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Let Us Go (Luke 2:15)
37 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 10 December 2023
by Paster Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Gratitude for Worship
00:00:06
Speaker
Thank you so much, Gwar, and thank you again.
00:00:10
Speaker
and Morgan for providing wonderful worship today. It was a blessing. Thank you very much. And then the narrator did a great job there. Appreciate Justice Hyde leading us in that time. But I hope you've been blessed already. I know I sure have.
Joy in 'O Come, All Ye Faithful'
00:00:27
Speaker
I would like for us to close out our time by looking at God's word. There's a few verses in Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2 verses 15 through 20 that would like for us to look at together.
00:00:40
Speaker
When Josh and I were praying and asking the Lord, what would you have us to share throughout the month of December, throughout the Christmas season, we felt that the Lord placed upon our hearts the theme or the chorus of that song, O come all ye faithful. It says, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. That's what it says. That's what we sang a little bit earlier.
Shepherds and Early Christmas
00:01:05
Speaker
And that's why Josh took the first couple of words there, O come, and he focused on the invitation to celebration. What a great invitation it is. Come and experience the joy that is found in Christ.
00:01:20
Speaker
So this morning I want to go to the next two words, let us, and I want us to look at these words, let us, and I could think of no better passage than in Luke chapter two, verse 15, where 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.
00:01:44
Speaker
You know the response of the shepherds to the news of Christ's birth is like I think an ancient photograph of an original Christmas gathering.
00:01:56
Speaker
Luke was the only gospel writer that included the shepherds, although that was interesting.
Angels and Shepherds' Celebration
00:02:02
Speaker
You know, he wrote in chapter 2 verses 8 through 11 about how the angel announced the birth of Christ to this group of shepherds. But then in Luke 2 verses 13 and 14, an incredible multitude of angels saying that first Noel just to a group of shepherds.
00:02:23
Speaker
And so I want us to look at Luke two verses 15 to 20 and see how they responded. But the one thing I want to lay across your heart as we look at this together is notice how they did it together, just like we have lived for the Lord. We have worshiped the Lord. We have studied the Lord.
00:02:43
Speaker
We have served the Lord together as a church family. Keep in mind the church was not started yet because Jesus had not yet come at this point and those shepherds are being told he's here now. But I want you to pay attention to, it's not one shepherd, it's shepherds, plural. Three times you'll hear it. The word us, the pronoun they, the word pronoun them,
00:03:10
Speaker
These are mentioned over and over again.
Collective Worship and Service
00:03:13
Speaker
Everything they did, they did it together. Would you stand together with me as I read this incredible passage of scripture, and I believe that the Lord's gonna show us how we can follow in their footsteps and how we together can celebrate Christmas. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
00:03:36
Speaker
Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
Prayer for True Christmas Celebration
00:03:58
Speaker
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
00:04:18
Speaker
Let's go to the father in prayer. Lord, our hearts have already been so blessed. Thank you for these songs that point to Jesus. Lord, I pray that today you would prepare us and equip us.
00:04:30
Speaker
How can we celebrate the Christmas season? What's the best way? I pray that you would help us not be distracted by the things that the world would do, help us look at what the word of God instructs us to do. So bless our time and speak to us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you, you may be seated.
Lee Strobel's Journey to Faith
00:04:53
Speaker
Well, just before this passage, you would have heard the first Christmas concert. You would have heard the first Advent message that was ever delivered. After that, these shepherds responded in a way that I feel like demonstrates
00:05:09
Speaker
true Christian fellowship as they celebrated Christmas together. So let's follow their steps. The first step that I want you to notice is found in verse 15, because there may be someone here today and you're visiting with us, perhaps, or maybe you'll be listening to a podcast or you'll be watching the live stream. But I believe that the first step that they took was they said, let's go and verify all of this that we have heard about Jesus.
00:05:39
Speaker
You know, verification requires research, doesn't it? And so they were not going to be able to stay there in the field. They were going to have to go over to Bethlehem. There was a man named Lee Strobel.
Historical Affirmations of Jesus
00:05:53
Speaker
He was a legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. He graduated from Yale, and this man was also an atheist. He didn't believe in the Lord. He didn't believe in the Bible. He didn't believe in Jesus. None of those things.
00:06:08
Speaker
But you know what he decided to do? Because his wife continued to tell him about Christ, he thought, you know what? I'm going to just investigate for myself. That's what he did for a living, so he knew exactly how to do it. So for two years, he took his time. He went to all the different places that one could go to make sure that Christ was indeed who he said he was.
00:06:31
Speaker
And after two years of investigation, you know what he did? He committed his life to Christ. He found out from the research, this is real. This is not make-believe.
00:06:43
Speaker
You know, that's what verification also is interested in, isn't it? What we're trying to verify sometimes is, is it reality? Did this really take place? Well, look at this verse. Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. There really was a Jesus. Do you know there's another man? His name is Dr. Gary Habermas. From 1975 to 2009,
00:07:10
Speaker
Gary Habermas examined 2,200 written works regarding the historicity, not of Jesus' birth only, but of Jesus' life, of Jesus' death, of his resurrection. 2,200 places he read and read and read and read. You know what he said? He said, you know what? There is such incredible, strong support for the truth of exactly what the word of God says.
Scripture's Reliability
00:07:39
Speaker
which really brings me to this other point I wanted to make from this one verse 15. Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.
00:07:52
Speaker
You know what the Bible is? The Bible is the inspired revelation. God is speaking to us. Whenever we read scripture, sometimes that's why you feel like your heart is being pulled in God's direction. That's what's happening. God wrote the Bible through 40 different individuals across an incredible span of time. But you know what? Scripture is the complete
00:08:17
Speaker
perfect revelation of God's word to man. Have you ever wondered, what does God want me to know? If he's out there, what's he like? Just get into God's word and you'll find out. You'll find out that his word is reliable, just like the shepherds. They were told that Jesus was born. Was it true? They found it to be true. They found out, you know what, the word of God, the revelation of scripture is so reliable, so I just wanted to remind you.
00:08:47
Speaker
There's so many people making lots of claims these days. Scripture is more reliable than social media. Scripture is more reliable than your own personal emotional impressions. But Scripture is also more reliable than cultural trends.
Unity in Christ
00:09:05
Speaker
Depend on what God has said in His word. This Christmas season, here's what I would like to challenge you to do.
00:09:13
Speaker
challenge you to take your quest, take your interest about Christmas to the Word of God and say, what does God's Word say Christmas is really all about? I believe that was their first step, but that wasn't their only step. They took a second step.
00:09:28
Speaker
The first step, let's go and verify Him, but the second step, they said, let's go and unify around Christ. Let's go and unify around Christ. I don't know about you, but there's many of us who feel that there are dark and hidden forces at work trying to divide our country, trying to fragment us and polarize us.
00:09:51
Speaker
So how can we ever all come together? I believe we could come together if we ever saw exactly who Jesus is. He's the way, the truth, and the life. He's where joy is found. He's where peace is found. He's where love is found. He's where hope is found. I'm just thinking, wow. You know, these shepherds said, let's diligently see Christ together. That's why it says here in that next verse 16, and they went with haste.
00:10:21
Speaker
Is that on your heart to say, I don't want to put it off. If Christ is real, I'd like to know today. I'd like to know this month. I'd like to know before 2023 is over because if Christ is real, I would like to unify my family around him.
00:10:38
Speaker
He is real.
Seeking Christ with 'Spudo'
00:10:39
Speaker
If you'll take that word diligently there, or haste, it actually means earnestly. It means resolutely. It's the word spudo. I would say that's not the word speedo, so don't get off track on me. Stay with me. But that Greek word spudo, do you know that word haste is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament?
00:11:01
Speaker
If we will diligently seek Christ together, you know what we're going to discover? We'll make the same discovery they made. Eventually, we'll discover Christ together. It says they found Him. They found Him. Do you know that God's been looking for you?
Christ's Unifying Potential
00:11:18
Speaker
Really, it's almost like God finds us. God's been searching for you and searching for you. Sometimes I hear people say, I'm trying to find myself. I'm going to go and search for me or whatever.
00:11:30
Speaker
But why don't you say, I want to know if God is real and I want to find Him. That's exactly what had happened to them. And they went with haste and they found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Wow, that's incredible. You know what? That's how our country got started.
00:11:52
Speaker
I believe that's how our country can go forward. But without Christ, without God, what will happen? Do you know that the pilgrims, they actually put it in one of their documents, November 21, 1620. It's called the Mayflower Compact. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the U.S.
00:12:14
Speaker
And what they did, they unified around the Lord. And you know what it led to? It led to the United States of America. Here's what they said. This is the pilgrims. Can Christ really unite a country?
Sharing Gifts and Testimonies
00:12:28
Speaker
Listen to what they wrote. Having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, due by these present,
00:12:39
Speaker
solemnly and mutually in the presence of God in one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid." What he had just talked about.
00:12:58
Speaker
You see what I'm saying is we underestimate the power of Christ to pull people together. I do know people reject Him. Yes, they do. But what else are you going to go to that would unite everybody? The only thing I know that could unite everyone is Christ.
00:13:16
Speaker
We'll see that someday in the future. But these shepherds, well, they chose to do it together. They unified around Christ. They went looking for Him together. Your family could look for Christ together, but also they went to verify Him. But I believe there's a third thing. I believe that after they found the baby, you know what they did? They testified to it. They wanted to tell others about it.
00:13:40
Speaker
You know, after Christmas, what are the children going to be saying when they go to school? What did you get for Christmas? What did you get for Christmas? I know how it works. I was a kid once. Some of you were saying, you were a kid? Really? That wasn't always an old man. But anyway, let me tell you, that is what we talk about. But these guys, they were doing something very similar.
00:14:00
Speaker
They were saying, let me tell you, let me tell you what I saw, what we saw. They were telling their story, and you can tell your story.
Importance of Scripture in Testimony
00:14:10
Speaker
If Christ has changed your life, then you can tell your experience. It says when they saw it, then they're gonna get ready to tell people what they saw, but that's not the only thing they shared. If you're gonna give your testimony, don't only say things about your life,
00:14:27
Speaker
Why don't you slip in there a little bit of God's word. The scripture is powerful because it also says, and when they saw it, they made known the same. They made known the same. So if you're going to tell people that Christ changed your life, get a verse that matches that and say, you know what? Here's exactly what Jesus did for me. It's written in the word of God.
00:14:50
Speaker
Well, I believe that would be a powerful way to communicate your testimony by putting a verse of scripture in there and saying, I'm not just going to tell you what I saw. I'm going to tell you what I heard.
Central Christian Testimonies
00:15:02
Speaker
But then here's the other thing. Tell them who you know. Tell them about the Savior. What were they talking about? Let me read the whole verse now. It says,
00:15:12
Speaker
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child." It's not a testimony if you're not talking about Jesus, so talk about it. I believe the saying there is what we find mentioned earlier. We didn't read that verse, but in Luke chapter 2 verse 11, the angel says something about Jesus.
00:15:35
Speaker
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord." He's born? So what he's saying is God has become a man. It's called the incarnation. It's incredible. It's a miracle how Jesus was born, but not only about his incarnation, his salvation. He could say, you know what? He saved me. I was so lost in my sins and he rescued me. But you could tell him also, he's Lord.
00:16:05
Speaker
Someday there's going to be a coronation, and people are going to be saying, you know what? Jesus is the King. Jesus is Lord. He's running all along.
Building Others Through Christ
00:16:14
Speaker
Well, let's take a fourth step along with these shepherds. I believe that they also said, you know what? Let's edify others with what we know about Christ. You know, we live in a cancel culture, don't we? In this cancel culture, I'm so afraid that it's becoming so trendy to tear other people down.
00:16:34
Speaker
But you know what our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ is? Our calling is not to tear other people down. Our calling is to build other people up. That's actually what the word edify means. It means to build others up. Romans 14, 19 says edify one another. Romans 15 verse 2 says build up our neighbor.
00:16:57
Speaker
Second Corinthians 13 10 says when God gives us authority, he did not give us authority over someone else to tear them down or to destroy them and says he gave us authority to build them up, to build something in their lives. There's so many verses that we could talk about.
00:17:15
Speaker
First Thessalonians 5, 11, encourage and build up each other. Ephesians 4, 16, every part of every body of Christ should edify and love one another. Ephesians 4, 29 says, the words that come out of my mouth, they shouldn't be unwholesome.
00:17:34
Speaker
The only words that come out of my mouth should be words that are going to build up. Now, let's clarify. What do we mean by build up? Are we just going to go around and say something nice to everybody else? That's not edifying. That's not what it means to build up. You know, we could say, well, wait a minute. What are we talking about? Are we talking about strengthening their self-esteem? Are we going to strengthen self? That's not what I'm talking about when I'm saying build up.
00:18:02
Speaker
What happened when they were sharing their testimony? What was it that was taking place? And when they saw it, they made known the saying that it had been told them concerning this child, and all who heard it wondered. They wondered at what the shepherds told them.
00:18:22
Speaker
You know what I think people ought to say about us? Every one of us that gather here today. At the end of this Christmas season, wouldn't it be great if all the family, all the relatives, all the neighbors, all the friends, all those from schools, everybody you've been around, if they said, you know what?
00:18:41
Speaker
Because I was around them, my amazement, my astonishment over God, giving his son, the Lord Jesus, it makes me just stand in wonder. You know that word wonder is thou Madzo. It's incredible how often Luke used that. Luke used the word wonder 18 times. It's like he couldn't get over the amazing thing
00:19:06
Speaker
about God sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mary's Reflective Response
00:19:10
Speaker
You know, edifying constructs a greater wonder about Christ than was there before. That's what I'm talking about, about edifying and building up. I'm not trying to build up people's self-esteem. I'm trying to build up Christ's image in their mind and how they know about Christ.
00:19:30
Speaker
I believe that edifying is also comprehensive. It's not selective. You know, it says, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. Isn't it amazing how we can learn so much from these shepherds? There they are out there telling everybody and everybody that heard them goes away saying,
00:19:49
Speaker
Man, Jesus is amazing. It's a wonder who He is. We can verify that Christ really is there. We can unify around Him. We can testify what He's done in our lives. We can edify other people. But there's one other thing I think is really needed today. Simplify. We can simplify.
00:20:10
Speaker
You know, every year there's a certain song I hear on KSBJ, Christian Radio Station, that really gets me every time. It's by Amy Grant. And it says, I need a silent night. I need a silent night. It's like in the song she talks about how busy we can get and we're rushing here, going there, we're so focused on all these material things and so forth. But it's a call for me, slow it down, Victor.
00:20:38
Speaker
Slow it down. Don't miss the whole heart of what Christmas is. Mary didn't miss it. It says in this verse, if you were to step outside of the shepherd's circle, she wasn't one of the shepherds.
00:20:52
Speaker
But if you were to step outside of the shepherd's circle of fellowship and consider Mary's response, I think there's something that our busy, driven society needs to hear. We need these two verbs. We need that verb, you know, treasured, and we need that word ponder.
Internal Reflection and Treasuring
00:21:13
Speaker
Take time this Christmas to think about the treasures that God has placed in your life. Think about the treasure that he would give his son to come and down a cross for you so that you could be in his family, for me, so that I could get to go to heaven. It's incredible the treasure that we have.
00:21:32
Speaker
And you know, one thing that we don't always notice is the tense of the verb. This is an imperfect tense. And an imperfect tense means that she treasured, she valued all these things about Jesus over and over again.
00:21:50
Speaker
You ever do that? You ever just stop and you just slow the world down and you said, I need to establish what's really important here. Look at how God blessed me with my spouse. Look at how God blessed me with my kids, my grandkids. Look at all the blessings that we've been given in Christ, but also that word pondering. The word pondering means I'm going to bring this, consider that. I'm going to bring this, consider that, and I'm making like
00:22:17
Speaker
Let's say a photo album. You know, we make photo albums of the things that are really special, the things that are important to us. For example, a wedding. How about the birth of a baby? How about a baptism? How about a family vacation? How about a graduation? Your first car? Your first house? How about Christmas?
00:22:38
Speaker
You put those pictures in some kind of collection, whether it's on your phone, whether it's a hard copy, or whatever it is. But we do that. We like those kind of collections. And that's exactly what I feel like Mary was doing. Mary was treasuring up. Mary was pondering all these things. And where was it?
00:23:00
Speaker
Was it external? Did she have a tree? Did she have a lot of lights and decorations? Was it all the outfits and so forth? No. You know what it was? It was in her heart.
Discipleship and Reflection
00:23:12
Speaker
It wasn't external at all, it was internal. Take some time to really ponder and to treasure how good that God has been. I like the way Psalm 46.10 says, it says, be still, but it tells us why we need to be still. Psalm 46.10 says, be still, know that I'm God.
00:23:34
Speaker
You know why we get stressed? You know why we get afraid? You know why we get so worried about stuff? We forget He's God. And so we need to slow it down and say, Lord, today I'm going to heed what Psalm 46.10. I'm going to follow in Mary's footsteps here and I'm going to be still and I'm going to know that you're God.
00:23:54
Speaker
You know what I think? I think that if we really want to bring a lot to our family Christmas celebrations, to bring a lot to all of our different celebrations of various kinds, whether that's at school, at work, or church, or whatever, if we really want to have something to bring to the fellowship.
00:24:15
Speaker
You know where you can really make sure you've got something to bring to the fellowship? Get it from discipleship. Get it from your personal walk with Christ. Why don't you say at the end of 2023, Lord, maybe I haven't read the scriptures like I really intended to this year.
00:24:32
Speaker
So you're going to be formulating some new year resolutions. What do you say? Why don't you even start now, between now and the end of December, saying, Lord, every day I really want to be with you. I really want to hear what you're wanting to say to me about my life. I want your guidance. I need your peace. And so if you'll do that, I feel like God will come through for you.
00:24:55
Speaker
What would happen next year if all of us this year said, you know what? I'm going to make my personal walk with Christ a high priority, just like Mary.
Glorifying God Daily
00:25:06
Speaker
Lots going on in Mary's life. You got to admit, I mean, those of you who've had a new baby, you understand exactly what I'm talking about.
00:25:13
Speaker
But Mary made time to ponder, to think, to treasure, to weigh things out. Well, there's one last step that I think we can take with these shepherds, and it's found in verse 20. And here's what it says, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
00:25:36
Speaker
This morning, Marsha, the instrumentalist, the choir, the narrator, all of it was so beautiful. It was so worshipful. And we had a great time together. And we will, you know, next Sunday and the next one, you know, all the way through the month of December. But here's the thing. What are we going to do when we leave? Did you catch what it says at the beginning of verse 20? And the shepherds returned. At some point,
00:26:06
Speaker
We go back to our houses. We go back to our families. We go back to where we work. We go back to school. So the real question is, am I going to glorify God over there? Or am I just going to glorify God in here?
00:26:21
Speaker
I think it's very important that we say, why don't we go together, all of us? Can you imagine the fragrance of Christ and what would happen all across, not only Columbus, I mean, we've got people who work in Houston. We've got people who work all over the place. Can you imagine the fragrance of Christ that would go out from just this body of Christ? Man.
00:26:44
Speaker
You know, those shepherds collectively modeled that one last virtue of saying, you know what? Let's just go out of here praising God and glorifying Him.
Powerful Testimonies of Shepherds
00:26:55
Speaker
And what it means is they said, I'm going to go glorify God back at work out in the field when I'm watching the sheep. I'm going to go glorify God when I go back home. I'm going to glorify God when I'm with my friends. You know what's really surprising?
00:27:12
Speaker
It's really surprising if you do some historical studies and you try to find out what were the perceptions of shepherds back then.
00:27:22
Speaker
You know why I think that their testimony, their words were so impactful? Because these shepherds were saying, you know what, we heard from an angel. He told us that the Son of God was born in a manger. And then they say, we also saw it incredible. We couldn't even count that many. Believe me, from Tennessee, I can't count that high. But anyway, it's like there's all these angels, you know, and they said, they told us.
00:27:47
Speaker
And I wonder if the people are going, wait a minute, they told you, they told you, do you know that shepherds back then were considered unclean? As a matter of fact, they were considered so unclean, they weren't welcome in the temple. We want you to know you're welcome here, no matter if you clean up before you come or you don't clean up before you come. We want you to know you're welcome here.
00:28:10
Speaker
But back then the shepherds, they weren't welcome in the temple. So how did they even know anything about God if they can't go and hear about Him? But also the shepherds were viewed as untrustworthy. Do you know that if there was a court case before a judge back then, do you know that the one group that they would say their testimony is inadmissible? It doesn't even matter what they say.
00:28:33
Speaker
Shepherds. Shepherds. So they're not going to listen to them in courts. They don't even want them in the temple. But then one last thing, the shepherds were looked down upon in the whole society, wherever they went. They were kind of on the same level as well, the lepers.
00:28:52
Speaker
They were on the same level as the tax collectors. Maybe you're thinking, yeah, I don't like those old boys either. But anyway, the shepherds were not welcome like the lepers, like the tax collectors and so forth. So just think about how they were looked down upon. And so how amazing would it be?
00:29:11
Speaker
that God chose them and said, you know what? I'm gonna tell them, I'm gonna announce to them about the birth. I want them to know.
Scriptural Call to Unity
00:29:21
Speaker
They heard him speak. He included them. Wow. Luke 2.15 through 20 technically only records those shepherds saying, let us one time. You're right. Luke 2.15, just one time.
00:29:39
Speaker
But those two words, let us, they're frequently written in scripture, calling all of us to this collective action. Let us is mentioned in the ESV, it's 243 times. In the King James Version, it's 187 times. But I suppose that one of the home run champs on hitting it out of the park with the let us,
00:30:07
Speaker
would be either Hebrews 4 or Hebrews 10. It's hard to miss the cluster in Hebrews 10 verses 22 through 25. I want to close by just reading Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. Listen to what it says to us, just like to the shepherds, let us
00:30:29
Speaker
consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. I can't tell you how many people have told me, you know what, I think we're getting toward the end. There's a lot of people thinking that.
00:30:52
Speaker
You know, as it gets closer to the end, we ought to get closer to one another as we all draw closer to the Lord. So how can we adore Christ this Christmas? Well, if we follow their example, here's what I'd say. If you're out there and you don't have a personal relationship with Christ, then here's one thing you could say is, I want to verify the truth about Christ. I want to know.
00:31:14
Speaker
But then if you know him, then why don't you say, you know what, we can unify around Christ. We may not all agree. Whenever Josh or me get up here, we talk about the University of Tennessee and they're winning or they're losing, you may say, when are those boys gonna get over
Final Call to Action
00:31:31
Speaker
that? I know that. But you know what we can do? We can come together around Christ when we can't come together around a specific football team.
00:31:40
Speaker
We can also say, why don't we go and testify about Jesus out in our different respective places of work or where we live. We can edify others through Jesus. What if in our community we became known as the church that just builds people up?
00:31:57
Speaker
Not just saying nice things, I don't think we ought to say unkind things, but not just saying nice things to make people feel better about themselves. We ought to be saying things that build them up in knowing that God loves them, that Jesus went to the cross for them. But I think another way we could adore Him is to say, you know what, I'm going to follow Mary's attempt. I've been way too busy already in December. Christmas is going to be past. I will not have talked to Him at all. Maybe you need to simplify Christmas.
00:32:27
Speaker
But then maybe it's a, it's not what happens this month. For me, if something powerful happens in my life, it's gonna make me be different when I get on the other side of Christmas. I'm gonna glorify God in everything I do. The way I work, all my attitudes, the way I talk to other people, I'm gonna begin to be just like Jesus and that would be glorifying him.
00:32:51
Speaker
I want to ask if you would bow your heads and close your eyes. Musicians can go ahead and come and get ready to lead us in this closing song.
00:33:00
Speaker
But we're going to have a time of response, of invitation when you, like the shepherds, this is your time. I mean, maybe we wouldn't get everything settled here this morning, but you could say, yeah, I want to set up a time when I can come and talk to you. Or if you're younger, you may say, I want to set up a time I can talk with Josh.
00:33:21
Speaker
You know, Josh and Hannah's daughter, Shiloh, has 102 fever. And so that's why Josh and Hannah and Shiloh aren't here today. So pray for them. But we can set you up with Josh. We can set you up with me. But maybe you'd say a Sunday school teacher or a deacon or some lady in our church. Just come and express your interest, and we'll be glad to get you to the right person. But why don't we stand together, let's pray, and then we'll have this time of invitation.
00:33:49
Speaker
Lord, thank you so much for loving us, loving us to the extent that you would send your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wow. Lord, your love truly amazes us. It's no wonder those shepherds were amazed. They were amazed you included them. Maybe somebody here today thought that they were excluded, but they're not. They're included. You went to the cross for them. You came to this earth for them. You rose from the dead for them.
00:34:18
Speaker
Lord, you want them in your family. You want them to have the hope of heaven of a better day. And so if there's anyone here today still without that personal relationship with Christ, I pray that today would be the day. So bless this time of invitation and thank you once again for the meal that we'll be enjoying later.
Closing Remarks
00:34:38
Speaker
And so bless our time in Jesus name. Amen.
00:34:47
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.