Beacon Sunday Service December 24th 2023

And of course, um, we had our Christmas service last week, but um just a joy to the world because um because of our Lord Jesus Christ, um our c our uh call to worship this morning uh comes from Philippians two, five to eight. If you could all stand um this call to worship, um again comes from Philippians. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Amen. Amazing truth that um because of his death on a cross, uh we are able to celebrate and we're able to be alive. Um why don't we all uh respond in a song of worship? Oh holy night holy night, the stars are brightly shining it is the night of the dear saviors the world in sin and everything till he appeared, and the soul felt its word the weary world rejoices for yonder brings a new and voice born on your knees, oh he the angel voices when Christ was born holy night Oh night by the light of faith's with glowing hearts by his praise we stand by life of a star sweetly here came the white and the real king of lay the single nature in all our friends born to be our friend He's no stranger be hold your king before me bend before be your king before him gladly bend to us to love one another his law is love and his gospel is peace shall he pray for the slaves our brother and in his name all oppression shall cease with himself in grateful core restraints we let all with him us praise for name Christ is a Lord Oh praise his name for his and for more proud angel sing to the newborn king peace on earth and mercy my old God and sinners reckon joyful nations rise join the triumph of the skies with angelic host proclaim Christ is born in death heart the hell angels sing to the newborn king Christ by heaven Christ the everlasting Lord in time behold him come offspring of the virgin's wings filled in flesh the God has seen held in carnival as man with men to dwell Jesus our manual heart the hell old angel sing to the newborn king born prince a peak hell, the sun of righteousness, life, and life to all he brings, risen with heaving in his mouth he lays his glory by high born that man no more may born to raise the sun the earth, born to give them second birth, for the hell who the angel sing, glory to the newborn king.

This morning we will confess our faith using the Westminster larger catechism. In this question and answer, we will confess how the moral law is useful to all men. Question of what use is the moral law to all men. The moral law is of use to all men to inform them of the holy nature and will of God and of their duty, binding them to walk accordingly, to convince them of their disability to keep it, and of the sinful pollution of their nature, hearts and lives, to humble them in the sense of their sin and misery, and thereby help them to clear sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience. Amen.

Um, so you can just join along as you get the song. Um it's called The Song of Moses.

Oh, praise the Lord, Almighty Warrior, praise the Lord, the glorious one, by his hand, we stand in victory, by his name, we overcome through the storms of help pursue in darkest night. We worship you, you divide the raging sea from death to life, you save me.

Praise the Lord, the glorious one, by his hand we stand in victory, by his name, we overcome all the saints and angels bow, host of heaven, crying out glory, glory to the king, you reign for all eternity. Oh, praise the Lord, our mighty warrior, oh praise the Lord, the glorious one, and by his hand for we stand in victory, by his name, we overcome the Lord shall reign forever and ever shall reign forever and ever the Lord shall reign forever and ever shall reign forever and everise the Lord Almighty Warrior Praise the Lord for the glorious one by his hand who we send in victory by his name we overcome all praise the Lord Almighty Warrior praise the Lord the glorious one by his hand we stand in dictory by his name we overcome Good morning everyone um so at this time we're gonna have our corporate confession of sin and um I've explained it I think at a weekly basis so I think everyone would know we're a small group so um I'm just gonna we're just gonna lead us into this corporate time and then we're gonna have a personal silent time of confession.

So together you are the Lord, you alone, you have made heaven, the earth, the seas, and all that is in them. The host of heaven worships you, forgive us from stiffening our necks and not trusting your word. We have refused to obey and have not been mindful of your wondrous works. You who are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Forgive us for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Please be seated. We're not gonna have a silent time of confession to our Lord.

The Lord our God is in our midst, the mighty one who will save.

Since it's only us and it's our just um, we're all I guess members of our this church here. Uh, just to give you a quick update on just where we are as in our pastoral searches, uh, we actually were able to. Well, we've been in discussions with a pastor named Dean Madison, who is um he is a pastor emeritus at his current church in Palmdale, which means he was the head pastor and he uh retired there. Um, but he's actually our guest speaker for next week or the next two weeks after this after today. Uh and we're hoping that he would just kind of be uh that we would be able to kind of have him as um uh just an ongoing speaker until we find a new pastor. Uh he's he's someone that really is passionate about the Lord and and we're really excited.

He's a bit older, which is why we we're not like considering him a candidate. But what I will ask of us to pray for is just that um he agrees to stay until we are able to find a pastor because he I think he does want to help us transition into the new pastor that we find. So that's the first thing is just to pray for him. Uh it is like an hour and change drive from Palmdale every Sunday, and he's in his mid to late sixties, I believe. So the fact that he's willing to do this for the next two weeks and hopefully more uh would be a blessing. And so let's pray for his safety. But two, um, this upcoming year, let's just also pray for our pastor to come. Um I know we've been hearing in our search that there's churches who haven't been able to find pastors for like over two years, and there's just still functioning churches.

Um I really don't want it to go that long. But what I will ask is for us to continuously pray faithfully that the Lord has someone in mind and that their path hasn't crossed ours yet. And when those that time comes, uh we would be um that that we would both know that our church and this pastor would to come would know that you know it was because the Lord brought us together. And the last thing is in boldness, let's pray for the growth of our ministry. Um I know that even in the midst of everything, it's been like a hectic year. Um, and so um in faith, let's just ask that the Lord blesses us with just more faithful people who um love the Lord and want who want to be a part of a faithful community.

I think the beacon, we are a unique church. We're cre we're a Korean Baptist functioning church in K Town, and you don't have many of those, right? You're either Presbyterian or Methodist. And so we've actually been getting so much support um from other churches who know that we're looking for a pastor, and they want us to succeed, you know, and and so we've gotten contacted by a lot of different uh churches who are just saying what a blessing it is for us to be to even exist here in K Town, where we are. And so let's pray for those three things. His name is Pastor Dean Madison. Let's pray for our pastor, and let's pray for spiritual growth and growth of our ministry this upcoming year. And with in faith, I know that the Lord will provide, and as long as we're faithful to him, um, we will be blessed as a ministry.

So let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this time where we just lift up three things to you. First, we lift up our brother uh Dean Madison, Pastor Dean Madison, who's coming to speak the next couple weeks with hopefully a longer engagement in the future. And uh we just pray, Father, for just some stability in and having a regular face here at the pulpit to bring the word. We pray for blessing upon him. We pray that you would fill him with the Holy Spirit and guide him as he prepares for his sermon uh this week and next. Um, and and also we just ask, Father, that you guide and watch over him and and just his safety, his passage here to our church from Palmdale. Uh we pray that you bless him and keep him healthy during this time during the season.

We father, we also ask for our pastor, uh, that you would provide someone for us who um you have in mind, uh, a faithful brother that would who loves you, is passionate about you, and who is a biblical preacher who is uh would be great with uh fit of our ministry, and uh one that when our when we meet this person, uh that we would know, Father, that he was brought to us, that you put us together, uh, that that is our hope, that is sooner than later, Father, that we will be able to find this brother here. Uh, we also pray, Father, that you bless our ministry, even though we are small, even though that it has been a trial without a shepherd, uh, to to be uh to lead us and to be a part of our ministry.

Lord, we're s we're hanging tough. We're we're still here and being as faithful as we can to your word, to being a community, and we ask that in faith, even though we don't have a pastor or shepherd, Lord, that we will continue to grow, uh, not only spiritually, Father, but uh just as a ministry itself, we know that with that we will be able to support with more with more people with more growth, we'll be able to support somebody that um would be able to suit our needs here as a full-time minister. So, Lord, we ask, Father, in faith that you provide these things. We thank you, and in Jesus name you pray, amen. Okay, so I'm gonna uh dismiss our kids, my kids. Have a good Sunday school. Please listen to teacher Tiffany very well.

Um and while they're gone or they're going, heading out, I guess we will have a few announcements. Um next week, even though it is uh New Year's Eve, we will still be meeting like we did today. Uh, like I said, Pastor Dean Madison will be speaking next week. Uh and so please come normal time, 10 30 here. Uh another announcements are in the same um children's ministry sign up sheet. So if anything has come up where you can actually meet uh your arranged um help helping week, please look at the sheet and uh fill in another date that you'll be able to help out. And then our offering options are Zell, Venmo, Cash, and check. Uh since this one, two, three, four, five of us, including Alex. Um, well, uh, let's read the scripture passage first, and then um we'll kind of go into our devotional for today.

Um so let's stand for the reading of God's word. It's it's all of Genesis chapter three, so it's gonna be a long reading. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say you should not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sowed fiddly fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called called to the man and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring, you he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing in pain, you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you, in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles they shall bring forth of you, and you shall eat the plant plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread to your return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living, and the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, and knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take unto take also the tree from sorry, take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden, he placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Sorry, that was a long passage, I know, but relevant to today's Christmas devotion. So I'll kind of be more casual and I'll won't be at the pulpit, I guess, because it's I don't think it's necessary.

I'm huh. Oh, hello. Okay. So let's all move closer, and we have um handouts in the back with pens, please. So if everyone could grab a devotion. And so as you guys are grabbing uh the paper, um, whoever is online, if you actually want the worksheet, I can have uh uh Alex send it to you. Just message him via Zoom or is it YouTube, and uh just um let him know, and I can send you the worksheet. Okay. So we just read, um well, there was kind of a progression in which I wanted this devotion to go. Obviously, we know Christmas is about the birth of Christ, right?

But I think it was important for us to kind of go over why he was needed. And so um kind of heard something recently, I don't remember where, so I wish I could give the credit, but it was an interesting parallel of the lives of Moses and Christ. And so leading up to part two, which is the law, which is kind of or I already gave away the answer, but um, I wanted to go over the reasons why, and maybe have a discussion on what happened that led to the birth of Christ. So, first things first, the sin. The two spaces, I'll give you one guess. Blank and blank. It's from our reading today, so Genesis chapter three, verses one through twenty-four.

Yes, Adam and Eve. So it's important for us to see the thing that transpired what led to the necessity of Christ. And so the question is, what did one sin do to our relationship with God? So take a few minutes, kind of just focus and contemplate on what Genesis what we just read in Genesis 3 1 through twenty-four. And then I want you to write something and we can have a short discussion about what your thoughts are. It is pretty straightforward, but in your mind, I want you to kind of start going to that place of just thinking it through about what happened in the Garden of Eden.

Does anyone want to share what they wrote or what their thoughts are? What did one sin do to our relationship with God? Yes. Yes. One sin separated our relationship from God the Father. What else did it do to us? Is anyone else? Pretty much what everyone thought.

Yes. Broke our relationship with God. Um created death for us, um, generational sin, and started the redemption story or our redemption story in Christ to come. Uh yeah, so it's recognizing that that had happened, right? Um in 1 John chapter 1, or sorry, John chapter 1. What what is the very first line? In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God, right? So the in in knowing that in scripture, meaning that Jesus was there when it happened, right? That he was there from the very beginning. So he was there. And so Jesus knew that the moment that the sin took place, that his time was going to come. So that's important for us to know. Okay, so let's go on to section two.

So section one was very straightforward, right? Like everybody knows Adam and Eve, sin occurred. Now what happens? So there's a very beautiful symmetry if when we parallel the lives of Moses and Jesus. So what I'm gonna do is some of these things are just informational, and there's so many. It's like a lot. Um when I kind of like look through scripture, and I was like trying to be like, oh yeah, this happened, and then this happened to Jesus. So what I'm gonna do is everybody, because it is a devotion, I want us to use our Bibles to kind of look up scripture. Uh and so everyone's gonna have a turn opening up scripture. So I'm gonna say John is one, Lily is two, Alex three, uh Daniel four, Alex in the back, five.

And so we're just gonna kind of go one through five, one through five, one through five. And so you're gonna be looking up the uh scripture on the right. So Matthew chapter one, verse eighteen through twenty-five is John, Matthew two, chapter ver verses one through four is Lily, so on and so forth. So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna read the Moses side. So the old testament law, Moses side, and what you guys are gonna do is see how that correlates with Jesus, okay. So Moses, the sub the idea of Joseph, okay? So Exodus chapter one, verses one through eight. These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household. Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher, all the descendants of Jacob were 70 persons.

Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation, but the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly. They multiplied and grew exceedingly strong so that the land was filled with them. Now let's go, John. Matthew chapter 1, verse 18 through 25.

So what is that empty space under Jesus? That call that box. What do you think, John? It's just a duplicate. It's just what do you think? Joseph. This is Joseph. Sorry. I I I was it I didn't I didn't overthink this one. So interestingly enough, right? The story of Jesus Involves a man named Joseph. I didn't overthink this one. Joseph, his father, his earthly father. Interestingly enough, right? And when Moses, the reason why Moses has a story involves is because God named Joseph. Joseph, Joseph, his father. So interesting. Number two. Pharaoh is threatened by Israel. So this comes from Exodus chapter 1, verses 9 through 14, which I will read. Now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph.

And he said to his people, Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and if a war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore they set them set task masters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh city sore cities, Pitham and Ramses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread abroad, and the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in all kinds of work in the field, and all the work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

Matthew chapter two, verse one through four. Or in the column in the Jesus column, what do you think is the parallel of what happened to Pharaoh threatened by Israel? Right.

King of the Jews. So Herod was threatened by someone who was going to be king of the Jews. And he's like, wait, I'm the king of the Jews. But no, we know that it was going to be Jesus. Next call next line.

So this comes from Exodus chapter 1, verses 15 and 16. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Siphra Siphra, and the other Pua, when you serve as midwife to the Hebrew woman and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, and if it is a daughter, she shall live. So Alex, please read Matthew chapter two, verse 16. Okay. So Hebrew may heo Hebrew male babies were supposed to be killed, right? What did Herod command to take place? Yeah. For for male babies to be killed in Bethlehem.

And the irony, or not the irony, but the amazing thing is that the people who, like maybe the the low-key heroes of the story, were the ones who deceived the king's orders, right? The midwives. And verse 17 in Exodus chapter 1 said, But the midwives feared God and did not do as a king command, king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. The Magi knew what the knew that Herod was being deceit deceitful, and so in his deception, they also were like, We're not gonna tell him about where this baby boy, this king of the Jews is.

Went and took as his wife a Levite woman, the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

So it's not exactly a parallel incident, but Moses being born in Egypt, and Jesus flees to Egypt. He was returning to Egypt for safety. Um the reason why it was important that we bring up Joseph in the beginning is that both Josephs were the reasons why the trip were why Egypt took place, right? The first Joseph, God used him to bring the people of Israel through a fathom, or sorry, um not fathom. Um fathom. Fam famine. Joseph brought them out of famine, and the earthy father of Jesus, Joseph, took him there in safety. So that's where Joseph comes, is a major part of maybe this this parallelism. Okay. Next line.

She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the baby, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then the sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call you the nurse from the Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. So the woman went, or the girl went and called the child's mother, and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take the child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, because she said, I drew him out of the water.

So Moses was raised as a royal. Alex, please read Mark. Oh, did I skip something? Oh, I did skip something. I'm sorry. Well, I okay. Yeah, just do Mark. I'll go back, sorry. So the one after Moses born in Egypt, um, he was put in a basket. So that was uh Exodus chapter 2 verse 3. Um and that says, when she hid him no longer, she took him for she took him for a basket and made of bulrushes and daubed it with Bedamin and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. What happened with Jesus? It's very simple. Away in away in a manger, right? When both males were born, Moses was put in a basket, Jesus was put in a manger. That's found in Luke chapter 2, verse 7.

Okay, so Alex is gonna read uh the next one over, sorry, Mark chapter 3, 6, verse 3. Yeah. What do you think is the parallel? It's an opposite, actually. It's not that Jesus was born as royalty in this earth. He was born as carpenter. So Moses, a Hebrew, was raised as a royal. Jesus, the king of the Jews, was raised as a commoner. He was raised as a commoner in a very humble life, right? Um next line. Moses was born as a sinner. He was a murderer. Okay. Exodus chapter 2, verses 11 through 12. One day when Moses had grown up, he went out of his, went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.

He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

So Jesus was born sinless. Right. So Moses, born as a sinner, murdered somebody. Jesus came and was born sinless. Which is why being born of a virgin Mary was so important, right? Lily, you're the next one up. So you can read 1 Samuel 8, 4 through 9. And then Alex, if you could read Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. So I'm going to read Exodus chapter 3, verses 9 through 10. Israel needed a leader to emerge. So I'm going to read that next one. Exodus chapter 3, verses 9 through 1. And behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me. This is God speaking. And I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians opposed them.

Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, and that you may bring my people, the children of E Israel, out of Egypt. So Jesus.

And as Lily read in 1 Samuel chapter 8, verses 4 through 9. Israel requested a king. So Israel is the one that requested a king to be like every other nation, not realizing that they were special. They did not need to be like any other nation because they were the nation of God. And they rejected him. God even said so. They rejected me as their king. So you know what? We're going to give them what they want. And then from that point on, they had a very hard, well, I guess their hardship was real until Jesus came, right? So Israel essentially rejected God because they requested a king because they didn't want God to be their king. So Israel requested a king. The next one. God uses Moses to liberate his people from slavery.

So there's a lot of verses here. I probably won't read all of them, but you'll get the gist of it. So I'm going to read Exodus chapter four, verses 1 through nine.

Actually, no, hold on. Okay. Well, all of these verses kind of apply, but I will say that the verse Exodus chapter 4, 1 through 9 is when the Lord is training Moses as to be his voice, right? And so he's teaching him about the staff, about the power that he has in when he goes before Pharaoh, showing him the power of God, right? So turning his staff into a snake, um, showing him the withered hand, uh, telling him about the blood and turning the water to blood, things like this, the signs that he's about he's going to perform. And he does this in Exodus chapter 7, verse 1 through chapter 12, verse 39.

And then I'm going to jump over to when it actually happens in Exodus chapter 14. The final one being where he separates the or he parts the Red Sea so that they could escape from Pharaoh. And in the same time frame when the people of the Lord cross, he destroys his enemies their enemy, Pharaoh, and they're trying to follow them and crashes the Red Sea on them. So that's that's what those references are. Okay, so then who's next? Daniel, chapter 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21.

Right. So God uses Jesus. So God used Moses to liberate his people from slavery, from the slavery, from the bondage of the Egyptians. God uses Jesus to liberate the world from sin. The bondage that we have in sin. Right. And last but not least. God used Moses to bring the law. So this comes from Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 through 17. So I'm going to read that for us.

So Exodus 20, 3 through 17. Oh, sorry. Verse 2 through 17. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold himself or hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant, your or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

And lastly, you shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not cover your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.

Feel free to read it yourselves, and then answer this question in contemplation, and then we're gonna share what your thoughts are.

Okay. So any thoughts? What does it mean that Jesus came to fulfill the law in Matthew chapter five, verse seventeen to twenty law?

Yeah, so Jesus is definitely upholding those laws.

We're no longer going to die because we don't follow those rules, right? The laws. But doesn't mean that we don't. As faithful men and women of Christ, we do our best to still uphold the law, but through Christ, right? Knowing that we have redemption.

Like, what what do you think about God when you see something like this occur? That's like you're just like, oh man, like did any of you actually know? See the symbolism or parallelism before today? I actually didn't realize how similar it was. That's the truth. Oh God gives us a lot of chances, you're right. Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Thanks. Gives us, God gives us a lot of chances. And from because of Jesus, we have a lot of chances.

I think I think personally for me, like, as I was kind of going through it, I'm like, man, God truly is omniscient. Like he knew. He had it all planned out. And I think the symmetry of how he fulfills his promises, it's beautiful. The fact that like he has someone that he used, and in a similar way he brought his son to do the same thing, but better. Um I'm like, I'm never, I think I take scripture for granted because sometimes you read it in a pocket, so you're just reading through the New Testament. But then if you like have a moment where you kind of realize if you're reading through Sam 1 Samuel, and you're like, oh, like this is why they a king was needed. Like if you go back and you look in the Old Testament and you see the history of what happened before Jesus came, you're like, it makes a lot of sense.

What led to our salvation, what led to the coming of our Savior. So I think it's important for us to see the entire scope. Yes, today is Christmas Eve, tomorrow is Christmas. We're gonna be celebrating all of that, but then we're gonna read about, or we're we're truly celebrating why the birth of our Savior is important. So section three is the redemption. Redemption is who is the redemption? Jesus. Right. Jesus Christ. So um read, let's reread Genesis chapter 3, verses 23. And if uh John can read John 14, 6 and have that ready, um, we're gonna just kind of go through it together. You can also contemplate this on your own later, but you know, just for the sake of time, um, I hope this, as we kind of, as you go to through the rest of today and tomorrow, that you kind of just keep dwelling on maybe what we were going over today in today's devotion.

Okay, so I'll read, if you could put the scripture back up top, Alex, please, uh Genesis chapter 3, verse 23. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. So God sent Adam and Eve out from the Garden of Eden where they were not allowed to return. John chapter 14, verse 6, please. Okay. So what happened? What did Jesus do from us being exiled from the Garden of Eden, heaven on earth, right? What did how does Jesus reverse our exile from Eden? It's pretty straightforward, but feel free to answer. Right relationship with God and also be with him again in heaven.

So heaven, like Adam and Eve live with the Lord. That was heaven, right? Garden of Eden. And then so we were banished because of the sin. But when Jesus came, he reversed our exile so that we could be with God again in heaven. That's that's an amazing redemption story for us. In Genesis chapter, the next line is in Genesis chapter 3, verse 24. It says, He drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way of the tree of life. So in Genesis chapter 3, verse 24, God guards the tree of life from man. Why was the tree of life something that the Lord wanted to banish? Or prevent Adam and Eve from taking? What did death, or sorry, what did them taking or sinning cause for them, for us?

Right? Death. It created death for us. So if we were to take the tree of life, God implies that if they were to take that fruit, we would be able to live forever. And so we know that. And sorry, did I say John 1 Peter? Can't someone read 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 24. What does it say about the tree? 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 24. What did he say? What did it say about a tree in there? His body. Jesus' body was hung on a tree. Like the symmetry and the symmetry is amazing to me. The idea that the tree of life in the Old Testament in the Garden of Eden, that we were forbidden from taking of the fruit. But it was another tree that gave us life again. Eternal life.

And so it's important. It really is. I know that it's not trying to make it a heavy thing. But it's it's beautiful in the way that we know that a child was sent that grew up to be the Savior that we loved and care for, that we were able to be. Now that now, and when when he came and he died and he resurrected, it allowed us to be one, forgiven of our sin, conquered death, and allowed us to be with God again. I don't like that's amazing. Like this whole journey from Genesis all the way to New Testament, all the way to where we are today as the beacon, members of Beacon, and as Christians, that is what we should reflect on when we kind of think of Christ. So Christmas is that important.

But I hope, I really hope, that as you kind of think about today, when you're opening presents, when you're with your family, with your friends, that you're able to at least be focused on that. And maybe if none of them or some of your family members are loose with their gospel message or even with don't know the gospel, if you have, if you're inspired because of what we went over today and how the word is speaking to you, share share something with them, share the message with them. Let's pray. Father, we we thank you so much for the way that you orchestrate and have orchestrated our lives. Our lives, you knew we're gonna be here. You knew that we were gonna be born, that we were gonna be in Los Angeles on today, that this group of people were gonna be here worshiping you today.

You knew, Father, from the beginning. And in the same way, Lord, you knew that when Adam and Eve sinned, your son would be needed in order for us to be with you again. So we celebrate Christmas because it's a beautiful story of someone who was born just like us in this world. But his purpose was much greater than just living a life and working a job. He came to do real work and defeating our sin, conquering death, and allowing us, allowing us to be with you again in heaven. So, Lord, I pray, I pray that you would bless the beacon, the people here today, our brothers and sisters who and kids who are not with us today, that wherever they may be, Father, that the idea of Christmas is not just about the birth of your son, but what he grew up to be and what he means to us in that sacrifice.

So Lord, we are so thankful. We celebrate this season for that reason. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thanks, Phil, for leading us in a time of devotion. Um found it very edifying, and I felt like it was just a nice time for us to just go to go through scripture and see the parallelisms and be open to the way that the God God has used the past and the present um to show um to reveal his story for us, lead us to Christ. So what an amazing time to go through that devotion, and why don't we rise and stand and um respond in worship by singing amazing grace grace how sweet the sound that save of wretch like me once was lost, but now I found was mine for now I see grace that's my heart to fear and grace my feast really good beyond gone I've been sent free by God my save has friends of me and I cover his mercy unending love amazing grave as promising his work my hope such as I enjoy my chains are gone I've been set free my God save you his friends of me and like of God his mercy, unending love, amazing the earth shall assume I still the sun over to shine.

But God who call me love will be mine over mine for mine. Here's a benediction. It comes from first John chapter one, verse seven. To you who are debtors to mercy alone and free from the terrors of the law. Walk in the light as he is in the light, so that the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies you from all sin. And all God's people said. Amen. Merry Christmas, everybody.