Scripture Micah 5:2
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
FIRST MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Benjamin is born) (Slides Tomb 1, 2, 3)
Genesis 35:18-20 As she breathed her last — for she was dying — she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.
SECOND MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Izban becomes Israels leader) (Slide Izban)
Judges 12:8-10 Jephthah led Israel six years and died. 8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried in Bethlehem.
THIRD MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Ruth comes to Bethlehem) (Slide Ruth)
Ruth 1:1-2 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Ruth 4:11-12 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."
FOURTH MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Samuel anoints David as King) (Slide David)
1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
FIFTH & SIXTH MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Bethlehem confirmed as the birthplace of the Messiah) (Slide Herod and Magi)
Matthew 2:1-6 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 [Micah 5:2] "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
SEVENTH MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Jesus born, Angels/Shepherds/Magi)
(Slide Nativity)
Luke 2:1-20 & Matthew 2 Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem to be taxed. Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Herod has the babies killed in Bethlehem. Shepherds go into Bethlehem to see the Christ child. Wise men come and worship Jesus.
LAST/EIGHTH MENTION OF BETHLEHEM (Slide Galilee)
NOT ALL KNEW ABOUT JESUS’ BIRTH
Christmas was not celebrated during Jesus life. In fact, most people knew nothing about Christ’s birth. The world was NOT PREPARED for the birth of the messiah -- John 7:40-42 On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet." Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"
Bethlehem = House of Bread
3 examples of preparation
Speaking of bread, since Thanksgiving our house has been a mess. To prepare for Christmas, we have had to clean, rearrange, decorate, hang lights, put up a tree, clean some more. Like you, with family coming to our house I want to prepare a place that is comfortable, yet festive. Now that I have grandchildren I think more about having lights out side to give that sense of wonder and specialness, preparing our home for them to experience love and joy. Making sure there is fuel for the fireplace and decorations that speak to family but also to the incarnation of Christ. Each of us in our own way, big or small, are preparing for Christmas.
A young lady preparing for a special date will go to stores to buy the right outfit, the perfect earrings, that special perfume and will spend time applying makeup and doing her hair preparing for her date and anticipating his knock on the door.
A person hoping for that dream job will update their resume, pick out an appropriate outfit, make sure their breath is clean, study the company to whom they are applying, and show up early for the interview to show dedication.
There are many things in life we prepare for. The song “Joy to the World” says “Let every heart prepare him (Jesus) room.” What does that even mean? How can we prepare room for Jesus? We can’t go into heart surgery and have the doctor cut a little cave out of our heart - if we did that we would die. Or we’d all be walking around with a tiny Jesus in our heart and we’d all have heart burn. No - “Let every heart prepare him room” means make room spiritually, not in a literal physical sense. Spiritually make room in your soul (another word for heart). In fact our soul was designed only for God. It’s not that we fill our soul up with things and don’t’ have any room for Jesus. We fill up the rest of our life to the neglect of our soul.
Psalm 62:1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
Ps 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Ps 84:1-2 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Ps 103:1-2 Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Ps 130:5-6 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Ps 143:6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Matt 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
The most popular hymn of Christmas is "Joy to the world."
The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98. The song was first published in 1719. Among those who have recorded a version of the song...The Supremes in 1965, Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Clay Aiken, Whitney Houston, The Jonas Brothers, and the A Capella group Pentatonix to name a few.
It is a great song, and as Christians we gather around that which announces JOY.
Our culture has developed a common phrase of what we wish someone..."Merry Christmas."
Great greeting. there's nothing wrong with being merry. However, being “merry” is something we can easily ‘check out’ of. JOY is something we ‘check in’ to.
In fact, as the song is announcing that Joy has come to the world through the Lord, we are invited into that joy: Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing.
The center piece of this verse says, "Let every heart prepare Him room."
When it comes to preparing for Christmas...so often times people express feeling frustration and tension in this season... a conflict between consumption and contentment... between activity and adoration... between rushing and reflection.
Common challenge heard is how busy everyone can feel.
Christmas... can be a challenge to be as focused as we'd like to be.
There's a lot of activities that this season can bring:
• Get a tree, decorate the tree. / • Get out the lights...put up the lights.
• Decorate the house...the outside...the lawn. / • Baking
• Shopping for gifts, wrap the presents, attach the tags and put on the bows.
• Time to make plans for the out of town trip. / • Get cards...address cards...mail cards.
An elderly widow decided it was too much trouble to get all of her kids and grandkids Christmas presents, so she decided to send them a check with a card. A few days after she mailed all the cards, she discovered she forgot to include the checks in the cards. Imagine all those kids opening a card from grandma with (no money) but a note inside that says, “Buy your own presents.”
> When we're busy...it's easy to forget something.
But get this, the answer is not “do less”. Because next year or next week you are going to be busy again. The answer among all that business is to stop seeing it as busyness and start seeing as an opportunity to let your heart prepare him room.
When hanging the lights - reflect on the light that was coming into the darkness. When shopping for and wrapping gifts think about the greatest gift that came into the world that first Christmas and still comes to you today. When purchasing, preparing and eating all that holiday food, remember that Bethlehem is the house of Bread where the bread of life was born. When you are going from one party or family gathering to another, enjoy the relationships God has given you, because the alternative is to be all alone.
Do you get it? Your heart/soul is attached to your body and mind - it is not some separate entity - it is the essential part of who you are. Instead of allowing all those externals crowding Jesus out of your heart - embrace them as a way to prepare your heart for Him. It involves a change in attitude, not in activity. You can use any excuse to tell Jesus there is no room in your Inner being, or you can invite him in to all of that activity with you.
The less we prepare our heart for Jesus and the more we keep him away, the more our soul becomes a dense wilderness and a drought ridden desert. It is then we need to hear: Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Making your heart the new Bethlehem is exactly where the gospel of Jesus begins according to the gospel of Mark 1:1-5
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way— a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
CONCLUSION
We prepare room for Jesus while Jesus is preparing a room for us: John 14:1-7
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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