“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” which means, God with us."
—Matthew 1:23
“IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US.”
"It is hell’s terror. Satan trembles at the sound of it. Let him come to you suddenly, and do you but whisper that word, “God with us,” back he falls, confounded and confused. “God with us” is the laborer’s strength. How could he preach the gospel, how could he bend his knees in prayer, how could the missionary go into foreign lands, how could the martyr stand at the stake, how could the confessor own his Master, how could men labor if that one word were taken away? “God with us” is eternity’s sonnet, heaven’s hallelujah, the shout of the glorified, the song of the redeemed, the chorus of the angels, the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky."
—CH Spurgeon
… See MoreSee Less
CHRISTMAS FEAST
"FEAST, Christians, feast; you have a right to feast. But in your feasting, think of the Man in Bethlehem. Let Him have a place in your hearts, give Him the glory, think of the virgin who conceived Him, but think most of all of the Man born, the Child given. I finish by again saying, A happy Christmas to you all!"
—CH Spurgeon
… See MoreSee Less
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" ~Luke 2:8-14
The night Jesus was born, shepherds received this amazing greeting from an angel: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The long-awaited Messiah has arrived. The shepherds were among the first to witness the wonderful counselor, mighty God, Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:7), and they hurried off to “see this thing that has taken place” (Luke 2:15). The shepherds were transformed by what they saw, and they returned “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).
We pray as you celebrate the birth of Jesus that you trust in Him as your Lord & Savior. May the amazingly good news of Christ’s coming to save His people from their sins break into your heart in a life transforming way. As the shepherds were transformed by what they heard and saw and went back to their work in the fields glorifying and praising God, so we pray that each of us will be transformed by the good news of Christ’s birth and that we too, like the shepherds, will be so overwhelmed by what we have seen and heard that we will be compelled to share this good news with others. How ineffable that Almighty God took upon Himself human nature and came in the form and likeness of humanity in the person of Jesus Christ to save His people from their sins. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Praying the Lord blesses you with a very Merry Christmas!
In Christ’s love,
Pastor S. & Maria
“For, first, the birth of Christ was the incarnation of God: it was God taking upon himself human—a mystery, a wondrous mystery, to be believed in rather than to be defined.”
—CH Spurgeon
… See MoreSee Less
JESUS SAVES HIS PEOPLE!
“And you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
—Matthew 1:21
JESUS MEANS "Jehovah is salvation" and that’s why Joseph must call Him Jesus— He is the One who shall save His people from their sins. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And we all need to be saved because we are all sinners; every one of us! The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Sometimes people deceive themselves into thinking they are pretty good, but the Bible is clear: “There is none righteous, no not even one; there’s none who understands, none who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is none who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). But how often do you think about your many sins? How often do you humble yourself in repentance before God?
NOW WHAT IS SIN? According to 1 John 3:4, sin is lawlessness. Sin is rebellion against God’s law, which produces disastrous results. Because of sin our natural inclination is to think evil, speak evil and do evil. Because of sin lives are ruined, families are wrecked, children are abused, babies are aborted, women are raped, people are murdered, lies are told, alcohol is abused, men and women fornicate and commit adultery, etc. But these are only consequences in this present life. Far more devastating are the eternal consequences of our sin. You need to realize that your sin makes God extremely angry and His wrath is kindled against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Romans 1:18). You need to realize that the wages of our sin is eternal death in the everlasting flames of the lake of fire (Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41).
BUT THE GOOD NEWS of the Gospel is found in Matthew 1:21, “The angel said to Joseph: You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." The angel clearly tells us the reason for the birth of Jesus Christ; “He will save His people from their sins.” The Greek text has the pronoun at the beginning of the clause for emphasis; “He (and no other) will save His people from their sins.” In other words, Christ alone! Has this truth shaken loose every excuse and idolatrous reliance in your life? Everyday people try to add something to what Christ has done for the salvation of sinners, but to no avail.
SO, WHAT’S the implication declared by the angel? There is salvation from the penalty of our sins through Jesus Christ. “He will save His people from their sins.” Christ’s death on the cross has paid the penalty for the sins of all who trust in Him. John reminds us, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins” (I John 3:5). And we read in Hebrews 9:26 that “He (Christ) has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” And Matthew says, “He will save His people from their sins.” This tells us of the definite, securely accomplished work of Christ! It tells us that the death of Jesus Christ did not have mere potential to save but declares the assurance that His death actually saves from sin all those who believe in Him. This means we do not look to the Church to save us. We do not look to our water baptism to save us! We do not look to the Lord’s Supper to save us! We do not look to what we can do to save us! To do any of these things would make us an idolater, as the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 95 reads, “What is idolatry? Idolatry is to conceive or have something else in which to place our trust instead of, or besides, the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word.” The only One who can save us from our sins is Jesus Christ! How glorious is the birth of Jesus Christ! For He was born to save His people from their sins! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!! AMEN!!
Christmas Day Devotional: December 25, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
… See MoreSee Less
THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST’S BIRTH
LAST WEEK we learned from our text in Matthew 1:18-25 that the humanity of Jesus was derived from His mother Mary. The Scripture teaches that “Christ partook of the flesh and blood of the children; that He is a fruit of the loins of David after the flesh; born of the seed of David according to the flesh; a fruit of the womb of Mary; born of a woman; a branch of David; a shoot of the root of Jesse; sprung from the tribe of Judah; descended from the Jews according to the flesh; of the seed of Abraham, since he took on him the seed of Abraham, and was made like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted; so that in truth He is our IMMANUEL, that is to say, God with us.”
BUT JOSEPH struggled with Mary’s pregnancy. We read in vs. 19 that he was going to put her away. He must have thought, “Here I am betrothed to this woman and she is carrying another man’s child.” But we are also told in verse 19 that Joseph was a righteous and kind man, and because of this he was determined to put Mary away privately. Joseph cares about marriage. He loved the law of God, and he knew that the marriage bed is to be kept undefiled and holy. And though he loved Mary, he determined because of his love of God, and His law, that he will not unite in an estate of adultery with this woman. And so, he was determined to divorce her.
BUT AT THE same time, Joseph has great love for Mary. This is demonstrated by the fact that he doesn’t take the full recourses of the law that he could have. You see, in the Old Testament, a woman who was betrothed to a man that was found in adultery could have been stoned to death or publicly disgraced and expelled from the community. But Joseph is determined to do this quietly and not to shame her publicly or call for the death penalty.
HOWEVER, IN VERSES 20 & 21, the angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a dream, and he says, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." Notice that the angel addresses him as the Son of David. Joseph was a humble carpenter. He was not some great merchant. And yet the angel says, Joseph, remember who you are –you are the son of David, which means he was in David’s lineage. Joseph may not have been impressive in the eyes of the world, yet to God he was a son of David, a son of the man after God’s own heart.
AND SO, God’s message to Joseph was, “you take Mary as your wife. And you name that boy, Jesus." We are told in verse 24 that Joseph awoke, and he did as the Lord commanded. Joseph believed the Word of the Lord and therefore he was obedient. What a great example of the ability to trust God despite all the outward evidence to the contrary. Joseph’s heart is broken but by faith he obeys the messenger of the Lord and takes Mary as his wife. Do we do the same thing? When your world seems to be falling all around you do you believe the promises of God in Scripture? A mark of a true Christian is faith in God’s Word, trusting what He says, following and living according to His counsel no matter what your circumstances may be! Joseph gives us an excellent example of true faith in action even when all outward circumstances would tell him otherwise. You see, we can only believe what God says when we have true faith. People without saving faith in Jesus Christ do not believe God’s Word. Do you believe? Do you trust God when everything around you seems to be coming apart? Joseph did and so must you and I.
Tuesday Encouragement: December 24, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
… See MoreSee Less