Welcome to FM First Baptist
What God did at Christmas he does in our lives every day. We may miss it because it looks so ‘ordinary.’ We quickly discount the miraculous and like the Pharisees demand signs in our day. So that it brings us to a crisis of faith. Is Jesus who he claims to be? If he is then can I really live my life on my own terms?
Luke 2:1-20 ESV
Luke 2:7
7 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.
Luke 2:12
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16
16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
1 The Birth in the Manger
Luke 2:7 (ESV)
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.
What God says and does supersedes any decree or deed of a man.
2 The Sign of the Manger
Luke 2:12 (ESV)
12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Isaiah 1:3 ESV
Dumb animals know where to eat but Israel wanders hungry and afraid.
Jeremiah 14:8-9 ESV
Now God comes near not as a stranger passing through but as one of his own to live among them.
Signs of his birth pointed to signs of his death.
3 The Visitors to the Manger
Luke 2:16 (ESV)
16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
God has come to give us peace.
The child is the long awaited Messiah.
Fear is cast out by grace.
God gave the world a sign his only Son.
4 The Child in the Manger
What did the angel say about the child to Mary?
Luke 1:31–33, 35
31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”35And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
To Joseph?
Matthew 1:20–23 (ESV)
20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
To the Shepherds?
Luke 2:11 (ESV)
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
5 The Decision at the Manger
Luke 2:17–20 (ESV)
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
What are the responses to the Good News?
We might tremble to approach a throne, but we cannot fear to approach a manger
'I wonder as I wander.'
BIG IDEA // Wonder leads to worship.
Matthew 13:15 ESV