WEBVTT 00:00:04.009 --> 00:00:06.629 We have here who are in kindergarten up through 00:00:06.629 --> 00:00:11.410 grade six. Would you lift your hands? In kindergarten 00:00:11.410 --> 00:00:16.350 up through grade six. How many of you would like 00:00:16.350 --> 00:00:18.269 to come here to the front and be with me? Would 00:00:18.269 --> 00:00:21.109 you come right now? I'd like you to come and 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:29.769 sit here on these risers with me. You come right 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:32.920 now. I don't want you to be scared. I'm not going 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:36.240 to put you on the spot. I just want you to be 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.259 up here and help me. Now, parents, please don't 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:42.479 be frightened. I'll take care of that for both 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:50.280 of us. Just come up here and find a seat somewhere. 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:53.880 Mr. Benham is going to sit here with us. You 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:57.979 all know John Benham, don't you? He's our bouncer. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.959 You know what a bouncer is? Well, you won't have 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.659 to find out, I'm sure. Sit right there in the 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:10.359 front. First thing I'd like to do is go around 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:12.840 and find out your names. Can you think of that? 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:16.299 If you have trouble with it, well, let me know. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:21.400 We'll ask your mom and dad. Peter. Peter. Give 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:25.620 me your last name, too, Peter. Zulak. Chris Birch. 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:32.900 Todd Benham. Byron Garmo. David Brenna. Wendy 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:41.319 Sulak. Nikki Watson. Eric Furch. Christina Cook. 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:49.680 Kim Bracha. Cliff Bracha. Holly Sulak. Paul Broha. 00:01:50.019 --> 00:01:56.319 Mr. Gamble. Michael Cook. Linda Coase. Dana. 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.659 What's your last name? I forget. You forget it. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:11.639 That's all right. All right. I'm sure glad you 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:14.840 came up here to help me today. What we're going 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:16.599 to do is just kind of talk about the Christmas 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.819 story and sing together. Maybe your moms and 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:21.960 dads and grandpas and grandpas will help us too. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.240 Why don't we first of all sing Silent Night, 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:28.069 one verse of that. Do you know that? Mrs. Ben 00:02:28.069 --> 00:02:30.270 was over there in the dark at the piano. Thank 00:02:30.270 --> 00:03:36.229 you. You help us sing, will you? That tells us 00:03:36.229 --> 00:03:38.409 in that song what Christmas is really all about, 00:03:38.509 --> 00:03:41.770 doesn't it? How many of you got presents this 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:46.469 morning? Ah, did you enjoy opening them? Most 00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:48.250 of you probably got pretty close to what you 00:03:48.250 --> 00:03:51.509 wanted. Maybe not everything. You know, Christmas 00:03:51.509 --> 00:03:54.110 is a lot more than having presents, isn't it? 00:03:54.909 --> 00:03:57.949 And even having a big dinner and having a lot 00:03:57.949 --> 00:04:00.729 of the family around. Christmas is about who? 00:04:00.830 --> 00:04:08.020 Who can tell me? Yes. Who is it about? Christy? 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:10.500 That's right. It's about the birth of the Lord 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:16.019 Jesus. I think that Christmas has a particular 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:18.319 wonder about it when we see it through the eyes 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.540 of a child. I want to talk today about four wonders 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:25.540 of Christmas, four very special things about 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:30.300 it. First, the wonder of Jesus' conception, that 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:34.959 is, how he came to be. All of us have mothers 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.540 and fathers, don't we? But Jesus did not have 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:42.420 a father. Did you know that? He had a mother. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:47.100 What was her name? Mary, that's right. But Jesus 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:51.920 had no father. Mary was engaged to a man whose 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:56.420 name was what? Joseph. But Joseph was not the 00:04:56.420 --> 00:05:01.459 father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He adopted the 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:05.379 Lord Jesus. and took care of him you see jesus 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:08.899 had no earthly father a little while ago we read 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:12.079 some scriptures maybe you read the copy that 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.100 you had with your mom and dad but in there it 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:20.620 says that the angel gabriel was sent by god to 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:24.779 a city in galilee that was called nazareth and 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:28.519 there he went to the house of mary and he announced 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:33.250 something to her he said Do not be afraid, Mary. 00:05:33.910 --> 00:05:36.870 Why do you think he said that? Do you think she 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:40.029 was afraid? Would you be afraid if an angel appeared 00:05:40.029 --> 00:05:45.329 to you? I think you wouldn't be, Byron. You might 00:05:45.329 --> 00:05:49.910 be. I think I would be. If somebody might not, 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:53.350 you might not. That's true. But I'll tell you 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:55.410 what, if an angel appeared to me, I think I'd 00:05:55.410 --> 00:05:58.930 be scared, and Mary was scared. And the angel 00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:01.910 said, Mary, don't be afraid. And then he went 00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:05.850 on to say, You have found favor with God. Behold, 00:06:05.889 --> 00:06:08.290 you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, 00:06:08.529 --> 00:06:13.449 and you shall name him Jesus. A little bit later 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:16.129 on, the angel said, Mary, the Holy Spirit is 00:06:16.129 --> 00:06:19.910 going to create in you the body of Jesus. And 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:23.970 that's exactly what happened. And God the Son 00:06:23.970 --> 00:06:27.290 joined himself to that human body and nature 00:06:27.290 --> 00:06:30.680 and came into the world. Now you may say, what 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:33.379 difference does that make? So what? Well, it's 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:36.560 very important because, you see, that means that 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:41.839 the Lord Jesus had no sin nature. Because you 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.459 and I are born with a mother and father, we have 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:48.000 a sin nature, don't we? Do you ever do things 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:54.019 bad? We all do, don't we? Sometimes we disobey. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.519 Or we hit our brothers or sisters? Now, probably 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.959 none of you have ever done that, have you? No? 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:05.680 Maybe we should ask Mom and Dad. We all do bad 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.040 things, don't we? That's because we're sinners. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.240 You see, when Jesus was born, he was born very 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:13.899 special, like no one else ever has been or ever 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:17.740 will be. The way he was born, he was born without 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:21.600 sin. So that means that he never did anything 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:26.959 wrong. And that's very, very important. I'd like 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.660 for you to sing with me another chorus, Away 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:32.800 in the Manger. Do you know that? It talks about 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.680 this night in Bethlehem. Let's sing it. You join 00:07:34.680 --> 00:08:23.689 in with us, will you? We talked about the wonder 00:08:23.689 --> 00:08:27.680 of his conception, how he came to be. But then 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:29.639 we want to talk about the wonder of his birth. 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:33.080 Because Jesus was born different than most of 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:36.580 you. Most of you were born in the hospital room, 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.940 weren't you? You remember that? No, you don't 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:42.179 remember that. You were a little young then, 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:46.000 weren't you? But Jesus wasn't born in a hospital 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:50.840 room. He was born in a stable. Mary and Joseph 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:54.120 went to the city of Bethlehem in order to pay 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:56.980 some taxes. Did you know they had to pay taxes 00:08:56.980 --> 00:08:59.759 back in those days? Do you ever hear your mom 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:04.720 and dad talk about taxes? Do you pay taxes? You 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:09.399 don't. Just wait. You will someday. And Mary 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:11.620 and Joseph had to pay their taxes to the government. 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:14.940 So they had to go to the city of Bethlehem to 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:16.419 do that, and when they got there, there wasn't 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:19.899 room for them in the inn. That's a motel -like 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:24.419 place. They had to stay that night. when Jesus 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:27.419 was born out in a stable. How many have ever 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:33.100 been in a stable? Tell me about a stable. Does 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:36.220 it smell very nice in a stable? Not exactly. 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:40.100 That's right, it's pew, isn't it? It stinks there. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:44.539 That's because of all the animals. And you see, 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:46.759 out there in that stable, which was not very 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:52.600 clean, not very warm, and kind of smelly, It's 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:55.240 where Jesus was born. And we read that after 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:58.000 he was born, Mary wrapped him in cloths, which 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:59.659 is the way they did it then. They didn't have 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:02.059 blankets like we have today. They took cloths 00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:05.100 and they wrapped him up and they laid him in 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:09.360 a manger. Now you get this. Where do you think 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.639 a king ought to be born? Where would you think? 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:21.440 In a mansion. I think so too. A king ought to 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.139 be born in a mansion or a palace, someplace like 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:28.700 that. But here is the king, I mean the king of 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:32.460 kings, and he is born not in a mansion, not in 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:36.279 a palace, but in a stable, and he's laid in a 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:42.340 manger on some hay. That shows how lowly and 00:10:42.340 --> 00:10:46.000 how humble his birth was. And not only that, 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:49.120 But we read in the scripture a little while ago 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.139 that that night hardly anybody noticed. There 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:54.700 wasn't a newspaper headline that said, extra, 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:59.620 extra, Jesus is born. No, nobody noticed it. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.799 But God's angels appeared to who and told them 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:08.100 about the birth of Jesus. Who was it? The shepherds, 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:12.500 right. And the shepherds were terribly frightened. 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:15.360 See, they were scared, Byron, when the angels 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:20.730 appeared. Just like I would be. And the angel 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:24.950 said, don't be afraid because to you is born 00:11:24.950 --> 00:11:28.470 a Savior this day in the city of David. He is 00:11:28.470 --> 00:11:32.250 Christ the Lord. And so they went to that place 00:11:32.250 --> 00:11:37.210 to see where Jesus was. I'd like for us right 00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:42.009 now to listen to John Benham as he sings for 00:11:42.009 --> 00:11:45.940 us. The birthday of a king. You listen to the 00:11:45.940 --> 00:12:21.279 words as he sings, okay? And the sky was bright 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:31.019 with a holy light for the place where Jesus lay. 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:51.279 Alleluia, how the angels sang. Alleluia. And 00:12:51.279 --> 00:13:00.600 the sky was bright with a holy light. It was 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:30.919 the birthday. It was a humble birthplace, but 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:42.940 oh how much God gave to us that day. From the 00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:51.860 manger bed what a path has led, what a perfect 00:13:51.860 --> 00:14:16.149 home. Alleluia, how it rang, and the sky was 00:14:16.149 --> 00:14:50.659 red. You talked about how little Jesus had when 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.539 he was born. Do you realize that the toys that 00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:56.799 you have and the home where you live and the 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:00.279 clothing that you have is more than Jesus ever 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.120 knew? Sometimes we think we have to have an awful 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:08.440 lot, don't we? And yet the Lord Jesus, whom we 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:12.120 love and serve, had very little. In fact, it 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:14.460 says he didn't even have a place to put his head 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:19.399 for rest. He had no home to live in. And then 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.320 we think sometimes we have to be the center of 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.539 attention, don't we? And big people, too. And 00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:28.740 people need to notice us. And yet, at his birth, 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:32.600 the king of kings was unnoticed, heralded by 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:34.820 the angels to the shepherds so that someone would 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:39.200 come and adore him. But I want to think about 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.519 the wonder of his name, too. The angel said to 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:47.700 Mary, you shall call his name what? Jesus. And 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:53.379 the name Jesus means Jehovah is Savior. Jehovah 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:56.120 is one of the names of God. And it means that 00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:00.559 Jehovah saves. Did you hear a couple of days 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:04.080 ago about the fire in a home out in California? 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:07.919 And it said that the man who lived in that home 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.500 would have burned to death if it had not been 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:15.440 for his son, who heard the smoke detector go 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.649 off. and ran up to the bedroom where his father 00:16:18.649 --> 00:16:21.710 was sleeping and awakened him and got his father 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:25.269 out of the house. Now, what did that boy do? 00:16:25.750 --> 00:16:28.889 Well, in a sense, he saved his father, didn't 00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:32.370 he? He saved his father from dying, from burning 00:16:32.370 --> 00:16:37.450 to death. You see, when it says that Jehovah 00:16:37.450 --> 00:16:41.690 saves, the name Jesus, it means that God saves 00:16:41.690 --> 00:16:46.789 us. God saves us from our sin. and from our eternal 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:50.309 punishment for our sin. And how did he do that? 00:16:51.309 --> 00:16:53.990 Well, it was Jesus who went to the cross about 00:16:53.990 --> 00:16:57.750 33 years after he was born and there died in 00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:01.889 our place so that he could save us from our sins. 00:17:04.490 --> 00:17:07.890 I'd like for you to sing with me, O Come All 00:17:07.890 --> 00:17:10.009 Ye Faithful. Do you know the first verse of that? 00:17:10.190 --> 00:17:12.450 I think most of you know the words. If you don't, 00:17:12.450 --> 00:17:16.950 you hum the tune. Join us, please. O come, all 00:17:16.950 --> 00:17:20.529 ye faithful, come and adore him, Christ the Lord. 00:18:22.250 --> 00:18:24.750 We've talked about the wonder of Jesus' conception 00:18:24.750 --> 00:18:27.410 and what a miracle it was because he had no father 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:31.089 like we do. We've talked about the wonder of 00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.630 his birth and how he was born in such lowly and 00:18:33.630 --> 00:18:36.809 humble surroundings. We've talked about the wonder 00:18:36.809 --> 00:18:39.930 of his name because it means that he came to 00:18:39.930 --> 00:18:43.329 save. And finally, I'd like to talk about the 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:46.849 wonder of his kingdom because it says here in 00:18:46.849 --> 00:18:50.460 the Gospel of Luke, he shall be great. will be 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.640 called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:58.099 God will give him the throne of his father David, 00:18:58.380 --> 00:19:01.779 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:07.980 and his kingdom will have no end. Did you know 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:10.680 that David was one of the ancestors of the Lord 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:14.740 Jesus Christ? David had a son whose name was 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:18.700 Solomon. Solomon had a son whose name was Rehoboam. 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.660 Rehoboam had a son whose name was Abijah. He 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:25.960 had a son named Asa. And on and on and on it 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:30.519 went until the Lord Jesus Christ came. And because 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:34.599 he is the son of David, it means that he has 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:41.119 the right to reign on David's throne. He doesn't 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.180 reign right now on a throne in the world, does 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:47.240 he? The world is at war. There's no peace here 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:50.230 because he doesn't reign. But the fact is that 00:19:50.230 --> 00:19:53.829 someday he will come again and reign on the throne. 00:19:54.049 --> 00:19:56.210 Next time he's not going to be born in Bethlehem. 00:19:57.130 --> 00:19:59.869 The next time he's going to come riding, it says 00:19:59.869 --> 00:20:02.950 in the book of Revelation, on a white charger. 00:20:03.930 --> 00:20:06.950 And as he comes down with his armies out of heaven, 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:11.190 he is going to establish his kingdom upon the 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:13.789 earth. And it says of that kingdom there will 00:20:13.789 --> 00:20:17.250 be no end. He will have a perfect... perfect 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:20.930 kingdom of righteousness. But even though he 00:20:20.930 --> 00:20:24.329 doesn't reign in a literal kingdom on the earth 00:20:24.329 --> 00:20:27.470 right now, there is a kingdom where he reigns, 00:20:27.470 --> 00:20:30.190 and that is the kingdom of our hearts and our 00:20:30.190 --> 00:20:33.609 lives. Because you see, inside each of us, there 00:20:33.609 --> 00:20:38.069 is a throne room. And in that room is sort of 00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:42.849 like a throne. When we don't have Jesus in our 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:48.359 hearts, sin. and self is on the throne, and Jesus 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.779 is outside. And it may be that some of you boys 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:55.000 and girls or some people who are here today are 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.220 like that. You've never invited Jesus to come 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:02.359 into your heart. If that's the case, it means 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:07.039 that sin sits on the throne of your life, and 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:12.559 it controls you. However, when you ask the Lord 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:16.200 Jesus to come in, He comes in and establishes 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:20.140 his invisible kingdom in your life. And the way 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:22.599 a Christian ought to live is for Jesus to sit 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.559 on the throne of the life, to be the king, to 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:30.519 be the one who's in control. You know, it's possible 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:36.160 for a Christian to have Jesus in his heart, and 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.259 yet for Jesus not to be on the throne of his 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:42.420 life, that is, to be in control. And sometimes 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:45.539 that's the way we live, isn't it? For even when 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:47.779 Jesus has come into our hearts and saved us, 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:52.960 we still want our way. And we still are mean. 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:57.160 And we still do things we shouldn't do. And it 00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:00.079 means that Jesus is not reigning on the throne 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.839 that belongs to him. It may be today that you 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:07.500 need to ask Jesus to come into your heart and 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:10.480 to establish his kingdom in your life. to be 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.000 your Savior, to save you from your sin. It may 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.220 be that you've done that before, but Jesus really 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:21.619 isn't in control. You've taken back over the 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:24.619 throne of your life. You're in charge, and he's 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:27.720 on the sidelines. What he's doing there is waiting 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:32.539 for you to say, Lord, you sit on the throne. 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:37.500 You be in control of my life today. As we think 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:40.700 about that, John is going to sing for us once 00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:43.740 more. You boys and girls have been very good. 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:47.460 We're just about done. First, John is going to 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:51.380 sing for us a real sweet and quiet tune called 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:54.299 Sweet Little Jesus Boy. You listen to him as 00:22:54.299 --> 00:23:20.960 he sings, will you? Jesus, boy, they made you 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:32.940 be born in a manger. Sweet little holy child. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:24:43.849 to save us Lord to take our sins away The world 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:52.490 treats you mean, Lord. Treats me mean, too. But 00:24:52.490 --> 00:25:29.250 that's how... is a trying master you done showed 00:25:29.250 --> 00:25:46.269 us how even when he's dying just seem like we 00:25:46.269 --> 00:25:54.549 can't do right look how we treated you But please, 00:25:54.569 --> 00:27:09.180 sir, forgive us, Lord. Well, it says in the Gospel 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:11.700 of John, He came unto his own, and his own received 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:16.380 him not. But to as many as received him, to them 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:19.099 gave he the power to become the children of God, 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:23.299 even to them that believe on his name. Boys and 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:26.279 girls, thank you for coming up today and helping 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:32.920 me keep your parents awake and nervous. You were 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:34.680 very good. Thank you. You can go back to where 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:37.410 your parents are now. I hope you have a nice 00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:50.509 Christmas. I hope that the wonders of Christmas 00:27:50.509 --> 00:27:55.809 are wonderful to you. The wonder of Jesus' miraculous 00:27:55.809 --> 00:28:07.589 conception. The wonder of his birth. the wonder 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:14.869 of his name, the wonder of his kingdom. Is your 00:28:14.869 --> 00:28:21.289 life his kingdom today? Is he in your life? Does 00:28:21.289 --> 00:28:31.529 he reign in your life? Let's pray. I wonder if 00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:33.890 you're acutely aware as you sit here today that 00:28:33.890 --> 00:28:39.099 Jesus... The Christ is not the king of your life, 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:42.400 and you've never invited him into your life to 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:46.299 be your savior from your sin. You've never been 00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:52.839 rescued from your personal bondage to sin. You 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:56.480 still are laboring under the guilt of it, headed 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:01.339 for eternal hell. Would you today pray something 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:07.250 like this, Lord Jesus? Thank you for coming into 00:29:07.250 --> 00:29:13.329 the world to be my Savior. I acknowledge my sin. 00:29:15.829 --> 00:29:20.950 I acknowledge the rebellion of my heart. But 00:29:20.950 --> 00:29:25.910 right now I give you my heart. I ask you to come 00:29:25.910 --> 00:29:31.190 into my life, to establish your invisible kingdom 00:29:31.190 --> 00:29:39.289 in me. to live on the throne of my life. I receive 00:29:39.289 --> 00:29:47.849 you as my Lord and Savior. Maybe you've prayed 00:29:47.849 --> 00:29:49.789 that prayer, and today you need to say something 00:29:49.789 --> 00:29:53.230 like this, Lord Jesus, I know you're in my life, 00:29:53.309 --> 00:29:56.710 but I've been on the throne. I've been in control, 00:29:56.930 --> 00:30:03.000 and my life is a mess. I ask you to come back 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:05.299 onto the throne and take control of my life. 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:13.579 You be the sovereign, and I'll obey your orders. 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:23.319 I'll do what you want me to do. I wonder with 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:26.890 our heads bowed, and before we pray, If there 00:30:26.890 --> 00:30:29.150 would be some few people here today who would 00:30:29.150 --> 00:30:31.349 say by the uplifted hand, Pastor, call today, 00:30:31.470 --> 00:30:34.769 I prayed one of those prayers. I meant it from 00:30:34.769 --> 00:30:38.829 my heart. God has spoken to me. God has prepared 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:41.170 my heart for this this morning, and I have prayed 00:30:41.170 --> 00:30:44.750 one of those prayers. As you close in prayer, 00:30:44.930 --> 00:30:47.410 remember me. Would you lift your hand up and 00:30:47.410 --> 00:30:53.690 then put it down? God bless you. Yes. A number 00:30:53.690 --> 00:31:08.920 of hands. Anyone else? Yes. God bless you. Would 00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:18.539 you sing with me? Into my heart, into my heart, 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:38.009 come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in, I pray. 00:31:38.630 --> 00:31:52.009 Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. All of my heart, 00:31:52.910 --> 00:32:32.180 all of my heart. Lord, it's so easy for us to 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:38.819 get caught up in life, in its busy affairs, even 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:43.319 in the happy celebrations of life, and to forget 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:48.519 and neglect you. Forgive us of that. I pray for 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:52.160 these today who have made certain commitments, 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:57.539 that you will seal those commitments. And I pray 00:32:57.539 --> 00:32:59.980 that by your spirit you will guide each one in 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:03.099 making that next step of obedience that you would 00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:08.640 require. Lord, we give you ourselves totally. 00:33:09.819 --> 00:33:12.259 And we pray that you will live your wonderful 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:22.200 life through us. Thank you for coming. Thank 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:24.759 you for coming in such a lowly and humble birth. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:28.160 Thank you for dying the shameful death of the 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:34.079 cross that we might be saved and know you and 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:40.039 come to heaven someday to be with you. Amen. 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:47.980 Again, we thank you for being here on this Christmas 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:51.519 morning. We pray that your day will be a joyful 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:54.880 one, a complete one in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:33:56.769 --> 00:33:58.250 Before you go, I would ask...