Hello and welcome to the warm Church podcast.
It's boxing day Monday. The 26th of September and we
trust you having a memorable and blessed Christmas.
My name is Tom and along with Philip and my wife.
We lead the one Church owed be site and I have the chance of
sharing a message with you today and the title of this message is
who brings mern to her birthday. So I'm sure that nearly all of
us listening will have received some kind of gift in the last
couple of days or whenever you're listening to this, it's
been a week of giving. Some gifts are great to receive
some gifts, not so much. Here's a guide of some definite
gifts not to get on certain days if it's a mum's birthday, never
give anti-aging Chrome. If it's an anniversary, flowers
are good, a Action of flowers. Plain self-raising, gluten-free
are not a good idea. A baby shower, don't buy shower
gel or a loofah. It's not that kind of shower and
if you're going to a funeral party poppers and party hats are
not advised amazingly, the GIF. We're going to talk about today
that really was given was even more inappropriate.
It seemed than these. I remember going to a friend's
birthday party. When I was 10 years old, his
name was Tim and I Bought him gel pens.
I don't know why, but I got it in my head that this was the
worst gift ever and he would hate it.
So when we got back to his house after the party, he said he was
opening his presence and I was so nervous.
I went and hid in the toilet while he opened them.
Thankfully he actually liked his present but I was terrified the
other day. My daughter Rosie received a
card for her birthday and you know she has a sister called Zoe
and often their names are mixed And there in the card.
It said, dear Zoe happy birthday with love from the person.
It was from, we did laugh about it and there was a present
inside. So she wasn't too fussed in the
story of the first Christmas, the visit of the Magi to Jesus
has been told in countless nativities, and stories and
retellings around the globe. Jesus is somewhere between one
and two years old, moved to a house living in Bethlehem.
Mmm. And In This Moment, the major I
arrived, I'm going to read from Matthew 2, and then we're going
to talk about the gifts that they bought to Jesus after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod
Magi, from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, where is
the one who has been born? King of the Jews.
We saw his star when it Rose, and have come to worship him.
When King Herod heard this, he was Disturbed and all Jerusalem
with him. When he had called together all
the peoples Chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked
them where the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea, they
replied. The this is what the prophet has
written. So Herod called the Magi
secretly and found out from them the exact time.
The star had appeared and sent them to Bethlehem and said, go
and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him report to me, sir, I too may go and
worship him. After they'd heard the king,
they went on their way and the star they had seen when it Rose
went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the
child was when they saw the star, they were Overjoyed on
coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of
gold, frankincense and myrrh and having been warned in a dream
not to go back to Herod. They returned to their country
by another route. The Magi came to the Palace of
course. That's where you'd expect to
find a newborn king but they came ready to bring their
adoration and their worship. They came ready to bring
something of worth. They came ready to bring gifts
to this newborn king. They must have been excited and
expectant as they arrived there at the palace and then when they
arrived at the simple home and met Mary and Jesus, In the
Greek, the word proskuneo is used when they talk about
worshiping. It's not just a coming and
singing a song, but that word means to lean and kiss towards
another literally, these wise people, these major I had come
to kneel and kiss towards this young boy, Jesus to celebrate.
They had brought gifts. Now, these gifts, we will have
heard I'm sure many is many, many times.
Gold frankincense and myrrh. Gold Berlin frankincense.
Yeah, sure. But who brings myrrh to a
birthday? Imagine if you're visiting a new
child and say congratulations to the family and then you give
that little child, a leaflet from Cooperative Funeral Care,
it just doesn't sit, right, this is exactly what happened in this
moment, they were basically giving this child something that
symbolized Death. But first, let's talk about the
gold. Now bringing gold to a King,
obviously gold. It honors the Great and the
Royal in the ancient world and still today, it's a symbol of
value and wealth, gold, calf, gold, Menorah gold currency,
gold, jewelry, gold decoration, and gold streets in Revelation.
All Through the Bible, we find gold even the holy of holies the
most holy place in the temple where people could encounter
gods. Presents.
It was adorned with gold. Gold comes supposedly from the
Collision of neutron stars but all I know is its mind and
traded and exchanged around the world it's a metal that you can
beat one gram of into a one meter squared sheet.
It's an amazingly malleable and also precious material, the gold
gift tells and reminds us that Jesus is royal he is of great
worth like the finest Palace and Temple but the gold could also
tell us that Jesus like the holy of holies is this gold adorned
one through whom all people can encounter the presence of God.
The second gift, the Mage I gave was frankincense frankincense it
kind of makes sense. It was for burning and sacrifice
and offering it was used in worship.
They've come to worship the newborn king and so they bought
frankincense. We find this material in Exodus
30 where it's used for burning and making something pure and
sacred. It comes from the sap of a tree
and in the ancient world, The life of a tree was its sap and
when it was cut, it would flow Harden and then be used.
And this was frankincense and this gift tells us, that Jesus
is Worthy of worship. He's worthy of sacrifice, and
that is what the Mage I had come to do.
But it could also tell us something more.
Perhaps, it tells us that Jesus is the new pure and sacred
offering a fragrance that would be holy like no other.
Frankincense makes sense. But Ma who brings myrrh to a
birthday myrrh was for anointing and preparing, but mainly for
anointing preparing an embalming the Dead.
It came from a rare tree, it would be cut deeply repeatedly
to extract this sap. This murmur.
Now, this murmur would have been used to anoint, as well as just
the dead, many things. In fact, in the Bible, Marie's
used to anoint priests and the Altar and the temple before
sacrifices are made. Perhaps, it's just telling us
that Jesus is anointing oil preparing all to be made, right?
With God, but actually the myrrh speaks to us of death.
This baby boy there in Bethlehem who they came to worship.
He was born and set apart to die, and Jesus did he did die?
He was a precious gift, a light to the world Hosanna.
Hallelujah Messiah. Savior, yet Jesus died.
And at Christmas, we think of this newborn life but also we
must remember that this child, this King gave his life.
The next time we read about murmur is in John chapter 19, in
the aftermath of Jesus death on the cross.
And we read this, Joseph of Arimathea asked pilate for the
body of Jesus. He came and took the body away.
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, they brought a mixture of myrrh
and aloes about 75 pounds, taking Jesus body.
The two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen.
In at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden
and in the garden, a new Tomb in which no one had ever been laid
and they laid Jesus there. Who brings myrrh to a birthday?
Well, I for one am glad the major I did, because the death
and resurrection of Jesus is the Hope for the whole world and is
the Hope for my life. Just like when murder is
harvested, Jesus is the deeply and repeatedly cut tree.
His sap released his life given up.
He was pierced blood and water flowed from his side, Jesus gave
up his life and so we've all of this is really true about Jesus.
If he does replace the holy of holies and the sacrifices
rituals offerings Consecration and purification.
If through his death, we can all be welcomed into God's presence.
If all of this happened because of what Jesus did his life death
and Resurrection, then maybe bringing Myrtle a birthday is
actually the greatest gift that could have been given.
Maybe it's not strange after all, but maybe it gives us hope
today. Wherever you're listening from
and perhaps you're listening on boxing day or in the week after
Christmas or even at a later date, I'd love to pray for you.
So let's pray together. Loving father, thank you for the
miracle and the reality of Christmas.
Thank you for your son Jesus in the gift of gold.
We thank you, Jesus, for your immeasurable worth may.
We learn to bring you the Worship.
You Deserve like the major I did.
In the gift of Frankincense, we thank you.
Jesus, that you're the pure and sacred offering and may we enter
into the presence of God, with boldness in the gift of myrrh.
We thank you Jesus, that your life was one of preparation and
anointing. We thank you for your death,
your resurrection and that we are transformed because of it
and to you Jesus our King, our holy of holies, our Pure
offering and our savior who died in our place.
May you receive all glory and honor this Christmas time.
Our men, if you need anything at all, please know that we are
here, you can get in touch with us today and we'll be able to
respond even over the Christmas period.
We'd also love you to join us on New Year's Eve as we pray on,
Zoom at 11 p.m. and then on New Year's Day As We Gather, for one
church together, from 10:30, a.m. at the one Center 10 frog
Island. If you can't Kim person.
Then you can join us on YouTube as well as the whole service
will be streamed online. Live have a great week, be
blessed, we love you and we'll see you soon.
Kim person. Then you can join us on YouTube
as well as the whole service will be streamed online.
Live have a great week, be blessed, we love you and we'll
see you soon.