O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: “Rejoice! Rejoice!” Luke 2.10-12
The Good News of great joy for all people is that Jesus, the child born in the city of David, is the true Messiah, the Lord.
Our Focus Today
The prophesied birthplace of Messiah was Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born.
Invocation
Thank you Lord for your gracious promise, that the Messiah would be born in King David’s birthplace, the town of Bethlehem. Jesus our Lord was born to Mary in that very village. We acknowledge your gracious promise, and your faithful word that you have fulfilled in your Son’s coming to the world.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Monday: Dan. 2-3; Jer. 7.1-8.3
God fulfilled his prophetic promise that the Messiah would be born in the tiny village of Bethlehem.
Reflection
God promised that in Bethlehem Ephrathah, the tiny village among the various towns of Judah, the Messiah would come forth for him, the one chosen to become the ruler in Israel for the world, whose coming was from ancient times of old.
Benediction
Your word is certain and sure, heavenly Father. As you prophesied through Micah of the Savior’s birthplace, so it came about in the birth of Jesus. Be glorified, dear Lord, and continue to honor your great word of salvation and deliverance that this same Jesus will return and reign in the Kingdom to come. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Scripture Memory
Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Book Reading and Reflection
“Obedience is the very nucleus of worship. If you forget everything else, remember this. We can be broken all we want to. We can be demonstrative until the cows come home. But if we are unwilling to obey—if we refuse to do what God wants us to—then He will never pick up our broken pieces, and He will reject all of our demonstration. Valid worship begins and ends with obedience—that is, submission—to the will of almighty God. And what does He “will” for us? Holiness. It goes hand in hand with submission. It can never simply be one or the other. Obedience and holiness are required of God’s bona fide worshippers.”
~ Vernon Whaley, Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call.
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009.
Let God Arise! Focus
Amazing Grace: “Grace Will Lead Me Home”, Revelation 21.1-8
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