The Joy of a Beginning

Christmas is often a season of warmth, nostalgia, and surface-level hope. People put on their best faces. Homes are decorated. Songs fill the air with longing for peace and joy. And for a few weeks, we collectively try to believe the world can be better than it is. But the problems don’t disappear. For many people, the holidays actually make pain louder. Loneliness is sharper. Grief is closer to the surface. Tragedy doesn’t take a break because it’s December. The Bible doesn’t deny this tension. In fact, it explains it. Being Seen Is Comforting — But It’s Not Enough In Luke’s Gospel, we meet a God who sees. He sees Mary — an obscure young woman in an obscure town. He knows her name, her fears, her future. That truth is deeply comforting. But Matthew’s Gospel presses the story further. Being seen by God is not ultimate. Being known by God is not enough — unless He also deals with our deepest problem . Because our deepest problem isn’t that we are unnoticed. Our deepest problem is that we are sinful. The World Isn’t Just Broken — It’s Wrong Most of us feel this instinctively. The world doesn’t just feel damaged; it feels off. Like a machine grinding against itself. Something built for harmony now marked by friction. You don’t need advanced philosophy to see it. Scroll the news for 30 seconds. Scandal. Violence. Injustice. Corruption. We all know: this is not how things are supposed to be. The Bible gives that problem a name: sin . If there were no sin, there would be no problems. That’s why heaven will be glorious — not just because God is there, but because sin will be gone. But we’re not there yet. Joseph’s Crisis — And Ours Matthew tells the Christmas story through Joseph’s eyes. Joseph discovers that Mary, his betrothed wife, is pregnant. From everything he can see, his life is shattered. His future is ruined. Trust is broken. And yet Scripture describes him as a just and merciful man. He does what righteousness requires — but he resolves to do it quietly, sparing Mary public shame. Joseph is doing everything right… and still cannot fix the problem. And that’s the point. Sin creates situations we cannot undo, repair, or rescue ourselves from. “You Shall Call His Name Jesus” As Joseph wrestles with what to do, God intervenes. An angel appears and tells him something utterly impossible — and utterly decisive: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins .” Joseph doesn’t get to name the child. God does. In the Bible, naming signifies authority. And here, God makes it clear: this rescue mission belongs to Him . The name Jesus means “The Lord saves.” Not helps. Not advises. Not makes salvation possible. He saves. What Jesus Saves Us From Jesus does not come to save people from inconvenience, political oppression, or discomfort. He comes to save us from sin — fully and completely. That means: From guilt — no condemnation remains. From defilement — we are washed and made clean. From bondage — sin’s dominion is broken. From alienation — enemies are reconciled and brought home. There is no partial salvation in Jesus. No temporary fix. No unfinished work. He saves His people — entirely. Not an Emergency Plan — An Eternal Purpose The virgin birth, the incarnation, the cross — none of this is a last-minute solution. God has been leaving “breadcrumbs” from the beginning, pointing toward this moment. Jesus is fully God and fully man — two distinct natures, one person forever — untouched by sin, able to save sinners completely. This is God’s answer to the world’s deepest problem. Trust That Leads to Obedience Joseph believes God — and he obeys. Not to earn salvation, but because God has already acted. His obedience is costly, public, and real. He bears the weight of faithfulness. That’s how salvation always works. Grace first. Obedience follows. The God Who Saves Christmas is not merely about being seen. It is about being rescued. The God who sees our need does not stand at a distance. He names the problem honestly. He resolves it decisively. He sends His Son — not to advise, but to rescue. If you don’t know Him, turn to Him. If you do know Him, rest in Him.

An increasing number of people today assume Christianity is supposed to make life easier. “If I follow Jesus,” they think, “shouldn’t I become a better person pretty quickly? Shouldn’t my bad habits fade? Shouldn’t the inner battles start to die down?” But Romans 7 tells us something shockingly different—and incredibly freeing. The Christian life isn’t a glide path toward perfection. It’s a lifelong war—and that’s good news. Romans 6, 7, and 8 belong together. They form Paul’s great explanation of sanctification—how God grows His people in holiness. Romans 6: Sin’s dominion is broken. Romans 7: Sin’s presence remains. Romans 8: The Spirit guarantees final victory. Romans 7 sits right in the middle because it describes where Christians actually live day-to-day. Paul Isn’t Talking About His Past—He’s Talking About His Present Some argue Paul is describing his life before he became a Christian. But the passage doesn’t read that way. Paul delights in the law. He hates his sin. He longs to obey. He grieves his failures. Unbelievers don’t talk like that. Only Christians do. Paul is describing the normal Christian life—the tension between what we long to be and what we still are. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” —Romans 7:15 If you’ve ever wondered, “Why do I still struggle with this?” or “Shouldn’t I be further along by now?”—Romans 7 is written for you. Why the Law Can’t Save You—or Fix You Paul makes the point clearly: The law reveals sin. The law even provokes sin. The law cannot remove sin. The problem isn’t the law; the problem is the sin in us. Trying to obey in our own strength doesn’t sanctify us—it often exposes us. This is why Christianity can never be reduced to “try harder.” The flesh can’t defeat the flesh. The Inner Struggle Is Not a Sign of Death—It’s a Sign of Life Paul describes the war within him: “I delight in the law of God in my inner being… but I see in my members another law waging war.” —Romans 7:22–23 If you feel that war, it means something profoundly encouraging: Dead hearts don’t fight. Living hearts do. Your grief over sin is evidence that the Spirit of God is at work in you. You Can’t Fight This War Alone Romans 7 also destroys the myth that Christians can thrive in isolation. The church is God’s design for supporting weak, struggling, real believers. The Christian who tries to battle sin without community is like a wounded animal wandering away from the herd—making themselves an easy target. At Central Presbyterian, we want you to know: You don’t have to lie about your sin. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine. And you don’t have to fight alone. We’re here—your pastors, your elders, your brothers and sisters in Christ. The Most Important Move: Look Up, Not In Romans 7 ends with one of the greatest gospel sentences in Scripture: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” —Romans 7:24–25 Paul doesn’t tell us to look harder at ourselves. He tells us to look upward—to Christ. Your ultimate deliverance isn’t in your willpower, discipline, or spiritual resolve. It’s in a Person. A Savior. A Deliverer. And the very next chapter opens with the declaration every weary Christian needs to hear: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” —Romans 8:1 That’s the good news Romans 7 prepares us to hear. If you’re struggling—you’re not failing. You’re fighting. And Christ fights for you. He doesn’t abandon you. He doesn’t condemn you. He finishes what He starts. If you’re walking through the tensions of Romans 7, come walk with us. Central Presbyterian is a community of people who wrestle honestly, repent humbly, and cling to Jesus confidently. You’re not meant to face the war alone. And you don’t have to. If you'd like to listen to the sermon on Romans 7 from last Sunday night, you can click here. https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermons/121125118164689

Christmas can feel like a season made for other people. It’s easy to imagine that God is paying attention to the impressive, the spiritual, the put-together — the kind of people whose lives look orderly and meaningful. Many of us quietly assume that while God is powerful and glorious, His gaze tends to rest elsewhere… certainly not on people like us. But the opening chapter of Luke tells a very different story. It tells us that the God who rules galaxies also bends low to see the unnoticed. He comes to places and people the world easily forgets. And if He came to Mary in Nazareth, He can come to you in Irvine. God Enters Small, Unlikely Places When God sends the angel Gabriel to announce the birth of Christ, He doesn’t send him to a palace, a temple, or a religious powerhouse. He sends him to Nazareth — a dusty, unimpressive village that wasn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament. Mary herself would have seemed ordinary. A teenage girl. Poor. Unknown. Living in a place nobody expected anything significant to happen. Yet God knew her name. God saw her. God entered her world. And that is one of the great messages of Christmas: God delights to work in unimportant places through unimportant people. He is not drawn to human greatness; He is drawn to human need. God Speaks Grace to the Undeserving The angel greets Mary with stunning words: “Greetings, O highly favored one, the Lord is with you.” Mary wasn’t special because she was sinless or spiritually superior. She was special because God set His grace upon her. The same God who gave favor to Noah, Moses, Gideon, and Hannah now pours out grace on Mary — and through Christ, He pours out grace on all who come to Him today. Christmas confronts us with this question: Do you believe you are the kind of person God delights to give grace to? The answer of Scripture is a resounding yes. Grace always flows to the humble, to the weary, to those who know they need it. God Is with His People When the angel says, “The Lord is with you,” he is echoing a theme that runs across the entire Bible. It’s the same promise God gave to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David. It’s the promise that empowered God’s people in the great moments of redemptive history. And now that same promise is spoken to Mary. God’s presence is not reserved for spiritual giants. His presence empowers ordinary believers to walk faithfully in extraordinary moments. You may feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities — your family, your work, your burdens, your fears. But Christmas reminds you: The Lord is with you, too. God Does the Impossible Mary asks the obvious question: “How will this be?” The answer is stunning: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you… nothing will be impossible with God.” The birth of Jesus is nothing less than divine new creation — God breaking into the world to save sinners, restore broken people, and make all things new. And He is still doing the impossible today. He gives new life to people who feel spiritually dead. He restores marriages that seem beyond repair. He frees people from guilt and shame. He awakens faith where there was none. Christmas is God’s announcement that He has not abandoned the world — He has come to redeem it. God Forms Hearts That Say “Yes” Mary’s final words to the angel are beautiful: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your word.” She doesn’t understand everything. She can’t see the whole path ahead. But she trusts the God who sees her, knows her, and loves her. Her surrender foreshadows the surrender of her Son: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” And this is the invitation of Christmas: To entrust yourself to the God who has come near. To rest in His grace. To say, “Lord, let it be to me according to Your Word.” The God Who Sees You The God who saw Mary sees you. The God who came to Nazareth comes to Irvine. The God who poured out grace on the unlikely pours out grace today through Christ. You matter deeply to Him — not because you bring merit, but because Christ brings mercy. And if you have not yet come to Him, the call of Christmas is simple: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Turn to Him. Trust Him. And discover that the God you thought you were seeking has been seeking you all along.

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