The Word Regins Supreme: A Gospel Presentation
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Opening
Opening
Good evening. My name is Dustin Huckstep and I am a Worship Leader here at Crete Church. Normally our pastor, Brett Revlett would be standing here giving a sermon on Christmas Eve, but given the unpredictable times we live in, One of his daughters came down with COVID-19 in the later parts of this week sending Brett and the whole family into quarantine. I had talked with him over the phone yesterday , and by the grace of God, He and the whole family are doing well. If you may, please keep them in your prayers, with that said let us bow our heads to pray.
God of light, as we celebrate the event that changed everything, the incarnation of your son Jesus Christ, we ask that your will be done in and through this service, through the presentation of the Gospel this evening, the continued singing of songs, and fellowship of the saints. Lord we know that this season brings much to light, some that rejoice, some that lament. Lord, let us be encouraged, for we are in the second advent, a time of waiting for Christ’s return. Give us wisdom and faith in knowing that Jesus , the King of Kings, reigns supreme. I pray this in Your Holy Name, Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
I have been tasked this evening to present to you the Gospel Message. For those of you who are visitors and others who are newer to the faith. The Word Gospel means, literally, Good News. We will get more to that here in a second but I must say, that tonight will be a little unorthodox for regular attenders and even more for a normal Christmas Eve service, I will not giving a sermon, but simply a telling of the Good News, the Gospel. The reason why we are all here.
I will be providing a number of scripture verses to illustrate the context and sufficiency in telling the Good news.
If I may, I would like to state that I am the Bible because it is authoritative, all sufficient for our lives, it is incapable of making errors, of being wrong, unfailing, without any type of defect whatsoever. Furthermore, I am using the bible because it simply without error in it’s entirety. Beloved, I plead to you here tonight that this is no ordinary book, it is The Living Word of God. And it it tells of The Good News. The Redemptive Story of Jesus
As I hinted in my prayer that the night when Jesus Christ was born, it changed everything. Simply put John 3:16 reads,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
I could very well pray and be done, for this verse alone would be enough for us to hear in regards to the Glory of our Lord in sending His Son. I would like to offer a little context to why God gave his one and only son, and why by God’s grace, true faith in Jesus equals eternal life, All in His plan of Redemption.
In the first verse of the Bible we find out that
English Standard Version Chapter 1
In the beginning, God created
and in the beginning God created but even before that, Ephesians 1:4 tells us that
Ephesians 1:4 (ESV)
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Before He created, God had a redemptive plan. A redemptive plan from what though? For whom?
We see in just a few chapters later in Genesis the fall of man. Our first parents Adam and Eve disobeying God, succumbing to temptation, and falling into sin by the Evil one. when all seemed lost and where God had every right to wipe everything out, by His grace He made a promise, one that a savior would come. In Judging the the evil one the Lord states in Genesis 3:15
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Beloved, this was the start of good news. The Lord, in all His majesty had a plan to save a people from themselves, even more, to redeem a people to himself.
From this point on, you could see in the Word of God, the Bible, that throughout the Old Testament, GOd’s redemptive plan started to unfold. As promised from offspring to offspring, there were great leaders, patriarchs, judges, kings, prophets, all had points of light in them but in the book of Romans Chapter three it states,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Furthermore, later on in that same chapter verse 23 states,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Despite what may seem like doom and gloom for humanity, I’m telling you this in truth and in love. You still might ask, DUSTIN, HOW IS THAT LOVE, HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!
Speaking to you in truth, in the way the Almighty God choose to relay to His people in His Word is the only absolute truth can be spoken in love. Beloved, humanity had a twofold problem in that, being a sinners, they were unable to obey God in fulfilling the law He had commanded of them, also, he was unable to appease God in His wrath because of the unrighteous act of the forefather Adam that made everyone innately, complete depraved. But Wait, Here is the solution the apex of the “Good news”. It is why we are here this evening celebrating Christ. John 1:1 reads
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
just a few verses later it states
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Ultimately summating this emphasis by stating,
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh, this “Word” was Jesus, God’s only Son. This was the long awaited promised Messiah. He was sent here to ransom all of whom He chose before the foundations of the world. He was sent here, being that of fully man and Fully Divine, By Christ’s obedience to the Father, He fulfilled the law that we could never have, he died on a cross in His blood atoning for not just some of our sins, but all of our sins. Christ paid our debt in fulll, Christ gave us righteousness, where we had none, so that we are declared just in the eyes of the Holy God. And He took our guilt away. Beloved, by Christ’s love for us we are now brought back into the fold of God’s family. We are bought with a price, out of love.
The Book of Philippians summates Christ’s work in this way stating,
6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What majesty, what beauty, what grace, what mercy has been given to us in Christ, Amen? Ephesians 2 says
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
God’s redemptive purpose was in bringing you into the fold by effectually calling you to faith in that salvation is only in Christ Jesus.
Theologian, Sam Waldron states it in this way, “It’s what Faith holds that makes faith so valuable”
By God’s grace nn Faith alone we are saved, and in that faith holds Christ alone. We now can reflect back on the initial stated verse of this presentation
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
As we close, and reflect on what has been given in Christ, know that by Jesus coming so many years ago, it was not a last resort effort to save a people. It was a plan of redemption, and in Christ’s birth the covenant of Grace was realized. Christ has promised to return again, bringing the new heavens, and new earth, making us complete. Beloved, plead with you here tonight Come to Christ, cling to Him for in him, for He is the only source of salvation.