The Savior Born to Set Us Free

Praise the Lord, brothers and sisters. [snorts] Amen. Uh, I'll be reading Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the governments will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And this wasn't just a general event in history. It was a specific gift given directly to us. And we can stop striving to hold everything together because the weight of the world rests on his shoulders and not ours. And you know he is enough. His titles remind us that whether we need peace, strength, uh guidance, he is everything that we need right now. And God is faithful. This promise proves that God sees us, loves us, and always follows through on his word. So with that being said, let's stand up and pray for this service. Lord God, we thank you for this amazing day you've given us, Lord, for this morning, God. And we pray and we ask for you to bless the service, God. Bless the singing. Bless the preaching, God. Speak to our hearts, Lord. All praise and glory be to you, God. Thank you for coming onto this earth, God, for dying on the cross for our sins, Lord, and giving us eternal life, God. Thank you for everything. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. The first song we'll be singing is All Holy Night. Oh holy [singing] night, the [music] stars are brightly [singing] shining. It is the [music] night of our [singing] dear Savior's birth. Long lay [singing and music] the world in sin and air [music] binding [singing] till he appeared [music] and the [singing] soul felt its worth. The thrill [singing] of hope. [music] The weery world rejoicees [singing] [music] for yonder breaks. A [music and singing] new and glorious morning. Fall [music] [singing] on your knees. Oh [music] hear the angels [singing] voicees. Oh night [music and singing] divine. [music] [singing] Oh night when Christ was born. [singing] Oh night [music] divine [singing] night [music] when Christ was born [music] led by the light [singing] [music] of faith serenely being with glowing [music and singing] hearts. hearts. By his cradle we [music] stand. So [singing] led by light [music] of a star sweetly [singing] gleaming. There [music] came the wise men from [singing] land. The King [music and singing] of Kings lay us in lowly major [music] in [singing] all our trust. Born to be [singing] our friend. Fall [music] [singing] on your knees. Oh hear the angel [music and singing] voicees. Oh night [music and singing] divine [singing] long night [music] when Christ was born. [singing] All night [music] [singing] [music] when Christ [singing] was born. [music] Truly he taught [singing] us to love one [music] another. His law is [music and singing] love and his gospel is peace. Chain shall he break [singing and music] for the slave is our brother and in [music and singing] his name all oppress shall cease. [singing and music] Sweet hymns of [singing] joy in grateful [music] chlorious [singing] race we let all within us [music] praise [singing] his holy name. Christ [music] says the Lord. [singing] Oh, praise [music] his name [singing] forever. His power [music] and glory. [singing] [music] Ever more [music and singing] proclaim his power [music and singing] and glory [music] [music] for more [singing] proclaimed. And the second song is Angels We Have Heard on High. [music] [music] Angels [singing] we have heard on high [music] sweetly [singing] singing all over the [music] place. And the [singing] mountains in [music] reply, echoing [singing] their joy stra. [music] [singing] Oh, [music] [singing] in it shall [music and singing] see day. [music and singing] Oh, [music] it shall [singing] cease day. Oh, shepherds, [music] why [singing] this jubilee? Why these songs [music and singing] of happy cheer? What great brightness [singing] did you see? What [music] glad tidings [singing] did you hear? [music] Oh, [music and singing] in it shall see day. Glor. [singing and music] [music] Oh, [singing] it shall cease day. [music] [singing] Oh, come to Bethlehem and see [music] him whose birth [singing] the angels sing. [music] Come adore, unbend [music] me, Christ [singing] the Lord the newborn king. Oh. [singing] [music] Oh, [singing] in [music] it shall see day. Oh, [singing] glory. [singing] [music] Glor [singing] shall cease [music] day. [music] Come and sing a song of Christmas. Sing a song of Jesus birth. [music] Come and sing a song of Christmas. Come and praise him all the earth. Come and sing a [music and singing] song of Christmas. Sing a baby boy. Come and sing a song of [music] Christmas. Come and sing a song of joy. Come sing a song of Christmas. Sing of [music and singing] Jesus birth. Come sing a song of Christmas. Come and praise him all the earth. Come sing a song of Christmas. Sing [music and singing] baby boy. Come sing a song of Christmas. Come and sing a song of joy. Angels announced it to the shepherds [music and singing] on the hill. [music] The shepherds ran to worship Christ the king and they [music] worship sing of Jesus. Come sing the song of Christmas. [music] Come and praise him all the earth. Come sing a song of Christmas. He's not a [music] baby boy. Come and sing a song of Christmas. [singing] Come and sing a song of joy to [music] the world. Joy to the world. [music] Christmas season Jesus Christmas [music] singer [music] [music] Sing [music] a song of Christmas joy. Sing [singing] a song of Christmas joy. Sing a song of Christmas to the world. Long ago in a humble stable, a miraculous event unfolded. The birth of Jesus [music] Christ. This baby born to Mary and Joseph was no ordinary child, [music] but the son of God sent to bring light into a darkened world. Christmas is more than just a holiday. It's a celebration of the greatest gift ever given. [music] God in his infinite love sent his son into the world to save us from the [music] consequences of our sins. The message of Christmas is one of hope, redemption, and everlasting love. Jesus came not only to be born in a manger, but also to die on a [music] cross, offering salvation to all who believe in him. And let us be humbly inspired to set our focus on the selfless love that Christmas [music] brings. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. [music] [music] Mary. Did you know that [music] your baby boy would one day walk on water? [singing and music] Mary, did you know that your baby [singing] boy would save our sons [music] and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy [music and singing] has come to make you new? [music] This child that you delivered will soon [music] deliver you. Mary, did you? [music] Mary, did you [music] know that your baby boy will give sight to a [music] blind man? Mary, did you know that your [music] baby [singing] boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy [music] has walked where angels [singing] try? When you kiss your [music] little baby, you kiss the face of God. Mary, [music] [music] Mary, did you know [music] [music] the blind will see, the deaf will [singing] hear, the dead will live [music] again, the lame will The dawn will speak [music] the praises of the lamb. Mary, [singing] did you know [music] that your baby boy is Lord of [music and singing] all creation? Mary, did you know that your [music] baby boy will one day rule the [music and singing] nations? Did you know that your baby boy [music] was heaven's perfect lamb? That sleeping [music] child is afraid. I [singing] am [music] Mary, did you as a baby Jesus came from his home above. He left his throne and who he was to teach [music] us how to love. As a baby, Jesus came wrapped in swaddling cloth. Willingly took on humanity, though he was one with God. As a baby, Jesus came to one day grow to be the savior of the human race. People [music] like you and me. As a baby, Jesus came as God's eternal light that will never be extinguished but forever shine out bright. As a baby, [music] Jesus came. the hope of eternal life, reconciling us back to God, giving meaning to our lives. As a man, [music] Jesus died, his blood poured out for us all, cleansing and forgiving us. For to this, he was called. We thank him that he came a babe [music] and grew to be a man. For his sacrificial love, his nail scarred feet and hands. Through it all, we can live on with Jesus [music] Christ, our Lord. The babe that came that first Christmas is what we thank him for. Amen. Amen. Oh, little [music] town. of Bethlehem, how still we [music] see the light. Above thy deep and dreamless [music] sleep, the silent stars go by. Yet [music] in thy dark street shineth the everlasting [music] light. [singing] The [music] hopes and fears of all the years [music and singing] are met in thee tonight. Oh Christ is born of Mary and [music] gatherred all [singing] above [music] one mortal sleep. The angels [music] keep their watch of wondering love. All morning [singing] stars together proclaim [music] the holy [singing] birth and praises [music and singing] sing to God the king and peace to all [singing] the Earth. How [music] silently, how [singing] silently the wonderous [music] gift is given. [singing] So [music] God imparts to human hearts [music and singing] the blessings of his hand. [music] No [singing] ear may hear his coming. But [music and singing] in this world of sin where [music and singing] meek souls will receive him still the [singing] dear Christ [music] enters in. Oh holy [music] child [singing] of Bethlehem, descend [music and singing] to us we pray. Cast out [singing] our [music] sin and enter in. Be born [singing] in us today. [music] We [singing] hear the Christmas angels, [music] the great glad tidings. [singing] Oh, come [music] to us. Abide with [singing] us. Our Lord [music] Emmanuel. the Lord. [singing and music] Praise God. Silent night, holy [music] night, all is [singing] calm, all is bright. [music] [singing] round. Young virgin, mother and [music] child, holy so tender and mild. [music] Sleep in heavenly peace. [singing and music] Sleep in heavenly peace. [music] Silent night, holy [singing and music] night, shephers quake [singing] at the side. [music] Glorious [singing] stream from heaven [music] aar. Heavenly [singing] host sing halleluah. Christ [music and singing] the savior is born. Christ the savior [music and singing] is born. [music] Silent night. Oh [music] holy night, [singing] son of God, [music] loves pure light res [singing] from [music] thy holy face with the dawn [music] of redeeming [singing] grace. Jesus [music] Lord at thy birth. [music] Jesus Lord at thy birth. Silent [music] night, holy [singing] night, one [music] star, lamb [singing] thy light, glorious streams [singing] [music] of heaven are far. Hallelu [music] to our king. Christ my [music] savior is [singing] born. [music] Christ my savior [music] is born. Praise God. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] [singing] till the stoestes. [music] [music and singing] Yes. [music] [singing] Nash [music] on Miss [music] [singing] [singing] God. [music] I love the proje [music] of [singing] [music] us who us [music] [singing] on wheel [singing] [music] again. [music] [music] [music] [music] This is [singing] your city. Oh my [music] [music] [music] He [singing] [music] Watch this. [singing] Praise God. Amen. Praise the Lord, my dear friends. And uh this is our morning star Christian youth. Uh and we are very thankful that they took their time out of the week to prepare and uh brother Vitali, he's the choir director. Thank you everyone. Um and it was beautiful. I thought it was angel singing. Am I wrong? No, no way. No, I'm not wrong because it was angels singing. They sounded beautiful. But it's all glory to God because today is the birthday of Jesus Christ. It's his day, not our day. So, we are praising him. But before we start uh in our sermon, let's take a few minutes to uh greet each other and then we'll get into the message. Amen. Amen. [music] Guys, one, two, three. Okay, we're going to be we're going to be seating. Actually, is there a Bible in the pew here? Let me take this. Well, praise God, my dear friends. as we're going to be starting our message. And uh like I said today, it's not about us. It's about Jesus Christ. But I kind of gave away the hint because I wanted to see if we know such a man in our lives. And there's a pastor, Adrien Rogers. He said these words, and I'm like, man, that's that's [snorts] good stuff. He said he never wrote a book yet millions of books are written about him. He never made a movie yet thousands of movies, plays and documentaries are showed about him. He never held an army yet millions have laid their lives for him. His teachings have been scrutinized, tested, debated. Yet till this day, his word stands true and changes lives. His birth shook the whole world where through him where only a few got to see him but many got to hear about him. His life brought salvation to those who were perishing and his death and resurrection brought victory to all who believe in him. The question is, who is this man? Let's let's all say his name Jesus Christ. Amen. And I'll be reading from Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1. And if you have the Bibles in the pews, you can open up to page. Let's do page 1389. 1389. It doesn't even have a page number on here. And over here these passages lay the foundation to our salvation. This is where the story begins. This is where we believe begins. And over here is the birth of Christ. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. after his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found with a child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. He was ashamed. He didn't know what was going on. And so he wanted to secretly put her away. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid. Take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save people, his people, from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall be with a child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us." Then Joseph being aroused from sleep did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took him his wife and did not know her until she had brought forth her four her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. My friends, this is not an ordinary child. This is God's only son. The son obeyed the call of the father. I will go and was obedient unto death so that you and I could have life. The son of God in his glory, in his majesty, in his kingship from heaven on his throne, took off his crown, removed his royal robes, and came into this earth to save you and me that were perishing. But he came for a purpose. A purpose that gave all of us hope. A a purpose that gave us freedom from who we once were. You see, sin is the dark evil that came that tore humanity apart. When Adam and Eve sinned, we know that story. When Adam and Eve sinned, it separated them. It separated them from God. And when we sinned, it separated us from God. That's what sin did in our lives. It separated us from our creator. But Jesus Christ came to reunite us, to reunite us with God, that we can finally be with him for eternity. The same God who once walked with Adam and Eve, if you read in the book of Genesis, you will see that story. The same God who walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the wind is the same God who wants to walk with you and me. And just as Jesus Jesus Christ chose Mary, he chose Mary that through her he would come into this earth. And now we choose Jesus Christ that through him we are born into heaven into the heavenly earth. My dear friends, that's a wonderful that's a wonderful thing to know that Christ came to save you and me. So that when we so that when every soul stand before the judgment throne of God, those who made Jesus Christ their Lord and their Savior are redeemed and stand free. redeemed by his blood, forgiven and restored, renewed. And that's only through the blood of Christ because he poured it on the cross. He paid for the debts that we could never pay. And I tell you, you could never pay for all the debts, for all the sins. I could never pay for all the debts, for all the sins I have committed. But Jesus Christ, he came to to bring us a way out, to give us a way out. He came that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. He came to reunite us with the father, with the holy spirit and with the son. And over here it says, "And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." And Jesus Christ promises that he cannot that he can free you. Not just forgive you. Oh, we need forgiveness. You and I need forgiveness because we transgressed against our creator. We need forgiveness. But not only will he forgive you and me, but he will set us free. And sometimes the sin in our lives is the thing that steals everything from us. It's this thing that drags us down in the dirt. It's the thing that keeps us down. It's the thing that separates our relationships. That's what sin does. But Jesus Christ came to set us free. And my friend, we read in the Bible many different types of sins. And like there was a a brother saying a sermon on Thursday and I like the point that he said. He said, "The Bible talks about many sins." And when we think about sin, we think about something so horrible, something that a man has to do so bad. And how many times did did I hear when I talk to people about Christ and they say, "Tim, I'm not a bad person. I haven't killed nobody. I haven't raped nobody. I'm a nice guy. I help people." But my friend, the Bible says that if you hate your brother, you are already a murderer. Oh my friend, in Jesus Christ, he came to free you from your hate. Do you have hate in your heart? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have anger right now? Anger seeped in deep into your heart. Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have lust in your heart? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have gossip in your mouth? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have the lying lips? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Are you a thief? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have addiction? Jesus Christ came to free you from that. Do you have depression, anxiety? Jesus Christ came to free you from that, my friends. He came to free you from your sins, from the things that keep on dragging you in the dirt. He came to free you from that. Therefore, today Jesus is speaking to you. He came to set you free. He came to redeem you by his blood. He came to restore you by his power. And he came to renew you by his spirit. And he came to give you eternal life to reunite you with the father. The one thing that separated us was sin. But he came through him. Through him only can we be reunited with our creator. You might remember the time that you made Christ your savior. Many times do I hear, "Oh, I made Christ my savior." But the question is, did you make Christ your Lord? Jesus Christ can't be your savior until he's your lord. He cannot be your savior until you make Christ your Lord, until you fully submit under his authority. And the translation of Lord is also leader. Did you make Christ the leader in your life or is he only your savior? Well, that's not how Christ works. For him to be your savior, he has to be your Lord. Therefore, my friends, let us all think, is Christ the leader in my life? Or do I still want to do things on my own? Or do I still want to live life on my own? Or do I still want to make my own decisions? Well, my friend, I'll tell you this. Our decisions, how we want to live, it only brings us to destruction. But Christ came to deliver us from that and give you an abundant life, [music] but especially eternal life. Therefore, today, choose, choose to make him your Lord. not just your savior but submit under his authority and make him your lord and your savior. How such a perfect God came for such wicked and weak men and women then to die and then to be raised on the third day. Why did he do all of this? Why all the hassle? Why? Coming back, coming down from heaven where there's perfection, where there's beauty, coming into this sinful world where there's evil, where there's hate, where there's wickedness. Why? Why did he do such a thing? And the simple answer is love. He writes, "There is no greater love than the one who lays down his life for his friends. And he says, "And I call you my friends." It is love, my friends. It is love that sent him here. It is love that he came down. Is because of love. Is because of love he lived a perfect life. It's because of love that he took the punishment upon himself. It's because of love that he was beaten and tortured and he was thinking of you and me. It's all because of love. He wasn't trying to prove anything by coming down because he's almighty in everything. But it was because of love that he died for you and me. And today, maybe you are hearing this for the first time, but I just want to say something. Jesus Christ loves you. He loves you a lot. And if you haven't made Christ your Lord, this is the time. Don't wait because your life is just a heartbeat away. Jesus loves you and he wants to be be reunited with you. And my friends, if you feel that you haven't felt that love, Jesus Christ is calling you today to not just be born in this earth, but to be born in your heart. So that through him, you can be reunited and born spiritually, [music] eternally in heaven. And with those words, let's pray. Amen. Lord God, we thank you, Lord, for this time, God, that we could celebrate your birthday, Lord Jesus. We thank you so much, God, that you came down on this earth because of love, Lord, because you loved us so much. We are not deserving of you, Lord God. Yet, God, through you, you redeemed us. You saved us, God. You washed us clean that we can be reunited with you, Lord. God, I bless each person here, Lord God. And you know, there's somebody here that needs you right now, Lord. There's somebody here that's that's longing for that love, Lord God. May they know that you are love. And if they accept you as their Lord and as their Savior, God, you will complete them. You will renew them and you will restore them, Lord Jesus. May they give their life to you today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. And for our last song, we'll be singing Oh Come, O Come Emmanuel. Oh come, [music and singing] oh come Emmanuel and [music and singing] ransom captive isel that [music] mourns in lonely [singing] here until [music] the son of God appear. Rejoice, [music and singing] rejoice. Emmanuel shall [music] come to thee, O [singing] Israelel. Oh, [singing] come thou rod of Jessie, free, thine [music and singing] own from Satan's tyranny. from [music and singing] depths of hell. Thy people save and [music] give [singing] them victory over the grave. [music] Rejoice, [singing] rejoice. Emmanuel [music] shall [singing] come to thee, O Israelel. Oh come thou [singing and music] days free. Come and cheer our spirits by thine adventure. Disperse [music and singing] the gloomy clouds of night and death dark [music and singing] shadows to flight. Rejoice, [singing and music] rejoice. Emmanuel shall [music and singing] come to thee, Oel. Make your [music and singing] sea of David. Come and open [singing] wide our heaven weh. [music] Make safe the way that [singing] leads on high. and close the [music and singing] path to misery. Rejoice, [music and singing] rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O [music and singing] Israelel. Rejoice, rejoice. Immuel [music] shall [singing] come to thee. O Isel [music] God. My dear friends, our service has come to the end and I just want to say thank you everybody for serving and thank you everybody for coming. Hold on Greg, you'll get your time. But it was a beautiful morning. And the most important thing is that we did it from our heart because today we are giving praise and honor to Jesus Christ who came on this earth. We are celebrating his birthday and may he be glorified and praised. Now needs or any thankfulnesses. [music] Greg raised his hand. So Greg, you're first. Amen. Amen to that. God always looks after his. Yeah. Amen. Okay. And Christina also she um she she has some some chest pain. So we'll pray for that. Okay. Yes. Anybody else? And just a reminder that after service those that have some time uh we'll go down and uh we'll have a Christmas breakfast. Um, James has been already preparing since Friday. Since Friday. So, he has his little team that they're preparing. He's excited. He's stressing, but I'm like, "Brother, don't stress. Whatever you make is always good." Amen to that. And we'll bless him. Yes, Sean. Okay. Okay, you guys are testing me already. Okay. Okay. Let's pray, guys. Lord God, thank you. Thank you for this time, Lord Jesus, and that you hear us, God. Lord God, accept accept from us all this praise and all this honor to you, God. This is all to you, Lord. Not to us, God. But we we praise you and we worship you, God, because you came on this earth because of love, Lord God. And we also pray for the needs, Lord Jesus. You say that you came, God, to heal. You came to the sick, not to the well, Lord God. And we pray today for the needs, Lord God. We pray for for um Christina, Lord. you see that that she has I would say chest pains Lord and we ask for full healing upon her in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask for full healing upon her. We also pray for Henry and for uh Gwen Lord God. May you bless them God and heal their hearts, heal their souls and heal their bodies, Lord Jesus. We also pray for Greg, Lord God. May you bless him in this week and may you give him strength to fight fight fight for you Lord Jesus Christ. Lord God, we also pray for Shawn's need. May you uh bless his uh brother, Lord God. And may he do well, God. And you come into his heart, God. May you save him, Lord. Lord Jesus, because that's what you came for, God. And we give today all honor and all praise to you, my father and my king in Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sinned against us. [music] Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.