http://bible.com/events/48817119

Newborn King: No Room
Two thousand years ago there was no room for the Savior. Can the same be said of us today?

When it comes to your heart, where is Jesus this Christmas Eve?
Safe at home? Or out back in a shed somewhere?

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:1-6‬‬
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,

With everything else God arranged for the birth of the Savior of the world –
-generations of prophecies promising His arrival
-the angels carrying out missions
-the magi searching the sky
-Mary’s pregnancy
-Joseph’s dream
Why couldn’t/didn’t God arrange for a place for Jesus to be born?

The fact is, God did arrange a place…a manger.
God did arrange the first rejection of the Savior just before His birth. And a visible reminder of the rejection that would happen again and again, even today.

Do you have room today for Jesus?

“In the Bleak Midwinter”
by Christina Rossetti

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

http://bible.com/events/48815635

Newborn King: Ruler-Shepherd
The all-powerful king is the all-compassionate king.

The all-powerful king is the all-compassionate king.

‭‭John‬ ‭10:7-11‬‬
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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 to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus is painting a specific picture here:
-A picture of power – “I Am”
-A picture of compassion – the gate for the sheep, the good shepherd
-He promises safety. He promises pasture. Unlike others who have come before, He promises to care for the sheep.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:6‬‬
“ ‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’”

Why does this matter to you?
Because our king is both all-powerful and all-compassionate, I am not my own and I am not on my own.

The shepherd desires to be your king
-And what do we do in response to to the one who gave His life for us? He is either king of all or He is not king at all.
-Many of us are living as though we can call Him king, but live as if I am king.

This king desires to be your shepherd
-The truth is: we all need a shepherd. None of us, on our own, is truly capable of leading and guiding our own lives.
-The powerful truth of Christmas is that you are not on your own.

Newborn King: Ruler-Shepherd
East Rockingham Campus
Newborn King: Ruler Shepherd

Welcome to the fourth message in our Advent Series The Newborn King

We are seeking to answer one last question: What kind of King is this?

Answer: The King we celebrate at Christmas, is the King with all of the power. Yet he is the all compassionate King.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:1-3‬‬
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi 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.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

King Herod was a prime example of worldly power. He was ruthless, violent, and he used any means necessary to maintain control.

Most of his power was exercised not for Rome, but for his own prestige and image.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:4-6‬‬
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for 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 shepherd my people Israel.’”

What Matthew quotes in verse 6 is the combination of two different prophecies of the Old Testament. Micah 5:2 and 2 Sam 5:2 are brought together to give an accurate picture of the Newborn King and how he would rule.

“For out of you will come a ruler”
The original language here for ruler carries all the things we might think of a King

“Who will shepherd my people Israel”
The imagery of a Shepherd brought in here, is that of compassionate and tender care.

The one with all the power, is all compassionate. He is the one with all Majesty and all Mercy.

Ask yourself, what kind of ruler do you want? One to control you? Or one to comfort you?

‭‭John‬ ‭10:11‬‬
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

In John Chapter 10, we find Jesus declaring for himself, the kind of King he is.

‭‭John‬ ‭10:12-13‬‬
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

There is an enemy that Jesus describes just a few verses before as the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

In the face of the enemy, the compassionate all powerful King fights for you.

‭‭John‬ ‭10:14-15‬‬
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

That’s the story of Christmas.

The one with all the power, stepping into our broken and fallen world, to lay down his life, demonstrating the power of Love and compassion.

The beautiful truth of Christmas is that we are known and loved by the all-powerful King

Christmas poses us a searching question:

Is Christ your King?

The reality of our human story is that we are all ruled by something.

We can be ruled by so many things…
Our lives can be ruled by our desire for acceptance.
We can be ruled by a desire to succeed
We can be ruled by our past mistakes
Addiction may be the tyrant of your life.
Anger or fear may reign over us.

All of these things are power structures of evil, that rob us of our rightful life, our created purpose in Christ Jesus.

The good news of the Newborn King is that your life can be different.

To know Jesus as King is to flip the script on that power struggle.

To know Christ as King means that “I am not my own, and I am not on my own”

Wont you invite him to be your Shepherd King?

http://bible.com/events/48811986

Newborn King: Tomorrow

Christmas is just as much about tomorrow as it is about yesterday.

We often think about Christmas in terms of our own past, but the truth is, Christmas is really as much about the future as it is about the past.

-People in the first century may have seen Christmas as an end, the ultimate culmination of the promise of God.

-Christmas was really a beginning.

-From our vantage point, we know that something very important was to come after that first Christmas.

-On Christmas, the arrival of Jesus set in motion the kingdom. And while we can experience that here and now, we have yet to experience the ultimate fulfillment of His kingdom.

-The promise of Jesus as king is not just the promise of a baby in a manger. We make a mistake when we only think of our King this way.

Revelation 19:11-16NIV

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

-When the king first came to earth, He arrived in humble circumstances, clothed in rags. When the king returns, He wears a robe and with it an exclusive title: the King of Kings.

-Jesus’ first appearance on earth was marked with humility and sacrifice, but this is the picture of His second coming, and now He comes in glory and power.

Isaiah 9:6-7NIV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

-One of the most famous Christmas songs was written not based on the image of the arrival of the king, but rather the return of the king.

-The words for the song “Joy to the World” were inspired by this passage from Psalm 98:4-9

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”

Bottom line:

Christmas is just as much about tomorrow as it is about yesterday.

So what does this mean for us today?

1. Promise – Christmas should cause us to shout for joy because our God keeps His promises. And He will again.

2. Peace – Since He is the king, we don’t have to be. We can trust Him to be king today and to king of the future.

3. Passion – The anticipation of Christ’s return should compel us to action.

Scriptures for further study/reflection:

Revelation 1:5

Revelation 6:15-17

Revelation 17:14

Revelation 19:16

Hebrews 1:3

Jude 1:25

Romans 14:10-12

Philippians 2:9-11

Matthew 24:30

East Rockingham Campus
Newborn King: Tomorrow

Welcome to the third message in our Advent Series The Newborn King

As we continue in our series today, we are going to look at the plans that are already in place for Jesus to come again.

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:40‬‬
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

To celebrate Christmas as the arrival of a King, is not only to look back in remembrance of his first coming and what he has done, but it is every bit as much about looking ahead for his coming again.

Our teaching text for today is found in Revelation 19:11-16
At first glance, Revelation 19 may not seem like much of a Christmas story for us today. This may not even “feel” like a Christmas message, but perhaps it should.

To rightly know Jesus as king, according to the scriptures, demands that we see His coming again as part of his story.

The Apostle John in writing Revelation, has been given glimpses into the unfolding of the last things, of the coming Judgement and Rule of God over all creation. As with most of Revelation there is a rich, almost perplexing mingling of symbol and reality.

As we begin to unpack our text today, we must hold together the use of symbols, and the reality of what they tell us of the coming King.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:11-12‬‬
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

You can already tell that Christmas part 2 is going to be different.

Upon his return, there will be no crown of thorns, only the royal crown of victory.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:13-14‬‬
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

His name is “the word of God”
This is reminiscent of John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:15‬‬
Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

The imagery of the winepress takes us back to Isaiah 63 and the picture of a man stomping grapes in a wine press to symbolize God’s wrath against evil.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:16‬‬
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and Lord of Lords.

The victory is won, Christ is King.

As followers of Jesus and students of the bible we are stuck within this tension that the images of Revelation 19 of a mighty warrior are of the same Jesus we see in a manger at Christmas time.

They are not two different people, they are not two different stories. It is one story, it is THE story of who Jesus is.

The Newborn King we worship at Christmas will be the Returning King that will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that he is Lord.

What does that change this Christmas?

It gives us profound HOPE.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:3-5‬‬
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”