1 Peter 2:18-25 February 6, 2022 Evening Service Ryan Hall

Or, Trusting God When the “Faithful” Aren’t Romans 3:1-4 February 6, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

There is a wonderful simplicity in the Christian life and in the worship of the church. It is so simple that in one sense a definition is not needed. What is needed is faith in God through Jesus His Son. The “student” nuance of the word disciple isn’t as helpful as the “follower” emphasis. There really is a distinction between knowing God and knowing about God. There is a distinction between going through religious motions and loving the motions because of loving the Lord.

It’s also true that being alive is fairly simple: breath, eat, drink, sleep. Do you need to track your calories and steps and REM cycle minutes? All the generations before us stayed alive (long enough) to see the next generation without collecting any such stats. When you look into it more closely, the body is wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The body has a lot of moving parts, and especially when something goes wrong, you may be benefited by more specific study than eating a cheeseburger and taking a nap.

As we get to know God Himself we do find that He is wonderful. He is full of wonder and He does wondrous works.

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,and his greatness is unsearchable.One generation shall commend your works to another,and shall declare your mighty acts.On the glorious splendor of your majesty,and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.(Psalm 145:3–5)

He shows you who He is, what He cares about (including you), and how all creation and chronology are under His creative control. Should we be surprised that our God, whose thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), authors a story with some thick characters (thick as in not skinny, and thick as in not so smart) and subtle tensions and plot twists? We could be dismissive of these wonders and say we don’t care, but we wouldn’t do that to a friend, let alone our heavenly Father. We could freak out and say we can’t keep track of all these wonders and worry that we’ll get it wrong. Or we can say, “This is our God. Tell us more!”

There is milk and meat in Romans 3:1-8. There are ABC level and 500 level realities. They are given to us so that we might not miss God. There is story, there is theology and theology proper. There are Jew/Gentile, sovereignty/responsibility, Covenantal/Dispy, revealed/ordained will matters. There are warnings and encouragements. All are ours if we receive it from God from faith to faith.

Romans reveals the righteousness of God in the gospel (Romans 1:17). There are two species of gospel-needers: the unrighteous and the selfrighteous. The unrighteous refuse to thank God and God gives them over to what they think they wanted which destroys them. The self-righteous may thank God with their lips, and they have been given special privileges, but they think that’s enough. Paul addressed the need of the unrighteous first but he writes about the need of the self-righteous more. Both need salvation, both need faith.

In the last half of Romans 2 the Jew is ultimate example in privilege and pretense and in missing the point. The Gentiles who don’t worship God blaspheme Him without good reason on their own, and the Gentiles blaspheme God with good reason due to the hypocritical, sanctimonious people in Israel (2:24). The Jews had God’s Word but many didn’t follow it. They had the seal (of circumcision) but not the heart for it. The outward only goes so far, even when the outward is God-given.

Does that mean all the externals are worthless? Even more, does that mean God’s choice of, and promises to, the Jews were worthless? And if He is sovereign, and if all this refusal-of-thanks happens for His glory in the end, then how can He judge and punish with justice all the so-called puppets who are just doing what He predestined?

These are questions that Paul raises[...]

Or, What Really Counts to God Romans 2:25-29 January 30, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

While we talk a lot about circumcision this morning, which is not a frequent sermon topic, remember that sinners excel at missing the point.

There is a lot of iceberg underneath the tip of this paragraph. We see what’s above the surface, we see what Paul actually wrote to the Romans, and the problem isn’t as much which parts Paul left out but how much the Jews had left out. Circumcision wasn’t only a practice in Israel, but the Israelites came to define themselves by it, even more than by their geopolitical boundaries. (Judaizers didn’t push every man to move into the land, but they did pressure every man to be circumcised, see Galatians 6:12.)

Circumcision was a sign, given to Abraham by Yahweh, as a reminder of the LORD’s covenant to Abraham (Genesis 17). All Abraham’s male offspring were to be circumcised (including Ishmael). The law given by God to Israel required it; any uncircumcised male would be “cut off from his people” (Genesis 17:14). It was more than a medicinal and hygienic blessing, it was a covenant blessing.

But it became a sign of sanctimony. There aren’t many synonyms for sanctimony, but it can be defined, and even more so it can be seen. Sanctimony refers to an affected or hypocritical holiness, it means acting as if one were morally superior. It comes from sanctus, a holy thing, but it’s a labored pretense over something sacred, a pietistic posture. Sanctified is good, sanctimonious is acting proud as if one were sanctified.

Paul started poking at Jewish pretense in verse 17. They boasted about their identity, about their possession of the law and how they could give light to those in darkness. But Paul confronted the hypocrisy of how this kind of Jew taught everyone but himself. This kind of Jew boasted in the law that he kept breaking, and God was blasphemed by the pagans who watched the hypocrisy.

In verses 25-29 Paul takes the sign of circumcision, a requirement of the law, and, as with a knife, cuts off their sanctimonious entitlement. Here we see what really counts to God.

The Value Proposition (verse 25)

Circumcision is the subject of the first verse in the paragraph, and it’s referenced ten times in these five verses. Since the subject changes from the standard of the law to the sign of circumcision, a new paragraph is appropriate. At the same time it extends Paul’s confrontation to the man calling himself a Jew (verse 17) and has an additional explanation (beginning with “For”) after the hypocrisy of the law-breakers.

The law commanded every male in Israel be circumcised (Genesis 17:10). Paul doesn’t say who asked about circumcision, but it’s easy to imagine that a Jew could have heard the part about his law-breaking and still felt secure because of his circumcision. This sign was the Jews’ citadel.

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

Circumcision was a physical act of cutting the foreskin, easiest when a boy was eight days old (Leviticus 12:3), and requiring more recovery when a man was full grown (hence how Simeon and Levi routed a whole town when the men were sore, Genesis 34:13-25). God almost killed Moses for failing to circumcise his son, and Zipporah was none too happy about it (Exodus 4:24-26). Circumcision was a sign of sonship, a sign of belonging to the covenant that God made with Abraham to bless him.

The cutting off of skin was always meant as a reminder about cutting off of sin. That is so much so that circumcision became a metaphor, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deuteronomy 10:16). Physical circumcision wasn’t the end, circumcision was a means to the end.

T[...]

Or, Favorable Conditions with Disastrous Consequences Romans 2:17-24 January 23, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

One surprise that keeps surprising me in Scripture is how much God gives. When we talk about His attributes, we ought to connect them to His generosity, His magnanimity. Omniscience applied means He gives with perfect knowledge, who needs what and who will respond how. Omnipotence applied means He gives with complete power, the only limits are ones He sets Himself. Righteousness applied means He gives what is fitting, never evil or tempting to do evil.

Creation is a gift. God was free to make or not. Our status as those who bear His image is a gift, not shared with stars or suns or seas (Psalm 8:3-4). Gender differences, marriage relationships, generational and occupational fruitfulness are from Him and through Him and to Him. We have no blessings we have not received.

He gave Adam and Eve a garden full of food, and He gave them a glorious opportunity to learn obedience by not eating from just one tree. They lost paradise by not accepting the God-given limitation, and “natural” men have been foolishly refusing to thank God since (1 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 1:21).

It doesn’t stop God from giving. He keeps giving sun and sight, oxygen and lungs and trees, rain and harvests. He gives more than necessary things, He gives natural things such as male and female, and enjoyable things such as baseballs and beaches and barbecues. God keeps giving, and that increases the guilt of those give credit to someone else.

Among other things God has given, there are some obvious and transcendent, albeit untouchable, principles and moral laws that are not social constructs. Whatever words men use as labels, physical laws are gifts, like gravity. Moral laws are also gifts, a sense of right and wrong built into the universe and into individual consciences. Hammurabi and pirates have codes, and men have an integrated and active judging mechanism. This is not a product of materialistic evolution, it’s a gift.

There was a particular people that God chose specially to whom He gave even more gifts. He blessed them with detailed revelation, with His own Word, with explicit guidance and prohibitions and rules for appropriate consequences for worship and life. God blessed them with truth about how things work, about His own character, about how to see the world in light. They truly were a people gifted by God with favorable circumstances (notwithstanding Lewis that “favourable conditions never come”), and for too many, it led to disastrous consequences.

That people were, and are, the Jews, the nation of Israel. They are the explicit group addressed by Paul starting in Romans 2:17.

What we’ve seen in the epistle so far is that God’s wrath is being revealed on unbelievers who abuse and pervert God’s gifts so that they don’t have to thank Him (1:18-32). Then there were some more sophisticated persons who I called judgy-pants on purpose because it pokes at their pretension. They have an elevated judging function that seems to work great, except on themselves (2:1-16).

Now in verse 17 Paul pushes his own people’s buttons, hard. These people had more, and more special, gifts. They were first class gifts, and those who wielded them without faith became first class hypocrites. In verses 17-24 Paul goes after their boast in the law, and then in verses 25-29 he goes after their boast in circumcision.

Favorable Conditions (verses 17-20)

There is a pattern in verses 17-20 and 21-24: if…then. The syntax is called a conditional statement. Part of the reason I’m calling them first class hypocrites is because in Greek this “if…then” is a first class conditional construction. What that means is that the “if” can be assumed true. These are first class gifts, unique to Israel, and this [...]

Or, The Things of Which We Are Now Ashamed 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 January 16, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

Sometimes a magnificent waterfall waits at the end of a long trail. At least we can walk the trail together in this introduction.

At Men to Men last Monday night Jonathan prayed about how many pivotal and life-altering issues seem to be confronting us, and how quickly they keep coming. It is a great time to be a Christian, because we can see how laughable it all is to our God (Psalm 2:4; 37:13) and how “easy” it is to be light in the world. Courage is required but not much wisdom if all you have to do is tell the difference between a boy and a girl.

But, yeah, our government gamblers keep going all in on every hand. You’d think by now they’d be out of the game after now many times they’ve lost, but they’re playing with our money, and apparently there is more where that came from. So our hand has been forced to think about lockdowns and restrictions on assembling for worship, forced to think about forced vaccinations and religious exemptions. Then the State brings out new decks, and lays things such as quarantine camps and even tighter gun restrictions on the table. Maybe it would be less frustrating if so many of our neighbors weren’t cheering on the State’s cheating.

We are allowed to care as citizens and as (Kuyperian) Christians, and it’s a lot to care about. Can you even keep up with the forms to sign? Now is not a good time for reluctant life-long learners.

To the north of us it is worse. I don’t know much about the Canadian system of government, but I know enough to know that not enough Canadians even have guns to complain with. At least some parts of Canada have pushed the pronoun lunacy, other parts have been arresting pastors for having church services, and now their nation has criminalized conversion therapy. These three things do actually go together.

I don’t remember which source I heard about Bill C-4 from first, but an email was sent on behalf of John MacArthur about a month ago describing the legislation and calling pastors to consider joining their pulpits together against it. Not every dumb, let alone immoral and destructive, law necessitates a special sermon, and this law isn’t even applicable to us in the U.S., yet (though as of 2018 the WA State RCW does prohibit licensed health care providers from performing conversion therapy on minors). But this kind of threat by a government is uniquely targeted against humanity in God’s image, and directly against the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bill C-4 is a law that prohibits the use of, or even promotion of, conversion therapy. (See the Parliament page here.)

From the Preamble:

Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to the persons who are subjected to it;Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions;And whereas, in light of those harms, it is important to discourage and denounce the provision of conversion therapy in order to protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians;

The Definition of conversion therapy:

conversion therapy means a practice, treatment or service designed to(a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;(b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;(c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;(d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour;(e) repress a person’s n[...]

Or, Why the Woke Have No Forgiveness, No Fruit, and No Fun Matthew 7:1-6 January 9, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

As one of the shepherds I am burdened for the body, jealous for you against the world’s attempts to make you miserable. Within the last ten years—which happen to overlap the years we’ve been busy cultivating a Trinitarian community of worshipping, maturing disciples who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord over all the world—the accuser, the devil, the evil one, has been cultivating his offspring into an angry, envious, self-righteous mob. By God’s grace, even in and through our liturgy of worship, we do not see the seeds of “woke” sprouting in our church. But, not only do I desire for you to be ready and protected in heart and mind if/when the woke attack, I honestly am doing everything I can to make each of you, and all of us together, a bigger target. We don’t have the problem on the inside, but I pray that we would provoke those on the outside.

Our pastors considered taking an entire Sunday seminar to talk about wokeness, though again, this is not an error that we see within the flock, so it didn’t seem as pressing. But as we take time at the beginning of each year to refresh our understanding of Lord’s Day worship, I can’t help but think that God is using our liturgy to keep us from going woke. That it isn’t critical is not a coincidence.

Woke is an exhausting worldview that will get worse in our culture without a gospel revival. Maybe you’ve never heard the word “woke,” you certainly are dealing with expressions of it, through companies and colleges and Congress and commercials. I couldn’t dream of providing an exhaustive explanation or exhaustive examples, let alone a prophetic vision of how much suffering we’re in for. But again, I want you to understand how our liturgy of worship is a privilege, with a bunch of sub-privileges necessary attached, and how that privilege is exactly a provocation to many of our cultural neighbors, including, sadly, many professing Christians, pastors, and churches.

I’m going to start with a part of the Sermon on the Mount, the judgy-pants, plank-in-the-eye part, then define what woke means and demonstrate how wokeness is anti-gospel, and then call all of us to embrace our privilege in worship, which includes confessing our sins and rejoicing in our God-given forgiveness and fellowship and fruit.

Planks and Pigs – Matthew 7:1-6

Maybe Matthew 7:1 is the most quoted verse in the Gospels next to John 3:16. It may also be a 7:1 misuse:use ratio, and that’s by both those who profess to be Christians and those who don’t. That’s an important piece: men who don’t believe the Bible, but who are familiar enough with it to borrow its morality, use the parts they want in their own defense.

The men and women listening to Jesus were culturally saturated in categories close-ish to God’s commandments. These Jews conversed in the vocabulary of righteousness, and, following in the path of their teachers, had more problems with self-righteousness than unambiguous unrighteousness. They loved to judge by surface standards, which Jesus confronted as missing the heart of the matter (think: anger, lust, loyalties, 5:21-48). Righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes, who were precise and pretentious (5:20). Theirs was for show, so Jesus condemned “practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them” (6:1), whether that was in donating to charity (6:2-4), chanting on the street corners (6:5-14), or in gloomy-faced intermittent fasting (6:17-18). They wanted to be seen, they wanted the reward of a higher social score.

At the same time, they were concerned about quality of life, about worldly status, about money and clothes and food (6:24-34). Their treasures showed where their hearts were (6:21).

After all that Jesus said, “Judge not that you be n[...]

Or, The Liturgy of Seeking the Lord 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 January 2, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

The beginning of a new calendar year is as good a time as any for evaluation, which for everyone should result in a lot of things to give thanks to God for, and also for everyone probably some repenting from sin and turning to obedience. These are year round activities, but something about the transition from December to January makes it fitting.

The beginning of the calendar year also coincides with the anniversary of TEC’s beginning. Next Sunday, January 9, will be exactly eleven years for us as a church body. From the very first Sunday in 2011 we have begun the Lord’s Days in January with teaching, reminding, renewing, rejoicing in our Lord’s Day liturgy of assembled worship.

Due to our significant increase of new members, I took a number of sermons last year to explain the five Cs and point out some of the ingredients that cause our worship to taste the way it does. As I’ve said, I’ve taken numerous swings at trying to communicate why we do what we do when we’re together (you can find those previous messages if you’re interested, last year’s are at the previous link, and here’s another set about our liturgy).

For Our Worship 2022 I want to remind you 1) why our worship belongs up front in the battle, 2) how our worship protects us from the implacable idol of woke-ism that’s so trendy today, and 3) the way our worship models the reality of a hierarchical cosmos, especially as seen between male and female.

To get us going, let’s read a great story of God’s steadfast love in His deliverance of Jehoshaphat and the Jews in 2 Chronicles 20.

2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Some context: we are in a battle but ours is not like exactly this, nor is the United States a nation like Israel. And yet, “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4, see also 1 Corinthians 10:11). So the LORD is the same LORD. The hope we have in Him is the same sort of hope. And our desperation, with only one sure Deliverer, is most definitely the same.

We ought not skip the “After this” in verse 1. Jehoshaphat sinned in 2 Chronicles 18, but repented in chapter 19 and began a restoration of righteousness in Israel, appointing judges and repairing the temple. In other words, chapter 19 is full of Jehoshaphat bringing glory to God through his obedience. Sometimes when you live by faith, the LORD kicks it up a notch (just as Shasta “had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.” The Horse and His Boy). Now the LORD chose to bring glory to Himself through Jehoshaphat by deliverance.

The Moabites and Ammonites plus some Meunites (from Edom) make up “a great multitude” coming to kill Jehoshaphat, gathering from the west side of the Dead Sea and coming around the south of the sea, probably just a day or so away. Jehoshaphat had one thing going for him: he knew what he couldn’t do. So he “set his face to seek the LORD” and called on his people to fast (verse 3). The people assembled, and for emphasis, the whole assembly is said to seek the LORD and His help (verse 4).

On behalf of the assembly Jehoshaphat cried out in front of the assembly, praising and petitioning the God of heaven who rules over all the earth. He is the God who makes and keeps promises, including the very land of Judah; Jehoshaphat expected the “Land Lord” to intervene. He acknowledges that the very house of worship is identified by the name of the LORD, and that generations have committed that they will “cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save” (verse 9). Jehoshaphat lays out the problem, not because God didn’t know it, but as a record of how bad it really w[...]

Or, A Christmas Call to Consolation Luke 2:21-38 December 26, 2021 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

Here we are on the last Lord’s Day of the year, during the sermon part of Consecration, the part of our liturgy which focuses on setting us apart to the Lord. Consecration belongs with our sanctification; we are being conformed into greater Christlike holiness and transformed into greater Christlike glory. There has maybe been no greater test of my sanctification this past year than following the Snohomish Health District on Twitter.

Hold that in mind for a moment, because it connects to it being the day after Christmas, the day after our feasting over the Incarnation of God’s Son. Perhaps today is a tough day because you spent most of your energy getting ready for, and hopefully then enjoying, your day yesterday. Often, when a big event is done, it’s tempting to want to be all done.

What you may need is comfort, consolation. Because the Lord is the one in charge, He decides when we are done, and when He has more for us to do.

The SnoHD knows that the last couple years have been tough for people (not self-aware enough to consider how they have played a part in that). But to help us out, they’ve been sharing every week under the hashtag #WallpaperWednesday images of snowflakes or sunsets or cozy couches with some sentimental comment like a cat poster. Last Wednesday’s wallpaper was a cup with a peppermint stick in a festive setting with the words “comfort and joy.” No source or reason for either, just an exhortation to share comfort and joy with others rather than your (usual) jerk self. You can see what a test that could be.

True consolation, not as in a second place prize, but as comfort, the easing of grief and burden and pain, only comes in the Savior, Jesus Christ. He must be named, He must be believed. There is no other hope.

Jesus is called “the consolation of Israel” in Luke 2. He was identified by a man named Simeon, by the Holy Spirit, in the passage following the angelic army choir celebrating Christ’s birth. In this advent season we’ve looked at the Annunciation, the Magnificat, the Birth in Bethlehem, and the shepherds receiving the good news of great joy. The next paragraphs happen a little more than a week and a month later. We’re post Christmas. God is still in flesh, and yet there is a ways to go.

As in the previous messages we’ll look at the story, a doctrine, and a use.

The Nunc Dimittis – Luke 2:21-38

All the law is being fulfilled by Joseph and Mary. They name their son Jesus, they have him circumcized at the right time (eight days later), and they present their first-born at the Temple (according to Exodus 13:2), while making Mary’s purification offering forty days after the birth (according to Leviticus 12:6). The turtle-doves were a poor man’s option, confirming that Joseph was not wealthy in worldly terms.

At the Temple they were met by a man named Simeon. Luke identifies Simeon as “righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (verse 25). It is somewhat unique that the Spirit was upon him, and the phrase “consolation of Israel” is definitely unique. Consolation is a cognate of the well-known Greek word parkletos. The comfort of Israel is not a phrase found in any other passage; Anna, in the next paragraph, calls Jesus the “redemption of Israel.” In Jesus Isaiah’s words ring true: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1).

The part that really stands out is verse 26:

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

Though not identified as a prophet or a priest, nor necessarily as an old man, the impression is that Simeon had been given special, supernatural revelation by God, and had been waiting for a long time. The same Spirit took Simeon to the[...]

Or, A Christmas Call to (Expressible) JoyLuke 2:8-20 December 19, 2021 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

I prefer quiet. I grew up in a house where my dad more than preferred it, he punished the rest of us, not ironically and quite effectively with his own unvoiced anger, for not being quiet. Quiet is drilled into me.

Many stories we’ve heard about “spiritual” people also involve quiet. Among us Bible-reading types we even have our own modern-monkish moments we call “quiet times.” We’ve turned quiet into a virtue, and virtues typically get promoted and defended.

Four sure, quiet can be good, polite, appropriate, reverent. For sure, the night Jesus was born was not silent.

We come by it naturally; every time we sing “Silent Night” it strums the sentimental heart strings, as long as you don’t actually have a newborn you’re trying to juggle in one arm while holding the candle for the Christmas Eve service in the other. Silence is more a platonic idea than an incarnate one.

We sing “let all mortal flesh keep silence,” which is an inspired line in Zechariah 2:13. But that is a call to silence for those who won’t serve the Lord, in contrast to the call to those who put their trust in the Lord, “Sing and rejoice, …for behold, I come and will dwell in your midst” (Zechariah 2:10, see verses 11-12 as well). The silence is urged on those who about to face Yahweh’s holy judgment.

But when it comes to the birth of His holy Son, what does it sound like? “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host saying, ‘Shhhhhhhh!’” Yes, the angelic army of shushers as seen on TV nativity sets.

The thing is, the skies were not silent, neither were the shepherds, or Mary or Joseph. The only quiet character in these first two chapters of Luke’s gospel is Zechariah, and he was muted as discipline for not believing the word he was given.

I am not calling for as many decibels around your tree or table, but songs of loudest praise are appropriate. Raise a glass, and raise your voice. Be careful trying to keep your joy, and your kids’ joys, at a whisper.

We’re at the fourth of four advent messages. Already we’ve considered the Annunciation, the Magnificat, and the Birth of Christ. The next most immediate event concerns the shepherds and angels on the same night, and that will give us something to treasure and ponder in our hearts this week. As in the previous sermons, the three parts will be the story, a doctrine, and an application.

Joy to the World – Luke 2:8-20

As for the chronology, we know it is the same night because verse 14 says, “born this day.” As far as location, Luke says, “in the same region,” so outside of Bethlehem, near enough for the shepherds to cover the distance. “There were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (thank you again to the KJV translators; such language is four centuries old). There’s one flock, of an unknown number watched by another unknown number of shepherds. Since it’s plural there must have been more than two, and probably less than ten. They are on the graveyard shift.

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were filled with fear” (2:9). If it was Gabriel he is not named, and the glory—the dazzling brightness—gets emphasized. Zechariah and Mary had both been startled, these shepherds no less. The next lines are Christmas gold. The angel said:

“Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of a 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.” (verse 10)

At the moment, it is one angelic herald and a few small town shepherds. This hardly seems like a crescendo. Bethlehem was not highly regarded (Micah 5:2), and it’s usually said that shepherds weren’t either. And probably, these shepherds were not th[...]

Or, A Christmas Call to CondescendLuke 2:1-7 December 12, 2021 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

There have been a lot of babies born under the sun. There have been a lot of important people born. There have been a lot of incredible stories surrounding births, even ones we read in the Old Testament. Yet there is only one only-begotten child of the Father, there is only one virgin-born son, there is only one Christ, one Savior of men, and one birth story gloria in excelsis.

I can’t imagine how many times I’ve read or had read to me the birth of Christ in Luke 2. My dad read it every Christmas morning before we opened presents, and that custom continues in our house. Linus nails it in the Charlie Brown Christmas special (reciting Luke 2:8-20). It has been embellished in our collective imaginations through nativity artwork and cartoons, adding animals and condensing days into one silent night. But we will not overreact to the excellencies that came down to earth. It will take our glorification to give glory to God in the highest that He deserves. In the meantime, we try.

I am not preaching these advent messages because you must celebrate the month of December in a particular way per se. But for good reasons, and in light of the flow of godless propaganda, in masked and maskless stores, it isn’t whether or not we’re thinking about the season, but how we will exalt and embody the grace and truth of the Word become flesh.

In our series so far we’ve considered Mary’s faith when Gabriel foretold her virgin pregnancy, followed by Mary’s praise in response to Elizabeth’s recognition of her blessing. Though it has only been half a chapter, forty weeks have passed since Luke 1:26 as we enter Luke 2. As in the previous messages we’ll consider the passage, some theology, and a use.

The Birth of Christ – Luke 2:1-7

For however familiar the words are, there are some significant questions that turn up in this paragraph, let alone the mystery itself of the eternal God born into time and laid in a manger.

Caesar Augustus is well known. His birth name was Octavian, nephew turned adopted son of Julius Caesar, and he was the first to don the title of Emperor from the senate (27 B.C.) as well as demanding recognition as Dominus et Deus, “God and Lord” (Sproul). Through him Roman rule expanded, and what is most needed for empire building and consolidation? Money (not more soldiers per MacArthur). How do you get that much money? Taxes. How many taxes can you get? You need to know how many people there are whom you can make pay.

So a decree went out…that all the world should be registered, enrolled for a census, put on a list for the purpose of taxation. The well-known KJV (“that all the world should be taxed”) jumps the translation gun.

There is also some question about this census taking place during the time when Quirinius was governor of Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus doesn’t record a census under such governorship until AD 6 (also mentioned by Luke in Acts 5:37), though there’s good reason to think Jesus was born around 6-5 B.C. (which, yeah, could have been helped by better dating from the start). But Luke had collected eye-witness accounts, and Luke was helped by the Spirit. Either he meant that this was before that other well-known census by Quirinius, or maybe Quirinius governed twice. We can work with it either way.

That all went to be registered, each to his own town (verse 3) lead Joseph to travel to Bethlehem (verse 4). Each’s own town could be birthplace, hometown, place of family property holdings. The key was, this is where you got counted for paying your taxes. Apparently Joseph didn’t have any family remaining there with whom they could stay.

Joseph went from Nazareth to the city of David, which sometimes refers to Jerusalem (as in 2 Samuel 5:7), but here refers to Bethlehem (again in 2:11), the p[...]