{"id":1254,"date":"2022-12-04T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2022-12-02T21:47:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T21:47:19","slug":"sermon20221204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/sermon20221204\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Story that Leads to Glory &#8211; Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sermonNotes2022\">\n<p>2022 Church Theme: Advancing God\u2019s Kingdom in the New Normalcy<br \/>\nScripture: Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-12<br \/>\nSpeaker: Pastor Aaron Garcia<\/p>\n<div class=\"audio-container\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><source src=\"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/mp3\/English\/2022_1204_E.mp3\" type=\"audio\/mpeg\"><\/audio><\/div>\n<p><u><strong>Matthew 1:18-25<\/strong><\/u><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Matt-1-18\"><sup class=\"versenum\">18&nbsp;<\/sup>This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23163d\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23163d&quot; title=&quot;See footnote d&quot;>d<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote d\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%201&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23163d\">d<\/a>]<\/sup>: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23164\" class=\"text Matt-1-19\"><sup class=\"versenum\">19&nbsp;<\/sup>Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23164e\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23164e&quot; title=&quot;See footnote e&quot;>e<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%201&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23164e\">e<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce&nbsp;her quietly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23165\" class=\"text Matt-1-20\"><sup class=\"versenum\">20&nbsp;<\/sup>But after he had considered this, an angel&nbsp;of the Lord appeared to him in a dream&nbsp;and said, \u201cJoseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23166\" class=\"text Matt-1-21\"><sup class=\"versenum\">21&nbsp;<\/sup>She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23166f\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23166f&quot; title=&quot;See footnote f&quot;>f<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%201&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23166f\">f<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;because he will save his people from their sins.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23167\" class=\"text Matt-1-22\"><sup class=\"versenum\">22&nbsp;<\/sup>All this took place to fulfill&nbsp;what the Lord had said through the prophet:<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23168\" class=\"text Matt-1-23\"><sup class=\"versenum\">23&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cThe virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel\u201d<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23168g\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23168g&quot; title=&quot;See footnote g&quot;>g<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote g\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%201&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23168g\">g<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;(which means \u201cGod with us\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23169\" class=\"text Matt-1-24\"><sup class=\"versenum\">24&nbsp;<\/sup>When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel&nbsp;of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23170\" class=\"text Matt-1-25\"><sup class=\"versenum\">25&nbsp;<\/sup>But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><u><strong>Matthew 2:1-12<\/strong><\/u><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Matt-2-1\"><span id=\"en-NIV-23172\" class=\"text Matt-2-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">1<\/sup><\/span>After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,&nbsp;during the time of King Herod,&nbsp;Magi<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23171a\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23171a&quot; title=&quot;See footnote a&quot;>a<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%202&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23171a\">a<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;from the east came to Jerusalem<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23172\" class=\"text Matt-2-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">2&nbsp;<\/sup>and asked, \u201cWhere is the one who has been born king of the Jews?&nbsp;We saw his star&nbsp;when it rose and have come to worship him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23173\" class=\"text Matt-2-3\"><sup class=\"versenum\">3&nbsp;<\/sup>When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23174\" class=\"text Matt-2-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4&nbsp;<\/sup>When he had called together all the people\u2019s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23175\" class=\"text Matt-2-5\"><sup class=\"versenum\">5&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cIn Bethlehem&nbsp;in Judea,\u201d they replied, \u201cfor this is what the prophet has written:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"poetry top-05\">\n<p class=\"line\"><span id=\"en-NIV-23176\" class=\"text Matt-2-6\"><sup class=\"versenum\">6&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201c\u2018But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"text Matt-2-6\">are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Matt-2-6\">for out of you will come a ruler<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"text Matt-2-6\">who will shepherd my people Israel.\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em; line-height: normal; position: relative; vertical-align: text-top; top: auto; display: inline;\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23176b\" data-link=\"[<a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23176b&quot; title=&quot;See footnote b&quot;>b<\/a>]&#8221;>[<a title=\"See footnote b\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%202&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23176b\">b<\/a>]<\/sup>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"top-05\"><span id=\"en-NIV-23177\" class=\"text Matt-2-7\"><sup class=\"versenum\">7&nbsp;<\/sup>Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23178\" class=\"text Matt-2-8\"><sup class=\"versenum\">8&nbsp;<\/sup>He sent them to Bethlehem and said, \u201cGo and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23179\" class=\"text Matt-2-9\"><sup class=\"versenum\">9&nbsp;<\/sup>After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23180\" class=\"text Matt-2-10\"><sup class=\"versenum\">10&nbsp;<\/sup>When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23181\" class=\"text Matt-2-11\"><sup class=\"versenum\">11&nbsp;<\/sup>On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.&nbsp;Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts&nbsp;of gold, frankincense and myrrh.<\/span>&nbsp;<span id=\"en-NIV-23182\" class=\"text Matt-2-12\"><sup class=\"versenum\">12&nbsp;<\/sup>And having been warned&nbsp;in a dream&nbsp;not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2022 Church Theme: Advancing God\u2019s Kingdom in the New Normalcy Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-12 Speaker: Pastor Aaron Garcia Matthew 1:18-25 18&nbsp;This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[e]&nbsp;did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce&nbsp;her quietly. 20&nbsp;But after he had considered this, an angel&nbsp;of the &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/sermon20221204\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Christmas Story that Leads to Glory &#8211; Part I&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2022-sermon","category-pastor-aaron-garcia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1254"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1263,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1254\/revisions\/1263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgc.ca\/YM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}