Songs of Christmas2. What Child Is This? Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:1-14 12 December 2021

Seeing baby Jesus from an earthly perspective and grasping his heavenly majesty.

A few years ago I had to take my daughter to the doctors office for some blood work. We went into the little room and the doctor introduced herself. We shook hands and as I looked at her face I remembered that I had been her teacher probably 15 years earlier, when she was in the 7th grade. She obviously had the same moment of recognition: Hello, Mr Bidwell, she said.

She did the blood work-up, and she was a fantastic doctor. A very clear communicator, very confident in what she was doing, she put Charlotte at ease. But all the time Im looking at this young woman, this doctor, who I remember as a shy 12 year old kid. And I marveled at how much she had changed, how much she had grown up, the person she had become. Looking back, I never would have guessed it.

As we think about the Christmas story again this morning, were going to look back at the baby in the manger and ask, could we have guessed it? Would we have imagined what he would grow up to be? And if we saw him now, how would we react?

Thats where we are headed, so why dont we begin by praying?

Our heavenly Father, as we open your word today, help us to see the baby Jesus, and help us to see who he became, and who he is today. Help us to see clearly, for his glorys sake. Amen

All through December we are thinking about Christmas through the lens of the Christmas carols we all love: (I love them anyway!). Because Christmas carols capture deep truths about Jesus and the Christian faith, and so its worth reflecting on the words that many of us have known from our childhood.

Last week we started with Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, and we have another carol every week through until Christmas eve when I will share my favorite carol ever... But youll have to come Christmas Eve 5:30pm to find out what it is (if you cant make it Christmas Eve, Ill actually be giving a sneak preview at our Hymns and Communion on Wednesday 22nd at 10am, our traditional service.)

Todays carol starts with a question. It asks us to look into the manger and to ponder: What Child Is This?

What Child is this who laid to rest On Mary's lap is sleeping

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Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping

Now if you asked this question in Sunday School, what would every child answer? What child is this? Its Jesus of course.

But thats not what the author was getting at. When William Chatterton Dix wrote these words in 1865, he wrote them as a poem named The Manger Throne. It was only later that the traditional Greensleeves tune was added to it and it became a popular Christmas carol.

But the idea behind the poem came from Dix imagining what it must have been like for those who visited Jesus that first Christmas morning. What must they have thought about this baby: the subject of prophecy, attended by angels, yet born in an animal shelter and placed in a manger? What must they have made of the King in the cattle trough? What went through their minds as they gazed upon The Manger Throne?

Thats what were exploring today, so lets jump into the first big idea from the song, which is the idea of humility.

1. Such Mean Estate

The song begins by painting a picture of Mary, with little baby Jesus sleeping in her lap. It could be any new mother with her baby, couldnt it? But of course its not the same. Mary is not in a hospital room. She hasnt even given birth at home. Mary and Joseph were away from home, traveling back to Josephs hometown, to Bethlehem for the census. And there were no rooms available anywhere, but one innkeeper offered to let them stay in his barn, and so Mary and Joseph made do.

BTW this afternoon we have a screening of The Chosens Christmas special. The Chosen is a television series dramatizing the life of Jesus, and its a world-wide phenomenon. Anyway I watched the Christmas special a few days ago, and the episode is written from the perspective of Mary, and her experience of being visited by an angel and being told that she would carry the Son of God, and how she processed being chosen... Its fantastic you should come this afternoon at 5pm. Youll enjoy it, I promise.

But there is a scene where Mary and Joseph realize they are going to have to stay in the stable. We can camp out in the stable, he says: Well make it work. And she says: Well make it work...

New parents have expectations of how the birth will go, and Im guessing the cattle shed was not on Marys birth plan.

And so Dix asks us to ponder in the second stanza: 2

Why lies He in such mean estate Where ox and ass are feeding

Why was Jesus born in such humble circumstances? Was it just poor planning, or was there a greater purpose behind the manger scene?

Because the first stanza leaves us in no doubt as to Jesus true identity. This, this is Christ the King!

Jesus birth is announced by an army of angels, a heavenly host who fill the skies with light and song. That aspect of the story captures Jesus heavenly glory and his royal birth.

But even here there is a glimpse of the unexpected. The angels sing to shepherds, who were counted as some of the lowliest in that society. Surely we would expect this royal announcement to be made to dignitaries, to the priests or the teachers of the law, to those who were awaiting the coming of their Christ? Instead God chooses the lowly the shepherds to bear witness to Jesus birth.

Then there are Mary and Joseph Joseph was a humble carpenter. Mary was not even yet Josephs wife when the angel told her that she would give birth to the Son of God. In the episode of The Chosen were showing today, Mary is really brought to life. There is the suggestion that perhaps the reason there were no guest rooms made available is because she was a heavily pregnant unmarried woman. That was frowned upon in that society. No doubt Mary was humiliated a number of times while she carried the holy child. Again God chooses the lowly, not the exalted, as the family of Jesus.

And all those humble circumstances, they reflect the humility of Jesus.

That humility of Jesus is spelled out in Philippians 2:5-7. You can see it there on your handout, and Ive tried to capture some parallels between the song and the Bible passage.

Look what it says about Jesus:

Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7)

This passage describes the birth of Jesus Christ as God becoming human flesh. The Bible talks about God as three persons God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They all

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share the same nature, which we see there in Philippians 2:6. Jesus had the very same nature as God, and he could have remained enthroned in heaven, holding onto his equality with God.

But this is where we see Christs humility. He was willing to take on our nature, our flesh. He was willing to become a servant of humankind. He made himself nothing, our passage says. Literally translated, he emptied himself.

So the manger scene teaches us about the character of Jesus. He is not interested in worldly status. He is not interested in wealth and trinkets. Whats on the inside matters far more than external appearances. Thats why it doesnt matter if youre a shepherd or a shipping magnate, a school teacher or a senator, a stay at home mom or a CEO. What matters to Jesus is whats on the inside. And whats on the inside is why Jesus loves you.

You see, the Christmas story reminds us that we are loved. Loved by God. Loved so much that Jesus would leave his heavenly dwelling, and step into our world. He would clothe himself in humanity, and experience all the highs and lows that we understand. Jesus knows what your life is like, because he lived it too. God gets you, and he loves you. And he came to win you back.

And thats why the Christmas story is not just about the birth of a baby. Christmas draws us forward in the story of Jesus life, to the day where his life was ended. Because there we find the real reason why Gods Son stepped into the world of flesh and blood.

2. Nails and Spears

The second stanza of the poem continues like this:

Good Christian fear for sinners here The silent Word is pleadingNails spear shall pierce Him through The cross be borne for me for you

William Chatterton Dix, the author of this poem, wanted us to understand the link between Bethlehem and Golgotha. Between Jesus birth and his death.

You see the humility of Jesus birth would be followed by even greater humiliation. Unjustly condemned, Jesus was executed as a criminal on a Roman cross, pierced by nails and spear. But his wasnt a pointless death. The cross [was] borne for me, for you, the carol reminds us.

Jesus death was all about dealing with our sin, our own wrongdoing, our own mistakes. Rather than execute judgment on us, Jesus received our execution. He stood in our place, so that we might not face the judgment we deserve.

I love the line in the song:

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Good Christian fear for sinners here The silent Word is pleading

It probably requires some punctuation to make more sense, but when we read it the other way around, it says: The silent Word is pleading for sinners.

In the book of John, Jesus is called the Word.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [...] 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14)

This glorious Word, the one who was with God from the beginning, who becomes flesh, Jesus, he is here to plead the case for sinners like you and me. He is here as our advocate, our defender, our savior. And so Dix looks at the little baby in the manger, and he see the silent Word who has come to save sinners. A baby whose life led towards cross, the means of our salvation.

Paul puts it this way in Philippians 2:8 (there on your handout):

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himselfby becoming obedient to death

even death on a cross!

When we look at the nativity scene, at the baby Jesus in the manger, What Child Is This reminds us of the man Jesus would become. It reminds us that sometimes humility leads to extraordinary greatness.

Dr James Allen Frances described Jesus greatness like this:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpentry shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. When the tide of popular opinion turned against him, his friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He was tried and convicted. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness. Yet all the armies that ever marched, and all the governments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, have not affected life upon this earth as powerfully as that One Solitary Life.

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3. Come Peasant, King

We had our kids cookie decorating event here yesterday afternoon. It was so much fun! Our Kids minister Charlotte, along with Jamie and another friend called Bryan, entertained a group of little girls and boys for the afternoon. There was cookie decorating (which the kids loved) but the most fun was the Christmas story that Charlotte told. Every child participated because Charlotte broke the story into segments, and there was a different game for each part of the story.

I loved watching 3 and 4 and 5 year olds learning the story of Jesus. And 6 year olds and 7 year olds. They learned about the angels, and the shepherds, and the star, and the wise men. We had a nativity scene right out there in the theatre, and it was clear who the star of the show was it was Jesus!

What I love the most about the Christmas story is that everybody is invited to look into the manger scene and to meet the baby Jesus. The shepherds were invited, the wise men were invited, and every human since that day has been invited to meet Jesus.

Because one day we will all meet Jesus. Not as a baby, but as the Lord. Read the next part of Philippians 2 with me, starting at v9:

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You see Jesus steps out of heaven, humbles himself by taking on our humanity, even humbles himself to death on a cross. But his destiny is to be restored to the place he had at his Fathers side, just like when he was the Word who was with God from the beginning. More than that, God has elevated Jesus to be the Lord over all, to have a name that is above every name. And one day, to see every knee bow before him, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus wasnt just any baby. He is our King and our Lord, and hes the King and Lord of every human whether they know it or not. Thats why we share Jesus here at Yountville Community Church. We want everyone to know Jesus and the hope he brings for this life and the next. But that hope only comes through knowing Jesus.

So I want to finish with one of the ideas from the song. Its the idea of enthroning Jesus. Listen with me to the third stanza:

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So bring Him incense gold and myrrh Come peasant king to own HimThe King of kings salvation bringsLet loving hearts enthrone Him

How do we let loving hearts enthrone him? How do you enthrone Jesus in your life?

The song has a few suggestions.

First, follow the lead of the wise men. Bring him incense, gold and myrrh.

Now Im not quite sure how you fit those in the offering boxes. We might need to make the slots bigger, and perhaps watertight (I think myrrh is an oil or a perfume...)

But seriously, what does it mean to bring gifts to Jesus? When we enthrone Jesus in our hearts, we offer our best to him. When you read the Old Testament, every time a king visits another king, they always come bearing lavish gifts, of gold and jewels. We do the same when we visit someones house for dinner. We bring them gifts as a way of thanking them for their hospitality.

And so as those who enthrone Jesus in our hearts, we also ought to offer him whatever our best is. That doesnt only mean money. It might humbly offering ourselves as servants of the King, just as Jesus served us. It means offering our time, our talents and our treasure to help Jesus build his kingdom here on earth.

And it means living a life that brings praise to Jesus, that honors him, that uplifts him. That idea is repeated in each stanza of the song:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud (that is praise) Hail, hail the Word made fleshRaise, raise the song on high.

This Christmas, God is inviting you to the manger scene, hes inviting you to look again at the baby in the manger throne. And to ask yourself, what child is this?

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Songs of Christmas1. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:30-33 5 December 2021 A Deep Longing / Expectation

So if you have been at this church for any amount of time, youll probably know that Im a great lover of Christmas. It goes back to my childhood, back to the 1970s, back in Australia when every December my family would go to Carols by Candlelight.

Is that a thing here? Now Christmas in Australia happens in the middle of summer, so bear that in mind. Carols by Candlelight would usually be an outdoor concert, held in a park or on a school playing field. Families would sit on picnic rugs and, because it was the 1970s or early 80s, there were real candles. They used to poke the candle through a paper plate so that the wax didnt melt onto your hand.

And even though my family didnt go to church, we went to Carols by Candlelight every year. Thats where I learned all the Christmas carols. So carols hold a special place in my heart, because theyre how I first heard the story about Jesus. Theyre probably how God first captured my heart, as a tiny kid holding a candle and singing...

So all this December, Ive decided to speak about Christmas carols, and the lessons they teach us about Jesus. Im calling the series: Songs of Christmas. Well look at one carol each week, culminating in (possibly) my favorite carol on Christmas Eve but Im keeping that a secret to be revealed on the 24th.

Now I thought today we would try for a bit of audience participation before we get into the sermon. While Laura comes up, Im going to give you 30 seconds to turn to the person beside you and share your favorite Christmas carol of all time.

/// Come Thou Long Expected Jesus ///

Lets pray.

Our heavenly Father, as we take this time to reflect on Christmas and your son Jesus, please teach us through the Bible and through your Holy Spirit. Help us to know the hope and joy of Christmas. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

1. Expectation

December in the church calendar is known as Advent. Advent means arrival. The advent season is all about waiting for the arrival of Christmas morning, and the arrival of the baby Jesus. Advent is a season of expectation.

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And I dont know about you, but in our household there is a lot of expectation when it comes to Christmas.

We have expectations about what our decorations will look like. (BTW do you like the Christmas tree? I think we could have gone bigger *wink*) We have expectations about what our Christmas lunch will look like. Im sure the kids have expectations about what presents theyll get. I know because were starting to get hints and suggestions and nudges to go shopping, or to look at products online. You might have expectations about what the day will mean for your family. Or you might know that Christmas will mean unfulfilled expectations for you, a season that fills you with dread rather than excitement.

Christmas is a season with lots of expectations put on it.And expectation is the context for the Christmas carol that we are looking at today Come

Thou Long Expected Jesus.

This carol was written by Charles Wesley in 1744. Charles Wesley and his brother John Wesley were the founders of the Methodist Revival movement in England. The two brothers along with another famous revivalist, George Whitefield, preached in open-air settings, often preaching to crowds up to 10,000 people. They were part of a bigger phenomenon we often call the Great Awakening, or the Evangelical Revival that swept through Britain and North America in the mid 1700s. The Wesleys were influential figures in their time.

These days, Charles Wesley is best known as the author of something like 6,500 hymns, including And Can It Be, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, and todays hymn, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.

It starts like this:Come Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus takes us back to the centuries before Jesus birth. A period of expectation for Gods people. A period of waiting for a promised savior who would set them free from the oppression of foreign rule. Because for more than 700 years, Israel had been occupied by empire after empire the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Greeks, then the Seleucids and finally the Romans. Gods people had been denied sovereignty in their own country the land that God had promised them through their father Abraham.

They had been beaten down and oppressed, but there was one promise that kept them going. The promise of a savior, a king, Gods anointed one who would restore the royal throne of King David. An anointed one, the messiah.

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And God had made that promise to his people right at the beginning of their long period of suffering. Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised that the dark period would one day end:

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

[...]

6 For to us a child is born,to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders. (Isaiah 9:2,6)

Its the classic Christmas reading, isnt it? The birth of a royal prince, and the promise of a king.

I know that Australians and Americans have a different relationship with the British royal family, but I hope youll indulge me with a story that might illustrate the point.

When Prince William married Kate Middleton back in 2011, almost immediately the question came when do you think theyll have children? Prince William is directly in line for the throne, and so that would mean his firstborn would be the future king. There was lots of anticipation, lots of expectation, lots of speculation every time a photo was taken of the Duchess where her royal tummy looked even slightly bigger than normal. Is Kate pregnant with the future king?

That same expectation was there for the Jewish people in those centuries, as they waited for the royal baby to be born, their future king. The only difference was, there was no royal family for them to eagerly watch. Instead, they relied on words of prophecy to keep their expectations alive. They relied on God to be true to his promise.

They were waiting for the darkness to end, and the new light to dawn. Theres a line in the hymn halfway down v1 that calls Jesus:

Israel's strength and consolation

This promised King would console Gods people. He would comfort them and heal their wounded nation. In Lukes account of the birth of Jesus, there is a man named Simeon who was waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25). Thats where that strange phrase comes from.

So thats the historical context of the carol. Gods people were waiting for a royal birth, waiting with great expectation, waiting for a national savior.

2. Release

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But the birth of Jesus is not just about a historical people waiting for a historical king. The point of the song, and the point of Christmas is that Jesus has ongoing relevance for every generation.

I said before that Christmas often comes with lots of expectations. I dont know how youre feeling about it right now. Every year I remember on about the 22nd of December that I should have started thinking about Christmas gifts much sooner. Youd think I would learn my lesson, but I havent yet. Christmas can be a stressful time. Theres the gifts. The food. You might be traveling, so there are the logistics of travel. COVID has possibly added complications to your Christmas.

And then theres the family stress. Christmas isnt always easy, especially if there are strained relationships within your family. You might have shared custody of kids, or you might just be trying to juggle seeing everyones family and meeting their expectations. You might be struggling with ill health, or looking after someone who is unwell. You might be feeling the loss of a loved one. The holidays are especially difficult for those who are grieving.

We might have expectations of a Hallmark Christmas, but it doesnt always work out like that. And thats the second big idea I want to take from the song. The birth of Jesus was about fixing

everything that is wrong with our world.

So come back to the hymn with me and look at the third line it says:

Come Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people freeFrom our fears and sins release us

Jesus didnt just come to set his people free from Roman oppression. He came to deal with a more fundamental human problem, which is the problem of sin.

The Bible talks about sin as the root cause of everything that is broken about our world.

Right from the third chapter of the Bible, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate the forbidden fruit, humans have been characterized by the same rebellious nature. And not in a fun, rebellious way. More like the kind of rebelliousness that is self-destructive. We do things that hurt the ones we love. We do things that hurt our own bodies. We do things that exploit others. Each one of us participates in what is wrong with this world. We all contribute to the problem. And we cant stop ourselves.

But Jesus can.

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And thats where Jesus birth is a light in the darkness, and the dawn of a new day for us. Because Jesus wasnt just born to be a historical king. He was born to be the king over creation for all time, the Son of God who rules forever with righteousness and justice.

Look at Isaiah 9:7 with me:

He will reign on Davids throne and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding itwith justice and righteousnessfrom that time on and forever. (Isaiah 9:7)

With the birth of Jesus, God revealed the beginning of his plan to restore justice on earth. To re- establish righteousness, that is, to make a new way for sinful people to approach the holy God. It was the beginning of our liberation, and our deliverance from our deepest problem.

And I love the way the song puts it in the second verse:

Born Thy people to deliverBorn a child and yet a KingBorn to reign in us foreverNow Thy gracious Kingdom bring

If the spirit of sin is rebelling against God, then allowing Jesus to reign in us forever is the way that we return to God, isnt it? Instead of building our own kingdoms, we ask Jesus to bring his kingdom into our lives, to bring his grace into our lives, to bring his forgiveness into our lives. We ask Jesus to direct our lives, to rule in all our hearts alone as the song says.

And heres the paradox of the Christian life when we live according to Gods rule in our life, its actually how Jesus sets us free. He sets us free from the fear of what happens when we die, he sets us free from the consequences of our sin, he sets us free to live a new life now that anticipates the eternal life we will enjoy when his kingdom comes eternally.

In the gospel we learn how to restore broken relationships by extending mercy and grace. By choosing love, rather than holding grudges. By doing what is good, not just doing whatever we feel like. The way of Jesus brings healing, and hope, to a hurting world.

3. HopeandJoy

And that brings me to the final idea from the song, which is that the birth of Jesus is the hope that every human is looking for.

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I suspect one of the reasons that I loved Christmas so much as a child was the presents that I received. My brother and sisters and I were spoiled at Christmas, and so there was always great anticipation for what we might get, and I loved the surprises that my parents came up with.

Now heres the sad part of the story. As I got older, I appreciated the surprise gifts less. Probably because every year there was a particular gift that I wanted. And I didnt always get what I wanted. As you get older, the gifts you want often get more expensive (or that was my experience anyway...)

And that same desire continues into adulthood. Ive always been drawn to shiny things. And the little voice inside my head says: if you had one of those, your life would be better, wouldnt it?

You might not be into material things like me, but you will have at least one deep longing, a prize that promises you fulfilment, something that if you had it, then you would be satisfied (at least thats what you tell yourself)... It might be a relationship, a financial goal, or a position of status or influence. We all have that one thing that says, if you achieved this, if you owned this, then you would be truly happy...

As you look ahead to Christmas this year, what would make you truly happy?

Around the time that Come Thou Long Expected Jesus was written, philosopher Blaise Pascal famously said:

"There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every person that cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator."

In other words, we all desire something, but ultimately only God can fill the void. The song picks up on this idea at the end of the first verse:

Hope of all the earth Thou art Dear desire of every nation Joy of every longing heart

Im always jealous of songwriters who can summarize deep truths in just a few words. But these three lines capture some of the deepest truths we could hear as humans. We spend our lives pinning our hopes on plans and projects and people. We go after our desires hoping for happiness. We long for joy.

What if you could find the answer to them all in one place? Or in one person? Jesus is that one person. For this lifetime, and for all eternity.

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Because Jesus kingdom is not just about the here and now. Its not just about this lifetime. If it was, then you could be excused for thinking its a bit disappointing. After all, Christians still find themselves entangled in sin myself included. And we still live with the consequences of hurting those we love. And we still live with the pain of death.

But Jesus kingdom is not just about the here and now. Listen to what Jesus said to Pilate, the Roman governor who questioned Jesus right before his crucifixion. (from John 18:36-38)

36 Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place. 37 You are a king, then! said Pilate.Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. (John 18:36-38)

Jesus kingdom is not of this world, not principally anyway. His kingdom rules in our hearts right now. But one day his kingdom will be revealed in its fullness, physically, in the new heavens and the new earth, when the Creator makes all things new and perfect again, and where sin has no place. In that kingdom, every tear will be wiped away, every injustice will be righted. No more crying or mourning or pain. Just the joy of being in Jesus kingdom, your hope and desires fulfilled.

Thats the promise that was born on the first Christmas morning. The long expected child and King. May his kingdom come...

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ThanksgivingPracticing Thankfulness Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Luke 17:11-19 28 November 2021

Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn't make it.

Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Quick! Say a prayer, John. We're in for it!"

John answered, "I can't. I've never made a public prayer in my life."

"But you must!" implored his companion. "The bull is catching up to us."

"All right," panted John, "I'll say the only prayer I know, 'O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.'"

[...]

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and I hope that you had a day that you could be truly thankful for. My family is loving Thanksgiving its not a holiday that we celebrate in Australia, but we really love the idea of stopping to remember all the ways weve been blessed. You all are part of the way that we have been blessed this year, so Im thankful to be spending the Thanksgiving weekend with our church family here in Yountville, and with all of you who are with us online happy thanksgiving to each one of you.

Now youll have to forgive me for my Thanksgiving sermons for the next 10 years or so, because this is all new to me, and Ill keep discovering new things about Thanksgiving that you learnt back in grade school.

So I found a piece of Thanksgiving history that I wanted to share as we start our time in the Bible this morning. Its a snippet from the First National Thanksgiving Proclamation, from 1779, made by George Washington some 10 years before he became the first President of the United States. (partial quote on the back page of your songsheet)

The proclamation says this:

Both the houses of Congress have [...] requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.

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On this day of public thanksgiving and prayer, why dont we start by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God?

Our Father, we are thankful for the ways that you have sustained us in this past year, granting us life and peace, and prosperity that many in this world would envy. We thank you for these blessings and many others. As we open your word now, would you speak to us, and grow in us hearts that overflow with gratitude as those who have received so much from your generous hand. Lord, make us truly thankful. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

How do you measure thankfulness?

As a child, I was taught to always say please and thank you. And that has stuck with me. I notice when people dont say please or thank you, and I sometimes want to pick them up for their rudeness! Is that how you measure thankfulness? Saying the right words?

Or is there something more? How do you measure genuine, heartfelt thankfulness?

Well, come with me to the Bible passage printed on the back of your handout. Its Luke 17:11- 19, and its a story where we see what genuine gratitude looks like.

So lets read from v11.

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, Jesus, Master, have pity on us! (Luke 17:11-13)

Jesus approaches a village and there are ten men, all with leprosy, crying out to him for healing.

Leprosy, you may know, is a bacterial disease that damages the skin and nerves in infected people. This nerve damage can result in a lack of ability to feel pain, which means people with leprosy might injure themselves but dont feel it. Those wounds get infected, and it can lead to gangrene and the loss of parts of the extremities. Left untreated, leprosy can cause incredible disfigurement.

These days, leprosy can be cured with 6-12 months of multi-drug therapy. But in the ancient world, leprosy was untreatable, it was believed to be highly infectious, and it was feared. Lepers were banished from normal society, and made to live in colonies, away from the rest of the world. They werent allowed to return to their families, or their homes. They couldnt worship at the temple. To be diagnosed with leprosy was to be destined to live on the edges of society, at a distance (as it says in v13).

I think we all have some appreciation of social distance after the last 18 months of the pandemic. For those lepers, however, the social distance would never end... Until Jesus.

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Jesus was their chance to undo the curse. To end the distance. To give them back their lives. In a world with no cure for leprosy, nothing short of a miracle from God would remove this lifelong disease from their bodies. They had heard about Jesus, and how he had healed so many others...

From a distance, they yell: Jesus, Master, have pity on us!

14 When [Jesus] saw them, he said, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. (Luke 17:14)

I said before that when a person had leprosy, they werent allowed to enter the temple to worship God. Actually it was the same for any person with a skin disease. They were kept at a distance until the disease cleared up, and it was the priests job to decide when the disease was under control, and when the person had been cleansed and could return to the temple. Thats why Jesus sent the men to the priests.

Now normally there would have been no point going to the priests. Leprosy was incurable. The priests wouldnt have even allowed them to enter the courtyard.

But look at v14 again. And as they went, they were cleansed.

Can you imagine? These ten men would have showed up, with their skin cleansed of leprosy. Their skin which had been covered in lesions, now smooth and soft. Their hands and feet, marked by gnarled joints and unhealed wounds, now supple and whole and healed. Their faces which had been hidden for so long, now revealed the grin of those who have been given a second chance.

Can you imagine those magic words from the priest: you are clean. With those words, the men would have been free to go home, back to their families, back to the marketplace, back to work, back to the temple. Jesus gave them their lives back! This is nothing short of a resurrection story.

You can imagine how grateful they must have been! So heres the surprise. Look at what happens next.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus feet and thanked himand he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? 19 Then he said to him, Rise and go; your faith has made you well. (Luke 17:15-19)

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Where are the other nine? Thats the question of the passage, isnt it? Where are the other nine? How is it that ten people experience a life-changing healing, and only one out of ten returns to say thank you? And how can we make sure that we dont become one of the nine?

It all comes back to thankfulness. What does thankfulness look like?

Come to v15, where we see the actions of the one man who returned. There are three aspects of his thankfulness that we do well to notice.

1. Comeback

First, the man comes back. None of the other nine came back, they just took Jesus gift and kept walking. They never looked back to say thank you, they never turned back, they never wrote a card or sent flowers, they just got on with their lives. Jesus healed them and they never gave him a second thought.

Thankfulness looks back.

Thankfulness is all about remembering the good things that have happened in your life, and acknowledging them. Bringing them to mind. Dwelling on the blessings that you have received.

Modern science has recognized the benefits of practicing thankfulness in this way. Psychology Today published research showing that gratitude improves our physical health, and our psychological health. Being grateful helps us sleep better. It helps us have empathy for other people, it reduces aggression, and it opens the door to more relationships, because thankfulness is an attractive feature in people! Practicing thankfulness even helps us to live longer!

An attitude of gratitude is good for us! So practice thankfulness!

There are plenty of books written about practicing thankfulness. The Gratitude Project is one, there are others. They focus on taking a moment each day to reflect on something you are grateful for that day. Perhaps you write it in a journal. Perhaps its something you share with your family. Thats what we do in our house. Right before the kids go to bed, we share something we are thankful for that day, and then we pray and thank God for it. Weve actually gotten out of the habit in the last month or so, but its something we should start doing again. Because thankfulness is good for my family, too. We have so much to be thankful for.

But it all starts with coming back. Returning your mind to all the ways that you are blessed, and counting those blessings.

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2. PraisingGod

So that was the first lesson about practicing thankfulness: Come Back. The second lesson our passage teaches about practicing thankfulness is: Praise God.

The leper who has been healed not only returns to Jesus, but he returns acknowledging the source of his blessing. Verse 15 says:

when he saw he was healed, [he] came back, praising God in a loud voice. (Luke 17:15)

I suspect Im preaching to the choir here, but Im going to say it anyway. This passage reminds us that God is behind every blessing we enjoy in this lifetime. Right from the first chapter of the Bible where God blessed Adam and Eve and said, be fruitful, God has been pouring out blessing upon blessing on every generation ever since. Even those who are like the nine who didnt return, God still sustains them. He causes the sun to rise on them and the rain to fall, he still watches them in their coming and going, he still loves them like a parent loves a son or daughter who has gone off the rails. God is a God who loves to bless.

Many people never acknowledge God as the source of their blessing, but for us sitting in here today, may it never be so. Because the Bible reminds us on page after page that our loving Creator is still at work in our lives, in small ways and large.

So how do we bring praise of God into our thankfulness?

The Bible shows us three ways by remembering who God is, what he has done, and what he has promised to do in the future. If youre visual, its looking up, looking back, and looking forward.

First, looking up. What does the Bible say about who God is?

Psalm 145 describes God as the King, the Lord, great, majestic in glorious splendor. He is righteous, good, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love, good to all... Psalm 145:3 says:

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;his greatness no one can fathom. (Psalm 145:3)

There was a worship song by Elevation recently, called I Will Look Up. The chorus says: I will look up, for there is none above you. We praise God because we recognize him as the one who is above all, over all, sovereign, high and holy.

The song goes on to say:

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I will look back and see that You are faithful I look ahead believing You are able1

When we look back, we remember what God has done in the past. That was already the first key to thankfulness, wasnt it? Looking back and remembering all the good things, all the blessings.

The Bible is a whole book reminding us of how God has acted in the past. We have 4000+ years of history recorded for us, reminding us of Gods faithfulness to his people, and to his promises.

From creation, to the escape from Egypt though the Red Sea, to the promised land, the Bible is the story of God blessing those who belong to him. Even when their hearts went astray, even when their sin was unrestrained, still God loved those he created. And so he sent his own Son, Jesus, to rescue humans from their sin to rescue us from ourselves. Thats why Jesus died he laid down his life on the cross, to deal with the consequences of our sinfulness and to bring forgiveness for the mistakes weve made. Jesus brought healing to a hurting people. He brings healing to you and me.

So we look back, and see that he is faithful.And we look ahead, believing he is able.Able, that is, to bring us from death into eternal life.

Because that is the ultimate promise of God, isnt it? The promise that this life is not all there is. That there is something beyond the grave, something beyond this world with all its beauty and all its pain. There is something more. And Jesus is the key to that promise.

Because the cross was not the end of the story of Gods love for us. The cross didnt end with Jesus dead and buried. Not for long, anyway. The story of the cross ends with an empty tomb and Jesus raised to new life. And the promise of the Bible is that our story will also one day end with an empty tomb, as we too are brought to new life, eternal life, just like Jesus was. He's the proof of the promise, isnt he?

So come back to our Bible passage, back to the man with leprosy. The day he was healed, he experienced a taste of what his resurrection would be like. Taken from death to life, from falling apart to fully healed, no longer separated from his family but now surrounded by them. Isnt that the story we want?

He came back, and he praised God for what God had done for him. 1 I Will Look Up, Elevation Worship

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Thats the second big idea. Practicing thankfulness is all about praising God.

3. ThrowyourselfatJesusfeet

The third and final we see of practicing thankfulness is in verse 16:16 He threw himself at Jesus feet and thanked him (Luke 17:16)

I love the videos of kids opening Christmas presents. There are the kids who love their gifts, and the ones who hate them. Theres a video of a little boy opening a big box, the box says Playstation or something like that. The kid thinks hes going to get a video game console. He opens the box, and inside its not a video game its something like a yoyo, or something very different from a video console. The kid bursts into tears, and throws himself on the ground and just howls!

It's a pretty cruel trick as a parent. I hope there was a Playstation in another box and the parents were just messing with him.

Theres another video where a little girl opens the giftbox and its a puppy. This kid also bursts into tears, but they are tears of joy and she thanks her parents so sweetly, so genuinely as she hugs the puppy.

When we are truly moved by something, whether negative or positive, our bodies react in kind. The body never lies, one of my teachers used to say.

And this leper is truly moved by what Jesus did for him. He throws himself at Jesus feet and thanks him. It reminds me of the woman who cried tears of joy on Jesus feet, then used her hair to wipe away the tears.2 This is a whole-hearted, whole-bodied reaction to Jesus.

And this is where our third and final lesson about thankfulness comes from. Its about recognizing that Gods blessings arent just something we receive from the universe. Theyre not something that the invisible God pours down upon us, as part of our spiritual connection with the Creator.

No, our blessings are tied up with a flesh and blood savior. Someone whose veins flows with the same blood as ours. Our God is not distant and impersonal. He has stepped into our world and stepped into our place. Jesus shows us God, and he shows us what life could be like if we were perfect. He shows us what life will be like when we are made perfect, in the new creation.

I imagine if we understood the half of what eternal life will be like, every single one of us would fall down in wonder like a kid with a new puppy, we would shed tears of joy, we would sell everything we had to be certain that we would receive what he has promised...

2 Luke 7:38

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So then the key to thankfulness is not just remembering the good things in your life. Its not just about praising God. Thankfulness brings both those aspects together in the person of Jesus. The key to thankfulness is coming back to Jesus, praising Jesus, and thanking him with every fibre of your being.

Because Jesus is where true blessing is found. Jesus wasnt just a historical figure. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the one who holds all things together, we read in Colossians 1:17, and the one who will one day reign supreme over all. On the day that we die, Jesus will be the one who judges us, and if we know him now, the one who will redeem us.

Jesus is the key to thankfulness.

Thats why our mission here at Yountville Community Church is to share the hope of Jesus in the Napa Valley and beyond. We want people to find life and happiness in Jesus.

So this thanksgiving, what will you be thankful for? Shall we pray?

Father Almighty,as I look back on your work in my life over the years,I cannot help but be overcome with gratitudefor your mercy and providence.You have blessed me with Christian family and friends.You have given me a place to serve your people.Forgive me, Lord, for often failing to thank you.Forgive me for the times I have tried to writethe story of my life apart from your will.My stubborn will and relentless pridestand in the way of following in in the steps of your Son. And yet you have redeemed and renewed meand taken away my guilt and shame.Help me to live in light of your work in me,remembering who I am in Christ,and trusting in you to carry on the work youve begun in me. Thank you for saving me and keeping me in your love,In Jesus name,Amen.

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Watch at: https://youtu.be/W-kXz603t88 File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2021/12/05/08/28/46/6219b503-6bb8-4460-9670-d4b3f4e9128f/11.28.21%20Sermon%20Transcript%20.pdf

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Watch at: https://youtu.be/HW2NuuH3WcU File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2021/12/06/19/06/02/adda97c2-562f-4209-81d3-8dd4c4c0173b/11.14.21%20Sermon%20Transcript%20.pdf

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Join guest preacher Pastor Jim Jessup for a message about trusting God in all of life's circumstances. Based on Daniel 3:17-18 Watch at: https://youtu.be/IfyXqbgt0vw

Join guest preacher Mark Mitchell from the Bay Area School Of Ministry as he opens up one of the trickier proverbs. You'll be surprised how much we can learn from the small things. Watch at: https://youtu.be/NbSO3PfrLkI

Watch at: https://youtu.be/kt4AaOSarBg File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2021/10/18/14/12/13/b35ed8be-9ecc-470a-8073-b46aabba48e3/10.10.21%20Sermon%20Transcript%20.pdf

Watch at: https://youtu.be/3eW1o5ZbxVo File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2021/10/10/08/42/30/41cb7eb1-4111-4614-af30-759d56416088/10.03.21%20Sermon%20Transcript%20.pdf