Language is a strange thing, and we too often sing or hear what we do not understand. One of the oldest incarnation hymns, originally dating from the 1650s, is, "God rest you merry, gentlemen." That first line actually means, "May God grant you enduring peace and happiness." Much of the language of that hymn is drawn from the words and sense of Luke's Gospel, and the encounter of the shepherds with an angel from the Lord, and a host of angels. There we read of the soothing words the angel spoke, the Saviour the angel declared, the sign the angel identified, and the song which all the angels sang. God has indeed offered enduring peace and happiness to sinful men by sending his Son. If we trust in him, nothing need dismay us, for he is the Saviour, Christ the Lord, who delivers us from Satan's power and brings his own wandering sheep back into his fold.

What is Christmas about? If you do not really care about Christmas, why should you care about the baby born in Bethlehem? You should care because God is at work: he sent his Son. Galatians 4:4–5 tells us when God acted: "In the fullness of the time," at the prophesied, promised, prepared, and proper moment. It tells us what God did, sending forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. It also tells us why God acted in this way, because through the Christ redemption was accomplished and adoption was bestowed. The Babe born in Bethlehem is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, God's most gracious and precious gift, and he will come again at the proper time, to gather his people to himself.

Perhaps your instinct in looking at this title is to go, in your mind's eye, to Calvary, and to consider our Saviour hanging between the two transgressors. While you have not necessarily followed the intended trail, you have come to the right place. It is not so much the men on either side whom we consider, but the man on the middle cross, for it is by him that the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. These are the three crucifixions of the title: first, the crucified Christ; then, the crucified world; finally, the crucified believer, whether that be Paul or whomever else. Thus we have set before us the glory of the cross itself, as well as the consequences of that glory for God's people. So Spurgeon considers the way in which the Christian all too often esteems and courts the world, and asks us to look at the world once more under the shadow of the cross. He also counsels the Christian about the way in which the world will now look at us, and how they will despise and disdain those who live under that same sweet shadow. Here Spurgeon shows us something of what it means to preach a crucified Christ—not simply to rehearse another 'Calvary sermon' but rather to demonstrate over and over, in the broad sweep and the fine detail of Christian living, what it means to trust and to follow the Lamb of God who was slain.

The light is shining, breaking through barriers. Philip arrives in Samaria. He has there a mighty ministry, marked by miracles, and many heed him and are baptised. Among them we see a marvellous profession, that of Simon the sorcerer. When the apostles arrive, they validate the work, laying on hands so that the precious gift of the Spirit comes upon the converts in a distinct way. When Simon sees this he makes a wicked demand, to which Peter responds with a plain rebuke, for Simon's heart is not right. Simon's ambivalent response makes us feel the weight of the moment, but none of this can stop the spreading word, as the gospel continues to spread through Samaria.

As we continue to look at life under God, we need to make sure that we embrace biblical conceptions of basic categories and identities. That means we need to understand true, scriptural masculinity, the distinctive manliness of the man of God. We must assess the wrong questions that are asked, consider the ugly truth we need to face, remember the perfect example God has given, embrace the helpful models with which we are provided, and engage in the real battle for holy and healthy masculinity as men made in God's image.

We do not and cannot keep the law of God in order to obtain peace with God. Any such effort is doomed to failure. At the same time, conversion transforms our attitude and relationship to God's law. Our Father's rule has become our highest delight. His parental chastisements for disobedience are real, and his fatherly pleasure in obedience is our happiness. It is this latter principle which underpins this sermon: "Those who are children of God should seek after universal obedience to the divine commands." The bulk of Spurgeon's treatment of his text is a sweeping assessment of this believing obedience, its blessedness, its necessity, its range, its substance. He then turns more briefly to the excellent result of such conduct, which is a lack of shame. He thinks about this in terms of the believer's standing before men, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, when we serve the Lord, when we come to our last day, and in all our relation to God himself. Here again he emphasises that it is not our own obedience which we will plead, but the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. That said, there is a peace and strength in a clear conscience which will enable us to come to our Father with confident hope, for the evidence of a right standing before him is a right walk in his sight.

In the opening chapters of Acts the infant church faces a number of assaults which Satan intends to bring down the kingdom of God. In each case, in God's mercy, the church is guided and directed in a right response, keeping the new covenant community faithful, pure, united, and focused. Persecution is addressed by prayerful faithfulness, corruption by principled faithfulness, division by practical faithfulness, and distraction by prompted faithfulness, all allowing for the ongoing declaration of the gospel and the advance of Christ's kingdom. Will we learn the lessons of the church in Acts as we seek to remain faithful in our own day?

As we return to our study of life under God, we are reminded of our need to grasp the dignity and value of life made in God's image. In a society that craves life for some but seems to little regard for the life of others, the Christian understands that God is sovereign over the beginning, course, and ending of the life of each of his creatures, as well as exercising a distinctive care over his church. This teaches us to prize life as a gift from God, and to trust him for every step of the way, while recognising that we live this present life in the light of the age to come.

Spurgeon can be derided as a shallow exegete and a naive theologian, but he is not half so careless or thoughtless as many imagine. Far from being a mere performer, Spurgeon is deeply committed to the truth of God, not least as a true churchman—committed to the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. His concern in this sermon is that we understand what the church is in itself, and what she is in relation to God and to his truth. Spurgeon not only steps through his text, developing his case, but builds layer upon layer of pointed application, focusing all the force of the truth he has considered upon the heart. Beginning with a reminder that this letter was written so that Timothy might know how to conduct himself in the house of God, Spurgeon concludes by telling us that we too ought to know how we should behave when it comes to the church. This is a most penetrating treatment of the topic, and calls into question, for every hearer both then and now, whether or not we really know what the church is and ought to be. We often talk a good game when we speak of Christ's church, but what do our actions really show about our convictions?

This prayer is both individual and congregational, neglecting neither the one nor the many. It begins with a profound conception of one heart of love, God's particular favour toward his chosen ones. It rises into two pleas of need, the desires for God to remember me, to visit me, to show his favour toward me. It expands into three desires for grace, the fruits of God's favour: sharing in the prosperity of God's chosen people, rejoicing in their gladness, and exulting with them in the knowledge that they are God's and God is theirs.