Sunday 2nd Service | A Journey To The Manger #1| Pastor Rob Thomas
Devotional
Day 1: Before creation, God planned Bethlehem’s rescue
Before the world began, God had you in mind, and Bethlehem was already in His heart. The manger was not a reaction to sin but the unfolding of an eternal plan, the Lamb already purposed to be given. He counted the cost, chose you in Christ, and set His love toward you long before your first breath. The manger is God’s “I will” spoken over history. Rest today in the security that your Redeemer’s journey started before time and still includes you now. Let this steady your soul and reshape how you carry yourself in His love. [08:12]
Ephesians 1:4 Before the world was formed, God chose us in Christ so we would be His, set apart and dearly loved in His presence.
Reflection: How does knowing Bethlehem was planned before time change the way you talk to God about your worth and your future this week, and what small habit will embody that—perhaps a morning prayer of gratitude or surrendering a specific fear?
Day 2: In Eden, promise spoken into our shame
The garden shattered with a whisper: “Did God really say?” and shame rushed in. Yet God walked toward the hiders, calling, “Where are you?”—an invitation, not a scolding. Before consequences were announced, He spoke a promise of a coming Son who would crush the serpent’s head, and He covered their nakedness with garments of grace. Even in your hiding, God moves toward you with restoration on His lips. He covers what you cannot, and He speaks hope where fear has nested. You can step out from behind the fig leaves today. [09:45]
Genesis 3:15 God told the serpent, “I will set deep hostility between you and the woman—between your line and her child; he will strike your head in defeat, even as you bruise his heel.”
Reflection: What “fig leaves” are you using to hide (success, busyness, spiritual activity), and what would it look like to let God clothe that place today—through honest prayer or asking a trusted friend to pray with you?
Day 3: The long road: preserved lineage against all odds
From Noah riding out the flood to a barren Sarah cradling promise, from Isaac spared to Judah named, from David’s line to a hidden baby Joash, the promise looked threadbare but never broke. The Old Testament is the record of God protecting the Redeemer’s line while the enemy tried to cut it off. What seemed like coincidence was covenant; what looked fragile was fiercely guarded. When your life feels like it’s hanging by a thread, remember the hand that holds the thread is faithful. The Redeemer had to come, so the line had to live—and it did. The same God preserves you in places that feel one breath from collapse. [10:27]
2 Kings 11:1–3 When the ruthless queen tried to eliminate every royal heir, a small boy named Joash was secretly sheltered in the temple for years, kept alive so David’s line—and God’s promise—would not be erased.
Reflection: Name one “threadbare” area in your life; how might you cooperate with God’s preserving grace there this week—through a specific boundary, a confession, or asking for help?
Day 4: The fullness of time: God prepared the world
God was not late and not early; He was exact. Roads were built, a common language spread, relative peace settled, and a deep spiritual hunger grew. A census moved a near-term mother ninety miles so prophecy could land in Bethlehem—what felt like inconvenience was choreography. The same precision marks your story; what seems like delay or detour may be placement. He prepares the scene so His word can travel swiftly through your life. Trust His timing, even when the route feels unreasonable. [07:58]
Galatians 4:4–5 When the moment was ripe, God sent His Son, born under the law, to buy our freedom and bring us into the full rights of His family.
Reflection: What current inconvenience might be God’s choreography in your life, and what short prayer will you offer each time it resurfaces to reframe it as positioning rather than chaos?
Day 5: Emmanuel: the God who still comes near
The manger is not a sentimental pause; it is the culmination of a love that will not quit. Heaven’s Word put on skin, stepped into our dust, and stayed—fully God, fully man, fully love. He did not just arrive; He pursued, preserved, and prepared, and He is still doing so. Where shame, exile, or exhaustion lingers, He moves toward you and simply asks for your yes. Come home to the One who has never stopped coming for you. Let today be your welcome. [06:41]
John 1:14 The eternal Word became human and lived among us; we saw His glory up close—overflowing with grace and truth.
Reflection: What simple “yes” is Jesus inviting from you this week—reconciling a relationship, serving quietly, or returning to Scripture—and when, specifically, will you take that step?
Sermon Summary
I invited us to take a “prequel” journey—not first to Bethlehem, but before the prophets, before Eden, all the way into the heart of God. Scripture says we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and Revelation names Jesus as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Bethlehem, then, was never God’s emergency response; it was Plan A—an eternal rescue already counted, already costed, already loved. With that in view, Eden comes into focus. In Genesis 3, the serpent’s whisper—“Did God really say?”—fractures trust, and shame, fear, and distance rush in. Yet before consequence, God speaks promise (Genesis 3:15): the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. He calls, “Where are you?”—not for location but for restoration—and He covers their shame with skins, signaling that innocence will cover guilt and that redemption will be costly.
From there we traced the long road of promise. The Old Testament is not random violence and failure; it is God preserving a fragile lineage the enemy keeps trying to sever. If Noah doesn’t survive, the promise dies. If Sarah’s womb stays barren, the promise stalls. If Isaac is slain, if Judah is erased, if Athaliah succeeds and Joash perishes, there is no Bethlehem. Again and again the line hangs by a thread—and again and again God keeps it. This is spiritual warfare and divine preservation braided through generations.
Finally, in the “fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), God steps into history when the fruit is ripe. Rome’s roads knit nations together, Greek offers a common tongue, Pax Romana grants a window of relative peace, synagogues seed the world with Scripture, and spiritual hunger rises. Then a census—Caesar’s decree, God’s choreography—moves a very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem, fulfilling Micah’s word. The manger is not an isolated miracle; it’s the culmination of a plan executed with precision and fueled by love. For those hiding in shame, exiled in heart, or hanging by a thread—He is still the God who walks toward us, calling our name, covering our shame, and inviting our yes.
Key Takeaways
1. Bethlehem was Plan A from eternity God did not improvise redemption. Before sin fractured creation, the Father had already purposed the Son as the Lamb. That means your failures can’t outpace His foresight, and His love is not reactionary—it is original, deliberate, and steadying for anxious hearts. Rest where God had already decided to meet you. [64:08]
2. The gospel first whispered in Eden God spoke promise before punishment, declaring enmity with the serpent and a Son who would crush evil. “Where are you?” was not a demand for data; it was an invitation to return. Even in hiding, grace moves first, and the cross is already in shadow as shame is covered. [74:31]
3. God preserves fragile lines and lives From floods to famines, barren wombs to murderous thrones, the promise seemed threadbare—yet it held. God’s sovereignty does not erase human chaos; it weaves through it, preserving what looks unsalvageable. When your story feels precarious, remember: He specializes in keeping promises on thin ice. [80:24]
4. History ripened for Christ’s arrival In the fullness of time, roads, language, peace, synagogues, and spiritual hunger aligned. God doesn’t merely send; He stages—so the gospel could run swiftly and be understood widely. If timing feels delayed, consider that He may be preparing context as carefully as content. [93:20]
5. God orchestrates inconveniences into fulfillment A census looked like bureaucracy; in heaven it was choreography, moving Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill Micah. What feels like disruption may be precise positioning for promise. Offer your obedience in the ordinary—God often wraps fulfillment in the wrapping paper of inconvenience. [100:32]
Read Genesis 3:15. What words in that verse show God answering sin with promise first, and how does that shape your picture of God’s response to human failure? [01:14:31]
Read Ephesians 1:4. What does it mean for you that you were “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world”? How would that change anxious thoughts about past failures or missed opportunities? [01:02:52]
Read Galatians 4:4. Which historical details named (roads, common language, Pax Romana, synagogues, spiritual hunger) explain why the time was “ripe” for the gospel, and which of those details surprised you? [01:33:20]
Look back over the Old Testament examples mentioned (Noah, Sarah’s barrenness, Isaac, Judah/David, Athaliah/Joash). Which single example most clearly shows God preserving a fragile line, and what detail in that story shows the enemy’s effort to cut off the promise? [01:20:24]
Interpretation questions (3–4)
The question “Where are you?” in Genesis is read as an invitation to restoration rather than a request for location. What does that reading imply about God’s posture toward broken people? [01:12:24]
God clothing Adam and Eve with skins (Gen. 3:21) is presented as the first hint of substitutionary covering. How does that act connect Eden’s promise to the sacrificial work of Christ? [01:16:06]
The claim that the Lamb was “slain from the foundation of the world” and that people were “chosen before the foundation” presents redemption as planned, not improvised. What theological implications follow if redemption was always Plan A? [01:04:08]
Reading the Old Testament as a record of God protecting the promised line reframes violent or difficult passages. How does that perspective change the way one should interpret episodes of judgment or warfare in Israel’s story? [01:29:50]
Application questions (4–7)
God decided to meet us before we ever fell, so failures don’t cancel his original purpose for you. Where do you carry anxiety that God’s plan for you has been voided by past sin? What one practical step will you take this week to rest in God’s prior purpose for you? [01:03:28]
“Where are you?” is an invitation to come back. Is there a place of hiding, shame, or spiritual distance you have stayed in? Who will you tell (one trusted person or the group) and what step of openness will you take in the next seven days? [01:12:24]
The Old Testament shows God preserving what looked threadbare. Name a current situation in your life (marriage, family, job, health, child) that feels “hanging by a thread.” What hope from one OT example can you claim for that situation, and what is one concrete action you will take this week to partner with God’s preservation? [01:20:24]
Ordinary inconveniences can be God’s choreography (the census moved Mary to Bethlehem). What recent inconvenience or setback might be a positioning for something God is doing? What small “yes” can you offer this week to cooperate with God’s unexpected ways? [01:40:32]
The world was being prepared (roads, language, synagogues) so the gospel could spread. What “preparing work” do you sense God doing in your life or community right now (relationships, skills, access, suffering) that could widen the reach of the gospel? What is one practical next step to steward that preparation? [01:33:20]
God covered shame with a costly provision. Is there someone you need to forgive or ask forgiveness of in order for restoration to begin? What will you do in the next five days to pursue that reconciliation? [01:16:06]
Use these questions to guide honest sharing, Scripture-centered reflection, and concrete next steps. Keep the time balanced between reading, discussion, and a few minutes of silent reflection for personal response.
Sermon Clips
We were already in his mind. He is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Y'all know, as God's people, we're called the bride of Christ, right? And in the ancient world, there was what was called the bride price that had to be paid. A man would pay this. And it secured the bride's freedom and her future. And God knew the bride price that he would have to pay. The bride price would be the life of his son.
[01:04:28]
(25 seconds)
#LambSlainBeforeTime
The manger was not the beginning of Jesus' story. It was the beginning of the fulfillment of an eternal plan. It was a divine rescue mission and a love story that was set in motion before time ever began ticking. So, we journey the road to the manger in Bethlehem next Sunday. Today, what we're going to do is we're going to trace back the path that leads back to what gets us there. That path to the manger. We're going to go from creation, through Eden, through covenants, through kings, through prophets, through generations, all the way to a manger in Bethlehem. This, by the way, guys, this is the story of Christmas.
[01:04:54]
(50 seconds)
#RoadToTheManger
By the way, don't get confused on the word incarnation. That might not be a word that you use often, but if you're not familiar, it simply refers to the eternal son of God who came in flesh and dwelt among us. He took on human nature without ceasing to be God. And this is where God really entered into human history in flesh and in blood and in emotion and even in limitation as a human being. Yet, how many of you know, he did so without sin. This is the incarnation.
[01:05:53]
(36 seconds)
#WordMadeFlesh
Picture the garden. Guys, I don't know what you picture, but I think back to storybooks I looked through as a kid. The little children's Bibles and things that had pictures of the garden and different things like that. Guys, I'm not talking about your children's Bible. I'm not talking about a mythological story. I'm not talking about some weird fantasy land or something like that. I want you to imagine for a moment the world as God intended it. We know that he created it in perfection. So, if you can imagine the Garden of Eden, humanity was also created perfect. And humanity was created in perfect fellowship with God.
[01:07:48]
(36 seconds)
#GardenFellowship
How many of you know that Adam and Eve didn't have to go pray and pray and pray and seek God to speak to him? By the way, neither do we. They spoke to him every day. They heard his voice all the time. Matter of fact, the Bible tells us they could hear him walking in the garden. There was no fear. There was no shame. There was no insecurity. There was no confusion. Everything was perfection. They lived with God the way that we are meant to live with God.
[01:08:24]
(36 seconds)
#WalkingWithGod
And then, obviously, temptation enters, right? And it doesn't come loudly. It doesn't come violently. It comes suddenly. The enemy doesn't just come barreling in. You have the serpent who comes up, and he suddenly does a simple thing, very subtly, very quietly. He simply questions the Word of God. His words were, did God really say? And how many of you know that's the same tactic that the enemy still uses today? He gets us to question God's Word and God's purpose and God's plan. Did God really say?
[01:09:00]
(38 seconds)
#DidGodReallySay
Guys, in this moment, the whole world changes. Shame enters. Shame is something that humanity was never meant to feel. It's not something we were ever supposed to experience. But humanity opened the door, and all of a sudden, shame came in. And along with it came fear. Fear is another thing that humanity was not meant to experience and carry. And suddenly, fear has entered humanity. And then distance comes. Distance between man and God. Distance and humanity between each other. Distance between humans and our calling and our purpose. The world was broke. Humanity fell.
[01:10:40]
(44 seconds)
#ShameAndSeparation
Guys, this was an invitation to restoration. This is an invitation to come back. And this is the heart of God on full display. Sin breaks relationship, but God initiates reconciliation. And if we're honest, every one of us has walked through this path. We've made mistakes. We've made choices that have left us ashamed. We've hidden behind that shame. We've hidden behind. How many of you know we're great at putting up facades? We're great at pretending to be something we're not. We're great at making clean, polished social media profiles that make us look a certain way.
[01:12:19]
(42 seconds)
#ComeHomeToGod
It's as if God in this moment is speaking to Adam and Eve and he's like, You guys messed it up, but I'm going to restore it. You ran from me, but I'm running toward you. You brought death, but I'm bringing back life. And the cost will be the life of my son. Guys, this is why the journey to Bethlehem matters. This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why a manger is more than a holiday moment. Bethlehem is about God keeping the first promise that he ever made.
[01:17:04]
(41 seconds)
#PromiseRestored
And Genesis says that humanity becomes so corrupt that finally God declared judgment on the earth, right? But right in the middle of all that darkness, something shifts. Humanity becomes corrupt. God declares judgment. Now, the problem is if God kills every human being, he can't keep his promise. Guys, he cuts off the bloodline. The lineage is stopped. That's why Genesis 6, 8 says, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Guys, if Noah doesn't make it through the flood, the promise dies. If his family doesn't survive, there's no lineage for a redeemer, the offspring of the woman. But God makes a covenant with Noah, and God preserves the line through them.
[01:21:10]
(55 seconds)
#NoahFoundGrace
Then you go a few chapters further, and the story shifts to a man named Abram. Everybody know of Father Abraham? He had many sons. If you know that when we come across Abram in the Bible, he was an idol worshiper living in a pagan land. God calls him out not because he's perfect. God calls him out because he's got a plan to fulfill. And Abram is his instrument. In Genesis 12, verse 2, he tells Abram, he says, I will make of you a great nation, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. How many families we got here today? We are blessed because of the faithfulness of Abraham and his lineage.
[01:22:16]
(48 seconds)
#FaithOfAbraham
The word blessed, the Lord blessed, guys, it's talking about Jesus. Through Abraham's descendants, the Messiah would come. And immediately, what do you see? You see the enemy attack. What's the first problem? Sarah's barren. How in the world is he going to continue a bloodline through a barren woman and her husband? How can it happen? If she doesn't have a child, the promise doesn't move forward. God does what human effort can't do. He opens a womb. He creates life where there was none. Why? Because a redeemer must come. And nothing, not even infertility, can stop God's plan.
[01:23:04]
(46 seconds)
#GodOpensWombs
That nation would carry the Messiah. That nation would bring forth a Savior. And it's a nation that hell would try and fail to destroy for the next 2,000 years. Guys, even in famine, God preserves them through Joseph. In slavery, God preserves them through Moses. In the wilderness, he continues to preserve them through covenant. Why? Because a redeemer must come.
[01:25:16]
(30 seconds)
#LineagePreserved
Then something crazy happens. If you look at 2 Kings 11, you've got this wicked queen, Athaliah. And she attempts to wipe out every royal heir to the throne of Israel. So, she almost succeeds. She kills almost all of them. Guys, this isn't just revenge. This is spiritual warfare that's happening. The enemy is trying to stop the bloodline. But guess what? There was a baby hidden in the temple, wasn't there? What was the baby's name? Joash. Joash. Joash. His life was preserved there for six years. If Joash dies, the Messiah can't be born. If Joash dies, God's promise collapses. If Joash dies, there is no Bethlehem. There is no manger. There's no redemption. But Joash lives.
[01:27:55]
(61 seconds)
#BloodlinePreserved
If you fast forward 500 years into the future, you find yourself in the book of Esther. 500 years later. And you've got this man named Haman, who is also hell-bent on killing all the Jews. And if you go to Esther chapter 3, verse 1, we're introduced to him. You know what he's called? Haman the Agagite. Many theologians believe he was the offspring of King Agag that Saul was supposed to execute. He wasn't even supposed to be alive. Did God know that was going to happen? Of course he did. That's why he had already divinely positioned a young woman named Esther, who would take care of Haman.
[01:31:39]
(42 seconds)
#EstherWasPlaced
Rome had built roads. This was huge because for the first time in human history, you could travel from city to city and from nation to nation on one interconnected network of highways. Before this time, travel was slow and it was dangerous and it was inconsistent. But Rome had built highways that literally stretched across a few continents. Why does this matter? Because the gospel wasn't meant to stay in Bethlehem. It was meant to go to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth, right? God had set it up. God was building highways for the message to be spread before the Messiah ever arrived.
[01:34:41]
(45 seconds)
#RoadsForTheGospel
Next one is the spiritual climate. Guys, the world was ready for hope. Just look at how fast the gospel spreads once Jesus leaves and sends the Holy Spirit. There was this deep spiritual hunger in the earth. The nations were growing tired of idols that couldn't speak and philosophies that couldn't save and systems that couldn't change the human heart. They were looking for something real, something genuine.
[01:37:32]
(29 seconds)
#SpiritualHunger
How do you get a woman that's about to pop to travel 90 miles by donkey to another town? She's about, that baby's about to come. Census. And Caesar thought it was his idea. Political decision. Isn't it amazing what God can use? There's probably things that you dislike about our government and such. But that's why we're supposed to pray. Because God can use the worst of circumstances and situations for his purposes.
[01:39:18]
(44 seconds)
#GodUsesCircumstances
So as we know, the long road ends at a manger. Finally, in the quiet of the night, in a little town, too small to matter, and a little stable, the plan of God that started before creation, the promise of God that had been declared in the garden, the lineage that God had preserved for thousands of years, the hope that God had whispered over and over again through the prophets, entered the world as a baby. Fully God, fully man, fully love. The long road to Bethlehem ends with God in flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.
[01:41:35]
(48 seconds)
#EmmanuelArrives
I don't know where in this you find yourselves today, but you may be somewhere along this journey. We gave three parts to this journey. You may feel like Adam and Eve in the garden. You may feel shameful. You may be hiding behind some things. You may feel like the children of Israel when they were in exile. You may feel like God has abandoned you, that you're too far gone. I would tell you, it's simply time to come home. Or you may feel like David's royal line, barely hanging on by a thread, barely staying afloat. Can God still do something with me? Oh, yeah, He can.
[01:44:45]
(54 seconds)
#GodCanStillUseYou
