O Holy Night – What Christ has Wrought for Us
Opening Passage – Psalm 138.
O Holy Night was written in 1847 by Placide Cappeau as a Christmas Poem at the request of his parish priest in Paris France. The poem was later put to music by Adolphe Adam. The year the Christmas Carol was written is significant as we shall see when we look at verse three.
1. O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Chorus
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine.
Romans 3:10-18
Romans 5:6-8 – “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Isaiah 9:2-3 – “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
2. Led by the light of faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend.
Chorus
He knows our need, He guardeth us from danger
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Isaiah 49:7 -- "...Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel; snd He has chosen You."
Psalm 138:4 – “All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD…”
1 Timothy 6:15 – “…He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords…”
Hebrews 2:17-18 – “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
Psalm 95:6 – “Oh come, let us worship and bow down;Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
3. Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Chorus
Christ is the Lord, O praise His name forever!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
When the Christmas Carol was written slavery was universally practiced. The carol was banned in French Churches but was adopted by the abolitionists in the United States. Today we look back on slavery with disdain. One day we will look back on abortion as we now look back on slavery. No one today would say I wouldn’t personally own a slave but I wouldn’t stop someone else from owning one, yet pro abortion and pro-choice advocates and politicians make this very argument when they say I wouldn’t personally have an abortion but I wouldn’t stop anyone else from having one. When we talk about abortion, we’re talking about killing preborn baby girls and boys and wounding their mothers. We must pray and work until all human life is protected and oppression ceases!
Matthew 22:37-40 – “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 10:15 – “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Exodus 21 – In Biblical slavery, the slave voluntarily chose to be a slave, personally benefited monetarily from the slavery, and would serve no more than six years, unless he loved his master and voluntarily chose to serve his master for life.
Psalm 98:4 – “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Luke 2:11 – “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Jude 24-25 – “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy -- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Saturday, December 25, 2010
12/19/10 Sermon, O Holy Night, What Christ has Wrought for Us, Christmas Carol, Jesus, God
Thursday, November 18, 2010
On My Birthday, I'm Asking for Three Gifts that Won't Cost You a Dime
Yes it's my birthday today. I'm a year older and hopefully wiser than the year before. (I don't think I'll take my skateboard down the ramps at the skateboard park like I did last year when I broke my wrist!) The past year has been difficult with the economic struggles presently facing America, yet God has provided. Certainly, I could ask for thing; however, on my birthday, I'm asking for three gifts that won't cost you a dime. (This doesn't mean that I don't need socks from my wife and kids!) These three gifts will also not directly benefit me but will benefit you, those around you, and society as a whole. Can you help make my birthday the best ever by doing three simple things? Read on...
Will you commit your life to Jesus Christ and pray and work to see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven? Will you join me in taking back our nation? Will you gather 10 Personhood Petitions in the next week to help us end abortion in Florida and the US? Read on...
Will you commit your life to Jesus Christ and pray and work to see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven? Over 2,000 years ago, God sent His son into the world to pay the price you and I deserved to pay for our sins. The Bible tells us in Romans that he died while we were dead in our trespasses of sin. Because of His sacrifice, our sins can be forgiven! If you haven't done so already, I urge you to commit your life to Christ. If you're already a Christian, I urge you to examine your life and make sure that you are in the faith. Serve Him as fervently as you did when you first accepted Christ as Savior.
There's more to this request, however. Jesus didn't just come to save us from our sins. He came to rule the world, and He has asked us to pray and work to see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Most Christians today believe this is impossible since their eschatology teaches them that things must get worse and worse until Christ comes back to rescue His pathetic church who will fail to carry out His great commission. I submit to you, that had the apostles though the way many Christians think today, they would have never left the upper room! Had Martin Luther held this pessimistic view, he never would have nailed those 99 thesis to the door of the church and launched the Reformation that led the church out of the dark ages. Had the other reformers believe the church would never triumph, they wouldn't have laid down their lives so that the truth of the gospel could be preached, heard, and read in our native tongues. Had the Pilgrims and the Puritans believed the best days of the church were behind her, they would have never left England. Had our founding fathers believed their mission was doomed, they wouldn't have pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to establish this great experiment in self government we call the United States of America. Friends, we do not find ourselves in our current dilemma because of end times prophesy. We find ourselves in this dilemma because we have sat idly by while a few wicked men and women have stolen our country from us, but there is still hope. We can still turn back to God and take this country back! That leads me to my next birthday request.
Will you join me in taking back our nation? We sat idly by and gave the mercy ministries to the government not realizing the truth in the principle Jesus taught His disciples: he who serves, leads. We sat by when the Federal Reserve board was created. We sat by when our money was devalued by changing and then eliminating the gold standard. We sat by when evolution (the idea that nothing created everything out of nothing and that by random mutation) replaced the idea that we were created by God and have a special purpose in life. We stood by as the sexual norms were loosened so that men and women did whatever they wanted to do with whomever they wanted to do it with, without any regard for the consequence. We stood by as the courts allowed the consequences of such action, preborn babies, to be murdered by abortion. We stood by when prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments were removed from public schools and from nearly every area of public life. And we've stood by while politicians of both parties have overburdened us with regulation, charged tax rates that our founding fathers never fathomed, and have borrowed so much that our great grandchildren will pay for the irresponsibility spending in Washington. We have been silent for far too long. We simply cannot stand by any longer! We must stand up and take our country back! Will you join me in taking our country back? Much damage has been done, and God's fierce wrath awaits us for departing from Him as a nation; however, there is hope if we turn back to God. As we read in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Will you gather 10 Personhood Petitions in the next week to help us end abortion in Florida? When we look at our wicked ways, the biggest issue we must deal with is not losing our freedoms, taxation, regulations, etc. The biggest issue facing our country today is abortion. We have now killed over 50,000,000 preborn children by abortion. Each year we stand by while 1,200,000 babies in the US, over 95,000 babies in Florida, and 1,000 babies in Fort Pierce are ripped to pieces with a suction machine, cut apart piece by piece, burned to death with saline solution, or mostly delivered prior to crushing their skulls. Each form of abortion is horrific and should be unthinkable. God promises to judge nations and communities that stand by and allow this kind of bloodshed to take place. The right to life is the preeminent right we possess. Our founders placed this right before liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness because without life you can't posses any other right. Our founders rightly stated that our right to life comes FROM OUR CREATOR (written in all caps for Mr Obama who chose to omit these words in several speaches) and that no person shall be deprived of life... without due process. Our constitution doesn't define who is a person however. In the past, black men and women were considered non-persons and could be owned. Today, preborn children, the elderly, and the sick are considered non-persons. We are working to pass personhood amendments or acts in over 40 states. These would define persons to include all humans, including preborn children, the elderly, and the infirmed. In Florida, we need to gather over 700,000 petition signed by registered voters to get the Florida Personhood Amendment on the ballot. Will you gather 10 Personhood Petitions in the next week to help us end abortion in Florida? (If you gather 1,000 petitions, we'll give you a Personhood FL t-shirt!) If you live in another state, will you ask your friends in Florida to gather petitions or even come to Florida yourself for a personhood vacation? (If you live in a northern state, this would be a great reason to escape the cold weather, so come suffer for the Lord in sunny Florida!) You can learn more about Personhood FL and download the Personhood Florida petition at http://www.PersonhoodFL.com. You can learn more about personhood amendments and acts in other states at Personhood USA's website: http://www.PersonhoodUSA.com.
Will you help make this birthday my best ever by giving me these three gifts? Will you commit your life to Jesus Christ and pray and work to see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven? Will you join me in taking back our nation? Will you gather 10 Personhood Petitions in the next week to help us end abortion in Florida and the US?
P.S. I realize that I have touched on several concepts in this post without fully laying the foundation for holding such positions. I have preached sermons on all of these concepts, however, where I have laid forth the grounds for such beliefs using scripture as the basis for such beliefs. If you have any questions, feel free to ask your question by commenting to this post, and I will respond with links where I more fully lay out the principles.
