humble us? Would you help us to follow Your
commands, to obey Your Word, to live a life that honors and
glorifies You? Father, would you forgive us for
all the ways we have tried to grasp at peace, either through
gaining control or power or worrying, trying to manipulate
circumstances, wishing for an end to certain circumstances?
God, whatever it may be, would you forgive us?
We simply must obey You. We must submit to Your will for
our lives. We must trust You above all
things. God, would you help us to trust
You? Father, I pray for anyone in
here who doesn't know Christ as Lord.
Would you grant them repentance and faith?
Would you save them from their sins today to draw them to
yourself? Father, let nothing hinder them
from coming that they might find peace in Christ, that through
repentance they would lay down their own unrighteousness, and
through faith in Christ they would take hold of His
righteousness. Would you grant them new life?
Father, I'm going to give you a moment now there in your seat,
just with your head bowed to seek the Lord.
Reflect on the Word, preach this morning.
Spend some time in prayer seeking God.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace and the mercy and
the love that we've received in Christ.
We thank You for the example that He sets for us.
It's an example we can't live up to.
But it's our desire, Lord, that you would conform us to His
image as we humble ourselves before You, as we seek to obey
Him because of our great love that we have, a great love that
we've received first. God, would you help us obey the
Lord in every way, the thoughts of our minds, the words of our
mouth, the actions of our hands. May we obey Christ, may we
glorify Christ and all the earth.
May we let it be known that we believe Christ is King.
He's worthy. He's worthy of our submission.
God, I pray that as we reflect over the next few days on
Christmas and Christmas Day and all that it holds, let the
thoughts of a humble king be on our minds.
And God, we thank you that you sent Christ, that he was humbled
to the point of death on a cross, and he bore our shame for
our wickedness, not his own. He bore our shame, our reproach
on himself so that we might be made brand new, so that he could
save your people from their sins.
Christ is the greatest gift we could receive on Christmas.
He's the greatest gift we can remember on Christmas.
And so we thank you for this first Advent and we look forward
to the return of the King. And until that day, would you
help us to live day by day for the glory of the Lord.
It's in the name of Christ I pray.
Amen.