Opening:

Did you notice the words to that song?

Soon He will come to all who believe. Come, Emmanuel, come.

All the world awaits to receive Him.

Come, Emmanuel, come.

Come, Thou long awaited Jesus, born to set us free.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus.

Enter our hearts, O Child, O child of peace.

Soon He will come, this Babe in the manger, Child of hope and love.

Soon He will come, and we will receive Him, sent from Heaven above.

Come to do His Father’s will; sent to set us free:

Free from fear and free from sin.

We believe, yes, we believe!

He will come to all who believe. Emmanuel, He will come to all who believe, come, Emmanuel, come! The world awaits. O come! All the world awaits to receive Him.

They were always waiting for a Savior in the Old Testament. Are you waiting for a Savior? Do you know that you need a Savior?

Watch this clip

Nativity Story: Angel coming to Joseph 

Read with me Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

My theme today is: Jesus is our hope will be born, He saves us and He is with us.

1. Jesus will be born.
   1. They were waiting for a Savior and He was to be born.
   2. This is an amazing prophesy to Joseph. Here he has just received the news that his fiancé is pregnant and not by him, but now he finds out this baby is the Messiah. Wow!
   3. Joseph went from gloom to hope.
      1. What Does Hope Do For Mankind?
         1. Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.
         2. Hope motivates when discouragement comes.
         3. Hope energizes when the body is tired.
         4. Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.
         5. Hope sings when all melodies are gone.
         6. Hope believes when evidence is eliminated.
         7. Hope listens for answers when no one is talking.
         8. Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping.
         9. Hope endures hardship when no on is caring.
         10. Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing.
         11. Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking.
         12. Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging.
         13. Hope dares to give when no one is sharing.
         14. Hope brings the victory when no one is winning. (John Maxwell from Think on These Things)
      2. Joseph had hope and so do we. Jesus is our hope.

1. Jesus will save us from our sins.
   1. What brings salvation?
   2. What are you trusting in?
   3. Sometimes we think we don’t even need a Savior. Realize that when we mess with salvation we are trifling with the holiness of God. We need salvation because we sinned against a holy, righteous God. We Psalm 51:4: against, you only have I sinned…
   4. We need a Savior because of God’s holiness and when we say things such as “Everyone goes to Heaven with or without Jesus, or we say, “there is no hell.” This means that we are messing with the cross, yes, but we are also messing with the holiness of God. We are changing all of Scripture, we are changing the whole Old Testament. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him. (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2Thess 1:8-9). Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16). That is a dilemma. God can’t tell a lie or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19). God doesn’t change His mind (1Sam 15:29). That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must go punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
   5. Jesus saves

• Jesus will be Immanuel, which means God with us.
  1. Do you ever feel alone? I remember being in 6^th grade I played football. I was dropped off at a game and my parents drove away and then I thought I needed something and it was too late, my parents were gone. I felt all alone. I can go back a few years earlier. I must have watched children cry when my mom dropped my older brother off at preschool. I thought I wouldn’t do that. I always saw the children get dropped off at preschool and they cried and cried and cried. I remember that fear when my mom dropped me off and I cried as well. Fast forward some 15 years. My parents dropped me off at college in Georgia and drove away and I think we all cried. What is it like being alone? We are not alone. We have God with us.
  2. Think have how amazing it is that God is with us as Christians.
  3. You and I, we are not alone.

The Night Before Christmas Lyrics

Steven Curtis Chapman
It was the night before Christmas and all through the world
Everything looked like business as usual
Shepherds sat on a hillside looking up at the stars
While the world fell asleep unaware just how deep
Was the darkness the night before Christmas

And the night before Christmas it seemed to be just a night
But the wind blew like something was coming
And like children with secrets that they’re bursting to tell
The cedars danced in the breeze while all of nature it seemed
Held its breath on the night before Christmas

And hope, hope long awaited
The hope of the ages
Would break with the dawn
And the song that all of creation was anticipating
Would start with a baby’s first cry

And on the night before Christmas Mary laid down to rest
While Joseph, he paced the floor praying
And in an everyday stable, in an everyday town
In the hours to come God would wrap Himself up
And come down from heaven and the world would forever be changed
After the night before Christmas

I recently read the following, please think about it with me…

Twas much,
that man was
made like God before,
But that God should
be like man
much more. (John Donne.)

Close:

Charles Swindoll:

Christmas comes each year to draw people in from the cold.

Like tiny frightened sparrows, shivering in the winter cold, many live their lives on the barren branches of heartbreak, disappointment, and loneliness, lost in thoughts of shame, self-pity, guilt, or failure. One blustery day follows another, and the only company they keep is the fellow-strugglers who land on the same branches, confused and unprotected.

We try so hard to attract them into the warmth. Week after week church bells ring. Choirs sing. Preachers preach. Lighted churches send out their beacon. But nothing seems to bring in those who need warmth the most.

Then, as the year draws to a close, Christmas offers its wonderful message. Immanuel. God with us. He who resided in Heaven, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, willingly descended into our world. He breathed our air, felt our pain, knew our sorrows, and died for our sins. He didn’t come to frighten us, but to show us the way to warmth and safety. . . .

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)