Let's go to Lord in prayer and begin to look at these songs that are in Luke's gospel. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the gift of your son, the Lord Jesus. We thank you, Father. As we celebrate this season, the Father will realize that this is your work of redemption. Jesus came not to be a good teacher. not to be a philosopher, not to be a good example, but Jesus came as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He came as a sacrifice, as a suffering servant to die in our place that we might receive the forgiveness of sin. So Father, I pray as we study your word tonight, we'll see the wonder of your eternal plan of redemption unfolding before our eyes. And we stand in awe and join with the angels and Mary and Zachariah and Simeon in lifting our voices in praise to you for the great salvation that you provided for us in your son. As we saw a couple of weeks ago on Sunday morning from Hebrews 2, we need to understand we cannot neglect such a great salvation. The Father embraced the Lord Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sin. and receive the forgiveness of those sins, Father, that we might be called, as Twyla Parris put in that last verse, that we might be called a lamb of God, a child of God, that we might be adopted into the family of God by your grace. And we ask these things, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. So Luke's gospel gives us the most extensive record of the birth of the Lord Jesus and Dr. Luke was basically he put on a historian's hat and the beginning of his gospel he says in so much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us speaking of Matthew and Mark Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. And so Luke put on his historian hat and he researched. He was a companion of Paul, the apostle Paul. And so I think a lot of this information he got from eyewitnesses. He received possibly even from Mary herself, or at least her sons, James and Jude. and eyewitnesses like Peter and John the Apostle and the other apostles. And so he writes his record and foretells John's Baptist conception. And then as we saw, Sunday morning appears to Mary and announces her conception. And I thought about talking about the witnesses of the incarnation of the witnesses of Christ that are in scripture. We have scripture itself. We have the prophecies of the old Testament, uh, hundreds and hundreds of them. I think over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled the majority of them in his first coming from, uh, the type of birth, a virgin birth, to where he was going to be born in Bethlehem, to the description of his crucifixion in Psalm 22, to reality that he would be called a Nazarene, that he would be raised in Nazareth, that he would come out of Egypt, and that's where And God appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to flee to Egypt. And subsequently it was after the wise men, the Magi came with their gifts. So Joseph and Mary and Jesus had the means to flee to Egypt and support themselves by those very precious and expensive gifts. So God's provision is all along the way. And we have the witnesses of Zechariah and Elizabeth, we have the witness of Mary, we have the witness of Joseph, we have the witness of the shepherds, of the angels, of Simeon and Anna, and all these witnesses that point to the Messiah in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in chapter one, beginning in verse 46, Mary has gone, in verse 39, She, after the announcement by Gabriel to her, she arises and went with haste into the hill country to a town in Judah. And she entered the house of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth. And here's another witness and witness when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby, John the Baptist leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Now back in Gabriel's announcement to Zechariah about his son in verse 14 or 15, for he will be great before the Lord and he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And as Mary enters into the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and she hears the voice of Mary as Mary greets her. John, who has been filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, leaps and responds to hearing the voice of Mary as she is bearing. The conception, I think is implied, has already occurred. This miracle has already occurred, and she goes to see Elizabeth, her relative. And then Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaims with loud voice, blessed are you among women and blesses the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Let me just say parenthetically here, I think this is a case that tells us that from conception, this is a baby, this is a person from conception. The baptizer could not be filled with the Holy Spirit as an inanimate object or a non-person. He could not leap in the womb of his mother as a non-person. From conception, we are the one that God created. In fact, I didn't mention this Sunday, when it says, when Gabriel appeared to Mary back here in verse 28, it says, greetings favored one, the Lord is with you. I mentioned that that favored one, that graced one is in the It's a perfect passive participle. Now, the perfect means that an action has happened at a point in time, but the effects and the effects of that action goes on for eternity. And what I didn't mention Sunday, I believe, as Jeremiah said about himself, that the Lord knew Jeremiah before Jeremiah was even conceived. Because not because Jeremiah was some disembodied spirit floating around like the Mormons teach and waiting to enter in to a body. No, God knows the end from the beginning. He knows us all. He knows everything. That's his omniscience. And he knows everybody before they're conceived. But he knew Jeremiah before he was conceived. I think he knew Mary before she was conceived. and favored her, graced her in eternity past that was manifested here in Luke 1 verse 28 when Gabriel appeared to her and said, favored one. Perfect passive, passive means the action is done to the person. She does not produce the action. If it was in the middle voice, if it was in the middle voice, she would be producing the action. She would be producing the grace, but it's in the passive voice. She's receiving the grace of God. And as conception occurred, the Holy Spirit came upon her and she became pregnant. And she steps into the presence of Elizabeth and the baptizer is, the baptizer is still in his mother's womb, six months along in the pregnancy, at least. He leaps for joy because he's in the presence, not only of the mother of his Lord, but he's in the presence of the Lord God in the incarnation in the womb of Mary. And so, Mary breaks out in this song. She says, my soul magnifies the Lord, exalts the Lord, praises the Lord, and my spirit rejoices, and I mentioned this Sunday, in God my Savior. Mary was not sinless. She did not remain sinless. She was an Adam. She needed a Savior, just like we need a Savior. I've talked about this a little bit Sunday morning. Roman Catholicism has exalted Mary in some areas, in some quarters of Roman Catholicism, they have exalted Mary onto an equal plane with the Lord Jesus, that she's become a co-redemptress, that she's a co-redeemer with the Lord Jesus Christ. That is absolutely categorically contrary to scripture. Mary needed a savior. God graced her. Greetings, oh favored one. I mentioned this Sunday. When Jerome translated the scriptures into Latin, into the Bible, which is known as the Vulgate, which became the standard of Roman Catholicism, he translates that one verb, that one participle, into two Latin words, gratia plena, which means full of grace. And that's where Roman Catholicism gives the teaching that Mary was full of grace. What the text tells us in the Greek is that she, God bestowed his grace upon her. She's not the repository of grace. She's the receiver of grace, just like we are. And so she breaks out in this song, my soul magnifies the Lord. This is a place of humility. This is a place of humbling herself before the Lord, which she did in verse 38. Behold, I am the Lord's servant. She humbled himself as his young girl, 12, 13 or four, probably not older than 14. I mean, could be as young as 12. I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me according to your word. And that's what Elizabeth said. Blessed is she, Mary, who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. She exercised faith. We're saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so she said, my spirit rejoices in the Lord, my savior, for he has looked on the humble state of his servant. This is grace. Just like back in Genesis, Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. God graced Noah and his family and saved Noah and his family. Not because there was something intrinsically good about Noah, although I believe he probably was a righteous man, just like Luke tells us in chapter one here about Zechariah and Elizabeth. Now, there's nothing said about Mary. She's not identified as a righteous woman. Elizabeth and Zechariah are. Joseph is in Matthew's account that he was a righteous man. Simeon and Anna, at least by implication, are referred to as righteous, but nothing is said about that about Mary. but I believe she was of the remnant. I believe she was a righteous young girl, but God looked on favor upon her humble estate. And behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. And she is blessed. She is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ in his incarnation. She is blessed. There's no one else that had that blessing except her. The only way we come close to it is for Christ to be born in us, in a sense. But really, he's not born in us. He comes to us by faith, and we're the ones that are born into him. For he who is mighty recognize... See, she asked a question earlier, how will this be since I'm a virgin? And Gabriel said to her, that this is gonna be the work of the Holy Spirit in verse 37, for nothing will be impossible with God. For he who is mighty has done great things for me. He's graced me and holy is his name. There's no place at all in scripture that advocates praying to Mary as a mediator. I mentioned this Sunday. in I think it's 1 Timothy 2.5. There is one mediator between God and man. Yeah, 1 Timothy 2.5. And by the way, this is in the context of prayer. First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. for kings and for all who are in high position, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. There's one mediator between God and man. Mary's praying and praising the true and living God. And we don't pray to Mary. There's nothing in scripture that tells us that Mary is a mediator or that she's a co-redeemer with the Lord Jesus Christ. She was in Adam. She was without hope except in the promise of the Messiah. And I think she placed her hope in that. And God favored her, graced her, and called her to bear his son in the incarnation. And she needed a savior just like you and I do. She needed grace just like you and I do. For he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him. From generation to generation, Mary's right in line with those who fear the Lord. And she humbled herself and said, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. He has shown strength with his arm, starting by his right arm, mighty to save. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart. The Proverbs tells us God resists the proud. Both James and Peter refer to that, that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He brought down the mighty from their thrones. Go back to Psalm 2. Why do the kings rage against my anointed? Wider nations rage, and the people plot in vain. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, against His anointed, saying, let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things. It's what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled. God has filled the hunger of our soul to know life, the hunger of our soul to know the true and living God. He's done that. The rich he has sent empty away. Sends them away, empty. They rely upon their rich. That's what they do. That rich young ruler that came to Jesus in Mark's gospel, and this is not the gospel, he went away sorrowful. because he loved his money. Jesus told him, there's one thing that you're not doing. You're not obeying the first commandment to have no other gods before you. Your money has become your security, your God, what you trust in. And the text tells us he went away sorrowful because he went away with his wealth, but all that wealth was empty. It did not satisfy his soul. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. The Messiah was coming to the people of God as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. So that's the magnificent, the praise, the song of Mary. My soul magnifies the Lord. My soul rejoices in God, my savior. Because of his grace, he looked on the humblest state of his servant. Because of his might and power, he has done great things for me. Holy is his name. Now let's jump over to Zachariah's song. And another significant thing in this first chapter is the baptizer was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. When Mary comes to Elizabeth, she's filled with the Holy Spirit and bears witness. And now here in verse 67, Zachariah, John's father, his father, Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. When was this? When John was being dedicated and they were naming him. And he's born and they bring him. On the eighth day for circumcision, they came to circumcise a child there in verse 59. And they would call his name Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, no, he shall be called John. Why? Because that's what Gabriel told Zechariah in the temple, that his name is gonna be called John. None of his relatives, and they said, your relatives is called by that name. And they made signs to his father inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, his name is John. And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was open, his tongue loosed. He spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all his neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea. And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts saying, what then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Same vein of Mary, for he has visited and redeemed his people. Now, again, I didn't really check this, but I believe at the very least, this redeemed is in the Aristotles. It means it's an accomplished task. Jesus isn't even born yet. It's going to be another three months or six months before he's going to be born. But Zacharias praising God because the promise has been given and the promise is secure just as if it has happened. He has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us. That's the Lord Jesus in the house of his servant, David. See Zachariah, the baptizer, isn't a descendant of David. David's a descendant of Judah. Zachariah and Elizabeth are a descendant of Levi. That's why he was a priest. And so it's not speaking of the baptizer here, raised up a horn of salvation for us. In the house of his servant David is the Lord Jesus he's speaking of. The Lord Jesus has visited and redeemed his people. God has done that in his son. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, Here's the witness of scripture, the witness of the prophets. That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. To show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. God told Abraham that through you, through your son of promise, Isaac, subsequently Jacob, subsequently Judah, subsequently David, subsequently Joseph and Mary, Joseph legally married by blood, the Lord Jesus Christ. That all nations would be blessed through this son of promise. Isaac was just a type and shadow. The Lord Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the son of promise. He is the son of promise. to show mercy, promise to our fathers to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies, and what are the enemies? Now, some would think Rome, earlier Greece, earlier the Solution Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who entered the temple and slaughtered pigs upon the altar, prophesied by the prophet Daniel. Those are just temporary enemies. The real enemies is our sin, is the guilt of our sin, is the death subsequent payment for our sin. The grave is our enemy. Satan is our enemy. Death is our enemy. He's gonna deliver us from the hands of our enemy, that we might serve him without fear. We don't have to fear death as believers because God has wrought the victory over death. Jesus is risen, just like he said. And because he is risen, we're gonna rise in him when he returns. And so we should have no fear of death. Just like Paul, he says, for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain, gain. that we might serve him without fear, without fear of man, without fear of persecution. It doesn't mean persecution will not come. It does come. It is coming. It has come, will always come until Jesus returns. but we can embrace it without fear as we rest in Him. Now that's easier said than done, but it is possible. It's been done through the ages. Saint after saint after saint has faced persecution and suffering with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the peace that only comes from that presence of Christ in our life. might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all of our days. And the baptizer was an example of that, serving the Lord without fear as he thundered in the wilderness and called the religious leaderships a brood of vipers and demanded that they come with fruits of repentance before he would baptize them. He challenged Herod in his illicit marriage and he lost his head. He was beheaded, but John was fearless. Now he had his moments. We know in the gospels, he sent his disciples back to Jesus and said, are you really the Messiah or should we look for another? John had his moments just like we have our moments. But in the end, at the end of the day, as I say that, I think of a wonderful pastor friend of mine who has gone on to be with the Lord, Brother Richard Rollins. That was one of his favorite sayings. At the end of the day, at the end of the day, John stood fearless. At the end of the day, every true believer will stand fearless. And now Zachariah shifts his song to the baptizer, to his son. You child will be called the prophet of the most high. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his way. That's what John said. I'm the voice, quoting from, I think it's Isaiah 40. I am the voice crying in the wilderness. They said, who are you? He said, I'm that voice that was prophesied back in Isaiah. I'm pretty sure it's chapter 40. Verse three, a voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up. Every mountain and hill be made low and even ground shall become level. And the rough place is a plain. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Who's the glory of the Lord? The Lord Jesus Christ. And all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. And you, my child, will be called the prophet of the most high. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give knowledge of salvation to his people." That knowledge of salvation, the result of that, received by faith in the forgiveness of their sins. Because the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sun rise shall visit us from on high and give light to those who sit in darkness. We talked about this two weeks ago. that the people walking in this great darkness have seen this light to give light to those who sit in darkness. If you're without the Lord Jesus Christ, you're in darkness. You're in darkness. You need to see the light of Christ, this great light that can disperse that darkness of your soul, that can bring to you the forgiveness of your sin and to give you life everlasting. to give life to those who sit in darkness in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And now speaking of the baptizer and the child grew and became strong in spirit. And he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. So that's our second song. Now we have our third song here in chapter two, picking up in verse eight. Um, The Lord Jesus has been born. Let me back up. Verse four, and Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, the house of bread, appropriately, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the bread of life, because he was the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, The time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to his firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. And the same region there were separates out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, my guess is Gabriel, didn't say, but that's my guess, because he seemed to be the supreme messenger. And they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, fear not. So he said to Mary, said to Mary, don't be afraid. Verse 29 of chapter one, she was greatly troubled with the saying and tried to discern what sort of thing this might be. And the angel said to her, don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor. You've been graced with God. Angel said to the shepherds, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news. That's what the word gospel means. Goodness is good news. The incarnation is good news. that he has, going back to Isaiah's song, blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people. You have good news, good news of a great joy that will be for all people. That's why I love singing the Christmas songs, the Christmas hymns. I try to point out, we sang one Sunday that is a Polish Christmas carol, Christmas song. We have ones from France, from Poland, from England, from Ireland, the Appalachian Hills. We have Latin songs that we sing at Christmas time. The whole gamut of all people from every tribe, every nation, because that's where Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost from every corner of this world. And so the angel said, this is good news of great joy. And I love singing those songs because they express the joy of God's salvation. That will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, Bethlehem, a savior. That's why his name was Jesus. Yahweh saved, salvation is of the Lord. Yahshua, He's gonna save His people from their sins, the angel told Joseph in that vision. A Savior who is Christ the Lord, that's who He is. Savior is what He came to accomplish. He is Christ the Lord, He is God of very God that's come in the flesh and took upon flesh so that he might live a perfect life for us and die a substitutionary death for us at the cross. And this will be a sign for you to find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. I would guess Jesus wasn't the only baby born that night or in that region, but he says, this is going to be a sign. You can go to Bethlehem. You're going to find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. And this baby is going to be lying in a manger, not in some house, in some bed, under a roof, but he's going to be in a stable. Some think it might've been carved out of rock and been more like a shallow cave. If you go to Israel, they'll point out in Bethlehem that the cradle was not actually what I've made and am making a second one because my manger is missing from the church. And I use a display one at Christmas time. It wasn't a wooden one. It was a stone. a fairly large stone that was hewn out and like a big bowl. And that's where the hay was placed in. And that's where the Lord Jesus Christ lay in a manger. And then suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, probably that just a curtain was pulled back because they were probably there, but now they appear before the shepherds. Suddenly with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, now again, we think they were singing. They might've been kind of like a chant, but it says saying Mary spoke her prayer. John Zechariah spoke his prayer. The angels now are speaking this prayer, this, this song glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. among those with whom he is pleased. That's the accurate translation. King James translation is not accurate as far as what the text, the Greek text says. And it kind of implies kind of a general, generic piece, but, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. That's the familiar translation from King James. But what the text really says, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among Those with whom he is pleased, with whom God is pleased. Who are the ones that God is pleased with? Those who have by faith, just like Mary, humble ourselves and receive the word of God, receive the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Who receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Who receive the Lord Jesus as Lord. If you confess with all your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. That's the promise of Romans 10, 9, 8 and 9. Because what, verse eight says, because what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith that we proclaim. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, who he is, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, that he accomplished our salvation, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For our scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there's no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches, his grace on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. Romans 5.1, therefore being justified by faith, We have peace with God. When the angels went away into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let's go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that's happened, which the Lord has made known to us. Now quickly, we're really out of time. I want to just touch on Simeon's prayer. Jesus is born. It's time of dedication, verse 22 of chapter two. And when the time came for their purification, according to the law of Moses, this was, can't remember the timeframe. Circumcision happened on the eighth day. I want to say, The time of purification was longer than that. It was about 40 days. It was about 33 days after Jesus was circumcised. And so they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. As written in the law of the Lord, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And so He's being dedicated and sacrificed according to what was said in the law of the Lord. A pair of turtle doves, this indicates that Joseph and Mary were poor, because that was the least offering. Two young pigeons. Now, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, for the salvation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. So we have John being filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. We have Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit when Mary comes to their house. We have Zachariah filled with the Holy Spirit when he gives his song of praise. And we have Simeon. He was a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord's Christ, the Messiah. And he came in the Spirit into the temple. The Holy Spirit was leading him. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God saying, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation. He's looking at the Lord Jesus, this baby barely a month old, who is the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. My eyes have seen your salvation. For you have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light, here's the theme again, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people. What a moment of praise, what a moment of worship. And by the way, the mercy of God, the grace of God, the peace of God ought to move us to worship. ought to move us to praise God for these blessings, for this grace, for this mercy, for this peace that we can have with Him after we've been justified by faith. Well, our time's gone. You can finish reading the end of chapter two. What do we take from these songs of praise and worship? Well, The Lord came to redeem. Jesus came to redeem as a Redeemer. He came as a Savior. He came to bring peace. He came to rescue us from our enemies. And our enemies is our own sinful nature. Our enemies is death. Our enemy is the grave. Our enemy is the adversary, the devil. And Jesus has rescued us in salvation from them and brought peace to us, reconciled us to the true and living God. and brought salvation and light to our souls. We are no longer people who walk in darkness. We are children of the light. And first John admonishes us, God's word admonishes us to walk in the light as he is in the light. We are children of the light. We are the redeemed. We are the rescued ones. We are the saved ones. We are the ones that have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the celebration of the incarnation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to live and he came to die. And he came to be resurrected. And he came to be exalted. And he came in his first coming to prepare a way for us to be ready for his second coming. I hope you're ready for his return. If you're not ready when He returns, it's too late. There's no second chance. I know there are those that distort the Word of God and say there's going to be a second chance after Jesus comes, but that's not what Scripture says. When He comes, He's going to judge the living, those who are in Him, spiritually alive, and the dead, those who are spiritually dead. Quickly, let me just substantiate that from John's Gospel in Chapter 5. So, I base what I believe, or seek to base what I believe on the Word of God. Now, All that honor the son just as they honor the father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here because I'm here, he's saying, Jesus is saying. When the dead, the spiritually, I was dead, I was a church kid, but I was spiritually dead. When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, the Holy Spirit opened my heart with the light of the gospel and in a sense spoke to my heart. Hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. Those who hear the voice of God and believe on Him has eternal life and will live. For as the Father has life in the Son, He has granted the Son also to have life in His Son. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming, future, Jesus said an hour is coming, it's now here, because I'm here. that if you hear the gospel, you believe the gospel, you respond to the moving of the Holy Spirit in your heart, you'll receive everlasting life. Because a day is coming, an hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs who have died, who are in the grave, will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, to those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Go over to chapter 19 and read chapter 19 of Revelation. Where basically the same thing is said. The separating of the living and the spiritually alive and the spiritually dead. Jesus is coming back to judge between the living and the dead. If you're not among the living, it's too late when he returns. But it's not too late now. That's why the Bible says today is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time. If you're in this darkness, this darkness of sin and death and the darkness of this world, I pray that you see the great light, the Lord Jesus Christ, and you receive him by faith and become a child of the light, become a child of God. by the promise of God's word. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you, Father, for these songs of praise, these songs of witness, of the gospel, of your redemption, your salvation, of the light that shines in Christ, that is able to disperse the darkness, that is able to deliver us from our enemies. Thank you, Father, for this gospel, this good news. Thank you, Father, for the Lord Jesus Christ. As we celebrate the incarnation these next days and weeks and celebrate Christmas Day, Father, we say with Mary, my soul magnifies the Lord. I rejoice in God, my Savior. Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. This Sunday at Antioch, We've got Sunday School at 930, but we're also going to have our Christmas program, which is the reading of much of what I read here, the gospel account, the Christmas story of Luke chapter two. And we're just going to have various songs. People are going to sing and play and just a time of great worship and celebrating through song and the reading of God's word. If there's a little time, I might give a mini word, a sermon, but it mostly is going to be celebrating the incarnation through song and the reading of scripture. Then on Christmas day, we have no Sunday school. We're just having worship at 10 o'clock on Christmas day. And if you don't have a church home, come and join us. We're going to celebrate the Lord's supper and we're going to sing and Read God's Word again and I'll probably have a brief message, but we're really just going to just celebrate the birth and the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. So if you have a church home, be faithful to church home. And if not, join us at Antioch or join us later on Facebook. The Lord bless you and we'll. Well, let me say quickly, I may not have a Bible study next Wednesday. We may, as a possibility, we may make a short trip up to Chicago area to see our youngest son and our grandkids next Wednesday and Thursday. But if we don't do that, then I'll be back here next Wednesday.