12.25.17 | Christmas Eve 2017
The Light
Noel Heikkinen
Matthew 2:1-16
The Christmas season is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God as a mere human being. Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is also known as “The True Light” who illuminates the darkness in the world. Pastor Noel Jesse Heikkinen shares how Jesus came into the world to conquer the darkness (sin) that plagues the world and the implications on our lives. As Christ is “The True Light,” followers of Jesus Christ are also blinking lights that point others to “The True Light,” Jesus Christ.
Various Scriptures
- Live Notes
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet…”
When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
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