Month: December 2025

“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

• Intro:
  • According to the Bible, we are to live by the word of God, every word of God.  
  • In Deut 8:3, Moses wrote, “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live”.  
  • Jesus quoted this verse in his reply to the devil’s temptation in Lk 4:4.  
  • “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.
• Why would the instruction “live by the word of God” be so important?
  • The reasons are simple when you look at the significance and power of the word of God.
• In Jn 1:1-3, all things were created by Jesus Christ, the Word.  
  • In Heb 11:3 the worlds were framed by the word of God.  
  • In Ps 33:6 by the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.  
  • In Gen 1 “God said”.
• Now, in Heb 1:3 upholding all things by the word of his power.  
• And in Col 1:16-17 by him were all things created… and by him all things consist.  
• None of what you see and none of what you can’t see in the entire universe would not even be here if God had not spoken these things into existence with his words.
• Evolutionary science and the science of natural processes are absolutely contrary to the words of God.  
  • They are mutually exclusive from creation.  
  • These, like Biblical scholarship, are the words of men pitted against the words of God to keep you from believing what God said.
• Nevertheless, we are to live by the word of God.
• We are born again by the word. 1 Pet 1:23-25 “born again by the word of God… the word of the Lord endureth forever”.
  • Eternal life comes from the eternal word and the eternal Word.
• We live by the word of God.  
  • Lk 4:4 “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.  
  • In the same way that we must have water to live, breath to live, and bread to live, we must have the words of God to live.  
  • You cannot live spiritually apart from these words.  
  • Consider that the entire universe is upheld by these words and you’re trying to live your life apart from these words.  
  • No wonder you’re falling apart.
• We are throughly furnished by the word of God.
  • 2 Tim 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works”.
• In the same way that God spoke this universe into existence, he speaks to you in his words.  
  • He gives them to you by inspiration so that you can understand them,
  • Job 32:8.  
  • And that’s what makes them profitable for doctrine (so you know what he said), reproof (so you know where you’re out of line), for correction (so you can get into line), and instruction in righteousness (so you can stay in line).  You will never be throughly furnished unto all good works apart from these words.
• We are judged by the word of God.  
  • Jn 12:47-50 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day”.  
  • You are going to stand before God to be judged one of these days.  
  • You don’t have to wait to see how that judgment is going to turn out.  
  • Everything is already written in this book.  
  • When you live by the word, you know how the judgment will go.
• Conclusion:
  • Live by the word of God.  
  • If you are not saved, trust Jesus Christ to save you according to the scriptures (1 Cor 15:1-4; Rom 10:9-10, 13).  
  • If you are already saved, get into the word of God and get the word of God into you.  
  • It’s the only way to have life more abundantly as Jesus promised.

• Intro:
  • We are going to examine some Christmas traditions which are perversions of Biblical truth. 
  • Here are some of the major Christmas traditions:
• Santa coming to town –
  • Instead of waiting around for Santa to arrive (which he won’t), look for Titus 2:13, the glorious appearing of Christ. 
  • And don’t look for him to arrive with “rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums.”  
  • He is coming with the sound of a trumpet and in flaming fire to take vengeance [Matt 24:31; 2 Thess 1:7-10]. 
  • Santa is supposed to know who’s naughty and nice. 
  • You’d better not wait for that, but rather prepare for the judgment seat of Christ [2 Cor 5:10]. 
  • Don’t worry about him seeing you when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake. 
  • He can’t see anything but the Lord can [Prov 15:3]. 
  • He’s the one with whom you must concern yourself.
• Santa Claus dressed in red –
  • Instead of thinking of an imaginary figure bearing gifts, think of Is 63:1-4, the color of the Lord’s garments after executing his vengeance on his enemies at his second coming [Rev 14:18-20; Rev 19:13-18].
• Santa Claus with long white hair –
  • Instead of thinking of the kindly face of an old fairy tale, think of Rev 1:13-15, the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest gift giver ever known to man. 
  • And think of him as the supreme ruler after he sets up his kingdom on earth [Dan 7:9].
• Santa’s gifts to men –
  • Instead of thinking about imaginary gifts from the north pole, think about the gifts given to us by Jesus Christ in Eph 4:8-12 following his ascension. 
  • They are the gifts by which we grow in Christ.
• The Christmas tree –
  • Instead of thinking about a decorated tree with many gifts underneath it, think of 1 Cor 1:18, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ where the price of our redemption was paid for all eternity. 
  • The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord [Rom 6:23].
• Conclusion:
  • As much fun as it is to enjoy time with family and gift exchanges and all that, don’t let the Christmas traditions overshadow the wonderful truths of the words of God. 
  • Keep your mind and heart on the Lord and trust him as your Saviour, if you haven’t already.

• Intro:
  • In this lesson we are going to look at the Christmas passage and teach two very important doctrines from the word of God.
  • The two doctrines are the Deity of Jesus Christ, which is God being manifest in the flesh, and the virgin birth.
  • These two doctrines are essential for salvation and are shown to us in the Christmas passage as well as other places in the word of God.
• In 1 Timothy 3:16 we see that the mystery of Godliness is that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh.
  • This is called a mystery not because it was something that we could never know, but that it was revealed to Paul and it is also very hard to understand.
  • This is also shown to us by the name Emmanuel as we will see in this lesson.
• The virgin birth:
  • In the passage from Matthew we see that God is very careful to show us that Mary was a virgin.
  • This is shown in the following verses: Matthew 1
    • Verse 18 “before they came together”
    • Verse 20 “that which is conceived hi here is of the Holy Ghost”
    • Verse 23 “a virgin shall be with child”
    • Verse 25 “knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son”
• This fact was also prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 as we see quoted in Matthew 1:23.
  • There is another prophesy of the virgin birth found in Genesis 3:15.
  • Here the woman is said to have a seed and that seed will have enmity with the seed of the serpent.
  • The reproduction the seed is from the man there as a direct result of man’s sin we see the need for a special birth.
  • Satan knows this and has counterfeited it by putting virgins or mothers and sons to worship in other religions.
• The virgin birth is essential to our salvation because if Jesus was not conceived by the Holy Ghost he would have been born in the image of Adam.
  • When Adam was created he was created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-28).
  • What is the image of God? It is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4 ; Hebrews 1:3)
  • This is why Adam is called the son of God in Luke 3:38.
• When Adam sinned this image changed.
  • His children were born in his image not the image of God (Genesis 5:5).
  • This is why it is so important the Jesus did not have an earthly father.
  • If he had had an earthly father then the sin nature of Adam would have been passed on to him (Romans 5:12-14).
  • Without the virgin birth our salvation would not be possible.
• Jesus is God manifest in the flesh:
  • The reason that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh is because of the virgin birth.
  • Note the references above to Jesus being conceived by the Holy Ghost.
  • The fact that he was God manifest in the flesh is seen in the name Emmanuel which being interpreted is God with us.
• What about the name Jesus. Jesus means savior, which is why verse 21 says that he will save his people from their sins.
  • What is interesting is that Jesus is a form of Joshua which means Jehovah saves.
  • Note in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 that the name of Joshua has been replaced with Jesus in a King James Bible.
  • This is because what Joshua does in the book of Joshua is a type of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
  • Most modern bibles disregard the change.
• It is also important to note that even in prophesies of the Old Testament that God was careful to word things in the King James Bible so that the fact of Jesus being with God before creation would be kept safe.
  • Note in Isaiah 9:6 that the verse says a child is born and a son is given. Jesus as a child was born but Jesus as God was given.
• The fact that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh is also seen in the visitors which he had after his birth.
  • The shepherds were the first visitors to see the baby Jesus. Have you ever wondered why God allowed shepherds to be the first to see him?
  • Well in Psalm 23:1 it says the Lord is my shepherd.
  • But in Isaiah 53:6-7 we see that Jesus as the Lamb of God was dumb before the shearers. Jesus Christ is both the lamb and a shepherd.
• Even in the visit of the wise men up to a couple of years later they were allowed to worship him which denotes God manifest in the flesh.
  • In the gifts they gave him we also see God manifest in the flesh.
  • The gold represents deity or God.
  • The myrrh was used in anointing the dead which represents man.
  • As a man Jesus died for our sins. Frankincense was used in the priesthood which denotes Jesus as our high priest.
  • The fact that Jesus was God yet became man and died for our sins and was risen again is what makes him the faithful high priest which intercedes on our behalf today (Hebrews 2:14-18).
• It is a must that Jesus was God in the flesh which is accomplished by the virgin birth.
  • This is the only way in which he can save his people from there sins!

“And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:7).

“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” was another of more than 6,500 hymns written by Charles Wesley. It was first published in 1744 in a small collection of eighteen poems titled Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord. The tune was composed by a twenty year-old Welshman, Rowland H. Prichard, around 1830.

The first verse focuses on the fact that the coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled Israel’s longing for the Messiah. A few of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled are: Isaiah 7:14, which spoke of a virgin giving birth to a child whose name would mean ” … God with us”(Matthew 1:23); Isaiah 9:6, which told of a child whose name would ” … be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace …” ; and Micah 5:2, which said that from Bethlehem would come a ruler ” … whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

These and many similar prophecies looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and many devout Jews prayed earnestly for the day when He would arrive. Luke 2:25 tells of Simeon, a man of faith who was ” … waiting for the consolation of Israel …” When he saw Jesus as an infant, Simeon knew that this Child was the fulfillment of his messianic hope. Charles Wesley was borrowing from this passage when he described Jesus as “Israel’s Strength and Consolation” in the song.

Although He fulfilled Israel’s prophecies, Jesus came to bring salvation to the entire world. This is what Wesley was referring to when he described Christ as the “Hope of all the earth” and the “Dear Desire of every nation.” More than that, He is the “Joy of every longing heart.” He alone is the one who can satisfy every soul.

The last verse then goes on to tell us why Jesus can meet our expectations: He was “Born a child and yet a King.” As the One who is both God and man, Jesus was able to satisfy God’s wrath completely by dying on the cross for our sins. When Wesley wrote about Jesus’ “all sufficient merit,” he was referring to Christ’s ability to bring us to salvation.

Wesley did not want to just paint a picture of Jesus in the manger; he wanted the entire Christmas story to have a personal application. Wesley wanted to impress upon God’s people that Jesus is not only the “Desire of every nation,” but is also the personal “Joy of every longing heart.” Jesus has the “government on his shoulders,” but he was born to reign personally “in us.”