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Thank you again for bringing us here tonight, Lord, that we can serve you in this way, that these different individuals, Lord, and all of us singing these hymnals, or these hymns, just to sing praise, Lord, and that this would go out with us tonight and for the rest of our days, Lord, that we could share this with other people, Lord, and we pray these things in your son's name, amen.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end.
On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Could you please stand, sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.
When Joseph woke from the sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name Jesus.
A sign shall be given
A virgin will conceive A human baby bearing undiminished deity The glory of the nations A light for all to see Hope for our God could stand against us Our God is with us, Emmanuel In the shadow of God who did not spare his son But gave him for us all There is no power, there is no death or height To separate us from the love of God Against us, our God, Emmanuel
Against us, our God, Emmanuel
The stars are brightly shining Till he sees what we shall see
And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child. And all who hear it wondered, and what the shepherd told them, but Mary treasured up all the things pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. Excuse me, please stand. We're seeing angels we have heard on high.
If there's one universal from this pandemic, it's that we all tried something new while we were in lockdown. Some of us started businesses. Some of us took up new hobbies or rediscovered old ones. In my case, I published a book.
My husband took up woodworking. It started with birdhouses and grew to boxes, tables, cabinets. He made the ones in my office and the coat closet in our hallway. And now he's working on refurbishing some chairs.
God certainly loves to surprise His children. Out of everything that could have taught me about Jesus Christ during this pandemic, I did not expect the most profound lessons about His character to come from watching my husband working with wood.
Don't get me wrong, I'd always known that Jesus was a carpenter. I've read the nativity story again and again, and I knew that Jesus learned carpentry at the sight of Joseph, His earthly father. But somehow I'd never made the connections between His quote-unquote day job, as we would put it in modern parlance, and His ministry.
I've always known carpentry was a creative skill. At its most basic, it involves taking raw materials and altering them into something else, whether for practical use or for pure ornamentation. Also, like with the chairs, it involves repairing previously created things to make them function better.
I've always known that. What I failed to connect was that fact to the very real fact that Jesus Christ, as the second person of the Trinity, is the creator. And since we as humans are made in His image, we have that creative impulse.
And don't look at me or at somebody else and go, well, I can't create anything. You may not be what the world terms an artist, but you're definitely creative in some area of your life. You were created that way.
I've learned that carpentry is a skill that is almost unlimited. We tend to see a carpenter as limited to furniture or house building, but in reality, woodworking is truly limited only by tools, material, and imagination.
Sounds to me like a description of the power Jesus possesses. His power is only limited by His own will and that of His Father. Above all, Jesus seeks to do His Father's will and teaches us how to do the same.
He has unlimited power at His beck and call, and yet He limits it to what is best for God's glory and for our good. That blows my mind. And here is where my historian slash librarian side comes into play.
When my husband began woodworking, I grew curious about it. As with anything I become curious about, I researched its history and the history of those associated with it. In this case, Jesus's earthly father, Joseph of Nazareth.
And here's what I found the most interesting. One moment, please. Carpenters were and are a job that was very much in demand. Things constantly need to be built or repaired. It was a job that was consistent, could be done anywhere as long as the tools and materials were present, and had the potential to be very, very lucrative.
And yet Joseph was so poor that when they presented Jesus at the temple, he could only afford two small birds as a sacrifice. Why? We're not told, but based on the Bible's description of Joseph when he was so kind that he was going to quietly divorce Mary when he found her pregnant instead of condemning her to be stoned.
Well, I can see Joseph being such a loving, generous man that he did much of the work for free if necessary. Or perhaps he worked for barter if need be. When the young family was in Bethlehem when the Magi arrived, Matthew says specifically that they were living in a house.
How could someone so poor afford to rent a house? Again, we're not told, but my personal belief is that Joseph traded his carpentry skills for lodging and necessities. Jesus is watching all this as he's growing up.
He sees that God his Father has placed him in the care of a human father who is filled with love and caring. This reflects in Jesus' ministry. Again and again, we read that he looked at a person or a group and had compassion on them.
This is love. And John says in 1 John 4 .16 that God is love. If God is that, then so is Jesus. We see God when we see Jesus. Deep thoughts. Lots of things pulling together in my head. Observations about the power of Jesus, the creativity of Jesus, and the love of Jesus.
I still don't understand all of it, and I doubt I will in this lifetime or even after centuries of eternity. And all of it was sparked by watching my husband slowly learn how to be a carpenter, like Joseph and like Jesus.
Excuse me, please stand again. So we sing Joy Has Dawned.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came in the spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light of revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel.
I ask you to sing or stand once again as we sing Silent Night.
Way to worship God through songs and expressing our hearts to him in words that others have written, but that express what we feel and what we think. I'm gonna close in prayer and then we want to invite all of you to come to the back and enjoy some refreshments and things together as we talk together.
And as I pray, this covers the food, all right? So when you get back there, you can get in the line. So let's pray and then we'll be dismissed. Father, we are reminded of all that you are through the incarnation.
For when we see Jesus, we see you. We are reminded of our humanity for when we see Jesus, we see us. And in him, we find all that you intended us to be. And we thank you for the standard by which we can understand the joy that you have for us as we are more and more conformed to the likeness of Jesus.
Thank you that he reveals you to us, that if we want to know what you are like and what you, just the love that you are and the holiness and the mercy and the grace, the omnipotence, all that is you, we see it in Jesus.
We thank you for this savior, this revelator who doesn't merely enlighten us, but saves us. And so we thank you now for this savior in his name, amen. You're dismissed.
Amen.