Let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2, verse 8. Luke chapter 2, verse 8. I think the first or one of the first Christmas songs that I heard this year is a familiar one. It's the most wonderful time of the year. And I think everyone would agree that Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year. But I think we would also agree that it can be the most busy time of the year. Think of all the things that go on at this time of year, whether it is Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, Christmas cooking and baking. There are parties, concerts, Christmas plays and programs, and so much more. There's a lot going on in this Christmas season. And with all of the activity and all the busyness, a lot of it is really fun, but it is easy to overlook the real reason for the season. And of course, the good news of Christmas, the reason for the season, is the good news of Jesus Christ. Well, in Luke chapter 2, verses 8 through 20, we meet some of the first people who announced the good news of Christmas. They are ordinary men, but what sets them apart is this. They are faithful witnesses, faithful witnesses of the good news of Christmas, the good news of Jesus Christ. But what is a faithful witness? Who can be a faithful witness? Well, in Matthew chapter 2, starting here at verse 8, we see several ways that a faithful witness is described. And number one, a faithful witness is an ordinary person. A faithful witness is an ordinary person. We've been watching some of the history of the Second World War, and it is an amazing time, certainly a very sad time for those who had family members injured or killed. a very costly time, but also an amazing time, as literally hundreds of thousands, millions of people were called up and trained and prepared to do whatever their task would be in the process of that wartime period. Well, God is working all the time all over the world, and he works through people, and he works through largely ordinary people, regular people. who he calls and prepares and sends out to do the work that he wants done. And there are many of them in the Bible. Now think of Moses. Moses was on the success track in Egypt. He was abandoned. He was left to drift in the Nile River in a basket. Someone said he was the original basket case. You can take that as you will. But he was found in a basket by Pharaoh's daughter, raised in Pharaoh's home. And he was being groomed for a top position in the kingdom. And then he lost his temper. He killed an Egyptian and went from protege to fugitive. And he made a dash for the land of Midian, which is not translated meaning the middle of nowhere. Someone thought it was somewhere. The Midianites thought it was somewhere. But he was far from his home in Egypt and was tending sheep in what you might call the backside of the desert. And God meets with him there at the burning bush. We read this, God speaking to Moses, Now behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me. Furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. Well, Moses could only think, it's been a long time since I've even been to Egypt. I've been a shepherd for 40 years. Any skills I had there are long gone. And so he says this. He says, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? Moses is saying, I'm just an ordinary guy. I'm a shepherd of sheep. Why me? And so God said, certainly I will be with you. And this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain. And so when God needed a man to lead his chosen people out of their bondage in Egypt, he chose an ordinary man who really thought he was a failure, thought he was washed up. And God called Moses He appointed him and sent him to bring a message to Pharaoh, one of the most powerful men in the ancient world, to let God's people go. And he would lead God's people for many, many years in Egypt, out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the border of the land of Canaan. And then think of David, king of Israel, someone no one thought would be the king. He was the youngest of all his brothers. He was a shepherd, and God chose him to be a king. And then think about Amos, the prophet. And someone would say, well, Amos, what are you doing speaking for God? Amos said this, he replied to Amaziah, I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet, for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. And so he is a rancher, he is an orchardist. And he said, but the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, go prophesy to my people Israel. When God needed a spokesman, he called Amos. an ordinary man, an orchardist, a rancher, and sent him with his message to his people. And then think of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, the girl your mother warned you about. She was an outcast, and she was there at the well by herself to avoid the other women, and they didn't come so they could avoid her. The Lord Jesus meets with her, speaks with her, she believes, and then she dashes off to her village and becomes an evangelist. Says, come and see the man who told me everything I ever did. And they came and believed in Jesus Christ. God had a purpose for her. She was an ordinary person, really kind of an outcast at the time. She came to know Christ and God used her to bring the good news of Christ to the people of her village. When the Lord Jesus needed 12 men to be the foundation stones of the great work that he would do, the Church, he chose twelve ordinary men, the disciples, who later became the apostles. We read this in Acts 4. Now, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed. and then began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. So these were 12 ordinary men who the Lord Jesus appointed to be his apostles, and they really shook the world. They spread the gospel from Judea to Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth. Twelve ordinary men picked and prepared and trained and sent. God does that. And then John Newton, John Newton had been a slave ship captain and God saved him and used him in great ways. He is the one who wrote the great hymn that we sing, Amazing Grace. And looking back on his life, he said this, although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly. I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior." So if our memory goes away, don't forget those two things. In fact, John Newton believed that. He says, I'm a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior. God took an ordinary man, a slave ship captain, saved him, called him, prepared him, sent him, and used him in ministry to be a blessing to many. And the messengers God used on that first Christmas night were ordinary men. Take a look at chapter 2, verse 8 in the Gospel of Luke. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. Now, these were ordinary men. And shepherds were not at the top of the social ladder. In fact, they were generally looked down upon as unsophisticated, unclean because of the nature of their work. They weren't regular in attendance at the synagogue or the temple. They were also not known to be especially honest, and they were not even allowed to give testimony in court as witnesses. That is what the world thought of shepherds. They were not high on the list of people in their minds. But when God chose these witnesses, he chose ordinary men and gave them the priceless message of Jesus' birth. Paul understood this, that God calls and uses ordinary people. He said this in second Corinthians four, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We saw this old movie and they were moving this sculpture from one place to another and it was going to be put in this special custom-made case all shaped to the shape of the sculpture. We set in there so it couldn't be jarred, couldn't be rattled, couldn't be broken, couldn't be harmed, and they had this treasure in this special carrying case, to move it from one place to another. And what Paul is saying here is this, that he has the treasure of the gospel, God entrusts the treasure of the gospel, he puts it in earthen vessels, clay pots, the cheapest container you could find. And that would be the ordinary person. God uses the ordinary person to be the vessel, the container, the delivery system for the gospel. God uses ordinary people. And we see this. And Paul knew that though he and his team were weak, feeble, frail men, but in using them, the greatness of God could be clearly seen. So when God chose his messengers, he bypassed the palace, he bypassed the temple, and he sent his angel to the fields to a small group of ordinary men to give them the priceless news that Jesus Christ has been born. And God uses ordinary people. You might think, can God use me to do something? And the answer is yes. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Secondly, when we think about a faithful witness, he receives his message from God. And the faithful messenger does not create his own message. He's not making it up. But in fact, he receives his message from God. It says, and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. Now, an angel is a spirit being, what the Bible calls a ministering spirit. a spirit that serves God, and a good angel always obeys God, can never not obey God. A good angel always tells the truth, and a good angel will never lie. And good angels can't change from good angels to bad angels. So good angels are always good. And as a messenger, a good angel is 100% reliable. What an angel says is what God says. It is perfectly true. And so as this angel appears, It says, he suddenly stood before them. Now, angels are spirit beings. We don't know how fast they can go from one place to another, but they get from place to place, and they can do that invisibly. So you don't see them coming, but you see them once they've arrived, and they appear. And that's really how it works. And so he has traveled from one place to another, came from God, went to Bethlehem, and appeared in the presence of these shepherds. And it happened suddenly. And they were really terrified. But not only the angel, we see also the glory of the Lord shown around them. Now, this is the dazzling brilliance of the presence of God. And so these shepherds out in the dark, in the fields with their sheep, all of a sudden are dazzled by the appearance of this angel. And then also the glory of God, this bright, brilliant light also shining all around them. So God is there, his presence is there in his glory, and then also the angel is there with a message for them. Now the glory of God had not been seen in or around Jerusalem or in Israel for centuries, since the days of Ezekiel, when the glory of God departed from the temple because of the sin of the people. And now for the first time in many, many years, the glory of God is displayed in Israel once again, there in the fields with the shepherds. So the shepherds were terrified, but the angel encourages them, verse 10 in the King James, fear not, fear not. You know, this is a great study to do in the Bible anytime, is to look up the passages where God or his angel says, fear not. There's lots of them. God doesn't want us to be afraid of things. He wants us to fear not. And he tells the shepherds, fear not. And so he's going to bring them the message of Christmas. a message that comes from God, a message for them, and a message they will be entrusted to deliver. And the first thing about the message of Christmas is that it is good news, good news. He says this, I bring you good news of a great joy, which is for all the people. I bring you good news. I think of the news as best in small doses, and I have my small dose, usually at some time in the day, and I scroll through it. Zip, zip, zip. It says, well, the world's still there. The same things are kind of happening. A few new things are happening. See you all tomorrow. And that's kind of my course of the news. Of course, sometimes I read stories. There's some interesting stories out there. But generally, I scroll through there. But one thing that I conclude when I go through the news is that people need good news. They need some good news from somewhere. And the good news of Christmas is good news. The message of Jesus' birth is good news. It is good news in a world where we need good news. And it also is a message that brings great joy. It is good news of great joy. And it is good news that can bring joy to a heavy heart, joy that God is real, that he is in heaven, that he sees our need for salvation, for all the blessings of salvation, our need, our desire to be with him. He sees all of that. And he sent his son to accomplish that, to open the way to God at the cross. And so again, it is a message. It is good news that brings joy to a heavy heart. And it is good news for all. Good news for all. Again, verse 10, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. And the good news of Christmas is good news for everyone. Last week, we showed you that snapshot of the future, of a picture of heaven, of tribulation saints gathered there before the throne. These were believers who were going to be killed for their faith during the tribulation, and when they die, they go immediately to heaven and they're there. And there's people of every nation, tribe, and tongue, all gathered together in that place. And it's a reminder that people from all over the world heard the gospel, believed, and when they lost their lives through martyrdom, they were transported immediately into the presence of God. And the gospel is a message that is for everyone. There's no one that the gospel is not for. It is a message that is for everyone, and it's worked every time it's tried. And people today, as through the centuries, are hearing the gospel all around the world, and they are responding. It is a message for all people. It is the ultimate one-size-fits-all gift. Isn't that great? And so again, it is something that no one can say, well, the gospel's not for me. The only way a person can say that is if they are not willing to receive it. But it is for them. It's good news for everyone. It's something everyone needs. Now, could you imagine there's how many shopping days? I actually went shopping with a buddy of mine, Christmas shopping, on Christmas Eve. I'll talk about two lunatics in the shopping mall, but the work was done, the gifts were purchased, all of that, Christmas Eve. I've done that before. Anyway, I won't tell you about that. But the point is that you wonder, is there a gift that is right for everyone? One gift. I suppose chocolate would be one of those things. It's good for almost everyone, but maybe there's something else. Well, the gospel, the good news of Christmas, is the gift that's right for everyone. It fits everyone. It's the right thing. It's something everybody needs. Now, there is a lot of activity this time of year, lots going on, but it's important for us in the midst of all the activities to not lose sight of the real reason for the season, Jesus Christ. You know, as you sort of observe what's going on, listen to what's going on, listen to a lot of the music, you think, wait a minute, what is Christmas really all about? You know, is it about this or that, or is it about Christ? Well, it is about Jesus Christ. And verse 10, he tells us the reason for the season. For today, verse 11, in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And he tells us who Jesus is. He answers the question, who is the Christ of Christmas? And number one, he is a Savior. He is the Christ that everyone needs. Everyone needs a Savior. Everyone needs to be saved from the power of Satan, sin, and death. And Jesus came to do that. He came to save us and he was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas. And then also he is Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the coming king. Now these words take us far ahead from the day that Jesus Christ was born. far beyond the day that he even ascended into heaven, and even beyond today. But there is a day coming when the Lord Jesus will come back to reign as king on this earth. And when he does that, he will right every wrong in this world. Think of the list, if you could even think of the list. It could be volumes, and he will right every wrong in our world today. Think about that. And that day is coming because Jesus Christ is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the coming King. And also, he is the Lord. Now this is really the wonder of Christmas. Somebody said it's good to have a sense of wonder. And where else can you have a sense of wonder than pondering the Christ of Christmas? There he is, the baby in the manger, born to parents who are the poorest of the poor. Their hotel was a negative 15 star hotel, I think, or something. It was pretty low on the list. And they're in a pretty rough place. And there they are. And here's this baby. And the angel says, by the way, he is Christ the Lord. That means he's God in this tiny package, this newborn baby. This is God in human form. And he came to be one of us, to show us who God is. And he did this in many ways, but also to be our perfect substitute. on the cross, he fulfilled all of the sacrifices in the Old Testament sacrificial system. When a person would worship at the temple or the tabernacle in the time of the Old Testament, they would bring an animal sacrifice to have it to be killed as a sacrifice, to have its blood shed to cover the sins of the worshiper. And in part of the ceremony, the worshiper would put his hand on the head of the sacrifice. And the idea was that this sacrifice was not just a sacrifice, but was a substitute. And he would die, he would shed his blood as an innocent animal for the guilty sinner. And so there were countless sacrifices made, and what was interesting was they were repeated over and over, month by month, year by year. And the message of that was, we still need one sacrifice who can really forgive sin once and for all. And the Lord Jesus is that one. As he died, he cried out and said, it is finished. And that means everything necessary for our salvation is done. And he is the last and final sacrifice. And it is interesting that in the providence of God, within a generation of Jesus' death and resurrection, Jerusalem was attacked by the Romans. And what happened? The temple was leveled to the ground. the sacrificial system was eliminated, the priestly system came to an end, and it is still ended today because all of those sacrifices are no longer needed. The Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And so he is the one who paid the price. And that's the wonder of Christmas, that you have God in human form, in a form we can understand, as the one who would be our perfect sacrifice, our perfect substitute, the one who could truly pay the price for our every sin. He can do all that's necessary that our sins could be forgiven. Now a faithful witness receives his message from God. He does not compose his message for himself. Paul said this, he said, I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. So Paul is speaking as a faithful witness. He doesn't have man's message. For neither I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." That is, the Lord Jesus unveiled it, revealed it to him directly. And so Paul received his message directly from the Lord. I have had cult groups come to our house and been pretty direct with some of them. Others I engaged in conversation. I'm getting letters now from them. Maybe you're getting letters from somebody you don't know who maybe doesn't live very far away. And these are letters from cult groups wanting me to come to their meetings and believe what they believe and lose my, toss my salvation away if that was possible. That's what they're wanting me to do. And I knew the cult. I knew what they did. They identified themselves in their literature. And I said, you know, this is made up. This is a message that comes from man. It doesn't come from God. And so these messages are out there. But the faithful witness gets his message from God. Now, with the advent of the Internet and media, our world is filled with countless people claiming to be Bible teachers. And they would say they have a message from God. Well, we can listen to them, pay attention to them, but we need to ask, is their message from God? Is it from the Bible? We need to listen with a prayerful heart and an open Bible and make sure that what we're hearing is coming from God. And a faithful witness gets his message from God. Number three, a faithful witness believes what God has said. That is, a faithful witness proclaims his message and he believes it. He does both. Take a look at verse 15. We see the faith of the shepherds. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. They're not going as skeptics, saying, you know, we're shepherds from Missouri, and what we say there is show me. We might believe this, but we'll believe it when we see it. No, that's not the case. But in fact, they believe it happened because the angel said it. What is that about? Well, God said it. I believe it. That settles it. And that was their faith. So they knew it happened. They hadn't seen it, but they knew it happened because the angel said it. And so they're going not to find out if it's true, but they're going because it is true that the Savior, Christ the Lord, has been born in Bethlehem. And so these shepherds believe. Now, Billy Graham, is known as a great, great Bible teacher. Now with the Lord, you wonder how his knowledge of spiritual things has expanded now that he's in heaven. We had the opportunity to see him when he was in Portland, and it was great to see him when he was there. He was not much older than me at the time, and I thought, man, he's really old. But anyway, it was pretty interesting hearing him and seeing people coming to Christ. It was just great. Well, he had a crisis of his faith early in his ministry. And he had a friend who was kind of influencing him and saying, can you really believe all that's in the Bible, all the miracles, all these things? Can you really believe that? And Billy Graham was speaking at a Christian camp down in California, and he tells the story in his book, his biography. But somebody describes it here. Billy Graham, who had just begun his evangelistic ministry, was asked to speak at Forest Home, a Christian camp. It would become one of the defining moments of his faith. It was here that Billy Graham, wrestling with his understanding of God's Word, went for a walk through the Forest Home property, laid down his Bible on a stump, and received confirmation that the Bible is truly the authoritative Word of God. Reflecting on this moment in his autobiography, Just As I Am, Graham wrote this, Father, I'm going to accept this as thy word by faith. I'm going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be your inspired word. And that was Billy's, how he resolved his crisis of faith and the rest is history. Who knows how many countless, countless people heard the gospel from him and believed or are in heaven today or are headed there because of Billy Graham. And he crossed the line there. He made the decision that he would believe everything that God's word said, and he believed what he preached. And so a faithful witness believes what God has said, no reservations. And a faithful witness tells what he knows. A faithful witness tells what he knows. Our legal system is built on witnesses who tell the truth, who tell what they know, but they don't tell what they don't know, or don't tell what they would like to make up. But a faithful witness tells what he knows. And so verse 17, Verse 16, when they came, they came in a hurry. This has been called the original Christmas rush. So from the beginning, at least some people were rushing around on Christmas. Here it is. They came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. Remember, they'd been given a sign. Verse 12, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger. And a sign is something tangible that God gives to show that his word is true. And so when they found the baby in the manger, they knew that everything God said was true. They already believed it, and now it was confirmed in the sign. And so they get to Bethlehem, and they see the baby in the manger. Verse 17, when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child. And so the shepherds shared the message they had received from the angel. And they made up an unbroken chain of witnesses, of messengers, from God, to the angels, to the shepherds, to Mary. Ever see how a story changes when it goes from person to person and you go back to the source and say, oh, I didn't hear it that way. But stories have a way of changing. But in fact, the shepherds were part of this unbroken chain. They received the message from God through the angel, and they delivered it directly to Mary Joseph, the people who were there, exactly as it came from God. You know, it's not hard to be a faithful witness for Jesus Christ. It's not necessary to have an advanced degree. It's not even necessary to be a polished orator or speaker. In fact, Just tell what you know, the familiar good news that Jesus Christ has been born, that He is the Savior, He is the coming King, and that He is Lord, He is God. And then tell what Jesus has done for you. Tell how He saved you. Tell how He is with you, how He answers prayer, how He gives strength, peace, and grace when we're in need. Just tell what you know. Be a faithful witness, and a faithful witness tells what he knows, and we all know that, and we can share it with other people, and there are many people who need to hear that good news. And number five, the faithful witness receives a response. The faithful witness receives a response. You know, every time the gospel is presented, there will be a response. There always will be. Paul saw this when he was in Athens. And people responded in three different ways. Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer. And this is the first response. And that response is, no, not interested. And then there's a second response. But others said, we shall hear you again concerning this. This is the person who is interested, but is kind of a procrastinator. One procrastinator said, never put off to tomorrow what you can put off to the day after. And so they said, we'll get back to you. We're interested, but not right now. So they're interested. You know the little thing you can click on your phone, now, never, later? Well, they're like later. They're clicking later. They're curious, but they want to hear about it later. And then the third group. Paul went out of their midst, and some men joined him and believed. They were glued to Paul. Ever glue your fingers together? I hate that. You're playing around with the crazy glue. Oh, no. and somehow get them loose. Well, they were glued to Paul, and they adhered themselves to Paul. And these are the people who said, yes, I believe, tell me more. And there's going to be a response. Something is going to happen when the gospel is proclaimed. It's either going to be no, later, or yes. That's what it will be. It always happens, and a faithful witness does that. Now, the shepherds received a response to their message. There were two responses. The first is amazement. Verse 18, all who heard it, so we realize there's Mary and Joseph there, the shepherds and others, all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherd. So they were amazed. They weren't really understanding what they saw and heard. They were amazed. That's one response. But there's another response, and that is thoughtful meditation. Verse 19, but Mary treasured all these things, and so she went to great lengths to memorize, to commit to memory, everything she heard. And she is trying to get that in her memory. In school, there were a lot of things to memorize. And I would go for walks, and it looked like I was talking to myself, but I'm repeating things so I can memorize them. And Mary was memorizing what she heard. She's committing all this to memory. She's treasuring these things so she doesn't lose them. And then also, she is pondering them in her heart. Now, to ponder means to put together. There was a time when Christmas Eve was the time for putting together Christmas presents. And actually, we had one this year that we kind of had to put together. And so we have the parts, and we're trying to figure out how they go together. And we're just trying. Finally, we got it, so I think it's going to stay together. It needed a little tape to kind of force the issue, but it's together. And so it's all together. And what Mary's doing now, she's heard all these things. He's been born. He's a Savior. He's Christ the Lord. There was an angel. There was an angelic choir. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace among men, with whom he is pleased. There's the glory of God. There's all of this. And so Mary has all these pieces and she is trying to put them together in her heart to really understand what is going on. We had a complicated Bible passage today in Sunday school, and it took some time to put the pieces together. And if you've ever taken something apart maybe six months ago and forgot how it goes together, you know how it is to kind of try to put it back together. Well, she's trying to put together this information that she could understand what has happened. that night. And so this is thoughtful meditation, trying to understand and appreciate it. And again, the word of God gets a response. Isaiah said this, God speaking through him, so will my word be which goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. You know, I've been trying to talk to all 50 states three different ways on the radio. And I had one state that's really kind of hard to get. And a buddy of mine said, here's how you do it. You put yourself online and say, I'm looking for this state. I put out one call and here comes this guy with a New England accent. Yeah, here I am. And I thought, wow, I sent out that signal and it came back with the guy I wanted on the other end. How about that? The Word of God does that all the time. You send it out there. We record our messages. We broadcast them online. They go out and something happens. People hear them and God does things through his word. Same thing happens when we just tell someone what we know about Jesus Christ. God will work through that. And so the faithful witness will see a response when we share the good news, guaranteed. And then finally, A faithful witness knows real joy. And a faithful messenger is a person who knows real joy. And it is the joy of having heard the good news. It's the joy of having believed it personally. And it is the joy of sharing it and seeing God's word fulfilled as people believe and are saved. The shepherds had this experience. And so verse 20, The shepherds went back. Literally, they turned around, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. And so they're praising the Lord. They're glorifying God. They're full of joy. And again, because they are faithful messengers. And like those shepherds, we've heard what they have heard. We have seen what they have seen in the pages of scripture. And with them, we can rejoice in the good news of Christmas the good news that Jesus Christ has been born, the Savior, the King, and God. So in this Christmas season, people are looking for peace and joy. And they're finding that peace and joy are not so easy to find. And Jesus said to us, you will be my witnesses. And this Christmas season is our golden opportunity to be faithful witnesses, like these shepherds, to the good news of Christmas. Jesus has been born. He's Savior for all who would trust in Him. He's the coming King who will right every wrong in this troubled world. And He is God in a form we can understand. And a faithful witness just tells what he knows. I remember having to give some testimony one time, and the lawyer we were working with said, I know you want to help, but don't make anything up. I said, OK, thank you. I'll do that. And you just tell what you know, and don't tell what you don't know. And I said, OK. So that's what I did. I appreciated that advice. And so we just tell what we know. He saved us. He's with us. He gives us peace, grace, and hope. for the future. And what greater gift can we give to anyone than the good news of Christmas? And this Christmas season, may we be like those shepherds, those faithful witnesses, sharing the good news of the Christ of Christmas. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And thank you for the people you have used to spread the good news that has come down to us. Father, in this Christmas season, help us to be like those shepherds, those faithful witnesses who tell what we know about the Jesus Christ who was born on that first Christmas day. In Jesus name. Amen.