Luke 1:68-70

To Begin...
           [Zechariah said,] "Praise be to the Lord, God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he said through his holy prophets long ago."

• What God does in Jesus, is not a surprise...
• It was unexpected, but the "hints" and prophecies of his coming are found all over the Old Testament
•  The holy prophets had spoken about it "long ago." But more than the prophets, Jesus coming is God keeping his word!!!
•  Jesus' coming is God's answer to his promises
•  In Jesus, God comes, God ministers, God cares, God saves, God redeems, and God keeps his promises!

Yall Have A Blessed Christmas!

Matthew 1:20-21

To Begin...
           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. 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."

• Jesus first had to become the sins of the people before he could save them (us) from those sins (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 4:10)
•  His own people rejected him before his forgiveness could be received
• Jesus' gift of salvation was incredibly costly to him
•  God loves us incredibly and salvation is a precious gift!!!

Luke 1:46

To Begin...
           Mary said, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.... The Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name."

• Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!
• We must be willing to be the Lord's Servant.
• We must Honor, Praise ,and Worship Him!

Luke 1:30-33

To Begin...
           The angel said to [Mary], "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever."

• Jesus is identified in just this one passage: child, son, Jesus, great, Son of the Most High, King, son of David, and leader of Israel (Jacob)
• He is all powerful and exhaust all his descriptions!
•  Jesus is Savior for all seasons!!!

Galatians 4:4-5

To Begin...
           When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

•  He emptied his home so he could send a redeemer to our home
• He did it so we could be his children — not pretend children, but real children, with full rights
• He WANTED to be our GOD!!!

Isaiah 40:28

To Begin...
          Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

• God is everlasting.
• We cannot do anything without him.
• He created everything!
• He is always there when you need him.

Isaiah 7:14

To Begin...
          The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

• God is interested in us personally. So much so, that he personally gives us this sign.
• Because of Matthew's explanation of the meaning of the name Immanuel, we know what that sign was - Jesus coming to live as God with us.
• His presence is God's presence.
• His life is God's sign.

John 15:5,8

To Begin...
           [Jesus said,] "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

• We take on Jesus' character (bear fruit) by remaining intimately connected to him. The distance between heaven and earth is not so great when heaven lives within us. In John 14, Jesus reminded us that if we will obey him, he will come and live in us and will reveal himself to us. So as we obey him, we know him better. His life becomes real in us.

John 14:6

To Begin...
           Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

• He will lead us where we need to go!
• He will make us a path!
• We should only worship him!
• Praise him, and he will bless you!

John 10:7,9-10

To Begin...
           Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it the full."

• Jesus came to give us life in the fullest form!
• John wants us to clearly hear that Jesus' promise to give us life begins right now!
• Not JUST life later, but also life NOW!

John 6:35

To Begin...
           Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

• He Will Be There For You!
• He Will Never Leave You Hungry!
• He Will Feed You His Word!
• He Is There When Times Are Tough!

John 1:1-2 and 14

To Begin...
           In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• He began everything!
• There would be no word, if he had not began it!
• His Word became flesh!
• His Word was Life!
• His Word was Light!
• His Word was Jesus Christ!