GDLC Audio

When we read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one of the strangest things that we come across is Jesus talking as if He’s disconnected or separate from God the Father. When we read Jesus’ prayers or even the fact that He’s praying at all...we can walk away feeling that He is indeed the Son of God, but that’s it. So is Jesus the Son of God or is He God? We’ll seek understanding for that difficult question today and the importance of His Divine nature for our salvation!

When we read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one of the strangest things that we come across is Jesus talking as if He’s disconnected or separate from God the Father. When we read Jesus’ prayers or even the fact that He’s praying at all...we can walk away feeling that He is indeed the Son of God, but that’s it. So is Jesus the Son of God or is He God? We’ll seek understanding for that difficult question today and the importance of His Divine nature for our salvation!

Can you even imagine that first Christmas night? All of the angels? The brilliance of the glory of the Lord? The amazed and crazed shepherds running to Bethlehem and shouting the news? The magnificent star lighting up the sky? Joseph and Mary the proud new parents? The scene plays out before us and it is a glorious one, an amazing one! It’s a full-blown Broadway drama with the star of the show being the King of kings and Lord of lords! But think about it for a moment Christian...the Creator of the Universe was lying in a box, likely a stone box, but a box nonetheless! God Almighty inhabiting a very humble, lowly, earthly receptacle. And that reminds us of why He came, namely, to inhabit a very humble, lowly, earthly receptacle...you. He came for you. He came to redeem you. He came to live in you. Tonight reminds us that God is in fact “in a box”, and through faith in Jesus...that box is you!

As we turn this week from Joseph to Mary, we need to look back on what the angel told Joseph, namely, “You shall call His name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.” Why? Because one of the people that Jesus saved from their sins was none other than His own mother, Mary. Mary knew it. Mary proclaimed it. Mary sang it. Mary made it known. God was her Savior. As Luke records what is called “The Magnificat” we read these words: “Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...’” Luke 1:46-47. The humble servant Mary rejoiced in God her Savior. But the humble servant Mary rejoiced in God our Savior too. Mary rejoices in the God who would send Jesus through her so that through Him all could rejoice in God their Savior in heaven itself!

There’s always a “behind the scenes” or “unsung” character in every story or narrative. Joseph certainly isn’t an absentee daddy but we really don’t know very much about him. What we do know is this however...he was a man of God, worthy of our respect, a quiet giant to be sure. Not only did he intend to honor Mary by keeping the whole “pregnancy thing” quiet, but he also showed Himself to be a man of God as He simply obeyed the direction of God and did as he was told. Best of all? He followed God’s direction in naming Him Jesus...as it is written...“because He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph’s Son, would save His people from their sins...would save us from our sins and give us access to heaven itself!

We come across an amazing set of characters today. While they were not at the manger/stable when Jesus was born, they do give us an amazing glimpse into our wonderful God. The Wise Men as they have become known by, were likely Medo-Persians who met up with the Jewish nation in Babylon. In other words, God disciplined His children by sending them to Babylon and He did so not only to discipline them, but to bring saving knowledge of the Savior of the world to the Medo-Persians as well. This is simply a reminder of the lengths to which God will go to bring us to salvation and ultimately to bring us to worship at the side of the King of kings in heaven itself!

We come across an amazing set of characters today. While they were not at the manger/stable when Jesus was born, they do give us an amazing glimpse into our wonderful God. The Wise Men as they have become known by, were likely Medo-Persians who met up with the Jewish nation in Babylon. In other words, God disciplined His children by sending them to Babylon and He did so not only to discipline them, but to bring saving knowledge of the Savior of the world to the Medo-Persians as well. This is simply a reminder of the lengths to which God will go to bring us to salvation and ultimately to bring us to worship at the side of the King of kings in heaven itself!