Christmas Eve Eve

Matthew 1:18-1518 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. ILLUSTRATION: love to hike, always slowest one.  skinny people when big guy gets there, they are ready to go again… came to Christ, Colorado - huge mountain-Youth pastor came back and walked with me…-learned about gospel that day than I had from years of sermons… The thing that separates Christianity from every other religion is that in Christianity God came down to walk WITH us. that’s why Matthew says - “They will call him Immanuel” Immanuel is a Hebrew word that means God with us-It means that God saw struggles-He saw how sin had a hold of our lives-He saw all of your disfunction  And He entered into the mess to set you free CLOSING ILLUSTRATION: Finding out about G…  Heartbreaking news…Came to Christ, lost everything, but never lost his faith - God walked through with Him   prepare for Christmas fun and beauty of it, slow down remember the birth of Jesus.  more than ever, convinced Cross matters…Christmas is about the cross, not the cradle  COMMUNION: cradle led to the cross which led to confidence in our eternal destination… never made a decision to follow Jesus…  Why not do that today-He came to walk through life with you!  Like He walked through it with my friend.   partake of Communion