Good morning and greetings to each and every one of you.
How'd you enjoy that choir?
It was pretty good.
Well, if you are interested, you can follow us on Facebook as we go on tour at WBC, the Wauitosa Bible Choir.
No. Appreciate Carmen and her putting that together for us. It was fun doing that song.
It's a great song. We have much to be thankful for, for our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So before we begin this morning, let's just again ask the Lord to bless our time together.
Great God and Heavenly Father, as we come before you again, we just thank you for this
time that we could be together under the sound of your word. We just pray, Lord, that you will
Guide this morning, speak through the power of your spirit as we look into your word and talk about
our great God, the uncreated one, who is the author
of our salvation. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying for us.
going to the cross, securing a redemption, rising again.
Now seated at the right hand on high, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So we ask you to bless our time now as we look to you.
In your most precious name, we pray.
Amen.
So, it's December 1st.
The heat is on.
I guess the question I would ask you, where's your stress level?
You know, it seems when I've been talking to different people, they were saying
Boy, where's the time gone? It's already December 1st.
And it just, I can't believe it. We just, you know, we celebrated Thanksgiving just
Last week, now we have approaching that Christmas season.
And so it's a stressful time. Now, some people might say.
You know, I got it all together, but…
I doubt it. But you have to admit…
This is really a busy time, a time that we can often
get distracted.
And busy with the activities of the month.
I remember…
earlier years, we were married and our kids were young. I think that was probably the more stressful time.
As we always felt the pressure
of Christmas as it was approaching and trying to coordinate things with our kids when they were young. They had different programs, different activities.
And then there was a gift buying. In our day, we didn't have the online services that you have.
Today where you can order stuff, we actually had to go to the store to purchase things and
And I think for our family, I think we kept
Toys R Us in business.
But often looking for certain things. I remember at times we would call, do you have a certain item? Oh yeah, we have it. So we drive out there and there's one out in Brookfield. We drive there.
I'm going to get there, they're out. Oh, boy.
So it's like when you're going to get it in? It should be in by Wednesday. So there's always this pressure. So, okay, we missed that.
We're driving home, listening to the radio, and then of course the announcer on the radio says, remember, only 14 days till Christmas. And it's like, boy, I don't need to hear that. So you turn off the radio.
And then you get home, come to the door, and the kids would have their Advent calendar.
They would say, Dad, we're on the 14th day of December.
Oh, yeah. Okay. The heat is on.
So it's like…
It can be a stressful time, a time that we can often lose perspective.
I was reading.
In a poll, it says in a recent poll by the healthcare marketplace it says
64% feel increased anxiety during the holiday season.
41% since a rise in depression.
55% consider therapy due to the holidays. That's my group.
And 17 feel they cannot afford it.
And many questioned whether Christmas
is worth some money.
I was…
you know.
when individuals, when all our focus is on
on the natural one we don't have any natural
real spiritual connection.
This time of year can be very
discouraging, very stressful.
Again, another Gallup poll said that they found that 93% of the Americans celebrate the holidays, but only 35% do so with a deep devotion
to Jesus Christ.
When they have a spiritual connection
This time of year brings on a greater meaning.
and a greater purpose. It's also a time of refreshment.
And it doesn't mean that Christians don't have stress.
Of course, we have stress, we have anxiety, but there is a place that we can go
I find comfort.
in these times. And I would like to just refer to a passage in Psalm 77.
And feel free to turn to that. But just a couple verses there in Psalm 77 that
came to me that…
That stood out.
Psalm 77.
Starting at verse 11.
And I'm reading from the New King James Version.
It reads, I will remember the works of the Lord.
Surely I remember your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all your work
And I have at a talk of all your deeds.
The important thing for us as believers is to remember
We need to meditate.
We need to talk about God's provision.
And when we do those things, that brings things into perspective.
A calmness to the soul.
There was really two passages as I was preparing for this message that stood out, and it speaks about
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.
And about his great love. And of course, the most
common verses that we know very well about his love is John 3.16. For God so loved the world.
that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send a son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved.
So we always think about God's love.
But there's another aspect of God's love. There is a sacrifice.
And another passage that really stood out to me again is
very familiar to you. Hebrews 10, 5 through 9. Therefore.
He who came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering
You did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me.
And bird offerings and sacrifices for sin.
You had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I've come in the volume of the book. It is written of me.
To do your will, O God.
And he said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God
He takes away the first.
that he may establish
The second.
No, we think of this time of year we think about
God's love for us, his sacrifice, but what had cost him and his obedience
to the Father and willingly to do this on our behalf.
As I was thinking about the Christmas story that
often read.
As I was growing up, reread the Christmas story always at
on Christmas Day at our Christmas dinner.
And…
You would read it and, you know, we'd think about it, boy, this is neat, you know, and talked a little bit about it.
But quickly, your mind goes to
Could you please pass the mashed potatoes and the gravy? You know, that type of thing. It's like, it's so easy to take the story and just kind of like
Maybe put it in your back pocket and just kind of pull it out from time to time. But not really spending time
really dwelling on what the whole story involves.
You know, when I was thinking about this, I was thinking about not only about Christ.
birth, but the whole redemptive plan that was instituted by God.
From day one.
And how it would impact
Generation upon generation over hundreds.
and hundreds of years.
I think it's…
good at times that we go back to scripture.
And see how God was preparing mankind for his advent.
And there are many, many great pictures that we see in Scripture pointing to that and things that we need to reflect on.
You know, it's always been God's plan that
man and God would have an eternal relationship.
A relationship that would endure
But of course, we see that wasn't the case. We saw with Adam and Eve.
It once had that perfect union.
They had that special union
But until disobedience.
came in and they sinned against God.
The relationship was broken.
Of course, we were reminded this morning about death. Death was introduced.
Even though Eve were…
alive physically, spiritually.
They were dead. They lost that connection.
But what you see in scripture
almost immediately God was working on making things right again. He was going to intervene.
And we see in Genesis chapter 3 where he says that God's speaking to the serpent says, I will put enmity between you
And the woman between your offspring
and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Great picture.
of what the future was going to be.
have in store for us.
You know, of course, no one really knew
All this was all going to take place.
There'd be many hundreds and hundreds of years.
between Adam and Eve and Christ's incarnation.
But during that time, God.
We're going to point out to mankind how serious their sin was.
that he was a…
future generations, but that he was a God who was a just God, but he was a holy God.
And, you know, holding God.
that there is a penalty for the cost of sin.
And he would also reveal, most of all, that he was a God of love, a God of restoration, wanting to bring
things back together again.
You know, Adam and Eve were the first ones to witness the consequences of their disobedience, the consequences
of their sin.
Not only was their fellowship broken.
But they also had to witness an innocent victim had to be slain.
on their behalf. And of course, be reminded
there that when they were extended, they found themselves to be naked and and uh
And those things, the innocence they lost
And on their behalf.
A lamb was slain, blood was shed, so they could have covering and
And we see that as we see
was going on in their lives is that the appropriate
way to approach God is through a blood sacrifice. And of course.
There was no greater example as we read in Genesis, the offering of
Cain and Abel. Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice. It was
from his flock. There was animals laying there. And of course, we read in scripture
that for the life of the flesh is in the blood.
As we read in Leviticus.
And it has been given to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement.
So the offering that Cain gave was…
not acceptable, not to God.
And so mankind is learning that in a way to
approach a holy God.
blood was required.
And again, I think one of my favorite stories is the story about Abraham and Isaac and as you know why
as they were going up to that mountain.
And God was testing Abraham to see where his faith was, wanting to
really put something that was a heavy burden on Abraham. You know, Abraham was promised that his line would be the seed, the great seed, that would be
Many people would come after him.
And Isaac was going to be the son of promise.
And then he was asked to take Isaac to be that sacrifice, to put him on the altar.
And of course, we know the story that
Isaac wasn't spared, but I think that, you know.
The thing that always stood out to me is those words
Where Isaac said to his father, but father, where's the lamb?
And Abraham says, God will provide a lamb.
And we see that through time that God has always made
preparation.
that there would be a lamb that would be sufficient, that you wouldn't be the one that would be slain, but there would be one that would take your place
Again, a great picture pointed about
how what the Lord Jesus was going to do when he entered into this world.
As I was thinking about Abraham's seed and the children individual Israel.
They had to learn some very tough lessons. They had to learn basically that
God was a holy God and he demanded justice.
You know, if you remember that scene in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai, there was a fire on that mount, there was a mountain that they could not approach.
Actually, the children of Israel were afraid of it.
Because anybody that touched that mountain, they'd be killed.
So they could see that God had a hatred for sin. He demanded holiness.
And he also revealed that when he had given the Ten Commandments and giving the Ten Commandments.
They realized…
You know, these are things that we just can't keep.
But it was always required
by them that was laid out in the law in Exodus 20, 24.
that an altar of earth you shall make for me, and you shall sacrifice in bird offerings
and a peace offering and your sheep and your oxen.
So there's always a sacrifice. There's always a blood sacrifice
sacrifice that was needed to make atonement for sins.
And every time
These animals were slain. It was a constant reminder to the children of Israel
that…
there was a sacrifice. That death was involved.
And it was necessary to make atonement.
You know, it is interesting that Israel's prophets you know they they
Israel was given many prophets to foretell about the future.
And I think of the verse that
We read in 1 Peter 1.
10 through 11 says concerning the salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come and search intently with the greatest care.
trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ
And the glories that would follow.
It was revealed to them they were not serving themselves but you.
When they spoke of these things, they have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you
by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven.
Even angels long…
to look into these things.
I'm just thinking, aren't you glad you're on the other side, you know, to see the fulfillment of these prophecies?
You know, the people in the Old Testament or these prophets didn't fully understand. They knew it was for generations to come.
And we're in that generation. And I think of some of the
great prophecies that we read in Scripture that are
precious to us, like we read in Isaiah 7. And the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a son.
And you shall call him.
Emmanuel.
Or we read the one from Micah, but you, Bethlehem, out of you will come from old, one who will be ruler, whose origins are from old.
from the ancient times.
Then, of course, ones that are very familiar to us unto us, a child is born, unto us a son is given.
They shall be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.
Prince of Peace.
Also, Isaiah says, your God will come to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame.
shall leap like a deer.
precious prophecies, precious things. And I think every time we read those, doesn't it kind of your heart?
When you hear those again, I mean, you hear that over and over again and maybe different songs, Christmas carols.
how precious that is. It just strikes.
your heart when you hear those things and that we're on the other side
But then you have these prophecies talking about he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And then David says, he had pierced my hands and my feet. Again, talking about
what the Lord Jesus Christ was going to endure on our behalf.
And we have as much to be thankful for that we are recipients of that.
And as we go through history, of course, we're reminded that there was
There was 400 years of silence.
It was silent in a way, but yet God was still working behind the scenes and
But then…
in about 5 or 6 BC.
We have that story where the angel
Gabriel came to Zacharias the priest, telling him that he his wife
Was Barron a good birth to a son?
son would be the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, known as John the Baptist.
And of course, then we think about six months later, the angel Gabriel appears again.
Mary, a young Jewish girl, telling her that she had found favor
in the eyes of God.
And that she would bear a son.
And you shall call Jesus, the Son of the highest
And his rain will be forever on the throne of David.
Of course, we were reminded that Joseph was not sure about what was taking place and the angel had to appear to Joseph again and tell him.
The plan that was instituted, you shall give him
Our name Jesus, meaning salvation.
You know, I'm sure Marian Josephus was exciting times for them, but they're probably thinking, how's this going to work? I just…
They trusted God. They knew God had a plan and they were obedient to him, but I'm sure they had no idea
how this was all going to come together.
We read in Galatians.
Four, four, and five, when the fullness of time had come.
God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that they might receive.
adoptions of sons.
And that was that great day when God became flesh.
And he dwelt among us and i was
You know, we're thinking about when he had come into this world, you're reminded that
God was…
A God that had taken on
flesh but he was now going to be subject to flesh.
And the agonies and the pain. Isaiah says he was a man of sorrows
And when I think of him as a man of sorrows.
It's interesting. Every time I think of Man of Soros, my first thought is I go to
Hallelujah. What a saver that song you know and
I think of our brother Matt Daiko all the time. Every time that song is…
You know, he's a guy I really miss.
But, you know, when we think of…
Amanda Soros, was he Amanda Soros?
that not only applied to us.
as a youngster as well.
You know, I think it would and i think it would
You know, you know from scripture
about Jesus Christ.
You know, it doesn't talk much about his young life, but we know that he had siblings.
And he had brothers and…
But I think in many ways, I kind of picture maybe the situation in that family was parallel
You could compare it to Joseph and his brothers
You know, Joseph was more of the favored son.
And there was a little bit of resentment there, of course, by the other brothers
I wonder if that was maybe a situation that Jesus might have faced a little bit.
I'm sure, you know, Mary and Joseph were very careful knowing that uh
God had his hand on the Lord Jesus, and I think they were very careful about
how they dealt with the arrest
But you've got to realize they were human beings.
And I'm sure there was times when
Maybe some of the other kids were not very obedient
They might have said quickly, why can't you be more like Jesus?
I'm sure that would cause some resentment.
And maybe some words would have come out were shared that were
hurtful to the Lord Jesus.
You know, I was thinking about, you know.
His half-brother, James, you know, who wrote the epistle James, of course, he talks about
came in the tongue. You know, I was wondering, was that an issue for James, you know?
Maybe he was reflecting on something. You know, I might have said some things that were very hurtful. And we've all done that. We've done things with
You know, our mouth engages before our brain does
Sometimes you say things that are…
You wish you could take back, but I'm sure that he faced some…
Some criticism and some comments maybe from family and those outside as a youngster.
But it wasn't until later that they really realized who he was.
You know, I was thinking about this a little bit. I kind of see that picture a little bit. You know, I was…
In my family, I was the youngest
And I had two older sisters. They're 10 to 12 years older than me.
I was the baby of the family.
My sisters, I kind of had them kind of wrapped around my finger.
My brother, not so much.
My brother, we were separated by six years.
And, you know, I love my brother dearly. And he's with the Lord now, but…
Um.
we were wired differently. And, you know, we shared a room together, which also made it a little bit interesting. My brother Larry, you know, he was more of a
a studious person.
more academic, very organized. He saw things more like black and white.
Me, I was…
more of a free spirit.
a little bit of a dreamer. Wanted to be outside playing sports.
For me, in our day, you had to sit at a desk
With your hands on top of your desk.
sit straight up.
You couldn't slouch and you couldn't talk.
For me, that was i always thought
I think that's what prison's got to be like, you know?
And so that was always a little bit of a conflict and I always felt
You know, my life a little bit sometimes because I was more of a free spirit, a little bit of a dreamer. I kind of lived on the edge.
a little bit and got into a little bit
a little bit of trouble. My brother always would say, you know, the reason my mom had gray hair is because of you.
And I'd have to admit to that.
But, you know, and him being the older brother
always had a tendency to tell you what you need to do, which didn't go over very well.
And then I had to follow him in school.
And so the teachers that he had, I wound up having and then often
I get these comments. Why can't you be more like your brother Larry?
And it was just those things that, so, you know, maybe at times I probably said some things to my brother that I
I regret saying, but deep down i always thought
You know, I appreciated my brother. And in many ways, he was right in many things, in many ways.
I wish I was more…
I would have been more like him in things.
And that the important thing about my brother, he was very instrumental in me coming to know the Lord because he's the one
that really challenged me about
accepting Christ in a personal way.
You know, as we contemplate these things about the Lord Jesus, we only see in part
what he experienced on this earth
And even as a young child, I'm sure
You know, Mary and Joseph, I'm just thinking of the things that they
the hurtful things that they must experience
I'm sure their mind had gone back several times when
Things were directed toward their son.
Remember when they went into the temple
The first time they went in the temple for Jesus to be circumcised, and they encountered Simeon.
And Simeon said to them.
who revealed that Jesus would be the light of revelation to the Gentiles.
And the glory of the people Israel.
But their child would also be a marked man.
You be opposed constantly.
It caused many to rise and many to fall in Israel.
And I think Mary probably felt it the most. There's some speculation that Joseph had died earlier.
Maybe. And then instead of…
So she must have endured much in her much sorrow and heartache.
And especially…
You know, and thinking back to what's
Simeon said to her, and a sword shall pierce your own soul also.
The pain that she must have felt, you know, even during those young years, but of course the pain was even worse when she saw her son being crucified.
You know, as the Lord
approaching those final years in his ministry
His life became like a solitary one.
John tells us he came to his own
But his own received him not.
Jesus said, foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests.
by the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
You know, he was rejected by his own people, his own hometown.
We don't have that. Some of these things are just kind of foreign to us, but what it must have been like for him to endure these things.
being constantly underminded by the Pharisees and all the other religious leaders and
And then being arrested on false charges.
and beaten and being mocked and scourged on our behalf.
All because of his love for us.
We read in Hebrews, consider him who endured such things hostility of sinners against himself.
He saw us in our very deep need.
We read in Isaiah 53, 6. All read like sheep.
had gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him.
iniquity of us all.
And the thing is, first, it always strikes me as…
In 2 Corinthians 5, 21.
But God made him who knew no sin
to be sin for us.
The Lord Jesus took our sin on Himself. He became
our substitute.
I was, as I quoted earlier.
Psalm 77.
We are to remember.
And we are to remember the works of the Lord. We remember the wonders of old.
And we are to meditate on his work.
and talk of his deeds.
You know, we have a real privilege
believers here to remember the Lord Jesus Christ every Sunday morning, to remember him in that way. And we do reflect on his life and his past and
And what he endured for us. And that is a privilege that we have and i think
We can often take that for granted.
But because we love our Lord, we also delight to know more about him.
light of his word.
And because his works and wonders are great.
We need to…
dwell on those things. And the priority is in that verse it says, and talk about these things.
Did we talk about these things? Sure, we talk about them on ourselves, but do we talk about those two?
Those people that are outside, our neighbors, our friends, to reassure that good news that
rehab.
And I think the most important thing is when we talk about these things, these things need to be passed from generation to generation.
I reminded in Deuteronomy 11, you shall teach your children
Speaking of these things when you sit down in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up.
And you shall write them on the doorposts of your gates.
And of course, in Matthew 28, we have the Great Commission about going into the world.
preaching the gospel and making disciples of all nations.
You know, we have a great gift that has been given to us.
As we read in John 3, 16, and for God so loved the world, he gave us that great gift, and I trust each one of you
Here, Hivcs accepted that gift.
You know, things that we have discussed or looked at, we only touched the surface of what
God has provided for us.
And it all began
there is his…
his work on our behalf all started at
beginning of the Garden of Eden. I think of
Right away, he says.
that he will bruise the head of the serpent.
And of course, the serpent would be destroyed and the heel of the Lord Jesus Christ would be bruised.
And…
You know, when we think of this, the incarnation.
All this, the preparation to this.
And all we see through history how God was pointing
through various sacrifices.
from old to…
bringing them up to the time of his incarnation.
The incarnation really speaks of a great love that God had for us.
And it's a love that can't be described.
It's beyond measure.
We're reminded that, again, that a body was offered on our behalf
But is offered in obedience to the Father's will.
You know, as we read that, God didn't find pleasure in the sacrifices of animals and goats, but
A body who was prepared and that was the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why we're here this holiday season to remember those things.
You know, I was thinking about that.
Christmas story. And…
I was thinking, again, reading this passage, and I just said.
Just read it to you. We read in Luke.
Chapter 2, it says now there were in the same
country shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And behold, the angel of the Lord stood before them
And the glory of the Lord shone around them.
And they were greatly afraid.
Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy for which
will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior.
Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you. You'll find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was an…
angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth.
peace, goodwill toward men.
So it was when the angels had gone away from them.
that the shepherds said to one another, let us now go to Bethlehem.
Let us see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us.
And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph
the babe lying in the manger.
And when they had seen him, they made widely known the scene which told them.
concerning the child.
You know, what I've seen there must have been
On that day or that day.
When the angel appeared to the little shepherd.
You can only imagine, you know, I was…
We had the privilege at times when we were up north to see the northern lights, you know, and that's just…
That's just a small glimpse, but it kind of takes your breath away when you see the different images of the lights. What must have been
for these shepherds, all of a sudden the sky lighting up
probably even at a greater extent than the Northern lights and just seeing these heavenly hosts and having this news brought to them.
I bring you good tidings of great joy.
That is a joy that we have been imparted to us. And that's a joy that we need to
share with others.
When we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows.
But for the joy set before him.
endure these things on our behalf.
And that joy was extended to us because of his sacrifice
for us.
Lord Jesus, we read in John 15, the Lord Jesus says these things. I've
These things I've spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you.
And that's your joy may be full.
And our joy is full, isn't it? And it will be even fuller when we're in his presence.
And I think as we are…
occupied with these
things of this world. I was looking at this passage again where it says when the angels had gone away from
The shepherds, they said, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass.
which the Lord had made known to us.
And they came with haste.
You know, the shepherds were also busy.
They're about their own activities.
But when they heard the good news and heard these things.
They dropped everything, went…
to see the Savior. And that's what we need to do in this busy time of year is, you know, we get occupied with a lot of things, but
I hope we find ourselves from time to time.
Or even more often, stopping
In the middle are our busyness to give him praise
and worship and to contemplate the things that he has done for us.
things that are beyond our mind's comprehension of love.
that has no measure.
And I just trust that some of these things that we talked about this morning will be encouragement to you just to remind you again
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. So let's just…
looked at him in a word of prayer. A great God and heavenly fathers, again, we come before you. We thank you for the gift of your son, the Lord Jesus.
We do thank you for the hope that we have in you. But we just pray, Lord, as we've been thinking about you this morning, as we think of this time of year.
It's a special time, a time that
And we think of it of joy. And it should be a time of joy. And we just pray, Lord, that you'll find us spending more time in worship.
in honoring you and that we might also share the joy that we have in our hearts with those that we come in contact with.
So Lord Jesus, we just ask your blessing now. We thank you for your word. We thank you that we can go to your word.
Then refine your promises in your word that they're true and we can rely on it. And we also look forward to the time when you'll come again.
as they were, the prophets were anticipating, you know, what was the…
To come. We're anticipating also as well.
for your second return. And we just pray that during this time, Lord, that you might find us faithful in the things that you've asked us to do.
So Rick, thank you again and we praise you. In Lord Jesus name we pray.
Amen. I just had asked if we could sing in closing.
612.