December 1, 2025 • 46 mins
Hope doesn’t always arrive with trumpets. Sometimes it shows up in a small town, in a hard conversation, or in the moment you decide to trust when you’d rather run. We explore how celebration, anticipation, and tradition can be beautiful on-ramps—but not the center—of a season meant to restore weary hearts through Jesus.
We trace the promise of the Messiah from Isaiah’s prophecy to a manger in Bethlehem, showing how specific, unlikely predictions converge in the life of Jesus. From there, the story turns personal: Mary practices courageous obedience with honest questions, and Joseph responds to deep disappointment with quiet integrity. Their choices do more than carry a plot forward; they show us how faith grows inside tension. Along the way we talk about the upside-down kingdom, why Emmanuel—God with us—changes how we plan, and how provision often follows obedience in surprising ways.
You’ll hear practical takeaways for a holiday season that can feel loud but lonely: God is at work even when we can’t see it, trusting God steadies us through uncertainty, and we live differently when we remember Christ is with us. We also celebrate the global, multilingual beauty of worship and the everyday ways communities embody hope—from decorating sidewalks to serving neighbors. If you’re craving peace that outlasts the season, this conversation helps you center on the One who restores.
If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review to help more people find the message of Emmanuel.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Brown (00:00):
Merry Christmas.
I get to be the first to tellyou.
I know it's November, but let'sgo with it.
You know what I mean?
It's a Merry Christmas season.
We're thankful for that.
And when the question I havefor you today is have you
embraced hope?
Have you embraced hope?
As we look at this nativityscene, it's a famous one,
obviously.
It's the center of what we lookat.
(00:22):
And there's a piece of thatthat during this Christmas
season, it is their focus.
But there's so many differentother pieces of Christmas that
they they just resonate with us.
And a piece of that issomething of focus on
celebration.
And we're thankful for that.
We're thankful for celebration.
It's one of our seven C's here,a cornerstone, and something we
want to do is have a culture ofcelebration and celebrating
(00:42):
with others as they have highpoints in their lock with God or
their life and what that means.
And during the Christmasseason, celebration can look
like a lot of things.
I know when we lived in Europe,we would go to the Christmas
markets and get to celebratethere.
It's a festive idea.
It feels good.
There's something about thatidea of the countdown towards
Christmas.
How many people have beenrunning a countdown to Christmas
since June?
(01:03):
Anybody?
They've been doing that.
I see some people, it's like aclock that's running in the
corner of their work computer.
I'm like, what is that?
And I'm like, oh, Christmascountdown.
I'm with you.
I'm tracking with you.
And some of you guys are justmotivated by tamales.
That's the whole reason you'redoing that countdown.
I understand it resonates withme as well.
And a piece of that celebrationis also the anticipation of the
day or the anticipation of theseason.
(01:25):
And I think that's some of thepiece that we look forward to.
And some of that is giftgiving, some of it's gift
receiving.
How many people are on thereceiving end?
That's your that's your lovelanguage, the receiving gifts.
Others are not being honest.
I appreciate those that are.
That's very good.
You can be like this, you know,this lady here who's she is
pumped up about whatever'sinside this box.
And it's something about theanticipation of this season and
(01:48):
in that way our celebration ofthe day of Christ's arrival and
looking towards him and whatthat means.
And so the Christmas season hasa piece of that anticipation
tied to it.
It also has a piece oftradition that's tied to it.
So the celebration,anticipation, and then tradition
that's there.
And so for our family, we likegoing out and seeing some of the
festive pieces.
That's something that we do,especially for those of us who
(02:10):
live in the desert.
So most of the pine trees arefake.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
Or if you're in the southernhemisphere, maybe you're doing
during Christmas during themiddle of summer.
So they're like us, they'redressing up their palm trees for
Christmas.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
And so there's a piece of that.
And we'll go out maybe to aplace and get to see, you know,
a life size uh nativity set,something like this, a depiction
(02:30):
of what it means.
Something really powerful.
I think tradition for us, itkicks off at the very end of the
Thanksgiving meal when youstart divvying up who's gonna
get what leftovers to take home.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And that's where you do thevery passive, aggressive, very
nice.
No, no, you you take it.
You go ahead and take it.
No, go ahead.
And meanwhile, you're takingthe thing you really want and
you're sliding it backwardstowards you to put into your
(02:53):
little bucket.
No, nobody just over here.
So you guys know what I'mtalking about, where you you
guys are with me.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
Or maybe a highlight is justgetting to chop it up and hang
out with your neighbors outsideof the house.
We got to do that a little bitwith some of our neighbors and
just have that moment ofeverybody talking about how
little they had for theirThanksgiving meal and how they
definitely didn't cheat on theirdiet or anything like that.
You know, we were all very muchsmall plates.
(03:14):
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
We were all lying.
No, it was very bad.
So, anyway, no, it's this ideaof togetherness, and there's
something powerful about that.
Uh, you know, we want to saythanks for everybody who came
out and made decoration for thechurch.
Honey people appreciated thechurch and all its beauty of
dressed up for Christmas.
And that just didn't happen.
Lots of people put effort to itand all the lights and things
(03:35):
that are there.
You can see some of thedecorating parties.
This is Celeste telling me whatto do.
So this is good.
She's uh, you know, give usdirection.
We had obviously, you know, youhave all your different
nativity sets.
All of ours are glass.
So this is where people likeBarb tell me, you know, don't
touch it because I want to likeextreme baby Jesus down the
thing, like, you know, and she'slike, no.
So you be nice, leave themalone, be nice to them.
(03:56):
Uh, you know, our young adults,some of our students got
involved, and it was amazing tojump in with us, and we're
thankful for that.
And then you have a very, thisis a very Phoenix picture.
It's Tyler and these guys,Jonathan, are wrapping trees and
lights in short sleeve shirts.
That's Arizona, if I've everseen it.
You know, we were outsidedecorating and we were in shorts
the other day.
So we're very Phoenician inthat way.
(04:17):
But some of that's the treatsthat you could have during the
holidays and some of thatcelebration piece that's there
as well, and the decorating ofthe treats like we're doing
today with the cookies outside.
It's some nice moments.
Uh, my neighbors and I, we'vekind of taken our tradition and
Zad is we we like to dress upthe neighborhood and lights on
our corner.
So shout out to Mike and Ernieand to Diane and Colin and
(04:38):
everybody.
This is their current setup.
I mean, it's pretty good.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And so that's uh people livingon the roof and throwing lights
for a couple days.
But uh pretty amazing to havethat piece of the decoration and
tradition piece.
But I'll say all that, it isdwarfed by the real focus of the
Christmas season, which is therestoration of our lives with
(04:59):
Jesus and how he restores us andhow he brought it brings us
back into this understanding andin a thought process of what it
means to really follow him.
It's a restoration of our hope.
It's a restoration of ourpeace.
It's more than enough for us.
And so, even in this seasonwhere many people they feel
alone in a crowd or they feeldark amongst the Christmas
(05:21):
lights, friends, that thatdoesn't have to be your ex your
experience because he is ourrestoration.
He is the one who restores usback.
And so we come to him as oursource, that during this
Christmas season, we would focusin on that manger scene and
more specifically on the hopethat's found in Jesus Christ.
So as he comes to us in a waythat we can understand, that we
(05:45):
would embrace the very hope ofGod that he comes to represent,
that he comes in his fullness ina way that wasn't for those who
were in throne rooms, but forthe very outcast, for the very
low, for those who come fromevery walk of life, we can come
to the Savior and we can worshiptogether.
That's why we ask thatquestion.
(06:06):
Have you embraced hope?
That's what the story ofChristmas is about.
We have a video for you fromthe Bridge International
Church. That's who Jesus is tous.
(09:09):
I love all those different, uh,those different ethnicities,
those different languages, thosedifferent cultures and
countries that are representedhere in that video that was put
together for the BridgeInternational Church in the
years that we were thereserving.
Our friend Kelly, who's a she'sa speaking pastor up in a
church in Canada, and and ledthe bridge for a season as well,
put that together.
And it's powerful because I putnames and faces to each one of
(09:32):
those voices speaking thoselanguages.
And it represents what heaven'sgoing to be like for all of us.
That every tribe, every tonguewill be glorifying the Lord in
heaven before his throne.
And that's a depiction of whatour church should be now.
And that's why we're made up ofdifferent cultures from
different places.
So it makes us a rich tapestryof the glory of God being made
known as people.
It's that rich culture thatdiversifies us and makes us more
(09:55):
robust as we reach the worldaround us with the light of God.
Today we continue in thisnarrative of looking about the
hope for the world and seeingwhat that means to us.
For a visitor here atCornerstone Today, we want to
welcome you.
We're so thankful that you'rewith us and you're part of us.
You're tuning in today.
We're thankful for that.
And, you know, we very much seeourselves as people who are
(10:18):
imperfect.
My name's Jay.
Celeste and I, we have anopportunity to lead the team
here and we're blessed to do so,understanding that each one of
us is on that journey to followJesus.
None of us have arrived.
All of us are walking afterhim.
And so that's why we use thisimagery of Jesus walking with
his disciples, because that'show we see ourselves, is that
we're walking after Jesus, wherehe's leading us to go.
(10:39):
Our ambition, both personallyand then corporately, is to be
more like Jesus, to be more likehis attributes and his
character, to live the ways ofChrist.
That's what it means to be aChrist follower, a little
Christ, a Christian, is to besomeone who's following after
Jesus in that way.
And we do that throughout theweek, throughout the city.
We just we just ended asemester of life groups, and
(11:01):
that's an opportunity to connectand to grow and to serve.
So those are starting again inspring.
So let me encourage you topre-decide to be a part of what
God wants to do.
Very much where people who loveGod make disciples and reach
the world.
And so that's what we're about,and that's our ambition is to
walk in those ways followingJesus and the things that he's
(11:22):
about.
Today we continue to look backto that manger scene, to that
idea of the focus of Jesus'arrival to us and the different
elements of those people thatmake up that story, their
narratives, their stories, theirjourney that they've lived on,
and what that means to us, andhow we can glean from the story
of Christmas today.
(11:44):
And so let's do that togetherand looking to those things and
answering that question of haveyou embraced hope?
Today we pick up first withthis idea of prophecy.
And prophecy to us is theforetelling of who Jesus would
be.
And so the Messiah has all ofthese prophetic statements from
the prophets in scripture, andyou can look through them one
(12:05):
after another and compile themtogether, and each one of them
reveal an attribute of who hewould be and what that would
look like.
And so it very quickly narrowsdown this idea of who Jesus
would be.
In fact, um, Lee Strobel, thefamous author, he he came to
faith, and our men's group eventook a look at that, this uh
movie this last year in the casefor Christ.
(12:25):
And in doing so, the case forChrist is powerful because it's
talking about from a perspectivewhere he was diving into it as
someone who would research andsomeone who's trying to figure
out the story.
He went from a place of notbelieving, of agnostic or
atheist, to a place of believingin Christ.
And it was something profoundfor him because he did so in
looking at the evidence himself.
(12:46):
Each one of those, themathematics on it, it's it's
crazy.
Like the amount of things thathe would have to do to fulfill
all of those in one person.
But that's who Jesus is, isthat he's fulfilled every single
one of those prophecies.
And so it depicts him not justas the one who came to be a good
teacher or just a good, goodperson, but instead he becomes
(13:07):
the Messiah, the very living Godwho emptied himself of all
glory and came down as the holysacrifice for all people for all
time.
And so it's amazing when welook at that, and you could see
that even in the case forChristmas as as uh Dr.
Strobel looks at thosedifferent avenues and talking
about and unpacking that for us.
Today, we'll take a look atthis narrative of what it means
(13:30):
to be the hope of God and how wefollow after him and all that
he guides us to do.
And looking to the scripture,I'd encourage you to open your
Bibles, your tablets, your phonetoday.
Looking back to some of thosethat our friends just read for
us in Isaiah, it's theforetelling of who Jesus would
be.
And it picks up here, it says,The people who walked in
darkness have seen a greatlight.
(13:51):
Those who dwelt in a land ofdeep darkness, on them has light
shone.
How many people would identifywith that that you're someone
who has seen the light of God inyour life and embraced what
he's wanted to do for you?
Praise the Lord.
Continues here in verse six.
It says, For to us a child isborn, to us a son is given, and
(14:12):
the government shall be upon hisshoulder, and his name shall be
called wonderful counselor,mighty God, everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Whenever Jesus came in thisway, we're seeing the
fulfillment of the lineage ofDavid and the promises that God
made to David and throughSolomon and therefore on.
And the promise was that hewould have someone sit on his
(14:35):
throne forever.
And so, whenever the childrenof Israel were taken into
captivity, both by the Assyriansand later the Babylonians, this
felt like a break in God's wordto them.
But see, God was using that asa catalyst for change so they
would have their hearts returnback to him.
His promises were not broken.
And so, as this lineage camedown, it comes down to the
(14:57):
personhood of Jesus, and hefulfills all of these different
criteria.
He fulfills the very names thatwe see here, that he would be
this person who is the wonderfulcounselor.
He is our mighty God who'screator, he is the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace.
It's the one that from the verybeginning, as we read in
Genesis 1, in the beginning, Godcreated.
(15:19):
It says in John 1:1 that he wasthere in the beginning and made
everything through him.
So God the Father, the Son, theHoly Spirit, our triune God, he
there breathed life into us andset us in motion in his way.
And in doing so, it puts us onthat same path of following
after Christ.
So it only makes sense that weas broken people, we we can't do
(15:42):
anything to earn our way backinto his presence.
It's only through his sacrificefor us that we're made in right
standing.
He becomes the holy sacrificethat is needed.
And so each one of these piecesis fulfilled here in Scripture.
Whenever it starts talkingabout the government will be
upon his shoulder, that's why inhis day they looked to see
someone who would overthrow theRomans and cast off all these
(16:04):
people who were a power overthem.
They thought that he wouldstand up and be a mighty king
like Solomon or a warrior likeDavid, that he would take the
fight to the Romans and usurpthem and overthrow them and
establish the kingdom the waythey thought.
And instead, Jesus comes in ahumble way, not into the palace,
but he comes into the stable.
(16:25):
He doesn't come as a conqueringking on a horse or a stallion
or a chariot.
He comes instead in hismother's womb, being carried on
a donkey, and later into thecity towards his crucifixion in
the same way upon a donkey.
See, it's this humbleness, it'sthis upside-down kingdom that
Jesus, he turns everything onits head.
(16:45):
He's the one that comes as thegood shepherd.
He's the one that comes in ahumble way, and instead of a
conquering king and going anddestroying his enemies, he
instead turns their hearts tohimself.
With even those who are thevery Roman soldiers around him,
that they declare that surelythis is the Son of God.
And he does that by being theone that goes down and models
(17:08):
what it means to live the way ofGod, the characteristics of
God.
He's the very one that he,though he was perfect, he
humbles himself to wipe the dirtand the mud and the ick off of
the disciples' feet to show themwhat it means to be a servant.
The very empowerment of theHoly Spirit of God that he walks
(17:32):
in is that's what's the thedisciples learn to walk in as
well.
And so the very titles that hehas, he lives up to everything
and beyond, and that they, inwalking in the same way, get to
experience the peace of God,they get to experience his
wonderful character, they get toexperience how mighty he is and
what it means to walk in theboldness and the fullness of the
(17:53):
power of God.
And so each one of theseelements becomes true in his
lifetime and through hisdisciples and in our lives
today.
It continues in scripture herein verse 7.
It says of the increase of hisgovernment and the peace there
will be no end on the throne ofDavid and over his kingdom to
establish it and to uphold itwith justice and righteousness
(18:16):
from this time forthforevermore.
As Ethan read for us today,it's the very zeal of the Lord
of hosts.
What does that mean?
The passion of God that makesthese things happen.
And why is that?
Because he has a passion foryou.
He loves you that very much,that he would abandon all of
heaven in glory and wonder andcome down to take our place, to
(18:39):
be the sacrifice for eachperson, for all people, for all
time.
So as we look to scripture, westart to see this foretelling of
what Jesus would be like.
We understand that the Messiahwould fulfill all of these
avenues.
So as Jesus comes into thescene, he checks every single
box.
And so he becomes the one thatwe're anticipating.
(19:01):
And that's where the storystarts to unfold.
Now we pick up here with themessenger of God, and that's one
of the angels of the Lord, inthis case, Gabriel.
It's someone who is there inthe presence of the Lord,
someone who's a mighty figure intheir own way.
And we talked about that in thepast.
But looking here to thescripture, it's Gabriel who goes
and speaks there to Zachariahand then to Mary and others in
(19:23):
this narrative.
But here he starts to talk toher and to say, listen, God
wants you to do somethingspecial here.
You are highly favored.
Picks up in Luke 1, verse 26and 27.
Encourage you to highlight itin your tablet, your phone, your
Bible today, and take a look atit this week.
Let it wash over your heart.
It says this In the sixthmonth, the angle, the angel
(19:44):
Gabriel, was sent from God to acity of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a manwhose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin'sname was Mary.
And so it picks up in thisstory with Mary, and she's
having this encounter of theholy messenger of God that's
coming down and sharing thisstory with her.
(20:06):
And you can only imagine thatshe would be shocked.
You know, she's a young woman,she's excited, she's betrothed,
and that day it's it's beingengaged, and it's more than in
our culture, it's beyond that.
There's like a very, it's it'sit's almost as if they were
married already.
It's a precursor to that.
So that's very strong vows thatare there.
There probably been some kindof interchange of dowry, there's
some other things that arehappening behind the scenes.
(20:28):
So she's anticipating beingthis bride and being married off
and all these things.
And then suddenly the messengerof God comes out of nowhere.
And you know, she understandsthis concept.
She's heard the word, she'sbeen there and and heard the
idea of unpacking from therabbis teaching them about when
God would interact with peoplelike Abraham and have the
(20:49):
messenger of God come andconnect.
And so she's having this momentherself, and it's beyond her
wildest comprehension of whatcould be happening.
She had to be thinking, What isit about me that makes me
special?
Why am I getting chosen here?
And what does this mean for mylife?
It picks up here in thescripture, it continues, it
says, And he came to her andsaid, Greetings, O favored One,
(21:12):
the Lord is with you.
But she was greatly troubled atthis saying, and tried to
discern what sort of greetingthis might be.
But she was greatly troubled atthis saying, and the angel said
to her, Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with
God.
Here's a question for us.
(21:35):
What if you doubt God's plan?
You know, the idea for her wasthat she was highly favored of
the Lord.
What does it mean?
She had a heart alreadyworshiping after God.
It wasn't that she was chosenand the character fell up.
No, she had a character alreadyafter the heart of God.
So he chose her because she waswilling and available to say
yes.
(21:55):
But she had to mold us over inher heart and she was doubting
what does this even mean?
What could this possibly haveto do with me and why would I be
the one?
Have you ever been someone thatGod has asked you to do
something and you weren't sosure about that plan?
Ever happened to you?
And I think that's the part,that's the hesitation.
He might be calling us tosomething greater than ourselves
(22:16):
or greater than ourcircumstances.
And so we have to take thatinto account and say, Lord, I
trust you and I want to step outand say, Yes, but I'm still
dealing with this.
It's a tension of trying towalk in obedience and
uncertainty together.
And so she starts to hear thisthing how she's going to be
highly favored and she'sselected.
Have you ever been the onethat's like, maybe I didn't want
(22:37):
to take that plan?
That ever happened to you?
Where God starts to talk toyou, He's like, you know what?
I have chosen you to love theunlovely person at your
workplace.
You're like, me, Lord, really?
Thank you.
Thanks.
I appreciate it.
Is there a different plan?
Can we have plan B, please?
I want a different one.
I don't want to have to lovethe unlovely person.
I want to love the lovelyperson.
(22:58):
Can you send another person todo that job?
He's like, remember like threeweeks ago, whenever Pastor
Celeste was preaching, and youwere like, Lord, choose me.
Use me, however you want to useme.
I'm thankful for you.
You remember?
And he's like, and I want youto be lovely and love this
person.
And you're like, cool, cool,cool.
Uh, can we back up and can wedo you ever been there?
(23:22):
And so you can imagine what theidea of what Mary was going
through, how she was strugglingthrough this, about what happens
if you doubt God's plan.
But in Luke 1, 31, it says, Andbehold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus.
And this is something powerfulbecause she's saying, Listen,
you're gonna carry the light ofthe world, you're gonna carry
(23:44):
the Messiah.
It's you who's been chosen tobe this vessel of what God wants
to do.
And she can imagine, man, whatan amazing honor and this
concept of what will happen outof her obedience to God.
But the other side of that verymoment is the stress of all
that she's having to deal with.
And so she's this tension ofsaying yes to God and being
(24:05):
obedient to him, and the stressof going through the obedience
that it would take to say yes.
It picks up here in scripture,it says, He will be great, he
will be called the Son of theMost High.
And the Lord God will give himthe throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the houseof Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there will be no end.
(24:28):
Wow, what an amazing statement.
That there will be no end tohis kingdom, that he will reign
forever.
And see, this is exactly whatwe mean is that he didn't
overthrow the Romans as a powerand become the power on earth.
No, he became the power in allof our hearts, that we for
eternity will be in step and incommunity with him, that we will
be those that live that pathwith him.
(24:50):
And the obedience of Mary waskey in this story coming to its
reality.
She was chosen to live thispath.
And here's the thing (24:58):
so many of us are chosen for that very
same kind of thing that Godwants to use you as a mouthpiece
of his glory and the light ofthe gospel to those around you.
And he's chosen you.
He didn't choose me to do yourpart, he chose you to do your
part.
And so he's chosen you in thatyou have to say yes to what he
(25:18):
wants to use you for and usingyour story, your testimony, and
using your time, and using thedifferent things he gives you as
showing glory back to him.
So you can imagine as she'sinteracting with this, the with
this angel, and then now she'sshe's trying to wrestle with
what does this mean?
Because, you know, you can onlykeep a pregnancy quiet for so
(25:38):
long.
And then she's found to be withchild, dum dum-dum, and it's
not Joseph's who she's engagedto.
And so you can imagine thatthis is a problem, but there's a
whole other narrative aboutZechariah being in the Holy of
Holies and seeing the messengerangel, and he says, Listen, you
will have a son.
You've not had a son this wholetime.
(26:00):
You and your wife are in oldage, but you're gonna have a
son, you're gonna be blessed bythat.
He didn't believe it.
He's in the holy of holies.
There's an angel talking tohim.
He's still like, nah.
So God is like, I don't likewhat you're saying.
And he shut his mouth.
And so Zechariah has this wholeother narrative happening, and
(26:21):
and his wife as well.
And so as Elizabeth, his wife,is now in her older age, but it
has a son that she has.
She's praying with her son,John the Baptist, the one who
will make a way for Jesus.
It's Jesus' cousin.
As Mary goes and she's kind ofsent away to her family, she
goes to visit Elizabeth.
She's there, it says thatwhenever Mary came and
(26:44):
approached Elizabeth, that theHoly Spirit of God sparked
inside of her in John theBaptist.
And it says that from the wombhe was filled with the Spirit.
And Elizabeth began to proclaimhow blessed that Mary is, and
that she is carrying the answerto the world.
And she was enveloped by thepower of the Spirit of the Most
High God.
(27:05):
And that Mary, too, she feelsenraptured by the Spirit of God.
And it starts to bring togetherthis thing that listen, you're
not on your own, girl.
I am with you, I am for you, Iam gonna make a way in your
story.
And it's a powerful thingbecause it starts to spark
something in her heart, and shebegins to declare the wonders of
(27:25):
who God is.
And Mary said, My soulmagnifies the Lord, and my
spirit rejoices in God, mySavior.
For he has looked on the humbleestate of his servant.
For behold, from now on, allgenerations will call me
blessed.
For he who is mighty has donegreat things for me, and the
(27:47):
holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fearhim from generation to
generation.
And you can imagine what thatwould be like to say, Lord,
thank you for giving me thisexample that I am walking in
your path, that I am walking instep with you, and that now I'm
not even alone, because now myfamily also understands.
(28:08):
Because you can imagine theshame in her day.
When she became known to bepregnant, they thought all the
worst of Mary.
Because in her day, if youstepped outside of marriage,
especially for someone who hadnot been married, man, this was
the end of for you.
You would be drugged out there,you could be stoned to death.
That's what the law said.
And so she knew the fear ofwhat could happen to her, and
(28:30):
she was walking kind of in thattension in being obedient to
God.
Meanwhile, you have her fiance,Joseph, who is now finding out
that his betrothed is withchild.
Can we say that he probablydoubted what was going on?
Can we be honest about that?
(28:51):
You're like, what did you say?
Oh, you're you're pregnant withthe holy child of God.
Sure you are, sure you are.
And you can only imagine whatthat would be like, but it says
that he wasn't vindictive, hewasn't he wasn't someone who was
trying to get even or or saveface in the community.
Because now everybody knows.
(29:11):
You know, Nazareth's not thatbig a spot, Galilee is not that
big an area.
And so they start to know it'sand now his betrothed is the one
who wasn't faithful to him.
His betrothed was the one thatslandered his reputation.
And so he's dealing with it.
And that tension of what thatmeans.
So often we just see him kindof as, you know, Jesus in the in
(29:34):
the in the nativity set, he'sthe one just kind of holding the
lantern, kind of off to theside, right?
But he actually had a reallyimportant role in being the one
who's the provider, theprotector, the very one who
looked out for Mary and Jesusall this way.
And so as you see him picks upin the story here, it kind of
catches up with his side of whatwas happening.
(29:56):
It picks up here in Matthew 118, it says now the birth of
Jesus.
Jesus Christ took place in thisway.
When his mother Mary had beenbetrothed to Joseph, before they
came together, I mean sexually,he was found to be with a child
from the Holy Spirit.
That's where that idea of likewhat's going on here starts to
(30:17):
happen in Joseph's heart.
And it picks up here in verse19.
It says, Her husband Joseph,being a just man and unwilling
to put her to shame, resolved todivorce her quietly.
You know, it sparked thisquestion for all of us.
How do you handledisappointment?
(30:38):
How do you handledisappointment?
I can imagine that he probablywent through the whole roller
coaster of emotions, right?
He started to understand andwas like, how could this be?
And he starts to doubt and hestarts to grapple with that and
doesn't believe it.
And then maybe he went theother way and he starts to get
mad about the situation.
How could she do this to me?
And blah, blah, blah, blah.
(30:59):
The rock and roll, the rollercoaster of what he's going
through, trying to handledisappointment.
You know, I've talked to youguys about it before, but you
know, something in my life thatI dealt with and deal with still
is something the Lord helpedme, is that I don't want to be
someone who's an angry person.
When I was young, I was full ofanger because I dealt with
unresolved uh bitterness in mylife.
(31:19):
I there was anger and I didn'tdeal with it, it became
bitterness in my life, and itmotivated me in a way where I'd
lash out at people.
And you know, if you're notcareful, that stuff will come
right back into your life.
And it'll be right underneaththe surface.
When everybody bumps into you,that's what they get.
They get the venom, they getthe, they get the comments, they
get the actions.
And you don't see that inJoseph.
(31:40):
You see the opposite where itsays that he was a just man.
He wanted to put her awayquietly.
But whenever you handledisappointment, how do you do?
This week I was uh I wasadventuring to put lights up,
and uh, and I had a fight withmy ladder, and my ladder was
fighting me at all turns, and soI Jackie Chan jump kicked that
(32:02):
bad boy.
I was like, ska ska and it wentclambering to the ground, and
I'm over there like Joe Peshyingmy way, you know what I mean,
through the whole thing.
And meanwhile, my son and mywife were like, doo-doo, doo-doo
doo.
And I'm like, and I realizedhow embarrassed I was in that
one moment.
I got mad at Inanita Audrick,it was getting the better of me.
(32:25):
And I rushed out at a stupidthing like a ladder.
You can only imagine what itwould be like in this situation,
and how Joseph handled it somuch better than I handled my
ladder.
He handled her with grace, andhe said it said that he wanted
to put her away quietly, meaningthat not that she would be be
someone who suffered death andshame, but instead that she
(32:47):
could go off and do somethingelse with her family.
So he was willing to take thehit himself for what happened
with her.
And meanwhile, God intervenesin the story and says it picks
up here in Matthew 1.20, but ashe considered these things,
behold, an angel of the Lordappeared to him in a dream,
saying, Joseph, son of David, donot fear to take Mary as your
(33:07):
wife, for what is conceived inher is from the Holy Spirit.
And you could think two things,and it brings about the same
question (33:16):
how much do you trust God?
How much do you trust God?
See, because from hisperspective, he's relieved
because his betrothed, hisfiance, she was telling the
truth.
And so he's excited that shehas been faithful, and he's
excited because this is amiracle from God, and the
messenger of God is giving himthis news, but at the same time,
(33:38):
now he's the one that needs tolook after the Christ child.
He has to be the protector, hehas to be the provider.
Could you imagine if he doesthe wrong thing to God's kid?
You hear people use Jesus' nameas a curse word nowadays.
Imagine back then.
If he was like, Come on, Jesus,and he's like, I'm sorry, Lord.
I mean, I'm sorry, Jesus.
I mean, what would that belike?
(34:01):
And in our situation, in yoursituation, how much do you trust
God?
Do you trust him that he'llwalk with you through everything
and he won't leave you alone?
You trust in that he's in stepwith you and knows exactly
what's going on in yoursituation.
He knows what's going on inyour story.
Do you trust him?
Because he's worthy of trust.
(34:21):
He's trustworthy.
He's someone who will notforsake us.
He won't leave us alone.
So as the story continuesforward, we can see more of his
attributes here.
It says, All of this took placeto fulfill what the Lord had
said by the prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which is God with us.
(34:44):
Friends, that's what it meansto trust the Lord, is to be
those who walk according to whathe's guiding us to do.
And what does that mean?
It means that we're notfighting him and saying, Lord
Jesus, why don't you come alongand do what I'm doing on my plan
over here?
But instead we say, Lord, howabout I go where you're leading
me to go?
(35:04):
They didn't like it.
How about this?
We don't try to get Jesus to dowhat we want, but instead we do
what he's asking us to do.
And we walk in step with him.
It's that trust on the journey.
And see, as we walk thisjourney, it's a step-by-step.
It's not about just thedestination, it's walking with
(35:26):
Jesus.
We're walking with him intoeternity where we live with him.
That's about the process ofbeing with Jesus.
And so it's not aboutnecessarily an end goal.
It's about walking with himthrough the whole process.
And as they started out ontheir journey, you could only
imagine what that would look belike.
They had to go to a census totax for his family.
So they had to change and goback to Bethlehem.
(35:47):
And in doing so, now he'staking his pregnant fiance, his
wife now, and he's taking her onthis journey to go to this
place.
He doesn't know that there'snot going to be any room for
them there.
He doesn't know that what'sgoing to happen.
He doesn't know that wheneverwhenever the child comes, that
the skies will be lit up andangels will be proclaiming God's
(36:08):
glory to shepherds out in thefield, these outsiders in
culture who are nasty and smelllike sheep that are going to
come in and worship the Christchild.
He doesn't know that their starin the sky that led the
shepherds there is alsosomething that wise men from
afar off have been tracking.
And they've been lookingthrough scriptures to find it
and to look after it.
And when the star appears, theytake all that they have, their
(36:30):
entourage and all they go, setout to go to the star so they
too can worship the Christ.
They don't know, Joseph andMary, they don't know that these
guys will arrive with gifts andthey will give them all they
need to escape Herod's hand andgo to Egypt.
They don't know that theprovision of God is already on
(36:51):
the way for the very things thatthey will walk through.
They don't know it.
They don't know any about thatprocess, but guess what?
We do, and we know that Godkeeps his promises.
That they are not alone, andneither are we.
That friends, that we walk inthe same way with the hope for
(37:12):
the world.
We have the very presence ofthe Most High God with us.
Today we have a few takeawaysfrom what the Lord is speaking
to us about.
The first one is this as weembrace hope, we know that God
is at work.
God is at work.
What does that mean?
As we say yes to him, he'sgonna work in and through us.
(37:34):
It means that we're gonna haveto embrace some change.
We're gonna have to shift ourcharacter to him and trust him
through the process.
And that's the second takeawayis that we're called to be those
that as we embrace hope, wetrust God.
Because as we embrace what he'ssaying for us, we have to trust
him that he won't leave us, hewon't forsake us, he'll stay
right with us along the path.
(37:54):
The third takeaway today isthat God is with us.
That as we're talking about hisarrival, friends, he's already
here.
He's already with you.
You don't have to do anythingalone.
Different than them on thejourney, but much like that,
where Jesus in utero is thereinside of her body, so Jesus is
with us on the journey as well.
(38:16):
So Jesus is with us in processand what he's wanting to do in
and through our lives.
The prophet Isaiah says this,therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Emmanuel,which means God with us.
We see again in Scripture herein Luke 1, verse 16, it says, He
(38:39):
will turn many children ofIsrael to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in thespirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathersto the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of thejust, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared.
Friends, that we would be likethese, that it's written of,
(39:01):
that we will be those that turnour hearts to God, that we will
embrace the relationship thatGod has for us.
There would be those of comingtogether, fathers and children,
that there would be those whohave made bad decisions, would
make wise decisions in the wayof God, that we would prepare
our hearts for what God wants todo in and through us in this
Christmas season.
(39:22):
See, for many, this is the veryseason in which they're
searching for answers.
In the midst of all thecelebration, they feel alone.
And friends, we have the hopefor all people, which is found
in Jesus Christ.
That he is the hope of theworld, he is the hope of the
nations, he is more than enough.
(39:42):
And so the question that eachof us has to answer is have you
embraced hope?
Have you allowed Jesus intoevery part of your life and who
you are and allowed him to workthrough you for his plan, for
his purpose?
Today our answer is found inthe hope for the world, Jesus
(40:02):
Christ.
That we would be those thatembrace him.
That we would tell the story ofChristmas and the real meaning
from what comes behind it.
Today we have this opportunityto answer the question of have
you embraced Jesus?
And maybe you're here andyou've never made a decision to
follow Christ.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
That you invite him into yourheart and life.
(40:23):
That you say, Lord, I believeyou are who you say you are.
And I place my faith and trustin you.
That you are the hope of theworld that I've been looking
for.
Lord, I ask you to forgive meof my sins and my mistakes, and
I invite you into my life.
That you be the Lord of mylife, that you help guide me and
direct me, that I live this newlife with you.
(40:44):
And friends, that's what itmeans.
That's why for us the symbol ofthe cross is so profound, so
important.
Because upon the cross is whereJesus took all of my sin and
all of my brokenness, all of mymistakes.
He took all of yours there too.
And as he came to the cross, hedid so, emptied of all of the
(41:05):
the Father's hand upon him, andhe took the full weight of sin
for all people.
And as he did, he died withthat sin upon himself, and it
paid for that sin once and forall.
He became the sacrifice of God.
But the thing about Jesus isthat he didn't stay dead, and he
overcame death and hell and thegrave and rose again and is
(41:25):
alive today.
And so we have a livingrelationship with the living
God.
And so that's what's differentabout us and our relationship
with God and everyone else thatbelieves in some other deity, is
that all those are dead andgone, but our Christ is alive.
And so we live in relationshipwith Him.
And that's why when the ApostlePaul he starts to write about
(41:48):
these things, he's saying,Listen, we cast our cares on
him.
He is the one who has made away for us.
We can't earn our way into hisgrace, we can't buy our way in
or do enough good things.
It's not possible.
What do we have to offer a holyGod as broken people?
Nothing.
It's like filthy rags, it saysin Romans.
But instead, that we would bethose who say, Lord, I give you
(42:10):
my heart.
I want to be dead to sin.
I want to be alive in you.
And in doing so, I want tostart a new relationship with
you and live for you for mywhole life.
It says this, Apostle Paulwriting to the church at Rome,
because if you confess with yourmouth that Jesus is Lord, and
believe in your heart that Godraised him from the dead, you
(42:31):
will be saved.
With the heart one believes andis justified, with the mouth
one confesses and is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
I'm asking everyone if you'rein the room, if you just stand
to your feet right where you'reat, bow your heads.
Christians are praying for you.
(42:52):
If you're online, take amoment, take a pause for what
God wants to do in and throughyour life today.
Maybe you're here and you say,Pastor, I want to be included in
this prayer.
I want to invite Jesus into myheart and life.
And if that's you, I'm gonnaask you that you would make that
commitment today.
Or maybe you made a commitmentto Jesus in the past, but then
(43:14):
you haven't been living for him.
But today you would recommityour heart to him to live for
Jesus, to live for God and to doso with a heart that's after
him.
As you're bowed here in theroom, if that's you, you just
want to make a commitment toJesus, you want to make invite
him into your heart and lifetoday, invite him to forgive you
of your sin.
If you just raise your handright where you're at, say,
(43:35):
Pastor, that's me.
I want to be included in thatprayer today.
Thank you, Jesus.
As people are making decisions,thank you, Lord.
Thank you, God.
We see the hand and the handand the hand that's there.
Thank you, Lord, for thosemaking decisions.
Friends online, wherever youare, making a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Thank you, God.
I'm gonna ask each person ifthey would, if you just all pray
this prayer out loud after me.
(43:56):
Lord, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
(44:16):
I surrender my life to you.
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice with thosethat made a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Praise the Lord.
Join with others that havealready made that decision
today.
Let me encourage you in this.
Take a moment, take a snapshotof the QR code that's here or on
(44:37):
your screen if you're at home.
And we want to be able to putinto your hands materials and
get you connected so you can besuccessful in living this life
after Christ.
For us today, we have thisopportunity to respond to this
altar.
And it's just to come for moreof his presence.
And let me encourage that everysingle person would come and
make an altar with God to askhim for more of his presence in
(45:00):
this year as we head into thisChristmas season, that the light
of the gospel, the hope for theworld would resonate in our
lives and through our lives tothose around us.
We thank you, Lord, for yourword today.
Lord, we thank you for theexample and the bravery of
someone like Mary, Lord, theheart of someone like Joseph and
saying yes to you and followingafter you.
(45:20):
And Lord, we ask for animpartation of your Holy Spirit.
Lord, as people come down todayto this altar, make a place
with you, you pour out yourgrace, your love, your peace
upon us.
Lord, give us your wisdom,Lord, where we lack it.
And we, Lord, we ask for theblessing of the Most High God to
reach rest upon each personthat comes.
Pray all this in the name ofJesus Christ.
(45:41):
Amen.
How many people know they needto invite someone to church or
else your cat's gonna attackyou?
This is the rule that we'relearning from today.
Celeste Brown (45:48):
Today we are starting Advent off.
And so as you head out, you'regonna see that there's an
opportunity to decorate sugarcookies.
So we thought we'd start offwith sugar.
Amen.
So grab your kids, go outthere, it's gonna be great.
And we just pray that thisseason that you just get
everything you can as you finishthis year strong and bring
someone with you as we celebratethe arrival of Christ.
(46:10):
Amen.
Jason Brown (46:11):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Or lift up his countenance uponyou and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(46:34):
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all this in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
I get to be the first to tellyou.
I know it's November, but let'sgo with it.
You know what I mean?
It's a Merry Christmas season.
We're thankful for that.
And when the question I havefor you today is have you
embraced hope?
Have you embraced hope?
As we look at this nativityscene, it's a famous one,
obviously.
It's the center of what we lookat.
(00:22):
And there's a piece of thatthat during this Christmas
season, it is their focus.
But there's so many differentother pieces of Christmas that
they they just resonate with us.
And a piece of that issomething of focus on
celebration.
And we're thankful for that.
We're thankful for celebration.
It's one of our seven C's here,a cornerstone, and something we
want to do is have a culture ofcelebration and celebrating
(00:42):
with others as they have highpoints in their lock with God or
their life and what that means.
And during the Christmasseason, celebration can look
like a lot of things.
I know when we lived in Europe,we would go to the Christmas
markets and get to celebratethere.
It's a festive idea.
It feels good.
There's something about thatidea of the countdown towards
Christmas.
How many people have beenrunning a countdown to Christmas
since June?
(01:03):
Anybody?
They've been doing that.
I see some people, it's like aclock that's running in the
corner of their work computer.
I'm like, what is that?
And I'm like, oh, Christmascountdown.
I'm with you.
I'm tracking with you.
And some of you guys are justmotivated by tamales.
That's the whole reason you'redoing that countdown.
I understand it resonates withme as well.
And a piece of that celebrationis also the anticipation of the
day or the anticipation of theseason.
(01:25):
And I think that's some of thepiece that we look forward to.
And some of that is giftgiving, some of it's gift
receiving.
How many people are on thereceiving end?
That's your that's your lovelanguage, the receiving gifts.
Others are not being honest.
I appreciate those that are.
That's very good.
You can be like this, you know,this lady here who's she is
pumped up about whatever'sinside this box.
And it's something about theanticipation of this season and
(01:48):
in that way our celebration ofthe day of Christ's arrival and
looking towards him and whatthat means.
And so the Christmas season hasa piece of that anticipation
tied to it.
It also has a piece oftradition that's tied to it.
So the celebration,anticipation, and then tradition
that's there.
And so for our family, we likegoing out and seeing some of the
festive pieces.
That's something that we do,especially for those of us who
(02:10):
live in the desert.
So most of the pine trees arefake.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
Or if you're in the southernhemisphere, maybe you're doing
during Christmas during themiddle of summer.
So they're like us, they'redressing up their palm trees for
Christmas.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
And so there's a piece of that.
And we'll go out maybe to aplace and get to see, you know,
a life size uh nativity set,something like this, a depiction
(02:30):
of what it means.
Something really powerful.
I think tradition for us, itkicks off at the very end of the
Thanksgiving meal when youstart divvying up who's gonna
get what leftovers to take home.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And that's where you do thevery passive, aggressive, very
nice.
No, no, you you take it.
You go ahead and take it.
No, go ahead.
And meanwhile, you're takingthe thing you really want and
you're sliding it backwardstowards you to put into your
(02:53):
little bucket.
No, nobody just over here.
So you guys know what I'mtalking about, where you you
guys are with me.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
Or maybe a highlight is justgetting to chop it up and hang
out with your neighbors outsideof the house.
We got to do that a little bitwith some of our neighbors and
just have that moment ofeverybody talking about how
little they had for theirThanksgiving meal and how they
definitely didn't cheat on theirdiet or anything like that.
You know, we were all very muchsmall plates.
(03:14):
You guys know what I'm talkingabout.
We were all lying.
No, it was very bad.
So, anyway, no, it's this ideaof togetherness, and there's
something powerful about that.
Uh, you know, we want to saythanks for everybody who came
out and made decoration for thechurch.
Honey people appreciated thechurch and all its beauty of
dressed up for Christmas.
And that just didn't happen.
Lots of people put effort to itand all the lights and things
(03:35):
that are there.
You can see some of thedecorating parties.
This is Celeste telling me whatto do.
So this is good.
She's uh, you know, give usdirection.
We had obviously, you know, youhave all your different
nativity sets.
All of ours are glass.
So this is where people likeBarb tell me, you know, don't
touch it because I want to likeextreme baby Jesus down the
thing, like, you know, and she'slike, no.
So you be nice, leave themalone, be nice to them.
(03:56):
Uh, you know, our young adults,some of our students got
involved, and it was amazing tojump in with us, and we're
thankful for that.
And then you have a very, thisis a very Phoenix picture.
It's Tyler and these guys,Jonathan, are wrapping trees and
lights in short sleeve shirts.
That's Arizona, if I've everseen it.
You know, we were outsidedecorating and we were in shorts
the other day.
So we're very Phoenician inthat way.
(04:17):
But some of that's the treatsthat you could have during the
holidays and some of thatcelebration piece that's there
as well, and the decorating ofthe treats like we're doing
today with the cookies outside.
It's some nice moments.
Uh, my neighbors and I, we'vekind of taken our tradition and
Zad is we we like to dress upthe neighborhood and lights on
our corner.
So shout out to Mike and Ernieand to Diane and Colin and
(04:38):
everybody.
This is their current setup.
I mean, it's pretty good.
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
And so that's uh people livingon the roof and throwing lights
for a couple days.
But uh pretty amazing to havethat piece of the decoration and
tradition piece.
But I'll say all that, it isdwarfed by the real focus of the
Christmas season, which is therestoration of our lives with
(04:59):
Jesus and how he restores us andhow he brought it brings us
back into this understanding andin a thought process of what it
means to really follow him.
It's a restoration of our hope.
It's a restoration of ourpeace.
It's more than enough for us.
And so, even in this seasonwhere many people they feel
alone in a crowd or they feeldark amongst the Christmas
(05:21):
lights, friends, that thatdoesn't have to be your ex your
experience because he is ourrestoration.
He is the one who restores usback.
And so we come to him as oursource, that during this
Christmas season, we would focusin on that manger scene and
more specifically on the hopethat's found in Jesus Christ.
So as he comes to us in a waythat we can understand, that we
(05:45):
would embrace the very hope ofGod that he comes to represent,
that he comes in his fullness ina way that wasn't for those who
were in throne rooms, but forthe very outcast, for the very
low, for those who come fromevery walk of life, we can come
to the Savior and we can worshiptogether.
That's why we ask thatquestion.
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Have you embraced hope?
That's what the story ofChristmas is about.
We have a video for you fromthe Bridge International
Church. That's who Jesus is tous.
(09:09):
I love all those different, uh,those different ethnicities,
those different languages, thosedifferent cultures and
countries that are representedhere in that video that was put
together for the BridgeInternational Church in the
years that we were thereserving.
Our friend Kelly, who's a she'sa speaking pastor up in a
church in Canada, and and ledthe bridge for a season as well,
put that together.
And it's powerful because I putnames and faces to each one of
(09:32):
those voices speaking thoselanguages.
And it represents what heaven'sgoing to be like for all of us.
That every tribe, every tonguewill be glorifying the Lord in
heaven before his throne.
And that's a depiction of whatour church should be now.
And that's why we're made up ofdifferent cultures from
different places.
So it makes us a rich tapestryof the glory of God being made
known as people.
It's that rich culture thatdiversifies us and makes us more
(09:55):
robust as we reach the worldaround us with the light of God.
Today we continue in thisnarrative of looking about the
hope for the world and seeingwhat that means to us.
For a visitor here atCornerstone Today, we want to
welcome you.
We're so thankful that you'rewith us and you're part of us.
You're tuning in today.
We're thankful for that.
And, you know, we very much seeourselves as people who are
(10:18):
imperfect.
My name's Jay.
Celeste and I, we have anopportunity to lead the team
here and we're blessed to do so,understanding that each one of
us is on that journey to followJesus.
None of us have arrived.
All of us are walking afterhim.
And so that's why we use thisimagery of Jesus walking with
his disciples, because that'show we see ourselves, is that
we're walking after Jesus, wherehe's leading us to go.
(10:39):
Our ambition, both personallyand then corporately, is to be
more like Jesus, to be more likehis attributes and his
character, to live the ways ofChrist.
That's what it means to be aChrist follower, a little
Christ, a Christian, is to besomeone who's following after
Jesus in that way.
And we do that throughout theweek, throughout the city.
We just we just ended asemester of life groups, and
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that's an opportunity to connectand to grow and to serve.
So those are starting again inspring.
So let me encourage you topre-decide to be a part of what
God wants to do.
Very much where people who loveGod make disciples and reach
the world.
And so that's what we're about,and that's our ambition is to
walk in those ways followingJesus and the things that he's
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about.
Today we continue to look backto that manger scene, to that
idea of the focus of Jesus'arrival to us and the different
elements of those people thatmake up that story, their
narratives, their stories, theirjourney that they've lived on,
and what that means to us, andhow we can glean from the story
of Christmas today.
(11:44):
And so let's do that togetherand looking to those things and
answering that question of haveyou embraced hope?
Today we pick up first withthis idea of prophecy.
And prophecy to us is theforetelling of who Jesus would
be.
And so the Messiah has all ofthese prophetic statements from
the prophets in scripture, andyou can look through them one
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after another and compile themtogether, and each one of them
reveal an attribute of who hewould be and what that would
look like.
And so it very quickly narrowsdown this idea of who Jesus
would be.
In fact, um, Lee Strobel, thefamous author, he he came to
faith, and our men's group eventook a look at that, this uh
movie this last year in the casefor Christ.
(12:25):
And in doing so, the case forChrist is powerful because it's
talking about from a perspectivewhere he was diving into it as
someone who would research andsomeone who's trying to figure
out the story.
He went from a place of notbelieving, of agnostic or
atheist, to a place of believingin Christ.
And it was something profoundfor him because he did so in
looking at the evidence himself.
(12:46):
Each one of those, themathematics on it, it's it's
crazy.
Like the amount of things thathe would have to do to fulfill
all of those in one person.
But that's who Jesus is, isthat he's fulfilled every single
one of those prophecies.
And so it depicts him not justas the one who came to be a good
teacher or just a good, goodperson, but instead he becomes
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the Messiah, the very living Godwho emptied himself of all
glory and came down as the holysacrifice for all people for all
time.
And so it's amazing when welook at that, and you could see
that even in the case forChristmas as as uh Dr.
Strobel looks at thosedifferent avenues and talking
about and unpacking that for us.
Today, we'll take a look atthis narrative of what it means
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to be the hope of God and how wefollow after him and all that
he guides us to do.
And looking to the scripture,I'd encourage you to open your
Bibles, your tablets, your phonetoday.
Looking back to some of thosethat our friends just read for
us in Isaiah, it's theforetelling of who Jesus would
be.
And it picks up here, it says,The people who walked in
darkness have seen a greatlight.
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Those who dwelt in a land ofdeep darkness, on them has light
shone.
How many people would identifywith that that you're someone
who has seen the light of God inyour life and embraced what
he's wanted to do for you?
Praise the Lord.
Continues here in verse six.
It says, For to us a child isborn, to us a son is given, and
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the government shall be upon hisshoulder, and his name shall be
called wonderful counselor,mighty God, everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Whenever Jesus came in thisway, we're seeing the
fulfillment of the lineage ofDavid and the promises that God
made to David and throughSolomon and therefore on.
And the promise was that hewould have someone sit on his
(14:35):
throne forever.
And so, whenever the childrenof Israel were taken into
captivity, both by the Assyriansand later the Babylonians, this
felt like a break in God's wordto them.
But see, God was using that asa catalyst for change so they
would have their hearts returnback to him.
His promises were not broken.
And so, as this lineage camedown, it comes down to the
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personhood of Jesus, and hefulfills all of these different
criteria.
He fulfills the very names thatwe see here, that he would be
this person who is the wonderfulcounselor.
He is our mighty God who'screator, he is the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace.
It's the one that from the verybeginning, as we read in
Genesis 1, in the beginning, Godcreated.
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It says in John 1:1 that he wasthere in the beginning and made
everything through him.
So God the Father, the Son, theHoly Spirit, our triune God, he
there breathed life into us andset us in motion in his way.
And in doing so, it puts us onthat same path of following
after Christ.
So it only makes sense that weas broken people, we we can't do
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anything to earn our way backinto his presence.
It's only through his sacrificefor us that we're made in right
standing.
He becomes the holy sacrificethat is needed.
And so each one of these piecesis fulfilled here in Scripture.
Whenever it starts talkingabout the government will be
upon his shoulder, that's why inhis day they looked to see
someone who would overthrow theRomans and cast off all these
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people who were a power overthem.
They thought that he wouldstand up and be a mighty king
like Solomon or a warrior likeDavid, that he would take the
fight to the Romans and usurpthem and overthrow them and
establish the kingdom the waythey thought.
And instead, Jesus comes in ahumble way, not into the palace,
but he comes into the stable.
(16:25):
He doesn't come as a conqueringking on a horse or a stallion
or a chariot.
He comes instead in hismother's womb, being carried on
a donkey, and later into thecity towards his crucifixion in
the same way upon a donkey.
See, it's this humbleness, it'sthis upside-down kingdom that
Jesus, he turns everything onits head.
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He's the one that comes as thegood shepherd.
He's the one that comes in ahumble way, and instead of a
conquering king and going anddestroying his enemies, he
instead turns their hearts tohimself.
With even those who are thevery Roman soldiers around him,
that they declare that surelythis is the Son of God.
And he does that by being theone that goes down and models
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what it means to live the way ofGod, the characteristics of
God.
He's the very one that he,though he was perfect, he
humbles himself to wipe the dirtand the mud and the ick off of
the disciples' feet to show themwhat it means to be a servant.
The very empowerment of theHoly Spirit of God that he walks
(17:32):
in is that's what's the thedisciples learn to walk in as
well.
And so the very titles that hehas, he lives up to everything
and beyond, and that they, inwalking in the same way, get to
experience the peace of God,they get to experience his
wonderful character, they get toexperience how mighty he is and
what it means to walk in theboldness and the fullness of the
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power of God.
And so each one of theseelements becomes true in his
lifetime and through hisdisciples and in our lives
today.
It continues in scripture herein verse 7.
It says of the increase of hisgovernment and the peace there
will be no end on the throne ofDavid and over his kingdom to
establish it and to uphold itwith justice and righteousness
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from this time forthforevermore.
As Ethan read for us today,it's the very zeal of the Lord
of hosts.
What does that mean?
The passion of God that makesthese things happen.
And why is that?
Because he has a passion foryou.
He loves you that very much,that he would abandon all of
heaven in glory and wonder andcome down to take our place, to
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be the sacrifice for eachperson, for all people, for all
time.
So as we look to scripture, westart to see this foretelling of
what Jesus would be like.
We understand that the Messiahwould fulfill all of these
avenues.
So as Jesus comes into thescene, he checks every single
box.
And so he becomes the one thatwe're anticipating.
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And that's where the storystarts to unfold.
Now we pick up here with themessenger of God, and that's one
of the angels of the Lord, inthis case, Gabriel.
It's someone who is there inthe presence of the Lord,
someone who's a mighty figure intheir own way.
And we talked about that in thepast.
But looking here to thescripture, it's Gabriel who goes
and speaks there to Zachariahand then to Mary and others in
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this narrative.
But here he starts to talk toher and to say, listen, God
wants you to do somethingspecial here.
You are highly favored.
Picks up in Luke 1, verse 26and 27.
Encourage you to highlight itin your tablet, your phone, your
Bible today, and take a look atit this week.
Let it wash over your heart.
It says this In the sixthmonth, the angle, the angel
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Gabriel, was sent from God to acity of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a manwhose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin'sname was Mary.
And so it picks up in thisstory with Mary, and she's
having this encounter of theholy messenger of God that's
coming down and sharing thisstory with her.
(20:06):
And you can only imagine thatshe would be shocked.
You know, she's a young woman,she's excited, she's betrothed,
and that day it's it's beingengaged, and it's more than in
our culture, it's beyond that.
There's like a very, it's it'sit's almost as if they were
married already.
It's a precursor to that.
So that's very strong vows thatare there.
There probably been some kindof interchange of dowry, there's
some other things that arehappening behind the scenes.
(20:28):
So she's anticipating beingthis bride and being married off
and all these things.
And then suddenly the messengerof God comes out of nowhere.
And you know, she understandsthis concept.
She's heard the word, she'sbeen there and and heard the
idea of unpacking from therabbis teaching them about when
God would interact with peoplelike Abraham and have the
(20:49):
messenger of God come andconnect.
And so she's having this momentherself, and it's beyond her
wildest comprehension of whatcould be happening.
She had to be thinking, What isit about me that makes me
special?
Why am I getting chosen here?
And what does this mean for mylife?
It picks up here in thescripture, it continues, it
says, And he came to her andsaid, Greetings, O favored One,
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the Lord is with you.
But she was greatly troubled atthis saying, and tried to
discern what sort of greetingthis might be.
But she was greatly troubled atthis saying, and the angel said
to her, Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with
God.
Here's a question for us.
(21:35):
What if you doubt God's plan?
You know, the idea for her wasthat she was highly favored of
the Lord.
What does it mean?
She had a heart alreadyworshiping after God.
It wasn't that she was chosenand the character fell up.
No, she had a character alreadyafter the heart of God.
So he chose her because she waswilling and available to say
yes.
(21:55):
But she had to mold us over inher heart and she was doubting
what does this even mean?
What could this possibly haveto do with me and why would I be
the one?
Have you ever been someone thatGod has asked you to do
something and you weren't sosure about that plan?
Ever happened to you?
And I think that's the part,that's the hesitation.
He might be calling us tosomething greater than ourselves
(22:16):
or greater than ourcircumstances.
And so we have to take thatinto account and say, Lord, I
trust you and I want to step outand say, Yes, but I'm still
dealing with this.
It's a tension of trying towalk in obedience and
uncertainty together.
And so she starts to hear thisthing how she's going to be
highly favored and she'sselected.
Have you ever been the onethat's like, maybe I didn't want
(22:37):
to take that plan?
That ever happened to you?
Where God starts to talk toyou, He's like, you know what?
I have chosen you to love theunlovely person at your
workplace.
You're like, me, Lord, really?
Thank you.
Thanks.
I appreciate it.
Is there a different plan?
Can we have plan B, please?
I want a different one.
I don't want to have to lovethe unlovely person.
I want to love the lovelyperson.
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Can you send another person todo that job?
He's like, remember like threeweeks ago, whenever Pastor
Celeste was preaching, and youwere like, Lord, choose me.
Use me, however you want to useme.
I'm thankful for you.
You remember?
And he's like, and I want youto be lovely and love this
person.
And you're like, cool, cool,cool.
Uh, can we back up and can wedo you ever been there?
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And so you can imagine what theidea of what Mary was going
through, how she was strugglingthrough this, about what happens
if you doubt God's plan.
But in Luke 1, 31, it says, Andbehold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus.
And this is something powerfulbecause she's saying, Listen,
you're gonna carry the light ofthe world, you're gonna carry
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the Messiah.
It's you who's been chosen tobe this vessel of what God wants
to do.
And she can imagine, man, whatan amazing honor and this
concept of what will happen outof her obedience to God.
But the other side of that verymoment is the stress of all
that she's having to deal with.
And so she's this tension ofsaying yes to God and being
(24:05):
obedient to him, and the stressof going through the obedience
that it would take to say yes.
It picks up here in scripture,it says, He will be great, he
will be called the Son of theMost High.
And the Lord God will give himthe throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the houseof Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there will be no end.
(24:28):
Wow, what an amazing statement.
That there will be no end tohis kingdom, that he will reign
forever.
And see, this is exactly whatwe mean is that he didn't
overthrow the Romans as a powerand become the power on earth.
No, he became the power in allof our hearts, that we for
eternity will be in step and incommunity with him, that we will
be those that live that pathwith him.
(24:50):
And the obedience of Mary waskey in this story coming to its
reality.
She was chosen to live thispath.
And here's the thing (24:58):
so many of us are chosen for that very
same kind of thing that Godwants to use you as a mouthpiece
of his glory and the light ofthe gospel to those around you.
And he's chosen you.
He didn't choose me to do yourpart, he chose you to do your
part.
And so he's chosen you in thatyou have to say yes to what he
(25:18):
wants to use you for and usingyour story, your testimony, and
using your time, and using thedifferent things he gives you as
showing glory back to him.
So you can imagine as she'sinteracting with this, the with
this angel, and then now she'sshe's trying to wrestle with
what does this mean?
Because, you know, you can onlykeep a pregnancy quiet for so
(25:38):
long.
And then she's found to be withchild, dum dum-dum, and it's
not Joseph's who she's engagedto.
And so you can imagine thatthis is a problem, but there's a
whole other narrative aboutZechariah being in the Holy of
Holies and seeing the messengerangel, and he says, Listen, you
will have a son.
You've not had a son this wholetime.
(26:00):
You and your wife are in oldage, but you're gonna have a
son, you're gonna be blessed bythat.
He didn't believe it.
He's in the holy of holies.
There's an angel talking tohim.
He's still like, nah.
So God is like, I don't likewhat you're saying.
And he shut his mouth.
And so Zechariah has this wholeother narrative happening, and
(26:21):
and his wife as well.
And so as Elizabeth, his wife,is now in her older age, but it
has a son that she has.
She's praying with her son,John the Baptist, the one who
will make a way for Jesus.
It's Jesus' cousin.
As Mary goes and she's kind ofsent away to her family, she
goes to visit Elizabeth.
She's there, it says thatwhenever Mary came and
(26:44):
approached Elizabeth, that theHoly Spirit of God sparked
inside of her in John theBaptist.
And it says that from the wombhe was filled with the Spirit.
And Elizabeth began to proclaimhow blessed that Mary is, and
that she is carrying the answerto the world.
And she was enveloped by thepower of the Spirit of the Most
High God.
(27:05):
And that Mary, too, she feelsenraptured by the Spirit of God.
And it starts to bring togetherthis thing that listen, you're
not on your own, girl.
I am with you, I am for you, Iam gonna make a way in your
story.
And it's a powerful thingbecause it starts to spark
something in her heart, and shebegins to declare the wonders of
(27:25):
who God is.
And Mary said, My soulmagnifies the Lord, and my
spirit rejoices in God, mySavior.
For he has looked on the humbleestate of his servant.
For behold, from now on, allgenerations will call me
blessed.
For he who is mighty has donegreat things for me, and the
(27:47):
holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fearhim from generation to
generation.
And you can imagine what thatwould be like to say, Lord,
thank you for giving me thisexample that I am walking in
your path, that I am walking instep with you, and that now I'm
not even alone, because now myfamily also understands.
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Because you can imagine theshame in her day.
When she became known to bepregnant, they thought all the
worst of Mary.
Because in her day, if youstepped outside of marriage,
especially for someone who hadnot been married, man, this was
the end of for you.
You would be drugged out there,you could be stoned to death.
That's what the law said.
And so she knew the fear ofwhat could happen to her, and
(28:30):
she was walking kind of in thattension in being obedient to
God.
Meanwhile, you have her fiance,Joseph, who is now finding out
that his betrothed is withchild.
Can we say that he probablydoubted what was going on?
Can we be honest about that?
(28:51):
You're like, what did you say?
Oh, you're you're pregnant withthe holy child of God.
Sure you are, sure you are.
And you can only imagine whatthat would be like, but it says
that he wasn't vindictive, hewasn't he wasn't someone who was
trying to get even or or saveface in the community.
Because now everybody knows.
(29:11):
You know, Nazareth's not thatbig a spot, Galilee is not that
big an area.
And so they start to know it'sand now his betrothed is the one
who wasn't faithful to him.
His betrothed was the one thatslandered his reputation.
And so he's dealing with it.
And that tension of what thatmeans.
So often we just see him kindof as, you know, Jesus in the in
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the in the nativity set, he'sthe one just kind of holding the
lantern, kind of off to theside, right?
But he actually had a reallyimportant role in being the one
who's the provider, theprotector, the very one who
looked out for Mary and Jesusall this way.
And so as you see him picks upin the story here, it kind of
catches up with his side of whatwas happening.
(29:56):
It picks up here in Matthew 118, it says now the birth of
Jesus.
Jesus Christ took place in thisway.
When his mother Mary had beenbetrothed to Joseph, before they
came together, I mean sexually,he was found to be with a child
from the Holy Spirit.
That's where that idea of likewhat's going on here starts to
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happen in Joseph's heart.
And it picks up here in verse19.
It says, Her husband Joseph,being a just man and unwilling
to put her to shame, resolved todivorce her quietly.
You know, it sparked thisquestion for all of us.
How do you handledisappointment?
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How do you handledisappointment?
I can imagine that he probablywent through the whole roller
coaster of emotions, right?
He started to understand andwas like, how could this be?
And he starts to doubt and hestarts to grapple with that and
doesn't believe it.
And then maybe he went theother way and he starts to get
mad about the situation.
How could she do this to me?
And blah, blah, blah, blah.
(30:59):
The rock and roll, the rollercoaster of what he's going
through, trying to handledisappointment.
You know, I've talked to youguys about it before, but you
know, something in my life thatI dealt with and deal with still
is something the Lord helpedme, is that I don't want to be
someone who's an angry person.
When I was young, I was full ofanger because I dealt with
unresolved uh bitterness in mylife.
(31:19):
I there was anger and I didn'tdeal with it, it became
bitterness in my life, and itmotivated me in a way where I'd
lash out at people.
And you know, if you're notcareful, that stuff will come
right back into your life.
And it'll be right underneaththe surface.
When everybody bumps into you,that's what they get.
They get the venom, they getthe, they get the comments, they
get the actions.
And you don't see that inJoseph.
(31:40):
You see the opposite where itsays that he was a just man.
He wanted to put her awayquietly.
But whenever you handledisappointment, how do you do?
This week I was uh I wasadventuring to put lights up,
and uh, and I had a fight withmy ladder, and my ladder was
fighting me at all turns, and soI Jackie Chan jump kicked that
(32:02):
bad boy.
I was like, ska ska and it wentclambering to the ground, and
I'm over there like Joe Peshyingmy way, you know what I mean,
through the whole thing.
And meanwhile, my son and mywife were like, doo-doo, doo-doo
doo.
And I'm like, and I realizedhow embarrassed I was in that
one moment.
I got mad at Inanita Audrick,it was getting the better of me.
(32:25):
And I rushed out at a stupidthing like a ladder.
You can only imagine what itwould be like in this situation,
and how Joseph handled it somuch better than I handled my
ladder.
He handled her with grace, andhe said it said that he wanted
to put her away quietly, meaningthat not that she would be be
someone who suffered death andshame, but instead that she
(32:47):
could go off and do somethingelse with her family.
So he was willing to take thehit himself for what happened
with her.
And meanwhile, God intervenesin the story and says it picks
up here in Matthew 1.20, but ashe considered these things,
behold, an angel of the Lordappeared to him in a dream,
saying, Joseph, son of David, donot fear to take Mary as your
(33:07):
wife, for what is conceived inher is from the Holy Spirit.
And you could think two things,and it brings about the same
question (33:16):
how much do you trust God?
How much do you trust God?
See, because from hisperspective, he's relieved
because his betrothed, hisfiance, she was telling the
truth.
And so he's excited that shehas been faithful, and he's
excited because this is amiracle from God, and the
messenger of God is giving himthis news, but at the same time,
(33:38):
now he's the one that needs tolook after the Christ child.
He has to be the protector, hehas to be the provider.
Could you imagine if he doesthe wrong thing to God's kid?
You hear people use Jesus' nameas a curse word nowadays.
Imagine back then.
If he was like, Come on, Jesus,and he's like, I'm sorry, Lord.
I mean, I'm sorry, Jesus.
I mean, what would that belike?
(34:01):
And in our situation, in yoursituation, how much do you trust
God?
Do you trust him that he'llwalk with you through everything
and he won't leave you alone?
You trust in that he's in stepwith you and knows exactly
what's going on in yoursituation.
He knows what's going on inyour story.
Do you trust him?
Because he's worthy of trust.
(34:21):
He's trustworthy.
He's someone who will notforsake us.
He won't leave us alone.
So as the story continuesforward, we can see more of his
attributes here.
It says, All of this took placeto fulfill what the Lord had
said by the prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which is God with us.
(34:44):
Friends, that's what it meansto trust the Lord, is to be
those who walk according to whathe's guiding us to do.
And what does that mean?
It means that we're notfighting him and saying, Lord
Jesus, why don't you come alongand do what I'm doing on my plan
over here?
But instead we say, Lord, howabout I go where you're leading
me to go?
(35:04):
They didn't like it.
How about this?
We don't try to get Jesus to dowhat we want, but instead we do
what he's asking us to do.
And we walk in step with him.
It's that trust on the journey.
And see, as we walk thisjourney, it's a step-by-step.
It's not about just thedestination, it's walking with
(35:26):
Jesus.
We're walking with him intoeternity where we live with him.
That's about the process ofbeing with Jesus.
And so it's not aboutnecessarily an end goal.
It's about walking with himthrough the whole process.
And as they started out ontheir journey, you could only
imagine what that would look belike.
They had to go to a census totax for his family.
So they had to change and goback to Bethlehem.
(35:47):
And in doing so, now he'staking his pregnant fiance, his
wife now, and he's taking her onthis journey to go to this
place.
He doesn't know that there'snot going to be any room for
them there.
He doesn't know that what'sgoing to happen.
He doesn't know that wheneverwhenever the child comes, that
the skies will be lit up andangels will be proclaiming God's
(36:08):
glory to shepherds out in thefield, these outsiders in
culture who are nasty and smelllike sheep that are going to
come in and worship the Christchild.
He doesn't know that their starin the sky that led the
shepherds there is alsosomething that wise men from
afar off have been tracking.
And they've been lookingthrough scriptures to find it
and to look after it.
And when the star appears, theytake all that they have, their
(36:30):
entourage and all they go, setout to go to the star so they
too can worship the Christ.
They don't know, Joseph andMary, they don't know that these
guys will arrive with gifts andthey will give them all they
need to escape Herod's hand andgo to Egypt.
They don't know that theprovision of God is already on
(36:51):
the way for the very things thatthey will walk through.
They don't know it.
They don't know any about thatprocess, but guess what?
We do, and we know that Godkeeps his promises.
That they are not alone, andneither are we.
That friends, that we walk inthe same way with the hope for
(37:12):
the world.
We have the very presence ofthe Most High God with us.
Today we have a few takeawaysfrom what the Lord is speaking
to us about.
The first one is this as weembrace hope, we know that God
is at work.
God is at work.
What does that mean?
As we say yes to him, he'sgonna work in and through us.
(37:34):
It means that we're gonna haveto embrace some change.
We're gonna have to shift ourcharacter to him and trust him
through the process.
And that's the second takeawayis that we're called to be those
that as we embrace hope, wetrust God.
Because as we embrace what he'ssaying for us, we have to trust
him that he won't leave us, hewon't forsake us, he'll stay
right with us along the path.
(37:54):
The third takeaway today isthat God is with us.
That as we're talking about hisarrival, friends, he's already
here.
He's already with you.
You don't have to do anythingalone.
Different than them on thejourney, but much like that,
where Jesus in utero is thereinside of her body, so Jesus is
with us on the journey as well.
(38:16):
So Jesus is with us in processand what he's wanting to do in
and through our lives.
The prophet Isaiah says this,therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Emmanuel,which means God with us.
We see again in Scripture herein Luke 1, verse 16, it says, He
(38:39):
will turn many children ofIsrael to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in thespirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathersto the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of thejust, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared.
Friends, that we would be likethese, that it's written of,
(39:01):
that we will be those that turnour hearts to God, that we will
embrace the relationship thatGod has for us.
There would be those of comingtogether, fathers and children,
that there would be those whohave made bad decisions, would
make wise decisions in the wayof God, that we would prepare
our hearts for what God wants todo in and through us in this
Christmas season.
(39:22):
See, for many, this is the veryseason in which they're
searching for answers.
In the midst of all thecelebration, they feel alone.
And friends, we have the hopefor all people, which is found
in Jesus Christ.
That he is the hope of theworld, he is the hope of the
nations, he is more than enough.
(39:42):
And so the question that eachof us has to answer is have you
embraced hope?
Have you allowed Jesus intoevery part of your life and who
you are and allowed him to workthrough you for his plan, for
his purpose?
Today our answer is found inthe hope for the world, Jesus
(40:02):
Christ.
That we would be those thatembrace him.
That we would tell the story ofChristmas and the real meaning
from what comes behind it.
Today we have this opportunityto answer the question of have
you embraced Jesus?
And maybe you're here andyou've never made a decision to
follow Christ.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
That you invite him into yourheart and life.
(40:23):
That you say, Lord, I believeyou are who you say you are.
And I place my faith and trustin you.
That you are the hope of theworld that I've been looking
for.
Lord, I ask you to forgive meof my sins and my mistakes, and
I invite you into my life.
That you be the Lord of mylife, that you help guide me and
direct me, that I live this newlife with you.
(40:44):
And friends, that's what itmeans.
That's why for us the symbol ofthe cross is so profound, so
important.
Because upon the cross is whereJesus took all of my sin and
all of my brokenness, all of mymistakes.
He took all of yours there too.
And as he came to the cross, hedid so, emptied of all of the
(41:05):
the Father's hand upon him, andhe took the full weight of sin
for all people.
And as he did, he died withthat sin upon himself, and it
paid for that sin once and forall.
He became the sacrifice of God.
But the thing about Jesus isthat he didn't stay dead, and he
overcame death and hell and thegrave and rose again and is
(41:25):
alive today.
And so we have a livingrelationship with the living
God.
And so that's what's differentabout us and our relationship
with God and everyone else thatbelieves in some other deity, is
that all those are dead andgone, but our Christ is alive.
And so we live in relationshipwith Him.
And that's why when the ApostlePaul he starts to write about
(41:48):
these things, he's saying,Listen, we cast our cares on
him.
He is the one who has made away for us.
We can't earn our way into hisgrace, we can't buy our way in
or do enough good things.
It's not possible.
What do we have to offer a holyGod as broken people?
Nothing.
It's like filthy rags, it saysin Romans.
But instead, that we would bethose who say, Lord, I give you
(42:10):
my heart.
I want to be dead to sin.
I want to be alive in you.
And in doing so, I want tostart a new relationship with
you and live for you for mywhole life.
It says this, Apostle Paulwriting to the church at Rome,
because if you confess with yourmouth that Jesus is Lord, and
believe in your heart that Godraised him from the dead, you
(42:31):
will be saved.
With the heart one believes andis justified, with the mouth
one confesses and is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
I'm asking everyone if you'rein the room, if you just stand
to your feet right where you'reat, bow your heads.
Christians are praying for you.
(42:52):
If you're online, take amoment, take a pause for what
God wants to do in and throughyour life today.
Maybe you're here and you say,Pastor, I want to be included in
this prayer.
I want to invite Jesus into myheart and life.
And if that's you, I'm gonnaask you that you would make that
commitment today.
Or maybe you made a commitmentto Jesus in the past, but then
(43:14):
you haven't been living for him.
But today you would recommityour heart to him to live for
Jesus, to live for God and to doso with a heart that's after
him.
As you're bowed here in theroom, if that's you, you just
want to make a commitment toJesus, you want to make invite
him into your heart and lifetoday, invite him to forgive you
of your sin.
If you just raise your handright where you're at, say,
(43:35):
Pastor, that's me.
I want to be included in thatprayer today.
Thank you, Jesus.
As people are making decisions,thank you, Lord.
Thank you, God.
We see the hand and the handand the hand that's there.
Thank you, Lord, for thosemaking decisions.
Friends online, wherever youare, making a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Thank you, God.
I'm gonna ask each person ifthey would, if you just all pray
this prayer out loud after me.
(43:56):
Lord, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
(44:16):
I surrender my life to you.
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice with thosethat made a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Praise the Lord.
Join with others that havealready made that decision
today.
Let me encourage you in this.
Take a moment, take a snapshotof the QR code that's here or on
(44:37):
your screen if you're at home.
And we want to be able to putinto your hands materials and
get you connected so you can besuccessful in living this life
after Christ.
For us today, we have thisopportunity to respond to this
altar.
And it's just to come for moreof his presence.
And let me encourage that everysingle person would come and
make an altar with God to askhim for more of his presence in
(45:00):
this year as we head into thisChristmas season, that the light
of the gospel, the hope for theworld would resonate in our
lives and through our lives tothose around us.
We thank you, Lord, for yourword today.
Lord, we thank you for theexample and the bravery of
someone like Mary, Lord, theheart of someone like Joseph and
saying yes to you and followingafter you.
(45:20):
And Lord, we ask for animpartation of your Holy Spirit.
Lord, as people come down todayto this altar, make a place
with you, you pour out yourgrace, your love, your peace
upon us.
Lord, give us your wisdom,Lord, where we lack it.
And we, Lord, we ask for theblessing of the Most High God to
reach rest upon each personthat comes.
Pray all this in the name ofJesus Christ.
(45:41):
Amen.
How many people know they needto invite someone to church or
else your cat's gonna attackyou?
This is the rule that we'relearning from today.
Celeste Brown (45:48):
Today we are starting Advent off.
And so as you head out, you'regonna see that there's an
opportunity to decorate sugarcookies.
So we thought we'd start offwith sugar.
Amen.
So grab your kids, go outthere, it's gonna be great.
And we just pray that thisseason that you just get
everything you can as you finishthis year strong and bring
someone with you as we celebratethe arrival of Christ.
(46:10):
Amen.
Jason Brown (46:11):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Or lift up his countenance uponyou and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(46:34):
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all this in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you.
Merry Christmas.
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