Restored: Joy - Audio
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We come to church for like a lot of different reasons. You know, the Christmas time, it's a lot of times to remind us of what really matters and why we exist on this earth. A lot of times we come to church because we got problems. And we hope that maybe the guy will get up there and give us some good advice on how to deal with those problems. You know, but this isn't the time for that because the time of Christmas is not about good advice. And there's nothing wrong with good advice. Good advice is great. There's plenty of things that we can help here with, you know, marriage problems and financial problems and understanding God problems. We have lots of different things that we can address, but Christmas is not for that. Christmas is about good news, not good advice. And so, let's just look at this little piece, the bit that the kids were talking about where the shepherds are in the field and they're scared. It's in Luke 2, let's look at that together. Nearby, shepherds were living in the fields guarding their sheep at night. The Lord's angels stood before them. The Lord's glory shone around them and they were terrified. And then this happens. The angels speak. The angels said, "Don't be afraid. "Look, I bring good news to you. "Wonderful, joyous news for all people. "Your Savior is born today in David's city. "He is Christ the Lord." And this is a sign for you. You will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, "Glory to God in heaven on earth peace "among those whom he favors." This is the common English Bible translation. I really love it because it hits that bit about the good news. Wonderful, joyous news. The Greek there is you, Angelidzo Megakara, which is a kind of a fancy construction. The old way of translating it, if you remember the New King James, is good tidings of great joy, right? Well, really what's going on is I'm announcing to you, you know, Angelidzo, I'm announcing to you good news.
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Christmas is Good News, not good advice, and it is for everybody. It is the proclamation that the true King is here and that is where we have joy, knowing for sure that the King has come and He has made it right and all we have to do is believe.