The Sermon The Value of a Child Who Loves Us by David McGee
Dec 18, 2011
The Value of a Child Who Loves Us (16:26)
Referenced Scriptures: Luke 2
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Luke 2
1) Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
2) This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3) All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.
4) Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5) to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being great with child.
6) It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth.
7) She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8) There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
9) Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10) The angel said to them, "Don‘t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
11) For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12) This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough."
13) Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14) "Glory to God in the highest, On earth peace, good will toward men."
15) It happened, when the angels went away from them into the sky, that the shepherds said one to another, "Let‘s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."
16) They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the feeding trough.
17) When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.
18) All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.
19) But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
20) The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them.
21) When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22) When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord
23) (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"),
24) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
25) Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26) It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord‘s Christ.
27) He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
28) then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29) "Now let you your servant depart, Lord, According to your word, in peace;
30) For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31) Which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
32) A light for revelation to the Gentiles, The glory of your people Israel."
33) Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
34) and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
35) Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."
36) There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
37) and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn‘t depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day.
38) Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
39) When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40) The child grew, and grew strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
41) His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
42) When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,
43) and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy, Jesus, stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn‘t know it,
44) but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day‘s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45) When they didn‘t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
46) It happened, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
47) All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48) When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you."
49) He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn‘t you know that I must be in my Father‘s house?"
50) They didn‘t understand the saying which he spoke to them.
51) He went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52) Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
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As always, good to see all of you and it's good to be here and all know you don't realize the value of some things, and until it's gone and many times whenever we think of fun. The Christmas play from a viewer ever and a Christmas play in church that I and the rest of you, you have the privilege of seeing it, but you know what I think that our children have an advantage because Christmas plays are about being able to be up here in front of individuals and one of the one of the characteristics of night when they go to college or go onto any other profession is being able to talk and to be in front of people and that's why church children have an advantage because they have lessons that they've learned there have things that they recite, and they memorize in Sunday school lessons they hear about Jesus Christ. They hear about their faith in God 's love for them. And you know when people are loud. They really may have an understanding that they are safe now. Not only do we do that is hopefully do that, his parents and grandparents that we love our children and in that place of security they are able to explore and explore life and then you add to that the love of God, and you are dead on friendships and and people are like precious faith that that share a business. This communion with God, and how much that enables instant and enables a child to grow and nurture their own desires. In the end, the desires and their life and to be in front of people doesn't become something strange you should be in college in a speech class during your first presentation in public. Now I remember my member and not one of our communication classes that I was adding in college that standing up in front of the group, which was only about twenty eight or thirty students in all fellow students in the class. Some of them. That was the first time they ever been in front of a group of people like my looked at them, I thought, what don't you go to church. What you are in a Christmas play and in any idea is that we have a lot of things that God nurtures in our life by being in charge, and by being here leads me find a nurturing for our own life and in a matter where we are at in Iran. Our relationship with with one another, no matter where we're at in our relationship with God, we find a nurturing one of the great mistakes of our society and often of a McDonald's is the think that Christmas is for children when you think about it, noticing what Christmas is about children know Christmas is about Christ. And when Christ has come, and the emphasis of my eyes about Jesus Christ and the renowned is referring to hear the stable length and the birth of Christ, that that Christmas is about Christ. And no matter what age we are Christ the incarnation God becoming man and coming to be like us so that we can become like him never grows old, and it is something that we as individuals come back to the manger and the birth of Christ. This is a celebration that I have been fortunate to be part of since I was born I was in charge, though those two weeks after ring one week after I was born and I've been in church all my life I've been in Christmas play Zyban and in him standing in front of people and rehearsing and enslaving them. He requirements, but they never asked me back, but the blood. Yet all that part of our growth and part of our development. The greatest times. I remember as a teenager was at Christmas time and the place and things would get a church and young know going in getting and having a live nativity scene in. I know I said this on the years that we've is that when we had that we had the truck and we read the farm, and we had the racks and we brought the donkey found a donkey when reading out with a live nativity scene, yet I don't and we added in front of the church and you know what on your HDL three or four nights before before Christmas, but the idea is that as we look at Christmas we think of it, and must think of it as the incarnation God becoming flash and dwelling among us that Christmas is something that more than identifies with children, most of our society. Christmas is something that revolves the all-around kids and you know that the regular guy with the ill beard, but Christmas is more than Christmas is more than that Christmas is about Christ and what does Jesus mean to us after you go back to an end. Read the Christmas story, which the children dead and Janet an end in red this morning when the red that Jesus is common. He was born to. We can recycle the story that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and there were not a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. The man everyone had to go there home city, and that was that she was Joseph and Mary had to leave where they were acting get to Bethlehem and why was it so want for Jesus to be born in a stable and remember now how stable is a almost the time we have been as these little barns. While that is stable that Jesus would been born in was a cave and was a kind of a probably an indentation in the rocks in Bethlehem. They have two churches built over this. This page and that you go down under in in the basement of the obvious churches, and when you go down in the basement of these churches. You see, there's this box coming out in a very shallow indentation in the rocks and their town. They have a place where they said was the birth of Christ and then directly on the other side of the wall is another church that they have the rest of the case, and so there are two churches that have the cave and and and anal end and eight year the one church gives the baby back to the other one, so that Jesus to be born outside the cave, or this site indicate one thing everybody is relative, there aren't. This is a cave-in is probably the length of the cave is probably from here to that wall and it's only about ten or fifteen feet deep. It isn't likely that David goes back for thirty feet if the cave because back underneath the rock for about ten or fifteen feet and in this shallow cave that they considered it a stable and the stable was something where the animals to get in out of the web, and so Mary and Joseph. When they arrived in Bethlehem. There is no place for them to stay in the end, now and in a can and does times the inward not been one. One or two people in a room that had motive been however comply on the floor and you you wanted it off that I didn't want us but under the stars yelled in the innkeeper would charge the millennial ion of law and around, and in this this this small place and that was the emblem there wasn't even enough room on the floor for Mary and Joseph, and so Mary what they were taken to this a and there was displaced and again, if you don't have a lot of straw and you don't have a lot of hay you know of a a a a a K becomes a very smelly place now. I wouldn't in all, maybe I would lay down in the stall in our barn after I put down a bunch of straw, but certainly I would never lay down at the end of the day in a cave wherein the antenna on the pin, but not also where Jesus was born, was probably where he was born, where he was laid in the manger in the back of the cave. They wouldn't see about a trough made of stone not made of wood and stone, and it would've been in there. And within that place where they would put the fee for the animals. And that's where they would have eaten in the back of the cave and Mary and Joseph had their baby and Jesus was born in this cave. This stable, and he was placed in a trough. It was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger swaddling clothes are strips of rags, so Mary and Joseph are so poor and they have been on a journey that enhance how many whenever you pack take a least two suitcase. You don't pack okay uses it when Rachel and Rich and Jack in the development and and Maddie come to our house. It is a continual process of Carey back in the bag right of the clemency cases, a more super than the laundry basket anthology brings. There's like two or three laundry baskets and they comfort today now. Plus suitcases and other things so they will comfort you out two days a week and Saturday, Sunday and then will bring at least zero three laundry baskets and they will bring at least two, maybe two suitcases and plus some special things that Rachel has for her. Now Mary and Joseph are coming five four five day journey to Jerusalem on a donkey and a half men don't have enough that when their baby is born, they have to take stripped some rags and wrap their baby in him, but rather baby in the strips of rides and laminate free trial. Why would God be born in a stable and laid in the feature so that no one could ever feel God was about that God didn't love them and consider them of such value that he would give up the splendor of heaven and the splendor of all creation. He who created all things spoken into existence, did not consider these things of value to the point that he would come in the born in a mania and emptiness in the cave and laid in the feed trough the poorest of the poor. No one will ever be able to say God was above me. I thought the root of relationship with God is something too far above me when Jesus came. There is the incarnation God with us. There is a crucifixion got that for us, the resurrection, God preparing the way for us that we can be with him, and Christ is coming again. He is coming again. The purpose of Christ's first coming, they saw that he would commonly would die for our sins that we would I send them in the Sunday school lesson this morning tested out a wonderful job and she spoke about soon as being oriented staff. She's downstairs. What was it, what was then considered so that opposing God opposition to God, said the definition of sin is opposing the and we think about it, the live the longest review says that the law was given, so that we would have an idea of what sin in and out of the ten Commandments don't still don't feel thou bear false witness don't lie to you, we would look at that as a website while I'm I'm I'm not a sinful person. I'm not it. I'm not breaking the Commandments of God, but is seen sometimes young women and one in the confessions. It's as if I've send and thought, word or deed opposition to God. How many times have we opposed God in our thoughts about ourselves. I'm not worthy, I'm not good enough. God would never be interested in the God doesn't love I've done too many things wrong on you on and on and on we could go those thoughts are in opposition to God, and they are sins that keep us from our relationship with him. Our thoughts would be in opposition to God because God 's word says he loves us then he came and he died for us and that he rose in the dad and he rose that he might that we've even become the firstfruits of them that slept meeting that we all are partakers in this resurrection, and that we have a part in the kingdom of God, and that we are not beneath him, and that we are not beyond his ability to reach and that we has a place and a purpose for us in this life, and he has the will for us and he has and you know he wants to walk with us and be our friend. And so the sins of our life, we would looking say were trying to name things like stealing and in no domain in the out and out all those other things are breaking the commandment and God says no. It's more than that, that we are thoughts would be towards him, because how many archive thoughts towards us. The Scripture says in the some of them can even be number five thoughts towards you are so many. And guess what, he's never had one bad thought about you. Never one bad thought about you and he never has had one impossible situation is presented in your life, so it stayed in the manger. Christmas is not about children. Christmas is about the child and every one of its about children, but it's about everyone of us recognizing the value of a child who loves us. A child born in a manger. God incarnate, God became flesh and dwelt among us, in many well, God with us in well, God with us. God with me that is the message of Christmas and it isn't just for children. It's for everyone of us. God is with faith, God is with me. Well that's about that God is with me that the Christmas story God is with me. They metAs always, good to see all of you and it's good to be here and all know you don't realize the value of some things, and until it's gone and many times whenever we think of fun. The Christmas play from a viewer ever and a Christmas play in church that I and the rest of you, you have the privilege of seeing it, but you know what I think that our children have an advantage because Christmas plays are about being able to be up here in front of individuals and one of the one of the characteristics of night when they go to college or go onto any other profession is being able to talk and to be in front of people and that's why church children have an advantage because they have lessons that they've learned there have things that they recite, and they memorize in Sunday school lessons they hear about Jesus Christ. They hear about their faith in God 's love for them. And you know when people are loud. They really may have an understanding that they are safe now. Not only do we do that is hopefully do that, his parents and grandparents that we love our children and in that place of security they are able to explore and explore life and then you add to that the love of God, and you are dead on friendships and and people are like precious faith that that share a business. This communion with God, and how much that enables instant and enables a child to grow and nurture their own desires. In the end, the desires and their life and to be in front of people doesn't become something strange you should be in college in a speech class during your first presentation in public. Now I remember my member and not one of our communication classes that I was adding in college that standing up in front of the group, which was only about twenty eight or thirty students in all fellow students in the class. Some of them. That was the first time they ever been in front of a group of people like my looked at them, I thought, what don't you go to church. What you are in a Christmas play and in any idea is that we have a lot of things that God nurtures in our life by being in charge, and by being here leads me find a nurturing for our own life and in a matter where we are at in Iran. Our relationship with with one another, no matter where we're at in our relationship with God, we find a nurturing one of the great mistakes of our society and often of a McDonald's is the think that Christmas is for children when you think about it, noticing what Christmas is about children know Christmas is about Christ. And when Christ has come, and the emphasis of my eyes about Jesus Christ and the renowned is referring to hear the stable length and the birth of Christ, that that Christmas is about Christ. And no matter what age we are Christ the incarnation God becoming man and coming to be like us so that we can become like him never grows old, and it is something that we as individuals come back to the manger and the birth of Christ. This is a celebration that I have been fortunate to be part of since I was born I was in charge, though those two weeks after ring one week after I was born and I've been in church all my life I've been in Christmas play Zyban and in him standing in front of people and rehearsing and enslaving them. He requirements, but they never asked me back, but the blood. Yet all that part of our growth and part of our development. The greatest times. I remember as a teenager was at Christmas time and the place and things would get a church and young know going in getting and having a live nativity scene in. I know I said this on the years that we've is that when we had that we had the truck and we read the farm, and we had the racks and we brought the donkey found a donkey when reading out with a live nativity scene, yet I don't and we added in front of the church and you know what on your HDL three or four nights before before Christmas, but the idea is that as we look at Christmas we think of it, and must think of it as the incarnation God becoming flash and dwelling among us that Christmas is something that more than identifies with children, most of our society. Christmas is something that revolves the all-around kids and you know that the regular guy with the ill beard, but Christmas is more than Christmas is more than that Christmas is about Christ and what does Jesus mean to us after you go back to an end. Read the Christmas story, which the children dead and Janet an end in red this morning when the red that Jesus is common. He was born to. We can recycle the story that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and there were not a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. The man everyone had to go there home city, and that was that she was Joseph and Mary had to leave where they were acting get to Bethlehem and why was it so want for Jesus to be born in a stable and remember now how stable is a almost the time we have been as these little barns. While that is stable that Jesus would been born in was a cave and was a kind of a probably an indentation in the rocks in Bethlehem. They have two churches built over this. This page and that you go down under in in the basement of the obvious churches, and when you go down in the basement of these churches. You see, there's this box coming out in a very shallow indentation in the rocks and their town. They have a place where they said was the birth of Christ and then directly on the other side of the wall is another church that they have the rest of the case, and so there are two churches that have the cave and and and anal end and eight year the one church gives the baby back to the other one, so that Jesus to be born outside the cave, or this site indicate one thing everybody is relative, there aren't. This is a cave-in is probably the length of the cave is probably from here to that wall and it's only about ten or fifteen feet deep. It isn't likely that David goes back for thirty feet if the cave because back underneath the rock for about ten or fifteen feet and in this shallow cave that they considered it a stable and the stable was something where the animals to get in out of the web, and so Mary and Joseph. When they arrived in Bethlehem. There is no place for them to stay in the end, now and in a can and does times the inward not been one. One or two people in a room that had motive been however comply on the floor and you you wanted it off that I didn't want us but under the stars yelled in the innkeeper would charge the millennial ion of law and around, and in this this this small place and that was the emblem there wasn't even enough room on the floor for Mary and Joseph, and so Mary what they were taken to this a and there was displaced and again, if you don't have a lot of straw and you don't have a lot of hay you know of a a a a a K becomes a very smelly place now. I wouldn't in all, maybe I would lay down in the stall in our barn after I put down a bunch of straw, but certainly I would never lay down at the end of the day in a cave wherein the antenna on the pin, but not also where Jesus was born, was probably where he was born, where he was laid in the manger in the back of the cave. They wouldn't see about a trough made of stone not made of wood and stone, and it would've been in there. And within that place where they would put the fee for the animals. And that's where they would have eaten in the back of the cave and Mary and Joseph had their baby and Jesus was born in this cave. This stable, and he was placed in a trough. It was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger swaddling clothes are strips of rags, so Mary and Joseph are so poor and they have been on a journey that enhance how many whenever you pack take a least two suitcase. You don't pack okay uses it when Rachel and Rich and Jack in the development and and Maddie come to our house. It is a continual process of Carey back in the bag right of the clemency cases, a more super than the laundry basket anthology brings. There's like two or three laundry baskets and they comfort today now. Plus suitcases and other things so they will comfort you out two days a week and Saturday, Sunday and then will bring at least zero three laundry baskets and they will bring at least two, maybe two suitcases and plus some special things that Rachel has for her. Now Mary and Joseph are coming five four five day journey to Jerusalem on a donkey and a half men don't have enough that when their baby is born, they have to take stripped some rags and wrap their baby in him, but rather baby in the strips of rides and laminate free trial. Why would God be born in a stable and laid in the feature so that no one could ever feel God was about that God didn't love them and consider them of such value that he would give up the splendor of heaven and the splendor of all creation. He who created all things spoken into existence, did not consider these things of value to the point that he would come in the born in a mania and emptiness in the cave and laid in the feed trough the poorest of the poor. No one will ever be able to say God was above me. I thought the root of relationship with God is something too far above me when Jesus came. There is the incarnation God with us. There is a crucifixion got that for us, the resurrection, God preparing the way for us that we can be with him, and Christ is coming again. He is coming again. The purpose of Christ's first coming, they saw that he would commonly would die for our sins that we would I send them in the Sunday school lesson this morning tested out a wonderful job and she spoke about soon as being oriented staff. She's downstairs. What was it, what was then considered so that opposing God opposition to God, said the definition of sin is opposing the and we think about it, the live the longest review says that the law was given, so that we would have an idea of what sin in and out of the ten Commandments don't still don't feel thou bear false witness don't lie to you, we would look at that as a website while I'm I'm I'm not a sinful person. I'm not it. I'm not breaking the Commandments of God, but is seen sometimes young women and one in the confessions. It's as if I've send and thought, word or deed opposition to God. How many times have we opposed God in our thoughts about ourselves. I'm not worthy, I'm not good enough. God would never be interested in the God doesn't love I've done too many things wrong on you on and on and on we could go those thoughts are in opposition to God, and they are sins that keep us from our relationship with him. Our thoughts would be in opposition to God because God 's word says he loves us then he came and he died for us and that he rose in the dad and he rose that he might that we've even become the firstfruits of them that slept meeting that we all are partakers in this resurrection, and that we have a part in the kingdom of God, and that we are not beneath him, and that we are not beyond his ability to reach and that we has a place and a purpose for us in this life, and he has the will for us and he has and you know he wants to walk with us and be our friend. And so the sins of our life, we would looking say were trying to name things like stealing and in no domain in the out and out all those other things are breaking the commandment and God says no. It's more than that, that we are thoughts would be towards him, because how many archive thoughts towards us. The Scripture says in the some of them can even be number five thoughts towards you are so many. And guess what, he's never had one bad thought about you. Never one bad thought about you and he never has had one impossible situation is presented in your life, so it stayed in the manger. Christmas is not about children. Christmas is about the child and every one of its about children, but it's about everyone of us recognizing the value of a child who loves us. A child born in a manger. God incarnate, God became flesh and dwelt among us, in many well, God with us in well, God with us. God with me that is the message of Christmas and it isn't just for children. It's for everyone of us. God is with faith, God is with me. Well that's about that God is with me that the Christmas story God is with me. They met