If something is for all, you might lack assurance that it’s for you. If something is for you, you might wonder whether it’s for all. Thankfully, God's gift of a Savior is both. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world, but the blessings he won for the world are delivered in specific and personal ways. This week we conclude the season of Epiphany by seeing how all the ways God uses to shine his light into each of our hearts have one thing in common: God conceals his glory in order to reveal it. Whether it’s in the waters of baptism, the sounds of the gospel, the mouths of God’s messengers or the suffering that characterizes Christians’ lives, the unapproachable light of God’s glory is dimmed to illumine our hearts.

If something is for all, you might lack assurance that it’s for you. If something is for you, you might wonder whether it’s for all. Thankfully, God's gift of a Savior is both. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world, but the blessings he won for the world are delivered in specific and personal ways. This week we see how God strengthens his people through suffering. When we suffer either because of external circumstances or because of the devil’s trials and temptations, it’s easy to feel helpless and alone. But God points us to his strength in our weakness and to our fellow Christians in our solitude. With him and each other by our side, God promises us strength and perseverance even as we suffer.

If something is for all, you might lack assurance that it’s for you. If something is for you, you might wonder whether it’s for all. Thankfully, God's gift of a Savior is both. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world, but the blessings he won for the world are delivered in specific and personal ways. This week we see how continually implores people through the ministers he calls. The reconciliation with God that Jesus won once and for all is a gift God wants us each to enjoy every day. Whether we are called to full time gospel ministry or are given a different station in life, God gives us the blessing of ministering to others by sharing the good news.

If something is for all, you might lack assurance that it’s for you. If something is for you, you might wonder whether it’s for all. Thankfully, God's gift of a Savior is both. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world, but the blessings he won for the world are delivered in specific and personal ways. This week we see how God uses baptism to identify his children. When it come to our biological families, we are identified not just by the names we give ourselves or the family traits we perhaps display. There is formal, external documentation that identifies us. In the same way, our status as God’s children is not contingent on our own self-declaration or our ability to resemble our heavenly Father in our conduct. Rather the formal, external act of baptism is the means by which he marks us as his own.

If something is for all, you might lack assurance that it’s for you. If something is for you, you might wonder whether it’s for all. Thankfully, God's gift of a Savior is both. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world, but the blessings he won for the world are delivered in specific and personal ways. This week we see how God brings his salvation to all nations, ethnicities, and classes of people by any means necessary – including by means of rejection. Though the Savior was largely rejected by the nation into which he was born, that rejection meant the Savior’s gospel was taken elsewhere. Through the spread of the gospel, God has reconciled all peoples to him and to one another by making them his own through faith.

We wish each other a merry Christmas, a joyful Christmas, a peaceful Christmas. But a disruptive Christmas? That might be the last thing we need this December. And yet, whenever God shows up in our world and in our lives, that’s exactly what it is: disruptive. His arrival upends everything. Today we see how the incarnation of Christ has forever changed the way that God is present in our world. Before Christ’s arrival, God’s special, saving presence was focused on visible structures, including the temple in Jerusalem. During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, his body was God’s temple on earth. Now that he has ascended to heaven, Christ remains present among us through his Word. Through that Word he continues to dwell among us and his peace rules in our hearts.

We wish each other a merry Christmas, a joyful Christmas, a peaceful Christmas. But a disruptive Christmas? That might be the last thing we need this December. And yet, whenever God shows up in our world and in our lives, that’s exactly what it is: disruptive. His arrival upends everything. Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus by pondering the mystery and miracle of the incarnation. At Christmas, God’s Son ended the separation between God and man by becoming God and man in one. Through the incarnation of Christ, humanity gains even more than we lost in Adam’s fall. Our very humanity is taken into God, and we become brothers and fellow heirs with God’s own Son.

We wish each other a merry Christmas, a joyful Christmas, a peaceful Christmas. But a disruptive Christmas? That might be the last thing we need this December. And yet, whenever God shows up in our world and in our lives, that’s exactly what it is: disruptive. His arrival upends everything. Tonight, we celebrate God’s arrival on earth as a baby. We might assume that a baby’s birth would not have the ability to disrupt anything. And yet, the humble nature of God’s arrival in the flesh disrupts every assumption and where and how God acts in our world. What now divides all of history into a “before” and “after happened not in a palace or a temple but in a lowly manger.

We wish each other a merry Christmas, a joyful Christmas, a peaceful Christmas. But a disruptive Christmas? That might be the last thing we need this December. And yet, whenever God shows up in our world and in our lives, that’s exactly what it is: disruptive. His arrival upends everything. This week we see how God establishes an eternal kingdom that disrupts succession. Whether it’s the royal bloodlines of a monarchy or the election cycles of democracy, rulers are always replaced by other rulers. A given ruler might be great, but he may be replaced by one who is terrible. In Jesus, however, God has established an eternal kingdom. The child born to Mary rules that kingdom for the good of all.

On the night of Jesus’ birth, the angel said to the shepherds: “I bring you good news of great joy!” News of the Savior’s arrival forever changed the course of human history and is still a source of inexhaustible joy for us each Christmas. It’s no wonder that so many poets and composers have used their artistic talents to set this good news to song. Today’s service gives us an opportunity to hear again the Scripture that describes both God’s promises and their fulfillment in the sending of his Son. It also features selections from Christianity’s rich heritage of gospel-centered Christmas music. It is our great joy to proclaim the good news of Jesus in Scripture and song!