Beautiful songs come from a beautiful story here that is recorded by Luke, the physician, in his Gospel concerning the coming of Jesus. So we're in Luke chapter 2, we're going to be reading the first 20 verses there. Luke 2, verses 1 through 20. This is what Christmas is all about. This took place approximately 2,000 years ago. and still dominates the thoughts, the very lives of those who have trusted this Jesus as Savior. And we're rejoicing in this gospel, this good news, this coming of Jesus. We're gathered here on this night, on a Christmas Eve, To proclaim him, to praise him, to raise our voices in song and to give him the praise he deserves. We'll read beginning there in verse one. Now, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus. That a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths, swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people for today. In the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. 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. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child and all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them the word of the Lord. Father in heaven, we thank you for this Luke's account of the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. So Lord, as we study this scripture, we pray that you would encourage us We pray, Lord, that if there is one here who does not know Jesus as Savior, that you would speak to them tonight through your word, and that they would repent and trust Jesus as their Savior. And then, Lord, help us to all rejoice as we recall this story of the birth of Jesus, the night that Jesus was born. We pray in his name. Amen. And amen. So there we have it in verse one. We have a brief description of the times. What was going on back then? Well, At this point, Mary and Joseph are at home there in Nazareth. That's where they are. And Mary is quite far along in her pregnancy. And they are waiting, and we wonder if perhaps, and I would think probably, they both were familiar with Micah's prophecy. that this baby would be born in Bethlehem, but they are in Nazareth. That's where they live. And as the time approached and that due date was coming closer and closer, you have to wonder if they were thinking in the back of their minds, how are we going to get to Bethlehem? We know this baby is a special child because Gabriel, the angel, has delivered the message to Mary that she would have this son. He would be the son of the Most High and he would they would call his name Jesus, and he would be great. And she would have to know the prophecies of Scripture, and that this special child would be born in Bethlehem, but there's a problem, they're in Nazareth. Well, right there it is, in those days, a decree went out. Well, it went out from An important earthly figure, Caesar Augustus. He's a Roman ruler. Rome ruled the day. They ruled the world, the known world back then. And this powerful ruler, earthly ruler, made a decree. And the decree was that there was to be a census taken of all the inhabited earth. And then in verse 2, this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All through this, you get Luke's research. You can tell that he was detail-oriented, and he has done his research, and he has his facts straight, because he wants you and I to know the exact truth concerning the coming of Jesus. And so we find out it was the first census. And then in verse 3, and everyone was on his way to register for the census. And here's the key phrase right there in verse 3, at the end of the verse, each to his own city. So they would go back to their city of origin. We would say their hometown. Because that's where the records were kept. That's where birth records, ancestral records were kept, and they had to go back to their hometown to register for this census that just happened to have been decreed by Caesar Augustus, that was just happened to be decreed when Mary was close to her delivery date, which it just so happens that Micah had prophesied by the Lord God of heaven that this baby Jesus, his incarnate son, this one who would be born of a virgin, would come out of the city of Bethlehem. And so what happens? Well, they go back to their own city. Look at this, verse 4. Joseph, there we have Joseph mentioned here, also went up from Galilee. We can pause there. By now, you know and I know that there was a cloud of suspicion over Joseph and Mary because they are in a betrothal time. They were not yet joined together. So what's the rumor going around? Well, lots of raised eyebrows. Lots of raised eyebrows. We know from Matthew's account that Joseph was told by an angel not to put Mary away, but that he was to remain faithful to Mary in spite of the fact that many questioned the birth of Jesus. And you know, that went on all through Jesus' ministry. The people against him always questioned his birth. In fact, I'm reminded of one instance. They were always raising their eyebrows going, you know, there was a lot of questions about your birth, Jesus. Who is your father, Jesus? And I like Jesus' reply. He said, well, he says, I know who your father is. And they all leaned in. He said, your father is the devil. You know, Jesus, that's just the way he dealt with his enemies. Well, there's that cloud of suspicion. If we don't think about that at this point, we need to think about that. That's going on. That's ongoing. And now, what takes place? Well, it says, Joseph went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David. which is called Bethlehem, the house of bread, because he was of the house and family of David. So both Mary and Joseph in this ancestral line, in order, now verse five, in order to register along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child. And so they're going to Bethlehem. Now you think about this, not only the suspicion around the pregnancy of Mary, but you think about just the, really the, the trouble. Mary's probably in her eighth or ninth month. And we have to travel at this point? She has to be... Well, yes, they're going to travel. This is a decree that has been made by Caesar Augustus. And they have to go back to Bethlehem. And while they were there, verse 6, there it is, Luke records it for us. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and I like the King James Version here, she wrapped him in the swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. And we think, why a manger? Why a... A manger that was used to feed the animals. Why would a baby be laid in a manger? Well, Luke tells us right there. Because there was no room for them in the inn. So they couldn't stay where people would normally stay because of the crowd. And Jesus is born in a stable, a stable setting. That's where Jesus was born. Listen, He was born in humble circumstances, from first to last. Think of His parents, His earthly parents. Think of Mary, think of Joseph, humble means. They live in Nazareth. The ongoing question about Nazareth is, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Nazareth is not, it's not on the beaten path. It's off the beaten path. Nazareth is nothing. It is a no place. And there they are. That's where they, that's where they call home. So the days were completed. for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in those swaddling clothes, laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And now we come to the second movement in this story. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. Now, this is a, you know, to be a shepherd, you have to have a big heart for sheep and you have to be conscientious. You have to be responsible because you're caring for sheep. But these shepherds are of a low class of people. They were of a low class in society of that day. I mean, after all, they look after filthy sheep. And there they are. They're out. Just think about it. This is for them at this point. It's just a night like any other night. Same old sheep. Same old campfire. There they are doing their thing. Guarding the sheep from predators. Caring for the sheep that are sick or the ones that have broken a leg, what have you. They're caring for sheep. They're watching over their sheep. And then all of a sudden, everything changes. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. So, right now we have one angel of the Lord suddenly Appears before them stands before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were afraid They were sore afraid The shepherds But the angel said to them, so the angel not only appears, but now the angel is gonna speak. And there's a brightness around this campsite. There's a brightness over these shepherds and over these filthy sheep, a brightness that causes them to fear, their hearts palpitate. and they draw back, they're afraid. But the angel said to them, so the angel speaks, do not be afraid. And that's usually what happens when an angel appears. We've seen that before in the first chapter of Luke. An angel appears, there's fear in the one who's standing face to face with the angel, and the first words out of the angel's mouth, do not be afraid. And then the angel goes on to give a good reason to not be afraid. And at that point, these shepherds probably need a good reason to not be afraid. The angel said, do not be afraid. For behold, see this, don't miss this. He says, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord." So what an announcement, what a birth announcement here delivered by this angel to these lowly shepherds on this on this what appeared to be an insignificant night, but everything changed because of the birth of this baby. And now the angel is standing before these shepherds making this announcement and it's all good news. Put your fear behind you and listen to the good news that the angel has for you. Good news of what? Not just your everyday average happiness as a result of a good day or a good hour of a good day or a special season or holiday, not just an average joy, but he says, I'm bringing you good news of great joy. And he says, this good news of great joy is not just for you shepherds, although you're hearing the announcement, it'll be for all the people. And that's a theme in the Gospel of Luke, that Jesus has come for all, that Jesus has come from heaven to earth for all, all who would repent, all who would believe. That's the message of Luke. And these shepherds, are on the receiving end of this good news. And he says, for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be the sign for you. So this is how you'll know. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying... So this scene just gets brighter and it gets bigger and it gets more glorious because now there's not just one angel, there's a whole multitude of the heavenly host just lighting up the night sky. And all because of a little baby lying in a manger, wrapped in those swaddling clothes. That's why. And speaking of why, I want to ask why. Why would God send His Son, Jesus, from heaven to a little town of Bethlehem to be born of a virgin? Why would He do that? He would do it for this reason. to bring you safely from earth to heaven. That's why. That's why, that's the reason. In a nutshell, He wants you in heaven. And you have an opportunity to hear the story and to realize that this is God's Son, this is Jesus, that little baby lying in a manger is all man, 100% man and 100% God and all at the same time. He's divine. And there are many that want to doubt the incarnation, they want to doubt the divinity of Jesus, they want to explain away the virgin birth of our Lord. Well, listen, they may as well explain away the whole salvation story, because the virgin birth is consistent with the miracles that Jesus accomplished on earth. The virgin birth is consistent with the teaching that Jesus accomplished on earth. The virgin birth is consistent with the miracles that took place at Calvary's cross when Jesus died and shed his blood for you and for me as a payment for our sin or the payment for our sin. The virgin birth is not only consistent with those things, it's consistent with the resurrection of our Lord. All of this, and because the virgin birth is true, and the ministry of Jesus is true, and the death of Christ actually took place, and His blood was shed and stained that old Roman cross, and because Jesus only needed to borrow a tomb for three days, He is risen from the dead, because all of that's true, He is able now to get you and I And anyone who believes in him from earth, this old wicked world that we live in, to heaven. And I just, I can't help but look at this story and I think, well, how it starts. You know, this decree went out from Caesar Augustus. I'll tell you, man makes their decrees out of pride. God's got something better to say. You know, this world is full of stress. I would say this world is taxing on a human being with all the human systems, with all the sin, with all the complications of living life on this earth. And within all of that, then and there, God sent the best news that one would ever receive. And that is the good news of his son Jesus, who came as a baby into this world, born of a virgin, in order to get you and me to heaven. If you hear that word, reading that word, repent, Repent of your current lifestyle, repent of your waywardness, and trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Well, we'll finish it up, we'll wrap it up quickly. There's this multitude of the heavenly host, they're praising God and saying, Luke loves poetry and song, and here we have another very short song. How would you like to have been there that night? You would have heard the angels praising God, and you would have heard this multitude of the heavenly host saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. And the Lord Jesus came to give us this peace. He came to bridge the gap or the chasm between us and God, a chasm created because of our sin. And Jesus came to bridge that gap. He came to make peace between us and God. The Bible says that we were at once enemies of God, but Christ has come. To die on the cross for our sin, shedding His blood as payment for our sin, so that we would know God. So that we would be at peace with God. And this is the true peace that God offers, and this peace only comes through His Son. And we live in this ragtag world and we're pulled and tugged this way and that way. And we have a multitude of concerns around us, but there's very little peace in the hearts of people. Even among church-going people, there's very little peace. We're run ragged in this life and in this world. But Jesus comes to give the peace that passes understanding. And that's a peace only found in Jesus. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. And then the angels went away in verse 15. They went away into heaven and the shepherds began talking to one another. I'll say, let us go straight to Bethlehem then. You see this faith taking place in their hearts. They're drawn into this situation. They've heard the good news and they can't sit still. Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in what? In a hurry. And they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in a manger. When they saw this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the child. So they're just relaying what the angels had spoken to them about Jesus. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. These lowly shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back. glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen just as had been told them. Glory to God tonight for the gift of his son. If you've never received that gift, I want to encourage you to receive the gift of Jesus and to receive that gift by faith. How could that gift do you any good? Well, he can only do you good as you receive him. And the good he will do you, we do not have time to go into all that good. Because the good he will do you would begin the moment you trust him and would last an eternity in the future. He does you good. He does all who trust him good. That is the nature of the Christian life. Father in heaven, thank you for the time together tonight. We're about to sing one of our favorite carols. We are going to sing it to you. We are going to glorify you. We're going to glorify your name during this time and just receive our praise. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.