Let us stand together and let us hear God's call to worship, which comes to us this morning from Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who made us, and we are his. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. The Lord has called us to worship. We come into his very presence by faith. We enter before him and are filled with his grace. And he greets us then with these words. Grace and peace unto you. from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We do call upon our God this morning then and ask for his grace upon us, our God and Father, we pray that you would truly be pleased to hear us in our praise unto you, that you would bring us, as it were, by faith into your house, that we might know that we have met with you in the most intimate way and that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. And we know that we have come to you only in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has taught us to pray, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus, listen to the words of the institution of sacrament of holy baptism. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Baptism is a sacrament ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a sign and seal of the inclusion of the person who is baptized in the covenant of grace, teaching that we and our children are conceived and born in sin. Baptism witnesses and seals to wash the remission of sins and a bestowing of all the gifts of salvation through union with Christ. Baptism with water signifies and seals cleansing from sin by the blood and the spirit of Christ together with our death to sin and our resurrection to newness of life by virtue of the death and resurrection of Christ. Since these gifts of salvation are the gracious provision of the triune God, who is pleased to claim us as his very own, we are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And since baptized persons are called to assume the obligations of the covenant, baptism summons us to renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh, and to walk humbly with our God in devotion to his commandments. Although our young children do not yet understand these things, they are nevertheless to be baptized. For the promise of the covenant is made to believers and to their children as God declared to Abraham. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you and their generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God to you and your descendants after you. In the New Testament, no less than in the old, the children of the faithful born within the church have interest in the covenant by virtue of their birth and right to the seal of it and to the outward privileges of the church. This is because the covenant of grace is the same in substance under both Testaments, and the grace of God for the consolation of believers is even more fully manifested in the New Testament. Moreover, our Savior admitted little children into his presence, embraced and blessed them, saying, of such is the kingdom of God. So the children of the covenant are by baptism distinguished from the children of unbelievers, and solemnly received into the visible church. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we could present this child for holy baptism for the sake of your son Jesus Christ. Accept Isaac as your own and plant it into Christ's death and resurrection. Make him to increase in wisdom and grace with God and men, and lead him, O Jesus, a lamb of your fold. We commit him to your gracious protection and guidance. Grant him your Holy Spirit to know you, to love you, to follow you, and to inherit eternal blessedness with you. Amen. All right. We want to confess our faith this morning using the confession of the Christian Church, the Apostles' Creed. Congregation, what is it that you believe? I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day, he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. As we meet with our God and come into his presence, and what a privilege that is, even more so we are given the privilege to come before his throne of grace and to bring our praise and our petitions unto him. So let us unite our hearts together and let us call upon our God. Our God and Father, what a joy it is to call upon you this morning. We ask that you would indeed be pleased with our worship. We know that We are not deserving even to come into your presence, even to take your name upon our lips. But we do so and are enabled to do so because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so we pray that as we do acknowledge that you are the sovereign God, the creator of all things, the one who upholds and directs the affairs of men and of nations, the one who is the author and the provider and the finisher of our faith in Jesus Christ. We thank you especially this morning, O Lord, that we can recognize the promise that you have made, the promise which we claim and parents can claim, that you are our God and that you are the one who provides salvation for his people. Yes, we need to confess that faith. This child needs to come to know him as his savior. But the gift of a savior is his. And we can claim as part of the church, Jesus Christ, that promise of the covenant, undeserved, yet in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we pray that you would be with the parents pray that you would be with young Isaac and that he would be led to know you as his Savior we ask the Lord that you would be with the rest of us here this morning with joint st. John's Reformed Church we continue to pray that you would provide yet for a pastor who would undertake the labors here at St. John's. We continue to be grateful for the work that has been done in the preaching of the gospel and the work of Chris. We pray that you would bless him as a student yet seeking for the ministry. We thank you for your care over Pastor Johnson, that he would continue to be able to reach a level of function. And we pray, O Lord, that you would be with all who are gathered here this morning. You know what is in our hearts, O God. We pray that you would meet those needs. But above all, that we would this morning have truly known that we have met with you, and have been encouraged, and have heard your word, and that we are ready by your grace and spirit to not only have heard, but to apply that word in the days ahead. We ask now that you would be with your church, not only here in Lincoln, but within the RCOS. We pray that you would continue to provide for men to preach the gospel. We pray especially for the continued work of establishing yet a church in Omaha, as well as in Denver and in Montana, in Central Iowa, and the various other places, the Spanish work that we have in Shasta, California. And beyond, we pray for our brothers and sisters in the Congo and in Kenya and in the Philippines. We pray for the training of men there as the churches have benefited greatly and are growing in the Philippines through men being trained by Heidelberg Seminary. We pray that you would be with that institution, not only as men are trained in the Philippines, but in Kenya as well as a couple of the professors will be traveling to Kenya this summer. We pray, oh Lord, that you would provide for all of these things as well. And we ask now, oh God, that as we look to you And as we have come into your presence, understanding that we do so only in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we do come with a keen awareness that we have failed at every point. We have failed to do the things we ought to. We have not done the things we ought to. We have done the things we ought not to. Lord, we ask for your forgiveness. But we also, with contrite hearts, asking for your forgiveness, we rejoice in the hope and the certainty of the promise that the shed blood of Christ is sufficient to cover for all those sins. That in fact, we are standing in your presence as though we had never sinned. as though we ourselves have fulfilled all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for us. We rejoice in that gift of salvation and the certainty of the finished work of Christ. And we ask, O God, that you would indeed call all of your people out of darkness. And so we pray, O Lord, that not only it important that this congregation know who they are and are fed by the Word of God but it be a shining light in the midst of this city that those who are yours who have not yet heard the gospel would hear it and would be called out of darkness into your marvelous light. May we as realize that we are here to serve you and to serve you as that shining light, as a witness in the darkness around us. We are grateful for your many blessings, O Lord. We pray that you would continue to be with this nation. We pray, O Lord, that the light of the gospel would indeed penetrate the darkness as it is tremendously apparent in our culture. And we do pray, O Lord, that you would be with those whom you have appointed, whom you have called who are your servants to lead in this nation, and that you would work in their hearts, that you would Your purpose might be done, whatever that purpose might be. And we would be grateful in acknowledging and understanding that all things are by your purpose and for the glory of your kingdom and the glory of your name. It is in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we do pray. Amen. Our scripture reading today is from the Gospel of John, and the first chapter. We'll be reading through the first 14 verses of that chapter. Let us listen carefully to the reading of God's most holy word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about that light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." And then our text for this morning, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Thus far, the reading of God's most holy word May God indeed bless both the reading and the hearing of his word. You know, there's a lot about December and Christmas, the Christmas holiday, I should say, which you may dislike and even should criticize, particularly all of the the commercialism, the extent of which we have that, the glory in all of the earthly things. And yet the fact that the Son of God, our Savior, came, the Incarnation, God became man, came to accomplish salvation is certainly worthy of celebration. Now, aside whether Christ was actually born in December or not, it is the tradition on biblical principles that we praise God by celebrating the birth of our Savior. John 1.14 is a very well-known verse in that connection. We're looking at it, and you probably have become very familiar and are very familiar with the words of that verse. I want to look at it from a very particular perspective this morning. And that is to emphasize the idea that the word became flesh. Particularly pay attention to the glory of God coming and being in the midst of mankind. So first of all, when we raise the question, what is the emphasis? Christmas is so much more than just a nice story about a baby born in a manger, even under miraculous circumstances. First of all, it is about salvation. Because you see, in the birth of the Son of God, the salvation that was promised from the beginning, and as we noted in Sunday School this morning, was planned in eternity before time. That salvation, with the birth of Christ, becomes real. The heart of that salvation is the restoration, the coming together of God and man, even in the incarnation itself. God and man, the person of Christ. Now, for a number of reasons, there are many who either, on the one hand, ignore Christmas altogether and even see it as anti-Christian, or they see Christmas only as kind of a fun holiday. But there is a real issue. What is the birth of Christ really all about? And what, in fact, are we celebrating? There are a number of different themes from Scripture which can be emphasized. But the virgin birth of Christ is, of course, the centerpiece of all of Scripture. Everything that's in this book is ultimately about that reality, the birth of Christ. our Savior. And the emphasis that is noticed in this passage by John is about the glory of God. The glory of God which speaks to the presence of God. We're going to look at that and unfold that a bit this morning. But the glory of God in terms of the presence that was there in the Garden of Eden before man's sin has now come into the midst of a sinful world that God, by His grace, would bring God and man back together. So we're going to consider this morning the glory of God and that God has come in that message of the glory of God, God has come to be with His people and that God, the God-man, dwells with man. First of all, then we're going to look at the restoration of glory, the implications of that restoration, and finally, what it points to, the salvation. You know, when God came to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after they had sinned, and they knew that they were dead and without hope and deserving of eternal condemnation, and God pronounced the curse on the serpent, He did give the promise of salvation. Now, by various means, that promise continues to be further given and advanced throughout the entire Old Testament, through all of the history and all of the fathers of the covenant and the prophets in the Old Testament. That promise is continued. It is expanded upon. But now, with the birth of Christ, that promise is no longer just a promise. It is real. Christ has come. And so when we say that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, we must understand that this event is the fulfillment of what was promised when God told Adam and Eve or when God told the serpent in the hearing of Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. To say that you see Jesus as your Savior is to say that you see the Word of salvation. It's not just to have some religious or spiritual experience. It involves that. It's not just to feel good about Jesus. Certainly, that is a great thing to know Christ. But it is to see the Word. And the Word has come and dwelt among us. That is to hear, to understand, and to learn the word of truth. So what is being taught, the doctrine of God and all of the fullness of His plan of salvation is what we need to understand and what we hear in the person of Christ. You see, when salvation was first made known, as I mentioned, God pronounced the curse upon the serpent. And in that pronouncement, Adam and Eve heard the deceit of the woman. When that gospel message was first being known and spoken to Adam and Eve, and in fact, when that was first spoken to Adam and Eve, it was spoken to you and I. Because Adam represents, we speak of his federal headship. In Adam, you and I were there. when God spoke the promise of salvation. Adam and Eve heard that word. Satan heard it as well. And he continued to speak by Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, prophets, the great exodus from the land of Egypt, sacrifices, etc. But all of this was again, as I introduced earlier, a word of promise. Satan's head was not crushed there in Genesis 3.15. It was the promise that that would happen, that was given. And it pointed to something yet to come. And yes, the people of God, starting with Adam and Eve, did not remain from that point on totally cut off without salvation until Jesus came. No, they had salvation and they had access to God through sacrifices, through all of these outward means, but salvation that they trusted in and believed in was a promise. What was spoken, first of all in terms of the spoken word, what was promised is what John records here verse 14 in other words what we read in verse 14 is exactly what Adam and Eve heard not in the same words not with the same fullness of understanding but it's what Adam and Eve heard in the garden and the word became flesh that's the son the seed of the woman the the offspring of the woman promised and the word of course is God himself in the person of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. That's the point at which all thoughts and celebration must begin. This is what it's all about. The promised seeded woman is now the Son of God become flesh, who is the God-man on earth. This event which was believed, Adam and Eve we know believed the promise. God's people from then on we read by the writer to the Hebrews tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 that great chapter of the faithful speaks of the fact that the people of faith in the Old Testament were looking for a salvation which was yet to come. You and I respond to the event that is taking place. They were looking and trusting in and believed in it yet to come. When we read, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, that word dwelt there is a very interesting word, a very interesting way in which John puts this. It literally means, and has reference back to, we'll pursue that more fully in a moment, has reference back to the tabernacle in the wilderness at Mount Sinai, when God was able to come into the camp. And so it points to the dwelling place. Literally, what John is saying is that God came and set up his tent, set up his place of living amongst men. There's a direct reference to the tabernacle. God, by virtue of the person of the Son, by taking on human nature, God and man, that which was ripped apart when God put Adam and Eve out of the garden because of sin, God and man is brought together in the person of Christ and in the birth of Jesus. And now God is with man in the far greater sense. We want to keep in mind here the reality of God and man in the garden. When God first created Adam and Eve and their life in the garden, however long that was before the fall into sin, probably a relatively short period of time, But there was the fullness of all of life in the presence of God. God is the absolute sovereign God. But he was there in his presence with Adam and Eve in the garden. They worked. They fellowshiped. They had everything as to what God has made them for life to be, connected to God. That's cut off. Adam and Eve were put out of the garden. And yes, through sacrifice, as I mentioned, they were able to continue and have life in God. But it's clear that when John says, the Word of God, he's talking about the Son of God, the third person of the Trinity, as is made clear in the first couple of verses. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. well that's what fulfillment is not just a word spoken anymore not just a word promise it's a word that has become real it in fact it very interesting christ the second person the trinity as referred to here as the word of god and it is spent the person is speaking the word of god in the very presence of Christ coming the birth of Christ Yes, it was in a particular place in Bethlehem and particular people were Received the announcement and came to visit him, but the birth of Christ is a shout But the world hears but the Word of God is speaking John is telling us clearly as possible that this is the reality. This is the now happening the good news of that was first promised in Genesis 3.15. God came into their midst in the sense of restored life. And verse 4 speaks of God as the source of life. There is no life without God. When man threw away life, when Adam and Eve sinned, and you and I all with them, life was thrown away. And now through the second Adam, it is restored. That's what we celebrate. Christmas and that's what brings joy that's the real gift and the glory of Christmas now the presence of God which is possible by means as already said indicated first of all in the very incarnation that God is now also a God and man in one. When John said, we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten, that word glory is another very very important term here. You know the disciples, many of the shepherds, originally when he was born but later on in his ministry, The disciples and many of the people during the earthly ministry of Christ had the privilege to literally see Jesus with their own eyes. He spoke to them and ate with them. They literally laid their eyes on him. And thus, John says, they saw the glory of God. You know, the most complete picture that we have in the Bible, in the Old Testament in terms of promise of salvation, apart from actual salvation, is when God brought the children of Israel out from Egypt under slavery and brought them unto himself. And God met with them. And I made reference a moment ago to the tabernacle. What we read in the last verses of the book of Exodus, Exodus 40, is when the tabernacle was completed, and we read of God moving into the camp, because sin or salvation is still only promised here. Sin has not yet been covered, and a holy God cannot be in the midst of a sinful people. So the tabernacle is set up, and God moves in, and it speaks about the cloud. the glory cloud which filled the tabernacle. And then the glory cloud led the people throughout. That is the same word that is here referenced that we saw His glory. It's a reference to His presence. The incarnation is important that only one without sin had to be the one who would pay for our sins had to be one who was without sin himself the one who would receive and up and and maintain and hold the wrath of god is only one who has the power of god in the goodness of god but it's also important in terms the very person We must explore that a bit further. But by means of Adam, all mankind was in position to have life. I spoke of the life in the garden. And if Adam had obeyed, that would have been ours. That did not happen. The opposite did. But now by means of the second Adam, not just that which was torn apart and cut off, it restored in Christ in human nature. The one who will do what Adam did not do has taken on human nature and is himself the God-man. Now, we have seen the promise. The promise is the Word of God. We've seen the fulfillment of that promise in the very person of the Word of God. And so we've gone from promise to reality. And yet there is a greater sense that we need to see here. If we only get to promise and the word of promise becoming full, we have not yet really fulfilled or understood what this verse is really all about. And that is that in Christ, with the promise given and the promise become real, there is now salvation. Even if your focus is not on all of the glitz of Christmas, but on the glory of God, know what it is for you. Remember that God-man who came and dwelt in our midst is introduced in verse 4 and 5 as our life. In Him we have life. That is to say, the ultimate of what this is all about is your and my salvation. That is what God came to do. And that is what he did. Why would God? Think about this question for yourself. Why would God, in the person of the Son, come and literally set up his tent in our world, in our midst, a world of sin and rebellion? The answer to that question is very clear. in many places but listen to what John says further in chapter 6 and verse 57 he says as the living father sent me and I live because of the father so whoever feeds on me he also will live because me because man and God are back together there is life. Though God does come into this world where all humankind lives, there is a distinction. It says, he who feeds on me will live. If you feed upon the word of God, if you feed upon the person of Christ, he is your savior. In a little bit, we're going to be feeding upon Christ in an outward way, implied by the wine and the bread and the Lord's Supper. That's just bread and wine, but it's the implication of life, just as you feed daily for your life to continue, you have given to you because He has come in the person and dwelled in our midst. He has come that you, undeserving, have life in Christ. Because man and God are back together, there is life. Though God does come into this world, there is that distinction. Christ did not just come to be in the world. So we need to take this idea of God setting up His tent here on earth a step further. Christ did not just come to be in this world so that He could be closer to man. Even more so, He comes that He might be in your heart. There is no glory. There is no restoration. There is no celebration. There are no lights or all of that goes with it unless He is in your heart. That is that you believe on Him. We know that God responded to Adam and Eve based on the fact that He is the God of grace. His dwelling in your heart is also of grace. That means it is not the result of anything that you have done, that I have done. It's not because of who we are that somehow we are privileged or that we have deserved. It is God by grace, undeserved, that He enters and the glory is now even in your heart And you have that life that John speaks about here. Where your joy in Christmas is different than that of the world. There are many who celebrate Christmas who know nothing of what we've just talked about here this morning. But where your joy in Christmas is different than of the world is in that having a new life in God. That is now you are filled by the grace of God. by his truth because the Word of God, the truth of God has come that you might see it. It is present. You enjoy and see the glory of God and is in your heart. Again, the glory cloud in Exodus was not just there, as important as that was. But the glory cloud in Exodus was the means for which God led the children of Israel in their travel. The presence of God in your heart is not just to be there as great as that is, but it is to lead you in your life as you celebrate Christmas, but in every other part of your life. So whether it is December or July, the glory of God is what we celebrate. So if Christmas has any glory, if you do see Jesus, than truth is real in your life. It is based on that reality we can claim the promise of the covenant. It is based on that reality that we can know that we have a life by which we are fed spiritually, as we will outwardly hear in a few moments. The presence of God is equally something to celebrate what you need to do with your life every day. It's also good to remember many of the different events that we know of in terms of the works of salvation. But the birth of Christ is the center to it all. And we do celebrate. We do rejoice. We do praise God for the fact that He came. The Word of God came. in our midst and is in our midst. Amen. Let us pray. Our God and Father what a joy it is to know we rejoice not only that you have promised but even greater you have delivered on your promise. Christ has come. Not only has he come, he has come to us. And we are grateful that we see his glory in our hearts and in our lives and in the relationship that we have with you. In Jesus' name we do pray. Amen.