Emmanuel! The Incarnation of Redemption

Published Dec 25, 2024, 7:00 PM

For centuries, Christians have remembered and celebrated the miracle of the Incarnation at Christmas. To see Jesus is to see God and knowing Him is truly transformational! Join Chris Brooks as he unpacks how the miracle of Christmas redeems our souls and heals our hearts today!

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Hey there friends! Welcome to another exciting edition of equip with Chris Brooks! I am so thrilled that you've joined me today. Do me a favor, strap on your seat belt. We're going to navigate through the contours of culture, as always, with the lens of the biblical worldview. But before we do that, let me remind you this is the day that the Lord has made. He has given it as a gift so that you and I can rejoice and be glad in it. So let's do just that. Let's follow the word to the Apostle Paul. Let's rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Well, I hope you're having a very Merry Christmas. If you have not had anybody wish you a merry Christmas yet, let me wish you a merry Christmas. What a great day it is to worship the King of Kings and to serve the Lord of Lords. Today is a special day we set aside this day to celebrate the coming of the Son of God into the world. In just a little bit, we're going to look at God's Word together. I can't think of a better way for us to spend Christmas than to consider Emmanuel, God with us, and to look deeply into God's Word together and to rejoice in Scripture together. But before we do that, I just want to talk about why today is so special and how we approach it as a family. And maybe it can help you. Maybe today it can be an encouragement for you to start new traditions, or to create a pattern that makes space for Jesus. Now, I don't think that our family is any different than the typical normal American family. I got kids who are capitalist just like you do. They love gifts on Christmas morning, and they are eager to wake up and to see what mom and dad got them. They do know that there is no Santa Claus. I've bust that bubble a long time ago. But they know Mom and Dad are generous, and so we have no problem giving to them. But I will say this. That for us, Christmas morning starts before Christmas morning. If you've been following this program for any length of time, you know I'm a big believer in advent. The word advent means arrival. It's one of the classic Latin words to describe this season, this season of anticipation leading up to Christmas. Now, my daughter asked me a couple of weeks ago, did do we celebrate Jesus's birthday on December 25th? And I said to her, well, that's when we celebrate it. But that doesn't mean that's when he was born. Um, odds are based off of scripture that we read. Uh, the fact is, is that Jesus was probably born sometime in the fall with the shepherds tending their sheep outdoors, the climate would have been more fit for fall. This is what most scholars assume, but we don't know exactly whether it was fall or spring now. So why did the church decide to celebrate Jesus's birthday on December 25th? It was because there were so many pagan holidays that were surrounding that time. Winter solstice. There was worship of other pagan gods, and what Christians during that time wanted to do is to be boldly disruptive and to be able to say, no, the world does not center around these false gods. They center around the King of kings and Lord of lords. And we could have rightly celebrated Jesus's coming into the world any day. We want it in many ways. We celebrate every day of the year, but we celebrate during December because we wanted Christ. The early believers wanted It cries to be the centerpiece of our cultural reflection during this time of year that other pagan gods would not get the attention, but that Christ would get the attention. So there was going back to biblical times. There was this eager anticipation because of all of this Old Testament prophecy that God was going to send a messiah, and this Messiah would redeem and restore the fortunes of God's people in a practical way. And not only that, but in a spiritual way as well. So when the angel in Luke chapter one announces to Mary that she was going to have a son, the Bible says that she was instructed to call him Jesus, and so was Joseph by the angel Gabriel. Call him Jesus because he was going to rescue a man from their sins. So Jesus comes into the world on a mission that's unlike any other, because every one of us are born in the world hoping to live. We come into this world with a desire for life. But Jesus came into this world knowing that his mission was to die, to pay the ransom price for our redemption, to pay the sin debt, to take upon himself the wrath of God so that we could have communion with the father. It's the greatest act of love that the world has ever known. And so it's important for us to reflect on that leading up to Christmas, to make space, to maybe read the story of Luke, to maybe make time for that. And it's not too late today to pull out your Bible, to read Luke chapter two, to just reflect on the good news of God's grace and the coming of the Son of God into the world. We're also going to look at another passage in the book of Galatians today in just a moment. But here's my point in bringing this up. It's that the scriptures knew that while Genesis one is true, that God created all things good. Genesis three is true as well, that when sin enters into the world, so does brokenness. So does bitterness. So there's pain, so does suffering. So does alienation and anxiety and depression and difficulty in all of those things enter into the world when sin enters into the world. So God knows that you and I need restoration, we need healing. We need to be restored back to his grace. And so with the coming of the Son of God into the world, means for us on a very real level, is that Jesus Christ came into the world as the Son of God, living a perfect life sinless, dies on the cross. So he redeems us both through his life and through his death on the cross. And then on the third day, just as the Bible predicted, he rose again from the grave. Now, what are the implications of this? Two big implications. One is forgiveness. We sinned against the Holy God. That means we deserve his judgment and his wrath. But Jesus's death grants us forgiveness. So that means that you need to see yourself as forgiven before God. Not because of your merits, not because you didn't do it. Not because we aren't guilty. Because we are. We've messed up. We've blown it. All the accusations that Satan levies against me, I'm guilty of. But yet I've been forgiven. I've been forgiven by God who's chosen to love me. So I need to accept that forgiveness. But I also need to extend that forgiveness. One of the ways we celebrate Christmas is not just by getting our kids the newest PlayStation or iPhone, or the newest pair of shoes or clothes, or a gift card for a friend. No, the greatest way we celebrate Christmas is by giving the same forgiveness we have received. Grace you have received so grace you should give. And so I want to encourage you to do that. But also what it means is reconciliation. Now there's a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness means you cancel the debt that somebody owes you. It means that I'm releasing you from owing me anything. So maybe I previously felt like you owed me an apology. Or maybe repayment financially. Or maybe some other tangible expression of your lament for what you did wrong against me. No. Forgiveness means I release you from that. You don't owe me anything. I'm not waiting for some repayment because I have been paid in full by Jesus. But that's different than reconciliation. You see, you can forgive without inviting someone close to you again. Sometimes it has to be that way. If the person is still dangerous, maybe you forgive them and say, but we can't be in relationship. I can't continue to put myself in harm's way. But there are times when God wants you to reconcile. Now what reconciliation speaks to is proximity. It's when you're able to say, I invite you back into my life now again, just like with forgiveness, we can give it because we've received it. The father has given us a space at the table. Isn't that awesome that in the feast of God there is a place and a seat for me at the table of the King. I am so overjoyed when I hear that. So not only have I been forgiven, I've been reconciled into relationship with God. So what's the practical implication of that? I need to extend forgiveness and reconciliation as well. So maybe there's somebody that you need to invite today, uh, back into relationship. Maybe today is about the greatest gift of all forgiveness and reconciliation. Maybe there's someone that you need to simply call up and say, I know we haven't talked in a while, but I know what God has done for me and I want to extend that to you. I want you to experience the same joy that I've experienced. Friends, let today be a day of salvation and reconciliation. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to dive into God's Word in Galatians chapter four. Enjoy this rendition of joy to the world. When you listen to equip, you know I love to introduce you to some incredible guests and topics, but there's one person that I want you to meet more than anyone else. His name is Jesus and he wants to have a genuine personal relationship with you. He even died on the cross to take the punishment for all of our sins, so that we can join his eternal family. If you want to know more, simply call 888. Need him? That's 888. Need him. Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks. So grateful for you tuning in on a Christmas Day. I hope that you are blessed. I hope you know that God loves you so very much and you're enjoying friends and family. Here's what I want to do today. I guess my gift to you is to study God's Word. I love to do this and I pray it's a blessing to your soul. So let's walk through Galatians four one through seven together. I taught a series not too long ago at my church called Emmanuel. I can't think of a better message to play today for you than this message about redemption. What the coming of the Son of God means. I'm going to use this word throughout this message called incarnation. It's a big word. It's one of those theological words. But what it really means is in the flesh that God came in the flesh bodily, so that we might be able to experience redemption and salvation. So do me a favor and grab your Bible we're going to look again at Galatians chapter four together. And as we get ready to dive deep into God's Word, I want you to do so with an open heart. And I want you to ask yourself the most important question that you can ask whenever you're listening to any sermon by any teacher of God's Word. How now shall I live in light of what I've just learned? So let's go into Galatians chapter four for the message. Emmanuel. The story is told of a dad who had his kid look. Kids look for a gift and a scavenger hunt type of style where he left him clues and they went around the house after they had opened up all the other gifts, looking for what he called the greatest gift. And one clue led to the next that led to the next. And then finally there was a box. And when they opened up that box, what was in it was a Bible, a family Bible. It was that dad's way of letting his kids know that the greatest gift given to us is given to us from heaven. It is the word of the living God that points us to the way of truth. How many thank God for His word? Today I want to invite you to join me in a particular reading, a particular passage of Scripture written by one of the earliest followers of Jesus. It's the apostle Paul. He's one of the writers of many of the books of the New Testament. And he writes this letter to the Galatian church. And we're going to look at chapter four of the letter to the Galatians. And you can look on your screen. And one of the things that I love about this passage of Scripture, and about the moment we just shared together on stage, is it's a reminder to me of what the church is when she's at her best. What the church is when we're at our best is more than just some community service agency, more than just a collection of people who gather together but are disconnected otherwise with the church is when she is at her best, is a family, is a spiritual family. The Bible calls the church the household of faith. And today I want to talk to you about how you and I become a part of the spiritual family of God. You see, that is why Jesus is come. Throughout this month, we've been studying the significance of the coming of the Son of God into the world. He declares himself to be Emmanuel, meaning God with us. What does it mean for God to be with us when God enters into our lives? When Jesus is present in our lives, we have studied how he brings peace, how he brings joy, how he reconciles even the relationships that's been broken. But this morning, what I want to look at is how the coming of the Son of God allows us to be brought near and to become a part of the family of God. And I want you to experience that. I think we all know what it's like to feel distant or disconnected from our family. Maybe geographically, maybe this morning, even as we gather, there is family you're thinking about that are miles and miles away that you're wishing you could be closer to. But maybe even more difficult than that is not geographical distance. Some of us know what it's like to experience relational distance because of a disagreement or an argument, or maybe even worst of all, spiritual distance. Well, the good news is that Jesus Christ has come to overcome all of those barriers that when we put our faith and our trust in him, he's able to bridge the gap. and in particular the Gulf that is keeping us from intimacy and closeness with God and experiencing the love of being a member of the spiritual family of God. I want to read just the first seven verses of Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter four. He says, I mean this, that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way, we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time comes, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ABBA, father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. You know, Paul is echoing, and you can tell as you read this, there is a deep yearning in his heart for us to embrace the redemption of God that he offers to us through Jesus. He writes this to his original audience, who thought that somehow they could earn a right into God's family, that by keeping the law, that by keeping rules that they could enter into relationship. What I love about the Christian faith that I find utterly unique and different than every other religion known to man, is that what we have is more than just a set of rules or laws that are very hard or difficult to keep. What Jesus declares is that the law was simply given to help us to recognize our need for a Savior, not for us to be able to earn our way to salvation. No. What he frees us from is some works based righteousness. Some thought that somehow if I perform enough or do enough, that I can earn God's approval. I want you to know this, that he wants to free you from the hamster wheel of performance, and he wants you to know that he loves you because he has chosen to love you. Every other person in our lives has some form of conditional love for us. But how many? Thank God for the unconditional love of Jesus? How many? Praise God for that. Maybe you notice that there's a few things that Paul addresses in these seven short verses. The first thing he addresses is what keeps us from being part of the family of God. What's caused distance between you and God? Me and God. Well, Paul sums it up in this one word, and that is slave. He says in verse number one, I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave. A slave to what? Well, he goes on in verse number three to say that we are enslaved to the elementary principles of this world. Paul says that every single one of us are a slave to sin. And it is this bondage, if you will, that keeps us from relationship with God. It is not that God does not want a relationship with us, it is simply that we become imprisoned. Imprisoned to our passions, in prison, to our pursuits, in prison, to our own bad choices and addictions. And and when you hear this term elementary, what Paul wants us to think of is a height differential. He uses this analogy throughout his writings that, um, the elementary things are the base things or the lower things, instead of the heavenly things, which are the higher things. And what Paul is saying is that instead of us being a prisoner to the base or elementary things, what he wants us to do is to rejoice in the heavenly things, to wake up every morning with our focus on the things of heaven, his love for us, his grace to us, the purpose and the meaning that Jesus brings into my heart and yours. When we have surrendered our lives to him. That's what Paul wants us to experience. He puts it this way it's the love of Christ that compels us. He wants you to have meaning and purpose and to be driven by the love of Christ with the divine mission. That's the purpose of his divine intervention that we call Christmas. But yet he knows that for me and my heart, for yours as well, that we are so often prone to being enslaved to the elementary things of this world. Now, when you think of the elementary things of this world, the base things of this world, we can often think about the visible sins that often destroy our lives, maybe drugs or alcohol or some other addiction. But Paul is thinking much broader than that. He's thinking about the idols that we often give our hearts over to, things like the politics of this world. You know, we can become enslaved to the politics of this world, thinking that somehow some elected official is going to bring us the redemption that we're hoping for will be the Messiah. It was the late, great Chuck Colson who worked in the white House for many years, who's famous for saying that salvation will never fly in on the wings of Air Force One. How many can say Amen to that? Don't get me wrong. Washington, D.C. has power. But how many know that heaven has all power? That all power is in his hands? So participate in this world, but don't become a slave to it. It's Paul's admonishment I can become a slave not only to the politics of this world, but I. And maybe you have before become a slave to maybe even our professions, the pursuit of career success that seems to be so obsessive. The climbing of the corporate ladder. And the next thing, we are a prisoner to our professions or our academic pursuits, or some other standard by which we think we can earn approval or status. Paul says, Jesus wants to free you from that. Or maybe it's our possessions, the pursuit of things that hold our hearts so tightly, and the fear of losing those things. Paul says, Jesus has come to free us from that so that we will be no longer slaves, not just to drugs or alcohol or our addictions, but but no longer slaves to our professions or our politics or our possessions, that we would guard the passions of our heart to make sure that none of them become an idol and take the seat of worship that belongs to Christ and Christ alone. He comes to free us from our bondage. Aren't you glad that he comes to set us free from our bondage? I don't know your bondage. We may not know one another, but this is what we know for sure is that all of us have some area of bondage. Maybe it's bondage to lust, maybe it's bondage to eating, maybe it's bondage to anger or unforgiveness. But the enemy constantly wants to put you and I in a prison. But he came to set the prisoner free. Christ came to set the prisoner free. And so today I want you to know freedom is possible. And that's a simple message. But it is so true and it's so powerful. And I almost want to say, honk if you've experienced freedom before, but I don't want to cause a car accident because so many of us would be honking that you could hear it across America. God is so good and he's worthy of our praise today. Whom the son has set free is truly free indeed. We're going to continue this study on the other side of this break. Don't go anywhere. Enjoy away in a manger. It's December and here at equip, we want to thank you for your generous gifts throughout this year. Your donations bless others with the truth of the gospel, and together we're pointing people to the life changing hope and freedom of Jesus Christ. Let's finish this year strong by continuing to support this ministry and program, or become a first time investor in the ministry. Give us a call today at 888644 4144 or go to equip radio.org. What an amazing day today is. Merry Christmas. I'll be having a great day. I hope you know how much God loves you. And I know it's so easy to resent days like today. They're so commercialized and so pagan in many ways, and it feels like, man, this is about as unspiritual as something can be. And that's exactly why I'm grateful that we celebrate the coming of the Son of God into the world on this day. Christmas was never intended to be a pagan day. And you say, Chris, don't you know the history? And I say, yes, and I still stand by what I just said. It was never intended to be a pagan day. How do I know that? Because no day is intended to be a pagan day. Not by the God who is sovereign over the universe. He is sovereign over every day. That's what makes Christian holy days, or what we call Christian holidays, so powerful, so special. It's because we're reclaiming territory from the culture. We're not conceding one square inch. Why? Because over every square inch of created order, Christ declares mine. It is his today. So today we give him the glory and we look at the beauty of His Word. And so I want you to continue with me in this study of Galatians, as we look boldly in the beautiful face of God through Scripture. Let's go back into the message. Emmanuel. He comes to free us from our bondage. Well, he doesn't stop there, but he says how this freedom is experienced. He wants us to trust in God's saving action. Look at verse number four. It says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. You know, earlier in this passage he used an analogy, really an estate planning analogy? For years I was a financial advisor before I became a pastor, and I helped a lot of people to work through estate planning. And he uses this analogy that as long as the heir is a child, they differ nothing from a slave. Those of you who have gone through estate planning, you know what it's like to have to pick a trustee to handle your affairs. And hopefully one of your children are old enough and mature enough to be able to handle things if something should happen to you. It's not always the case. You know, my mom has this saying that God gives you some kids to keep you praising and some kids to keep you praying. I'll let you figure that out, but hopefully you have somebody who can handle your estate. But you get the analogy that that as long as my children or your children are minors, they can't experience the full benefits of the inheritance. They got to grow up. They got to mature to be able to experience that. Until then, they're under the tutelage of guardians and managers. And and so it is that the law for Israel and for us, it treats us that way. But if we want to experience the fullness of the inheritance, we got to grow up in our faith. We got to trust Christ. We got to put no confidence in the flesh. We have to trust, trust that he did what? Trust that he came to redeem. Paul uses this word redeem. And that word redeem is an economic term. It means to purchase, to, to buy back. We were prisoners to sin. We were under the debt of sin. Maybe you know what it's like to be up under crushing debt that has a lot of zeros after it. Well, that's what happens every time we violate God's way. His will, his word, which we do so often. I know I've done. So often we are getting deeper and deeper into the debt of sin, and it's one of those debts that if we could work a thousand lifetimes, we couldn't pay it off from our own works. No, we needed God's intervention through Jesus Christ. Heaven didn't need Christmas. We needed Christmas. So Jesus comes into the world so that he can live a sinless life and go to the cross and pay the sin debt that we could not pay to wipe our slates clean so that we can be pronounced free, that you're no longer a slave to sin, you're no longer in debt to sin anymore. But we can live in freedom to the glory of God. Now, one of the mistakes we often make is to confuse freedom for autonomy. But there's a difference between freedom and autonomy. The word autonomy comes from two Greek words that are put together auto and nomos no auto meaning no or nomos, meaning law without law. And many of us think that freedom is not having law at all. But that's not freedom. Freedom to get yourself into bondage is not freedom at all. Freedom to pursue your passions untethered, unhindered only gets us into a hamster wheel of bad choices and bad decisions. And maybe you're here today and you know what it's like to be on that hamster wheel. But Jesus offers us something greater than autonomy. He offers us freedom in him to be governed by the law of Christ, which is love. To love God with all of your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. When you have that freedom, then you are free. Scripture says that whom the Son of Man is set free is what? Free indeed. We can experience that freedom, friends. We can experience what it is to be a part of the family of God if we trust in him. Paul was writing to Israel because he did not want them to trust in their own actions and their own merits, and their own performance to earn salvation. We can't earn it, but God gives it freely. Well, he goes on and closes this passage by saying these words so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, crying, ABBA, father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. There's an inheritance. And this word, the scriptures tell you all about your inheritance. It's been given to you so that you might know your identity in Jesus, so that you might know the promise that you have in him. But Paul uses two words redeem, which is an economic word, to literally purchase someone or to buy a hostage back. He pictures a hostage being held in a prison. That's what sin was for us. But Jesus paid that price to let us go free. But he switches from a financial term to a family term. And maybe you noticed a family term. It's adoption. It's adoption to be brought from afar off into a family. You know, one of the beautiful ways that God has written me and my wife's family love story is that we have been blessed to have three kids by adoption, three kids biologically. And then we told the church, stop praying for kids. God answered that we got we got a quiver full and we thank God for each one of them. But, you know, there is no distinction between my adopted kids and my biological kids. All of my kids have equal right to the inheritance. They have equal right, as Paul would put it to the estate, they are equally and full heirs of the promise. And so it is for you and I that because of the blood of Jesus, we have been brought near, and now we have full, right and full access to God because of his love, his mercy, and his grace. You don't have to feel far off. You don't have to feel distant from him. But he says, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The good news of Christmas, friends, is that the greatest gift that you and I will receive probably won't be under a box tomorrow under that tree. But the greatest gift we receive is the full. Right. And access. We have to be a part of the family of God by faith in the Son of God. And today he invites us to the table. How many praise God for that? Aren't you glad you have full rights, full benefits, full access to God because you are a son or daughter of the King. Praise God for that. That you don't have to go through saints of old to get to God. You don't have to pray through Mary to get to God. You don't have to go through angels or any other intermediary. You have access to God yourself. If you ever doubt that, why don't you just read John chapter 14 where he tells them that you can ask anything in my name and it will be granted to you? Jesus gives us access to the father. He is your heavenly father and he loves you. And I love what First John tells us. Look at what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us. You are beloved by God. He has lavished you with his love and he wants you to receive it today. So receive the riches of his grace. But don't just receive it. Give it away. Who is it that God has called you to love? To show grace to? Can you at least pray for them today? It's one of the great ways we can celebrate Christmas. Hark! The herald angels sing. We'll be right back. Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks. Hey, I hope you're having a fun and relaxing day. Some may be at work today, and if you are one of those souls that are at work today, let me just say on behalf of everyone else, thank you. Thank you for doing that, because we need folks who will be willing to make that sacrifice, because the world does not stop for any man. But for those of you who do get to rest or stay home today, just know the reason why. It's not just because it's a commercial holiday. It is because there is someone worthy of our worship today and that is Jesus. Jesus is worthy of our worship, so don't let today go by without worshiping him. And if you have an opportunity to go to a local church gathering, what a great day to do that as well. And it's also an opportunity to gather with family. If you're grieving today the loss of a loved one who's absent from the table, maybe for the first year not present. Just want you to know God sees you as well. And our prayer for you is that you would know the God of all comfort, grace, and love. Today we want to learn more about Jesus, and we want you to learn more about his goodness and his love. And so we have been looking at Galatians chapter four as we talk about the incarnation, God in the flesh. What is the implication of that? Well summed up in one word, redemption. What does it mean for us to be redeemed? Well, I'm glad you asked. We're going to unpack that as we conclude this study in Galatians chapter four, simply entitled Emmanuel. So I want you to know today that no matter where you are, you can be a part of the family of God. One of the worst things that we can do so often, and we do it. I've been guilty of it. Maybe you have as well, is to disqualify ourselves from God's grace to say I've messed up. Too bad I've missed the Mark. Too much. You don't know my past. I've blown it. And there's no way I can be redeemed. And you're right. I don't know your past. But I do know this. There is no sin on earth that is greater than what he did on Calvary. And if you put your trust and your faith in him, you can experience the same freedom, the same redemption as anyone who ever has. Because the blood of Jesus is just that powerful, and the love of God is greater than the sins of man. And how many praise God for that truth? Amen. So today I want to invite you to be a part of the family of God. But what God wants today is to give you a gift, the gift of salvation. And if today you have not surrendered your life to him, I implore you, I urge you, don't just enjoy our time together, but make a decision. Act upon it. Invite Jesus to be Lord of your life. Today can be what you and I long for the most. You know, the older I get, the less I want things that money can buy. When you're a kid, you want the latest toy. When you get a little bit older, maybe you want to go on a shopping spree a little bit older. Maybe it's a vacation. But how many have gotten to the point now where the things you want most in life money can't buy? How many of you experienced what I'm talking about today? What Jesus offers you is something money can't buy, and that is a fresh start. Today, if you trust in him, the past can be gone and he can make all things new. Well, amen and amen. I hope you know that he's making all things new in you, not just in the world, but in you as well. He holds you as the apple of his eye, and while our good God made all things well, he made man Men and women in his image, and he made us especially well, I bring it up because that means to me, you and I are not meant for brokenness. Sometimes we do feel broken. Sometimes we do feel hurt and wounded. And if you feel any of those things, just know you're not alone. But you were made for more. He made you for his grace. He made you for his glory. And so that's why today is such a special day. It's because God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whosoever should believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I would love for you to put your faith and trust in Jesus. The Bible is clear on how we experience salvation. It's turning from sin. Turning to God for the salvation that he alone grants. Confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believing in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead. Do you believe that? If so, today you are saved. Friends, I can't wait to hear we're together again. Next time. Merry Christmas again. And until we get a chance to be together again. Remember, equipped with Chris Brooks is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Til he appeared. And the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope. The Weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angel voices. O night divine, O night when Christ was born. O night I know. Night o night divine. Truly he taught us to love one another. His love is love.

And his gospel.

Is peace. Chains shall he break. For the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we let all within us praise his holy name. Hush is the Lord. Oh praise his name forever. His power and glory evermore. Proclaim his power and Yeah. The more proclaim fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angel voices. Oh night divine O night when Christ was born. Oh, night divine. One Oh. Oh. Night, divine. Oh, oh.

Merry Christmas. Well, hey there, friends. Chris Brooks here. How would you like to raise godly children in a godless culture? What is a godly family really look like? Wouldn't it be great to peek into a home where multiple generations of Christ followers live and learn how they did it? Well, join me on equip for an insider story from Anne Graham Lotz and her daughter about living a legacy of faith for future generations. On the next equip, listen live weekdays at one eastern Noon Central on the Moody Radio app or equip radio.org.

Equipped with Chris Brooks

Equipped with Chris Brooks encourages you to grow spiritually, think critically, and live compassion 
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