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A Thrill of Hope - Luke 2

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So many of the great songs of the Christmas season have hope as the theme. Perhaps the most famous is the familiar hymn from 1847 “O Holy Night,” which describes the thrill of hope as the weary world rejoices. There are two people in the Christmas story who are usually overlooked, but who embodied this hope as they waited with expectation for years on end for Jesus’ birth. They are Simeon and Anna, and these two are great examples of what it means biblically to have hope.

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12/24/2021
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A Thrill of Hope
Luke 2
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
So many of the great songs of the Christmas season have hope as the theme. Perhaps the most famous is the familiar hymn from 1847 “O Holy Night,” which describes the thrill of hope as the weary world rejoices. There are two people in the Christmas story who are usually overlooked, but who embodied this hope as they waited with expectation for years on end for Jesus’ birth. They are Simeon and Anna, and these two are great examples of what it means biblically to have hope.
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Christmas Messages

Christmas Messages

This collection of Christmas messages from over the years focuses on the birth of Jesus Christ—"Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" (Matthew 1:23). You'll be encouraged to keep your eyes on Christ no matter the season.

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  1. Hope Is for the Godly (vv. 25-28, 36-38)

  2. Hope Rests on Certainty (vv. 25b-26)

  3. Hope Produces Ecstasy (vv. 29-30, 38)

  4. Hope Includes Prophecy (vv. 33-35)

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A Thrill of Hope - Luke 2 - Skip Heitzig

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Welcome to Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you joined us for this special Christmas Eve message, A Thrill of Hope. The Christmas Carol "O Holy Night" says, a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. The world is weary indeed. And that's why a thrill of hope is the theme of our Christmas Eve services. Here's Pastor Skip.

[APPLAUSE]
Merry Christmas to you all. Hope. The world cannot live without hope. It's one thing we need more than anything else. Hope. Somebody once put it this way, that a person can live 40 days without food, that we could live three days without water, we could live eight minutes without air, but we can't live a second without hope.

And it's true. We need hope. Fyodor Dostoevsky, who is a Russian novelist, said, when we lose hope, we cease to live. To live without hope is to cease to live. I've been noticing lately when I get online and I go to Google that all sorts of little ads pop up, and they're psychological ads. It's talking to people who might be reading Google who are feeling depressed, who are feeling forlorn, who are feeling weak and hopeless.

And more and more, that is happening. And I think what they have figured out is that with the uncertainty of a lingering pandemic, that fear is overtaking hope. And it's true. Harvard University did a study where they realized that now, over half of all of the young people in our country are feeling depressed, despondent, and without hope. Hopeless. There's a sense of hopelessness in our country.

But the opposite is also true according to the American Psychological Foundation. They noted that people who started out facing a difficulty in life when they were younger, even poverty, that there was a common denominator when those people later on in life became successful. And the common denominator that all of them had that boosted them to the top was that little word that we've been floating around in this season, and that is hope. Hope changes everything. Christmas is a time of hope.

And it's not a time of hope because you hope to get a Christmas present that you've been looking for a long time or you hope to get a day off of work or two or three-- we've had enough days off of work the last couple of years. But Christmas is filled with hope because it proves that life doesn't have to stay the same.

Christmas proves that God was in control of human history, that God has a plan for the flow of history. It's Christmas that makes us realize that history is His story. That God interrupted the flow of events with a birth. The birth of a child. Not a normal birth, not an ordinary birth, not a normal, ordinary child. A miraculous birth. God interrupted history to give us a Savior. He stepped out of heaven to pay for our sin, and He promises to return to rule and reign with those of us who have been cleansed from sin.

And so Christmas is a time of hope, and it's sort of summed up in that anthem that we have used for this service and for this season. From the song "O Holy Night," long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth, a thrill of hope. The weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Well, there's two people in the Christmas story that embody this hope. Their names are Simeon and Anna. These two people, both of them Jewish, both of them old-- they're elderly, both of them very godly, these two people in our story embody the hope of this season.

Now Simeon and Anna are part of what I call the backstage crew of the Christmas story. Most people don't pay a whole lot of attention to Simeon and Anna. They didn't write any great book, they didn't write a rock and roll song. Their names are not in Hebrews Chapter 11. They were probably not even very prominent in Jerusalem at the time. But they are noted here in scripture.

And I say that most people would pass over them. It's sort of like most people, when they go to a movie, don't sit around and watch all the credits afterwards. Most people. Some might, but most people don't care about who the musical researcher for the film was. Most people don't care about who the grip was in the second camera, things like that. All due respect, if you're in the movie industry, you're all important, but most people don't do that. Most people only care about who's starring in the movie.

And we know who's starring in the Christmas movie. We know it's all about the babe in the manger. And then there's Mary, and then there's Joseph, and then there's the shepherds then there's the magi. And there's even the donkeys and the sheep and the cows. They at least make it onto the Christmas cards.

But not Simeon and not Anna. Nobody really mentions them during this season. Nobody puts their pictures on Christmas cards. But they are part of the story, because they provide according to Luke, Eyewitness testimony as to who this baby really was. Luke introduces Him as the Savior. The virgin-born son of God.

But then he brings eyewitnesses who testified to that. And Luke is a very careful historian, and I'm reading out of Luke Chapter 2 today for our Christmas story. Luke is very, very fastidious and he shows us that Jesus, when he was eight days old, was circumcised. That's mentioned in the story previous to this.

Then later on he is presented in the temple for Mary's purification 40 days after the birth of Jesus. And then he mentioned Simeon and Anna. Now what I want to do is pretty simple in the next few minutes. Since this is all about a hope, the thrill of hope, I want to look at Hope as our main picture, but I want to draw a four-sided frame around that picture.

So the first side is that hope is for the godly. Hope is for the godly. Godly people of all people should be people of hope. In our story, it reads this way. In Luke Chapter 2, Verse 25, "Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just or righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And so he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and he blessed God." That's Simeon. Let me introduce you to this gal. That is Anna down in the same chapter, Verse 36.

"Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age." It's a nice Bible way of saying she was an old lady. "And lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. And this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. And coming in that instance, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke to Him of all who looked for redemption in Israel."

Both of these folks were godly people. Not a lot is said about them personally. We don't know, for example, their educational status. We do not know what occupation Simeon had prior to this throughout his lifetime. But we know that both of them were very spiritual individuals. Because it says Simeon was just and devout, or righteous and devout. And both of them were in the temple.

Both of them were filled with hope. So here you have two godly people filled with hope. Most of the atheists and agnostics I have met are not hopeful people. I've met a lot of them, I had a lot of conversations with them. Most of them are not filled with hope. For that matter, some religious people that I meet are not too hopeful. Israel is an example.

At this time, the nation of Israel, most of them were backslidden and hypocritical, they were into their ceremonies and their rituals and their traditions, and they all claim to be looking for the Messiah, but there were very few, a very small, tiny group, a minority of people that really were waiting for the Messiah. And two of them are here, Simeon and Anna.

And things really haven't changed that much. It's the same today. In Judaism, only 30% of Jewish people actually belong to the synagogue. Much fewer than that are actually Orthodox Jews. Even if you go to Israel today, a very small percentage of the population, less than 10% are people who actually take the laws and promises of God seriously.

So just think of that. God takes all of his promises, puts them in one book, and gives them to one people, the Jewish people. But very, very few actually take that word seriously, take those promises seriously. But Simeon did and Anna did. And I just want to underscore that. The most hopeful people I have ever met are the most spiritual people. They are by far happier, they are by far more confident.

Study after study shows this. A Pew Research study noted that globally, they studied this globally, that generally, spiritual people are happier and healthier. And there was a study done down in El Salvador of the youth. Young people, they noted, were getting spiritual, they said. That's their term for conversion. They were becoming spiritual. And the article noted that it is the Christian understanding of God and transcendent worldview that offers them a source of hope.

And you know what? Even when the world isn't what it should be, even when things don't work out the way we want them to be, even though we plan for things and those plans fall apart, spiritual people are still hopeful. Even the psalmist in Psalm 45 said to himself in the psalm-- he wrote about it, "Why are you cast down, oh, my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God," he said. "Hope in God." He's saying to himself, "Hope in God." When the world falls apart, he knows that he can hope in God.

Now having said that, I've noticed that some people-- in fact, a majority of worldly people like to mock those of us who are spiritual people and say we believe in God and we believe in an afterlife and we believe there's hope because of God's promises. They listen to us and they say things like, get real, man. You need to live in the real world. That's a make-believe world. I live in the real world, you need to live in the real world.

And my answer is simply this-- we do live in the real world. We face all the same things you face. We live in the real world, but we also know there's a really real world beyond the real world that is actually even more real than this. There's a movie put out years ago-- in fact, there's a new one coming out called The Matrix.

And The Matrix-- the whole premise of that series of films is that we live in a program, a computer program. The world is nothing more than a virtual reality program. And very few have actually penetrated the veil to see reality, and one of them is a guy, the main character, named Neo.

Morpheus in the first film talks to Neo and explains it to him this way. He said you take the blue pill, you wake up in your own bed, and you believe whatever you want. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland. Most people take the blue pill. Most people wake up and they believe whatever they want. They kind of dictate their own reality.

Those of us who are spiritual, we've taken the red pill. We see beyond the veil. We see the real world, but also the really real world. So hope is for the godly. Now, let's keep going with that picture. So we have one side of the frame. The other part of the frame, the second part is that hope rests on certainty. Hope rests on certainty.

In Verse 25, it describes Simeon as somebody who is waiting. "Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Now both of them are pretty old. We are told that Anna was of great age. She was an old lady. We can infer that Simeon was also very old, because twice, the passage mentions his death. He had a promise from God that he wouldn't die until he saw the Lord's Messiah.

And then when he saw the Lord's Messiah, he said, I can die now. I can depart in peace. Your servant has seen what you promised. So we can infer that both of them were pretty old, which means they have been waiting a long, long time for this promise. It's hard to wait for something anyway, but it's really hard to wait a whole lifetime like they did.

Several years ago, a psychologist by the name of Walter Mischel devised a simple little test that has become known as the marshmallow test. I'm sure a lot of you have heard about that. He took four-year-olds, and he took groups of four-year-olds, he gave each of the children a marshmallow and told them to wait 20 minutes before eating the marshmallow. You know how hard that is for a kid?

So they had to hold this marshmallow, but they couldn't eat it for 20 minutes. But he said, if you can wait 20 minutes and not eat the marshmallow, if you can do that, I'll give you another marshmallow. And so he waited and he watched, and some kids waited, some kids did not wait. But they ate the marshmallow.

So they made note of this phenomena in their study, but they did more than that. They followed the kids in this study throughout their lives a little bit further, and they watched them as they grew up, and they made note of the fact that the kids who were able to wait became better adjusted, were more dependable, and scored an average of 210 points higher on their SAT exams than other kids. Because they could wait. They learned to wait.

Now I'll just say right now, I would fail the marshmallow test. I would eat the marshmallow, and on the way out of the classroom, probably steal a kid's marshmallow and eat that as well. So I would not have done well on that. Simeon and Anna passed the test. They waited, and they waited a long time. But here's what I want you to make a note of here.

When the Bible speaks of hope, it is not speaking of some dream or some wish that they have or just some fantasy or some illusion. In the Bible, hope simply means truth that hasn't yet happened. It's truth that hasn't yet happened. So you can dream and have an illusion about a lot of things that will never happen.

Here's an example. Let's say you're a 35-year-old guy living in your parents' basement, and you work at Waffle House. But you have a dream that you will meet Miss America and she will fall in love with you, that she will walk into Waffle House and see you flipping those pancakes and cooking those hash browns, and it will just be too much for her.

She'll run into your arms and rush down the aisle with you and get married. Nice dream. That's not hope. That's not biblical hope. That's an illusion. That's a dream. That's like a dream that people have to win the lottery. Your chances of that happening are like maybe 0%. Maybe.

Hope is different. Hope looks forward to what you know is going to happen. And I just want to say, for some of you, it's time for you to upgrade your dreams to a hope. Upgrade your dreams to a hope. They had a certainty. What was the certainty? What was it they knew was going to happen?

It's mentioned here. The consolation of Israel. They knew that one day, God would send the Consoler-- that's another term for the Messiah. They knew that the Bible, the Old Testament, that God gave the Jewish people had predicted time and time and time and time again, various aspects of the Messiah, and they were waiting for the consolation of Israel. A very famous Jewish prayer, was, may I see the consolation of Israel? That's a prayer of saying, I want to see the Messiah.

In fact, did you know that the Jews, the Hebrews have a name for the Messiah? They call him the Menachem. Menachem. Some of you've heard of the Prime Minister of Israel years ago, Menachem Begin. The word Menachem means the comforter or the consoler. And the rabbis would talk about when the Menachem comes, the great comforter and consoler of Israel, when the Messiah comes.

Interesting about Simeon, we are told, it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Now I don't know how that would work out like at home with his wife if he still had a wife. I can just hear his wife saying, Simeon, you don't eat too much of that, you could get sick. Yeah, but I won't die. You better watch out, Simeon. Don't go to the temple. You could get COVID. Maybe so, but I won't die.

I mean, imagine living with that kind of promise that you will not die until you see the fulfillment of God's promise. This man was anchored in that hope. So hope is for the godly, but hope rests on certainty. Here's the third side to this picture. Hope produces ecstasy. Now how do you think Simeon and Anna felt when they finally saw that baby come in?

When that baby finally came into the temple and they saw Jesus and Mary and Joseph-- the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, that area where the temple was built is huge. It's 45 acres. Thousands-- in fact, potentially hundreds of thousands of people can all converge into that one area. The chances of these people all meeting up together on a human level is slim.

And Simeon did not exist in Joseph and Mary's world. Anna did not exist in their world. Joseph and Mary did not exist in Simeon's world. But they met each other in the temple, and I can see Simeon going into the temple every day kind of just looking around every day, and he sees a baby and he says, is that the one? Is that the one?

But one day, he comes in and it's as if the Holy Spirit prompts his heart and says, that's the one. That's the baby. That's the hope. That's the Consoler. That's the one you've been waiting for. And I can see Simeon just sort of walking up to this couple, total strangers, and saying, excuse me, I know this is going to sound weird, but can I just hold your baby? Just for a second.

And it says in Verse 28, "He blessed God." In Verse 38, it says, concerning Anna, "And coming in that instant, she gave thanks." See, they were both, no doubt, overwhelmed with joy, because Simeon said, I can die a happy man. My eyes have seen your salvation. Now I mentioned that godly people are hopeful people. I want to complete the statement. Yes, godly people are hopeful people, but also hopeful people are happy people.

Even when they don't see the reality of that promise, as I mentioned, hope is what tethers them. Paul said we rejoice, we rejoice-- we get happy. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Simeon and Anna had hoped and hoped, and there He was. And they got so ecstatic and so excited and overwhelmed with joy, and they blessed God. Now I just got to say when I read this passage, I get excited because I know things Simeon didn't even know.

I live now on this side of the coming of Jesus Christ. And I know that people did get saved because of this child. And I know that the gospel would go out into all the world and change the lives of people on the other side of the planet, including this country. And I get excited because I know that is the truth, and even Simeon, though he saw Jesus, he didn't see all that would happen.

So hope is for the godly. Hope rests on certainty. Hope produces ecstasy. Let me close with a fourth. Hope is fueled by prophecy. Simeon and Anna see this baby boy with Joseph and Mary, and Simeon makes a prediction. He says-- he took up this baby in his arms and blessed God and he said-- I'm reading now Verse 29 of Chapter 2-- "Lord, you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.

Then Simeon blessed them. And said to Mary, his mother, 'Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against-- yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Simeon takes that baby and he makes a prediction. The prediction not only is that this child is salvation personified-- my eyes have seen your salvation, but says that your child is going to divide people, and people are going to hate him. Now just imagine how this would play out if it were a baby dedication. And you brought your baby up here to be dedicated and I held your baby and we all clapped for it, but then I said, your baby is going to be hated by a whole lot of people.

In fact, when this baby grows up, there's going to be so many people that hate your child or love your child, he's going to divide everybody. Wherever He goes, He's going to be just the dividing line. The demarcation line for the fate of everyone. You go, yo, dude, decaf next time, OK?

Now most of you, many of you know that in Hebrew, the name of Jesus sounds differently. What is the name of Jesus in Hebrew? Yeshua. That's the Hebrew name, Yeshua. It means God is Salvation, Yeshua. Interesting. If you go to Israel today, most Israelis refer to Jesus not as Jesus, not as Yeshua, but as Yeshu. Yeshu. And you go, well, that's pretty close. It just sounds like they're abbreviating it. Actually, they're not.

Yeshu has no translated meaning whatsoever. None at all. But it is a term-- Yeshu is a term from the Jewish Talmud that was a term of mockery and cursing and derision because it was an abbreviation of a phrase that meant, may his name and memory be blotted out. May his name and memory be blotted out, Yeshu. And so most Israelis use that to refer to Jesus.

Now just imagine, if in this country we were to refer to Muhammad using a term that is a curse word. Or if we were to speak of Buddha in terms of, may his name be blotted out. Can you imagine the protest that would ensue? But today, people call Jesus in Israel Yeshu. And it comes from that Talmudic meaning, may his name and memory be blotted out.

Listen, I want you to know this. Jesus Christ is still today the most loved and the most hated individual who has ever lived. He still divides people. But Simeon said something. He called Jesus salvation. He calls this baby salvation. My eyes have seen your salvation. If he was speaking in Greek as is translated, he would say the word soterian. I don't think he was speaking Greek, he was a Jew in the temple. I think he was speaking Hebrew. He would have said, my eyes have seen your Yeshua. Your Yeshua. Your salvation.

All of that to say this. Salvation isn't something you do. Salvation isn't a set of teachings or a code of ethics. Salvation is in a person. And that person is Jesus. And without that person, there is no salvation. Without the person of Jesus, there is no salvation. For anybody. Acts, Chapter 4, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

But then he turns to Mary and he says, a sword is going to pierce your own heart. Now that could mean a lot of things. I'll just, because of lack of time, just say this. Mary would be at the cross one day, and look up after a nation had rejected her son. And that already hurt enough, but to see her son put up on a cross and have spikes through his hands and his feet and a crown of thorns on his head dying and people shouting at him and deriding him. At that moment, a sword was rammed through her heart. Jesus would be a sword, but Jesus is also the source of life and hope and salvation.

Let me close with this story, true story. Four sisters in Massachusetts recently lost their mother to pancreatic cancer. They were very, very close, these four girls and their mom. Very, very close. When mom died, they all said, we just lost our best friend. They weren't as close to their father as they were to their mother.

And the father saw that, and knew that there was a giant void for him to fill. And so he simply asked the girls individually what they all wanted of moms for themselves. What keepsake that mom owned do you want for yourself? All four of them said, individually, we want the gold cross necklace that mom wore every day. That's all we want. The gold cross necklace. Mom wore it every day. Always see the cross around her neck, that's what we want.

But they were unaware that all the other sisters said they wanted the same thing. So on Christmas day, dad presented the daughters with four boxes, and they opened up each box, and they saw mothers gold cross inside. Well, they looked at each other's gift, they were all confused.

And noting the confusion, the father said, I went to a jeweler and had the same cross made for each of you girls. I asked him not to let me know which one was the original, so I have no idea which is mom's real cross. But does it matter? She loved you all the same. She would have wanted each of you to have it. Please wear it and remember her.

This season, this Christmas season, I'm asking you to wear the cross. What I mean by that is realize the baby came not for a good time or a Christmas gift or a day off of work or for a chance for your family to get together. The baby came to die on a cross for you. To save you from your sin and me from my sin.

You will call His name Jesus, the angel said, for He will save his people from their sins. Wear the cross. Let the manger lead you to the cross. Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That you interrupted history with a very special birth that punctuated all that went before it, all that would come after it.

And Lord, we know that that baby came to die for us that we might live with you forever. And I pray, if anybody here has not yet met Jesus and said yes to Him, they would. It would give you, on this Christmas, the best gift, the only gift you really want, and that is their heart, their life, their will.

With eyes closed, if you've gathered here today and you don't know Jesus personally, you may be mildly religious or maybe not so mildly religious. Maybe rabidly unreligious. Doesn't matter. If you're willing to believe and let God put in you a hope that things can be different for you, and for you not just now in this life, but throughout all of eternity. If you are willing to put your trust in Jesus and give your life to Him, or if you've wandered from him to return to Him after being a prodigal son or daughter, just raise your hand up in the air.

We're going to close this service with a prayer. I'm going to pray for you, but lift your hand. In lifting your hand, you're saying, pray for me. I want to give my life to Jesus, recommit my life to Him. Just raise it up high in the air so I can see it, please, God bless you. Raise it up high. Just say-- yep. Over here. Pray for me, Skip. I'm going to give my life back to the Lord today.

Anyone else? Anyone I'm not seeing? Right where you're at, if you raised your hand, just say, Lord, I give you my life. I know I've sinned, forgive me. I turn from it and I turn to Jesus. I want to live for Him throughout all of eternity. In His name, I pray, amen. Amen. God bless you.

Thank you so much for joining us for this Christmas Eve message from Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig. We would love to know how this message impacted you. Share your story with us. Email mystory@calvarynm.church. And if you'd like to support this Bible teaching ministry with a financial gift, visit calvarynm.church/give.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Additional Messages in this Series

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12/25/1983
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Christmas 1983
Luke 1:26-33
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas 1983 - Luke 1:26-33 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/1984
completed
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Those Who Found Christmas
Luke 2:8-20
Skip Heitzig
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Those Who Found Christmas - Luke 2:8-20 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1985
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1985
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1985 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/21/1986
completed
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A Gift for Jesus
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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A Gift for Jesus - Matthew 2:1-12 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/20/1987
completed
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What Child is This?
Luke 2:1-14
Skip Heitzig
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What Child is This? - Luke 2:1-14 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/1988
completed
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Simeon's Christmas Present
Luke 2:25-35
Skip Heitzig
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Simeon's Christmas Present - Luke 2:25-35 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1989
completed
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Christmas According to Isaiah
Isaiah 9:6-7
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas According to Isaiah - Isaiah 9:6-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/1990
completed
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Kinfolk of Christ
Matthew 1:1-17
Skip Heitzig
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Kinfolk of Christ - Matthew 1:1-17 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/22/1991
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The Man Who Missed Christmas
Matthew 2; Luke 2
Skip Heitzig
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The Man Who Missed Christmas - Matthew 2, Luke 2 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1992
completed
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Strange Birthday Gifts
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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Strange Birthday Gifts - Matthew 2:1-12 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1993
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1993
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1993 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/15/1994
completed
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Can Christmas Lead You to Christ?
Skip Heitzig
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Can Christmas Lead You to Christ? from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1994
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1994
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1994 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/1994
completed
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The Crisis of Christmas
John 1
Skip Heitzig
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The Crisis of Christmas - John 1 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/9/1995
completed
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What Makes Christmas So Right
Skip Heitzig
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What Makes Christmas So Right from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/17/1995
completed
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O Holy Night
Skip Heitzig
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O Holy Night from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1995
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1995
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1995 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/28/1995
completed
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Christmas Outreach 1995
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Outreach 1995 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1996
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1996
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1996 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1997
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1997
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1997 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/20/1998
completed
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Four Names for God's Gift
Matthew 1:18-2:5
Skip Heitzig
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Four Names for God's Gift - Matthew 1:18-2:5 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1998
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1998
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1998 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1999
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1999
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1999 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2000
completed
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Christmas Lessons From The Family Tree
Matthew 1
Skip Heitzig
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Every year many folks buy a Christmas tree and place it in their homes, bedecking it for the holiday festivities. Meanwhile, the real Christmas tree is too often left out of the celebrations. I'm talking about the family tree - the genealogical record of Jesus' ancestry which forms the beginning of the Christmas story. If you've never considered it before, you're in for a pleasant (and shocking) surprise!
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12/23/2001
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The King of Christmas
Isaiah 9:6-7
Skip Heitzig
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The King of Christmas - Isaiah 9:6-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2001
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2001
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2001 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2002
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2002
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2002 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2003
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2003
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2003 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/19/2004
completed
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The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Matthew 1:18-2:6
Skip Heitzig
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The Gift That Keeps on Giving - Matthew 1:18-2:6 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2004
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2004
Luke 2:1-7
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2004 - Luke 2:1-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/17/2005
completed
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Merry CHRISTmas
Matthew 1:18-25
Skip Heitzig
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Merry CHRISTmas - Matthew 1:18-25 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/21/2005
completed
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A Classic Christmas
Skip Heitzig
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A Classic Christmas from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/2005
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2005
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2005 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/2005
completed
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How Did Jesus Celebrate Christmas?
John 10:22-31
Skip Heitzig
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How Did Jesus Celebrate Christmas? - John 10:22-31 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2006
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A Not-So-Silent Night
Luke 2:1-20
Skip Heitzig
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The Christmas season with its familiar carols wafting through the air evokes emotions of peace, tranquility and serenity. The birth of Jesus Christ was hardly that kind of an event. It was not a "silent night" but rather a boisterous and busy one. It's been that way ever since hasn't it? Into our busy world stepped the Son of God. Let's consider what lessons we can learn from the busyness of the first Christmas and how God wants to connect with our busy schedules.
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12/24/2006
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2006
Skip Heitzig
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12/24/2007
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2007
Skip Heitzig
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12/21/2008
completed
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Christmas in a Nutshell
John 1:14
Skip Heitzig
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12/24/2008
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No Fear - Christmas Eve 2008
Matthew 1:1-25; Luke 1:1-80
Skip Heitzig
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12/28/2008
completed
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A One-Star Hotel in Bethlehem
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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12/20/2009
completed
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Is It OK To Celebrate Christmas?
Matthew 2:1-6
Skip Heitzig
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Every year timid yet sincere believers ask this question. They can see the commercialization of what was intended to be a celebration of the Lord's birth. They've heard about the paganization of the ancient Babylonians and Romans. Perhaps they're worried about putting up a tree or giving gifts because they, like their Puritan predecessors, feel that this would be compromising their faith. So let's take a brief look backward to the origin of some these traditions and chart a reasonable and biblical course forward so we can celebrate with a clear and joyful conscience.
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12/24/2009
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A Christmas Island - Christmas Eve 2009
Skip Heitzig
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The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus form a paradox to the identity of our Savior -- the God who created heavens and earth born as a helpless baby in Bethlehem. Let's travel together to that Christmas Island of old, and consider the greatest gift ever given.
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12/8/2010
completed
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Is It OK To Celebrate Christmas?
Matthew 2:1-6
Skip Heitzig
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Every year timid yet sincere believers ask this question. They can see the commercialization of what was intended to be a celebration of the Lord's birth. They've heard about the paganization of the ancient Babylonians and Romans. Perhaps they're worried about putting up a tree or giving gifts because they, like their Puritan predecessors, feel that this would be compromising their faith. So let's take a brief look backward to the origin of some these traditions and chart a reasonable and biblical course forward so we can celebrate with a clear and joyful conscience.
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12/12/2010
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The PRESENTS of God
Matthew 6:25-34
Skip Heitzig
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No matter how generous you may be this Christmas or at any other time, you will never be able to out-give God! His lavish kindness can be plainly observed, but it is too often overlooked. Let's consider during this season just how openhanded God is to us and the nature of some of His presents that He gives to us who are His children.
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12/19/2010
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Mary's Excellent ADVENTure
Luke 1:26-55
Skip Heitzig
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Christmastime has historically been referred to as Advent Season by the church. Advent means arrival or coming. At Christmas we celebrate the first advent (or coming) of Christ to earth to redeem the human race from sin, while we await His second advent when He rules forever. Mary of Nazareth was the human receptacle that God used to birth His Son into the world. She was a model believer in every way. Her example brings fresh encouragement to us. Let’s consider her.
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12/24/2010
completed
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The Light Was About to Shine - Christmas Eve 2010
Matthew 4:13-17
Skip Heitzig
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As the prophet Isaiah peered through his prophetic lens, he could see a small glimmer of light in the future. At the time of Jesus' birth the world sat in darkness--politically, economically, and spiritually. But when Jesus Christ was born, God Turned on the light! Let’s consider the beautiful source of illumination and learn that while we may be sitting in darkness, God is calling us to step into Son-light.
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12/15/2013
completed
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A Baby in an Old Man's Arms
Luke 2:25-35
Skip Heitzig
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To speak about a gruesome death seems out of place at Christmas time, doesn't it? Why would we take Communion (the elements that speak of Jesus' death) at a time we should be celebrating Jesus' birth? An old man answers that question for us: Simeon of Jerusalem takes the baby Jesus in his arms and tells us the rest of the Christmas story.
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12/22/2013
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It's Darkest Just Before Dawn!
Matthew 4:13-17
Skip Heitzig
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A well-worn adage from the 1600s declares that it's always the darkest just before the dawn. Christmas is a celebration of light: Lights are strung everywhere both indoors and out. If you've ever wondered why, it's because Jesus, the light of the world, pierced the darkness of our world, making it possible for us to see clearly enough to escape one world and move into the next.
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12/24/2013
completed
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The Light Has Come
John 1:9
Skip Heitzig
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I love early mornings when sunlight first comes up over the eastern sky. But if you've ever had the experience of the sun suddenly shining into your eyes, it's not so pleasant. Most people wince when light is shined in their eyes. Jesus is presented here as being "the light of men" and "shining in darkness." But the world cries out, "Turn off that light!" How can Jesus enlighten your life and how will you respond to Him?
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12/24/2015
completed
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Jesus: Hope for All
Luke 2:4-14
Skip Heitzig
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The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy and brought hope to all. In this Christmas Eve message, Pastor Skip explains how Jesus' birth is a preview to what His life and death means for us: Jesus was and is accessible to all people from all walks of life who believe in His name.
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12/24/2017
completed
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Christmas Under the Tree
Skip Heitzig
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With roughly 30 million sold every year, Christmas trees are one of the most popular and cherished Christmas traditions. Decorated trees adorn our homes, shops, and churches during the holiday season. The question is: What does a tree have to do with Christmas?
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12/23/2018
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Christmas Through the Ages
Romans 1:1-4; Galatians 4:4-5
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas stands as one of the major holidays within the church. On Christmas Day, we celebrate the incarnation, God coming to earth in human form through the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In this teaching, Skip Heitzig reflects on the unique aspects of Jesus' birth, looking to Scripture to find where Christmas began and why.
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12/24/2019
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Ornaments
Luke 2:8-11; John 17:6-12; Revelation 5:8-10
Skip Heitzig
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The night Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord invited all people to meet the newborn Savior, starting with the lowliest and most overlooked population: shepherds. This extraordinary invitation to the most ordinary people was a preview of the humble birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. In this Christmas Eve message, Pastor Skip Heitzig explains how Jesus is God's gift to us and we are God's gift to Jesus for all eternity.
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12/24/2020
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A Candlelight Christmas
Skip Heitzig
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12/19/2021
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How Joseph Gave Us Christmas
Matthew 1:18-25
Skip Heitzig
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In the Christmas story, Jesus understandably gets top billing. Mary follows as a close second, again rightfully so since she was a young virgin girl who miraculously turned up pregnant with Israel’s Messiah. But then there’s Joseph. Though he is part of the nativity scene, he is regarded as almost incidental or supplemental, like a bystander. Today, we will follow Joseph’s uneasy emotional journey from Nazareth to the manger as we consider his role and reaction to it.
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12/26/2021
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Being Wise and Unwise
Matthew 2:1-11
Skip Heitzig
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There are 56 additional messages in this series.
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