The Compelling Power of Wonder: What the Shepherds Teach Us at Christmas

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[00:02:56] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
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[00:03:48] Let's pray.
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[00:05:10] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:05:34] Amen.
[00:05:39] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:05:58] Amen.
[00:06:13] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:06:33] Amen.
[00:06:53] Let's pray.
[00:07:24] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:07:41] Amen.
[00:08:08] and more.
[00:09:21] Let's pray.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Good morning, Back Creek Church.
[00:10:09] It's great to see everybody this morning.
[00:10:11] Please stand with us so we can worship in song.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
[00:11:12] The King of Angels O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord
[00:11:41] Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing all ye citizens of heaven above.
[00:11:59] Glory to God all, glory in the highest, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
[00:12:44] He, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning.
[00:12:53] Jesus, to Thee be all glory given.
[00:13:06] Now in flesh appearing O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him
[00:13:28] O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord
[00:14:03] O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord O come let us adore Him
[00:14:28] Let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
The Lord Jesus Christ together.
[00:14:55] We're thankful that you're here whether you are a longtime member or a first-time guest or somewhere in between.
[00:15:01] We're thankful for your presence with us.
[00:15:03] We'd ask you to do one thing for us.
[00:15:05] If you are using the Church Center app, we'd love for you to
[00:15:09] Check in there so that we have a record of your attendance with us.
[00:15:12] If you're not using the app or if you're a guest with us today, we'd ask you to look to the inside of your row.
[00:15:18] There should be a white folder there.
[00:15:19] We'd love to have your name and whatever contact information you feel comfortable providing to us, whether that is an email address, a phone number, a physical address.
[00:15:27] What we want to do with that is to be able to reach out to you, to thank you for being here because it really does mean a lot to us, and also find out if there are ways that we can connect with you further or be of service to you.
[00:15:38] I also want to just highlight a couple of things going on in the life of our church today.
[00:15:43] At 4 p.m. is our Happy Birthday Jesus Party, mainly geared toward children, but everyone is welcome.
[00:15:52] It's a great time together.
[00:15:54] That's from 4 to 6.
[00:15:55] And then from 6 to 8 is our Youth Ministry.
[00:16:00] Christmas party and that's going to be a lot of fun for students so not only do I encourage you to come as a teenager but also to bring your friends to that Christmas party this evening as well of course I also want to make mention of our Christmas Eve service we'll be gathered in this room at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve together to to take a breath
[00:16:22] From all of the busyness and all of the stress and all of the things that press in on us during this season.
[00:16:33] And to really focus on the hope of Christmas, the hope of the gospel, the hope that Christ has brought into our lives.
[00:16:42] And so we want to invite you and invite you to invite others to join us for Christmas Eve for our candlelight service.
[00:16:50] There's more, and I would refer you to the back of your bulletin as well as to the Church Center app and our church website as well for information you might need on how to connect with one another and connect with the Lord through Back Creek Church.
[00:17:05] Because today is the third week in Advent, we light the shepherd's candle, so we'll do that now.

[00:17:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
During the third week of Advent, we light the shepherd candle, which represents the lasting joy which is only found in Jesus.
[00:17:47] The shepherds received this message from the angels.
[00:17:51] And in the region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
[00:17:57] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of God shone over them, and they were filled with great fear.
[00:18:04] The angel said to them,
[00:18:07] Fear not!
[00:18:08] Behold, I bring to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[00:18:14] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
[00:18:22] And this will be a sign for you.
[00:18:24] You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
[00:18:29] And suddenly there was an angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God and saying,
[00:18:36] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
[00:18:42] When the angels 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.
[00:18:54] Luke chapter 2 verses 8 through 15.
[00:18:58] Thank you, Lord, for the joy with which you fill our hearts.

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Thank you, Strine family.
[00:19:20] It's our great joy to worship the Lord together.
[00:19:25] And the Lord is the one who calls His people to His worship.
[00:19:29] This morning from Psalm 28, 7-9.
[00:19:33] The Lord is my strength and shield.
[00:19:36] In Him my heart trusts, and I am helped.
[00:19:39] The Lord is the strength of his people.
[00:19:44] He's the saving refuge of his anointed.
[00:19:48] Oh, save your people and bless your heritage.
[00:19:51] Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
[00:19:54] Let's go to the Lord together in prayer.
[00:20:03] O Lord our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
[00:20:09] We confess together with the psalmist this morning that you are our shepherd.
[00:20:19] That you make us lie down in green pastures.
[00:20:22] That you lead us beside still waters.
[00:20:25] That you are the one who restores our soul, who leads us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake.
[00:20:33] The one who, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don't have to fear evil because you are with us and we're comforted by your shepherd's rod and staff.
[00:20:47] You prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
[00:20:51] You anoint our heads with oil so that our cup overflows.
[00:20:55] It is because of you, our Lord and our God, that we can have confidence
[00:21:03] That goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives and that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[00:21:13] Oh Lord, we thank you that you are our shepherd, the overseer of our souls.
[00:21:20] That you love us so much that you were not content to leave us in and with the wages of sin, with what we had earned for ourselves.
[00:21:33] You came for us Lord Jesus and you rescued us through your life and death and resurrection so that we might have life and have it to the full so that we might have life in this world in relationship with you and life eternal in your presence.
[00:21:49] Lord we thank you that week after week throughout the year you call us into your worship.
[00:21:56] Lord, you give us an opportunity to, having had your love poured out into our hearts, return love to you, to adore you and to praise you and to glorify you, to worship you as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, the Shepherd of our souls.
[00:22:13] So Lord, we look to you now to help us, to help your people, O Lord, as you have so faithfully.
[00:22:20] Lord, meet us in this place according to your promise and use your word as we seek to sing it and to pray it, to read it, to preach it and to hear it.
[00:22:31] Lord, help us to receive it and to be changed by it.
[00:22:35] We love you, Lord, and we ask that you would be pleased with our worship for your name's sake and for the glory of Christ, and in his name we pray.
[00:22:44] Amen.
[00:22:45] Let's stand together and worship the Lord in song.

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free From our fears and sins release us Let us find our rest in Thee Eternal strength and consolation Hope of all the earth Thou art

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart,
[00:24:01] O promised Star of Jacob, rise upon this herald earth Fill the silence of all waiting with the cry of holy birth Son of Heaven, Son of Mary, hear the song of angels tell
[00:24:27] Thou hast come to save thy people, God with us, Emmanuel Come now, great Redeemer, come, Emmanuel Bless the nations with your presence here
[00:24:59] To rescue, born to save your very own Long-expected Jesus, make our hearts your home
[00:25:15] Fill the people to deliver Born a child and yet a King Born to raise in us forever Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring By Thy own eternal Spirit Move in all our hearts along
[00:25:42] All-sufficient merit, raise us to thine glorious throne.
[00:26:08] Come now, bravely to earth, come, Emmanuel, Bless the nations with your presence filled.
[00:26:12] Born our souls to rescue Born to save your very own Long-expected Jesus Make our hearts your home
[00:26:39] God bless the nations with your presence here Born our souls to rescue Born to save your very own Long-expected Jesus Make our hearts your home
[00:27:07] Come thou long-expected Jesus Come thou long-expected Jesus
[00:27:56] The first Noel the angels did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay In fields where they lay keeping
[00:28:21] On a cold winter's night that was so deep Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel
[00:29:08] And saw a star shining in the east beyond and far and true
[00:29:28] He gave great life And so it continued Both day and night Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King
[00:30:06] And by the light of that same star Three wise men came
[00:30:21] To seek for a king was their intent And to follow the star wherever it went
[00:30:47] Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel Noel, Noel Noel, Noel
[00:31:10] Born is the King of Israel

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
This season, we think about God the Son coming into the world.
[00:31:58] We may ask, why did He come?
[00:32:01] And in the pages of the New Testament, we have Jesus Himself telling us why He came.
[00:32:08] He says, in one instance, the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
[00:32:16] In another instance, He says,
[00:32:21] He came to save, to call not the righteous, but sinners.
[00:32:29] And so when we're gathered before the Lord to worship Him, we come openly acknowledging and confessing our sin and our need for Him.
[00:32:43] So I'd ask you to join me in confession, first personally and privately in the quietness of your own heart, and then together we'll join our hearts and our voices as a church in confession and repentance, because we sin as individuals and we sin together as the church.
[00:33:00] Let's go to the Lord in confession.
[00:33:37] Now together as the family of God.
[00:33:40] Lord, you are the wonderful counselor, but we lean on our own understanding and trust in our own ability.
[00:33:48] You are the mighty God, but we seek to fight our own battles.
[00:33:52] You are the everlasting Father, but we choose to live like orphans.
[00:33:57] You are the Prince of Peace, but we embrace anxiety and worry as we try to control our lives and create our own peace.
[00:34:07] Your love and generosity to us knows no bounds, but we so often fail to receive Your good gifts.
[00:34:15] You lavish us with grace, yet we are closed-handed with you, with one another, and with our neighbors.
[00:34:22] Forgive us for our many sins.
[00:34:25] Make us like you, Lord Jesus.
[00:34:28] You gave us everything.
[00:34:30] You gave us yourself.
[00:34:31] May we learn to trust in you, to long for you, and to give of ourselves for your sake.
[00:34:39] Amen.
[00:34:40] And to all who are looking away from themselves and to Christ alone for salvation, hear the word of the Lord from Isaiah 1.18.
[00:34:48] Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.
[00:34:51] Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
[00:34:56] Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
[00:35:01] Amen.
[00:35:03] After the familiar Christmas narrative in Luke chapter 2, you heard a little bit of it earlier.
[00:35:10] We'll hear a little bit more of it later, some of the same as well.
[00:35:15] We do have this conclusion to the story.
[00:35:23] And at the end of eight days...
[00:35:25] When he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
[00:35:36] The Bible tells us in Galatians 4 that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
[00:35:49] Jesus being born though he was fully God now taking on flesh and being fully human as well two natures in one person forever came into the world as a human being under God's law and also under God's promise in the Old Testament when God made the promise to Abraham and gave him the sign of circumcision he said I will be God to you and to your children
[00:36:20] And so every infant boy born among God's people was marked with the sign of God's promise, generation to generation to generation.
[00:36:34] So in the New Testament, Jesus inaugurates a new covenant with a new symbol of God's promise to be God to us.
[00:36:46] It's the sign of baptism.
[00:36:49] The sign and seal of the righteousness that comes by faith.
[00:36:53] But God's word through Peter to those who heard the gospel were the same words that God Himself spoke to Abraham.
[00:37:00] The promise of salvation is not only for you but for your children as well.
[00:37:08] And so as a church, we believe that in God's new covenant economy,
[00:37:16] That His people remains believers together with their children.
[00:37:21] And so when a baby is born into a family of believers, that baby is marked with the sign of God's promise.
[00:37:29] I will be God's to you and to your children.
[00:37:31] It's the sign of initiation into God's covenant family.
[00:37:36] And we do that not because we believe that there is something
[00:37:40] We do it because God is the one who speaks in baptism.
[00:37:51] We do it because it is the sign of initiation into God's family.
[00:37:57] And God has given us a second sign.
[00:37:59] A sign of the Lord's Supper that we celebrated together last week.
[00:38:03] A sign of continuation by faith.
[00:38:07] In the people of God, in the covenant of God.
[00:38:11] And so it's our privilege and pleasure now to mark Rihanna Jengem with the sign of God's covenant.
[00:38:19] So I'll call the Jengem family to join me.
[00:38:42] This is Sandeep and Bindu and Rihanna.
[00:38:44] Many of you know them well.
[00:38:47] They've been members here for a few years and they now bring their daughter for baptism.
[00:38:52] And I'm going to ask you four questions regarding your responsibility before the Lord with Rihanna.
[00:39:00] And also I'm going to ask a question of the members of this church because it's our responsibility to partner with you.
[00:39:10] Sandeep and Bindu.
[00:39:12] Do you renew the vows which you made when you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and entered into the full communion of this church, do you?
[00:39:21] Do you acknowledge that Rihanna is a sinner in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit, do you?
[00:39:29] Do you claim God's covenant promises on Rihanna's behalf and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for her salvation even as you do for your own, do you?
[00:39:41] And lastly, do you now covenant and promise in humble reliance on the grace of God to bring your child up to love God and to serve Him to the end that Riana may come to commit her life to Jesus as Lord and Savior?
[00:39:55] Do you?
[00:39:56] Amen.
[00:39:58] And now to you, the members of Bat Creek Church.
[00:40:02] It is absolutely our responsibility before God to assist Sandeep and Bindu with leading Rihanna to know and love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:40:15] And so I would ask you to respond to this question with we do.
[00:40:19] Do you, the members of Bat Creek Church, undertake with these parents the covenant responsibility for the Christian nurture of this child?
[00:40:27] Do you?
[00:40:29] Amen.
[00:40:41] Rhianna Zielle Jingham, Child of the Covenant, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:40:54] Amen.
[00:41:00] and because it is our responsibility in as many ways as possible and as often as possible to tell Rihanna that Jesus loves her.
[00:41:09] We're going to start right now by singing one verse and one chorus of Jesus Loves Me.

[00:41:24] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
And I'll bring her so that you can see her a little bit better.
[00:41:26] Ready?
[00:41:26] Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells

[00:41:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Let's pray together for the Jengem family.

[00:41:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
O Lord, our God, thank you so much for Sandeep and Bindu.
[00:42:01] Thank you for making them a part of our faith family.
[00:42:04] And thank you now for the privilege of marking their daughter Rihanna with the sign of your covenant.
[00:42:09] Lord, we trust your promises.
[00:42:11] We trust in your faithfulness.
[00:42:13] We look to you in faith for her salvation.
[00:42:16] And we ask for your grace, O Lord, that we might partner together with these parents to raise her in the training and admonition of the Lord.
[00:42:23] Help us to take our responsibility and privilege seriously, Lord.
[00:42:27] So that you might be glorified in her life.
[00:42:30] Oh Lord, we ask now that you would do your work in the heart of this little girl.
[00:42:35] That there would not be a single day that she could remember where she did not know you as Savior and Lord.
[00:42:41] That she would grow into a mighty woman of God.
[00:42:45] And we ask these things for Christ's sake and in his name.
[00:42:49] Amen.
[00:42:50] And now I want to invite one of our elders, David Threat, to come and lead us in a prayer of intercession.

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
let's pray dear father we thank you for this beautiful day that you blessed us with beautiful sunny day even though it's getting cold outside it's just such a great opportunity to be in your house your word teaches us that we have six days to do all the activities of the week but this is your day father where we're to worship you and to rest i pray that our church will have a passionate
[00:43:29] You're coming next year that we will all want to be in your house, Father, as much and as many times as often.
[00:43:38] Father, I give you thanks for Back Creek Church.
[00:43:41] You've blessed it so faithfully for over 220 years, and we just thank you for this.
[00:43:48] We pray, Father, that this church can be very special in this community where people know that they are going to come and hear your word preached.
[00:43:59] I give you thanks for ministers through the years of this church that have faithfully preached God's word as they're called to do.
[00:44:06] And I just pray that Back Creek Church will be a shining light in what is a world of darkness by the way in which we open our doors and welcome our neighbors to come in and hear the good news of Jesus.
[00:44:23] Father, I lift up our children and our youth.
[00:44:25] We are so blessed in this church to have so many beautiful children and youth, and we thank you for the privilege that it is to minister to them as we've just made a promise through this infant baptism.
[00:44:40] I pray for the leaders of our children and youth, for Dawn and Kelly, for Adam, and all those that assist them in everything we do for our children and youth.
[00:44:50] and Father I just pray that you will bless them it's not an easy world in which they grow up in with so many challenging our Christian values nowadays and may they be strong and stand firm in the gospel Father protect them from the evil one and may they just grow daily and weekly and each year in their personal faith and walk with you Father so just bless all the children and the young people
[00:45:20] Today I lift up the mission churches of First Presbytery.
[00:45:25] They are actually worshiping as we speak in Fletcher Presbyterian with Zach Kuthin as the minister and in the Hickory Presbyterian Church.
[00:45:35] with Tripp Costell.
[00:45:37] They've both been started out as mission churches this year and I just pray that you will bless these the works in both of these cities and I pray that in years to come very soon that they will be organized as regular churches but just bless these small and young church families.
[00:45:56] I lift up our newly elected officers and I pray Father that they will continue to be faithful leaders and we thank you for their willingness to serve.
[00:46:07] Father there are many today amongst our family, our church family, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers
[00:46:15] that need your prayers some have cancer some have other issues in their lives some are aging father your word teaches us you're the great physician and i just pray that you can heal them as only you can father bless those that work in the medical industry but father ultimately healing is through you as we talked earlier about this season in the service
[00:46:45] There's a scripture that comes to mind, be still and know that I am God.
[00:46:51] We all enjoy the Christmas season, the parties and gatherings and music and all the things that we do through Christmas, but may each one of us slow down and realize the true meaning of Christmas is simply the birth of Jesus and what he was sent to earth to do.
[00:47:13] He came and was born in a stable even though he's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
[00:47:20] He came in such a humble manner and may we all have humility as we serve him in anything that we do in this church and in our personal lives, Father, may it be to your honor and glory.
[00:47:33] Come Holy Spirit upon this time of worship.
[00:47:36] Bless Pastor Matt as he brings the message.
[00:47:40] Place on his heart what you would have your people to hear
[00:47:43] May Back Creek be a shining light in a world of darkness and Father please receive our tithes and offerings back to you that they may be used in the area of the University and of Harrisburg to your honor and glory.
[00:47:59] It's in Jesus name that I pray and for his sake.
[00:48:02] Amen.

[00:48:30] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:49:04] Let us pray.
[00:49:43] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:50:05] Amen.
[00:50:19] Let us pray.

[00:50:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Feeling of Surprise.
[00:50:51] mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful unexpected or unexplainable there has never been anything in all of history more surprising more admirable more unexpected or more unexplainable than the God who created everything coming into our world as a little baby that is the wonder of Christmas and the story of how it all happened uniquely prepares our hearts to wonder and to receive the love that came to save us

[00:51:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All right if you're a child second grade and younger you're welcome to stay with us for the message but if you and your parents agree you can be dismissed right over here through this door

[00:51:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
And you'll return as we're responding to God's word and song.

[00:52:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Luke chapter 2 verses 8 through 18.
[00:52:26] Luke 2, 8 through 18.
[00:52:28] The scripture will be on the wall behind me.
[00:52:30] If you want to refer to a physical Bible, there should be one in the pew close to you.
[00:52:34] And if you don't have a Bible at home, we would love for you to take that Bible as our gift to you.
[00:52:41] Our goal this Advent season...
[00:52:44] is to let the amazing reality of the incarnation of God the Son as a human baby, to let that become so big for us again that we find ourselves small enough to truly wonder, to be astonished and surprised and delighted and overwhelmed and moved by the good news of God with us.
[00:53:13] And not only to wonder, but to let that wonder so work in us that we are prepared to receive the love that compelled Him to come.
[00:53:26] And we have wondered together at prophecy, impossible promises that God kept at just the right time.
[00:53:35] We've wondered together at Bethlehem,
[00:53:38] A sad small town the Lord chose to be the birthplace of salvation.
[00:53:44] And today we're going to wonder with the shepherds.
[00:53:48] Those who first heard the good news of great joy that first Christmas night and saw the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
[00:53:57] So look with me at Luke chapter 2 and if you're able please stand in honor of God's word.
[00:54:07] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
[00:54:13] 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.
[00:54:22] And the angel said to them,
[00:54:23] Fear not.
[00:54:25] For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[00:54:31] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
[00:54:38] And this will be a sign for you.
[00:54:39] You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
[00:54:44] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
[00:54:57] When the angels 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.
[00:55:08] And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
[00:55:13] When they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
[00:55:19] And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
[00:55:24] Let's go to the Lord together in prayer.
[00:55:27] O Lord our God, grant it now to your people that we would truly wonder at what you have done.
[00:55:33] Thank you for the wonder of those shepherds, Lord.
[00:55:37] Help us to join them in it, to truly be astonished and overwhelmed and delighted by the true story of how you changed everything, including us.
[00:55:50] Thank you for your word, Lord.
[00:55:51] Thank you that it is true.
[00:55:54] By your Spirit, please do your work in our hearts.
[00:55:58] And we ask this in Jesus' name.
[00:56:00] Amen.
[00:56:09] We were familiar with the night.
[00:56:13] We knew its favorite colors, its sullen silence, and its small, disturbing sounds, its unprovoked rages, its savage dreams.
[00:56:25] We slept by turns, attentive to the flock.
[00:56:29] We said little, night after night.
[00:56:34] There was little to say.
[00:56:36] But sometimes one of us, skilled in that way, would pipe a tune of how things were for us.
[00:56:44] They say that once, almost before time, the stars with shining voices serenaded newborn world.
[00:56:53] The night could not contain their boundless praise.
[00:56:58] We thought that just a poem.
[00:57:01] Until the night, a song of solar glory, unutterable, unearthly, eclipsed the luminaries of the night.
[00:57:12] As though the world were exercised of dark and coming to itself began again.
[00:57:20] Later, we returned to the flock.
[00:57:25] The night was ominously black.
[00:57:29] The stars were silent as the sheep.
[00:57:32] Nights pass, year on year.
[00:57:35] We clutch our meager cloaks against the cold.
[00:57:38] Our aging pipers' fumbling fingers play, night after night, an earthly echo of the song that banished the dark.
[00:57:49] It has stayed with us.
[00:57:53] I think that poem by Richard Bauckham invites us into the before and after of the shepherd's experience.
[00:58:04] It was a lonely and lowly thing to be a shepherd in the first century.
[00:58:11] Socially, you were on the outside looking in, spending your time day after day, night after night with your sheep and maybe only occasionally connecting with someone else who was doing the same thing.
[00:58:24] Religiously, as a Jew, you were on the outside looking in as well with tending and protecting the flock, making basic Judaism things like keeping the Sabbath and staying ritually clean and pure extremely difficult.
[00:58:40] It's ironic if what scholars say might be true is in fact true that shepherds near Bethlehem, only five miles outside of Jerusalem, were tasked with caring for the lambs that would be sacrificed at the temple.
[00:58:55] They cared for the pure lambs that would be sacrificed but couldn't themselves stay ceremonially pure.
[00:59:03] Part of the wonder of the shepherds
[00:59:06] God chose these lonely and lowly outsiders to be the first, besides Mary and Joseph, to hear about the Messiah's birth and to meet Him face to face.
[00:59:19] But it makes perfect sense when you really think about who our God is.
[00:59:24] and how he works.
[00:59:25] He chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
[00:59:29] He chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.
[00:59:32] He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
[00:59:39] He chose the sad and small place.
[00:59:42] He chose Bethlehem.
[00:59:44] He chose the lowly and lonely people.
[00:59:46] He chose shepherds.
[00:59:48] And the wonder of it all is that because they were lowly,
[00:59:53] because they were humble by their status because they were lowly they were perfectly positioned to wonder at what God was doing because they were lonely they were uniquely positioned to receive the love that came to save them
[01:00:15] Another part of the wonder of shepherds is their experience of the multitude of the heavenly host, the army of angels that filled the night sky.
[01:00:25] The poet says it in the simple words of the shepherd, it has stayed with us.
[01:00:34] This encounter with an angelic messenger and the Shekinah glory of the Lord and then the host of heaven no doubt changed everything for those shepherds forever.
[01:00:47] We may have seen some pretty remarkable things in our lives, but we'll never see anything like what these anonymous shepherds saw and heard and felt.
[01:00:57] And truth be told, it was terrifying.
[01:01:02] Can you imagine the wonder
[01:01:05] of being told in this unbelievably terrifying sight that you actually don't have to be afraid, quite the opposite, that this is an invitation to the greatest possible joy in the world because the good news that the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior who is both the Son of David and the Son of God, He has been born and you can go and see Him in the unlikeliest of places.
[01:01:35] Feeding Trough.
[01:01:37] There is so much wonder in these few moments.
[01:01:41] I would encourage you to just take Luke 2, 8-18 and just read it, meditate on it, let it run through your mind and ask the Lord to use it to prepare your heart to wonder at the truth and the hope of Christmas.
[01:01:59] But in this message, I really want us to focus on what happens next.
[01:02:06] What wonder does in and to and for these shepherds and therefore what it can do in and to and for us as well.
[01:02:16] The first thing that we see here is that wonder compels us to receive.
[01:02:24] Wonder compels us to receive.
[01:02:27] What would have happened?
[01:02:29] If it had been a fellow shepherd or a citizen of Bethlehem to run out into the fields and tell the shepherds that, listen, a young woman just gave birth to a baby and wrapped him in some fabric and laid him in a feeding trough and you know what?
[01:02:44] He's the long-awaited Messiah that God promised us.
[01:02:53] It's possible.
[01:02:55] Depending on the known credibility of the messenger, the human messenger, that they might have received it.
[01:03:00] They might have believed it as truth.
[01:03:05] But given that this was the moment,
[01:03:07] That all creation in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, had been longing for, for all of history, given that this was the moment that everything changed forever, the Lord left absolutely no doubt.
[01:03:22] He sent a mighty angel surrounded by the Lord's own glory to announce the what?
[01:03:30] Good news of great joy unto you is born this day.
[01:03:35] Where?
[01:03:36] In the city of David.
[01:03:38] Who?
[01:03:38] A Savior who is Christ the Lord.
[01:03:42] And then the sky was filled with the deafening roar of angels worshiping God and declaring His glory and bestowing His blessings.
[01:03:53] This was a wondrous event and the shepherds were rightly filled with wonder.
[01:03:59] And what did their wonder do in them?
[01:04:03] It compelled them to receive and to believe this angelic message is true.
[01:04:11] Beloved, we may never have an angelic encounter.
[01:04:14] I guarantee we will never have one like these shepherds had outside of Bethlehem.
[01:04:20] But I invite us all together to wonder at the reality that transcended the wonder of the angelic beings and their glorious declarations in the sky above Bethlehem.
[01:04:36] I invite us to wonder together about the most truly wondrous thing that night in Bethlehem that the Lord, the Lord,
[01:04:49] God himself the creator of all things the sustainer of all things the infinite eternal and unchangeable God the one who dwells in unapproachable light the one who is thoroughly incomprehensible to our little pea brains unless he condescends to us that God the Lord was born as a baby
[01:05:20] The Christ, the Messiah, the long-promised one, the one that generation after generation after generation of believers who heard the promises passed away, never seeing them fulfilled.
[01:05:37] The Savior.
[01:05:39] The one whose name is Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.
[01:05:44] His name is Emmanuel because he is God with us.
[01:05:49] I invite us together to realize that the true wonder of that first Christmas night was not the angels in the sky, but the message they delivered and the person that it was about.
[01:06:02] That is the wonder of Christmas that those shepherds receive and the call to us is to receive it as well.
[01:06:09] To believe that this good news of great joy is true and that it is for you.
[01:06:22] You have known and believed that the good news of great joy that in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago a baby was born who is the Lord, who is the Christ, who is the Savior.
[01:06:35] If you have received and rested in Him alone for salvation, if He has made you a new creation and given you eternal life and adoption into God's family, my brother and my sister, are you wondering at that?
[01:06:53] And if not, why not?
[01:06:56] This is truly wondrous.
[01:07:01] And if today, like you've heard this story, however many times, maybe today's the first time, but maybe you've heard it dozens, maybe hundreds of times before.
[01:07:13] And you haven't ever really wondered at it, to you it's been a cute story.
[01:07:18] Something that somebody made up a long time ago.
[01:07:22] I'd invite you to hear today that this good news of great joy is true.
[01:07:30] This isn't just some story that was made up by someone a long time ago, but no, God came into our world.
[01:07:36] The Word took on flesh to dwell among us, that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, that He is the Savior of sinners, and that His invitation to you stands.
[01:07:46] If you will receive Him and rest in Him alone for salvation, you will have the forgiveness of your sins.
[01:07:52] You will have eternal life.
[01:07:53] You will have adoption into God's family.
[01:07:55] You will have hope.
[01:07:57] For today,
[01:07:59] and for eternity.
[01:08:02] Receive and believe the good news of great joy.
[01:08:07] It's for all people.
[01:08:11] Wonder compels us to receive.
[01:08:13] Wonder compels us to pursue.
[01:08:18] Wonder compels us to pursue.
[01:08:19] The shepherds didn't just sit by their fire and say to one another, that was really something.
[01:08:25] Their wonder at the angelic display and the message delivered that they received as truth not only did something in them, causing them to receive it as truth, it also did something to them.
[01:08:40] It moved their feet.
[01:08:43] They couldn't stay in the fields.
[01:08:45] They immediately said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us.
[01:08:52] They were compelled not only to receive the good news of great joy, but to pursue the one that good news of great joy was about, and to do it with haste.
[01:09:03] Right now, the whole world is conscious.
[01:09:08] That somehow, someway, this is a quote-unquote special time of year.
[01:09:14] People everywhere know that for whatever reason, this season of decorations and lights and parties and ugly sweaters, that this should be filled with wonder.
[01:09:28] And people everywhere are really trying hard to manufacture that.
[01:09:34] And they're trying hard to get into the spirit of the season.
[01:09:39] But what they don't understand is that what they are really chasing isn't the trappings of the season.
[01:09:48] It's a person.
[01:09:50] A baby born in Bethlehem who grew into a man on a cross who walked out of a tomb so that they may have life and have it to the full, so that they might be reconciled to God, so that they might be adopted into His family, so that they might have the hope themselves of resurrection from the dead, so that they might find the ultimate answer to the questions and the longings of their hearts.
[01:10:15] How blessed are we that we do understand
[01:10:20] and that we do know Him.
[01:10:22] Not a cute story or a nice tableau.
[01:10:26] We know the person who is Savior and Christ and Lord.
[01:10:30] What a wonder that we can know Him and that Christmas is an annual invitation to pursue Him anew.
[01:10:37] To come to Bethlehem and see Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
[01:10:43] And along with the shepherds in their wonder.
[01:10:48] My question for you
[01:10:50] is has the wonder of christmas as you have received it the good news of great joy has it moved your feet are you pursuing the one that it's all about and how will you pursue christ this christmas and how will you continue to pursue him on into 2026
[01:11:19] We're spending a lot of time on wonder in this series, and rightly so.
[01:11:24] But the other thing that we're asking the Lord for over the course of this Advent season is to prepare our hearts to receive His love.
[01:11:35] The message of Christmas is that God loves you.
[01:11:44] I would just encourage you to make receiving His love the pursuit of your Christmas and the pursuit of your 2026.
[01:11:54] What will it look like for you, having received the message as true, to pursue the person that it's about?
[01:12:05] And not to pursue Him in the sense of you giving something to Him.
[01:12:08] He doesn't need anything from you.
[01:12:12] He wants everything.
[01:12:14] He doesn't need anything from you.
[01:12:17] He aims to give you Himself.
[01:12:20] He aims to give you everything.
[01:12:24] He aims for you to receive His love.
[01:12:28] We see from the shepherds that wonder compels us to receive.
[01:12:31] That's what it does in us.
[01:12:32] That wonder compels us to pursue.
[01:12:33] That's what it does to us.
[01:12:36] And thirdly and lastly, wonder compels us to share.
[01:12:41] Wonder compels us to receive, to pursue, and to share.
[01:12:46] The irrepressible reflex that we have when we experience something wonderful is to share it with others.
[01:12:53] It's like the sharing of something wonderful completes the enjoyment of something wonderful, right?
[01:13:00] Have you seen this, tried this, gone here, eaten that, done this?
[01:13:07] Don't we do that?
[01:13:08] Every time we experience something wonderful, one of the first instincts that we have is to let somebody else know that we have experienced something wonderful.
[01:13:16] These shepherds received the good news of great joy.
[01:13:19] They pursued it to the manger and they met Jesus.
[01:13:22] And then what happened?
[01:13:24] They could not keep it to themselves.
[01:13:26] Verse 17, And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
[01:13:33] What wonder did for the shepherds!
[01:13:36] is that it made them ambassadors of the good news of great joy for all people.
[01:13:42] It compelled them to share.
[01:13:47] So what about us?
[01:13:50] Are we awestruck by the hope of Christmas and the hope of the Gospel?
[01:13:56] Do we wonder at Jesus and what He has done for us?
[01:13:59] Have we been changed?
[01:14:01] Are we being changed by Him?
[01:14:06] If the answer to all of those things is yes, then who do we know right now?
[01:14:13] Who is in our lives right now as a family member, as a friend, as a co-worker, as an acquaintance, as a neighbor?
[01:14:19] Who do we know that has not yet come to know Christ?
[01:14:24] As we receive and pursue the Lord anew, how can we also share Him with those who need Him?
[01:14:33] How can we join the shepherds in wonder
[01:14:37] and in making Christ known.
[01:14:41] I just encourage you that in this particular season, because of what we discussed just a few minutes ago, people's readiness to understand that this is to be a season of wonder, that this is to be a season set apart, that we're supposed to somehow, someway feel different.
[01:15:00] That people are especially open right now, right here,
[01:15:05] These next couple of weeks to hear the good news of great joy, to receive the person that it's really about, and to join us in wonder and in receiving his love.
[01:15:20] So who will you share the good news with?
[01:15:25] Who will you pray for?
[01:15:27] Who will you invite to Christmas Eve?
[01:15:29] How will we share?
[01:15:34] Let's pray.
[01:15:37] O Lord our God, we thank you for the hope of the gospel.
[01:15:42] We thank you for how wondrous a thing it is, Lord Jesus, that you came into our world as a little baby to grow, to keep the law perfectly on behalf of your people who failed to keep the law at every point.
[01:16:03] To die the death that we had earned, to receive the justice that we deserved, to rise again from the dead, winning the victory that we needed over sin and over Satan and over death forever.
[01:16:17] We wonder at these things, Lord.
[01:16:19] Help us to grow in our capacity for wonder and also in our capacity to receive your love.
[01:16:30] We love you, Lord.
[01:16:32] We want to be like these shepherds, to receive and to pursue and to share.
[01:16:38] And we can only do this with your help.
[01:16:41] So we ask now for your help, by your Spirit, that we might be like our Lord Jesus.
[01:16:47] It's in his name that we pray.
[01:16:48] Amen.
[01:16:50] Let's stand together and respond to God's word in song.

[01:17:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
This is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

[01:17:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Haste, haste to bring Him love, the Babe, the Son of Mary
[01:17:54] Why lies he in such mean estate Where ox and lamb are feeding?
[01:18:03] Good Christian, fearful sinners hear The silent word he's pleading Nails, spears shall pierce him through The cross be borne for me, for you
[01:18:24] The Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary
[01:18:39] So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh Come peasant king to own him The king of kings salvation brings Let loving hearts enthrone him
[01:18:59] Raise, raise the song on high The Virgin sings her lullaby Joy, joyful Christ is born The Babe, the Son of Mary This, this is Christ the King Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
[01:19:27] Haste, haste to bring him life, the babe, the son of Mary

[01:19:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Thank you so much for gathering with us for worship today.
[01:19:53] If you belong to Christ, then you go out into the world with God's blessing.
[01:19:57] So lift up your hands and your heads and your hearts and receive now the benediction of the Lord our God.
[01:20:03] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
[01:20:16] And all God's people said, Amen.

[01:20:25] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
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