Who Brings MYRRH To A Birthday? // One Church Podcast, 26th December 2022

Hello and welcome to the warm Church podcast.

It's boxing day Monday. The 26th of September and we

trust you having a memorable and blessed Christmas.

My name is Tom and along with Philip and my wife.

We lead the one Church owed be site and I have the chance of

sharing a message with you today and the title of this message is

who brings mern to her birthday. So I'm sure that nearly all of

us listening will have received some kind of gift in the last

couple of days or whenever you're listening to this, it's

been a week of giving. Some gifts are great to receive

some gifts, not so much. Here's a guide of some definite

gifts not to get on certain days if it's a mum's birthday, never

give anti-aging Chrome. If it's an anniversary, flowers

are good, a Action of flowers. Plain self-raising, gluten-free

are not a good idea. A baby shower, don't buy shower

gel or a loofah. It's not that kind of shower and

if you're going to a funeral party poppers and party hats are

not advised amazingly, the GIF. We're going to talk about today

that really was given was even more inappropriate.

It seemed than these. I remember going to a friend's

birthday party. When I was 10 years old, his

name was Tim and I Bought him gel pens.

I don't know why, but I got it in my head that this was the

worst gift ever and he would hate it.

So when we got back to his house after the party, he said he was

opening his presence and I was so nervous.

I went and hid in the toilet while he opened them.

Thankfully he actually liked his present but I was terrified the

other day. My daughter Rosie received a

card for her birthday and you know she has a sister called Zoe

and often their names are mixed And there in the card.

It said, dear Zoe happy birthday with love from the person.

It was from, we did laugh about it and there was a present

inside. So she wasn't too fussed in the

story of the first Christmas, the visit of the Magi to Jesus

has been told in countless nativities, and stories and

retellings around the globe. Jesus is somewhere between one

and two years old, moved to a house living in Bethlehem.

Mmm. And In This Moment, the major I

arrived, I'm going to read from Matthew 2, and then we're going

to talk about the gifts that they bought to Jesus after Jesus

was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod

Magi, from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, where is

the one who has been born? King of the Jews.

We saw his star when it Rose, and have come to worship him.

When King Herod heard this, he was Disturbed and all Jerusalem

with him. When he had called together all

the peoples Chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked

them where the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea, they

replied. The this is what the prophet has

written. So Herod called the Magi

secretly and found out from them the exact time.

The star had appeared and sent them to Bethlehem and said, go

and search carefully for the child.

As soon as you find him report to me, sir, I too may go and

worship him. After they'd heard the king,

they went on their way and the star they had seen when it Rose

went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the

child was when they saw the star, they were Overjoyed on

coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary

and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of

gold, frankincense and myrrh and having been warned in a dream

not to go back to Herod. They returned to their country

by another route. The Magi came to the Palace of

course. That's where you'd expect to

find a newborn king but they came ready to bring their

adoration and their worship. They came ready to bring

something of worth. They came ready to bring gifts

to this newborn king. They must have been excited and

expectant as they arrived there at the palace and then when they

arrived at the simple home and met Mary and Jesus, In the

Greek, the word proskuneo is used when they talk about

worshiping. It's not just a coming and

singing a song, but that word means to lean and kiss towards

another literally, these wise people, these major I had come

to kneel and kiss towards this young boy, Jesus to celebrate.

They had brought gifts. Now, these gifts, we will have

heard I'm sure many is many, many times.

Gold frankincense and myrrh. Gold Berlin frankincense.

Yeah, sure. But who brings myrrh to a

birthday? Imagine if you're visiting a new

child and say congratulations to the family and then you give

that little child, a leaflet from Cooperative Funeral Care,

it just doesn't sit, right, this is exactly what happened in this

moment, they were basically giving this child something that

symbolized Death. But first, let's talk about the

gold. Now bringing gold to a King,

obviously gold. It honors the Great and the

Royal in the ancient world and still today, it's a symbol of

value and wealth, gold, calf, gold, Menorah gold currency,

gold, jewelry, gold decoration, and gold streets in Revelation.

All Through the Bible, we find gold even the holy of holies the

most holy place in the temple where people could encounter

gods. Presents.

It was adorned with gold. Gold comes supposedly from the

Collision of neutron stars but all I know is its mind and

traded and exchanged around the world it's a metal that you can

beat one gram of into a one meter squared sheet.

It's an amazingly malleable and also precious material, the gold

gift tells and reminds us that Jesus is royal he is of great

worth like the finest Palace and Temple but the gold could also

tell us that Jesus like the holy of holies is this gold adorned

one through whom all people can encounter the presence of God.

The second gift, the Mage I gave was frankincense frankincense it

kind of makes sense. It was for burning and sacrifice

and offering it was used in worship.

They've come to worship the newborn king and so they bought

frankincense. We find this material in Exodus

30 where it's used for burning and making something pure and

sacred. It comes from the sap of a tree

and in the ancient world, The life of a tree was its sap and

when it was cut, it would flow Harden and then be used.

And this was frankincense and this gift tells us, that Jesus

is Worthy of worship. He's worthy of sacrifice, and

that is what the Mage I had come to do.

But it could also tell us something more.

Perhaps, it tells us that Jesus is the new pure and sacred

offering a fragrance that would be holy like no other.

Frankincense makes sense. But Ma who brings myrrh to a

birthday myrrh was for anointing and preparing, but mainly for

anointing preparing an embalming the Dead.

It came from a rare tree, it would be cut deeply repeatedly

to extract this sap. This murmur.

Now, this murmur would have been used to anoint, as well as just

the dead, many things. In fact, in the Bible, Marie's

used to anoint priests and the Altar and the temple before

sacrifices are made. Perhaps, it's just telling us

that Jesus is anointing oil preparing all to be made, right?

With God, but actually the myrrh speaks to us of death.

This baby boy there in Bethlehem who they came to worship.

He was born and set apart to die, and Jesus did he did die?

He was a precious gift, a light to the world Hosanna.

Hallelujah Messiah. Savior, yet Jesus died.

And at Christmas, we think of this newborn life but also we

must remember that this child, this King gave his life.

The next time we read about murmur is in John chapter 19, in

John 19 · chapter mention

the aftermath of Jesus death on the cross.

And we read this, Joseph of Arimathea asked pilate for the

body of Jesus. He came and took the body away.

He was accompanied by Nicodemus, they brought a mixture of myrrh

and aloes about 75 pounds, taking Jesus body.

The two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen.

In at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden

and in the garden, a new Tomb in which no one had ever been laid

and they laid Jesus there. Who brings myrrh to a birthday?

Well, I for one am glad the major I did, because the death

and resurrection of Jesus is the Hope for the whole world and is

the Hope for my life. Just like when murder is

harvested, Jesus is the deeply and repeatedly cut tree.

His sap released his life given up.

He was pierced blood and water flowed from his side, Jesus gave

up his life and so we've all of this is really true about Jesus.

If he does replace the holy of holies and the sacrifices

rituals offerings Consecration and purification.

If through his death, we can all be welcomed into God's presence.

If all of this happened because of what Jesus did his life death

and Resurrection, then maybe bringing Myrtle a birthday is

actually the greatest gift that could have been given.

Maybe it's not strange after all, but maybe it gives us hope

today. Wherever you're listening from

and perhaps you're listening on boxing day or in the week after

Christmas or even at a later date, I'd love to pray for you.

So let's pray together. Loving father, thank you for the

miracle and the reality of Christmas.

Thank you for your son Jesus in the gift of gold.

We thank you, Jesus, for your immeasurable worth may.

We learn to bring you the Worship.

You Deserve like the major I did.

In the gift of Frankincense, we thank you.

Jesus, that you're the pure and sacred offering and may we enter

into the presence of God, with boldness in the gift of myrrh.

We thank you Jesus, that your life was one of preparation and

anointing. We thank you for your death,

your resurrection and that we are transformed because of it

and to you Jesus our King, our holy of holies, our Pure

offering and our savior who died in our place.

May you receive all glory and honor this Christmas time.

Our men, if you need anything at all, please know that we are

here, you can get in touch with us today and we'll be able to

respond even over the Christmas period.

We'd also love you to join us on New Year's Eve as we pray on,

Zoom at 11 p.m. and then on New Year's Day As We Gather, for one

church together, from 10:30, a.m. at the one Center 10 frog

Island. If you can't Kim person.

Then you can join us on YouTube as well as the whole service

will be streamed online. Live have a great week, be

blessed, we love you and we'll see you soon.

Kim person. Then you can join us on YouTube

as well as the whole service will be streamed online.

Live have a great week, be blessed, we love you and we'll

see you soon.