The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-13

God With Us& For Us

The Hopes & Fears of All the Years

New City Church of CalgaryAdvent 2016

O little town of Bethlehemhow still we see thee lie;

Above thy deep and dreamless sleepthe silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineththe Everlasting Light.The hopes and fears

of all the yearsare met in thee tonight.

If God had a name, what would it be?

And would you call it to his face if you were faced with him in all

His glory? What would you ask if you

had just one question…?

What if God was one of us? Just a

slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus trying to

make his way home?

~ Joan Osborne, “One of Us”

?What if God was one of us

The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-13

God With Us& For Us

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took

The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25

place this way. When his mother Maryhad been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to bewith child from the Holy Spirit.

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the SON OF

GOD…. For nothing will be impossible with God. ”~ The Gospel of Luke, 1:26ff

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just

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man and unwilling to put her to shame,resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered these things,

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behold, an angel appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, Son of David,do not fear to take Mary as your wife, forthat which is conceived in her is from theHoly Spirit.

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call

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his name Jesus, for he will save his peoplefrom their sins.” 22 All this took place tofulfill what the Lord had spoken by theprophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall con-cieve and bear a son, and they shall callhis name Immanuel” (which means, Godwith us).

“If we could condense all the

truths of Christmas into only three

words, these would be the words: ‘God with us.’

John MacArthur Pastor-Teacher-Author

“We tend to focus our attention at

Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is

his Deity.

John MacArthur Pastor-Teacher-Author

John MacArthur Pastor-Teacher-Author

“More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omni-potent Creator of the heavens and

the earth!”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word

was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory….

~ The Apostle John in The Gospel of John 1:1, 14

in·car·na·tion“The Incarnation”

the “en-flesh-ment” or

the “embodiment”

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and

the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds

the universe by the word of his power.”

~ Hebrews 1:3

“[The incarnation] is by far the most amazing miracle of the entire Bible – far more amazing than the resurrection and more amazing even than the creation of the universe.

~ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology

“The fact that the infinite, omnipotent, eternal Son of God could become man and join him-self to a human nature forever, so that infinite God became one person with finite man, will remain for eternity the most pro- found miracle and the most profound mystery in all the universe.”

~ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did

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as the angel of the Lord commanded him:he took his wife, 25 but knew her not untilshe had given birth to a son. And he calledhis name Jesus….

2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethle-

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hem of Judea in the days of Herod theKing, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where ishe his name who has been born king ofthe Jews? For we have seen his starwhen it rose and have come to worship him….

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him….

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4 …and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers

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of Judah; for from you shall come a rulerwho will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod summed the wise men secret-ly and ascertained from them what timethe star had appeared. 8 And he sent themto Bethlehem, saying, “Go and searchdiligently for the child, and when you have

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found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen whenit rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced

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with great joy. 11 And going into the housethey saw the child with Mary his mother,and they fell down and worshiped him.Then opening their treasures, they offeredhim gifts, gold and frankincense andmyrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, the departed to their own country by another way….

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13 Now when they had departed, behold,an angel of the Lord appeared to Josephin a dream and said, “Rise, take the childand his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod isabout to search for the child, to destroyhim.’

The Gospel of Matthew 2:1-13

God became one of us— with us and for us—

in the person of Jesus Christ.

?What do you do with this central claim of the Christian faith

OPTION #1: This troubles you…

“If God had a face, what would it look

like? And would you want to see if seeing meant that you would

have to believe in things like Jesus and the saints and all the

prophets?”

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of

darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in

the face of Jesus Christ.~ The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:6

“In the Christian view, the ultimate evidence for the existence of God is Jesus

Christ. If there is a God, we characters in his play have to

hope that he put some information about himself in

the play. But Christians believe he did more than give us

information. He wrote himself into the play as the main

character in history, when Jesus was born in a manger

and rose from the dead.”

~ Tim Keller, The Reason For God:

Belief in an Age of Skepticism

OPTION #2: This defines you…

“Jesus Christ…. I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that

question would define history for me.”

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered

will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand? Did you know that your Baby Boy

has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little Baby

you kissed the face of God?

OPTION #2: This defines you…

OPTION #1: This troubles you…

This Christmas season, may you be struck anew that God became one of us—with us & for us—in the person of Jesus Christ.

And may that event forever define your life.

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Image: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/arts/music/review-joan-osborne-delivers-no-nonsense-dylan.html?_r=0

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