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And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2.7 Heavenly Father, it saddens me to think of the Savior of the world being born in a manger, because there was no room for him in the comfort of the inn. The humble birth of your Son was offensive to those who thought the King of glory would come in power and majesty.
His lowly birth shows me how much you identify with the least of humanity. You came to love them and relieve their oppression. You came to heal them and give them a future and a hope. You came to restore their dignity. The world is ruled by power, lust, and greed, but your kingdom is ruled by love, compassion, and mercy. Bless your holy name. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's daily prayer.
For more inspiration and an incredible message from our feature pastor, stay tuned to Pray.com's Sunday service.
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Hey, Pray.com family, welcome to our Sunday special. I'm so excited to share a Christmas Day message and Christmas message. Today, I'm in a special location. I am here in Jerusalem in Israel, right behind me. I have a
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You can visit us at alfc.faith and we would love to stay in touch. Today, the location that we're going to be sharing and talking about is the city and the town of Bethlehem, where our Lord Jesus Christ was born some 2000 years ago. I'm so excited to be able to share a Christmas Day message with you. And I just want to say a statement with you today that we're going to look at.
in Luke chapter two. And I'm just gonna share a few thoughts with you this Christmas morning. I wanna say this statement to you. We are all shepherds. God has called us to all be shepherds.
You know, a lot of times when you hear the story of Jesus's birth, a lot of times we focus on Mary or Joseph, or we focus on just the birth moment where Jesus was placed in the manger because there was no room for him in the end. Maybe sometimes we just focus on the magi, the wise men that would come and offer Jesus's gifts and share about the holy gifts that the wise men would give Jesus. But today we're going to talk about the shepherds.
the ones that were out in the field when the angel of the Lord would appear to them and tell them, give them a message to say that the Messiah Christ, our Lord Jesus was born because the shepherd is truly the story of my life and your life. All of us are called to be the shepherds like this story where the shepherds were told that Jesus was born and they went to see and behold with their eyes
that Jesus was in Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph. And so I'm gonna read about 11 verses with us today, and I'm gonna take them kind of verse by verse as we share some thoughts of encouragement this Christmas morning. Before all of the presents get wrapped, before all of the food and the fun and the activities, let us spend a moment reflecting and spending time with God as we reflect on the goodness of God that He would send His only begotten Son to us
to save us. I want you to look in Luke chapter two, starting in verse eight. Here's the story, how it begins concerning the shepherds. It says, and in the same region, the region of Bethlehem, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch of their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of God shone around them and they were filled with great fear. So in this moment, what we see is we see the shepherds are a little ways off of Bethlehem and they're letting their sheep graze, which was very common for shepherds to do. Is a shepherd would go and as crop season would end, there would be bits of fragments of grass and seed and other things and shepherds would come in
the outskirts of Bethlehem, and they would let their sheep graze amongst the land. And so as the shepherds are there, potentially sleeping at night, potentially resting as their sheep are grazing, the shepherd would travel anywhere that there was food. And so in this moment, we see that God appears and the angel appears and tells them that the Lord God, the glory of God would shown around them.
This is something that we would know as the Shekinah glory, the glory of God. It came around them. The presence of God was there in front of the shepherds and the angel of the Lord had a message to those shepherds.
And it's through the glory of God that they would hear the message. It says in verse 10, and an angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.
It's in that moment that they tell the people and those shepherds in Bethlehem that there would be a savior that was born, the Messiah, Christ our Lord.
This was a fulfillment of prophecy that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem, the city of David, the same city that King David had come from. Years and years and years before, thousands of years before, when David would slay Goliath, it was a prophecy that out of the line of David would come a king forever. Forever.
And here in this moment is what the Jewish people had been waiting for, a Messiah to be born, a Messiah that would rule his kingdom. And they tell him this, that Christ is our Lord. The Messiah is our Lord.
Now we look at verse 12. This is what the angels say. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in a manger and swaddling cloth, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was there with the angel a great multitude of heavenly hosts praising God, saying this, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those whom he has pleased. In this moment, as the shepherds are waiting in the field,
Here an angel of the Lord appears with the Shekinah glory surrounding him. And then all of a sudden, as he tells them that the Messiah is born truly in Bethlehem, you will find Jesus in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloth. Here amongst this angel of the Lord appears a multitude of heavenly hosts and they all cry out together, glory to God in the highest. Praise God.
that peace would be here on earth and among the people. God is the God of peace and Jesus is the one who brings peace to you and I today. God is a God of peace.
And he brings peace to those who he is pleased with. He is pleased with you this morning. God loves you. He has brought peace to your life. Now here's where the fun part comes, where we see the reaction of the shepherds, where you and I are both shepherds. I want you to recognize that in this moment, we're about to read, this is you and me.
When we recognize and we hear that Jesus was born to save humanity, here is you and I, and here is the reaction you and I should have this Christmas day. It says in verse 15, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste.
and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known, saying that there had been told to them concerning this child. And they went and told everyone about it. And all who heard wondered at what the shepherds told them.
I want you to see two things today briefly together, family. Here's a couple of things as you're listening or watching with me. We learned two important factors that the shepherds did when they heard that Jesus was born. Here's the first thing that they did. The scriptures tell us that they moved with haste. They were quick. They were quick.
They didn't say, oh, well, hold on, let me finish this email or hold on, let us get to this place or hey, hold on, let me get some things finished. Let me do some things. It says when the angel had left them, it says they looked at each other and they said, hey, we got to go. The Messiah is in the city of David. He's in Bethlehem. He's supposed to be there.
to be with a person named Mary and Joseph. He's lying in a manger. He's wrapped in swaddling cloth. We have to get out of here. We have to go see this savior for ourselves. We have to go and experience the Messiah for ourselves. When I was younger, many times what we would do is when we'd be leaving the house when I was a child, how many of you guys were one of those kids that always wanted to ride in the front seat of the car?
And so I remember when I was a young child, when me and my brothers, I have two older brothers, when we would leave our house, we had a rule kind of in our family. Whoever ran out of the door first and touched the door handle of the passenger seat got to ride shotgun first. And so right when you would touch the door handle, you would yell shotgun. And that meant that you made it first to the passenger front door. So that meant you get the seat.
You see, in this moment, the shepherds look at each other and they say, we got to go ride shotgun. The Messiah has been born. We need to go and run with haste. There was a hurry to see Jesus. There was an excitement to see Jesus. And so I want to ask you this question today. As you woke up today to celebrate Christmas, was the first thing on your mind the presents under the Christmas tree?
Or was the first thing under your mind the Messiah, Jesus, who was born for us?
Was the first thing the thing that you've been asking for on your Christmas list? Or was it to go and just make some breakfast and start your day? Or as you wake up on Christmas Day, do you run with haste to say, God, thank you so much that Emmanuel, God is with us, was born on Christmas Day. You see, we have to run to God with haste when we recognize Him. Don't go in a slow manner. Don't move in a manner like a turtle.
You got to be like a rabbit. You got to move when you know that Jesus truly is the Messiah and he was born for us. Here's the second thing that we see that the shepherds do. You see, the shepherds had sheep.
So the shepherds would have gone all throughout Israel grazing with their sheep, wherever grass was, wherever seed was, they would take their sheep with them. I'm here in Israel today and I've seen shepherds all over grazing all over the land with their sheep. Where your sheep are hungry, that's where they go. So it meant that shepherds went all over the land.
So what we see in this story is that God chose shepherds who would go city to city with their sheep as the messengers to proclaim that the Messiah was born. The scriptures tell us that when the shepherds saw Jesus with their eyes, it said that from that point, they went and told all who would hear that the Messiah was born. And the scriptures tell us that people were amazed.
and wondered at what they were saying. They said, with my eyes, God sent me to Bethlehem and I saw Jesus born. Yeshua, God is salvation. They said, we saw it with our eyes. You see, we have to be bold today to tell others about Jesus.
We got to be like the shepherds. That's why God's called us to be like the shepherds. When we meet Jesus, we need to move towards Jesus with haste. And then when we encounter Jesus and when we recognize who Jesus is, we need to be bold in telling others. The shepherds did not keep it to themselves.
They didn't see this wonderful thing as a secret that was only for them. They used it as something that they would tell person after person that they were encounter that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem and it amazed and it wondered people.
You see, nowadays when people have babies and they're pregnant with children, they do one of two things. Many people will either have a baby gender announcement. And so they'll invite all of their friends over to their house and they're trying to discover whether it's a boy or a girl. And so all the friends come over and sometimes they'll pop a balloon and blue will come out or pink will come out and that'll signify the gender. Other times we have big
baby showers where everybody brings gifts to the babies, everybody celebrates, but we all have something very much in common when we do it nowadays, is all of us will bring cameras and videos and some of us hire photographers
and we document it. And whenever we do a baby shower or gender reveal, we put it on Facebook or Instagram or nowadays TikTok, because we want the whole world to see all of our friends coming together and seeing how important this moment is. I find it incredible that if that were to happen today or in Jesus's day, the thinking in Jesus's day was if the king was going to be born, wouldn't he be born in a palace?
Or if you're watching me live today or maybe behind me at Temple Mount, maybe if the king was going to be born, maybe he would be brought there. That's where everyone was in the town. That's where everybody had gathered in the city. Why would Jesus not be born in a palatious place? Why wouldn't Jesus be born in a fancy place? Well, I find it beautiful that that's God's plan, that God wanted to be born and send his son in a meek and humble place in Bethlehem.
not only in a place in town that signified where David, King David, the shepherd was raised, but also that Jesus would be born in a manger, a humble place where animals were. This wasn't a palace. This wasn't all over the news. You want to know who God chose for everyone to tell the world that Jesus was born? God chose to reveal it to shepherds.
lowly, humble men that would go all throughout the land and tell everyone about Jesus. That's our call today, that wherever your background is, wherever you're from, God has called you, God has called me to go tell it on the mountain, to go tell everyone that Jesus is born today on Christmas day.
That is our call as shepherds to run to Jesus with haste and to tell the whole world that Jesus the Messiah is born this Christmas day. That's what we're here to celebrate this morning. Who have you told about Jesus this Christmas day? Who have you shared about Jesus this Christmas day? Here's the last couple of verses and I'll share some last final thoughts with you today concerning this Christmas day with the shepherds. Verse 19 says, but Mary said,
This is Jesus's mother. Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. She kept these things in her heart. What had happened with the shepherds, what God had revealed to the shepherds through the angel of the Lord. And it says, and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told to them. Our job today is to glorify and praise God that Jesus Christ, our Messiah was born.
We thank God that he chose Mary and that she would say yes to God's message to bear his son. We thank God for Joseph for adopting Jesus into his household. And we thank God for these shepherds that would run with haste to Jesus and tell the whole world that Jesus Christ is born.
That's the beauty of this day. And the last verse is this, and I'll close with some final thoughts. And at the end of the eight days when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, or other words would say Yeshua or Joshua, which means God is salvation. God has sent salvation to us in the form of man. And his name was Jesus. And the name was given by the angel of the Lord before he was conceived in the womb.
Here's some final thoughts for you today as you reflect on this Christmas message. I just wanna share with you some practical implications. What are some ways that we can celebrate Christmas today as a family or by yourself? I just wanna offer some really practical applications. Here's some ways before you make it all about the presents, before you make it all about the food and the dinner and the hanging out, or whether you're Hispanic and you're gonna have tamales or anything else, before we hit those things,
Here's some ways that we can celebrate Christmas as a family. Here's the first thing. Read the Christmas story as a family. You can find the Christmas story in Matthew chapter 1, verses 18, all the way to chapter 2. Or you can find it like we read today in Luke chapter 2, verses 1 to 20. But before you get started with your day, bring your family around or sit by yourself for a quiet moment and read the Christmas story together and as a family.
Additionally, here's some things you can do is create a Christmas centered playlist on Spotify, Apple Music or anything else. Make a playlist that is Christ centered.
You know, there's a lot of fun songs out there. Mariah Carey's got some great songs and a lot of other great people have some great songs. I'm not saying don't listen to those this Christmas day. What I am saying though is for a period of time in your day, maybe it's while you're getting dressed. Maybe you and your family are driving somewhere to go visit family on Christmas day. At some point, make a Christ-centered playlist that's about the birth of Jesus and listen to that either as a family or by yourself to reflect.
the goodness of Jesus Christ being born on Christmas day. Here's another thing, recognize as a family, it's not about material gifts that we receive, but it's about the Messiah that we receive. It's about the Messiah that we receive. Here's three final ones. Post online Jesus-centered Christmas verses to share Jesus with your community.
That's a modern way to be like a shepherd. I know today we're gonna share about maybe you got your favorite watch you were looking for. Maybe you got the new Apple Watch. Maybe you got a sweet new bike. Maybe you got a car in the driveway with a little bow on it. But before you share about all those great presents,
Post online if you're someone that lives online or likes to post online. First, make it about Jesus. First, let your community know that follows you, that Jesus is the reason for the season in your life. Give credit to God this day that December 25th is Jesus's birthday.
In that same regard, do this as a family on Christmas morning or Christmas afternoon. If you have really little ones, whether you're a grandparent or you're a parent, if you have young children in elementary school, bake a birthday cake for Jesus.
And then sing happy birthday, Jesus, as a family and enjoy the cake together. Let your kids know that Christmas Day is about Jesus's birthday and not about us. And then lastly, go in a circle with your friends and family and tell each other what you love most about them. Be in a place of community where it's about compassion, where it's about praising God for the good things that he does in our life.
However you do celebrate today, I encourage you, no matter where you are, no matter how life is going, no matter how good it is or how difficult it is, let's treat this Christmas day as a day that we glorify God, we honor God, and we be like the shepherds. We run with haste to God at all times, and we give glory to Jesus that today truly, Emmanuel, God is with us, was born today.
And his name was Yeshua. God is salvation. Let's praise God today that God would send Jesus down to us in a low place, a manger. And he would choose shepherds to be the messengers to let all of Israel know that the Messiah has come. Israel would meet the Messiah 30 years later when Jesus would start his ministry here in Israel.
30 years, there was a rumor that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and it is by the shepherds that told everyone about it and people saw him coming 30 years later. And so today, let us be bold to share the message of Jesus and give God the credit that he has truly saved us
by Jesus Christ. Let's pray this morning or wherever you're watching and whenever you're watching this from. God, we thank you so much for this message, Lord. I just pray as everybody is watching this, wherever they're watching this or wherever they're listening to this, may they receive the message of Christmas day today. May they receive the message of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Messiah, the one who saves us, the one who has been anointed,
to die on the cross for our sins and to raise three days later
We thank you, God, that you have redeemed us to yourself. And anyone who hears this can call upon the name of Jesus. Anyone who hears this that may feel far away from Jesus can say yes to Jesus Christ today. It is Jesus Christ who reconciled us back to the Father, and it's through his death and resurrection that we can call upon the name of Jesus and make him our Lord and Savior. And so if you're here today and you believe that message, say yes to Jesus.
In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, thank you so much for joining us today. I pray you have an incredible Christmas day. Abundant Living Family Church loves you, and we pray that you have an incredible day. God bless you. See you soon. The podcast, The Bible in a Year with Jack Graham, is a moving and inspiring biblical audio experience that will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you'll learn to apply biblical principles to everyday life.
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