The Birth of Christ Pt 3: The Nativity

If you brought a Bible with you, open it up to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2.

Anticipation in the room, I can feel it. All you kids, I mean, are you pretty stoked right now? You ready for this guy to stop talking so that you can get to your Christmas? Well, just hang with me, all right? Hang with me for about 45 minutes, maybe half hour, maybe two. I don't know. I'm just going to let the Spirit lead. See how that goes. I just saw one parent want to get up and leave.

Just stay with me, okay? It won't be that long, I promise. Well, hey, listen. This past couple of weeks, we've been in a Christmas series, an Advent series, if you will, on the first coming of Christ, the birth of Christ. In the first part, we looked a lot at the promise of the coming of Christ, and we really followed it all the way through from the very beginning,

from the time when sin entered the world in the book of Genesis, and we saw the promise. We saw the promise. We saw the promise. We saw the promise. We saw the promise of Christ, that this promised Messiah, the one who would take away the sin of the world when he came, he would first of all be born of a woman. He would be from the Jewish nation. He would be of the line of David.

We saw that his birth would be miraculous and that he would be born of a virgin, but we also saw that he would be both fully God and fully man, which is absolutely what he claimed to be when he lived on earth. And so as we followed that promise all the way through, through the anticipation and the excitement built. And then when we, this morning, we talked about the preparation for the birth of Christ, how God prepared the world for the birth of Christ by making sure that the nations were in place, a global language, the Greek language that everybody was speaking at the time, an empire that brought about world peace, an empire that brought about world unity, an empire that had built roads where the gospel could be,

could be easily spread and an emperor who thought he was in control of everything to ensure that Mary and Joseph would end up in Bethlehem at just the right time. We saw how God prepared Mary and Joseph, how, how God spoke to Mary through that angel and declared to her that she would give birth in that most miraculous way. And she's going, I don't understand. And he says, you don't have to just know that it's going to be the work of the Holy Spirit.

And then we saw how God prepared Joseph, which I think is the greatest miracle of all for, him to prepare Joseph for the fact that his wife was going to have a baby because of the Holy Spirit and that he could rest in that. Well, all of those things have led up to where we come tonight. And that is to the Christmas story. Part three of our series of the birth of Christ, simply titled the nativity.

And so we look at Luke chapter two, verse one, and this is what it says. Now, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census should be taken of, all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea,

to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the family of David in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him. And was. With. Child. Now, the first thing that we see is the traveling to Bethlehem, because that's what needed to take place. The prophet Micah had said that Bethlehem would be the place where the Messiah would be born.

And so they had to get to Bethlehem. How would Mary and Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, end up in Bethlehem at a time when most pregnant women would not have been traveling? Well, God had it all orchestrated because he had already installed a man who would be the Caesar, who was both administrative, administratively minded and liked to make money. And so Caesar Augustus, because of all of the wars that he had to fight in order to move into power and establish the Roman Empire, now needed to pay for those wars.

The Roman Empire was in great debt. And so Caesar Augustus, being an incredibly brilliant man in an administrative way and in need of a great deal of money, had a plan. He would cause all of the known world, which Rome had conquered, which Rome was in charge of at that point in time, to each return to their home city. And they would return to their home city to be registered.

Administratively, it was a wise idea because he would know exactly who was in the kingdom. As a matter of fact, he took such good records that some have even been used historically to prove who all was a part of the Roman Empire at that point in time. But not only was he keeping good records of who all was a part of his empire, he would know exactly who he could tax. And so he told everybody, you should return to your hometown because, after all, if you're going to have to go somewhere to be taxed, you may as well make a family event out of it, right?

And so he sent everybody back to their hometowns. And so that brings us to two very specific individuals, Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph were from the city of Bethlehem. Not that that's where they'd ever lived, but that was where their family heritage was from. And so they would return to Bethlehem in order to be taxed. Now, I looked this up today so that I would know for sure,

because I don't know that I ever read it. I don't know that I ever read it. I don't know that I ever read it. I don't know that I ever really paid close attention. But it was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Depending on which source you go with, Bethlehem to Nazareth was a journey anywhere from 80 to 92 miles, give or take. Which, the way that they would have traveled at that point in time

meant that that was a four-day journey. This was not just something where they jumped in the minivan and rolled on down because, after all, they had everything prepared and ready to go. No, this would have been a strain of a journey on them. And so Mary and Joseph prepared. They prepared themselves to go to Bethlehem. And he went with his espoused wife, Mary.

And I want you to take note of one thing about Mary. Look at verse 5. He says, He went with her in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. Now, I point this out to you because when you look at that phrase, with child, in the Greek, it's kind of a more expressive phrase than is given to us here in the New American Standard Bible.

The word with child, literally means to be swelling, to be big with child, or to be great with child. Now, we know a lot about having babies here at this church. Am I right? Ladies, would you say that right before you gave birth, you felt like you were swelling, big with child, maybe great with child, right before that whole thing took place? That's the place where Mary is right now.

And so he takes a four-day journey, and it would have had to take place one of two ways. Either one, on foot, or two, on the backside of a donkey. Either way, it doesn't seem like a fun way to travel. Can I get an amen, ladies? Yeah, that's right. I've never been pregnant myself, but I have had a pregnant wife, and I can tell you right now, if I was to say,

we're going to go walking for the next four days, even though you're great with child, you're swelling with... First of all, I'd never tell her she was swelling with child. That's just a bad idea. It's just nobody should do that at that point in time. But I would definitely not tell her we should go for a four-day walk. But that's what they did. So they traveled to Bethlehem.

And while it may have seemed like the most... The most inconvenient thing that they could have done at that point, it absolutely fit into God's perfect plan. And so we pick up now in verse 6, and this is what it says. Now, while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths

and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. I'm always struck by two things in the gospel accounts. I'm struck by the lack of details on two different incidents. I'm struck by the lack of detail that's given to us when it says that Christ was crucified, because it simply says, and they crucified him. And I'm struck with the lack of details

that are given to us at the birth of Christ, because all it says was, the days were completed for her to give birth, and she gave birth. I want some details on how this whole thing went down. At what point in time did the contractions begin? Was it day three of the journey? Like, were they on their way? And it was like, oh, Joseph, this is going to end really, really bad, right?

I know what's coming. Was the four-day walk what ultimately brought her to the place of being ready to give birth? How long were they in Bethlehem before she gave birth? Because I don't think that maybe they were there just one day. Clearly, she had a baby while they were there, right? So there's a few things that we don't know here, really a couple mainly.

We don't know how long they were in Bethlehem before she gave birth, and we really don't know the time of year when she gave birth. I actually heard somebody tell me the other day, I know exactly when Jesus was born. I said, oh, yeah, when was that? They said it was September the 11th. And I went, I mean, I guess that's a thought. I don't know that that's true.

Nowhere in Scripture says that. But I suppose if you want to believe that it was September the 11th, you can believe that it's September the 11th. I've always been under the understanding that it could not have been in December because it would have been too cold in Jerusalem in that region in December. However, I've read some other accounts that say, it absolutely could have been in December because they have pretty mild winters in Israel in December.

So who knows when it was? We celebrate now because this is when we've always taken the opportunity to celebrate. So we don't know how long they were in Bethlehem. And we don't know exactly what time of year this was. But what we do know is that Jesus was born. And I have to tell you that this is the most significant event in history. You know? I know that this is the most significant event in history

because until recently, we based our calendar upon one event and one event only, the coming of Christ. Because everything before the coming of Christ is literally referred to as B.C., before Christ. And everything after the coming of Christ is known as A.D., in the year of our Lord. Speaking of the fact that it's after the birth of Christ, this singular event is everything that we know and everything that history had looked forward to from the fall of man.

And this singular event is the hope that we have looked back to ever since. Knowing that if He came once, we know He will come again. And so while there's some details we don't know, the important thing that we do know is there, that Jesus was born. And of course it goes on to say that she wrapped Him in cloths. I actually like the New Living translation on this one.

It says she wrapped Him, snuggly in strips of cloth, because that's exactly what would have, it's called swaddling cloths, that they would have wrapped Him in. And then she laid Him in a manger. Now there's nothing odd at all that she wrapped Him snuggly in strips of cloth. That's exactly what you do with a baby when they're born, because that swaddling brings comfort to the baby.

Where it gets a little different is that she laid Him in a manger. Now I looked this up to make sure that I was correct in my understanding, and I was. The word manger, can also literally be translated a feeding trough. Now kids, I have a question for you. Have your parents ever sent you out to a barn and said, lay down in the feeding trough? Now they've maybe done that,

but only for a moment, right? Have they ever told you to go lay down in the dog dish? I've never done that to my kids. Well there was one time, but after that I've never done it since. Because that's a pretty odd place to lay a baby. You should ask yourself, why did she lay Him in a manger? Why did she lay Him in a feeding trough? Because that's a pretty odd place to lay a baby.

Because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there's all kinds of jokes that go around that Joseph should have made reservations, and there's always the picture of some innkeeper just being a... Right? But really that's not what's intended here. What's intended here is that when they were giving birth, inside of the home that they were living in, inside of the place where they were staying

was not a good spot for that, and so they had them go to the stable, which probably would have been attached to the house, and there's probably nothing that we imagine. We always imagine this perfect little wooden stable, right? There's the picture right there. That's usually what we picture right there is a wooden stable. That's actually not what the stable

probably would have looked like. It actually probably would have been hewn out of the side of a rock, probably like a cave. That's what the stable would have looked like. And in the middle of it would have been, again, a stone that was hewn out, that hay or straw, whatever you were going to feed the animals would go in, and it made the perfect little bed for Jesus.

And so she gave birth to Jesus, and she laid Him in a feeding trough. And of course, after she laid Him in that feeding trough, there was an announcement that was made, which takes us to the next part. Notice what it says in verse 8. It says, In the same region, meaning the region of Bethlehem, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord was on them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you.

You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, Let's go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry, and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as he lay in the manger.

And when they had seen this, they made known, in the statement which had been told them about the child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Mary treasured these things in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. Now the last thing that we see is we see the announcement.

Now we're told that there were certain shepherds out in the field in that region keeping watch over their flocks. Now we should know a handful of things about shepherds and the flocks that they were keeping. The first thing that you need to know about shepherds is shepherds were the lowest class of people. They were the lowest working class of people at that point in time.

And so the first announcement was not made to who you would think the announcement would be made to, perhaps the religious leaders, perhaps the royalty, perhaps the wealthy class. It was made to the absolute lowest class of people at that point in time. There's a second interesting thing to take note of about shepherds. Shepherds were notorious for not being trustworthy.

As a matter of fact, shepherds were not allowed to testify in a court of law because they were not trustworthy in nature. And so the first announcement of the birth of Jesus was made to the lowest class of the most untrustworthy people possible. Isn't that kind of neat? Now there's another thing that we should know about the shepherds that were keeping watch over their flocks.

Bethlehem and the fields around Bethlehem, tradition states, were the fields where the Passover lamb, the Passover lambs were raised. Where the lambs that would be used for the Passover sacrifice that they had to take part in every year were raised. Therefore, one could surmise that these shepherds could potentially have been watching over the very Passover lambs that would have been used for sacrifice that very next year. And isn't it kind of interesting that the first announcement that was made about the fulfillment of the Passover lamb was made to those who were watching over the Passover lambs.

So these shepherds were actually watching over the Passover lambs. They were out in the field keeping watch over their flocks at night. And all of a sudden, and I don't know why I've never noticed this before, it says, an angel of the Lord stood before them. I don't know how you've always pictured this in your mind. I'm going to tell you how I picture it in my mind, right?

In my mind, the angel shows up up in the sky. Is that how you've always pictured it in your mind? That's how I've always pictured it, okay? That these guys are just like chilling, maybe a little campfire, you know, petting a cute little lamb and hanging out with the shepherds. They're hanging out with each other and telling whatever stories, shepherd. I don't know what kind of stories.

Probably not good stories because they weren't really good people, right? Telling stories around the campfire and all of a sudden in the sky, right, like this angel shows up. This angel shows up in the sky. I don't know why they're moving their head like that, but that's how I picture it in my mind. I don't know if they're fish or what's going on here, but the angel's up there in the sky

and he just makes this great announcement and then all of a sudden, all these other angels show up too, right? That's how I've always pictured it until this year. And I noticed it says right there in verse nine, and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them. So maybe my view of this has always been off. Maybe the angel wasn't just floating in mid space.

Maybe the angel just stood there and that's kind of why they freaked out a little bit is because out there in the middle of nowhere, taking care of the sheep, a random dude just shows up and he makes this great announcement because when he shows up, I want you to notice what these shepherds, these shepherds do. It says, suddenly this angel stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. In other words, a huge light bulb turned on, right? And they were terribly afraid.

I always prefer the old King James translation on this. They were sore afraid, right? Like nothing makes you sound more scared than saying that you are sore afraid. Every time I see a snake, I am sore afraid, right? And so they're terribly frightened, but the angel begins to speak and says, hey, don't be afraid. I've got you. I've got some really, really, really good news.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior. You can almost sense a collective, global, cosmic sigh of relief when he makes this declaration. You can almost hear the angels go, ah, because he says a savior has been born. Why did we need a savior? Because we didn't need another teacher. We didn't need another reformer. We didn't need someone

to tell us how to do things better. We needed someone to save us from our sins. He says, unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior. And this savior is Christ, also translated Messiah, and he is the Lord. And this will be the sign that you need to look for when you go into Bethlehem to find this baby. You're going to find him wrapped in strips of cloth, not uncommon,

and he'll be laying in a manger, uncommon. That's how they're going to know which one to look for. Look for the baby in the manger. And isn't it kind of interesting that these shepherds who were used to feeding flocks, where were they going to look for Jesus? They weren't going to look for him in a palace. They weren't going to look for him in some beautiful home.

They were going to look for him in a place where the animals eat. He came to them on their level. And so they say, that's what you need to go find. And then suddenly there appeared with the angels a multitude of the heavens. And there was a heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.

So another question has popped into my mind as I've studied this this time. If the angel of the Lord stood before them, again, my picture has always been, you know, they're showing up in the sky and pretty soon the whole sky is just full of the angels. And that still could be possible. Or there could have just been a multitude of angels standing there singing the praises of God.

It's just a beautiful scene. However, it's painted. However, it actually took place. And these angels, of course, are just singing the glory of God. Now, think about what this concert would have been like. I'm guessing it was probably a lot like what we just enjoyed right now of all of the voices joined together singing and praising the Lord. And all of the heavenly host was doing so.

And you can imagine the shepherds kind of getting into it, listening to it. And then all of a sudden, verse 15, when the angels had gone away, from them into heaven, they're just gone now. It went from the Shekinah glow of God, the glory of the Lord shining, all of the singing, to all of a sudden everyone's gone and now it's just once again a dark field, perhaps with a little campfire in the middle. And undoubtedly, they all just stood and looked at each other for a minute.

I can't imagine that they didn't. Just kind of standing and going, what was that? What just happened? I don't understand. So as they're sitting there talking about these things, notice what it says. When the angels, verse 15, had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, I mean, maybe we should go to Bethlehem, right? Seems like the right thing to do.

Glowing guy said it. All the other glowing guys said it. Maybe we should go to Bethlehem. Feels like the right thing to do. So finally, they put their hands in the middle. They said, go team. And they said, break. And they went to Bethlehem. So I want you to notice what it says. Verse 16, it says, so they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph

and the baby as he laid in a manger. I want to point something. It's out to you about the Greek instruction of a word here. And that's the word found. It says when they found their way to Mary, because that word found means found after a difficult search. Now, I think that's kind of interesting because these shepherds, when they came into Bethlehem, it wasn't just like the Shekinah glow of God

was shining on this one barn. And they were like, that's got to be where it is. They look just like the angels, right? No, they found them after a long search. You can just imagine that every barn they come to, they're like, no. Not that one. No baby. Only feed in that trough, right? And finally, after a long search, they find Jesus laying there in a manger.

And again, it struck me this time that that's where they find Jesus. But what really struck me is verse 17. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child. Who'd they make it known to? Well, who's got Jesus in the manger? Mary and Joseph. They're like, guys, you're never going to believe this. Can you imagine?

Random people showing up. A bunch of random dudes, a bunch of random shepherds who you know didn't smell very good. Of course, you're in a barn at that point in time, so maybe everything smells bad. But these guys come in, and you're going, who are these guys? You're like, look, we don't usually crash barns like this. Well, that's not true. There was last year.

But anyway, since then, we've never crashed a barn. But you just got to know what happened. You're never going to believe it. And you can just imagine Mary being like, let me guess, an angel? And Joseph's like, I bet they had a message for you. And they're like, how'd you know? Not our first rodeo, right? And so they tell him everything that the angels told him.

Like, this is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us. And they tell him all these things. And listen, verse 18, it says, and all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Look, no matter how well they knew that this was the Messiah, the Son of God, God in the flesh, it was still amazing. So it says they wondered at all of these things that were told.

And I love Mary here. Look at what, I love what it says about her. But Mary treasured all these things in her heart. She just kind of sat and contemplated. Because no matter how much she was prepared for this, she wasn't really prepared for this. I remember when our oldest daughter was born. And we spent all of the time preparing things, right? We got the nursery ready.

We had the right kind of car seat. Had it installed in the car. Everything was ready to go. The bag was packed. The whole nine yards. But then, you bring the kid home and you're like, no matter how much I thought I was ready, I wasn't ready. No matter how much I thought I was prepared, I wasn't prepared. I remember they sent us home. And I was like, so you're not just going to call us every hour

and tell us what to do, huh? This is just, you're just going to trust us with a human being. A human being we've never owned before. This isn't a pre-owned situation. I have no training. You're just going to send us home with a person. And they're like, yeah. That's what we're going to do. That's what we're going to do. Okay, right? Now, multiply that times 10

because this is the Messiah. She's just treasuring all of these things in her heart. And notice it says, then the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. Man, I think, and I could be wrong on this, I think we're going to see those shepherds in heaven. I think we're going to have a conversation

with them and we're going to get to say, tell me what it was like. What was it like to hear the announcement? What was it like to know about it for the very first time? What was it like to see your lives changed because you met Jesus for the first time? I really wish we knew more about them in the gospel accounts. We don't. These are nameless, faceless shepherds

who had the opportunity to be the very first people that the announcement of the birth of Christ came to. Now, as we wrap up here this evening, I want to point something out to you. God usually kind of lays something a little bit extra on my heart that has to do with this particular story. And this year, the thing that God has laid on my heart is one simple phrase.

And it's a phrase that God's kind of given me throughout the year. And the phrase is this, the gospel is for everyone. The gospel is for everyone. I want to point out some things to you because Jesus came in about the most common, way possible. Matter of fact, Jesus was so common that if you didn't know he was Jesus, you'd walk right by him. So I want to tell you a handful of things

about just how common Jesus was. First of all, Jesus was born to incredibly common parents. There was nothing special about Mary and Joseph. Yes, they were of the line of David, but that was just about it. After all, when they came to Bethlehem, they struggled to find a place to stay. It wasn't like they were royalty. Joseph was a simple carpenter and Mary was a young, late teen girl

who was a little girl. Who now had developed a really bad reputation because of the way that God chose to use her. Jesus came about through the most common parents possible. The second thing I take note of is that Jesus originated from a town with a very bad reputation. You see, Jesus would go back and he would be from Nazareth. And the statement that went around about Nazareth was,

does anything good come out of Nazareth? Because it was a pretty common town with a pretty bad reputation, right? It's kind of like being from Ark City today. I'm sorry, I love this town, but it's just true. It's kind of like being from a town like this today. And Jesus came from the most common town possible. Not only that, number three, he was born in the most insignificant town possible.

As a matter of fact, when the town was prophesied about, it said, you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, least of the cities of Judah. He was born in a really small town. He was born in a town that very few people had anything to do with. As a matter of fact, when he was born, he was born in a barn. Jesus had the excuse to never close a door in his entire life because people could say,

were you born in a barn? And he could be like, yeah. And everybody's like, nevermind, don't worry about closing the door, right? He was born in a barn and he was laid in a feeding trough. Even the most common of us are born in a hospital and laid in a sweet bed in a hospital, right? Jesus was laid in a feeding trough. The first announcement of his birth was not to the upper echelon.

It wasn't to the elite. It wasn't to the royalty. It was to the lowest class of people. It was to the most untrustworthy of people. As a matter of fact, the first people to preach the gospel were not evangelists and fancy clothes. The first people to preach the gospel was the lowest, most uneducated, the most uneducated people you could come across. And their message was this,

the Messiah, the savior of the world has been born. You say, Ryan, why do I care about all this? You say, Ryan, why do I care about all of those things? Because he came in a humble way so that he could be approachable by all people. It doesn't matter what your background is. It doesn't matter what your education level is. It doesn't matter what your economic status is.

It doesn't even matter anything that you've ever done in your life. Jesus came for everyone. He came for the rich. He came for the poor. He came for the good person who's really self-righteous. And he came for the most sinful person, of all, who's ashamed of even the thoughts at times that go through their head. He came for men. He came for women. He came for people that don't know

what gender they are right now. Because he came for everyone. He came whether you believe in him or not. He came for those who believe in false doctrines so that they can come to faith in Jesus Christ. He came for people that are caught up in false teachings so that they could believe in the truth. He came to set people free from sin because the gospel is for everyone.

And I don't know who you are, and I don't know who you are tonight. I don't know where you come from. I don't know what your background is. I don't know what kind of status you have, and I don't know what kind of sins you've committed. But I do know this. None of those things matter. The only thing that matters is this. 2,000 years ago, a Savior was born. And the birth of that Savior

changed the course of history. And for me, quite some time back now, I put my faith in that Savior. And it changed the course of my history. And He can do the exact same thing for you. Because in the same way that He was born in the most common way, you receive Him in the most common way by simply coming to Jesus, just like those shepherds did. Amen? Because the gospel is for everyone.

So I'd like to invite the worship team to come on up to do one last song, together.

This is always my favorite part of the service. It has been since I was a little tiny kid, even before I was allowed to hold a candle, which brings me to my public service announcement. If you have a tiny kid, and they can't hold a candle, you might hold their hand for them. Because while we want to set the church on fire, we don't want to set the church on fire.

Right? Amen? Amen? So, the gospel is known as the light of the world. Jesus, when He came, He said, I am the light of the world. But when He spoke to us as disciples, He said, you are the light of the world. Because when the gospel message comes and takes its hold in your heart, no matter who you are, no matter what your background is, you, all of a sudden,

have the light of Jesus Christ shining in you. And currently, we live in a very dark world. There's nothing new about that. The world was dark from the moment Jesus came into it. That's why Zacharias, when he knew about the birth of Jesus, he said, he will be a light that shines in the darkness. And so, in just a moment, the ushers are going to come down and they're going to light this one candle

right here in the middle, which always speaks of symbolically the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then they're going to go around and they're going to take that light and they're going to share it with all of you. And as they share it with all of you, it gives a beautiful picture of what that gospel message that's for everyone is able to do. Because it goes in the light of Jesus Christ.

It goes into a dark world and it brings light to all men. So, what I'd like for everyone to do is I'd like for everyone to stand up and the ushers are going to come down and they're going to begin to light candles. Again, if you have a small one, please make sure that you sort of steady their hand. But before they sing, I would like to pray for us. Would you bow with me in prayer?

Father, we come to you and Lord, I thank you that the gospel is for everyone. I thank you for the message that you brought to us. I thank you for the message and I thank you for the coming of Jesus as our hope in a very lost and dark world. And so, Father, I just ask that you would move in the hearts of each person that's here this evening and may we know and understand the difference that Jesus always makes.

In Jesus' name, amen.

The reason that we celebrate is because a Savior named Christ the Lord has been born. May the Lord bless you as you celebrate with your families, and may the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ continue to illuminate. Would you bow with me one last time? Father, thank you so much for the truth of the gospel. Thank you for the birth of your Son. And Lord, we thank you

for being the light of the world. And so, Lord, as we go out from this place, may we celebrate deeply the great love that you have for us with the understanding that the gospel is for everyone. In Jesus' name, amen. Merry Christmas.