"The Angels' song"
Luke 2:1-21
Preached by Bart Erlebach on 25th December 2024
Scripture
2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
(ESV)
Generated Transcript
And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.Right. We're now gonna do the rest of the Bible reading, but I'm gonna need your help for this. So we're gonna act it out a bit. I'm gonna need some people to help. Alright?
And I'm gonna need to shift this out. Alright. Okay. So first off, I'm gonna need some people to be shepherds. We're gonna need some shepherds.
Are you willing to be shepherds? If you're willing, I need 4 Timothy. Yeah. Would you come in? Would you 2 like to be shepherds?
So if you go to Max and Ann, yeah, would you like to help as well, Lewis? Are you happy to help? Yeah? If anyone else wants it, you can go over there. We've only got 4 tea towels to put on heads, but not all of them wore tea towels.
So maybe we're, you know, you can have some that didn't. Brilliant. So they're being helped. So while they're being helped, we also need someone to be an angel. And now I've got a volunteer for that.
Alex, would you like to come and be ready over there? Alex is gonna be the angel. There's a reason for going for Alex as an angel. He is the face of Hope Church. He's been in the press.
Evendell calls now didn't ask because they put a photo on there, and it was Alex. So Alex is the face of Hopechurch. So you gotta use him. It's a wonderful face. So, thank you for being that, unpaid role, but thank you.
And, being the angel also because angels weren't little cute things. They were scary things. So nothing about you. He can pretend to be scary. So that's why we've gone for Alex as as the angel.
Now, we also need, everyone else to be involved. So even if you're not upfront, you need to be involved because you're gonna be the heavenly host who appear now. Oh, you're not gonna appear. Right? You're just just here.
You're not all gonna leave and then come back in. But you're gonna appear and you've got a line to say, so we're just gonna practice that for a moment. Alright. So the line will come up on the screen we get the line on the screen? Is that alright?
There we go. Okay. So this is your line. It's glory to god in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom is favor rest. And you've gotta say it with excitement and with joy.
Alright? So can you just join in with this, okay, after 3 1 2 3? Glory. Please have gone. 9 7.
I've got a peace service on goodness. Very nice. You're doing that well. Very good. Okay.
You guys are ready. You're gonna Oh, we need a Mary and a Joseph as well. Anyone prepared to be, yeah? You happen to be Mary? Would you like to be Joseph?
Yeah? Okay. Great. Would you got okay. Now, you guys you're not on stage at the beginning.
I'm afraid. So if could you be in the wings with the angel Alright? And I'll call you on when it's your moment. Alright? So, okay.
We need shepherds. Shepherds. Could you come up here? And you can be on on my right? Just here.
Now, You guys need to do plenty of facial expressions. Don't get too far in the way of the screen. So, Louis, if you just come this way towards me a little bit, that's it. You guys need to do good facial expressions because the shepherds, had different emotions, but to begin with their board, Alright? So can you look bored?
Yeah. That's very good. Have you ever been bored before? Cause it looks like you have. Okay.
Very good. Okay. So you guys do that. I'm gonna move this out of the way. Okay.
And then, and I need a Bible because I'm gonna read us through. So I'm gonna be the narrator in all this. Okay. So you guys looking bored because it says at the beginning of the reading. And there were shepherds That's you guys.
Living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. So it's night. You've done this day in, day out for years, your shepherds, and you're very bored. Alright? Looking very bored.
Nice. Okay. An angel of the lord appeared to them. And the glory of the lord shone around them. I don't know how we do that, but okay.
The glory of the lord shone around them and they were terrified. Okay. You gotta be terrified. Yes. That's right.
Terrrified. The angel. Okay. Oh, that looks very good. I'm gonna come over here.
Okay. And they were terrified, but the angel said to them, be a friend. No, he didn't. No, he didn't. No, he didn't.
It. Right? Don't be afraid. I'd ring to you good news and cause great joy for a lot of people. He is the messiah of the law.
This will be assigned to you. We'll find the band wrapped in clubs and a driving manager. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising god and saying. Brilliant. Well done.
When the angels had left them, don't leave. I mean, you you'd leave, but don't don't leave. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the Shepard said to 1 another. Now, don't worry, you don't have to have learnt this line, but I'll say it for you. They said to 1 another, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the lord has told us about.
Okay. So you guys are gonna go to Bethlehem. So they hurried off. Okay. So you guys need to hurry off.
Now you're gonna hurry off. Can you go down that way, along that way, and back this way, but don't be too quick. Don't be too quick. Alright. Because we need to get Mary and Joseph here.
So they're on their way to Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph, would you like to come up? Could you pick up, that's it. Brilliant. Bring Jesus with you, and you come up, and you can be in the middle.
Now, this is exciting. Okay. Thank you. You you can be there. That's it.
You can be beautiful. Oh, lovely. Very nice. Mary, wait, so you're too quick. I need to introduce you.
Okay. This is exciting, isn't it? So the shepherds have been told that they're gonna meet the savior. This is amazing. And you wonder, what's Luke gonna tell us about when they actually met?
What are you gonna say? What did they say to 1 another? What did they talk about? What did they think about the baby? What he looked like?
It's gonna be really intriguing to see what's said in the passage. Okay. Now, you can start making your way along the front. Okay. So No, we've done that bit.
Right. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. So come up, and you find them. Don't trip on the wire. That's it.
Do you wanna come up with me? That's it. Asher, well done. Come up to gather round. That's it.
Now, what's it gonna say about their meeting? Okay. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph from the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them. That's all it says.
There's there's no conversation. Nothing about that. You just see the baby. I'm afraid you don't have any lines, you 2. That's it.
The shepherds then go. You go this way. Can't go this way? And, it says, God is back to everyone because I can't turn the page. Turn the page.
Shepard don't rush. And you've got well, you come back. Come back. Come back. Come back.
Come back. I had to turn the page. I'm sorry. I didn't have a book that anyway. Come back.
Come back. Come back. That's it. Right now. As you go, you've gotta tell everyone about the child.
So as you go tell people, that you've met Jesus, the Savior. Alright? So tell people, and it says everyone was amazed because he says, and all who heard it were amazed at what the Shepard said. You've been around twice. Okay.
Keep going. So go go and tell people. Tell people and people be amazed. Alright? Be amazed.
Thank you for joining in with the amazement. And you come back. Okay. That's it. And just come back here.
That's it. It comes back. Have you told people? Have you told people? Okay.
And it says, and all who heard of it were amazed at what the shepherd said to them. Well done for being amazed. But Mary treasured up the all these things and pondered them in her heart. Oh, that's good. I didn't know how you were gonna do that, but that's very good.
The shepherd okay. Now you guys leave. I'm afraid and take Jesus with you. Yeah. Take take the credit as well.
Well done. The Shepard's returned glorifying and praising god for all the things they'd heard and seen, which were just as they'd been told. So I think just look really happy and excited. That'll do for now. Well done.
And that's it. That's the end of the bible reading. Guys, thank you very much. Let's give these guys a round of applause. Have a seat.
Give your tea towels back on here. Tea towels back. That's it. Well done. Guys, you did really well.
Very good acting. Now, you notice that when it actually came to meeting Mary and Joseph and Jesus, Luke doesn't tell us a lot about it. We don't hear much about the conversation about what they thought about the baby, what the baby looked like, what baby Jesus looked like, about the weight of the baby, how the birth was. They didn't talk we don't get any of that written down. But you do get a lot about the angel meeting the shepherd, don't you?
Isn't that interesting? That in Luke's gospel, you get a lot about the angel meeting the shepherds. You don't get much about the shepherds, you know, what they said to Mary and Joseph. That's because The important information about Jesus is in what the angel said. And that's what we're gonna think about in just a few moments.
But we're gonna sing first, I think. Yeah. You think so too. Good. I think we're gonna sing while Shepard's watch.
So let's stand to sit. Okay. So we're now gonna think about what the angel said to the Shepard's. So this is how it started. Do not be afraid.
Angels have to say that because they're scary things. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. We've already thought about that. We know it's something really exciting for everyone. What does the angels say?
Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. Now, to help us remember this today, because I know there's lots of excitement, lots of things going on, I've just summarized this a little bit into a little sentence that we're gonna put actions to to help you remember what it's all about, what the angel said, which is this. There we go. Jesus is the savior and the king.
Alright? Jesus is the savior and the king. Now, you're gonna say that back to me. Could you say that now? Jesus is the savior and the king.
Now we're gonna put some actions to it. Alright? So we're gonna go with Jesus. We'll go like that. Can you do it?
Can you join in? Jesus. Thank you. I mean, he doesn't stay a baby, but he is at the moment in this story. Jesus is the savior, arms out wide, and the king.
Okay. So we do it with the words as well. Jesus, is the savior and the king. What did you learn about at church this morning? Jesus is the savior and the king.
Nice. Okay. Now we're gonna think about that in a little bit. Okay. So first, The angel says, today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you.
It's interesting. It says, a savior has been born to you. You shepherds, wasn't born to them, born to Mary and Joseph, but actually, it's born to them. It's born to us, born to everyone. But he's a savior.
Now, what's a savior? A savior is someone who rescues, someone who saves people. If there are people in danger, people in trouble, they might need a savior to rescue them, to come in and get them out of the trouble. So here are some people I'm gonna put on the screen, here are some people who rescue people, who save people, who are saviors, And I want you, can you talk with your grown ups to talk about what do they save people from and how do they do it? And if you've not got children with talk with your neighbor, what do they save people from and how do they do it?
But children talk to your grown ups about it as well. Okay. So here's the first 1. It won't be too tricky maybe? Fireman.
Fireman. What do they say people from? And how do they do it? Talk, talk with others? Talk with you talk with your grown ups?
Okay. Thank you. Some some of the adults looking very confused. They're not sure. So children, you need to help them.
What do fire and save people from? Yes. Fire's very good. Oh, I enough discussion about the farm. I know it's obviously causing great kerfuffle.
By getting ladders and spraying water that brilliant. Well done. Yes. They save from fires by getting ladders and spraying water. Very good.
Okay. This 1. Lifeboat crew. Maybe we don't need to discuss. Can you do you know already?
What do they save people from? Drowning. Thank you. How do they do it? By drowning?
No. No. Not by how do they help? How do they save? How do they do it?
In a boat. Yes, the clues on the screen, on a boat, they get the person, they drag them onto the boat, then get them ashore, and they save them that way. What about this 1? Mountain Rescue. What do they save people from?
From mountains, those scary mountains coming after people all the time. No. What what do they save people from? Yeah. Go for it.
Actually, I'm suggesting quite often, you're taking lakes. From lakes and thi. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay.
Oh, thank you. Okay. Thank you. There you go. Educational.
There you go. What thank you. So they save people from lakes by getting down to them. How what else do they do they say people from? Stuck up mountains.
How do they rescue them? Yeah, Lewis? Do you know? Were you gonna say something else? Yeah.
What were you gonna say? Avelanches, maybe. Yeah. Okay. And how do they go about doing this?
How do they save? Do you have any ideas? Someone who hasn't said anything yet. Go for it Timothy. How do I have to do it?
They gotta find them. Yeah. How and they might I mean, yeah. There are various ways they might go about doing it. They might fly in.
They might climb. Yeah. Go for it. No. Yeah.
No. Yeah. By saving them. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. That's true. Yeah. That's true. They come in.
They might fly in. Come into where they are, pick them up, get them out of there. Okay. What about Jesus? Jesus is our savior, but what does he rescue us from?
Well, Joseph would have known this. Don't worry hands down. I'll tell you. Joseph would have known this because the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said to Joseph, you got you're to call the baby Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. Jesus is a savior who rescues from sin.
Now sin is all the times that we disobey God, when we don't do what God says, when we disobey him, it's the ways that we say no to God. We say, stuff you God, I'm gonna do things my way. And because of that, we deserve God's punishment, we deserve God's anger. Sin is a huge problem for us. And you could say the the big story of the Bible is about how god deals with sin.
How can sin be dealt with? Cause God is good, and therefore he can't just say, oh, don't worry about sin. Forget about it. But he's also loving, so he can't just say to us, are forget about you. So he doesn't say forget about sin, and he doesn't say forget about you, he loves us, and so he rescues us through Jesus.
How does Jesus do it? He does it by dying for us. Now that's different from those other people that we thought about who rescue because most of those what they're doing is they're trying to go in, get the person out of danger, and come out with them. So the mountain rescue people wanna come in on the helicopter, get the person out and go out with them. They don't want to stay behind.
The people rescuing from the waves. They want to go on the boat, get the person, get them on the boat, and come back with them. They don't want to stay out there. But Jesus, when he rescues, he dies for us. He comes, and he doesn't just risk his life, he gives his life for us.
He dies. He knows he has to take our place. And so many times, Jesus, through his life and ministry said, I've gotta come and die. That's my purpose. That's what I'm here for.
He knew that he was coming to give his life to rescue us, to take our place for us so that we could be rescued. Jesus rescues by dying on the cross. That's how Jesus rescues. And this is good news for all people because everyone has sinned. We're all in danger.
The angel was so excited because the savior has been born. The 1 who can rescue us from our greatest danger. I heard someone say this morning on a online. Someone saying, if Jesus was just a legend, he couldn't be our savior. He could be our example, he could teach us, he could say, this is how you're to live, but you'd have to do it yourself, and you wouldn't be able to manage it.
You wouldn't manage it yourself. But Jesus isn't a legend. He really lived He was really born, and he died to be our savior. So he came to die to save us. And because he was real, because he lived and died for us, we can be saved.
So, okay. Can you do the actions for me again? Someone later on today says, what did you what did you learn this morning in church? Ready? Jesus is this.
Take care. Very good. Okay. Now we're gonna come to that second point in just a moment, but we're gonna sing now about the fact that Jesus saves. Now you recognize the tune, even if you don't recognize the words so well.
Alright? So let's stand to sing about Jesus being the 1 who saves. I mean, Christmas, what did you learn at church this morning? Jesus. Jesus.
Okay. And no prizes for guessing what we're gonna think about next. Yeah. We thought about Jesus is the savior, and we're now oops. Yeah.
There we go. And now we're gonna think about Jesus the king. Because the angel said, today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you, He is the Messiah, the lord. Now, the fact that Jesus is king in what's said there is in the word Messiah, which means anointed 1, and if you go back in the old testament, look what that means, what that refers to, particularly Psalm 2, You see, it's talking about Jesus being a king, but he is a greater king than any other king. There are other kings in the world.
We have a king. There are other kings in the world, and kings tend to be king over people certain group of people for a certain length of time. Jesus is the better king than you have ever known. Okay. I need 4 people to help me.
4 people to help. We're almost done on this, by the way. We've got 4 people to help. Who's willing to help? Maybe people who You guys have done it before, but let's do it again.
Come on then. Go for it. Come on out. Yeah. You.
Yeah. And, 1 more. Asher, great stuff. Okay. So 2 on this side, but if you 2 on this side, and you 2 on this side, Ashley, if you come here.
Okay. Now we're gonna think about some kings and queens and how long they've rained. Okay. So And we're gonna I sense you love history. Okay.
We're gonna think about some kings and queens of this country and how long they've reigned. So we have a king at the moment. Anyone know who our king is at the moment? Yeah? King Jesus, good, a good answer, and true.
But also king of the United Kingdom is also Jesus, but is Yeah. King Charles the third. Very good. And Charles has, is king. How long did they reign?
This is what we're playing. So, if you can't just stand here. Okay. So how long has king Charles reigned for? Well, he's not finished yet, but he has reigned for about 2 years, 3 months.
Very good. 2 years so far. So we're gonna represent how long they've reigned for with Stream. So would you hold this for me? So you hold the end?
Okay. Now we're gonna do 2 years' worth of string. Now, I've gotta bear in mind where we're going on this. So I'm gonna go for about backlog. There we go.
So can you hold that up? Your King Charles, and that's how long you've rained for, about 2 years so far. Okay. What about, his mum, queen Elizabeth the second. You're gonna be queen Elizabeth the second.
How long did she rein for? Do anyone know how long she rained for? Yes. Yes. 71.
71. No. I well, I got it. I looked it up. I think it was 80 years.
No. Have I got that wrong? What it's 70 something. Okay. Don't trust the internet on anything.
70 something. Oh, well, it's a long time. It she was our longest reigning monarch, and I thought she'd rained for longer than she had. But there you go. So you can hold that.
Now we're going for if that's 2 year, can you hold that up for us? If that's 2 years, how long do we go for I think we've we've gotta go quite often. We'll show what do you reckon? What do you reckon? We get these stars?
Okay. Just okay. Keep hold of it. Otherwise, you go. Okay.
We're going that long. It should probably be long for us, isn't it? Okay. So that's we in a little bit of a second. How long she reign?
That long. Kim Charles, that long. Okay. You. Okay.
Asher, can you stay where you are? You're gonna represent, so There was another queen. Come on. Lady Jane Grey. Oh, bit of murmur from the historian behind this.
Okay. Lady Jane Grey. How long did she rein for? 9 days. 9 days.
Very good. She reigned for 9 days in 15 53. Don't trust the internet. Might have been gonna be there at the time. Anyway, there you go.
So we need to do 9 days. I think you just gotta put your hand out for this. I'm just gonna that so she rained for a tiny amount of time. 9 days. I mean, we've got 2 years of that 1.
You're gonna go with let me go. That that match. There you go. So hold that up. That's how long she rained before.
Don't lose it. Okay. What about Jesus? How long does Jesus reign for? Well, we're told in the Bible how long Jesus reigns for.
So we've got a verse on the screen which says, Luke chapter 1 verse 33, his kingdom will never end. So, Timothy, you hold this. Right. Okay. So well, it how are we good?
Just stay there. Alright. The point is Jesus's reign is far greater than any other kid will walk away than there has ever been. His reign will never end. You've got 9 days.
That's pathetic. You've got dancing around over here. We've got hang on. Let's see the reigns. We've got 2 years.
We've got 70 something years, whatever it was, almost 80. But Jesus is never ends. Great. Go. Could you put the string down?
Well done. Put the string down. Drop it. Thank you and go and sit by then. Thank you very much.
Jesus is a king. Sorry. I should use the microphone tonight. Jesus is a king unlike any other king. His kingdom will never come to an end.
Let me just give you 1 or 2 more things about his kingship. Not only will his kingdom never end. He's king over all people. So we're told in, prophecy in Zechariah, His rule will extend from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth. He's king over all people.
So he's not limited in terms of who he's king of or in terms of how long his kingship is, He reigns forever over all people, and he is the perfect king. We're told his king, kingdom is marked by justice, righteousness, and peace. That's what it says in Isaiah. He is the greatest king. In the book of Revelation, it calls him the king of kings and lord of lords.
There is no greater king, no higher king. So Jesus is the savior and the king. How should we respond this Christmas morning? Well, he needs to be not just the savior and the king, but he needs to be your savior and your king. He needs to be my savior and my king.
If he's your savior, then you bring him your sin. You say, this is what I've done wrong. These are the bad things I've done. This is the way I've disobeyed you. Please forgive me.
And he promises to forgive those who will come to him. If he's your savior, you bring him your sin. And if he's your king, then you bow before him, and give your life to serve him as your king. And say to him, do what you want me I'll do what you want me to do and live how you want me to live. And it's important for all of us, however old you are to do this, have you said to Jesus?
Boys and girls, have you said to Jesus? Your my savior and my king. This is what the angels got excited about, what the shepherds got excited about, what everyone got excited about, that Jesus, the Savior and the king was born. And if he's your savior and your king, it is the most exciting thing for you. And like the shepherds, we'll be so excited.
We'll wanna tell others about Jesus. Okay. 1 last time. Somebody maybe later today. It's sort of bedtime, and they come to you, and they say they're tucking you into bed, and they say, oh, what did you learn this morning in church?
Jesus is the savior and the king. Correct. Okay. We're gonna sing 1 last Carol before we're finished. We're gonna sing.
Hart the Harold angels sing. Please, Dan.