We have here who are in kindergarten up through
grade six. Would you lift your hands? In kindergarten
up through grade six. How many of you would like
to come here to the front and be with me? Would
you come right now? I'd like you to come and
sit here on these risers with me. You come right
now. I don't want you to be scared. I'm not going
to put you on the spot. I just want you to be
up here and help me. Now, parents, please don't
be frightened. I'll take care of that for both
of us. Just come up here and find a seat somewhere.
Mr. Benham is going to sit here with us. You
all know John Benham, don't you? He's our bouncer.
You know what a bouncer is? Well, you won't have
to find out, I'm sure. Sit right there in the
front. First thing I'd like to do is go around
and find out your names. Can you think of that?
If you have trouble with it, well, let me know.
We'll ask your mom and dad. Peter. Peter. Give
me your last name, too, Peter. Zulak. Chris Birch.
Todd Benham. Byron Garmo. David Brenna. Wendy
Sulak. Nikki Watson. Eric Furch. Christina Cook.
Kim Bracha. Cliff Bracha. Holly Sulak. Paul Broha.
Mr. Gamble. Michael Cook. Linda Coase. Dana.
What's your last name? I forget. You forget it.
That's all right. All right. I'm sure glad you
came up here to help me today. What we're going
to do is just kind of talk about the Christmas
story and sing together. Maybe your moms and
dads and grandpas and grandpas will help us too.
Why don't we first of all sing Silent Night,
one verse of that. Do you know that? Mrs. Ben
was over there in the dark at the piano. Thank
you. You help us sing, will you? That tells us
in that song what Christmas is really all about,
doesn't it? How many of you got presents this
morning? Ah, did you enjoy opening them? Most
of you probably got pretty close to what you
wanted. Maybe not everything. You know, Christmas
is a lot more than having presents, isn't it?
And even having a big dinner and having a lot
of the family around. Christmas is about who?
Who can tell me? Yes. Who is it about? Christy?
That's right. It's about the birth of the Lord
Jesus. I think that Christmas has a particular
wonder about it when we see it through the eyes
of a child. I want to talk today about four wonders
of Christmas, four very special things about
it. First, the wonder of Jesus' conception, that
is, how he came to be. All of us have mothers
and fathers, don't we? But Jesus did not have
a father. Did you know that? He had a mother.
What was her name? Mary, that's right. But Jesus
had no father. Mary was engaged to a man whose
name was what? Joseph. But Joseph was not the
father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He adopted the
Lord Jesus. and took care of him you see jesus
had no earthly father a little while ago we read
some scriptures maybe you read the copy that
you had with your mom and dad but in there it
says that the angel gabriel was sent by god to
a city in galilee that was called nazareth and
there he went to the house of mary and he announced
something to her he said Do not be afraid, Mary.
Why do you think he said that? Do you think she
was afraid? Would you be afraid if an angel appeared
to you? I think you wouldn't be, Byron. You might
be. I think I would be. If somebody might not,
you might not. That's true. But I'll tell you
what, if an angel appeared to me, I think I'd
be scared, and Mary was scared. And the angel
said, Mary, don't be afraid. And then he went
on to say, You have found favor with God. Behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus. A little bit later
on, the angel said, Mary, the Holy Spirit is
going to create in you the body of Jesus. And
that's exactly what happened. And God the Son
joined himself to that human body and nature
and came into the world. Now you may say, what
difference does that make? So what? Well, it's
very important because, you see, that means that
the Lord Jesus had no sin nature. Because you
and I are born with a mother and father, we have
a sin nature, don't we? Do you ever do things
bad? We all do, don't we? Sometimes we disobey.
Or we hit our brothers or sisters? Now, probably
none of you have ever done that, have you? No?
Maybe we should ask Mom and Dad. We all do bad
things, don't we? That's because we're sinners.
You see, when Jesus was born, he was born very
special, like no one else ever has been or ever
will be. The way he was born, he was born without
sin. So that means that he never did anything
wrong. And that's very, very important. I'd like
for you to sing with me another chorus, Away
in the Manger. Do you know that? It talks about
this night in Bethlehem. Let's sing it. You join
in with us, will you? We talked about the wonder
of his conception, how he came to be. But then
we want to talk about the wonder of his birth.
Because Jesus was born different than most of
you. Most of you were born in the hospital room,
weren't you? You remember that? No, you don't
remember that. You were a little young then,
weren't you? But Jesus wasn't born in a hospital
room. He was born in a stable. Mary and Joseph
went to the city of Bethlehem in order to pay
some taxes. Did you know they had to pay taxes
back in those days? Do you ever hear your mom
and dad talk about taxes? Do you pay taxes? You
don't. Just wait. You will someday. And Mary
and Joseph had to pay their taxes to the government.
So they had to go to the city of Bethlehem to
do that, and when they got there, there wasn't
room for them in the inn. That's a motel -like
place. They had to stay that night. when Jesus
was born out in a stable. How many have ever
been in a stable? Tell me about a stable. Does
it smell very nice in a stable? Not exactly.
That's right, it's pew, isn't it? It stinks there.
That's because of all the animals. And you see,
out there in that stable, which was not very
clean, not very warm, and kind of smelly, It's
where Jesus was born. And we read that after
he was born, Mary wrapped him in cloths, which
is the way they did it then. They didn't have
blankets like we have today. They took cloths
and they wrapped him up and they laid him in
a manger. Now you get this. Where do you think
a king ought to be born? Where would you think?
In a mansion. I think so too. A king ought to
be born in a mansion or a palace, someplace like
that. But here is the king, I mean the king of
kings, and he is born not in a mansion, not in
a palace, but in a stable, and he's laid in a
manger on some hay. That shows how lowly and
how humble his birth was. And not only that,
But we read in the scripture a little while ago
that that night hardly anybody noticed. There
wasn't a newspaper headline that said, extra,
extra, Jesus is born. No, nobody noticed it.
But God's angels appeared to who and told them
about the birth of Jesus. Who was it? The shepherds,
right. And the shepherds were terribly frightened.
See, they were scared, Byron, when the angels
appeared. Just like I would be. And the angel
said, don't be afraid because to you is born
a Savior this day in the city of David. He is
Christ the Lord. And so they went to that place
to see where Jesus was. I'd like for us right
now to listen to John Benham as he sings for
us. The birthday of a king. You listen to the
words as he sings, okay? And the sky was bright
with a holy light for the place where Jesus lay.
Alleluia, how the angels sang. Alleluia. And
the sky was bright with a holy light. It was
the birthday. It was a humble birthplace, but
oh how much God gave to us that day. From the
manger bed what a path has led, what a perfect
home. Alleluia, how it rang, and the sky was
red. You talked about how little Jesus had when
he was born. Do you realize that the toys that
you have and the home where you live and the
clothing that you have is more than Jesus ever
knew? Sometimes we think we have to have an awful
lot, don't we? And yet the Lord Jesus, whom we
love and serve, had very little. In fact, it
says he didn't even have a place to put his head
for rest. He had no home to live in. And then
we think sometimes we have to be the center of
attention, don't we? And big people, too. And
people need to notice us. And yet, at his birth,
the king of kings was unnoticed, heralded by
the angels to the shepherds so that someone would
come and adore him. But I want to think about
the wonder of his name, too. The angel said to
Mary, you shall call his name what? Jesus. And
the name Jesus means Jehovah is Savior. Jehovah
is one of the names of God. And it means that
Jehovah saves. Did you hear a couple of days
ago about the fire in a home out in California?
And it said that the man who lived in that home
would have burned to death if it had not been
for his son, who heard the smoke detector go
off. and ran up to the bedroom where his father
was sleeping and awakened him and got his father
out of the house. Now, what did that boy do?
Well, in a sense, he saved his father, didn't
he? He saved his father from dying, from burning
to death. You see, when it says that Jehovah
saves, the name Jesus, it means that God saves
us. God saves us from our sin. and from our eternal
punishment for our sin. And how did he do that?
Well, it was Jesus who went to the cross about
33 years after he was born and there died in
our place so that he could save us from our sins.
I'd like for you to sing with me, O Come All
Ye Faithful. Do you know the first verse of that?
I think most of you know the words. If you don't,
you hum the tune. Join us, please. O come, all
ye faithful, come and adore him, Christ the Lord.
We've talked about the wonder of Jesus' conception
and what a miracle it was because he had no father
like we do. We've talked about the wonder of
his birth and how he was born in such lowly and
humble surroundings. We've talked about the wonder
of his name because it means that he came to
save. And finally, I'd like to talk about the
wonder of his kingdom because it says here in
the Gospel of Luke, he shall be great. will be
called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord
God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and his kingdom will have no end. Did you know
that David was one of the ancestors of the Lord
Jesus Christ? David had a son whose name was
Solomon. Solomon had a son whose name was Rehoboam.
Rehoboam had a son whose name was Abijah. He
had a son named Asa. And on and on and on it
went until the Lord Jesus Christ came. And because
he is the son of David, it means that he has
the right to reign on David's throne. He doesn't
reign right now on a throne in the world, does
he? The world is at war. There's no peace here
because he doesn't reign. But the fact is that
someday he will come again and reign on the throne.
Next time he's not going to be born in Bethlehem.
The next time he's going to come riding, it says
in the book of Revelation, on a white charger.
And as he comes down with his armies out of heaven,
he is going to establish his kingdom upon the
earth. And it says of that kingdom there will
be no end. He will have a perfect... perfect
kingdom of righteousness. But even though he
doesn't reign in a literal kingdom on the earth
right now, there is a kingdom where he reigns,
and that is the kingdom of our hearts and our
lives. Because you see, inside each of us, there
is a throne room. And in that room is sort of
like a throne. When we don't have Jesus in our
hearts, sin. and self is on the throne, and Jesus
is outside. And it may be that some of you boys
and girls or some people who are here today are
like that. You've never invited Jesus to come
into your heart. If that's the case, it means
that sin sits on the throne of your life, and
it controls you. However, when you ask the Lord
Jesus to come in, He comes in and establishes
his invisible kingdom in your life. And the way
a Christian ought to live is for Jesus to sit
on the throne of the life, to be the king, to
be the one who's in control. You know, it's possible
for a Christian to have Jesus in his heart, and
yet for Jesus not to be on the throne of his
life, that is, to be in control. And sometimes
that's the way we live, isn't it? For even when
Jesus has come into our hearts and saved us,
we still want our way. And we still are mean.
And we still do things we shouldn't do. And it
means that Jesus is not reigning on the throne
that belongs to him. It may be today that you
need to ask Jesus to come into your heart and
to establish his kingdom in your life. to be
your Savior, to save you from your sin. It may
be that you've done that before, but Jesus really
isn't in control. You've taken back over the
throne of your life. You're in charge, and he's
on the sidelines. What he's doing there is waiting
for you to say, Lord, you sit on the throne.
You be in control of my life today. As we think
about that, John is going to sing for us once
more. You boys and girls have been very good.
We're just about done. First, John is going to
sing for us a real sweet and quiet tune called
Sweet Little Jesus Boy. You listen to him as
he sings, will you? Jesus, boy, they made you
be born in a manger. Sweet little holy child.
to save us Lord to take our sins away The world
treats you mean, Lord. Treats me mean, too. But
that's how... is a trying master you done showed
us how even when he's dying just seem like we
can't do right look how we treated you But please,
sir, forgive us, Lord. Well, it says in the Gospel
of John, He came unto his own, and his own received
him not. But to as many as received him, to them
gave he the power to become the children of God,
even to them that believe on his name. Boys and
girls, thank you for coming up today and helping
me keep your parents awake and nervous. You were
very good. Thank you. You can go back to where
your parents are now. I hope you have a nice
Christmas. I hope that the wonders of Christmas
are wonderful to you. The wonder of Jesus' miraculous
conception. The wonder of his birth. the wonder
of his name, the wonder of his kingdom. Is your
life his kingdom today? Is he in your life? Does
he reign in your life? Let's pray. I wonder if
you're acutely aware as you sit here today that
Jesus... The Christ is not the king of your life,
and you've never invited him into your life to
be your savior from your sin. You've never been
rescued from your personal bondage to sin. You
still are laboring under the guilt of it, headed
for eternal hell. Would you today pray something
like this, Lord Jesus? Thank you for coming into
the world to be my Savior. I acknowledge my sin.
I acknowledge the rebellion of my heart. But
right now I give you my heart. I ask you to come
into my life, to establish your invisible kingdom
in me. to live on the throne of my life. I receive
you as my Lord and Savior. Maybe you've prayed
that prayer, and today you need to say something
like this, Lord Jesus, I know you're in my life,
but I've been on the throne. I've been in control,
and my life is a mess. I ask you to come back
onto the throne and take control of my life.
You be the sovereign, and I'll obey your orders.
I'll do what you want me to do. I wonder with
our heads bowed, and before we pray, If there
would be some few people here today who would
say by the uplifted hand, Pastor, call today,
I prayed one of those prayers. I meant it from
my heart. God has spoken to me. God has prepared
my heart for this this morning, and I have prayed
one of those prayers. As you close in prayer,
remember me. Would you lift your hand up and
then put it down? God bless you. Yes. A number
of hands. Anyone else? Yes. God bless you. Would
you sing with me? Into my heart, into my heart,
come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in, I pray.
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. All of my heart,
all of my heart. Lord, it's so easy for us to
get caught up in life, in its busy affairs, even
in the happy celebrations of life, and to forget
and neglect you. Forgive us of that. I pray for
these today who have made certain commitments,
that you will seal those commitments. And I pray
that by your spirit you will guide each one in
making that next step of obedience that you would
require. Lord, we give you ourselves totally.
And we pray that you will live your wonderful
life through us. Thank you for coming. Thank
you for coming in such a lowly and humble birth.
Thank you for dying the shameful death of the
cross that we might be saved and know you and
come to heaven someday to be with you. Amen.
Again, we thank you for being here on this Christmas
morning. We pray that your day will be a joyful
one, a complete one in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before you go, I would ask...