God’s Presence In The Flesh – Christmas Eve 2023 – Sermon by Harold Long
December 24, 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 God’s presence in the flesh. We unpack Luke 2:1-7 and Matthew 1:23-24 and discover how to experience “Emmanuel, God With the Us” from Mary and Joseph. 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 Sher her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn, clothed him in swaddling clothes, 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.
Before you listen to the message, you are encouraged to go to our website and download the lesson bulletin for this message, dated December 24, 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 In The Flesh.”
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Merry Christmas,
Hill-Tran Ministries
- Harold Long
- 2023 Advent Series
- Christmas Eve
- Luke 2:1-7
- Matthew 1:22-23
- Abraham and Sarah
- Angels
- Christmas
- Christmas Eve
- David and Bathsheba
- Doubts
- Elizabeth and Zachariah
- Immanuel
- Incarnation
- Jesus
- Jesus is the Light
- Jesus Revolution
- 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-looking God
- Mary and Joseph
- Merry Christmas
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Where Are You, God?
July 16, 2023
- Harold Long
- Where Are You, God?
- John 8:12-30
- I Am
- Jesus
- Jesus is the Light
- Jesus the Christ
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-centered Community
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- Jesus-Centered Living
- Jesus-looking God
- Jews
Our message today is titled “Where Are You, God?” We unpack John 8:12-36 and what it means to say, “God is everything, or He is nothing.” We learn why Jesus demands that we either crown him King or crucify him.
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.
A Saved Savior
December 18, 2022
- Unforgettable Christmas
- Matthew 2:13-23
- Angels
- Excluded
- Herod
- Herod the Great
- Jesus
- Jesus is the Light
- Jesus the Christ
- Jesus-Centered
- Joseph
- King Herod
- Loneliness
- Mary
- Mary and Joseph
- Our Real Purpose
- Pain
- Purpose
- Suffering
- Wounded
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Today we continue our Christmas message series “Unforgettable Christmas.” We unpack Matthew 2:13-23 and our message titled “A Saved Savior.” We look at the character of Herod the Great, also known as King Herod. We also discover our responsibility as it relates to God’s purpose for our lives, avoiding evil and helping advance the kingdom. Lastly, we recognize those suffering, wounded, excluded, or lonely this Christmas season.
Keep Your Eyes On The Light
August 9, 2020
- Harold Long
- Summer 2020 Lectionary Series
- Matthew 14:22-33
- Jesus is the Light
- Keep Your Eyes On the Light
- The Acrostic KEEP
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Thank you for joining us for this week’s message titled “Keep Your Focus On The Light.” In today’s message, Pastor Harold unpacks Matthew 14:22-33, and we focus on the story of how Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and once he did, his faith quickly dissipated, and he began to drown. What areas of your life have you taken your eyes off of God and have chosen to go it alone? You quickly find yourself ate up with fear, anxiety, anger, and depression, don’t you? Pastor Harold uses the acrostic “KEEP” to help us discover and learn the importance of keeping our eyes on the light. He also points out the many promises that come our way when we choose to live the kingdom life.