God With Us: The Significance of the Christmas Baby

We laughed with the honesty of children about where babies come from, then turned to Matthew’s account of how Jesus came from God—conceived by the Holy Spirit, named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins, and called Immanuel, God with us. I contrasted the kitsch of religious trinkets with the Magi who weren’t looking for a souvenir but a Sovereign. The Russian tale of Prince Alexis disguising himself as a village doctor helped us feel the shock of the incarnation: the King laying aside splendor to stand among us as one of us. History often misses what heaven magnifies; during the roar of the Napoleonic wars, unnoticed babies were born who reshaped the world—how much more the Child of Bethlehem.

We sat with the sobering elevator story—“We’ve already crucified Him”—and then remembered that “one solitary life” has outlasted every army and parliament. John says the Word who made the burning sun and the cold, bright moon, the One who commands hail and lightning, stepped into swaddling cloths. Prophets had sketched His coming for centuries; Matthew says His mission is singular: to save us from our sins. He didn’t come primarily to teach or heal or reform morals, though He did all of that. He came to reconcile—one hand in the Father’s, one hand in ours—by giving His life as a ransom.

He is not in the manger, the shop, the cross, or the tomb. He is risen, ascended, reigning, and He will return. When God “took off the mask” at Christmas, He showed His face in Jesus—this is what God is like. So we resist the seasonal noise and give Him what He is worthy of: not a seasonal nod but a whole-life offering. As the song asks, what kind of greatness becomes so small? The kind that calls forth our worship, our surrender, and our joy.

Key Takeaways

• 1. God draws near in hiddenness The incarnation is God choosing the back street, not the palace balcony. He meets us not only in spectacle but in the ordinary, the poor, the overlooked places we’d rather rush past. To seek Him is to welcome lowliness and pay attention to what doesn’t trend. Reverence grows when we find glory in the small. [06:22]
• 2. History turns on overlooked beginnings In 1809, while nations obsessed over battles, quiet cradles held lives that would alter the world. God often plants world-shaping seeds in unremarkable soil; faith learns to watch for sprouts, not headlines. Instead of despising small starts, we steward them with patience and hope. The Bethlehem way is slow, hidden, and unstoppable. [09:23]
• 3. Reconciliation through the cross alone Jesus’ uniqueness is not merely His teaching but His atoning mission: to carry our sins and bridge the chasm we cannot cross. As God-and-Man, He alone holds both hands—heaven’s holiness and our frailty—bringing us home by His own blood. We don’t negotiate peace with God; we receive it from the crucified Mediator. [18:23]
• 4. In Jesus, the Father is revealed God did not keep His back to the camera; He turned His face toward us in Christ. If we want to know God’s heart, we look at Jesus’ compassion, truth, purity, and self-giving. Revelation here is personal, not abstract—a face we can love and a Lord we can trust. To behold Him is to know the Father. [21:01]
• 5. Worship with whole-life surrender Christmas invites more than sentiment; it calls for reorientation. When the One who owned everything chose to have nothing, our proper response is to yield everything back—time, trust, habits, resources. Worship is not escape from the world’s bustle; it is the ordering center that gives the world its peace. [24:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:35] - Kids’ answers about babies
• [01:10] - Reading: Matthew 1:18–25
• [03:40] - Religious gift satire
• [05:05] - Wise men sought a King
• [06:22] - Prince becomes doctor: incarnation
• [07:45] - More than a cozy story
• [09:23] - 1809 births vs. battles
• [10:50] - The lift confession: we crucified Him
• [12:11] - One Solitary Life reflection
• [15:08] - Creator became a child
• [18:23] - Why He came: to die
• [20:00] - Risen, ascended, and returning
• [21:01] - God unmasks in Jesus
• [24:10] - What kind of greatness? Our response

1. In Matthew 1:18–25, what reasons are given for naming the child “Jesus,” and what prophecy does Matthew say is fulfilled by His birth?
2. When the visitors from the East set out, whom were they seeking and how is that different from shopping for religious trinkets? ([05:05])
3. In the story of Prince Alexis, what did the prince change about his life and appearance, and how did that win the people’s trust? ([06:22])
4. Which notable births from 1809 were named, and what major events were happening at the same time? ([09:23])

1. “Immanuel” means “God with us.” Why might God choose to draw near on the back street rather than the palace balcony, and how does the prince-and-doctor story help us understand the incarnation? ([06:22])
2. “He will save his people from their sins” (v. 21). How does this define Jesus’ primary mission, especially alongside the claim that He came “to give his life as a ransom for many”? In what ways do teaching and healing serve that mission? ([18:23])
3. If the Creator became a child (John 1 language echoed), what does that reveal about God’s heart and His approachability? How does that challenge common fears or assumptions about God? ([15:08])
4. If He is not in the manger, shop, cross, or tomb—but risen, ascended, and returning—how does that reframe Christmas as allegiance to a reigning Lord rather than yearly nostalgia? ([20:00])

1. God draws near in hiddenness. Where are the “back streets” in your week—the overlooked places or people—where you could slow down to meet Him? What is one small, concrete way you will pay attention there? ([06:22])
2. History turns on overlooked beginnings. What quiet “sprout” is God growing in your life (a habit, relationship, calling) that needs patient stewardship? What one step will you take to tend it this week? ([09:23])
3. From souvenir to Sovereign. Are there ways you treat Jesus like a seasonal accessory instead of a King to obey? What one change would show a move from sentiment to surrender? ([05:05])
4. Reconciliation through the cross alone. Do you try to “negotiate” peace with God by effort or promises? What would it look like to receive the gift of the cross afresh—through confession, trusting prayer, or a needed conversation? ([18:23])
5. In Jesus, the Father is revealed. When you picture God’s face, what do you see? Choose one Gospel scene of Jesus that reshapes that picture; how will you sit with it this week (read, listen, memorize, journal)? ([21:01])
6. Worship with whole-life surrender. Where is God inviting new surrender—time, trust, habits, resources? Name one very specific action you will take in the next seven days. ([24:10])
7. Risen, ascended, returning. If Jesus is reigning now and could return at any time, what priority or conflict would change for you? What first step will you take toward that change? ([20:00])