The word of the Lord. Born a king. Just a few thoughts as we have this time together in the service today, as we think about all that Christ has done for us. We've all got our plans, don't we? We all have our plans at Christmas time. Maybe you're just hoping to get through this time, I don't know. Maybe you've gotten to the point where you can really savor the time, and to me that's kind of what this service is about, to savor the true meaning of Christmas and just focus on this one thought, that he comes as a king. Now we don't see that so much in the storyline and in the setting and all of that, the humble circumstances, right, but it is interesting that these wise men, probably of the line of Daniel, who studied the stars and were full of wisdom and maybe even had insights from God's Word through people like Daniel from generations before, they are coming to honor a king, right? That's what it says there. Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? And that was a startling question for Herod, who was lifting himself up as a mighty, mighty king. And yet, as we think of this question that the wise men bring, it helps us to focus on the goal, the end of it all, not his first coming, but his second, his birth, but then all that that was to lead to in his final coming, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. to the glory of God the Father, when he will truly be acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He comes initially in humble circumstances, but he will come again. He will come again in all of his fullness. And we're beginning to see that unfold little by little, incrementally. Sometimes we really wonder, don't we? But, you know, as Narnia C.S. Lewis talks about the snow of the cold Narnia is beginning to melt. And I think Lewis puts it this way that in Narnia it was always winter but never Christmas. Always winter, but never Christmas. And so that was a very crushing thing, discouraging thing for the children. And sometimes we feel that way, don't we, in our world. What's gonna happen next? It's always winter. Oh, when is Christmas coming? But for, as those children, those sons of Adam showed up in Narnia, the snow started to melt. And that was a dire warning sign to the, what's her name, Queen of, The White Witch. Thank you. Thank you for expertise on that. The White Witch of Narnia. That was a dire warning to her. She started to really ramp things up at that point. Because she knew what was in store. She knew what was coming. And for her, that was an awful warning. for us and for the animals and for all the creation in Narnia, that was a great hope, a great joy. And so we can have that same hope, that great joy, because the King, the King is coming. Now, Jeremiah puts it this way. The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. All those things we think of justice and righteousness that will be fulfilled. But first and foremost, he is a righteous France. He is righteous in a way we can never be. Even as we try to raise ourselves up and do our best and as well-meaning as that all is, and we shouldn't be discouraged in that, we always can hold before us The end from the beginning, our righteous branch has come and fulfilled all righteousness in his humility, in his life, in his death, and his resurrection. And so we can have hope. He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and is to come, the Lord Almighty. So every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. And that's the question we all need to ask ourselves. Have I bowed my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ? Every day we need to do that and we need to do that. one-on-one with him, don't we, to bow our hearts before him, to give him our lives, because he has given his life for us. He has provided a righteousness that only he could provide, that we never could. So I have this little quote as we end today. Someday the king will return. He won't need to be elected. There will be no debates. every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen and Amen. All right, let us continue with our final Gospel reading from the Gospel of John.