Christmas Week 3 • Luke 2:1-20

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Well, good morning.

Glad that you are here with us.

It is cold and wet and nasty outside, but glad that you guys are gathered in here today

with us.

And if you're online, thank you for joining us as well.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Luke chapter 2, as we're going to

Luke 2 · chapter mention

talk about the birth of Christ today.

As you turn there, I want to remind you, we have the announcements to place.

I want to remind you of a couple of announcements.

The first one is our Christmas Eve service.

We will be having a Christmas Eve service.

This is the first Christmas Eve service that we've had in a COVID world, right?

We're kind of getting used to how we can navigate through our normal Sunday mornings, but this

is going to be different for us.

And so we're doing some things different.

We're going to have, instead of one combined Christmas Eve service, we're going to have

it at 4 and 515.

Now, if you're planning on attending here with us on campus, here's what we need from you.

Please go and register, okay?

Normally, that's the largest attended service that we have of the year, as far as everyone

being face-to-face.

And we hope we can accommodate everyone by doing two services.

And the only way that we can ensure that and that we can know what we're going to have

is for you to come and register.

So please do.

Please still.

We've had people ask, can we invite people?

Can we bring our friends and our family with us?

Absolutely.

Just register them with you, and we'll get everybody taken care of and get y'all there.

All right.

So if you're going to watch us online, we are going to stream the 515 service.

And so if you're staying at home still, or if you can't make it that day, then please

join us online.

And we will be taking the Lord's Supper together.

So if you're going to be watching, then please make sure that you have that and have it all

taken care of.

And so we'll worship together that way.

Also, at the end of the service today, Pastor Dave's going to come up on stage and take us

into our business meeting, where we will vote on the budget and the trustees.

And so after the last song, please don't start heading out.

You want to make sure that you're around for that.

So I want to ask you guys a question as we get started today.

When was the last time someone humbled you?

Think there was a moment where you thought something of yourself, and someone through what

they did or what they said humbled you a little bit.

Maybe they humbled you a lot.

I want you to think about that.

For me, the last one that I can remember, I've got to think all the way back to yesterday.

All right?

Yesterday, we got together with Aaron's family for Christmas.

We typically get together the Saturday before Christmas with them.

And so it's Aaron's mom and dad, and her brother, his wife, and their daughter, and our

crew are there.

And so we're there.

And Lily, that's my seven-year-old niece.

Every time we're around each other, we like to spend time together and have some really

good conversations.

And I like to pick at her a little bit, right?

Like that's the relationship that we have.

I don't even really call her by her name.

I just call her Felicia.

And so that's the relationship that we have.

And so we're sitting there yesterday, and we're talking about school.

And we're having lots of conversations about school.

And she begins to tell me about her boyfriend.

Now, now she's seven, okay?

And she's telling me about her boyfriend at school, which you can ask Emma.

I take a stand on that.

I tell Emma all the time.

She's allowed to start dating three days after I'm dead, right?

That's when she can start.

Let the body get good and cold and in the ground, sweetie.

And then you can start dating, all right?

And so, but Lily tells me she has a boyfriend.

And I begin to tell her that this is nonsense.

Like you shouldn't have a boyfriend.

And she begins to give me all the ins and outs of the drama that has taken place at her

first grade Ben Lippin class, right?

And so we're talking, having a good time about that.

And I said, well, why do you like him?

She's like, well, but I like him.

Like, why do you like him?

And she said, well, because he's cute.

Okay, all right.

And I said, well, I bet he's not as cute as me.

She kind of looks at me like I'm crazy, which is probably accurate, right?

And I said, Lily, do you think I'm cute?

And she kind of gives me this look like I don't quite know how to answer this.

And I said, well, let me ask you a different question.

Do you think that your Uncle Bo, who loves you, who cares for you, who's brought gifts

for you, do you think he's handsome?

She looked at me and she goes, no, not really.

To which my father-in-law, sitting on the opposite side of the room, says this.

Here's the humility, right?

Here's where I got humbled.

He said, you got to love seven-year-olds.

They speak the truth.

Here's what he's saying, I'm ugly, right?

Like my father-in-law affirmed that there in that moment.

But there's like this humility that in that moment that she spoke something that maybe that

I want to deny, but to establish what's there, right?

So a lot of times when we think of humility or being humbled, like we think of taking someone

who elevates themselves and knocking them down a few notches to get them back to where

they are, right?

Now, everything yesterday was in good fun and we got to laugh about it.

But when we look at Scripture, it's got to be very clear and very evident to you.

And this is going to really connect with us a lot.

What we talked about last week is that God loves humility.

It's a characteristic and a trait that we see throughout Scripture.

And so what I want to do, I want to read very quickly.

These aren't even going to be on the screen.

There's, I think, nine verses from Scripture that show God's heart for the humble, that show

God's heart for humility.

So we're just going to go quickly, speed read through these.

Psalm 18, 27.

For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

Psalm 25, 9.

He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.

Proverbs 3, 34.

Toward the scoffers he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

James 4, 6.

But he gives more grace, therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 11, 2.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 15, 33.

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Matthew 18, 4.

Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

In 1 Peter 5, 6.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

So what we find in Scripture, and this is just a small sampling of when humility is used and

described by God as an attribute that should be possessed by his people.

Just in this sampling, we see that humility is connected to salvation, to guidance from God,

to grace from God, to wisdom, to honor, and to greatness.

So humility should be something that you and I can not only see in our life,

but it is something that we are pursuing.

Now, as we look through this, we started with it last week.

As we look through this early birth narrative of Jesus Christ found in Scripture all the way back

to Mary finding out that she'll be the mother of the Lord, to the song that she sings,

we see that humility fills the pages of this narrative.

And here's why I think this is so important.

Go all the way back to our first week and remember that the setting in which, or I'm sorry,

the audience into which Luke is writing.

The Gospel of Luke and the Gospel Acts, both written by Luke, written to Theophilus.

And he tells Theophilus that he is writing them so that he may know Jesus, that he's heard.

Like Theophilus, this isn't his first introduction to Jesus, but that he's heard about Jesus,

but that his friend Luke is writing these things to him in order to confirm in him accurate belief.

And so as Luke is telling this narrative to someone that he deeply loves,

woven into this under God's inspiration is this concept of humility.

All right, so what is humility?

Because humility has got to be different than you and I seeking to knock each other down a peg,

to picking at each other.

And I'll say this, that spiritually speaking, concerning Scripture in the heart of God is this,

that the heart of humility is seeing yourself accurately.

Like, humility is not thinking less of yourself, okay?

Humility is not beating yourself up.

Humility is not this punishment that you and I have to take on.

Humility is not a sign of weakness, all right?

Jesus is humble.

Jesus has lived his life, embraced humility.

But humility is seeing yourself accurately, right?

And that's kind of hard for us to do sometimes.

And as we read through this morning, the first part of chapter 2,

what I want us to see is the humility that's found in this story.

So we'll start reading in verse 1.

It says,

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus,

that all the world should be registered.

And this was the first registration when Canarius was governor of Syria.

And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth,

to Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house and lineage of David,

to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son,

and wrapped him in swaddling cloths,

and locked him in the manger,

because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And the 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 cloths and line in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts,

praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.

And when the angel went away from them into heaven,

the shepherds said to one another,

Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,

which the Lord has made known to us.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it,

they made known the saying that they had been told them concerning this child.

And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured up all these things,

pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen

as it had been told to them.

And what I want us to do in this story that,

let's be honest, for many of us,

we've heard multiple times.

For many of us, the story, the narrative,

we can find in our nativity scene

that's placed at our house this time of year.

We can see the story told in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

And what I want us to see,

what I want us to focus in on

is the humility in the story.

And then what is the humility drawing us toward?

What does the humility point us toward?

And so the first thing that I want us to look at

are the places.

The places that we find in this story.

Yesterday, Erin and I on our drive there,

I just asked her.

I said, you know,

I've really been thinking about this this week

as we've been seeing different things

that are going on in the news.

She and I are listening to a couple of podcasts

that are dealing with different areas in Syria.

and what's happening there.

And I said, do you ever just wonder why

God in his sovereignty,

the creator of the world,

who knows every mountain peak in every valley,

who knows every square inch of this planet,

that why God chose this area of the world

for all of this to take place

and for all of this to happen, right?

From Genesis all the way through

when we are associated with biblical areas, right?

It's been areas marked of turmoil

and fighting and strife and struggle

time and time again

that why in the world

would God choose these places

in order to reveal himself, right?

We just read in this passage of scripture

within it the connection to Syria that's there.

And it got me even thinking more

of the locations in the places now

because they all matter.

They're not chosen by random circumstance

that God in his purpose,

that God in his time,

that God in his will made these choices.

And for us,

we hear these names in scripture a lot,

but we don't understand the impact of what's there

because we're not from that time,

we're not from that place,

and so you don't know what it's like

until you walk through that

and you get to experience that.

Well, the first place that we hear in this

that helps us understand the story is Nazareth,

that this is where they're going to come from

to Bethlehem.

This is where Jesus is going to live

much of his childhood.

It's why he's referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.

So let's talk about this place for just a second.

Let me describe it this way.

Nazareth is kind of the tough area.

Nazareth is the difficult area.

Nazareth is the hard to live in area.

Like Nazareth is not a place

where people of influence come from there.

Nazareth would never be a place

that you would go to or vacation.

It would probably be a place

where you could get land really cheap

for a really good reason

because you can't give it away

kind of Nazareth place.

This is where we find

and this is where Jesus

is going to be associated with.

So I want us to think about this.

As Jesus is walking

and as Jesus is being identified

in all of the sovereignty

of all of what God could have chosen,

of where God could have placed him,

he labeled him with this type

of rough place

where he would be from

that people would associate him with.

He was from the wrong side of the tracks,

the bad side of town.

And this is where we find

that Jesus will be from.

But God in his sovereignty

didn't have him born there.

Instead, he had him born in Bethlehem.

And this was intentional by God

as revealed in Micah 5 too

when it's declared

that this is where the Messiah

will come from.

Now, Bethlehem is different

than Nazareth.

It's got some importance.

You hear the name

and it's associated with royalty.

Bethlehem is called

the city of David for a reason.

It's where great King David,

the one who slayed Goliath,

the father of Solomon,

it was where he would be anointed king.

It's where Ruth and Boaz

would call home.

So when you hear Bethlehem,

you can think back

to some Old Testament days

of the royalty

and of notable people

from Scripture who was there.

It's an important known city.

And so if Jesus is going to be

from Nazareth,

then at least God, right,

gives him some notability,

some notoriety,

and has him born

in this noble town.

But let's begin to look

at the pieces

as God orchestrates this, right?

So God had Joseph born

in the lineage

that would bring them

through Bethlehem

in order to make this happen.

God willed and purposed Mary

to get engaged to Joseph.

And then through something else

that we can talk about

at a much different time

as God even works

and orchestrates

in the hearts

and in the lives

of non-believers,

takes a pagan ruler

and Caesar Augustus

and has him declared

that the whole world, right,

not just a group of people,

but God says,

we're going to declare

that the whole world

must be registered

so that they have to journey

into this town

where I said

that Jesus would be born.

And so we look at that

and we're kind of blown away.

Like, wow,

like God has handled

all of these details.

God has worked this all out

that God knew

that this person

needed to be empowered

to make this decision

that they would have

to come here

and do this thing

so that Micah 5, 2

could be fulfilled.

But if you know the story,

you know there's one part

in the logic

of working everything out

that's been left out.

There's no place for them.

So why would it be

that God could purpose

and will

and to set in place

in his sovereignty

that this carpenter man

from this town

through this lineage

would make this journey

with his wife

and they would head

into this town

so that the prophecy

could be fulfilled

but God missed out

on the detail

to make sure

that there was just

one room open

at the inn.

And here's the whole point

of the humility.

God never missed it.

God never missed it.

Because in the telling

of the narrative

and the humility

that is found

that the Savior

of the world,

the Messiah,

the King

would be born

in this town

but not in a hospital,

not in an inn,

not in a home

but that he would be born

in a cave

where livestock

were kept.

And so in the filth

and in the dirt

and in the nastiness

that was there

and the smells

is where Jesus

would be born.

And we continue

to see

the humility.

You see,

Jesus was not going

to be a man

from Jerusalem

born in Rome

that would take place

in a palace.

But he would be

this little boy

from Nazareth

who his parents

would have to journey

and be told,

no,

you're not valuable

enough

for someone else

to be moved out.

Instead,

let's move you

where the animals live.

and when you're born

will place you

literally

in the trough

that they eat from.

It's in the very beginning

of the narrative

of the life of Christ

and God's desire

to bring about us

a sense of humility.

We see the places

in which Jesus

is going to be from,

the places in which Jesus

is going to be associated with

or filled

with humility.

But it's not just

the places,

it's also the people.

Talked about her

last week, right?

Mary,

somewhere between the ages

of 12 to 14 years old,

little Jewish girl

from nowhere,

and she was chosen

by God.

She wasn't chosen

by God

because of the claim

that she had.

She wasn't chosen

by God

because people said,

you see this girl,

we can follow her,

she's got great leadership.

She was chosen

by God

because of her humility

and obedience

because she lived

her life

to not do

what she wanted,

not to assert herself

to be the strong personality,

but she lived her life

in humility

out of obedience.

And so that's

the mother of God.

But within this,

there's also

the earthly father,

Joseph.

Now,

we don't know

a lot about Joseph,

all right?

Here's what we do know,

that he's a carpenter.

We don't know

if he's a successful carpenter

or not a successful carpenter,

but that's what he does

for a living,

which means this.

He's not in politics.

He's not in power.

He doesn't have authority

and he doesn't have influence.

And so in the lineage

that you would find

from King David,

this has not been

passed down to him.

This is not

where we see Joseph.

So the earthly parents

of Jesus

are just going to be

your regular,

everyday,

average people.

And this is who God

chooses.

The humble people

that will come

in their obedience

to be the earthly

parents of Jesus.

But at least

the audience,

right?

Like God could do

something different

in the audience.

God could choose

kings and queens

that night

to come celebrate.

God could choose

religious leaders

in this narrative

to be able to

point us to.

God could choose

people of power

and people of authority.

but he chooses

shepherds.

Shepherds.

Now,

shepherds live

their life

basically by camping.

All right?

Now,

my family,

we love to camp.

Here's what I want

to tell you guys

about camping.

We got any campers

in here?

Raise your hand

if you like to camp.

All right?

Here's what I want

to tell you

about those of us

who like to camp.

When you go camping,

there's something

that happens

between here

and there.

It's a level

of you stop caring

what you're going

to look like

for as long

as you camp,

right?

Like everybody's camping

and you're like,

yeah,

that's kind of

what we do,

right?

Like you get there

and you go camping.

Now,

your depth of camping

will affect that greatly,

right?

So if you go tent camping,

like I can sometimes

convince my wife

to go do,

right?

Very quickly,

it's like we're just

going to be covered

in dirt

and bug bites

for the next two

or three days,

right?

And that's what

it's going to be.

Now,

when we go glamping

in the big old camper

where there's showers

and all that,

that kind of looks

a little different.

But if you're going

to camp,

you kind of,

it's not the same thing

as staying at the resort

or going on the cruise ship,

right?

Like leave those clothes away.

So you look a little rougher

when you get back,

at least I am.

The thing that I like to do

when we get back camping

is I like to take

the longest shower

of the year for me,

right?

I just let it all

get off of me.

Now,

here's the deal.

Shepherds live

their whole life camping.

This is who they are.

They were dirty.

They smelled bad.

They live nomadic lives.

And like when I say

camping for them,

it would be

they kept their cloak

with them.

They laid their head

down on the rock.

They laid in the same area

where their animals were.

they began to smell like them

and this is the life

that they lived.

They typically didn't have families.

They typically were strangers

out in the wilderness.

And most times,

I read a guy

that just said

the politest way

that it could be

that basically shepherds

were not known

for what he called

their depth

of thinking abilities,

right?

Like this is who they are.

But God

in his sovereignty

who could have chosen

anyone

on that first

Christmas night

sends them.

The outcast.

The least of these.

And so what we see

in this Christmas story

is humble people

from humble places

and this is where

God brings in

the Savior

of the world.

Not born

to a virgin queen,

to a father

who rules nations,

to be celebrated

by those

who live in power,

but humble people

in humble places.

So the question

that I have

for us this morning

is why?

Why?

God wrote the narrative.

God set it all

into place.

God in his writing

of history

chose this setting

for the Messiah

to come.

Why?

Here's the only thing

that I can come to

because it fits

the message.

It fits the message

that God

who created

and who wrote

the story

with humble people

in humble places

is calling

to himself

humble people

from humble places

to respond to him

because what he needs

is people

who have

an accurate

picture

of themselves.

Mary knew

who she was.

You heard it

in her song.

Joseph knew

who he was.

He stood

alongside Mary

the shepherds

knew what they

were

and they were

willing to obey

that the message

of God

drawing

humble hearts

to himself.

Look at the

declaration

that the angel

gives

to him

in Luke 2

Luke 2:10

verse 10.

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.

That from the

very first

proclamation

of what's

publicly

going to be

made known

that the hope

of Jesus

who comes

and what

he is coming

to do

Jesus is going

to do a lot

of things.

Jesus is going

to heal.

Jesus is going

to restore.

Jesus is going

to teach

about relationships.

Jesus is going

to work through

all of these

things but that

in and who

he is

he is

from the very

meaning

of his name

he is a savior.

And so Jesus

didn't come

to make you

and I feel

better about

who we are.

Jesus didn't

come to make

us feel better

about the bad

decisions we've

made.

Jesus came

because the

world needed

to be saved

from themselves

and only

he can do

it.

As we begin

to understand

as we begin

to process

through an

accurate picture

of ourselves

and God

helps us do

this.

God doesn't

say go be

humble and

not begin to

birth within

us the

ability to

see within

ourselves who

we are.

the depravity

that fills

us the

sin that

consumes us

and one of

the most

gracious things

that God

does is he

gives us

the law.

Now growing

up when you

walked into

the house

which we

lived in

you walked

into our

front door

and I'll

never forget

on the wall

as you saw

it as you

were coming

in my mom

had ordered

from the

home interior

company right

this wooden

brass

declaration right

of the ten

commandments so

that when we

walked in

that's what

we saw on

the wall

and that's

what marked

us and for

for so many

people when

they see the

ten commandments

what they see

it as is a

is a standard

at which to

live by and

that by looking

at that standard

we can set the

goal for

ourselves of

what we're

supposed to do

and what we're

supposed to be

and I don't

want to take

away from that

right like

like everything

within there

is the truth

of god's word

that we push

at and as we

pursue as to

the power of

the holy spirit

he transforms

that but have

you ever taken

an honest reading

of the ten

commandments and

then compared

yourself to it

have you ever

had an honest

conversation within

who you are by

holding yourself

up to the

standard of god

if you haven't

let's do that

real quick

now I want

to tell you

I want to

leave out some

of the really

bad stuff

we're going to

keep this g-rated

for the audience

today and I'm

going to be a

little gracious to

us because I

got to beat

myself up this

week by going

through this

we're going to

kind of eliminate

the first handful

that deal with

idolatry not

that that's not

important but that

would take us way

too long to

navigate through

all that so

we're going to

pick back up a

little bit farther

down and kind

of work through

some of these

so I want to

ask you this

question oh and

by the way

we're going to

let your answers

be between you

and the lord

all right so

no showing of

hands or anything

like that all

right number

one have you

ever taken the

lord's name in

vain so let's

let's talk about

that for a second

keeping this

like I said a

little g-rated

so here's what

I want to say

here's what that

means have you

ever in a moment

through the words

that come out of

your mouth used

God or the name

Jesus flippantly

God I hope not

we say

Jesus not in the

context that we're

talking to him

and in those

moments we use it

in a way that

you're not bringing

glory the standard

says remember the

sabbath have you

ever taken what's

precious to God in

the time that he

longs to spend with

us and he used

it selfishly in a

time that's been

taken away from

him God's word

says and parents

if you're in here

you love this one

right I do honor

your father and

mother but let's

be honest God

never sets an age

limit on that so

I don't care if

you're one or

you're 100 God's

standard says honor

your father and

mother and have

you ever done or

said anything that

brought attack or

disgrace onto your

parents and this is

the standard that we

accept not just if

your parents are

believers do not

murder thinking well

I'm good at that

one but Jesus's words

are very clear have

you ever hated

someone have you

ever hated someone

says do not commit

adultery and we can

break this down

multiple ways but

we'll just kind of

go into at the

easiest way maybe

maybe the less

aggressive way and

say this do not

commit adultery what

does your thought life

look like if you're

married have you ever

wish that your spouse

was a little bit like

someone you worked

with and your heart

began to kind of like

that aspect of them more

than the commitment to

them do not steal

all right maybe we have

no bank robbers in

here that's good but

have you ever stolen

time from your

employer showed up

five minutes late and

then lied about it

have you ever taken

credit for something

that someone else has

done or maybe just

not refuted when

someone else praises

you when you know you

had nothing to do with

it have you ever

just fudged a little

bit on your taxes

right like you drop

off that bag of nasty

tore up clothes at

Goodwill and they give

you the blank receipt

and you come home and

now you've given like

ten flat screen TVs to

them like have you ever

done that

Bible says do not bear

false witness

have you ever heard

information about

someone else that's

negative and you don't

know whether it's true

or not but you repeated

it to someone else

I didn't know it's just

what I heard

do not covet

have you ever seen

something that someone

else has that you

don't have and you

felt more deserving to

have it than they did

it's the standard

now here's the thing

scripture is clear

if you've only done

one of these one time

in your life just one

just one time then

you're guilty

you're guilty

you're guilty

and the standing

that we have

before God

says that we're

not worthy

of him

and so God

appears

in humble places

to humble people

to show us something

powerful

that when we come to

him

it's not what we

can bring to him

it's not what we

can do

for him

that the heart

of the gospel

for you

and for me

says that we've

broken

and we've offended

God

more times

than we know

but that not only

that

but in

and of

ourselves

when we do

good

when we do

these things

and we say

but God

I can do

this

but God

I did

this

but God

I did

this

that God's word

says that our

righteousness

that comes from

within ourselves

of all that we

can muster

is like filthy

rags before him

and so what we

need

is exactly

what the angels

come to say

I love their first

two words

fear

not

right

sitting in this

room

watching online

is a bunch

of guilty

people

who all

deserve

wrath

who all

deserve

hell

but in the

proclamation

of all

that we've

done

the word

of God

comes before

us

and says

fear not

because I bring

good news

of the gospel

to you

and that as I

bring this

as I project

forth about

the savior

of the world

that there's a

positioning

found in God's

people

to receive it

and it's

not one

that says

look at me

it's not one

that says

well I deserve

to be saved

it's not one

that says

I know

it's one

that says

I bring

nothing to

you

but instead

you give

this to me

humility

an accurate

picture of

who we are

completely

lost without

Christ

and an

accurate picture

of who he

is

completely

holy

and just

and good

and loving

and so that's

why

God reveals

himself

to humble

people

in humble

places

because it

helps us

understand

the message

of the gospel

would you pray

with me

Lord we thank

you so much

for who you

are and for

what you've

done

your word

is very

clear

Lord

that you

have a

standard

that we

cannot

fulfill

that we

cannot

uphold

that we

cannot

see through

as much

as we

may try

to be

religious

as much

as we

may try

to be

good

we can

never

be

religious

enough

we can

never

be

good

enough

and so

Lord you

come to

us

to save

us

Lord those

who are

who are

saved

need to be

saved

because they

cannot save

themselves

and that's

where you

appear

and that's

where you

reveal

and that's

what you

show as

you draw

hearts

to yourself

because of

who you

are Lord

and what

you've

done

God I

pray that

this morning

if we

walked into

this room

with any

sense of

self-righteousness

if we walked

into here

with any

sense of

saying that

we deserve

anything

from you

anything

Lord can we

take that

part

of our

sinful

heart

and lay

it down

and repent

so that

we may

experience

the joy

and the

life that

comes from

you

may this

be our

posture

of every

day

of every

moment

of every

hour

of what

it means

to show

fear of

the Lord

humility

before the

Lord

who you

are

what you

done

so Lord

I thank

you that

you come

to

weak

dirty

outcast

shepherds

like us

and you

speak the

joy

of salvation

into our

lives

Jesus we

love you

we praise

you

it's your name

we pray

thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge

Church weekly

podcast we

hope that you

enjoyed listening

to this week's

message if

you'd like to

learn more

about who

we are or

explore additional

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www.willowridgechurch.com

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