Good evening. Merry Christmas to you. It's common to ask children this time of year what they want for Christmas. And so I open tonight's message by asking you, adults and children alike, what do you want for Christmas? The celebration of Christmas in our culture tends to focus on our felt needs and our felt wants. And so most Americans wish for the gifts of luxury and the luxurious Christmas gifts that they would never ask or buy for themselves. And most Americans will look to these material comforts of this world for happiness, but they will not find it. These past few weeks, the high school soccer team at Bradford offered a gift wrapping service as a fundraiser for their soccer team. And they beautifully wrapped some empty boxes with festive, beautiful Christmas wrapping and put bows on it and tied knots around it. And they did so to serve as both decor for their wrapping station and as an example of their work. Now I know this because they stored these boxes in my office. And one day I walked into my office excited thinking someone had left me several large gifts. And so I picked them up and I shook them and lo and behold they were empty. They were appealing on the outside, but they were empty on the inside. And the material comforts of this world are like that. They look desirable, but they give nothing but emptiness. Now we all, children and adults alike, have wish lists. But I wonder, are the blessings of everlasting peace and abundant joy on your wish list. And if they were, to whom would you go to to ask for such lofty and inspiring gifts? Friends, these gifts are free to all, but you will not find them in any store in this world. They come only from the one true and living God. Would you read again with me in the Gospel of Luke? In the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Now in this passage, an angel of heaven, a messenger of God, addresses the shepherds regarding the significance of Jesus' birth. And through these shepherds, he addresses all the people of the earth. And so we can learn from them what the significance of Jesus' birth is. And after astounding these shepherds with a visible manifestation of the Lord's glory, An angel proclaimed the birth of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Now God adorned the birth of this Christ still with more, in even a more illustrious manner. For one angel announced the good news, but a proper response demanded a whole host of them. So after the single angel announced Christ's birth, a multitude of the heavenly hosts appeared, praising God, saying in verse 14, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. The angelic choir praised God for what Jesus' long-awaited birth had finally accomplished. And the first accomplishment mentioned is that Jesus' birth brought glory to God. And the second accomplishment is that Jesus' birth brought peace to men. And I want to meditate on these two realities briefly tonight. So first, the birth of this child glorifies God. Now the word glory permeates this text. You see it first in verse 9 where the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds and its brilliance terrifies them. You see it secondly in the angelic song where they recognize and worship and ascribe glory to God. And then at the end of this story, in verse 21, the shepherds join the angels in praising and glorifying God for everything that they saw and everything that they heard. Now, glorifying God means recognizing His primacy, or recognizing His supremacy in everything. But it's more than just mere recognition. For the angels and the shepherds rejoiced in it." And so we can say that glorifying God is recognizing His supremacy and rejoicing in that primacy. And so the angels in their song admire the greatness and the splendor of God's majesty through worship. Worship of which they declare that He alone is worthy. And the shepherds beheld but a portion of that greatness and splendor through these angelic messengers. But as that glory radiated around them, the angel said something to them. He spoke to them. He immediately directed them away from the terrifying vision in the field to the meek manger in Bethlehem. And it's as if they are saying that there, there in that manger, you will behold an even greater vision of glory in a child. And this very person in the manger is the greatest revelation of God's glory. And when you behold God's glory in him, you will rejoice as opposed to recoiling in fear. Now, how is this so? Who is this child? Well, the ancient prophet wrote, of which we read earlier, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end. See, in this manger, the long-awaited sovereign ruler, the mighty God himself, entered human history, and unthinkably as a human being. Now did you notice as I read this text that the angel who revealed the glory of the Lord in verse nine explicitly names Jesus as that very Lord? He is a savior who is Christ the Lord. And so the baby born in a lowly manger is the Lord of heavenly glory. The Most High God wondrously humbled Himself to the lowliest place. And as a result of this, this perfect and meek condensation, He is owed the highest glory from both men and angels. And friends, Jesus came that we might join with the angels in glorifying God. He came that we might recognize His preeminence in our lives, and He came that we might be able to, with the angels, rejoice in His salvation. The angels rejoiced. The shepherds rejoiced. What about you? Well, through this Christ, glory rises to God. And from this Christ, peace descends upon man. And so the second great purpose of Jesus' birth was to bring peace on earth. Look at verse 14 again. And on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. And Jesus came to establish peace. And we must ask, what kind of peace is this? And peace for whom? Well, it says in verse 14, God gives peace to those who please him. Uh-oh. Are you confident that you have pleased God? Are you sure tonight that this verse describes you? What is written, none is righteous. No, not one. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. You see, the whole purpose of Jesus' coming is actually because we have utterly failed to please God. And in fact, we have greatly displeased Him. You know, at first the shepherds feared the very sight of God's glory. For I think they became awfully aware of just how far short they had fallen of it. Now imagine with me for a second if you thought that your eyes and your body was strong enough to stare straight into the sun. When you would gaze directly upon the sun, inevitably the power of its great brilliance and its brightness would immediately blind you. And you would be forced to admit your weakness. And moreover, you'd be forced to admit the dullness of all human-invented lights in comparison. And so likewise, when we raise our thoughts to God and we behold Him completely in His pure holiness, righteousness, and wisdom and power, we are compelled to admit how weak, foolish, wicked, and unrighteous we are. And more than that, we must admit how useless all human inventions are to reach Him. You know, one theologian stated, man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty. And the shepherds had that experience. See, all humanity repeatedly fails to glorify God, preferring instead to elevate themselves in his place. And more than that, they assume that God is pleased with that, that this verse is in reverse, that God is singing our praises about how good we are. But the Christmas story teaches us that real peace cannot be found in this world or conjured somehow by man. Instead, it must come down to us from above. And indeed it has. See the angel in verse 10 quickly replaces the shepherd's fear with joy. And he tells them good news. He says a Savior is born. Christ the Lord was born as a baby in a manger so that later he could hang on a cross as our Savior. He came in human form, and He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. See, Christ alone perfectly pleased His Father. And with that perfect life, He offered the only pleasing sacrifice to God for our sins. You see, the very person of Christ is our peace. And he himself is the greatest gift. And you obtain peace when he draws you into a saving relationship with himself. In other words, the peace is for those who receive his grace and those who rejoice in his goodness. See, Christmas does not bring peace to all people irrespective of their relationship with Christ. God offers his peace to all humankind, but only those who trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord receive, possess, and experience it. And that's because through Jesus, God becomes infinitely and unchangeably pleased with you. And so if you're here tonight and you're not a follower of Christ, let me remind you that there is no lasting joy or peace in this world. This world can offer you a beautifully wrapped but sadly empty box. And that's it. Jesus replaces the rational fear of judgment with the unspeakable joy of salvation. And so I want you tonight to see this angelic song as an invitation to join in glorifying God, and receive Christ as Lord, and surrender yourself to His Lordship, and recognize His supremacy, and not just understand that He is preeminent, but practice His primacy in your very life. For that is why He came. And if you're a believer, I want to remind you that we should all be perpetually amazed that we have been offered peace with God and eternal joy in Christ. And that perpetual amazement should lead us to praise. And it's that praise that leads to a deeper experience of the peace and joy that He alone gives. And not only that, we've been afforded the opportunity to expand our joy by humbly praising and adoring Him. And even more, He also grants us the opportunity to declare the great works of God, just as the angels did to these shepherds. And so, beloved, this salvation we celebrate at Christmas should excite us to Thanksgiving. and it should excite us to wonder at the tender, kind, and loving God that appeared to us in a manger. Let's pray. God, we acknowledge that you and you alone are worthy of all glory, glory in the highest. And God, we ask that you would help us as your people to sing your praises, to worship you, to adore you, and through that adoration, God, would you increase our sense of peace and joy in Christ. Thank you so much for giving yourself to us. And God, I want to pray for those here tonight that may not know you. May this year be their best Christmas ever, not because of what they might receive under a tree, but because they have come to know you as Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, amen.