Reclaiming The Wonder Of Christmas

Let's pray together.

Our great triune God, we come to you this morning as your people,

and we come to you at this time of the year.

And we would ask this morning that you, God, through your word,

as a ministry of your spirit,

God, would you do a work of wonder in our hearts?

Would you bring to our minds the wonder of Christmas?

God, we pray that you would meet us, continue to meet us,

and that we would leave here poised to walk through this season,

not just to close out on the 26th,

but to be wondrous into the new year.

God, meet us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated.

Children, you are excused to your Sunday school classes.

And I just want to take a minute here.

This morning is David Ulrich's last time serving us as our worship leader.

And he has stepped in about a year and a half ago

when we were going through some hard times as a church.

And David, Lexi, thank you so much for faithfully serving us as a congregation.

We are so grateful for you.

Thank you.

And just personally, I'm extremely grateful for you, David.

Thank you so much.

Well, it is upon us.

Christmas time has come.

I'm not sure if you noticed this,

but the 24-hour Christmas music cycle began a little early this year.

In fact, my wife, in principle, said,

I will not listen to the Christmas music until Thanksgiving is done.

I, on the other hand, started sneakily listening to the Christmas music.

It was not a point of divisiveness between us.

But it started early.

So Christmas music, 24 hours.

Christmas catalogs coming in.

Christmas decorations being hung, lit up.

Christmas food being prepared and thought of.

Christmas TV, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Elf, Miracle on 34th Street.

It's a Wonderful Life.

It's all lining up.

Our culture, the culture that we're living in,

is creating an atmosphere of wonder around this season.

Here's the deal.

It doesn't revive your soul.

At best, all these things, and they're good.

They're temporary.

And as a pastor, you know what I want to help you get ready for?

I want you to get ready for December 25th.

And so on the Christmas Eve, during that service,

we're singing our souls out to our wonderful God.

But when December 26th rolls around,

you guys don't drop off in a depression.

You know, who is the owner, as of yet, of a real Christmas tree?

We are.

We went and got our Christmas tree this past Monday and set it up.

And what will inevitably happen is,

no matter how much we water it,

this tree, which is so fragrant right now with pine in our house,

it's little needles are soft, the bows are tender.

You know, you reach in to fill water,

you don't have needles drop all around you.

It's still kind of living.

But what inevitably happens is,

it slowly dries out.

The needles start dropping,

the bows get brittle.

It's a little metaphor of what many of us experience.

By the time December 26th around,

we don't want any of us to be like a discarded Christmas tree

that's dry and brittle

and gets to start it in the city pickups.

Here's what we're looking to do this Christmas time.

We believe God's word revives us.

And we want this season for us all to be a time of reviving.

A time not of needles dropping, but of bearing fruit.

A time of not growing brittle,

but of growing tender to the Lord.

Not of hardening, but of softening.

And so this month, starting today,

we're doing a little series called Reclaiming Christmas.

And so this morning,

we're going to reclaim the wonder of Christmas

the true wonder.

Next Sunday, we're going to reclaim the joy of Christmas,

the true joy of Christmas.

Then we're going to reclaim the glory of Christmas.

On Christmas Eve,

we're going to reclaim the worship,

the praise of Christmas.

And then Christmas isn't done.

We're going all the way through to New Year's Eve.

And on that Sunday,

we're going to reclaim the mission,

the purpose of Christmas.

And this morning, we're talking about wonder.

And wonder is simply that experience of awe and amazement

every one of us in this room have experienced in some measure.

Who hasn't walked out of their homes on a crisp January Wisconsin morning

to a fresh fall of four inches of snow?

And you walk out,

and instantly your lungs are filled with that cold, chilly air.

And it is something good about it.

You hear your boots crunching on that four inches of virgin snow.

Your eyes alight on all the winter wonderland of white spread apart.

It's a blanket.

It's bright.

It's sparkling in the sunlight.

And as you tune your ears to it,

there is a muffled silence.

It's wonderful.

You've experienced wonder too when you've held a little infant in your hands.

Newly born.

And you're thinking,

wow, this child,

fully human.

It's got his life in front of him.

And if you're a parent of this child,

you have this sense of wonder.

It's like, this baby is dependent on me.

We've all experienced wonder to some degree.

This culture that we live in

tends to try to fabricate a wonder around this time.

It doesn't last.

You know what happens on December 26th

with your 24-hour Christmas music station?

They go back to what they were playing before.

By December 26th,

you're thinking about,

how do I work off all this weight I gain

with all this Christmas food?

December 26th rolls around,

and you're thinking,

how long do we have the lights up?

December 26th rolls around,

and you're thinking,

when do we take the tree down,

and when do we bring it to the dump?

December 26th

will come,

and the wonder of this world

will suddenly stop.

But the wonder of God's word

never stops.

And so this morning,

this Christmas,

I want to help you

get your wonder on.

To wonder

at God's word

and what God has to say

about Christmas.

And so this morning,

I'm going to try to

fill your heart

with wonder

from God's word.

So we're going to look at

three wonders this morning.

The wonder of the plan,

the wonder of the person,

and the wonder of the purpose.

And typically,

I just preach through

a section of the Bible.

This morning's a little different.

I'm going to be

kind of preaching

kind of more of a

theological meditation,

reflections

on the wonder of the plan,

the wonder of the person,

and the wonder of the purpose.

So you guys ready

to get your wonder on?

Let's talk about

the wonder of his plan.

Have you ever been

leaving on a road trip

from your home

and you're out the door,

you're in the car,

who knows who's

in the car with you,

but you're going down,

you're a minute in,

and then all of a sudden

someone says,

I forgot,

I forgot to go to the bathroom,

I forgot to turn off the stove,

I forgot to close

the garage door,

I forgot to lock the door,

I forgot to pack,

I forgot,

and so what do you have to do?

You got to go back.

You got to go back,

you get it all done,

and then you leave again.

As followers of Jesus

living in this culture

and living in this time,

do you know what can happen?

The culture Christmas bus

can leave

and can start heading down

that road of Christmas 2017

and we find ourselves on it

and then we have to ask,

did I forget something?

And many of us

forget

the wonder

of Christmas.

So,

let me help you

get your wonder on.

One of the things

that can happen to us

as we celebrate Christmas

is that we can just

kind of focus us

on the here and now

of a particular Christmas.

Christmas,

December 2017

and it occupies

our thinking

and it occupies

our planning.

But just like

leaving down a road

and realizing

you've forgotten something,

I want to bring you back

this Christmas time.

I want to bring you back

so you don't forget

what is central

to Christmas,

the wonder.

And so,

let's go back first

by going back

to the first century

in Bethlehem

2,000 years ago.

And I'm just going to

kind of move quickly

through this.

I just want to start

getting some things

in your mind.

That there is a plan

in place

and it's a wonderful plan.

In Matthew 118,

118 through 23,

an angel appears

to Joseph

and he tells him

that his fiancee

who's pregnant,

he shouldn't divorce her,

he shouldn't put her away

because she's been conceived

by the Holy Spirit

with a child from God.

And so,

of all the little baby boys

born 2,000 years ago,

there was one of them

who an angel is saying,

this one is unique.

In Matthew 2,

Matthew 2:1–6

verses 1 through 6,

Herod is approached

by some wise men

who have seen

this child's star

in the sky

and they ask Herod

where the king

of the Jews is.

The king of the Jews

appears at the beginning

of Matthew

and at the end

of the Matthew.

At the end of Matthew,

it's on the plaque

above Jesus' head

on the cross.

But they ask Herod,

where is the king

of the Jews?

Herod says,

let me talk to my guys.

His guys tell him

that the Messiah,

the Christ,

is going to be born

in Bethlehem of Judea.

So what we learn

from that first century

is that this child

is going to be born.

It's announced

by an angel.

He's going to be born

to Joseph's fiancee

who has miraculously

gotten pregnant

and he's going to be born

in Bethlehem.

And in Luke chapter 1,

Luke 1:26–33

verses 26 through 33,

Gabriel the angel

goes to Mary

and tells Mary

that she's going to be

pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

And what's most interesting

there is that this child

to be born to her,

he's going to reign

on David's throne forever.

And so not only

is this child,

from going back

to just the first century,

we learn this is

a unique child

born of a virgin,

born in Bethlehem,

born to reign forever

on David's throne.

We've got to be like,

well, this is a unique baby.

But you know what?

To really understand

how unique this child is,

we've got to go back

beyond 2,000 years.

We've got to go

another 800 years

beyond that.

We've got to go

to the prophet Isaiah

and the prophet Micah.

Micah.

In Matthew 1, 18-23,

when Matthew is sharing

with us the story

of this angel

coming to Joseph

and talking about

the conception

that takes place

in Mary,

if you would turn

to Matthew 1, 23,

there's a really interesting

point that's made.

All this took place

in 22

to fulfill

what the Lord

had spoken

by the prophet,

Behold,

the virgin shall conceive

and bear a son

and they shall call

his name Emmanuel,

which means

God with us.

So here's what's going on.

2,000 years ago

in Bethlehem,

there's this little baby boy

that's born

and he's born miraculously.

And Matthew says,

oh, by the way,

that's the fulfillment

of a prophecy

from Isaiah

750, 800 years beforehand

that this child

would be born

of a virgin

and his name

would be Emmanuel,

God with us.

Do you know

what prophecy implies

in the fulfillment

of prophecy?

There's a plan.

In Matthew 2,

the fulfillment

of prophecy.

2, 5,

they told him

in Bethlehem of Judea

for it is written

by the prophet

and you, O Bethlehem,

in the land of Judea

are by no means

least among the rulers

of Judah

for from you

shall come a ruler

who will shepherd

my people Israel.

Not only will this child

be born in Bethlehem

but he will be

a shepherd of God's people,

a king.

So,

what Matthew is saying

in Matthew 2

is that what takes place

in the birth

of this baby

in Bethlehem

at that time

is a fulfillment

of what Micah

is talking about

in Micah 5, 2.

And when prophecy

is fulfilled

it reveals a plan.

In Luke 1, 26-33

we have the echoes

of another passage.

If you want to look

there with me,

Luke chapter 1

Luke 1:32

verses 32

we read this,

he will be great

and this is

Gabriel speaking to Mary,

he will be great

and will be called

the son of the most high

and the Lord God

will give to him

the throne of his father David

and he will reign

over the house

of Jacob forever

and of his kingdom

there will be no end.

There will be no end.

There will be no end.

There will be no end.

Listen to Isaiah 9,

6 and 7.

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

of peace

there will be no end.

There will be no end.

There will be no end.

On the throne of David

and over his kingdom

to establish it

and to uphold it

with justice

and with righteousness

from time forth,

this time forth

and forevermore

the zeal of the Lord

of hosts will do this.

When we go back

to 2,800 years from now

and we see these prophecies

of Isaiah and Micah

and we see these prophecies

being fulfilled

in the birth

of this little boy,

it speaks of a plan.

And so when we think

about December 2017,

we need to keep in mind

that this Christmas

is way bigger

than this year.

There is a great plan

in place.

And it goes back further.

It goes back to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

In the midst of all these curses,

God speaks a promise

when he's cursing the serpent.

In Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

he speaks a promise

of an offspring of Eve

who will come

and he's a male offspring

and he will crush

the head of the serpent.

There's a plan.

And it goes even back further.

It goes beyond Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

It goes beyond Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

and the creation of all things.

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

speaks of a plan

for the fullness of time.

Ephesians 1, 3 through 14

is this wonderful, wonderful passage

about the triune God

enacting a saving plan

for the fullness of time

that finds its unity in Jesus.

God the Father

God the Son

accomplished the plan

and God the Spirit

applies the plan.

What I want to do

is help you to understand

the context

historically

of Christmas.

this Christmas,

December 2017,

we are observing something

that took place

2,000 years ago

and it was the fulfillment

of a plan

that God enacted

from before the foundation

of the world.

I want to help you

get your wonder on

a little bit.

It's not just this Christmas.

Christmas

is about a plan

for the fullness of time.

and it centers

on a person.

The plan is big

from everlasting

to everlasting

and the person

who's central

to this plan

is amazing.

We've looked at the plan

now let's look

at the person.

I want to help you

wonder

at the person

central to Christmas.

It's the same person

who's central

to God's plan

for the fullness

of time.

God's plan

of salvation.

In Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

we read that

there's a plan

in place

for the fullness

of time

for God

to unite

all things

in Christ.

Jesus' birth

is the incarnate

turning point

to God's plan

of salvation.

You know

before becoming

a pastor here

I served as

a youth pastor

for 10 years

at a church

about 8 miles

west of here.

And I

regularly

experience

a really interesting

phenomenon.

Here's what happens.

In those years

I was at

Crossway

I got to

rub shoulders

with a lot

of young people.

And so

what happens

now is this.

5, 10, 15

years later

I will bump

into some

of these young

people

and I will

not recognize

them at first.

I'd be kind

of like

whoa you look

familiar.

And what I

realize is

that this person

that I'm

encountering

is the same

person I knew

5, 10 years

ago.

I just have

this little

snapshot

of this person

in my mind

as a perpetual

7th grade

prepubescent

boy.

And so I

bump into it

and I'm like

whoa what

happened to

you?

You're like

6 inches

taller

you've got

a beard

you've got

a deep

voice

you're going

to college

I have this

tendency of

kind of locking

people into

a certain

time.

Limited picture

of a person.

We can make

the same mistake

with Jesus

at Christmas

time.

We can keep

Jesus

as a perpetual

infant

lying in a

manger.

That's our

snapshot of

the Christmas

Jesus.

And it's

only complicated

by all the

plastic baby

Jesus out

there.

Sentimentality

over these

things can

actually work

against the

wonder do

his name.

Can I help

you wonder

at this

baby?

Let's get

our wonder

on regarding

this baby.

Here's

something I

want to

remind you

of this

person.

This

person

born

a baby

lying in

a manger

he existed

before

he was

born.

The baby

is the

second

person of

the Trinity

born of

a woman.

Jesus

the man

had

eternally

existed

as the

second

person of

the Trinity

prior to

his

conception

and birth.

I know

we're in

deep waters

right now.

Dave

referenced

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1.

If you

would

flip to

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1 we

read this.

In the

beginning

was the

word and

the word

was with

God and

the word

was God.

The word

of course

is the

second

person of

the Trinity

and he

existed

before he

took on

flesh.

John

1

14.

And the

word

became

flesh and

dwelt

among us.

Here's

what you

need to

understand.

The

second

person of

the Trinity

didn't

come into

existence

at the

birth of

Jesus.

The

second

person of

the Trinity

existed

eternally

before he

was conceived

as the

baby Jesus.

Get your

wonder on.

And

more so

this

birth of

this baby

the second

person of

the Trinity

who took

on flesh

flesh.

This

isn't the

first

appearance

that he

makes

in the

Bible.

There

are

pre-incarnate

appearances

of the

second

person of

the Trinity

throughout

the Old

Testament.

Now in

the Old

Testament

the doctrine

of the

Trinity

is not

well

developed

and it

gets more

developed

in the

New

Testament

but we

do see

the members

of the

Trinity

in the

Old

Testament.

They're

called

Christophanies.

We could

point to a

couple places.

One theologian

talks about

the angel

of the

Lord as

the appearing

of the

pre-incarnate

Christ and

he makes a

pretty interesting

case for that.

And then

there's the

whole episode

in Daniel

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

where Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

will not

worship at

Nebuchadnezzar's

image and

he gets

really angry

and he throws

him in the

fiery furnace

and after

he throws

him in the

fiery furnace

he turns

to his

guys and

he says

guys didn't

we throw

three guys

in because

I see

a fourth

and the

fourth is

shining like

a son of

God.

Who is

that fourth

guy?

There's

going to

come a

day when

you are

standing

Lord willing

in the

New Jerusalem

and you

might be

standing next

to Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

and you

say Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

who is

that fourth

guy?

You know

what they're

going to

do?

He's the

one at the

center of

all things

right now.

He's the

one that's

lighting up

the New

Jerusalem

right now.

That's the

one that

was with

us.

My

favorite

Christophany

is in

Joshua

Joshua 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

Joshua is

going out

to battle.

He bumps

into this

guy called

the commander

of the

Lord's

army.

Joshua

falls at

this commander's

feet and

worships him.

Do you know

what the commander

of the Lord's

army does?

Nothing.

He lets

them worship

him.

And then he

says take

off your feet

for you're

standing on

holy ground.

Only God

says that.

So here we

have this

man who

is visible,

audible,

physically

present,

God in the

flesh in

Joshua

Joshua 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

life.

You see,

this is the

birth of

Jesus.

It's not the

first time the

second person of

the Trinity has

shown up.

Get your

wonder wrong.

The second

person of the

Trinity, this

baby is God

in the flesh.

I mean, his

conception in

Mary's womb in

Luke chapter 1

Luke 1:34–37

verses 34 through

37, it is a

triune event.

If you read it

carefully, you

see that God

most high overshadows

Mary, that's the

God the Father,

the God the

Spirit is the

actual one, the

agent of

conception.

In a miracle, we

just don't get.

The Spirit of God

causes the second

person of the

Trinity to be

incarnated into

Mary as a

zygote.

It's phenomenal.

And the result is

not a plastic baby

Jesus.

The result is the

second person of

the Trinity made

incarnate, fully

God, fully man, in

one person, and

Luke 1.35 calls

him holy, without

sin.

And I hope you

know he didn't

stay a baby.

He lived a

perfect life, a

life that none of

us could live.

And then he was

crucified on a

cross.

The Holy One was

crucified as a

criminal with king

of the Jews over

his head.

He was buried, he

was raised again on

the third day, just

like he said he

would, and proved

his victory over sin,

death, and the

devil.

And then he ascended

on high to now

where he's at right

now, at the right

hand of God.

He's interceding for

his church.

He is building his

church in whom the

gates of hell will

not prevail against

it.

And he's sitting on

G, waiting for O

from the Father to

come back.

And when he comes

back, he's going to

make all things right.

He's going to judge

the world with

equity.

And then he's going

to recreate the

heavens and the

earth.

And then we who

bow our knee to him

now, we, when he

comes back, we will be

with our Savior King

in his presence, in

his place, in, with

his people forever.

He's not a plastic

Jesus.

Don't limit him to

this snapshot of him

being a little baby.

He's not a baby right

now.

He became a baby.

And when you get this

full sense of who the

second person of the

Trinity is and what

he's done, we didn't

even talk about him

being the creator of

all things.

When you realize that

he took on human

flesh, Philippians 2,

taking the form of a

servant, he would do

that.

It's amazing.

It's wonderful.

It should awe you.

We've looked at the

plan.

It's a plan for the

fullness of time.

We've looked at this

person, Jesus, who is

born of this virgin,

fulfilling prophecy, and

he is God in the flesh.

But I want to ask a

question now of why?

What's the purpose of

this plan that focuses on

this person?

Well, let's get your

wonder on a little bit

more.

The reason why Jesus, the

second person of the

Trinity, took on human

flesh was not just to

show us that he could do

it.

So I told you, it's not

for that reason.

The second person of the

Trinity became human, took

on human flesh, was

incarnated for a purpose.

And that purpose is the

purpose for God's plan for

the fullness of time.

The birth of Jesus is the

pivot point in God's

saving plan.

Galatians 4.4 says, at

just the right time, God

sent his son, born of a

woman, born under the law,

to redeem those under the

law so that we could

experience the adoption of

sons and daughters.

The purpose for why Jesus

took on flesh, well, it was

not to give us 24-hour

Christmas music.

It was not so that we

could have all sorts of

catalogs.

It was not so that the U.S.

economy can get a shot in

the arm every so often

during the year.

Jesus took on flesh not so

that we could enjoy

vacations.

The reason why the second

person of the Trinity took

on flesh was to save, to

rescue, to redeem sinners in

their sin.

Back in Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

everything went sideways for

humankind.

We were separated from God.

We were divided internally.

We were separated and

hostile to other human

beings.

We were even separated from

creation.

It was a comprehensive mess

made by sin.

And so that puts us in the

very unique position of

needing a Savior.

A Savior who will reconcile

sinners to a holy God, who

will reunify a sinner's

divided self, who would

restore sinners who are

hostile with other sinners,

and a Savior who will

recreate creation, wiping it

off of its bondage to decay,

and recreating it in its full

glory.

The only Savior that can do

that is God Himself.

Jesus is the perfect mediator

between God and man, because

Jesus is fully God and fully

man.

He is Emmanuel.

And the reason why He took on

flesh was to save you from

your sin.

Christmas time is salvation

time.

Merry Christmas is merry

salvation.

I mean, it's in the name.

The name Jesus, Matthew 1,

21, literally means the Lord

saves.

The second person of the

Trinity took on human flesh,

and He's named by God the

Father as the Lord saves.

The Lord saves incarnate.

Furthermore, if you look back

to Isaiah, Isaiah has some two

very interesting prophecies.

In Isaiah 7, 14, which has been

read already, you have the

prophecy of a virgin conceiving a

child, and His name being

Emmanuel.

A miraculous conception.

And if you flip to the right in

Isaiah, to Isaiah 53, you have a

prophecy of the same one.

But it's not His miraculous birth,

it's His substitutionary death.

Same two prophecies speaking of the

same Emmanuel.

So let me just read two verses

from Isaiah 53.

Surely He has borne our griefs and

carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed

Him stricken, smitten by God and

afflicted.

But He was pierced for our

transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Upon Him was the chastisement that

brought us peace.

And with His wounds, we are healed.

Jesus came, took on flesh,

ultimately to rescue sinners from

their sins.

That's God's plan for the fullness

of time.

This Christmas time, December 2017,

let's reclaim the wonder of

Christmas.

Let's wonder at the plan.

Let's wonder at this unique person,

Jesus.

And let's wonder at the purpose.

The purpose of Christmas is part of

God's saving plan to rescue sinners from

their sin.

So, when December 26 rolls around,

you don't have to be like that dried out Christmas tree sitting in the city pickup thing.

No, you can be wondering.

You can be in awe.

It doesn't have to get stale.

No, get your wonder on.

Remember who this is.

Remember what it's all about.

Remember the scale of His plan.

And when you remember that,

come December 26,

you'll be looking to the new year

knowing who this baby is.

Let's pray.

God in heaven,

we thank you so much for

your word.

We thank you for what your word has to say

about Jesus.

And we thank you for what your word

has to say about this

plan for the fullness of time.

and we're thankful for

making known to us

that this plan

for the fullness of time

focused on the person of Jesus

is a plan of salvation.

God, would you help us

to live in that?

To wonder.

To be amazed.

And to rejoice.

God, may our singing

reflect the wonder

of who you are

and what you've done.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.