God’s Presence Propels Us – Christmas Day – Sermon By Harold Long
December 25, 2023
Hello Kingdom Family,
Welcome to our Jesus-centered community. We are glad you are listening to today’s message.
“We are People Helping People Experience a Jesus-centered Life.
In today’s message, we continue in our Advent Series, “Emmanuel, God With Us.” With our time today, we dive into The Shepherd’s Story and Ours. We unpack Luke 2:8-20 and discover how to experience “Emmanuel, God With the Us” from those lowly servants called shepherds.
“For centuries, God’s people waited for God’s good and just King to arrive. For centuries, they longed for God’s presence to come to earth and stay. They were tired of being alone. Yet, the moment of God entering the scene is presented, even anticlimactically:
And while [Joseph and Mary] were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:6–7 ESV).
God’s presence in the flesh is like a baby in a feeding trough. The most unlikely couple raised him—Mary, miraculously pregnant before marriage, and Joseph, her fiance. Mary and Joseph were a poor and seemingly lonely pair, but they responded to God similarly: They believed when God promised his presence through this miraculous baby (Matthew 1:24; Luke 1:38).
And so Jesus was born, the one called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
Interestingly, we don’t read the name “Immanuel” once we move beyond the birth narratives about Jesus. And yet, the whole of Jesus’ life flows from that name. “Immanuel,” God with us.
Jesus was born like us—vulnerable, weak, and dependent on his family. He needed his mother’s milk to stay alive. He needed swaddling clothes to keep his body warm (Luke 2:7). In his perfect humanity, he needed others to care for him, just like us.
Jesus lived like us, enjoying life’s pleasures and enduring moments of tedium. He played games. He got bored. He wanted a good meal (Matthew 11:19). He also fasted when God called him to it (Matthew 4:2). He was able to sleep like a stone (Matthew 8:22–23). He also stayed up all night, at times, praying to his heavenly Father (Luke 6:12). He spent decades learning the blue-collar trade of his earthly father. He forged friendships with people, laughing and weeping with them, just like us.
Jesus suffered like us. He got sick. He grew tired. He lost loved ones (John 11:33–36). He experienced the heartbreak of betrayal (Matthew 26:14–16). He fought against temptations to sin (Hebrews 4:15). He felt the brokenness of this world and the limits of his own body, just like us.
Then Jesus did something you and I haven’t done. He did something very human but still very foreign. He died.
Humans die. We all know this. But we haven’t done it yet. Don’t skip past that irony: Jesus has experienced something universally human—but that we living humans haven’t gone through yet.
That’s a bit ironic—and a lot comforting. Because even in his death, Jesus died as God with us (1 Corinthians 19–21). God himself experienced the full weight of the curse, the shadow of death, the loneliness and horror of death so that we would be able to approach death knowing we are not alone.
And then, remarkably, Jesus did something utterly unlike us: He rose from the dead. This miraculous event is something we’ve never seen. But we will. The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the “first fruits,” a promise of a future reality (1 Corinthians 15:20). Joining Jesus in his death, we will join him in his resurrection life. Jesus became like us so that we could become like him—alive forever.
Kingdom Takeaway
- Jesus was born as “God with us”—vulnerable, weak, and dependent on his family (Luke 2:6–7), just like us.
- Jesus lived as “God with us,” enjoying life’s pleasures and enduring life’s moments of tedium (Matthew 11:19). Just like us.
- Jesus suffered as “God with us,” getting sick, growing tired, losing loved ones, fighting temptations, and experiencing his bodily limits (Hebrews 4:15). Just like us.
- Jesus died as “God with us” (2 Corinthians 5:19–21; 1 Peter 3:18). None of us have done this (yet). But if we trust in him, we can approach our death with confidence that death is not the end.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SMALLER GROUPS
- In what part of your life does it seem hardest to believe, “Jesus has felt this, too”?
- Where do you feel weak, vulnerable, or dependent on others? How does it change your perspective to know that Jesus, in his perfection, felt the same way?
- Which element of Jesus’ earthly existence—his birth, life, suffering, or death—speaks most to you? Why?
Before you listen to the message, you are encouraged to go to our website and download the lesson bulletin for this message, dated December 25, 2023. The publication contains questions to reflect on as an individual, couple, or small group. You can find them on the home page by clicking the Bulletins and Lesson Plans tab. Today’s message is “God’s Presence Propels Us.”
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Merry Christmas,
Hill-Tran Ministries
- Harold Long
- 2023 Advent Series
- Christmas
- Exodus 12:1-30
- Exodus 3
- Ezekiel 34:11-12;23
- Genesis 4:21-30;37
- Jeremiah 3:14-15; 10:21; 23:1-8; 50:6-7
- John 10
- Luke 2:8-20
- Matthew 2:3-8;16-18
- Micah 5:2
- Psalm 23
- Samuel 16
- Abel
- Abraham and Sarah
- Advent
- Christ
- Christmas
- David and Bathsheba
- Elizabeth and Zachariah
- Gabriel The Angel
- Jeremiah
- Jesus the Christ
- Jesus the first born
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-centered Christmas
- Jesus-centered Community
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- Jesus-Centered Living
- Jesus-centered Motherhood
- Jesus-looking God
- John The Baptist
- Joseph
- King Herod
- Mary and Joseph
- Merry Christmas
- Moses
- Shepherds
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
A Jesus-looking God
December 25, 2022
- Harold Long
- Christmas
- Hebrews 1:1-4
- Advent
- Darkness
- Die to Self
- Hope
- Jesus is the Light
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- Jesus-looking God
- Joy
- Joy to the World
- Light
- Light of the World
- light vs dark
- Love
- Morgan Freeman
- New Year 2023
- New Year's Day
- New Year's Resolutions
- Peace
- Personal Inventory
- Surrender
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
On Christmas day of 2022, we lean on the lectionary and the Hebrews 1:1-4 Scripture, teaching us that Jesus is God’s entire manifestation and essence. As Christians, we worship and follow a Jesus-looking God. Thank you for joining us for today’s message.