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[2023.04 --> 2037.48] God of all creation, here with us in a starlit manger, Emmanuel.
[2037.48 --> 2051.48] God of all creation, here with us in a starlit manger, Emmanuel.
[2051.48 --> 2054.98] God of all creation, he has nothing to hold.
[2054.98 --> 2080.28] Amen, the lebihrea and blaerіль to
[2080.28 --> 2095.28] Worship Christ the Lord, that all that is within us adore.
[2095.28 --> 2108.28] Wives and bring their treasures, shepherds bow along.
[2108.28 --> 2116.28] Angels' voices sing of peace on earth,
[2116.28 --> 2126.28] And have I to offer to heaven's King?
[2126.28 --> 2135.28] I will bring my life, my love, my heart.
[2135.28 --> 2147.28] Adore, come let us adore, come let us adore.
[2147.28 --> 2158.28] Hail the Lord, worship Christ the Lord,
[2158.28 --> 2170.28] That all that is within us adore.
[2170.28 --> 2181.28] Angels sing praises, ring to the newborn King.
[2181.28 --> 2186.28] Peace on earth, here with us, joy awakening.
[2186.28 --> 2191.28] At your feet we fall.
[2191.28 --> 2196.28] Angels sing praises, ring to the newborn King.
[2196.28 --> 2201.28] Peace on earth, here with us, joy awakening.
[2201.28 --> 2205.28] At your feet we fall.
[2205.28 --> 2212.28] Adore, come let us adore.
[2212.28 --> 2219.28] O come let us adore Him.
[2219.28 --> 2227.28] The Lord, worship Christ the Lord,
[2227.28 --> 2240.28] Let all that is within us adore.
[2240.28 --> 2245.28] O come let us adore.
[2245.28 --> 2246.28] Morning.
[2246.28 --> 2266.28] We're gonna spend some time hearing again, or maybe for the first time, the Christmas story.
[2266.28 --> 2271.18] We're going to read that in our Bibles from Matthew chapter 1.
[2271.78 --> 2280.88] I'm going to read verse 18 through 24, Matthew's quick Christmas story there.
[2280.96 --> 2282.24] It's going to be on the screen behind me.
[2282.32 --> 2283.22] You can probably see it already.
[2283.70 --> 2289.36] I encourage you, if you have a Bible, to have that in your hands, open, on your device or whatever,
[2289.66 --> 2296.10] and you can read along there and then keep it with you as we come into the text.
[2296.28 --> 2302.10] With the text open in front of you, let's pray together.
[2305.08 --> 2312.42] Holy God, Heavenly Father, speak now your Christmas words to us.
[2313.70 --> 2325.58] Speak now the hope, the love, the joy, and the peace that you might bring into the chaos of our lives.
[2327.10 --> 2331.88] Speak now with your voice that we might hear you in this word.
[2332.60 --> 2335.98] That we might go from here today praising your name,
[2336.76 --> 2341.40] joining our voice with the angels, with all of creation, with the shepherds of old,
[2341.90 --> 2345.16] singing your worth and majesty.
[2345.16 --> 2349.94] Take your word and plant it deep in our hearts.
[2350.06 --> 2351.46] In Jesus' name we pray.
[2352.36 --> 2352.68] Amen.
[2352.68 --> 2352.76] Amen.
[2360.50 --> 2365.60] This is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about.
[2365.60 --> 2370.10] His mother, Mary, was pledged to Joseph.
[2371.14 --> 2377.10] But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
[2377.10 --> 2385.80] Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
[2386.20 --> 2389.50] he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
[2389.50 --> 2396.38] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
[2396.52 --> 2402.48] Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
[2402.48 --> 2407.32] because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[2408.02 --> 2412.34] She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus
[2412.34 --> 2416.64] because he will save his people from all their sins.
[2416.64 --> 2422.56] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.
[2423.48 --> 2428.32] The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,
[2428.96 --> 2431.12] which means God with us.
[2432.74 --> 2436.70] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
[2436.70 --> 2439.06] and he took Mary home as his wife.
[2439.60 --> 2443.80] But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son
[2443.80 --> 2446.72] and he gave him the name Jesus.
[2447.42 --> 2448.74] This is the word of the Lord.
[2454.48 --> 2459.92] This year for Advent and Christmas, if you're visiting with us this morning
[2459.92 --> 2461.68] or checking us out for the first time,
[2462.10 --> 2468.52] we have been working towards this idea that we've called un-hallmark Christmas.
[2468.52 --> 2475.88] And by that, we've meant that we have been trying to sort of remove the layers of whitewashing
[2475.88 --> 2481.46] or misinformation or cultural fluff that have been added to the story
[2481.46 --> 2485.06] for so many generations, for so long,
[2485.14 --> 2489.34] that it has become hard to separate fact from fiction.
[2489.34 --> 2493.90] And I'll be honest with you,
[2494.66 --> 2497.92] doing this this past Christmas season,
[2498.04 --> 2500.38] these past four weeks or so,
[2500.82 --> 2501.36] has
[2501.36 --> 2506.24] has helped me love Christmas again.
[2510.26 --> 2510.78] Ordinarily,
[2511.14 --> 2514.38] I get really frustrated around this time of year
[2514.38 --> 2518.60] because of the way that the culture has sort of hijacked Christmas
[2518.60 --> 2524.12] and turned it into sleigh bells and Santa Clauses on every porch and corner.
[2524.96 --> 2525.92] And I confess,
[2526.18 --> 2528.98] it grates on me a little every year
[2528.98 --> 2531.12] when the radio stations that I listen to,
[2531.18 --> 2532.40] and there's really only two of them,
[2533.02 --> 2535.96] start playing Christmas music in mid-November.
[2535.96 --> 2540.36] But this year has been different,
[2540.62 --> 2542.12] and that's in large part because
[2542.12 --> 2545.04] of you and the work we've been doing here
[2545.04 --> 2547.36] and the conversations that have been developed.
[2547.68 --> 2551.38] And we've leaned into the rhythms of Advent
[2551.38 --> 2554.20] and the liturgy of waiting in the darkness
[2554.20 --> 2557.20] and waiting for that light to slowly,
[2557.70 --> 2560.26] slowly shine through a crack.
[2560.26 --> 2563.12] And I've really enjoyed with you
[2563.12 --> 2564.60] and with Pastor Kevin
[2564.60 --> 2567.80] pulling back the sort of Western cultural veil
[2567.80 --> 2570.78] and the hallmarking of Christmas that has happened.
[2572.36 --> 2575.24] I like the idea and the practice
[2575.24 --> 2579.50] of deconstructing cultural and religious ideologies
[2579.50 --> 2580.84] and idolatries.
[2582.34 --> 2583.76] And if you know me,
[2584.10 --> 2586.40] you know that I believe the church
[2586.40 --> 2588.08] is precisely the place
[2588.08 --> 2590.46] where these sorts of conversations should be happening.