["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you this evening, Lord.
First of all, we want to thank you for everything that you've done for us, Lord.
Thank you for keeping us safe.
I pray, Lord, that you would bless the service tonight,
and I pray that you would bless the singing, bless the preaching,
and everything that would be said and done, Lord,
would bring glory and honor to your name.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
All right, now turn to page number 434.
Song number 434.
I know the kids like this song.
They just sang it on Sunday, so kids, you all better sing out.
Song number 434 on the first.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
thy silent sighs go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shine,
ye everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are mething thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above.
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
For mornings are together,
proclaim thy holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace on men on earth.
How silently, how silently
the wondrous gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessing of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in.
Sing it out on the last.
O holy child of Bethlehem,
be sent to us, we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter it,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell.
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.
Amen. Great singing.
Amen. All right, well let's take our bulletins.
We'll look at some announcements real quickly.
If you do not have a bulletin,
just raise your hand and one of our ushers
can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up
and we will get one for you.
The verse this week,
Jeremiah 17, seven,
blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord
and whose hope the Lord is.
And that's a good verse there.
We like that.
If you open up your bulletin,
you'll see our service time,
Sunday morning service, 10 30 a.m.
And we do invite you to be with us,
of course, on Sunday morning
on the Lord's day for church,
Sunday evening service at 6 p.m.
And we're glad you're here
for our midweek service.
And if you look at our soul winning times,
our main soul winning times
on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
And then we have additional
soul winning times on Thursdays,
Fridays, and Sundays at 2 p.m.
So we'd love for you to join us
for soul winning, of course.
If you're a first time guest,
if it's your first time here
at Verity Baptist Church,
we're glad you're with us.
We have a gift we'd like to give you
as you walk out of the church building tonight
as you go through the main foyer.
Or if you go out our secondary foyer,
you'll see a little table set up
and on that table,
you'll see these little gift bags.
Please grab one on your way out
as a gift from us to you
for being our guest tonight.
And there are several resources in this bag
that we'd like you to have.
But the one I'd like to highlight
is this documentary that our church made.
It's called Being Baptist.
It's very well made, very interesting.
We think you'll like it
and we want to give this to you as a gift.
So please make sure you don't leave here
this evening without grabbing one of these gift bags
on your way out.
And if you are a guest,
we'd ask that you please take a moment
and fill out the communication card,
which is inserted in your bulletin.
If you need a pen, just raise your hand
and one of our ushers can bring you by
a Verity Baptist Church pen.
You're welcome to keep the pen
as a gift from us as well.
And we're not gonna do anything odd with your info.
We would just like a record of your attendance.
We actually would like to send you a little gift,
but we need your information to do that.
So please take a moment to fill the card out.
When we're done with the announcement,
we're gonna sing a song
and when we're done singing,
we'll receive the offering.
As the offering plate goes by,
you can drop this card in the offering plate.
Or you can hand it to me after the service.
I'll be standing at the main door,
greeting people on the way out.
If you look at the announcements there,
we of course are a family integrated church.
What that means is that children and infants
are always welcome in the church service.
We do not separate children from their parents for any reason.
We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms
available for your convenience.
All of the rooms have comfortable seating.
They have monitor setups.
You can watch the service and listen to it.
So if you have a child that's been distracting
during the service,
or if you need some privacy,
we would encourage you to use the mother-baby rooms
and the daddy rooms.
If you're not sure where those are at,
you can look at the back of the bulletin
and you'll see a layout of the church building.
You'll see where the restrooms are,
where the mother-baby rooms are,
where the daddy room is.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events,
of course we're going through a series called
The Christmas Spirit.
We're gonna continue that tonight.
And then tonight's a very special service for us here.
It's our Christmas cookies and hot chocolate fellowship.
So right after the evening service,
we want to invite you to stick around
and fellowship with us in the fellowship hall,
which is the big room on this side of the building.
And the ladies are preparing hot chocolate.
And then we've got, of course, Christmas cookies.
And many of you brought cookies and desserts.
And we appreciate you doing that.
So we'll have a time of fellowship tonight.
After the service, New Year's Eve service
is coming up on Saturday, December 31st at 7 p.m.
And we'd love for you to join us.
This is not a church service.
It's just a fellowship service.
So at 7 p.m., we're gonna have a potluck.
We're gonna have a popcorn machine.
We're gonna watch a film.
And if you stay till midnight,
we'll pray in the New Year together.
So we'd love for you to join us
for the New Year's Eve service.
Of course, nine chapters a day challenge.
Every January, we challenge our church family
to read nine chapters every day
in the month of January.
You should have one of these charts in your bulletin.
And we want to invite you to take the challenge.
You can let us know if you're planning
on taking the challenge on your communication card.
If you read the entire New Testament
in the month of January,
if you complete the challenge,
we'll put your name on a nice plaque
that we put out in our foyer.
And you'll notice that you have two grace period days,
and you can do it, all right?
Sometimes people get, they get a little scared
the first time they hear about this.
But you're totally able to do it.
You'll be glad you did.
So we want to encourage you to do that choir.
They sing on Sunday.
The kids and the adult choir, everybody did a good job.
We want to remind you that this coming Sunday,
we have a special holiday schedule.
This Sunday is Christmas, of course,
Sunday, December 25th.
So the morning service will begin at 11 a.m.
And then we're going to have a quick lunch
in the fellowship hall.
If you are planning to stay for the second service,
we will not be having an evening service at 6 p.m.,
but we'll be having a short,
a shorter afternoon service at 1.15.
So the plan is to finish the morning service,
go into the fellowship hall, have a quick lunch,
come back in, have a short second service.
And we want to get you out of here by 2 p.m.
That way you can have the rest of the day
to have Christmas dinner
and all those things that you would like to do.
So be aware of that, and don't forget about that.
The church starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Upcoming cleaning crew, you can check for your name.
There's other things there for you to look at.
Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off
or place them on silent during the service.
They're not a distraction to anybody.
If you look at the back of the bulletin,
birthdays and anniversaries for the month of December.
This week we had Samuel Vokoczyk's birthday on December 19th.
Today is Chadwick Pompa's birthday on December 21st.
And then my parents, Felix and Granny Ximenez,
are celebrating 44 years of marriage on this Friday, December 23rd.
Praise the Lord for that.
Praise report, money matters.
All those things are there for you to look at.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
Don't forget about the Christmas gifts for Jesus.
We appreciate all of you who've been participating with this.
You should have one of these inserts in your bulletin.
And if you'd like to purchase a gift for the church for Christmas,
here's a list of things that we use on a regular basis.
And we've got a Christmas gifts for Jesus drop off section in the main foyer.
So you can drop it off there.
And we appreciate your help with that.
I think that's it for all the announcements.
So let's go ahead and take our song books.
And we'll go to page number 432.
Page number 432.
And we'll sing Angels from the Realms of Glory
as we prepare to receive the offering this evening.
432.
And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Wing your flight o'er all the earth
Ye who sang creation's glory
Now proclaim Messiah's birth
Come and worship, come and worship
Christ the newborn King
432. Let's sing it out on the second.
Shepherds in the field abiding
Watching o'er your flocks by night
God with menace now resigning
Yonder shines the infant light
Come and worship, come and worship
Christ the newborn King
Sages leave your contemplation
Brighter visions be my fire
Seek the great desire of nations
Ye have seen His made all star
Come and worship, worship
Christ the newborn King
Saints before the altar bending
Watching long in hope and fear
Suddenly the Lord descending
In His temple shall appear
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ the newborn King
Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time.
And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank You for allowing us to gather together tonight.
Lord, we pray that You bless the offering, the gift, and the giver.
We pray that You bless the time that we have set aside for prayer.
And then, of course, for the preaching of Your word, the fellowship after the service.
We pray that You bless all these things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
We pray that You bless all these things.
Amen.
Amen. All right. Well, before we get into our prayer sheet, I do have a baptism certificate to hand out.
Let me go ahead and read this.
This says, Certificate of Baptism. This certificate is awarded to Charlotte Rosenberg in recognition of her baptism on the 14th day of December of the year 2022, presented by Verity Baptist Church with the verse,
Therefore we are buried within by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in newness of life.
And we've got pictures here for Charlotte to remember the day of her baptism.
And let's go ahead and give her a round of applause.
All right.
And let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets tonight and we'll go through our prayer list.
If you did not receive a prayer sheet on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a prayer sheet, just put your hand up. We'll get one for you.
I want to remind you of the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card on the back of the card.
There's a place for you to write down requests.
Make sure you mark whether it's private or public.
If it's private, only I will see it.
If it's public, then we'll put it on the prayer sheet.
If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out, but we usually don't put those on there.
They are added in the order that they're received and they are removed after a couple of weeks.
I would like you to notice there on the back of the prayer sheet for the prayers for safe and healthy pregnancies that Miss Ava Rodari has been added to the list.
So congratulations to Brother Sean and Miss Ava and we'll be in prayer for them, of course.
Let's go ahead and take these requests to the Lord and I'll pray out loud.
I ask that you would pray in your heart and your mind and let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family.
Lord, we begin with these requests regarding salvation.
We pray for Miss Natalie, praying for the salvation of her husband and family.
And also for Amira, praying for her family's salvation.
Miss Christine Ortiz, praying for her children and her grandchildren's salvation.
Miss Dogma, praying for her daughter and her family's salvation.
Lord, we ask for all these individuals that you would help them.
Lord, we realize that all of these individuals have a soul that will spend eternity somewhere.
We ask that you would help them to come to the place where they'd be willing to hear the gospel and that a soul winner would communicate the gospel clearly to them.
And Lord, we pray for these that have health requests.
Miss Laura Beth, praying for her sister Michaela's health for a quick recovery and for her to be able to be discharged with her newborn from the hospital.
We also pray for Miss Denise Anderson for her surgery coming up just in a few days on December 27th, asking that it would go well and that she would have a speedy recovery.
Brother Joe Maples, praying for his son Joe Jr.'s health and that he's been sick for several weeks and just praying for him to get better.
Brother Fred and Miss Connie, praying for their health and recovery as they've been sick.
Miss Kimmy Gasler, praying for Benny, that she will regain her sight after a stroke, asking Lord that you would recover her sight.
Amira, praying for her grandmother's health. Miss Christine, praying for her health.
Brother Salvador, praying for his health. Miss Docma, praying for her pain.
And Brother Edgar, Miss Alina, praying for Uretzi.
And Lord, we pray for little Uretzi. She's in the hospital now.
We ask that she would be discharged soon, that she can come home.
Lord, we pray that you would just put your healing hand over this little girl and help her, Lord.
And we ask for all these individuals. We pray that you would give them all strength and help.
Lord, we ask that you give wisdom to the doctors and nurses dealing with them.
We pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting, Miss Katie and Miss May, Miss Ajana, Miss Schuyler, Miss Karen, and Miss Ava, asking that you give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues, no complications.
Lord, we ask for all these individuals, that you would help them and bless them.
And we pray, Lord, for Brother Matt Taylor, praying for his family as they're grieving the past of his brother-in-law.
And we pray that you would keep him safe as he's out of town at the funeral, Lord, and bring him home safely.
We pray for Amaira, praying for her safety as she travels to L.A. as well.
And Lord, we ask for Brother Salvador, praying for his family and asking that you would bless his family.
And then, Lord, we pray for these that have financial needs. We ask for Miss Christine Ortiz and Brother Salvador, praying for their finances, for their work.
We pray for their faith and their walk with you, Lord, for both of them, that you would bless them and help them.
And then, Lord, we ask for all of these that have unspoken requests.
Miss Natalie, Miss Laura Beth, Miss Kimmy, Brother David Nellitescu, all having unspoken requests.
Brother Salvador, Miss Docma, having unspoken requests.
Lord, you know what their petitions are. You know what they're asking for. We pray that you would answer according to your will.
Lord, we pray for our church, for our prison ministry and the families that are influenced through that, that you would continue to bless that and help it to grow.
We pray for our church here in Sacramento and for our church plants in Manila and Phnom Penh and Bicol, that you would keep these places safe and healthy and growing.
Lord, we ask that you would meet with us tonight as we take some time to look at some scriptures.
And then, of course, we pray that you'd bless the fellowship afterwards.
We love you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Amen. Please open your eyes to Matthew, chapter one.
Matthew, chapter number one, if you need a Bible, put your hand up and I just want to bring you a Bible.
Matthew, chapter number one, if you need a Bible, just keep your hand up and I'm sure you'll come by.
Matthew one, we read the entire chapter as our custom.
Matthew, chapter number one, beginning in verse number one.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.
And Judas begat Phares and Zareph Tamar, and Phares begat Ezra, and Ezra begat Aram.
And Aram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nason.
And Nason begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab.
And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse.
And Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of Hur that had been the wife of Uriah.
And Solomon begat Rabon, and Rabon begat Abiad.
And Abiad begat Asa, and Asa begat Josaphat.
And Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Ozias.
And Ozias begat Joatham, and Joatham begat Achaz.
And Achaz begat Azacias, and Azacias begat Manasses.
And Manasses begat Ammon, and Ammon begat Josias.
And Josias begat Jeconias and his brethren, and by the time they were carried away to Babylon.
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begat Silathiel, and Silathiel begat Zerubbabel.
And Zerubbabel begat Abiad, and Abiad begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor.
And Azor begat Sadok, and Sadok begat Achim.
And Achim begat Eliad, and Eliad begat Eliezer.
And Eliezer begat Mathen, and Mathen begat Jacob.
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations.
And from David until the carrying away to Babylon are fourteen generations.
And from the carrying away to Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
While he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife,
and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening.
God, I thank you for your word, and for our church, for whom it's here.
As you please give us all the tender hearts of the message.
As you please be the pastor, you strengthen them, and fill them with your spirit.
We love you.
In Jesus' name, pray. Amen.
Amen.
All right, we're there in Matthew chapter number one.
And we've been going through a series this holiday season entitled, The Christmas Spirit.
And I've been preaching on the subject of the spirit of Christmas, and things that are really themes of Christmas, and recurring themes of Christmas.
And in this series, we've talked about joy, and peace, and hope, and good will.
And one way that I've kind of been, what I've been doing to filter whether the subject of the sermons that I'm going to be preaching are actually part of the Christmas spirit,
or the theme of Christmas, is as I've been just traveling, or as I've been going to stores, or whatever, during the Christmas season,
I've just been paying a lot of attention to Christmas decorations.
And I've been looking at the different things that are highlighted in those decorations, and these are the words that you see, joy.
I mean, we've got decorations here that say joy, and peace, and hope, and good will.
So I've been using that to kind of gauge whether I've been hitting the mark in regards to the Christmas theme, or the Christmas spirit.
So tonight, I want to speak on yet another word, and this is really a name.
And it's a name that comes up a lot in regards to the Christmas theme.
And it's definitely something that has to do with Christmas, and it is this word, or this name, Emmanuel.
In Matthew chapter 1 there in verse 18, of course, we have one of the passages regarding the Christmas story.
And I realize that tonight we've got hot chocolate and dessert, so I'm going to do my best to not preach long.
I know I say that a lot, and I fail, and I'm sorry about that.
But just pray for me, and we'll try to be done as quickly as I can, all right?
Matthew 1 18, the Bible says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she, referring to Mary, was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph, her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And I want you to notice the emphasis that is being made in this passage.
We're seeing here in Matthew the Christmas story from the perspective of Joseph.
We know that in Luke chapter 2 is probably the most well known or most famous of the Christmas passages,
and we see that from the perspective of Mary.
And here we have Joseph who's married to Mary, but the Bible tells us that he has not yet, they've not yet came together.
They have not consummated the marriage, and now he finds out that she's with child.
So in this dream, he's told that that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, verse 21,
and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying.
So I want you to notice that here in Matthew 1, 22, we're told that all of this,
everything we've read up to this point was done, that this prophecy might be fulfilled.
And Matthew's about to quote to us from a prophecy in Isaiah, and we'll go back there and look at it.
Verse 23, behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name, I want you to notice this word, Emmanuel.
They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him,
and took unto him his wife, and knew her not, so she had brought forth her firstborn son,
and he called his name Jesus.
Now you're there in Matthew chapter 1, go with me if you would,
and you can keep your place there in Matthew, we're going to come back to it,
but go with me if you would to the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter number 7.
If you go towards the end of the Old Testament, you have these big books of the prophets
known as the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel.
Go to Isaiah chapter number 7, and I want you to notice the verse that is being quoted here in Matthew
regarding this name Emmanuel, and Emmanuel is a name that often does not come up until Christmas time,
and because it has to do with the theme of Christmas and the story of Christmas,
Isaiah 7, 14, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign,
behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.
So we see here in Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah prophesied to the fact that
a virgin shall conceive, of course we know that's Mary, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel,
and then in Matthew chapter 1 we see that this is fulfilled,
and all this was done that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet saying.
Now if you would keep your place there in Isaiah as well, put a ribbon or a bookmark there
because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it.
I'd like you to be able to get to it quickly and go back to Matthew chapter 1.
Keep your place in Isaiah and go back to Matthew chapter 1.
Let me just quickly tonight talk to you about this subject of Emmanuel.
The name Emmanuel and the theme of Christmas because we realize that Jesus really is the reason for the season.
What we are actually celebrating is the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And though I have taken the time over the last several sermons to talk about the theme and the spirit of Christmas,
and we've talked about joy, and we've talked about peace, and we've talked about hope, and we've talked about good will,
What I want to do tonight and what we will do on Sunday is focus in on the real theme of Christmas which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's interesting because there are two names that are used to reference the Lord Jesus Christ regarding Christmas
and both names highlight a different aspect of the birth of Christ.
Tonight we're going to look at this name Emmanuel and you'll have to come back on Sunday for the other name.
Some of you may try to guess it. We'll see if you can guess it. We'll see how good you are at Christmas themes.
But tonight we're going to look at this idea of Emmanuel. It's a very important name.
I want you to notice just quickly that it highlights several things about the birth of Christ.
Number one, and if you're taking notes tonight or if you'd like to jot down some things you can jot this down,
the name Emmanuel speaks to the virgin birth. It's really a prophecy of the virgin birth.
What's emphasized when you look at this passage, either in Isaiah, the original prophecy,
or in Matthew 1, the fulfillment of the prophecy, the emphasis is the birth of Christ and the fact that he was born of a virgin.
Matthew 1.18, notice it again.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
notice these words, before they came together.
The Bible is very clear to tell us that Joseph and Mary had not yet consummated the marriage,
that she was still a virgin. Though she was married, she was still a virgin.
The Bible says before they came together, she was found with child, and notice these words, of the Holy Ghost.
And this idea is that it was the Holy Ghost who was the one that put this child in her womb.
She was found with child, not of a man, but of the Holy Ghost. Notice verse 22, Matthew 1.22.
Now all this was done, we've already read this, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying,
Behold, a virgin, and I just want you to notice what's being emphasized here.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph being raised from the sleep,
as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not.
Verse 25, again I just want you to notice what's being emphasized here.
Verse 24, then Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him,
and took unto him his wife. Notice they are married. Verse 25, and knew her not.
That phrase, knew her not, is again a testament to the fact that he did not have a physical relationship with her.
He had not had a physical relationship with her up to this point.
Verse 18, before they came together, and once he was told that what is conceived of her is of the Holy Ghost,
the Bible tells us in verse 25 that he knew her not, so she had brought forth her firstborn son,
and he called his name Jesus. And again, what's being emphasized here is the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin.
That the Virgin Mary had not known a man, had not been impregnated through the means of normal pregnancies,
but that the Holy Ghost is the one that had put this baby in her womb.
Keep your place there. Go back to Isaiah chapter 7.
Isaiah chapter 7, look at verse number 14.
Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold, notice again the emphasis regarding this name is this.
A virgin shall conceive. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.
So when you see the name Immanuel here in the Old Testament spelled with an I,
the Old Testament spellings with an I, and then in the New Testament Immanuel with an E,
what's being emphasized is that this child that is being born is born of a virgin.
Now go to Romans if you would, Romans chapter 5.
Real quickly, Romans chapter 5 and verse 12.
And when we consider this phrase Immanuel, and when we consider what we will be talking about
for the next couple of services regarding Christmas, it really has to do with the theology of Christmas
and what we believe about Christmas and why Christmas is so important.
And it is important because of the fact that we are celebrating the virgin birth of Christ.
Romans chapter 5 and verse 12.
Now you might ask yourself and you might think, what's the purpose of the virgin birth?
Is it just a nice story to tell during Christmas that a virgin was with child
and that whole story where they could not find room in the inn and all of those things.
Is this a nice way to bring the birth of Christ into this world and to dramatize it?
And I would submit to you that there are reasons why, of course we know this,
there's always a reason why God does what he does.
And there are theological reasons for the virgin birth and the importance of the virgin birth.
And I won't spend a lot of time on it, but I will just quickly show you a couple of verses.
Romans 5, 12.
The Bible says this,
Wherefore as by one man.
And the one man being referenced here is the first man, Adam.
We know that Adam was the first man that was created.
And here in Romans we are told,
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world.
The Bible tells us that it was through Adam and through Eve that sin entered into the world.
And here's what I want you to understand.
When the Bible says here sin entered into the world, that's exactly what it means.
Adam sinned, Eve sinned, and as a result sin for the first time entered into the world.
But then I want you to notice this phrase.
The Bible says, And death by sin.
Now the Roman Catholic Church will teach this doctrine of original sin.
And this idea that we are all held liable for Adam's sin.
And that is not true.
The Bible does not teach that.
The Bible says that you will be judged for your own sins,
that children will not be judged for their parents' sins, and vice versa.
When it comes to Adam and when it comes to Eve,
they will have to answer and they got saved and they have to get saved as a result of their own sin.
Adam did sin and there was something transferred down to the descendants of Adam.
It was not Adam's sin, but it was Adam's sin nature.
The Bible says here, Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world.
That's one thought. Adam's sin entered into the world.
But then this little phrase, And death by sin, speaks to Adam's sin nature.
The fact that we were born dying.
The fact that we were born, not born with Adam's sin,
but we were born with a nature that has sin, that is sinful.
We are sinners.
And death by sin, notice the Bible says, And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
So I just want you to understand this.
It's not a big deal, but when we're talking about theology, it's just good to understand this.
What was passed on was not Adam's sin.
What was passed on was Adam's death.
What was passed on was not Adam's sin.
You and I are not going to answer for Adam's sin.
But what was passed on was Adam's sin nature, which brings death.
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death, not Adam's sin,
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
And it might seem like technicalities to you, but it's important to understand these things.
That we are not judged for Adam's sin.
His sin was not passed on to us, but his sin nature was passed on to us.
You will answer for your own sin, but you are a sinner because you are a descendant of Adam.
Because you're a human being.
Because every human being is a descendant of Adam.
And his sin nature was passed on to us.
Now why am I making a big deal about this?
Why does it matter?
Here's what the Bible tells us.
That death was passed on.
The sin nature, which brings death, was passed on to all of us.
As a result of our descendancy from this one man, this first man, Adam.
Because we are all descendants of Adam.
All of our lives, the Bible says that God has made of all nations of one blood.
All of us go back to this one man, Adam.
We are all descendants of Adam.
All except for Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not a descendant of Adam.
Because the Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin.
And again, without getting into too many details, let me just quickly explain,
and this is important for Christmas for us to understand,
that when the way that we reproduce and the way that we have descendants,
the fact that there are billions of human beings on this earth,
has to do with the fact that God created men and women to have children.
In every woman that is of age of having labor,
there will be a cycle in which she goes through,
where an egg cycles through her body,
and that egg has the potential of being made alive.
That egg in and of itself will not become alive.
If it does not become alive, that egg will be discarded.
But if that egg comes in contact with the seed of a man,
with the blood of a man, then you will have conception,
then you will have fertilization, then you will have life.
I'm giving you a biblical biology lesson here.
When the egg comes in contact with the seed of a man, then you have life.
That's how every descendant of Adam has ever been born.
It is through the blood of Adam, it is through the seed of Adam,
which transferred to us not his sin, but his sin nature.
That is how every human being throughout all history
has ever been born except one, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was born of a virgin.
His blood did not come from Adam.
The seed did not come from Adam.
You say, where did it come from?
Well, we read it there in Matthew 124.
He was conceived of the Holy Ghost.
His blood came from God.
His blood came from heaven.
He did not have the sin nature that comes from the seed of man.
The death of Adam was not passed upon him
because he did not have the bloodline of Adam.
He was the virgin born son of God.
You're there in Romans 5.
Go to 1 Corinthians real quickly.
1 Corinthians chapter 15.
1 Corinthians 15, 45.
Let me just quickly show this to you.
This is why 1 Corinthians 15, 45,
the Bible refers to Jesus in contrast to Adam.
I just want you to see it.
1 Corinthians 15, 45.
I don't have the time to read the whole passage.
You can do that on your own if you'd like,
but I just want you to see this little phrase here.
1 Corinthians 15, 45.
And so it is written.
Notice these words.
The first man, Adam, was made a living soul.
And then the Bible says the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
And that last Adam is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is referred to as the last Adam.
Why?
Because he did not come from Adam.
He was equivalent to Adam in the sense that
his bloodline was not given to him by another man.
And of course we know that for the Lord Jesus Christ
his bloodline was given to him by God.
So we see that this name Immanuel speaks to the virgin birth.
So I just want you to understand.
Go back to Matthew chapter 1.
When we celebrate Christmas I want you to understand
that these are not just fairy tales.
These are not just little stories we tell children.
I hope that you'll tell your children these stories.
But they're not just stories and myths and legends.
There's a reason why these things happened the way they did.
There's a theology of Christmas
and a big theme of Christmas is the virgin birth of Christ.
Why?
Because that was not the son of Adam but the son of God.
So we see that this term Immanuel speaks to the virgin birth.
I want you to notice secondly tonight that the term Immanuel speaks
to something that is closely related to the virgin birth
and it is the deity of Christ.
The deity of Christ.
And that is a theological term if you're not familiar with it.
It is a reference to the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh.
The word deity has to do with divinity,
has to do with Godhood or the Godhead.
It is what God is made up of.
And the term Immanuel speaks to the deity of Christ
that Jesus was not a mere man.
That Jesus was not a prophet merely.
He was a prophet but he was not only a prophet.
He was a teacher but he was not only a teacher.
He was a man but he was not only a man.
He was the God-man.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1, 23, look at it.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son
and they shall call his name Immanuel.
What's emphasized when you look at this name Immanuel is the virgin birth.
But along with that is also emphasized, notice the last part of verse 23,
Immanuel, so what does that mean?
Well the Bible is its own dictionary.
You don't need a commentary, it comments on itself.
Immanuel, notice which being interpreted is, here's what the word means.
Immanuel, what does it mean?
It means God with us.
Now why would you name a child God with us?
I'll give you a hint because that child was God with us.
It is a testimony to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let's quickly just run some verses real fast if we can.
Go to 1 Timothy chapter 3.
You can find the T-books, they're all clustered together towards the end of the New Testament.
You got 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16.
This is the theme of Scripture and it is a theme of Christmas, the deity of Christ.
1 Timothy 3, 16, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
Notice these words, God was manifest in the flesh.
That is the Christmas story.
So what is the Christmas story about?
It's this, God was manifest in the flesh.
That God was born of a virgin and that child was God with us.
Immanuel, the deity of Christ, God was manifest in the flesh.
By the way, this verse is about, 1 Timothy 3, 16, is about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Obviously, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles.
Who was preached unto the Gentiles? Jesus. Believed on in the world.
Who has been believed on in the world? Who's been believed on in this church? Jesus.
Received up into glory. Who ascended up into glory? Jesus.
So we know that Jesus was the one preached unto the Gentiles.
We know that Jesus was the one that was believed on in the world.
We know that Jesus was the one that was received up into glory.
And it is Jesus who is God which was manifest in the flesh.
And you say, why are you making a big deal about this as a Baptist church?
Look, I understand it's a Baptist church and I hope everybody here believes in the deity of Christ.
But there are lots of people that don't.
There are major religions that don't.
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Muslims, Scientologists, all these religions do not believe in the deity of Christ.
They'll all say that Jesus was a good man and a good person, but they will not acknowledge him as God in the flesh.
But the Bible says that God was manifest in the flesh.
Go to Colossians, if you would, Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians chapter 2 and verse 8.
Colossians 2, if you're there in 1 Timothy, if you go backwards, you'll go past 2 Thessalonians, past 1 Thessalonians, into Colossians.
Colossians chapter number 2.
Colossians chapter 2 and verse 8.
Colossians 2, 8, the Bible says this,
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit.
After the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
And here's what Paul is warning the church in Colossae.
He's saying be careful about, you know, God is a logical God.
God says in Isaiah, let us reason together.
Everything in the Bible is reasonable.
It's logical, it makes sense.
But be careful about allowing the world's foolish wisdom to try to explain away the things the Bible teaches regarding theology.
He says, don't let anybody spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit.
After the traditions of man, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Verse 9, that is the context in which he makes the next statement.
He says, for in him, in the context of this passage, the him there is Christ.
It's very clear if you take the time to read the passage.
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
That is a verse regarding the deity of Christ.
The Bible says that in him, in Jesus dwelleth all.
You say that word, all? All the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
The Bible teaches that all of God dwelt in Jesus.
Jesus was all God and Jesus was all of God.
He was God in the flesh.
Go back to Isaiah, go to Isaiah chapter 9.
Isaiah chapter 9.
Let's look at another verse real quickly.
In Isaiah that is a Christmas verse because it is a prophecy of the birth of Christ.
Isaiah chapter 9, and this is a verse that is controversial with some people.
It's a verse that sometimes people try to avoid because of their theology or their philosophy
or the way they explain their theology.
I've always taken the position, if my doctrine makes me shy away from a verse,
then there's something wrong with my doctrine because there's nothing wrong with the word of God.
In Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, the Bible says this, for unto us a child is born.
This is a reference to the birth of Christ.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called.
Now we already saw in Isaiah that he's called Immanuel which being interpreted as God with us.
Here's other names or other ways that Jesus, this child, could be called.
Wonderful, and I would surely say that's Jesus.
Counselor.
Notice this, the mighty God.
Why would you, unto us a child is born, and you could call the child the mighty God.
Why would you call him that? Because he is the mighty God.
The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Now the reason that sometimes people are a little timid with this verse
is because you've got the oneness, Pentecostal, Charismatic crowd
that likes to take this verse and use it to preach oneness.
We don't believe in oneness in this church, we never have.
We've always believed in the Trinity.
We've always believed that God is made up of three persons.
We know that the three persons are three distinct individuals.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Now we believe that.
The Trinity is that there are three separate and distinct persons.
But those three persons, here's the Trinity, make up one God.
There's only one God.
There's not three gods that make up a team called God.
It's God who is made up of three persons.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Now I'm not preaching on the Trinity and I'm not preaching on oneness.
Let me just say this.
There is verse after verse after verse after verse all throughout the Bible
that makes a very distinct and clear difference between
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
So this verse is not teaching that Jesus is the Father
in the sense that he is the person of the Father.
But people will sometimes shy away from this verse because they're like,
you know, that sounds kind of odd.
Well, let's look at some other verses that sound very similar to this.
John chapter 10.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
And you say, well, what is this verse teaching?
And here's what I want you to understand.
We believe in the Trinity.
That God exists in three persons.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Along with that belief that there are three members,
separate, distinct, eternal, co-equal members of the Godhead,
none was created.
They've all existed from everlasting, from eternity past.
Along with that belief, we believe that each member of the Godhead
is not partially God or is not part of God,
but we believe that each member of the Godhead is all God and all of God.
And you might hear me say that and say, well, that doesn't make any sense.
But please understand this.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit
after the traditions of man and the rudiments of the world and not after Christ,
for here's the truth, in Him truly dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
So you might think like, well, logically, reasonably, that doesn't make sense.
Let me tell you something.
There's lots of things that God understands that you and I do not understand.
His thoughts are above our thoughts.
His ways are above our way.
John 10 30.
Notice what Jesus says, John 10 30.
He says, I and my Father are one.
There's another verse that the oneness crowd likes to take,
but look, I'm not going to let the oneness crowd take this verse from us.
I and my Father are one.
Then the Jews took up stones against to stone Him.
Jesus answered them,
Many good works have I showed you from my Father,
for which of those works do ye stone me?
The Jews answered Him,
saying, For a good work we stone thee not,
but for blasphemy and because of thou,
being a man, makest thyself God.
When Jesus said, I and my Father are one,
that's a lot like 1 John 5 7, these three are one.
And again, please understand,
the meaning here is not that Jesus is the Father,
because that's what the oneness crowd tries to say.
That Jesus is the person of the Father.
We don't believe that. We've never believed that.
But Jesus is the same God that the Father is.
Jesus is the same God that the Holy Spirit is,
because there's only one God that exists in three persons.
I and my Father are one.
Meaning, Jesus is saying,
Hey, there's one God, and we're it.
Me and my Father and the Holy Spirit, we're God.
I and my Father are one.
Go to John 14.
John 14.
John 14 and verse 8.
And look, the reason I'm bringing this up
and making a big deal about this,
is because you need to understand this
so I can just make a Christmas point
and we'll be done, all right?
John 14, look at verse 8.
Philip saith unto him,
Lord, show us the Father,
and it suffices us.
Jesus saith unto him,
Have I been so long with you,
and yet thou hast not known me, Philip?
He that hath seen me,
hath seen the Father.
Now, you say, well, how can that be?
Well, first of all, we are told about Jesus,
that he is the image of the invisible God.
Colossians 1 15.
He says, He that hath seen me,
hath seen the Father,
how sayest thou then,
show us the Father?
Notice what he says in verse 10,
because he explains what he says in verse 10.
Believest thou not that I am in the Father
and the Father in me?
That is the key to understanding these verses.
When Jesus says I and my Father are one,
he's not saying we're the same person,
he's saying we're the same God.
Isaiah 96 is true because it is a verse about deity.
This child that was born is the same God
as God the Father who could be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
He says, He that hath sent me,
hath seen the Father.
Notice John 14 8.
Philip saith unto him,
Lord, show us the Father,
and it suffiteth us.
Jesus saith unto him,
Have I been so long time with you,
yet thou has not known me?
Philip, He that hath seen me,
hath seen the Father,
and how sayest thou then,
show us the Father?
Here's the key, verse 10.
Believest thou not that I am in the Father
and the Father in me?
This is the same idea that's being taught
in Colossians 2 9 when it says,
For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily.
The point is this that,
though the three are obviously separate members,
they are not individually,
it's not like Jesus was one third of God,
and the Father is one third of God,
and the Holy Spirit is one third of God.
They are three separate members,
but the Holy Spirit is God,
He is God, He's all of God.
God the Father is all God.
He's all of God.
Jesus is all God,
and look, I say it that way to make this point,
because some people say like,
well, He's 50% God, 50% man.
No, no, no, He's 100% God,
and He's 100% man.
You say, well, I don't understand that.
You don't need to understand that.
You need to just believe it.
He is all God,
and He is all of God.
You say, is He the Father?
No, but the Father was in Him.
That I am in the Father,
and the Father in me.
In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily.
The point that I'm making is this,
it wasn't that in Jesus dwelleth
one third of the Godhead bodily.
No, in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
2 Corinthians chapter 5.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 19,
the last verse I'm going to show you will be done.
2 Corinthians 5 and 19 is my favorite Christmas verse,
and what's interesting about 2 Corinthians 5 and 19
is that though it's my favorite Christmas verse,
I think I read this verse or quote this verse
every Christmas season here at Very Baptist Church.
Though it is my favorite Christmas verse,
the interesting thing is it's not a Christmas verse at all.
It's just a random verse that has nothing to do with Christmas.
Like, some of you like to have Christmas music in July.
You know, I like to have Christmas verses
that don't come from the typical Christmas passages.
But when you understand this,
that Jesus was the virgin born son of God,
the second member of the Godhead was made flesh,
and in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
He was all God and He was all of God.
He's not God the Father, the person of the Father.
He's not the person of the Holy Spirit,
but He is all God.
2 Corinthians 5 and 19 makes a lot of sense
when you realize and you put it in the context of Christmas,
the Bible says to wit that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself.
Now, people have a problem with this verse too
because they'll say, well, how is God in Christ?
I thought Jesus was God.
Jesus is God.
He's the second member of the Godhead,
the Son of God, God the Son.
Oftentimes when the Bible just uses the term God,
it's a reference to the first member of the Godhead,
God the Father.
And here it says that God, for clarification,
in your mind you could think that God the Father was in Christ.
He's not Christ, but He was in Christ.
How was He in Christ?
Because in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
That God the Father was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself.
It was God who became flesh.
Now, don't take this too far
because people like to take these things too far
and then they'll say, well, then the Father is the one who died on the cross.
No, no.
Everything in the Bible is in there for a reason
and there is a reason why Jesus emphasizes the fact on the cross,
my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
Because there was a moment at the cross
when there was a separation
that has never happened and never will happen again
between the Father and the Son.
It is the Son, we learned this all the way from Abraham,
it is the Son who has sacrificed for the sins of mankind.
There was a separation at the cross between the Godhead,
between the Father and the Son.
The Father did not die on the cross,
but here we're told that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself.
And if you want to put Christmas into one verse,
into one statement, that's it.
That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.
This Bible has another word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for your word
and thank you for these passages of Scripture.
Lord, help us understand these themes of Christmas,
the virgin birth, the deity of Christ,
that God was manifest in the flesh,
that in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself.
Help us remember that this is what Christmas is about.
Not gifts, nothing wrong with gifts,
but a lot of these things that we emphasize are not the emphasis.
It's not the gifts that we're going to give each other,
it's the gift that God gave all of us.
And it's Jesus Christ and His salvation.
We thank you for it, that the Father will send His Son
to die on the cross for our sins,
that God would become flesh and dwell among us,
and that we would behold His glory
as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
We love you.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.
All right, we're going to have Brother RJ come up
and lead us in a final song.
And I just want to remind you that, of course,
we have our cookie fellowship tonight,
our Christmas cookies and hot chocolate fellowship.
So we want to encourage you to stick around
and make your way to the fellowship hall
for desserts and hot chocolate and fellowship after the service.
And then I just want to remind you that this Sunday is Christmas Day,
so don't forget that we have church beginning at 11 a.m.,
11 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Normally we start at 1030, we're starting at 11,
give you a little extra time on Christmas morning,
and then we'll have lunch for you.
If you stay for the second service,
we'll have a short second service and we'll be done by two.
So don't forget about that.
If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
We'll have Brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song.
And would you mind praying a blessing for the food over there?
Thank you, Brother RJ, appreciate it.
Amen, let's grab our psalm books and turn to page number 426.
Psalm number 426.
We'll end the service with
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Psalm number 426, sing it out on the first.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
They're all familiar carols play
And wild and sweet of woods repeat
A peace on earth, goodwill to men
I thought how as the day had come
The bell fries of old Christendom had rolled along
The broken song of peace on earth, goodwill to men
And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth, I said
For hate is strong and mocks
The song of peace on earth, goodwill to men
Sing it out on the fourth
Then hear the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does he sleep
The wrong shall fail the right
Prevail with peace on earth, goodwill to men
On the last tail ringing, singing on its way
The world revoked from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant, sublime
A peace on earth, goodwill to men
Amen. Good singing. Let's bow our heads and pray for the food and the fellowship.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you again for the opportunity to come to your house this evening.
Lord, thank you for the dear people that would come and listen to your words preached and would sing praises to your name.
Amen. Lord, pray that you bless the fellowship to come.
Pray that you bless the food and the hot chocolate and pray that we would have a great time this evening.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
I need to get to the rest of the board.