Sunday Morning, December 20, 2020 AM

Good morning everyone.

Can you feel the energy in the air? I don't know it's palpable this morning but we're glad that you're here to worship with us this morning at Sunnyside Baptist Church.

If you're visiting with us we're especially glad to have you here. I've noticed a few new faces so if you don't know somebody go up and introduce yourself and welcome them to worship with us this morning.

As we get started we've got a few announcements just looking at the week ahead. Definitely come back this evening if you're able to.

We have our carols and candlelight service this evening that starts at 5 .30 this evening and then

Wednesday at 6 .30 we'll have Bible study and prayer and then obviously Friday Christmas Day we hope that you can celebrate that with your family and friends.

Our fighter verse for this week comes from the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 21 verse 4, full of hope.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.

So good verse to memorize this week. There is obviously our

Christmas mailbox you're able to exchange Christmas cards with each other. Be sure and pick those up today.

But also on that back table the church has put together a little Christmas gift for each family. You'll find that back there.

There aren't name tags on them per se but you do want to take one per family if you can do that please.

Also we're coming to the end of this year if you are in charge of any kind of budget area within the church and you need to make any additions or changes to that area please let

Jerry Brown or Patty Hines know in the next few weeks. And then as we continue to deal with COVID cases just continue to remember and be mindful of each other's personal space and try to remember that as well.

Alright we've got a full morning this morning with choir singing, children's choir as well.

Any more announcements before we get started? Okay we're going to have a just of preparation before worship time and then after that's over Randy Brooks will open us in prayer.

Father we just want to thank you so much for the opportunity to meet today together and to worship and we just pray that all that we do today will bring glory to you.

We thank you so much for your son. Thank you that you loved us while we were sinners and undeserving and you sent your son to be the savior of the world.

Thank you for this body of believers. I pray that you would encourage our hearts today. Pray that you'd steal our hearts and Father I pray that we would remind everyone that we're around of the hope that we have because of Christ.

I pray that this Christmas season that we would just be a light to others especially to the lost.

I pray for Brother Michael as he comes and brings the word to us this morning and Father our time of communion.

I just pray that it would be precious. Thank you for all the many blessings that you've given us that we take for granted.

I just want to thank you most of all for Jesus and we ask these things in his name. Amen. Glad everyone is here this morning either here in person or in line to worship the

Lord. Would you please stand with me and we'll start our call to worship this morning. Our passage this morning is found in Psalms chapter 56 verse 4.

Read with me together. In God whose word I praise in God I trust

I shall not be afraid what can flesh do to me. Our first song this morning is a tune you'll recognize to Christmas words

Jesus Christ is born today. If you have your

Bibles open to the book of Deuteronomy. It's our scripture reading this morning. Deuteronomy chapter 28.

We'll be reading verses starting at verse 45. Deuteronomy 28 verse 45.

All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed because you did not obey the voice of the

Lord your God and keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever because you did not serve the

Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart because of the abundance of all things.

Therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you in hunger and thirst in nakedness and lacking everything and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.

The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away from the end of the earth swooping down like the eagle a nation whose language you do not understand a hard -faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.

It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed. It also shall not leave you grain wine or oil the increase of your herds or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.

They shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land and they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land which the

Lord your God has given you and you shall eat the fruit of your womb the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the

Lord your God has given you in the siege and into this in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.

The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother to the wife he embraces and to the last of the children whom he has left so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating because he has nothing else left in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.

The most tender and refined woman among you who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender will begrudge to the husband she embraces to her son and to her daughter.

Her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears because lacking everything she will eat them secretly in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you in your towns.

If you're not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book that you may fear this glorious and awesome name the

Lord your God then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions afflictions severe and lasting and sickness grievous and lasting and he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid and they shall cling to you.

Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed.

Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven you shall be left few in number because you did not obey the voice of the

Lord your God and as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you so the

Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you and you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it and the

Lord will scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone which neither you nor your fathers have known and among these nations you shall find no respite and there shall be no resting place for the soul of your foot but the

Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul your life shall hang in doubt before you night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life in the morning you shall say if only it were evening and at evening you shall say if only we're morning because of the dread that your heart shall feel and the sights that your eyes shall see and the

Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt a journey that I promised that you should never make again and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves but there will be no buyer would you pray with me

Heavenly Father these are terrible sobering truthful words for they come from you

Lord that if we turn away from our life -giving

Heavenly Father and the wisdom of an instruction of his word we will find nothing but calamity and disaster and horror father today we live in a world that thinks it is so free and unfettered to do what is right in its own eyes people who believe that they are casting off the chains of religion and morality they don't realize that they are enslaving themselves unto death father at this time of the year when we remember the gift of Jesus as a baby in the manger father we thank you for enlightening our eyes for showing us that true freedom is found in yielding ourselves to our

Savior and our Lord father help us help us to share that good news with others father we thank you for the gift of your son

Jesus Christ help us to worship him this morning in spirit and in truth bless us this time of the year we ask all these things in the name of Jesus amen so we continue our song service we have two songs one to sing together and myself as well as the choir encouraged you to sing with your whole heart and to the

Lord to worship him in spirit and truth as Kyle does pray our two songs that will sing together are

Oh sing a song of Bethlehem that's on page 167 that's to the tune of Kingsfold and then also we'll sing hallelujah

Christ Jesus is born on the sea and raised the waves to be still o 'er the wide waves of Galilee our savior

God, O Lord with faith and strength, our masters steadfast peace upon the soul

O sing a song of Calvary its glory and its fame for it grew far upon the tree and took our sins away

O sing a song of Calvary its glory and its fame for it grew far upon the tree and took our sins away

O sing a song of Calvary O sing a song of Calvary its glory and its fame for it grew far upon the tree and took our sins away

O sing a song of Calvary its glory and its fame

Karis Brown, Jake Barnett and Hudson Smith and I've said this many times but a teacher's job is to take live wires and see if they're well grounded so we have live wires and that's good that's what we're supposed to have and so they are going to come and we practiced so we'll see what happens we were planning to sing three songs so thank you for letting us have

Children's Church we look forward to that each time when they finish since we don't have Children's Church on Lord's Supper Day they will come back and sit with you and next week we'll get to celebrate so thank you for allowing that Children's Church, would you come please?

Christmas is the time Christmas is the time

Christmas is the time to praise the Lord for all He's done

Christmas is the time Christmas is the time

Christmas is the time to praise the Lord Praise Jesus to a manger

That is why Christmas is the time to praise the

Lord Christmas is the time Christmas is the time

Christmas is the time to praise the Lord Jesus Jesus Oh Jesus Jesus So lowly

To listen

To the angels sing Oh Jesus Jesus Oh What a wonderful child

Jesus Jesus So lowly

To listen

To the angels sing Glory Glory Glory to the

One who takes away the sins of the world

You Who takes away the sins of the world

Merry Christmas We have a a saying we repeat to one another around Easter Say He is risen

He is risen indeed We need to come up with one for Christmas, right?

I invite you to open your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and we will be reading we'll be reading verses 15 through 25 focusing on the last two verses for our

Christmas season in the Lord's Providence I was not to preach the sermon last week but this week and so I hope that you will bear with me and is it okay if we do

Christmas an extra week this year since we missed so next week I'll be preaching on Christmas again from this this passage we won't get to all of it today as the

Lord wills we will celebrate His Son so 2

Samuel chapter 12 I wonder if anybody here today will be planning to listen to the recitation of the

Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke by Linus nobody with a blankie ever did it better always appreciated that portion of the

Charlie Brown Christmas special listening to Linus with his blankie quote the

Scriptures speak about the truth of Jesus Christ and that's a very famous Christmas passage even absolute pagans will run into that from time to time this is a passage which is not a common

Christmas passage and yet there are plenty to choose from I said a couple of weeks ago my family as we have occasion are reading together through the

Christmas stories in the Bible and we have made it this far as we have read every wave on Scripture's ocean crests with the foam of Christ's praise how much more do the depths sound with his name and team with his glories our biblical navigational charts should be filled with lines that trace the person and work of Christ the anticipation of his arrival and the glories of his salvation when it comes to Christmas there are places that are more familiar than others some ports are more famous than others we are accustomed to the early chapters of Matthew and Luke and the first chapter of John as our traditional

Christmas harbors but there are many others that exist and worth marking on your map 2

Samuel 12 24 -25 is just such a place and since we won't understand what's going on in these two verses unless we read more of the context we will verses 15 -25 but it is important to remember that this is after this is after David has sinned with Bathsheba against Uriah adultery conspiracy and murder

Nathan the prophet has confronted David with his parable about the rich and the poor man and the sheep and he has said thou art the man and a list of consequences and judgments have been have been laid out before David and so one of those consequences is that this child conceived by David and Bathsheba will die this is where we pick up with our text

I invite you if you are able to stand with me as I read these words the words of our

Savior Jesus Christ through his spirit and the mouth of his prophet this is the word of the

Lord so Nathan went to his house then the

Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David so that he was very sick

David therefore inquired of God for the child and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground the elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them then it happened on the seventh day that the child died and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead but they said behold while the child was still alive we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice how then can we tell him that the child is dead since he might do himself harm but when

David saw that his servants were whispering together David perceived that the child was dead so David said to his servants is the child dead and they said he is dead so David arose from the ground washed, anointed himself and changed his clothes and he came into the house of the

Lord and worshipped then he came to his own house and when he requested they set food before him and he ate then his servants said to him what is this thing that you have done while the child was alive you fasted and wept but when the child died you arose and ate food he said while the child was still alive

I fasted and wept for I said who knows the Lord may be gracious to me that the child may live but now he has died why should

I fast can I bring him back again I will go to him but he will not return to me then

David comforted his wife Bathsheba and went into her and lay with her and she gave birth to a son so he named him

Solomon now the Lord loved him and sent word through Nathan the prophet and he named him

Jedidiah for the Lord's sake these are the words of the Lord praise be to God you may be seated that is the title of this sermon is

Jedidiah and what that means and what it means for Christmas one of the wonderful traditions that my wife began in our family something that we look forward to every birthday is we call it birthday blessings is that we will during our special birthday meal you know the one where we'll have the cake we take time we go around the table and each one of us will say something about the birthday person the birthday boy or girl something that we're thankful to God about for this person

I'm thankful to God about so and so because of this and that we call those birthday blessings and we do it every birthday and it's something that came to my mind as I thought about this text as I thought about this text in its connected context of 2

Samuel chapter 7 that we would give birthday blessings to Christ this season that we would take the time to thank

God and to consider and to meditate on who Christ is and what it means that God has given us

Christ his son and that we would give thanks to God for the beloved for that is the meaning of the name

Jedidiah God sent word to Nathan the prophet concerning David and Bathsheba's second son whom he named

Solomon and he said name him Jedidiah for my sake a name which means beloved what will you give thanks to God for this season for the beloved for the giving of the son of David for the gift of Christ our children don't like to go last in the birthday blessing category because one of the rules is that if someone says something about that person you can't use that same thing so the longer you wait in the rotation the more creative you have to be but it requires you to give some thought to really think about the person to think about how it is that God in his providence has blessed you with this sibling or blessed you with this parent and so on and we ought to do that with Christ we ought to have a new song on our lips new praise to give to God new thanksgiving to give to God for his son

Jesus Christ and I believe that this is a passage that will aid us in that so our focus will be upon this passage 2

Samuel chapter 12 verses 24 and 25 what do we do with this passage what we do with it says a lot about what we believe about the bible it says a lot about what we believe about Jesus Christ but I want to take our cue of how we use this scripture how we understand this scripture

I want to take our cue from the promise that God originally gave David that David would have a son that this son would rule and reign on the throne and God gave him such glorious promises and do you know what

David did in response to the promise of a son a glorious son a beloved son he praised

God in 2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 29 this is how David finished up his prayer to the

Lord in response to the Lord's promise he said now therefore this is 2

Samuel 7 29 now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant that it may continue forever before you for you oh

Lord God have spoken and with your blessing may the house of your servant be blessed forever let's add our amen to that let us bless the house of the son of David let us bless

Christ let us rejoice in the beloved and offer him blessings as we rejoice in his advent in his birthday today there are many birthday blessings that we can meditate on from this passage we'll see how many the

Lord allows us to get through today the first is simply this and it's the fundamental beginning point a point of truly conviction that the son of David that this

Solomon whom God named Jedidiah is a predetermined type that God had decided beforehand that this son of David would be a picture of Jesus Christ that there was something in the way in which

God dealt with Solomon and shaped Solomon and worked through Solomon that would provide a picture of Christ that would increase the hope of the believers in the coming

Messiah you're going to wonder why God inspires this portion of scripture and ask this question in what way is

God boasting of his son here that's always really the question if you're in the word in what way is

God boasting of his son here great question to ask of any text that you're in in the scripture well the background of the story is this back in chapter 7 of 2

Samuel David came to a point in his reign that he realized that he had been inordinately blessed remember that David used to be on the run he was always on the run

I mean he grew up as a shepherd boy out in the fields and then he got into military life where he was always out in the camps and in the countryside and then

Saul tried to kill him and so now he was on the run with his band of merry men and he was all over the place until finally finally after a civil war after many years of war he comes home to the city of David to Jerusalem and he's living in a house and then he reflects upon all that God has done for him and he thinks about the ark of the covenant the ark of the covenant upon which is the mercy seat the throne of God on earth and it's in a tent

David says I'm in a house and the ark of God is in a tent that's not right

I know what it's like to wander around God's throne has been wandering around it needs a permanent house he shares his desire with Nathan the prophet and at that time

Nathan saw nothing wrong with that David is trying to honor the Lord and serve God and reign in a wise way so Nathan says do all that's in your heart but then

Nathan gets word from the Lord no it shall not be David and Nathan comes back to David and says it will not be you who builds

God a house you will not build a temple for the Lord but your son will build the temple and he begins to share with him about this son listen to this promise 2

Samuel 7 verse 13 concerning the son of David he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever and again he says in verses 16 and 17 your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever your throne shall be established forever in accordance with all these words and all this vision so Nathan spoke to David what's the idea?

the son of David will build the temple and will reign on an everlasting throne now those are promises of God anticipating the

Messiah but they are built upon other anticipations when

Jacob whose name had been changed to Israel at the end of his life when he spoke concerning his sons what did he say of his son

Judah the ancestor of David the ancestor of Christ Genesis 49 8 -10

Jacob says this Israel prophesies this Judah your brothers shall praise you your head shall be on the neck your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies your father's son shall bow down to you

Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey my son you have gone up he couches he lies down as a lion and as a lion who dares rouse him up the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples you know what

Shiloh means the one to whom it all belongs the one to whom it all belongs he comes from Judah and so it is when you think about the promises that God has been making all throughout the scripture even back to Genesis 12 what

God said to Abraham that all the families of the earth will be blessed through the seat of Abraham through the seat of Isaac through the seat of Israel through the seat of Judah through the seat of David who is this one who will bring blessings to all the families of the earth it is

Shiloh the one to whom it all belongs the son of David and this is why Solomon serves as a predetermined type a type of Christ a shadow a picture of Christ how is that because he was born at just the right time amid sin and sorrow he accomplishes peace and he builds the temple and is magnificently exalted on an enduring throne to spread the glory of God Solomon is shadow

Messiah is substance Jesus makes use of this when he's teaching he says the queen of the south came to see

Solomon arrayed in all of his glory but behold I tell you someone greater than Solomon is here Solomon is shadow but Messiah is the real deal

Jedidiah is the type but the only begotten beloved of God Jesus Christ is the fulfillment now we can rejoice and give thanks to God in this now you think about any kind of birthday or Christmas celebration that you are involved with what is it full of well someone is planning someone is preparing there are invitations there are arrangements there is discussion to get ready for whatever this event is how much more so the lead up to the coming of the

Messiah how much more planning and arrangement and discussion and direction did

God give in preparing the world for his son Jesus Christ God shows his skillful providence in history he executes his plan with exquisite preparation he models for the people and for the nations the manner in which the

Messiah would come God sets forth the son of David a man of peace called his beloved all in preparing the world for the coming of Messiah for the coming of Christ so I am thankful for the beloved for God has arranged and he continues to shepherd all of history into the fold of his glory and that fold is

Christ shaped secondly we can give thanks for the providential trial we find this comforting word about the son of David we have this moment where God affirms his earlier promises and he builds upon them but notice when it comes when is the birth of Solomon when is the coming of this son of David it happens in the midst of a terrible time of grief

I mean I cannot fathom the emotional torture the bone wasting grief and shame that David and Bathsheba have been through since their first night together since the fear of being found out first sparked in their hearts and then turned into a firestorm of conspiracy murder and lies hellish is not too strong of a word to describe their experiences but then they are found out, then they are confronted, then they are exposed

David is exposed by the prophet Nathan and then while David fasts and mourns and prays for seven days

Bathsheba holds their dying son it is in this fog filled hollow of grief that God moves to keep his promises his promise of a son of David foreshadowing

Messiah we read David comforted his wife Bathsheba does it seem odd to us does it seem odd to us that God would orchestrate the arrival of the son of David out of the ashes of sin and shame and death and grief now it's not as if God found the situation and said well this is a big mess look what you all did my goodness, how did this happen oh well let's make the best of it let's see if we can't get something good out of this when

God looks upon the situation of David and Bathsheba, when God looks upon your situation when God looks upon the situation of the world he's not looking at some run down house that he's planning a remodel

God's not flipping houses what happened in the text, what happened in the story that we read,

God killed their child in judgment upon their sin that's what it says that's another thing of what it makes you feel like but it is what the text says now the death of a child is not to be understood as God's direct judgment upon parents unless the scripture says otherwise and here particularly it says otherwise it says in direct consequence for your sin your child will die

God judged what David and Bathsheba did in sin he exposed their sin and shame and guilt he brought serious grief upon them his word of judgment made it clear that they would suffer the loss of their child and then face even more troubles ahead and so here they are

David and Bathsheba, freshly tossed in the wake of their grief eyeing the coming storm of more consequences all due to their sin suffering under God's righteous and holy judgment and it is in that moment that God arranges for comfort, hope, and grace he keeps his promise

David you're going to have a son God had arranged, don't you see in David and Bathsheba's life don't you see

God had arranged for that sad situation because of sin because of the guilt of sin and think about the time in which

Christ was born isn't it also true that God had arranged for the sad situation in the world and in Israel that he had subjected the creation to futility but in hope that he had extended

Israel's exile beyond the 70 years of the Babylonian dominance to even 77

Daniel 9 and Matthew 1 both make it clear that the exile really only ends with the arrival of the

Messiah the son of David and so the trial, the diminishment the 400 years of silence after Malachi, the troubles all of it, all of it

God had arranged as judgment against sin the crafting of a night into which his beloved would arrive a light in darkness a risen son over a new creation and what did this necessitate other than this the death of his son the death of his son judgment upon our sin let us rejoice in the beloved this season let us offer him birthday blessings

I think it can be very hard to celebrate birthdays sometimes when your family is going through a deep season of grief is it okay to celebrate is it okay to have joy sometimes it can be difficult to celebrate

Christmas when you're missing loved ones or estranged from family or sick this season let us remember that God arranged for the son of David to come in the midst of the most difficult time he gave us his beloved in the midst of our sorrows

I'm thankful for the beloved that he came into our sin -soaked shame -rotted guilt -ridden grief -broken world and he came to save and to reign and to win and our beloved we have hope this naturally leads us to a third birthday blessing we're thankful for the beloved that he came in the promised time this is connected to the providential trial that Jedidiah or Solomon was born at just the right time see

David comforted his wife Bathsheba and went into her and lay with her and she gave birth to a son which is exactly what

Nathan said to David in 2 Samuel 7 12 he says now when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers

I will raise up your descendant or your seed your son who was born to you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom the promise was that a seed would come forth from David and when

David died God would raise up that descendant to rule upon his father's throne now David had many sons he had many sons and two of them tried illegitimately for the throne but in God's promised time the promised son was born and then eventually he was established upon the throne we are reminded in this that God is the blessed and only sovereign scriptures tell us that he is king of kings and that he is lord of lords that he alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see and to him is honor and eternal dominion and this that he brings about all things in their proper time he brings about all things in their proper time and it was in the fullness of the time that God kept his promise and he sent forth his son the son of David according to the flesh born of Mary born under the law to redeem us that we might receive the adoption as sons all in his good timing so we can rejoice in the beloved and offer birthday blessings what would have it been like you think for David and Bathsheba waiting for the birth of their second child all the mixed feelings of grief and hope worry and joy but in God's good time he comforted them with Solomon in God's good time he comforted the world by giving us the son of David Jesus Christ and the

Christmas story reminds us of God's good timing and that waiting upon God is a good thing some of my children don't want to wait until Friday they don't want to wait for their birthday to come around it would be difficult for us to wait upon the lord but we should be thankful for the beloved he came at just the right time as we fear

God as we wait upon him we should know that the times in which we live are all in his hands and lastly for today for this morning another birthday blessing the peaceable task and she gave birth to a son and he named him

Solomon see the promised seed arrives the son of David and he is named Solomon which means what peace shalom shalom

Solomon they named him peace that is in direct contrast with his father listen to the way that David made the contrast and made the connection in first chronicles 28 3 through 6

David at the end of his life making sense of it all but God said to me you shall not build a house for my name because you are a man of war and have shed blood you hear that He didn't get to build a temple because he was a man of war and of shed blood.

Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever.

For he has chosen Judah to be a leader. Remember? Pointing back to Genesis. And in the house of Judah, my father's house, and among the sons of my father, he took pleasure in me to make me king over all

Israel. Of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many sons, he has chosen my son

Solomon, whose name means peace, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the

Lord over Israel. He said to me, your son Solomon is the one who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him.

And so it makes a little bit more sense, doesn't it, when Jesus Christ comes down to the Jordan River and meets his relative John the

Baptist, and he is baptized in the heaven's part, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon the

Messiah and anoints him, and the word from heaven, the Father, he says, this is my beloved son.

This is my only begotten beloved son, in whom I am, what, well pleased. Well pleased.

You see, connected to the building of the temple is God's concern about war and peace. David was a man of war. Solomon, whose name means peace, would have a peace -filled reign.

David had four decades of war, two civil wars, in fact. Solomon would have four decades of peace.

So God declares Solomon, the son of David, his son, to reign in Zion and build the temple and make a lasting peace.

Son of David, to reign in Zion, to build the temple and make a lasting peace. This is the gospel of God promised beforehand through his prophets in the

Holy Scriptures concerning his son, born a descendant of David. The son of David comes as a man of peace, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved.

So we can rejoice. I mean, this Christmas, we can rejoice, and we can offer a birthday blessing.

I'm thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ because we have peace with God through our

Lord Jesus Christ. It's the son of David who brings peace, peace between God and man, and the reconciliation of man to man.

How? Through his gospel, through his light, through his suffering, through his death, through his resurrection, through his ascension, through his reign.

I am thankful for the beloved. In him, we have received the peace.

We have now received the reconciliation. In fact, we are ambassadors of that reconciliation.

Reconciled in one body to God through the cross. By it, Christ is put to death, the enmity, that which should ever separate us is gone.

In Christ, we are reconciled to one another because we are reconciled to God.

And so we can sing the Christmas song with the angels. We can join in, and we can say glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

What do we do here this morning in celebrating and anticipating Christmas? We come together around this table, the

Lord's Supper. What is our unity here other than our reconciliation to God?

Why can we be right with God? Why can we be right with God? Because Christ has suffered in our place and for our sake.

He offers himself to us. Broken body, shed blood.

Offers himself to us as God's lamb, satisfying all of God's righteousness, propitiating all of God's wrath in our place and for our sake.

You believe that here this morning? You believe that Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?

Is that your profession, your confession? Then we gather here together around this truth, this rock upon which

Christ has been and will be building his church, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living

God, and he's given himself for us and for our salvation, and that'll be our unity today, our communion today.

Let's pray. We'll hear a song, we'll have a meal, and we'll sing another song, and then we'll be dismissed.

Father, I thank you for the time you've given us here today. I pray that it's been a blessing.

I pray that it has caused us to rejoice in your son, Jesus, and that we will indeed continue to rejoice and to give many thanks and many blessings to you this season.

Thank you for your son. It's in his name that we pray. Amen. ...blessed is the

Redeemer, Jesus, God's own

Son. Precious Lamb of God, Messiah.

Jesus, my Redeemer.

Name of precious

Lamb of God, Messiah. All for sinners slain.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your

Son, and leaving your

Spirit to the work on earth he's done.

When I stand in glory,

I will see his face, and there

I'll serve my King forever in that holy place.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your

Son, and your

Spirit to the work on earth he's done.

Jesus, God's own Son. Precious Lamb of God, Messiah.

God's own Son, and your

Spirit to the work on earth he's done.

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah.

Well, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and you have publicly declared your allegiance to Christ and been baptized, you are welcome to join with us if you are in right standing with God and your local church to participate in this communion with us.

Because by this we are saying something. We're saying, I am right with God through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And I'm declaring that. So not only that, I am rejoicing in that and celebrating that.

I am in fellowship and in communion with Christ today, and with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

And that's what we want to do here today, is we are rejoicing in the gift of Christ this

Christmas season. In Matthew chapter 26, we have an account of the supper, the last supper, the

Lord's Supper, where Jesus ate with his disciples and showed them the meaning of Passover.

And that indeed he was the satisfying sacrifice between God and man.

That they should be utterly satisfied in him as God was utterly satisfied in him.

And thus we would be in fellowship with God. And in Matthew 26 and in verse 26, we read this.

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body.

So let's take this. And thanks be to God for Christ broken for us.

We remember that Simeon, speaking to Jesus' parents, as they had taken him to the temple to be dedicated,

Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart, that she would have a broken heart.

And indeed she was there when she saw her son crucified, his body broken, and his blood shed.

But she needed a savior, so do we. And God gave us his son.

Verse 27, and when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

So we take this cup and we drink it, and we thank God for Christ's blood shed for us.

And verse 30 says, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. So let's sing a hymn together before we're dismissed.

Would you stand with me? We sing our song today.

The song is going to be Carols for a King. If you really appreciate the words of this song, as I do, be sure and let our pastor know he wrote them.

Carols for a King. Rejoice in God, made great the

Lord, he saves us by his might. God rules in wisdom by his word, and turns our faith to sight.

Blessed be our God of faithful past, who keeps his word to save.

His promise, son of God, at last, will shine upon man's grave.

We see joy far and nigh, the King of glory born.

His praise to God, who reigns on high, brings peace to men on earth.

Let us now enter your peace, according to your word.

Light of the world, and make our hope assured.

Light of the world, and make our hope assured. The love of the

Father, and the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. We are dismissed.