{"id":23014,"date":"2020-01-02T09:31:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T14:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=23014"},"modified":"2020-02-08T12:32:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T17:32:46","slug":"christ-is-born-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=23014","title":{"rendered":"Christ is Born… For YOU!"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 1 2020, our signboard said…<\/p>\n

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CHRIST IS BORN…<\/span><\/p>\n

FOR YOU!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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So… what did you get for Christmas?\u00a0 Most people spend Christmas morning with their family under a tree.\u00a0 They exchange wrapped gifts, \"\"tear them open, and then marvel (or pretend to marvel) at what was given to them.\u00a0 That’s the ideal family image, anyway.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

But what’s the real gift?\u00a0 Even if we do exchange gifts, the stuff we get on Christmas Day is soon forgotten.\u00a0 Maybe they’re great gifts that you really love, but it eventually wears out.\u00a0 Or it becomes obsolete.\u00a0 Or maybe, it doesn’t fit, it’s ugly, you don’t like it, and you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.\u00a0 After all, it is the thought that counts.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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For Unto Us…<\/span><\/h3>\n

“For unto us a child is born.\u00a0 Unto us- a Son is given…”<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone who has heard or sang Handel’s Messiah can instantly recall those words. The prophet Isaiah wrote these words about 700 years before Jesus was born.\u00a0 They’re recorded in Isaiah 9:6:<\/p>\n

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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

KJV<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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For Unto YOU…<\/span><\/h3>\n

On the first Christmas Eve, a group of Bethlehem angels was tending their sheep, minding their own business, when an angel appeared to them.\u00a0 When the angel spoke to the shepherds, he put a bit of a twist on Isaiah’s prophecy.\u00a0 Here’s what the angel said (Luke\u00a0 2:10-11): \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you<\/span> good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

For unto you<\/span> is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

KJV<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“For unto YOU.”\u00a0 Isaiah was talking about a King for an entire nation.\u00a0 The angel narrowed that down and talked about a Lord for individual people.\u00a0 He changed the “Us” to a “You.”\u00a0 This single edit changed the Messiah from a national identity into a personal experience.\u00a0 He is born for all people… even for you!\u00a0 Unto YOU good news is given.\u00a0 Unto YOU has come a Savior…<\/p>\n

This was huge news!\u00a0 In fact, immediately after the single angel appeared to the shepherds, he was joined by a “multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.<\/span><\/em>” (Luke 2:13-14).\u00a0 It wasn’t enough for a lone angel to give this message.\u00a0 This was something that had been planned throughout eternity, and it demanded a big response.<\/p>\n

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IS Born…<\/span><\/h3>\n

When the angels came to the shepherds on that first Christmas Eve, they didn’t announce that Christ WAS born.\u00a0 The angels said that Christ IS born.\u00a0 What’s the difference?\u00a0 Is, Was, Has Been???\u00a0 If this announcement were simply a report of an event, any form of past tense could have been used. \u00a0 But there’s something ongoing about the word “Is.”\u00a0 He was born as a historical fact, He is still alive as a Biblical fact.\u00a0 And yet, can He continue to be born (in a spiritual sense) to us every day?\u00a0 Through every difficult moment, can Christ be born?\u00a0 Through every temptation, can Christ be born?\u00a0 Through every celebration, can Christ be born?\u00a0 Is Christ being born to us THIS day???\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Unto ME!<\/span><\/h3>\n

So we return to our first question:\u00a0 What did you get for Christmas?\u00a0 What was given “unto you?”\u00a0 Is it something that will wear out and soon be forgotten?\u00a0 Or is it something that keeps giving itself throughout all of the moments of your life?\u00a0 Is it something eternal?<\/p>\n

Clothes, books, gift cards are far from eternal.\u00a0 But God tells us that Unto ME is born this day (and every day) a Savior.\u00a0\u00a0 We’re saved from all of the things that temporary gifts can’t rescue us from.\u00a0 The Gift that is constantly being born unto me constantly meets my never ending needs.\u00a0 I am saved from guilt, from feelings of worthlessness, from pride, from selfishness. \u00a0 Instead, I’m given hope, love, joy, peace, and faith.\u00a0 And as long as I keep depending on God, these gifts keep flowing.\u00a0 They never run out, they never wear out.<\/p>\n

If Christ IS born unto you this day, you’ve got to say that this Christmas treated you pretty well!<\/p>\n

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On Christmas Eve, Pastor Jim preached on this same topic.\u00a0 Click the below thumbnail to view the article about his sermon
\n(use your browser’s “back” button to return to this page<\/span><\/em>).<\/p>\n

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For Unto YOU (Christmas Eve, 2019)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n