Emmanuel

Yesterday I was privileged to gather with other believers and celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ in our daily lives.  I am truly blessed and excited about the presence of Christ is my life on a daily basis.  There are many reasons to rejoice during this season of Christmas but one of the most important ones revolves around the promise stated in the Matthew passage concerning Emmanuel.  Here is an excerpt of a portion of the sermon that I delivered at New River Worship Center in Radcliff, Kentucky.

Matthew 1:23, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

The Christmas story contains many stories within the scope of the Christmas story.  We can read the story of the shepherds keeping watch over their sheep at night. We can read the story of the wise men making the long trip to worship the Christ child. We also can read the portion of the story that makes the declaration that "Jesus would be the Savior of the world."  Certainly the story of Christmas produced many great and wonderful benefits to the family of God but one of the most important announcements is found in our text in verse 23. The baby that would be born to Mary and Joseph would be called "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Hidden in all of the miracles of the Christmas story may be the greatest miracle of all of them. God, through Jesus Christ would make Himself available to mankind. He would take this opportunity to open the door of relationship with every human being who would choose to receive and embrace Him as Savior. This simple statement found in this story may not excite us but the implication of this statement is the basis of our hope and faith. God offered a plan in which He would draw near to humanity and we would have the wonderful opportunity to serve Him. I truly believe that God is calling us to celebrate the wonderful promise spoken in Matthew.