St Ebbe's 9:45am Service Sunday 27/12/20

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] size [Music] cheers [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning and very warm welcome to you all i hope you had a happy christmas made out a different christmas than normal and for some perhaps a hard christmas but great that you can join us now whether you're joining us online or here in the building it's good to see you today our bible passage which we'll be looking at is the story of the magi going to see the baby christ with their gifts and we will read how they bowed down and worshiped him and that's to be our attitude this morning whether we're watching at home or here for all this of strangeness of church at the moment it's still to him that we come and our response should be the same to bow down and worship so let me pray that that would be true of us now father please would you help us to do that to come to your son the lord jesus now we praise you that it's not in a crib that we see him but on the throne the throne of grace that he sits now the glorious lord thank you that we can come before him thank you that as the word made flesh he's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters and that we can come confidently before him we pray for humble hearts reverent hearts now for his namesake amen amen we're going to have our song all the songs you'll see there's no band the songs will be on the screen we'll stay seated for now at least if you're at home you can belt it out as loud as you like um we're of course not allowed to sing along but will stacey did and i hope listen i hope the song will help us fix our eyes on the lord jesus the song reminds us of wonderful truths about him we long to sing with our lips again but of course it's always more important that really we sing from our hearts and maybe not being able to sing with our lips is a time for us to learn all the more to sing with our hearts to him so let's let this song help us and encourage us to do that to say we'll stay seated [Music] the image of lord in christ [Music] sustainer of every place [Music] of god he is [Music] let the us of life [Music] peace [Music] the gospel of hope that we [Music] know [Music] is [Music] all the creations [Music] mercy let us [Music] let us adore him the lord [Music] let's stand together and we're going to say together the words of the chorus of that song and we can speak these i hope loudly confidently wonderful truths together there we are jesus fullness of god he is sovereign over creation the ruler of every nation and seated mind calm church sing of his goodness and mercy bow to the one who is worthy let us adore the lord lord jesus we do bow before you fullness of god and we again marvel all the fullness of deity in you lives in bodily form the word made flesh you came full of grace and truth paul tells us this is a trustworthy saying worthy of full acceptance that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners and it should be a humbling thing to acknowledge that that's me but of course it's a wonderful thing too to remember that he came for me to save me so let's together join in this prayer of confession on the screens let's pray these words most merciful god father of our lord jesus christ we confess that we have sinned in thought word and deed we have not loved you with our whole heart we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves in your mercy forgive what we have been help us to amend what we are and direct what we shall be that we may do justly love mercy and walk humbly with you our god amen father we thank you that he who knew no sin not only became flesh but was made sin for us that in him we might become the righteousness of god that seems so far from what we are and yet we praise and thank you that in him that is what you have made us absolutely clean and pure and right in your eyes we praise you for that grace and mercy amen amen we're going to join now together in the words of the apostles creed so again let's stand as you remember these great truths together i believe in god the father almighty creator of heaven and earth i believe in jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit born of the virgin mary he suffered under pontius pilate was crucified died and was buried he descended to the death on the third day he rose again he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father he will come again to judge the living and the dead i believe in the holy spirit the holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life let's pray we're going to pray in three sections um and whether you're here in the building or at home um please when i say lord in your mercy would you respond hear our prayer dear heavenly father as we look back on this year that is now coming to an end it is with mixed emotions there has been pain and frustration suffering and loss but at times too we have to admit there have been blessings in disguise father behind it all we see your mighty hand at work and we bow before you many are the plans in a man's heart but it's your purpose that prevails father god we thank you that you are the same yesterday today and forever we thank you for your steadfast love and for your faithfulness help us to trust and give us confidence in the hope that is ours in the lord jesus we pray for the covert situation for our government and their advisors please give them wisdom and compassion for nhs staff and others on the front line please strengthen them in their work for teachers currently on their christmas break please give them much needed rest and refreshment and prepare them for all that's ahead this coming term and father please have mercy and halt the spread of this virus prosper ongoing scientific research enable the swift and equitable roll out of the vaccine not just in this country but around the world and particularly in countries where resources are much more limited than our own protect please and provide for the vulnerable and in the midst of it all would many come to know you such that together we'd be able to say surely this is our god we trusted in him and he saved us lord in your mercy hear our prayer when the angels visited the shepherds living in the fields in galilee they announced good news of great joy for all people so father god we thank you that we do have the enormous privilege of partnering with people living overseas in various parts of the world people who are committed to making your name known in various contexts and cultures this morning we pray particularly for the pope family back for a visit after 18 months in chile and for the moor fans serving in france firstly for the popes matt helen and the children father would you protect them from frustration as they face lock down here and a visit which is very different to what they've planned and hoped for we pray for encouraging times with friends and family despite the restrictions please be deepening their hunger for all you've called them to do in chile and use this time away now to re-envision and refresh them for the task we pray particularly for eva and judah their children who's settling into life in chile has been so disrupted by months of lockdown and homeschooling and now they find themselves back here please use any unsettledness or sense of ruthlessness to draw them to the lord jesus who offers him to has himself as their perfect faithful friend whether they're here in the uk or in chile we commit them to your tender care and we pray too for the more vance vassal anya and the children working with students in france thank you for the opportunities they've had recently to meet students and then share the gospel as a christmas event we pray that he's used these strange times when many there coming across are struggling with loneliness depression and despair to make yourself known we pray that one-to-one bible studies will take off and would you give them more fans the joy of seeing many of these students find hope and new life in the lord jesus we pray too for them as a family please strengthen and protect them help them lift their eyes to you thank you that the victory has been won the inheritance secured that you shield those who you are yours which such thoughts encourage them when times are challenging lord in your mercy heavenly father we pray now for those closer to home who are in particular need we think of the homeless community in our city and thank you for the opportunity we've had to join with some old dates in providing hot meals from the kitchen here we pray that increasing numbers of people would experience a warm welcome and hospitality that befits your name teach us more and more what it means to love and serve this community well help the two churches learn from one another and grow together in maturity of faith as a result of this initiative please bless our partnership and as you do with many who live on the streets find new life and a fresh start in our savior to the glory of his name amen and finally father we pray for those in our church community who are finding things difficult many known to us but some not we are conscious that current times have made many of us feel more vulnerable than normal mental health struggles are common there are job pressures and financial concerns loneliness and relationship difficulties lord please protect and heal help us to help each other that burns would be carried and we build each other up in particular we pray for those in our church family struggling with longer term ill health including rosie chesterton david fletcher terry roddy and pepe smeaton please would they know your presence with them and love for them please encourage and uphold those who are caring for them and in the midst of all that's hard would you continue to be using them to bear witness to you we commit to you too sue and david field's daughter ruth vandenbrook and her husband david thank you for how you sustain them through very difficult times we look to you to continue to do that until such time as you take ruth home lord in your mercy here in jesus name we pray amen thank you lizzy again warm welcome to you all uh whether again watching online or here i'm sorry those here we haven't got normal children's groups being able to operate today uh if you're here with a very little one there is as ever the crash the baby room do make use of that any time it might be helpful to you i think that we've had these uh online resources for kids those at home each sunday and i think there's a christmas bake along video if you families want to join in that this afternoon that's uh today's offering anyway just to mention as people leave today there's a new uh motto card our verse for the year um it's a year when we've so much of our lives has been shaken in all kinds of ways and a wonderful verse from isaiah reminding us of the unfailing love through the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed yet my unfailing love says god for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed says the lord who has compassion on you wonderful verse to hold on to uh they're by the exits do take one stick it on your fridge but as ever the important thing is to fix it in our hearts i hope for this year ahead we're going to have another carol now which we'll listen to here in the building one of the new carols we've been enjoying this year again may its truths lift our hearts [Music] beyond the hills of bethlehem [Music] joyful course fills the skies i say you're in a manger [Music] the promise of a common king the hope of all the earth to dwell within our broken world to save you in a manger reach the lord has come rejoice the promise of [Music] the rejoice one has come to pay our answer let's save you in a manger [Music] a treasure for the longing his peace within our hearts we sing the glory of the sun a savior [Music] the saving one has come to pay our answer the savior in a manger [Music] [Music] the promised son rejoice the saving one has come to play our answer this savior [Music] hey juan is now going to come and read the bible passage for us and then matt searles member of the city congregation is going to be preaching for us the today's bible reading is from the book of matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 12. matthew 2 2 2 1 to 12. after jesus was born in bethlehem in judea during the time of king herod mezzai from the east came to jerusalem and asked what is the one who has borne king of the jews we saw he starred in the east have come to worship him when king herod heard this he was disturbed at all jerusalem with him when he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law he asked them where the christ was was to be born in bethlehem in judea they replied but this is what the prophet has written but you bethlehem in the land of judah are by no means least among the rulers of judah for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people israel then hera called the magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared he sent them to bethlehem and said go and make a careful search for the child as soon as you find him report to me so that i too may go and worship him after they had heard the king they went on their way and the star had they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where their 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 and of incense and of murder and having been warned in a dream not to go back to herod they returned to their country by another road well good morning and if you have a bible do keep it open in matthew chapter 2 this amazing story if you're a reader of books you watch films you will have seen this story echoed so many times a a king who is threatened by a prophecy of a new one who will come and will take his place and puts in motion a secret plan to try and destroy this upcoming threat but of course as so often happens the attempt to destroy this this child this this figure doesn't work and the child is spared and and we read the story it's this story is is so captivating for us it's echoed in films and stories it's it's a wonderful one but to change analogy from a story when matthew paints this portrait of jesus when matthew paints this this beautiful picture of the savior in a manger matthew does so with colors straight from the old testament and so as we read the story as we engage with this most most gripping tale i hope we'll also see matthews carefully teaching us theology along the way he's he's wanting us to understand not just the amazing events but the significance and i think they could be summarized hope has come hope has come that was a newspaper headline i saw several weeks ago and of course you can imagine what it was in response to as the the vaccines were being approved and and finally the paper could say hope has come the future that looked dark uncertain scary threatening hope has come yes there's there's a way to go yet and we rejoice in in the progress so far we pray for continue to advance in uh in improvement of situations in this this this our land and our world but even on a broader scale i think matthew's saying hope has come if we have eyes to see in the darkness of that night as that star rose and light shone i think matthew's saying that is the reality if we have eyes to see and don't we need that message right now more than ever hope has come and so i pray that as we as we trace this gripping story i pray that you will be encouraged by the truths within to see actually with eyes to see this is what is happening this this is what really this story gives us a picture of the future actually a picture of where history is going what is happening and the great hope that can give us comfort here and now so we're going to walk through the story we're going to look at the cast of the story the different characters and then we're going to draw implications for ourselves but first there's this star interesting matthew doesn't really spend much time on the birth of jesus but after jesus was born in bethlehem he moves on from that he wants to focus on on this star and these wise men this star that arose in verse 2 there these these magi these wise men 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 uh back then a star signs in the heavens would have been a sign of a of a new ruler perhaps but very possibly these major i had encountered people who knew the old testament who knew the prophecy in numbers 24 of a star that would arise a ruler who would come and destroy israel's enemies actually language who'd crushed the heads of israel's enemies reminding us of even further back genesis 3 this serpent crusher who had crushed the serpent's head who would defeat evil when the when the wise men see a star in the sky that's a sign of a king who will defeat evil that's hope that's enough for them to leave their land to travel to to find out what is this good news this this star and in a sense jesus is that star that king who would come to defeat evil so the star precipitates their journey from the east and of course they come to jerusalem actually bethlehem's not far from jerusalem so they've come just about to the right place but most naturally they think well a king is going to be in jerusalem so of course they come to herod's palace when king herod heard this this is one of a number of heroes we that's a dynasty so we got various herod's in the gospels this is the first herod we encounter when herod heard this he was disturbed and all jerusalem with him where is the king of the jews they say to the king of the jews where where is the one who is born to rule on well that throne that you're sitting on herod unsurprisingly herod is threatened actually if you read the passage carefully the kingly language is emphasized i i think we're just we keep on getting confronted with king king king firstly jesus was born in bethlehem in judea judea being the place of kings bethlehem the place of kings during the time of king herod could have just said herod but no king herod just to remind us he's the one claiming to be king verse 3 when king herod heard this he was disturbed it's saying is herod the true king well herod he wasn't from the line of judah he wasn't a true king he'd been he was sort of a puppet king put in place by the romans but we know that the king in israel was to be from the tribe of judah from from david's line herod wasn't any of those things he was just this puppet king but now he felt threatened he heard of jesus and for him there was no joy there was no delight hope had come what no no a threat to my power that's what herod saw and so if we were to read on in the passage we'd see this terrible murderous command to king to kill all the baby boys of two years in london i think that's why he asked when when did you see this star he's trying to think when might this child have been born and i'll just put to death anyone in the age of two these boys terrible genocide because he is terrified he sees a threat to his power he sees a king and for him he says no i i'm in charge here actually he's a pharaoh figure isn't he as we go we'll hear so many old testament echoes pharaoh who issued a murderous command to king to kill all the baby boys pharaoh this satanic figure not wanting life but not wanting death not wanting god's promises to come to pass through these chosen offspring but saying no i'm going to try and kill but god in that case in this case working his promises despite these murderous satanic figures it's a it's a shocking story isn't it it's in one sense this isn't the bit of the christmas story we we probably want to read we quite like the shepherds visiting but we get murderous herod this pharaoh figure and i think it reminds us of an important part of christmas you see if jesus had been born simply as king of our hearts well herod wouldn't have been worried in the slightest would he but jesus came as king of the jews the early christians didn't proclaim jesus lord of my heart and get thrown to the lions for it no they proclaimed jesus is lord of all and if jesus is lord of all that relativizes every other claim to power it's a dangerous thing to say jesus is lord of all because those who think no i want that power that is a very threatening thing jesus right from the start we see a contested rule and we see that today jesus is lord is a dangerous thing to say it's not just a private statement about me and my belief it's about ultimate reality herod threatened and so tries to find out where's this baby born when was he born he you know he says to the wise men find out so i can go and worship him i wonder if even then they they realized is this really right but of course later they would be warned in a dream not to go back and give this news to herod so jesus could escape to egypt as if we were to read on in the passage so the star the sign of a king who will defeat evil herod the the threatened king but what of these magi these wise men from the east notice it doesn't say three of them they gave three gifts but may have been more don't know how many wise men they probably came with a quite a quite a an entourage a retinue with you the with them these these dignitaries we know that they they they were able to arrive and get an audience with herod the king so they were certainly important enough people the fact they could just say we want to see the king and the king says yes so they they were these impressive dignitaries these wise men interestingly we in in the book of daniel we get these sort of people the astrologers actually elsewhere in the new testament this tends to be a negative word for for astrologers magicians sorcerers probably from persia or someone like that we don't know exactly where they're from but these wise men ten as i say tends to be a negative term these people we expect to be enemies these people who we expect to be against god and his ways but here they come and as peter alluded to that their joy and their desire to worship this king and these foreign dignitaries perhaps kings though there's a couple of old testament passages that speak of kings coming to bow down before this savior that perhaps put that king's idea in our mind maybe they weren't actually kings but certainly these important people come and maybe we're reminded of the queen of sheba coming to visit solomon psalm 72 speaks of of the kings of the earth coming to bow down before the king of israel isaiah 60 we're going to look at later and the point being at the high point of the kingdom in the old testament the days of solomon the nations around came to israel and said wow this king this reign is astonishing and they came and brought gifts and i think that's what we're seeing here something greater than solomon is here as matthew will speak of later in his gospel immediately we we in a sense we just see the visits of the wise men think oh that's a nice thing but i think with our old testament background in mind we see this is this is showing this this kingship that will that will encompass the whole earth amazingly in matthew the most jewish of the gospels the first people to worship jesus are pagan sorceress people you would expect to be on the outside really interesting how does matthew's gospel begin it begins with the nations coming to worship jesus how does matthew's gospel end go and make disciples of all nations ends with the disciples going out to all nations all nations are in view jesus is lord of all king for all and what a reversal i mean we can read it quickly but just if you just sort of picture the scene or maybe if you imagine maybe not the the sort of the um the nativity play acting out of it but if you were to make a sort of a cinematic feature film of this and just imagine the costumes of these dignitaries and perhaps they come with you know probably a pretty large they've traveled across the desert pretty large party of camels and and they've got gold and they've got frankincense and mert these are rich people these are important people these are impressive people imagine the robes they're wearing and where do we find them kneeling in the muck at the animal feeding trough worshiping a baby we just need to pause and and take that in that is not where we expect these royal dignitaries to be found what a reversal of how the world normally works they head to jerusalem they think we're going to meet a king it'll be in jerusalem in palaces of gold actually it's in the manger and i think there's great hope i think matthew in in describing the visit of these wise men matthew is saying hope has come why because we look at the world perhaps those are christians we look at the world and we think what do we have to offer the world maybe we think it seems so small like that baby in a manger could our message of jesus christ ever convince we live in oxford we live in the wokest city in the uk we live in a city of learning and of science and of the vaccine and of discoveries and of prominent atheists and let me say great wonderful things but we think can our message of jesus could that ever impact this city this world and we see these most important of dignitaries on their knees before a manger we don't need an impressive or we we don't need to look for what we think of as a more impressive message matthew is saying no actually jesus is enough these foreign dignitaries these wise men who search the stars men of learning men of letters can bow before jesus and lay their treasure before him hope has come and what do they what do they give will gold and frankincense and myrrh royal gifts the the best they have to offer gold back then as today expensive precious beautiful i think the frankincense and myrrh probably are in that same kind of vein i know sometimes we can try and tease out different messages for the different gifts that the christmas hymn king and priest and sacrifice possibly though i think i think more prominent is simply the lavishness of the gifts as well as as we'll see some old testament background in isaiah they're giving the best they have to offer they're giving gifts fit for a king they recognize by god's grace something of this ruler hope has come yes a contested hope for those in power for those those who who don't want jesus as king yes this will be a very contested message but hope has come and particularly the hope expressed in the book of isaiah if i'd been organized and if it hadn't been christmas just yesterday and the day before i might have printed out a little sheet for children but i want you to to have a think what we've seen of the passage we've seen the star this light rising in the sky we've seen kings coming we've seen rulers bowing down and worshipping we've seen these gifts of gold and frankensense let me read isaiah now and were we not in covid times we could probably do a bit more of a call and answer and see if you can spot how much of matthew 2 was prophesied in isaiah 60. i kind of had in the back of my mind that there was some fulfillment of prophecy going on here i re-read it this week and was blown away so just again i i won't get you to put a hand up but but maybe have a listen think when you when i read isaiah this prophecy think how much of this is fulfilled in matthew i'm just going to probably read the first nine or ten verses though if you read the whole chapter it's a wonderful prophecy of hope the lord says to his people to his believered people to his people in darkness to his people who needed some good news he said to them arise shine for your light has come the glory of the lord rises upon you see darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples but the lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn it's interesting if we were to sort of really dig into it matthew deliberately uses words from the greek version of of isaiah to to really draw the connections this light this the lord rising upon you like the star rising nations coming to your light kings to the brightness of your dawn carry on verse four lift your eyes look about you all assemble and come to you your sons come from afar your daughters are carried on the hip then you will look and be radiant your heart will throb and swell with joy the wealth on the seas will be brought to you the riches to you the riches of the nations will come i think that's what's going these gifts these nations bringing gifts to the messiah herds of camels will cover your land young camels of midian and ether all from sheba will come bearing gold and actually the word is frankincense and proca proclaiming the praise of the lord look down to verse nine that the these people will come bringing their silver and gold to honor the lord your god the holy one of israel look to verse 14 the children of your oppressors remember the wise men would have i think initially have been seen as probable enemies whether it's from babylon or wherever they came from but now the children of your presses will come bowing down before you and you we read on verse 19 the sun will no more be your light by day and all the brightness of the moon shine on you for the lord will be your everlasting light your god will be your glory your son will never set again your moon will wane no more the lord will be your everlasting light your days of sorrow will end then all your people will be righteous they will possess the land forever your days of sorrow will end the lord's light will shine upon you you will look and be radiant your heart will throb and swell with joy and matthew is saying in jesus these promises are coming true in jesus the nations are no longer seen as enemies having attack attack god's people but they will come and worship and where there was darkness and thick darkness and sorrow there will be joy because of this baby in the manger hope has come matthew said we read it and i have to confess i i reread it this week it's a gripping story but we see that the old testament themes matthew is teaching as deep theology he's saying all the sorrows of this world will be put right in this child there is hope actually read on to revelation 21 and 22 and we we see this same picture the nations streaming to no longer the the stable but the new jerusalem the lord his light shining and joy and peace this is where history is going and i think matthew is giving us a foretaste in the darkness this star we see this light this is where history is going hope has come and so implications as we close what does it mean what does it teach about jesus and how what might we respond well jesus king of the jews the messiah he's the true king lord of all but notice what sort of king he is we've got herod in the palace on his throne sending out murderous decrees to try and boost his own status and power we have jesus in the manger in this small dusty town called bethlehem and look at that quote from micah in verse 6. matthew 2 verse 6 out of you bethlehem will come a ruler who will shepherd my people israel herod the self-serving king on a throne jesus the shepherd king actually in isaiah we if we to keep on reading we would learn more of this king this king who won't break a bruise reed this king who won't snuff out a smoldering wick this king who is humble and gentle maybe more than ever we've become aware in recent days of of how whoever is in charge makes quite a difference to the quality of life in in your country are the government making good decisions are we in a place where there is there is those in charge who will rule in such the way that people can enjoy peace and safety and health and prosperity jesus is this king he's the king of all but he's this shepherd king a king of compassion a king likes solomon but so much more when solomon ruled the people it said they ate and they drank and they were happy and jesus is this one who is putting right the brokenness of this world we we wait the full experience of that we don't see it all now but we know where history's going because not herod or anyone like him but this shepherd king is on the throne hope has come we know where history is going god i read this week one of the writers saying god uses the weak to shame the strong uses the things that are nothing to shame the things that are and and the righteous saying that's not just a new testament idea that's what god has always been like that's what god is like he's a god who will humble himself for his people not use his power to oppress that is at the core of his being he could not be anything other and when jesus was born in a manger we simply saw most i say most clearly maybe on the cross we saw most clearly what he's like i think this teaches us about as a church how we reach out i read this this week this is peter lightheart said this we sometimes think that our work for god's kingdom will be effective if we can get our act together establish impressive institutions build large churches impress the world with our success that has never been god's way there was nothing wrong with cathedrals but rome turned to jesus while the church was still in the catacombs the message of christmas is that god uses things that are not that he might nullify the things that are so that no one should boast before god the story of the magi shows that god displays his strength in our weakness his glory in our humility his wisdom in our folly to make it clear that everything comes from him and not from ourselves so saint ebbs will we resolve to not just honor this king but be like this king this is the king that nations bow before and no other we don't need another christianity we don't need another jesus it is this king who is the hope of the nations and jesus calls those who follow him to be like him taking up our cross in love and compassion and mercy and so finally the responses do you see the different responses to jesus there's well there's herod some people they see jesus they start to hear jesus claims on their lives and they think i want to be in charge we get this picture of i've had people don't want jesus as king because of what that means for me i want to run things my way coming to jesus means saying i'm going to lay down the reigns i'm going to let jesus be in charge so there's the warning from herod who he hears of this king this good news but he's just concerned with himself that's a caution that we don't we don't maybe do that think i'm so determined to hang on to my own control and power that i might miss this most hopeful message the wise men joy worship they were prepared to kneel in their robes and their finery at the stall an animal feeding trough what wouldn't they give for a king like this i think i think we're to aspire to be more like them could i have anything that is too precious that i'm saying no jesus that is mine you can have this but that part of my life is mine i think in the wise men we see we lay everything down before him and that's not a hard burdensome thing to do that's a joyful liberating thing to do but just as we close the the little the little thing that's been niggling me this week the priests and the teachers of the law we've not mentioned them they just get mentioned in passing but did you notice when king herod heard of this king herod doesn't know his old testament he's not a proper jewish king and so he says where's the messiah going to be born in bethlehem and judah they're applied and quote micah chapter and verse they know the bible they know the answers they get all the questions right in sunday school they're very respectable and they are utterly unmoved by the birth of jesus i saw one writer this week i would describe it as knowledgeable apathy we might know all the right answers we might know great doctrine we might look like we're on the inside but we might not have hearts that actually delight in jesus no joy and no worship and i wonder if that might be a danger for us here some of us at some ebbs will we not simply know that jesus is this king but have our hearts lifted to him bow down in worship of him and of course if that's not ours or if like me you wrestle with that you feel unsettled by that why not pray that this christmas the lord might deepen your joy in him as you read the scriptures why not pray that the lord would just open your eyes maybe we've heard these stories so many times we can go a bit cold maybe pray that the lord would remind us of that star that light in the darkness the hope that has come let me conclude by reading again some verses from isaiah arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the lord rises upon you lift your eyes look about you you will look and be radiant your heart will throb and swell with joy let's pray together heavenly father thank you for this good news the hope that has come in jesus christ may we like the wise men be filled with joy may we lay our all before jesus in worship and know the joy and freedom of doing that and of delighting afresh in this our glorious shepherd king we pray in jesus name amen thank you matt very much our final hymn is all about jesus the king the true king as we sit here and listen to these words let's think about our response to him as king [Music] of him who died for me and hail him as thy matchless [Music] his glories [Music] behold his hands [Music] glorified no angel in the sky [Music] mysteries [Music] of time creator of [Music] me thy praise shall never ever fail throughout eternity okay as we close let's stand and say those last four lines together together all hail redeemer hail for thou has died for me thy praise shall never never fail throughout eternity lord jesus thank you that that is where history is headed with every knee bowing before you acknowledging you as king again we just ask that that might mark our lives today this week not just our lips but our whole lives being filled with praise for you and may the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be with us all now and ever more amen amen thank you for joining us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] you

Channel: St Ebbe's Church

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Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: YZgZdBBCjls

Length: 76min 54sec (4614 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 27 2020