Call to Worship
Isaiah 43:5-9a
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
  I will bring your children from the east
  and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
  and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
  and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
  whom I created for my glory,
  whom I formed and made.”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
  who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together
  and the peoples assemble.

When Israel was in exile, far from home, scattered and battered and broken, God spoke and promised a great homecoming.  Children from the North and South, East and West would return home.  Those that God created and formed and called, he would bring together so that all nations would gather, so that all the people would be there.
What God promised through Isaiah came to pass when Jesus was born.  God came and brought people from all of Israel and even wise men from distant lands.  In the same way we are called to come.  We are invited to come and worship, to listen to the choir sing today and travel from our own north and south, east and west and take our place at the manger.
















Narration #1, page 19

Narration #2
This advent season we have been singing and listening to what we sing.  For the last two weeks we have looked at a phrase or verse from a carol and talked about singing our way through the season.  Last week we talked about and sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing.  We focused on the promise that in Christ peace has come to earth along with mercy mild to bring us comfort.  Today I want you to think again about Hark the Herald Angels Sing because the choir just finished with it saying, glory to the new born King.  When Jesus is born he doesn’t look like a new born King.  Kings aren’t born in stables.  They aren’t born to parents on the run.  They aren’t born with questions about paternity.  They don’t forget to make reservations at the Inn.

It is all wrong, but not quite all is wrong.  Jesus is born in the right town, in Bethlehem, in the city of David.  The place that Micah spoke about saying, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”  That is a clue.  It is a hint.  It is a promise.  It is an invitation to see that this child’s birth is actually just what God planned, to come and be a king for the people among the people.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing continues and in the second line extends this invitation:  Veiled in flesh the God-head see, Hail th’incarnate diety.  Jesus doesn’t look like a King and he doesn’t look like God-with-us either.  Would God come and undergo gestation and delivery to enter the world as a helpless child?
Yet, this is how God, according to 1 John 4, shows his love for us, that he sent his only Son to be the king, to be God with us.  And this son who comes, Matthew tells us, is to be named Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” because he will save his people from their sins.   
So, if we gather at the manger and see the king, see the God-head veiled in the flesh of a Jewish baby, then we also see that we need a savior.  To gather at the manger and see this is to see into our hearts.  As we look from Jesus to ourselves we will inevitably see that we aren’t in sync with God’s plan, and will and love.  

As you see the savior and your sin, know this as well:  Jesus didn’t come  to earth to condemn us for our sins; he came to save us from them.

Narration #3
Is Jesus the Fairest?  When you come to the manger and see the new born king, the Son of God wrapped in swaddling clothes, do you sing?  Do you see him and know that he is your savior?  Do you see the gift of God for all the children of God?  
If you don’t or haven’t in a long time, then let the choir pray this next song for you.  As they sing ask God to open your eyes and ears so that you can hear the story and see the King and know that your sins are forgiven by and through the Fairest Lord Jesus.
Narration #4

No accidental Gatherings

If we read the gospels carefully we see that nothing happens by accident.  Each person that gathers around the manger is supposed to be there.  The shepherds, Mary, Joseph and the wise men are there  to see God breaking into our world, coming to save, lying in a manger.  Each person comes from a different place, adds a different layer of meaning and goes back to a different place to share the news of God’s grace.
This carefully crafted dramatic character is clear from the beginning of the gospel stories.  For example, when the angel comes to tell Zacheria that Elizabeth will have a son, this happens because God is answering his prayer.  This son who is coming as an answered prayer will bring Zacheria and Elizabeth joy, will bring others back to the Lord their God and will prepare the way for the Lord.  His birth isn’t an accident; it flows out of God’s will and will bring about the Lord’s glory.
In the same way, an angel comes to Mary to tell her that she will bear a son, that he will be great and that he will be called the Son of the Most High.  Here again God sends an angel, makes a promise and reveals that his will is being done on earth just as it is done in heaven.
This carefully coordinated drama continues to develop when Caeser orders his decree and Mary and Joseph travel to Bethelem.  As they move to the right place the right time approaches.  And then, Mary and Joseph arrive to late for the inn but right in time to be where they should be. The shepherds get the message and come down out the hills and get there to see the birth.

It all happens-not by accident-as an expression of the good pleasure of God to gather people around the manger and reveal his grace.

No Accidental Gathering

In the same way that God moved in and through Mary and Joseph, sending angels to the Shepherds, drawing the wise men to Jesus, God continues to bring us to the place where his grace is made known.  Working through the Spirit the Father brings us together.  We are a long way from the manger and yet we aren’t not here by accident.  

Paul had this sense of God working, coordinating, conforming things to his will, to gather all things together at the right time, at the right place to make his grace known.  In Ephesians 1:3-14 he invites us to see things as he does, to share in this perspecitve shaped by God’s will, leading to God’s grace.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

What is Paul saying in this exceedingly long and complex sentence?

1. God has blessed with all his blessing in Christ;
2. In the same way that he blesses us in Christ he chooses us in Christ
   1. before the foundation of the world;
   2. to make us holy.
3. Key to sharing this ‘no accident perspective’ is to grasp that in love God predestines us
   1. for adoption as children
   2. in Christ
   3. for himself
   4. that this is God’s good pleasure
      1. to bring us home praising him,
      2. to give us joy in his grace
      3. to cover us with forgiveness.
4. It is God’s will at just the right time and place and in this way to sum all things in Jesus Christ.
5. It is his will to let us know of his salvation by giving us the Spirit here and now.  

What does this all mean?

1. that you aren’t here by accident.
2. That you weren’t supposed to be
   1. at the manger
   2. by the lake where Jesus taught
   3. at cross
   4. on the mountain when the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples having defeated death.
3. Instead-it is God’s good pleasure-to meet you here and now, in this place and at this time to share his grace, to forgive you for your sins and to free you to praise his name.

This also means that just as the shepherd added something to the gathering at the manger and went back with a unique message to share, so to you add something and have a unique perspective from which to share the good news.  Just as the songs of the wise men, uttered in different tongues along different roads added to the songs of heaven, so to our songs in a different language sung through these winding hills adds to the harmony of heaven.  To know that is to know that your life comes from and is caught up in God’s good pleasure, nothing is an accident.  So praise him and bless him.