Welcome to this week's sermon. I hope that you are all safe and well and enjoying the Christmas season. I am doing fairly well, and I am looking forward to a day of rest on December 25. I thank the Lord for the opportunity that the Lord has given me to post this message.
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. There are lights, presents, and many of us have the chance to get together for times of fun with our friends and family. During this time, our main focus should be on the reason for the season, and that is the birth of Jesus Christ.
We know that Jesus was born on Christmas Day to the Virgin Mary. But why did Jesus have to come to this earth in the first place?
When God first created the universe, everything was perfect and everything was good. After God had created everything else, He created man in His own image. He placed the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden, and He gave them but one commandment. This was to test to see if they would be obedient to Him and serve Him. God told them that they could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
One day, the serpent tempted Eve to eat from the fruit of this tree. She told the serpent that if they ate from the tree they would die. But the serpent told her that she wouldn't die. The serpent told her she would be like God. Eve disobeyed God, and she ate of the fruit. She then gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he freely ate of the fruit disobeying God as well. This is when sin entered into the world and spoiled what God had made.
God punished Adam and Eve and cast them out of the Garden. From that day, they began the process of ageing leading to death. Adam's sin nature was then passed on to all of his descendants. We see this in Romans 5:12 that tells us that sin entered into the world through one man, and death then passed upon all people because everyone has sinned and rebelled against God.
One thing that we need to know. God did not cast out Adam and Eve and leave them with no hope for eternity. In Genesis 3:15, we have the first proclamation of the Gospel. This verse says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heal."
This is the first of the prophecies that told people that a redeemer was coming. God would make a way of redemption so that they were not left in the hands of the evil one.
In order to fulfill His attributes of justice, mercy and love, God had to provide a way for the redemption of the universe. He did this by sending Jesus to be the Second Adam. Jesus would be the one who succeeded in every point where Adam failed. Jesus was born among us. He lived a life without sin so that He could be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
Romans 3:23-26 sums up what I've been saying. This passage states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed, for the demonstration I say of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
We also turn to John 3:16 to tell us why Jesus came on Christmas Day. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but will have everlasting life."
Jesus came to us on Christmas in order to bring about the restoration of all things. He came to show us how to live a life that is pleasing to God. He came to die as the atoning sacrifice for our sins so that we might be forgiven and live eternally with the Lord. Jesus came to rise from the grave to conquer the consequences of sin. He is now making intercession for us as our great High Priest until that day when He comes again to restore what existed in the universe before sin entered into it.
Jesus was born into the world to save the universe. He came to save you and me from our sins. If you will turn to Him for forgiveness and accept Him as Savior and Lord, He will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life with Him forever. He will never leave you, nor will He forsake you. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am still not feeling the best. Please pray that I will recover from this lingering illness. Thank you.
Coronavirus is bad all over the world right now. Pray that it will go away. Pray that the sick will recover.
Continue to pray for peace in the world. Let us continue to focus our prayers on Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia.
Please pray for those who are suffering as a result of storms. Pray that they will receive the aid that they need.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Comoros and Maldives. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will have a sermon for the new year. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will post a review midweek. May God bless you all.
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