Ascent Week 29

This week, I thought it would be proper for us to have our ascent passage be taken from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 1 through 20.

Luke 2:1-20

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, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

And, for nostalgia’s sake, let’s hear it one more time from Linus VanPelt:

The Virgin Birth—Part 2

The virgin birth of Jesus was important not only because Jesus needed to be pure to be a sacrifice for our sin, but also so that He would, indeed, have the nature of both of His parents. God the Father would give Him His spiritual nature (that of purity and of God), and Mary would give Him His physical nature (that of His body). So Jesus, more than likely, would have looked a lot like Mary, as God is Spirit and as such does not have a physical body.

So the virgin birth is a clue to us that Jesus was different. Yet He was the same as us. As we mentioned yesterday, Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we have a High Priest…

“who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” –Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

This Jesus, this God/Man, is the only one who could have done it because He came to this earth, born of a virgin, and possessed the nature of God in the physical form of a human. It staggers the mind to think about it too much, but let me share one more thing with you.

Jesus, in His pre-incarnate form, was visible to select individuals throughout the Old Covenant (Testament). He appeared to Abraham, Joshua, and even the three Hebrew Children in the fiery furnace. We are told in Colossians chapter 1 that was the Person of the Trinity that was most involved in the Creation (Genesis 1). We also know that this same Jesus rose again from the dead (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; and John 20), ascended to heaven (Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; and Acts 1:9-12), and is going to come again (Revelation 19:11-18).

This speaks to His eternality. He is able to be in every place at every time because He is eternal. When He was on this earth, He set aside some of His abilities and confined Himself to a physical body that could only be in one place at one time. There were times when He was able to heal at a distance (Matthew 8:5-13), know about someone’s life (John 4:15-19), and even command the wind and waves to obey Him (Luke 8:22-25).

But He was also dependent on His Heavenly Father’s leading. In Mark 1:35-39, we see Jesus’ ministry take a shift from just a community to a larger area. In Luke 6:12-16, we see Jesus choosing those who would be His Apostles after an all-night prayer session (side note: do you think Jesus may have been arguing with God about Judas Iscariot? Me either.). So there was a sense in which Jesus needed to be in constant connection with the Father, just like us.

Now don’t miss what I’m trying to say here. Jesus’ humanity is just as important as His deity. If Jesus were not human, He couldn’t possibly relate to our shortcoming and temptations. If He were not God, then He is a fraud (for He claimed to be God in the flesh). So both must be present for Him to be 100% authentic…and that is exactly why the doctrine of the virgin birth matters.

So don’t fear it…embrace it! And we’ll see you on Sunday!

OH! And…MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Virgin Birth—Part 1

In these last two posts before Christmas, I wanted to explore what I feel is one of the most vital and least understood doctrines of Scripture…the virgin birth.

Some have speculated that Jesus’ birth from the womb of a virgin was not as miraculous as in appears. They say that the term “virgin” in Scripture can just mean a young girl, and that her baby (Jesus) was conceived in the normal manner that any of us were. But I want to say categorically that this is a lie. When the Bible tells us that Mary was a virgin, it is telling us that Mary had never had sexual relations with a man. This is VERY important, and in this post and tomorrow’s, I’m going to try and explain why that is.

First of all, it is important because of the difference in the nature of one having been born naturally to supernaturally. The one born of man and woman has a sin nature. It is passed on to each one of us by our fathers (this we will explain more in a moment), much in the same way our foreheads or eye color or skin tone might be passed down. The sin nature, therefore, is what disqualifies us from having a proper relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Now when I say that the sin nature is passed on to the offspring by the fathers, I say so based on Romans chapter 5. Here is what it says:

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
—Romans 5:12 (NLT)

So we see here, that God is telling us through Paul that it is through Adam that sin entered the world and through him spread to everyone. Notice that it does not say it is through Eve (who sinned first), but through Adam.

So, if Mary’s son, Jesus, had come into this world just like every other person, then Jesus would have had a sin nature. He would have been a sinner, and therefore, not perfect, and not able to be our sacrifice for sins. In the Old Covenant (Testament) we are told that in order for the atonement of sins to be made the sacrifice had to be a year old, and had to be perfect…no spot or blemish, no disease or dismemberment, but whole and right. Jesus had to be those things if He were to be our Atonement Sacrifice.

So the virgin birth is vitally important because there was no human father…only God. Therefore, in Jesus’ body, there was no sin nature. He was born with the nature that Adam had before his fall. This is also important to realize because it means that Jesus could have sinned if He had chosen to. He was tempted in every way like we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus’ life was lived perfectly, and He never once chose to dishonor God. His life was perfect and He was able to be our atonement sacrifice.

Another reason the virgin birth is important is that if Jesus had been just like us (that is, had a sin nature), then He could not have been the innocent sacrifice for the guilty human condition. His sacrifice would have been null and void. He took the punishment we all deserved (death) on the cross, and as such, our sin debt can now be “paid in full” if we will accept it and believe it.

So I will ask you today…do you believe in the virgin birth? Or do you think it isn’t all that important? I hope that you will believe, because it is so important that you do!

Think about it, and we’ll see you on Sunday!

Merry Christmas!

Celebration—Week 27

Today, let’s celebrate the child who is the light! We will hear today two songs from Michael Card. Enjoy!

Celebration Week 26

This week, we will celebrate with two more Christmas songs. If you haven’t noticed the pattern yet, we will be celebrating Christmas for the rest of the month.

Our first selection is from Mannheim Steamroller, and it is their version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.

Our second selection is from Michael W. Smith, and it is called Gloria (Angels We Have Heard on High).

Enjoy! And we’ll see you on Sunday!

Celebration Week 25

This week, we will celebrate with two Christmas songs from Chris Tomlin. The first is called Unspeakable Joy.

The second is called Glory in the Highest.

Enjoy!