Sunday, December 29
2024-12-29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg-WGSeiMcw

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

The week that's kind of feels like it's in between everything. I think I told somebody yesterday it's like the Bermuda Triangle of the year. That week between Christmas and New Year's, I heard that we don't really know what day it is. Calories don't count. You don't really do anything. Everything sort of happens to you. And so we are glad that you are here with us. And in many ways, as the church, we live between two times. We live between the reality of the advent and arrival of Jesus, who came and who died in our place to save us from our sins, rose again for our victory. But we also live in anticipation of the day when He will return. And so we live between, essentially, these two moments in history. And so we're going to pray, and then we're going to read from Psalm 98.

We're going to sing The World. And the interesting thing about Joy to the World is we think it's a Christmas song, but in many ways it is a return of Jesus song. Yes, it's joy to the world, the Lord has come, but also in this there is a picture of the time when He comes again. No more will thorns infest the ground. And so it's a perfect way to start this in-between Sunday in this moment. So we're going to pray, we'll read from the 98th Psalm, and then we'll sing Joy to the World. Father in Heaven, we thank You for Jesus, and we thank You for grace, and we thank You that we are able to gather this morning to encourage each other and to pray together and to read Your Word together, to sing together.

Be with us as we open Your Word to study it. May You encourage and strengthen and help our hearts that You would help us to see Your goodness and Your grace for Your people. And so be with us during this time. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, let's stand, and we're going to read from the 98th Psalm about praising the goodness of God. So if you would, go ahead and read with me. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The Lord has made known His salvation. He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. This is the word of the Lord. Let's sing joy to the world.

Let's sing joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive a King. Let every heart prepare Him. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven, heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow. No thorns infest the ground. He goes to make His blessings flow. For as the curse is found, for as the curse is found, for as, for as the curse is found. For as the curse is found. For as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations bring the glories of His righteousness. The glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders of His love. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, best we're leading, still proceeding, guide us to that perfect light. Oh, frankincense to offer heaven, incense owns the deity night. Prayer and praising voices raising, worshipping God on high. Oh, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, best we're leading, still proceeding, and still proceeding. Guide us to thy perfect light. Prayer is mine, its bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering glue, and still proceeding. It's bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering glue. Sighing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb. Oh, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to the perfect light. Glorious now, behold Him arise, King and God and sacrifice. Hallelujah, hallelujah, sounds through the earth and skies.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light. You may be seated. Okay, was he doing prayer? Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Let's pray. We're all in life and death, Christ alone, Christ alone. What is our only confidence? That our souls to Him belong. Who holds our days within His hand? What comes apart from His command? And what will keep us to the Lord? To the end, the love of Christ in which we stand. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope reigns eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death. What truth can cause the troubled soul? God is good. God is good. Where is His grace and goodness known? In our great Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fears arise? Who stands above the stormy trial? Who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore of the rock of Christ? Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death.

Until the grave, what will we sing? Christ he lives, Christ he lives. And what reward will heaven bring? Everlasting life with fear. There we will rise to meet the Lord. Then sin and death will be destroyed. And we will feast in endless joy. When Christ is ours forevermore. O sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. O sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. O sing hallelujah. O sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. O sing hallelujah. Now whenever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. Now whenever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. Now whenever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death. As Peter begins his first letter to the churches in Galatia, he says this: "Blessed be the Father of our Lord God, Jesus Christ, according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time." And I love how, as Peter begins his first letter, he begins it by directing us to the power and the greatness of the blessings of God that culminate in a hope that doesn't wear out, that doesn't run out, that doesn't disappear, that doesn't tarnish, that doesn't fade, and cannot be, as he says, is kept in heaven, guarded for you. And so it's not just a hope, but it's a hope that is gone by the power of God. And so as we come to this moment in this table, we come to fix our eyes on this hope, the hope that caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

And what's interesting is that Peter doesn't just stop by talking about hope. He immediately begins to talk about trials and difficulties, and there's a picture of fire and of metal being refined and all of these things. And Peter is giving the church this perspective, that as you face the trials and the difficulties and the struggles that are found in life, that there is a hope that is bigger and greater than anything else you face. As we partake of the bread and the cup this morning, we want to fix our eyes on the hope that is found in Jesus. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for the goodness that you have poured into our lives. We thank you for Jesus who came and who died in our place, that he took our sins upon himself, that it was for our transgressions

and our iniquities that he suffered. We thank you that there is forgiveness. We thank you this morning for the resurrection and the power of hope, that in the midst of trial and difficulty and disappointment, that there is a hope that doesn't perish and that doesn't fade and that does not disappear. And so as we fix our eyes on Jesus, may you also encourage our souls with hope. We ask that you bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would, partake of the bread that Jesus shares, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." If you would take with me the cup that Jesus says, "This is my blood that is poured out in a new covenant for you." Let's remember Jesus.

In remembering, we find that when we're excited about things, and when we are transformed by things, they sort of overflow out of our life, and that is the call in this meal to see that hope and that joy overflow in our lives. And so, I'm going to be reading this morning from Luke 2. As we sort of talked at the beginning of the service, we are a little bit in between the times, and I want to go to a text of Scripture that's probably a story we all know, but maybe we never have sat down and considered as we find ourselves in that moment between the birth of Jesus, and then it seems sometimes Christmas ends suddenly and we're on to the new year, whereas historically the church prepares for Christmas through Advent, celebrates Christmas through, surprisingly, 12 days of Christmas, which evidently the gift is to give your

loved ones as many birds as physically possible over those 12 days, and so Christmas celebration. So we're still celebrating Christmas, but I want to do so by considering Jesus not as an infant and not as an adult, but as a young man. So I'm going to read. These won't be on the screen this morning, but the text is in the handout and in the bulletin as well. So we'll read, and then we'll pray, and then we'll jump right into it. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover, and when he was 12 years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, his parents did not know it. But supposing him to be in the group, they

went a day's journey, and they began, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for him. After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." And he said to them, "Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?" And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went

down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured all these things in the heart, in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with both God and man." This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Father in heaven, be with us this morning as we consider Jesus, as we see him in between his birth and his birth and his ministry, that you would encourage our hearts, that you would teach us something in this text that strengthens us and helps us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So this is sort of a strange and fascinating account of the life of Jesus. It's the only account we get of the life of Jesus between his birth and the beginning of his ministry, being baptized by John. And it's strange, and it has some interesting

details, but it may seem at first look to us that this isn't that important of an account. Why is this event, Jesus in Jerusalem at 12 years old, in addition to being left behind by his parents, why does it matter? One reason it matters is because this is all we know of Jesus' childhood. We've had the excitement of his birth, the flight to Egypt, the returning, and now this is the only glimpse we really get of the childhood of Jesus. And Luke writes with purpose. One of the reasons I love the Gospel of Luke so much is that he begins in his first words saying, "There's been a lot of people who have written, and I have, after thought, decided to write to you an orderly account." And he talks about witnesses, and he talks about his purpose being this, that

we would have certainty. And so we know one thing is that if Luke includes it, it's part of his purpose that we would in some way have certainty about who Jesus is. And one of the interesting things is most scholars believe that one of Luke's main eyewitnesses was Mary, the mother of Jesus. He would have been in Jerusalem with Paul and in that area where Paul was imprisoned down the road for several years. And it's likely that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the witnesses that Luke talks about when he talks about consulting witnesses. And there's some general reasons for it. One of those is that he says several times that Mary treasured all of these things in her heart. That as she's telling Luke these stories, and he's hearing the stories, that there are

stories that stand out to Luke as something that Mary treasured about her time with Jesus. The other reason this text is important is that Scripture is important, right? God doesn't tell us things that don't have an impact on our life. But there's also another clue as to the importance of the text. In Jesus' day, books and texts were generally limited by the size of the parchment that you could read them on. Now, there were, at that time, some that were many feet long, but in general, Luke sort of caps out the readily available parchment. In fact, that's why he divided his book into Luke, his first letter, and the book of Acts, which is his second letter, both to Theophilus, and with space at a premium. Luke decides to include this account of the lump. And it's a strange

story, but it's also kind of a very normal story, and also a little bit difficult to understand. And in a sense, it's normal because all parents are imperfect. Parents make mistakes. Sometimes we make big mistakes. But it's another thing, because the mistake that happens, or the incident that happens, is they forget their child, who's not just their child, he's the Son of God. And they travel an entire day away, spend the night, travel a day back, spend a day searching for him, right? This is a big deal. So in a sense, we see the reality that all of us who are parents know is that sometimes we make mistakes, but also it's really easy to be a little bit judgmental because if an angel had come to me and said that this is going to be

the Son of God, I'm going to try not to forget him in Jerusalem. And so as we sort of walk through this text, I just want to sort of walk through it just a little bit at a time. We're going to begin in verse 41. "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of Passover, and he was 12 years old, and they went up according to custom." So there are three feasts that the Jewish men specifically were supposed to celebrate in Jerusalem: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. And Joseph and Mary decided to go to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, and we see that this was according to their custom. So this is not a new journey for them, but it may have been the first time that Jesus gets to go with him. And in seeing that this was their custom to go to

Passover, we see a picture of dedication to God. This is a long, it's an expensive, and it's a dangerous journey. And in doing so, and in making this journey customarily, we see that Mary and Joseph are both devoted to God, but they trust in him. This trip is somewhere between 70 and 80 miles, which to us may be an hour or a few minutes more, doesn't seem like that big of a deal until you have to walk that distance. And remember that for most people in this day and age, there's not a lot of margin financially, that you live very much a subsistence type of life. The money you earned that day would often be spent to buy your food that night, and the next day you would earn the money for the next night, that in many ways there's not a lot of margin to take days off work.

And in fact, God knows that, and He promises to provide for His people so much so that He says, "I want you to take a Sabbath." And they're doing so, they're putting their finances in the hands of God saying, "I trust that it's okay for us to take this time, and that you will provide, and that you will care for us, but also that you will protect us as we walk these mountain roads." There's a reason that they're traveling in a big group because it is dangerous. It's not just because long trips are made easier by having you, it's because these kind of trips could be dangerous from robbers and bandits who would take what you have and maybe in some cases even kill you. And what you find is that people would travel in a group that includes their

family, their extended family, their extended, extended family, and in the case of Nazareth, it may have been a majority of the town that is in this group, and Jesus is 12 years old. And what you find is in Jewish culture, a boy at 13 would become responsible for keeping his covenant with God, and at the age of 12, he would start learning how to take that seriously and begin to prepare. And in Jesus' day, that involved a trip to Jerusalem, usually to celebrate Passover. And one of the wondrous things that would happen as they began to approach Jerusalem is that the crowds would be singing from the songs of ascent, Psalm 120 through Psalm 134. Hundreds of thousands of people descending on Jerusalem from this feast. All of these strangers that you don't know and you're from a town of 500

and you're coming into a town that's big and it's large and there's hundreds of thousands of visitors and you're all singing the same song and your heart would swell because you'd realize you're a part of a community that's bigger than you can even begin to imagine. And so here they come to Jerusalem. And we don't know anything about the feast other than this. Picking up in verse 43. When the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposed him to be in the group when they went a day's journey but they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances and when they did not find him they returned to Jerusalem searching for him. So Luke skips the feast entirely and we come to this question

how can you forget Jesus? Remember this is a large group that is traveling and it would have had close relatives and friends of both Mary and Joseph and in addition this large group of men and women often times would sort of travel in the same group but separately and so the women would be traveling together, walking generally in the front, the men would be traveling a little further back, kind of keeping an eye on things, making sure nobody was coming up to attack from behind and he would spend time with men in one part of the group and women in the other and so it would have been so easy to go, "Where's Jesus?" "Well, he's with aunt so-and-so, he's playing with his cousins, he's with his dad, his dad's like, he's with his mom

and in the hustle and the bustle to leave they don't realize that Jesus isn't with anybody." And then they get to their overnight stop and they go, "Have you seen Jesus today?" "I haven't seen Jesus today." "Have you?" "No." "Let's talk the ants." All of a sudden they realize that Jesus doesn't seem to be in their group. And what happens is they can't just turn around and go back. They've walked an entire day away from Jerusalem, and they've done so in a group to protect them from the robbers and the bandits that frequently plagued some of these roads that surround Jerusalem. So now they have to spend the night before they can safely journey back. And that has to be a sleepless night. Where is Jesus? Is He okay? How has this happened? And so

let's continue on in Luke chapter 2. After three days, now that three days is Mary and Joseph have traveled a day, they've spent the night, they've traveled back, and now the third day they've spent the day searching. Three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. Where is Jesus? And He's sitting among the teachers. Now I want you to understand a little bit about what's happening. Jesus is not in the temple, preaching and teaching like we will see Him do later in His ministry, right? He's not center stage at this point. He has joined a class and is participating in that class. Jesus also is not just sort of parroting things back to these religious leaders.

It's like the person who in class and the teacher would ask a question and they give him the paragraph, right? Just sort of memorized right from the book and you always kind of rolled your eyes at those people because they haven't really learned it. They've just kind of memorized a fact and given it back. Jesus isn't just parroting what he knows and he's also not being obnoxious like Brandon at this age in Sunday school who was removed from Sunday school because when our teacher was teaching about Noah and the ark she got like the order of birds that Noah releases to check from Grant and I was like, well actually if we go back to the text and she's like, go sit with your mom and for like the next four years I sat in big church and wasn't allowed

to go back to Sunday school because I was super obnoxious. I was right, but not in like, there's a way to be right but also dead wrong. Like that's how I, that's what I was doing. That's not what Jesus is doing here. What Jesus is doing is remarkable. The temple is this massive 36 acre complex and it would have businesses which we learn Jesus deals with later in his ministry. It has places of worship, places to buy sacrifices, but also Jewish rabbis would set up under these porticoes and they would teach classes and they would do so by asking and answering questions. And what Jesus does is essentially shows up, sits in on one of these classes every day for these three days. We go, "Oh, yeah, Jesus in the temple learning, but where did

he eat during these three days?" Like, where did he sleep, right? Have you seen the movie Home Alone? This is like the original Home Alone except Jesus is left in his father's house, and it's like, how does he get stuff to eat? Where does he sleep at night? Do you just go home with somebody and stay with them? Does he curl up in a corner of the temple? Right? We don't know. Just know for three days, Jesus 12 years old is on his own in the temple. And I want you to think of something that you may never have considered with this account before. That some of these religious leaders that are teaching, these rabbis, that in 18 years they're going to be a little older and a little grayer, but they're going to meet Jesus

in this temple again. And the one who answered their questions in an astonishing way is going to ask them questions that they will be unable to answer. And it may be that some of these very religious leaders that at 12 years old Jesus is talking to and participating in these classes will shout for his crucifixion 18 years from now. There's a lot of foreshadowing that goes into this account. The journey from Nazareth and Galilee into Jerusalem. Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. That first trip down Bethany, from Bethany down the mountain into Jerusalem singing the songs of ascent that one day would be sung to him and about him as he comes into Jerusalem as a king. Questions and answers in the temple, and it may have even been on the same days of the week that Jesus

did this. Because of the end of Passover and how things worked. And here is Jesus answering questions in the temple. Then his mom and dad show up. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." Right? Jesus' mom is really good at making you feel bad, right? "Your father and I have been worried sick about you. Don't you know, son, what you've been doing to your mother while you have been missing?" And their reaction is understandable, right? There's relief. There's grief. There's confusion. They're probably a little mad. I'm glad you're safe, but you're in a world of trouble. Just wait till we're out of sight of all of these people.

Your father and I are extremely, extremely upset. And then it seems to us, reading it through the lens 2,000 years later, that Jesus doesn't seem to make it much better, although his response is wonderful and righteous. He said to them, "Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?" And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to. Imagine not finding your child for three days. You finally find them, and all of a sudden they go, "Look, did you know where I was going to be? Why'd you leave without me?" Everything in this account points to these verses. And what Jesus is doing is, he's not being disrespectful, and he's not being rude, and he's not belittling his mom and dad with his words. What he is doing is, gently

reminding them of who he is and what he has come to do. "Didn't you know I would be in my father's house?" And one of the reasons this text is so important is because at 12 years old Jesus knows both his identity and his mission. He knows who he is, and he knows what he has come to do. To be about his father's business as some translations will say. "And he went down with them to Nazareth and was submissive to them." And notice Mary, upon reflection, she's not mad. She treasures this in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. And the question is, what can we learn from all this? It seems like good trivia. But is there something for us today, 2,000 years later, that can

encourage and help our hearts? The first thing is this: God provides for his people through his word. In the writing of this, Luke writes somewhere in the end of the 50s, beginning of AD 60. And he's interviewed and he is researched. And go back to that moment where he is speaking to her and she goes, "Here's a moment I treasured in my heart." And Luke, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the guidance with the Holy Spirit adds this to his gospel letter to Theophilus. A few hundred years later, 58 to about AD 60, this short account, these verses become one of the great defenses against false teaching in the church. Because in the 5th century there was this argument and this misunderstanding about how Jesus is both fully man and fully God, his humanity and his divinity,

and how does it fit together? And there are several groups that come up with ideas and differences. And one of the ways that the church is brought back on track are these verses in Luke chapter 2 that show Jesus knowing both his identity and his purpose, and you say, "Well, how does that help me?" It's a little bit of church history, and it's an interesting anecdote. If God in his providence inspires this account to be included in Luke's Gospel, and it might seem to us like a humorous anecdote, but this account that Luke is inspired to include is a defense for the church hundreds of years later against false teaching. Don't you think that the Word of God can defend you, can answer your doubts, can calm your fears, if God can use in his divine power

and his mighty providence this story about Jesus being lost for three days that we so often think is silly to defend the church against heresy about the reality and identity of Jesus, that he can give rest to your weary soul through this Word, that he can strengthen you and help you and defend you as well. One of the great historical testimonies of this text is that God provides for his people through his Word. And this may be for those who are younger, but one of the remarkable things about this is that Jesus knows what it's like to grow up. And I was thinking about our kids here this morning, as I was reading this, because you hear about Jesus' baby and Jesus as an adult, but here's Jesus at 12 years old, and he knows

what you're about to face and what you have been through and the struggles and the difficulties of what it's like to grow up. And Jesus knows. I don't know that I would use Jesus' defense when you get in trouble with your parents. I must be about my father's business. But Jesus knows what it's like to be where you are. He knows what it's like to grow up. It's also a call to humility. Mary and Joseph have been with Jesus now for 12 years. They've seen some amazing things, heard prophecies from angels. They've seen God's provision and his protection. However, you find them in this text with an assumption about who Jesus is, and what he should be doing. And it's easy for us to make assumptions about Jesus rather than truly seeing his identity and mission.

It's very easy for us to think, "Well, this is what Jesus would do, or this is what Jesus would want, or this is the mission without ever consulting Jesus ourselves." In many ways, in this account, we're Mary and Joseph, we have an idea of where Jesus should be and what he should do and how he should be doing it, and we want to tell him what he should do and where he should go and how he should be. And one of the great calls in this text is to humility, to see and to listen to Jesus and to understand that sometimes we get it backward. Just because we've been around Jesus for a long time, we still need to continually see him. That's why the author of Hebrews, over and over again, to Christians, people who have been around Jesus for a while,

say, "Consider Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Remember Jesus." And in Luke 2:47, we find this: "All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." This morning, I want you to consider the words of Jesus. Because in this text, there is a call to hear the words of Jesus. And in Isaiah 50, there is this promise, and this prophecy made about Jesus. The one that we might be the most familiar with is in Isaiah 50. The prophecy is this: "The Redeemer set his face like flint." And it parallels Luke 9:51, where Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. But just a few verses before that, we hear these words: "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught that he has given me a way of speaking that is educated in knowledgement for this reason:

That I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary." Morning by morning, he awakens. He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 50:4 is that he knows how to sustain with a word those who are weary, who are tired. The word weary here can also signify not just that you're tired, but the picture that you've come in from a long journey, and that you're thirsty, and you need nothing more than refreshment and strength. And here in Isaiah 50, there's a promise to those who are weary with sin, who are weary with the troubles, who are weary of the battle, who are weary as they seek righteousness, who it feels like everything is falling apart around them. And here comes Jesus, and He says, "I have a word for you.

To all of you who are weak and heavy laden, I come and I will give you rest. Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more." In the midst of the storm, His message and His words are that He's with you. Jesus comes with a word for the weary, and as we hear Him answer with such wisdom to these teachers, we're reminded He doesn't just answer them. He answers you. In your struggle, and in your hurts, and in your uncertainties, and in your difficulties, in your fight against sin, in your struggle and striving for righteousness, that Jesus has a word for those who are weary. So to the weary, I would encourage you to come to Jesus, to the sinful, to see His forgiveness. Maybe it feels like you've been fighting a battle and you're tired.

I want you to hear and be sustained by Jesus. His words to the saint, and to the sinner, to the tired, to the weeping, and to the weak. Words that come to those who are thirsty and refresh them. Father in heaven, may we see how Your Word protects and provides us with needs we don't even know that we have yet. But needs that You knew as these words were written and inspired by Your Spirit. We thank You for the power of Your Word. We thank You that You know what it's like to be where we are and the struggles that we face. And we ask for humility, that we would seek to see You truly rather than so often our opinions and ideas about who You are. We ask mostly that we would be strengthened with a word for the weary and for the thirsty. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and sing "Living Hope."

How great the chasm that lay between us! How high the mountain I could not climb! In desperation, I turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night. Then through the darkness, your lovingkindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? The God of ages stepped down from glory to wear my sin and bear my shame. The cross has spoken, I am forgiven. The King of kings calls me his own. Beautiful Savior, I'm yours forever. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope.

Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Yours is the victory. Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Oh God, you are my living hope.

We are thankful that you are here with us this morning. There is no Wednesday night Bible study this week on New Year's Day. We do wish you a Happy New Year, and we are grateful for you being here. We'll be back next Sunday in the month of January, and we are excited to worship together next week. So pray, and then we'll read a verse of Scripture, and then we will sing a chorus of "Go tell it on the mountain and be dismissed." Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus and for His grace poured out to us, that while we were still sinners, He came and He died for us. And so we ask you to help us see this reality, to understand that there is hope and there is strength and there is peace through you.

May your Spirit be at work on us and in us and through us during this week. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Paul ends Ephesians like this, "Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible." We're going to go ahead and sing a chorus of "Go tell it on the mountain." Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you.