Jesus – Glory of God [Heb.1; Lk.2; 2Cor.4] ~ 20251224 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

2025 12/24 Christmas Eve: Glory! -glory to God in the highest; glory of God in the face of Jesus. Radiance of the glory of God (Heb.1:3; Lk:2:14; 2Cor.4:4,6): http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20251224_jesus-glory.mp3

Welcome (rz)

(Kids enter stage)

Reading 1; Luke 1:26-38 (kids on stage) Readers: Narrator (Abby), Angel, (Nate) Mary (Emberleigh)

Kids choir: (with congregation)
-Away in a Manger /Forever Amen (phil wickham)

-Silent Night (3 verses)

-Joy to the World

Reading 2; Luke 2:1-16 Angels (all), Shepherds (all?) (kids exit on ‘go and see’)

The First Noel

Angels we have heard on high

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Message: Glory of God in the face of Jesus

Let All Mortal Flesh

Manger Throne (phil wickham)

O Holy Night (light candles)

Conclude, thank you (rz) (blow out candles)

Message: Glory! -glory to God in the highest; glory of God in the face of Jesus. Radiance of the glory of God (Heb.1:3; Lk:2:14; 2Cor.4:4,6)

In the dark fields around Bethlehem, the night lit up in a blaze of glory. An angel proclaimed to lowly shepherds “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Lk.2:10-12)

If one angel were not terrifying enough, the sky split “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk.2:13-14).

Glory. Glory to God in the highest. Glory is the bright shining of the confluence of all God’s attributes. God is holy, completely other; the divine three persons in one God. He is spirit, eternal, sovereign, good. He knows all, sees all, unlimited in power, beyond time and space, he fills all. He is just, he is love, he is patient, he is merciful and gracious. He is worthy of all worship.

Here’s the astounding thing; God’s glory was put on display that night in a shepherd’s cave, through the labor pains of a young unwed mother, and placed in a stone trough used to water sheep. The glory of God entered humanity in the person of Jesus. The Word who was with God and who was God, the Word who was in the beginning,

John 1:14 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 divine and eternal Word of God put his glory on display. John goes on to say:

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Jesus himself claimed:

“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. ...Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. ...I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (Jn.14:7-11). “I and the Father are one” (Jn.10:30).

Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ...

Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God; the exact imprint of his nature. Jesus puts the glory of God on display.

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul writes of his practice of openly proclaiming the good news by which we can be saved:

2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There is a satanic blindness that prevents people from seeing Jesus for who he truly is, from trusting in him and being saved. According to Paul, those who are blind to who Jesus truly is are perishing. Satanic blindness keeps people from seeing the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But God can overcome even dark satanic blindness. He goes on:

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is God’s sovereign creative power that triumphs over the darkness and gives light, light to us, light in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Do you see it? The glory of God in the manger? The glory of God most high in the face of the Son of God? The glory of God in Jesus of Nazareth, who hung on a cross to pay for my sins? For yours? Do you see it? Ask God to give you eyes to see it!

When you’ve seen it, you’ll spread it. God’s glory is uncontainable. It spreads. The shepherds that night went to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:16 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.

Glory to God in the highest! The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The radiance of God’s glory on display in Jesus, who left his Father’s side to become one of us, to take on flesh, ultimately to take our sins in his own body on the tree, to pay my price so that I could enjoy his glory in his presence forever. That is good news of great joy. And it is for all people! It is for you, if you will receive it. Will you?

***

[readers: Narrator: Abby; Angel: Nate; Mary: Emberleigh

Reading 1: (Luke 1:26-38)

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said,

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel,

“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said,

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

And the angel departed from her.

Reading 2: (Luke 2:1-15)

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.”

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org