Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 03

Merry Christmas!

Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 02

Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 01

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Christmas - G - 2011 - God Breathing, God Eating, God as Man on Christmas

Isaiah 62:10-12           Titus 3:4-7       Luke 2:1-20

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today will be the Gospel Lesson just read, especially these words, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, I think my favorite Christmas Hymn is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”  It is a hymn that pictures that glorious moment that we are celebrating today.  The birth of Jesus.  A little baby is born, not in a hospital, not in a home, not even in the inn, but in a stable.  And yet, even with such a lowly birth, with such little human fanfare, the angels sing, “Glory to the newborn king!”

The angels sing for a good reason, for even while people did not notice anything special, the babe lying in the manger is special.  He is a human, just like you and me, and yet, he is also the creator of Humans.  He is the only begotten Son of God, begotten before all the world existed, and he is also created human flesh.  When Mary nurses her child, she nurses the God who formed her in her own mother’s womb. 

That’s why the angels are singing, they know who the baby is – the word made flesh who dwells among us.  “Christ the everlasting Lord” and now “Pleased as Man with Man to Dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.”  God with us.  God with us in human flesh.  From heaven above to Earth he has come!  Christmas is here.

That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.  Jesus coming to us, to be with us, to live in our crummy world.  He witnessed and experienced first hand all our struggles.  God was hungry.  God got tired.  God was thirsty, he breathed the very air he had made in the very beginning.  He wept, he skinned his knees, he even went to the bathroom.  Mary and Joseph had to potty train God!  When he grew up, he personally knew people who were sick, who died, who struggled with sin.  Scripture records 12 that he was personally friends with, even as they doubted who he was, as they questioned him, and as they misunderstood why he had come. 

For God came and dwelt in our flesh for a reason.  This wasn’t just a field trip for God to experience His world.  He came for a specific reason, to give us something we need.  He came into flesh, so that flesh could suffer.  He came to breathe our air so that he could stop breathe his last breath, “Eloi, Eloi, Lemma Sabachthani!”  He took on our flesh that thirsts, that feels pain, and that has blood coursing through its veins, so that he could go to the cross and die. 

Don’t you see, Jesus came to die for you?  To give you forgiveness.  To take away your sin.  To give you hope.  He took on your flesh so that he could pay the payment your sin required.  Your guilt required your death.  Your sin meant you must die.  And God would have none of it, so he came here to take your place. 

So God laid his wonderful Glory aside, “Born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth,” Born to give you second birth in flowing living waters of baptism.  For as the living body of God died on the cross, it rose again on the third day, meaning all human flesh will live, all human flesh will be raised, all human flesh that has died will rise again on the last day.  Some will go to everlasting condemnation, but you dear friends, in Jesus, will raise to everlasting life. 

That’s why the angels were excited.  God was saving you.  God was accomplishing his most glorious work, dying on a cross. Its Christmas!  Today you have good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good will to those on whom his favor rest.   Peace to you, peace to me, peace to the whole world.  Jesus is born.  He lays in a manger in Bethlehem.  He comes for you.  He comes to set you free from sin.  “Hark the herald Angels Sing!  Glory to the New Born King!”

Christmas Eve - G - 2011 - Oh By the Way, Jesus Was Born On Christmas Day

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen, our text today is from the Gospel of Matthew just read, especially these words, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  Thus far our text.

Dear friends in Christ, on a dark night, nearly 2000 years ago, a little baby rested in a barn outside an inn.  We all know the Christmas story, or in so far as the nativities in our living rooms tell it.  Jesus was born, there were cows lowing and sheep quietly sitting there, while wise men arrived and shepherds gawked.  As we imagine this scene, we are hit with its sentimental theme.  We like to think about baby Jesus, we like to picture him wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.  It makes us feel good to picture.  And it should, that little baby has come because of you.

But in our text today, Matthew doesn’t spend time on angels and shepherds, or even sheep or great tidings of joy.  St. Matthew almost mentions the birth of Jesus as if saying, “Oh, by the way, he was born.”  You see, in the Gospel of Matthew, the focus is on all the other things going on at the time.  Joseph thought Mary was cheating on him before they were married.  He was trying to call the whole thing off in a holy and upright way.  You can only imagine the scandal that was going on!  Mary claimed God gave her a baby, and Joseph had his doubts. 

And so in the midst of this scandal, a young woman pregnant and a fiancé in doubt, Jesus is born.  In the midst of chaos, in the midst of doubts, in the midst of struggles in regular people’s lives, the only begotten Son of God was born, and born for a reason.  In fact, dear friends in Christ, it is good that Matthew writes his Gospel in this particular way, because it reflects our own lives, doesn’t it?

Christmas time is here, and family is in town, we want to try and spend some time with them before they head home again.  We have had a busy month of preparation, and now it is crunch time: get the food cooked, get the dishes cleaned, rush, rush, rush, until we get to January – then we can work, work, work so that we can pay off all our Christmas bills.  We are always busy.  Our lives are always chaotic.  We have our own problems and issues that come up, just like Joseph and Mary. 

In the midst of it all, it is easy to lose track of what is actually going on in our text.  It is easy to lose track of the reason we are gathered here tonight.  Jesus is born.  And He is born for a purpose.  Jesus enters our busy lives, and he comes to save us from them.  He comes to rescue us.

The little babe is born to die for you, as we sing, He is “Born that man no more may die.  Born to raise the sons of earth.”  That babe is born, so that “now the foe, sin and woe, death and hell are broken.”  He’s born for you.  He lays in a manger for you.  He lives for you.  And most importantly he will die for you.  For thirty years, Jesus lived here on this earth.  He interacted with countless people in the midst of their busy sinful lives.  He helped those who struggled as his own parents had.  He cared for the broken hearted, he cared for the sick and he healed those who needed him.  And most importantly, he set his eyes on Golgotha, and suffered on an old rugged cross, on a Friday we call Good. 

That is who this baby is, and friends, today he enters into your own busy lives as well.  You don’t need do anything, you don’t need to invite him in.  He comes!  He comes on his own for you.  He is with you in your struggles and promises something better for you.  He is as our text says, Immanuel, God with us, with us at all times and in all places.  With us for calm and peace. 

Dear friends, it’s Christmas, and tonight we have sung countless Christmas hymns all describing the joy and wonder of angels and shepherds – good hymns that we love and cherish.  But tonight, in just a few minutes, we will turn down the lights, and have a minute of silence.  Silence in the midst of our busy lives, silence in the midst of suffering and struggles.  Silence to reflect on the meaning of this day.  And as we sit in the dark, a warm glow will build from our candles, as we celebrate the coming of Jesus, the light of the world. 

For with Jesus, it truly is a silent night, a holy night.  All is calm, and all is bright.  He has come.  He has come for you.  He will die for you.  All so that you may have his chickens.  Merry Christmas dear friends in Christ.  Merry Christmas.  Amen.  

Advent 4 - O - 2011 - Your King Forever

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16     Romans 16:25-27         Luke 1:26-38

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Old Testament Lesson just read, especially these words, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.  Your throne shall be established forever.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Forever is a long time.  We have all made light of this fact by saying “that car ride took forever,” “it took forever for the sequel of my favorite movie to come out,” or even, as we may admit, “that sermon took forever in church!”  We doubt forever could happen, and we use it as an excuse when things seem to fall apart in our lives.  Forever is a long time, so long in fact that we often say, “nothing lasts forever.” 

And yet, in our text today, God promises David forever.  “Your throne, David, will be established forever.”  In other words, there will always be a Davidic king ruling.  One of David’s children or grandchildren will always be a king.  It will be that way forever.  God has said so, David, he has made you a promise. 

What is David to do?  Should he doubt God’s word, should he tell God, “Well Lord, nothing lasts forever, so your promise must not be true.”  Nothing lasts forever, so don’t you have a different promise for me?  Nothing lasts forever, so will my throne really be established. 

If you look at the history recorded in scripture, it would seem that should this have been David’s view, if he had been a cynic, he would be right.  During the reign of David’s grandson, the kingdom of Israel divided into two different kingdoms, that began warring with one another.  These kings, some of whom were descended from David, turned from God and turned from faith before finally the kingdom of David was destroyed and taken into captivity by the Babylonians.  After all nothing lasts forever, right? 

So often we too have that same view.  For we too have a promise of “forever” in our lives.  God has promised that he will be with us “forever”, never leaving nor forsaking us.  God has promised that we shall live with him “forever,” and yet we see loved ones passing away.  God will love us forever, and yet, sometimes we don’t feel like it do we?  He will forgive us forever, and yet sometimes we still feel guilty for things we have done wrong (sometimes rightly by the way.   Is God really keeping his promises to us, or is forever just too good to be true? Is it true that nothing really lasts forever?

Dear friends in Christ, when God says something is forever, he means it, even if we cannot understand how or why, or even see the way it will all work out.  God told David, “I will establish your house forever,” and He meant it.  Hear again our Gospel text for today, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”

Even for David, when it seems that forever is gone, that there is no hope of it being fulfilled, God keeps his promise of forever.  900 years after David dies, a descendant of his is born.  900 years later, in the city of David, good tidings of great joy occur.  For God keeps his promise, and a new king is born.  Jesus, whose first throne is but a manger in a stable.  He is the king  descended from David.  He is the one who will reign in David’s place forever.  A king is born, lowly in a manger.

And dear friends, he reigns for you as well, keeping God’s promises of forever for you.  For the same King Jesus, descendant of David, enthroned in a manger will also be enthroned in a much more painful place.  He will wear a crown of thorns and a robe stained in his own blood, until stripped naked he is enthroned upon a wooden cross for all the world to see.  It is that King, who is enthroned forever.  It is that King who is both our God and our Lord.  It is that King who will keep all of God’s promises to you. 

You are forgiven, FOREVER, for the sins of the whole world were placed on your king, as he died in your place.  You need not continue to feel guilty for them.  They are no longer yours, but his.  You are free and forgiven for ever.  God has promised that you will live forever, and you know this to be true, for death cannot destroy your King Jesus.  Even when he lied dead in a tomb for three days, he returned to life, and so will you.  Your King is the very Resurrection and the Life, FOREVER, and he gives that life to you in the very waters of life in baptism. 

You are loved FOREVER, for your God promises you heaven, a place where you may stand before him, not in shame, not in sorrow, but in peace.  God has promised that his own hand, with the hole from a nail still in it, will wipe away all the hurt and pain of this world. 

God keeps his promises to us, especially the promise of forever.  And if we doubt it at times, all we need do is look at the baby in the manger, the one whose birth we celebrate next week, the babe, the son of Mary.  David’s throne is established forever, and God lives and reigns today – over you, over me, and his reign shall have no end.  He is your God, your redeemer, your savior, and he will be FOREVER.  Amen.  

Advent Midweek 3 - 2011 - From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

11 Instead of soft and silken stuff

You have but hay and straw so rough

On which as King, so rich and great,

To be enthroned in royal state.

12 And so it pleases You to see

this simple truth revealed to me:

That worldly honor, wealth, and might

Are weak and worthless in Your sight.

13 Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,

Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,

A quiet chamber set apart

For You to dwell within my heart.

14 My heart for very joy must leap;

My lips no more can silence keep.

I, too must sing with joyful tongue

That sweetest ancient cradlesong:

15 Glory to God in highest heav'n,

Who unto us His Son has giv'n!

While angels sing with pious mirth

A glad new year to all the earth.

Revelation 22:12"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

 14Blessed are those who wash their robes,[e] so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

 17The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Luke 2:  1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today are the last verses of the hymn, along with the reading from Revelation 22, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.  We are almost there, Christ is almost here.  You can imagine that at this very time Joseph and Mary are on their way to Bethlehem.  Mary is very pregnant, and Joseph is worried about arriving safely before she enters labor.  But the travel is slow, and the distance is great to travel.  And when finally they arrive, there is no room for them at the inn. 

There should be a big celebration awaiting them shouldn’t there be?  They should roll out the carpet, pull down the palm branches and shout, “Hosanna to the coming king!”  “ He arrives tonight!”  But there is no room for Jesus to be born, and there will be no welcome until He rides in to die.  As our hymn says, “Instead of soft and silken stuff, You have but hay and straw so rough, On which as King, so rich and great, To be enthroned in royal state.”

They should be ashamed, shouldn’t they, to welcome Jesus in such a way.  And yet, how do we welcome Jesus?  We so often have no room for Jesus in our lives either.  Between our kids athletic events, work and keeping up with the Joneses, we hardly have time for even a quiet moment by ourselves, let alone to welcome Jesus, to receive from him his gifts. 

Do you have the time to spend in prayer every day that you should?  Do you read God’s word as often as you should?  Do you attend church every week, or only when you feel you have to? 

What about this Christmas season, in the midst of shopping, baking, caroling, working, decorating, and spending time with family, do you have room for Jesus?  Or do you relegate him this Christmas season to the back door, to the shed behind your house where you keep all the other overburdening things. 

“Behold I am coming soon,” Jesus says, whether you have room or not.  I am coming, and I am bringing you good news of great joy, whether you are ready or not.  Jesus is coming, because even if he is not important to you sometimes, you are always important to him.  He comes to this world when we have no place for him because of our sin.  He comes to this world, when we are too preoccupied with our own lives to care.  He comes to this world to defeat the sin and death to which we give all we can to.  He comes, and is coming soon.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.  He came, and today he continues to come. 

He comes in his holy word, read and preached to us sinners, to tell us we need him, and that he will do all that is necessary for us.  He comes to us in the water of baptism, where he invites all who thirst for righteousness to drink of the water of life without price.  He comes with his very own body and blood, that which laid in a manger, and that which hung on a cross, to eat and drink for forgiveness life and salvation.  He comes to live with us, forever, without end.  He comes to take away our sin, even if we are not ready. 

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled, A quiet chamber set apart For You to dwell within my heart.  My heart for very joy must leap; My lips no more can silence keep.  Glory to God in highest heav'n, Who unto us His Son has giv'n! 

Christmas is here, and it brings your salvation with a child in the manger.  From heaven above to Earth, God has come, to bring good news to every home.  Amen.