Why He Came | 11:00

Devotional

Day 1: God came near: a real birth in history

At Christmas we remember that God stepped out of heaven into our world at a specific time and place. This is no fairy tale; Luke and Matthew anchor the story with emperors, governors, Nazareth, Bethlehem, a census, and a stable. God entered the noise and need of real life to seek and to save the lost. He came as a child so He could grow, hunger, tire, and truly share our humanity. He came so you could know that your rescue rests on facts, not fables, and that the manger already points toward the cross [37:22].

Luke 2:1–7: When the ruling emperor ordered a census of the whole empire, Joseph went from Nazareth to David’s town, Bethlehem, with Mary, who was expecting a child. With no room available, she gave birth to her firstborn Son, wrapped Him snugly, and laid Him in a feeding trough.

Reflection: What specific detail from the historical account of Jesus’ birth helps you trust Him with one concrete decision you’re facing this week, and how will you act on that trust?

Day 2: The virgin birth and God’s careful plan

God’s plan weaves promises and judgments without cutting corners. Joseph’s family line included Jeconiah, a king under a curse that barred his blood descendants from David’s throne. Through the virgin birth, Jesus was not Joseph’s biological son, so He did not bear that curse, yet as Joseph’s legal son He inherited the right to David’s throne. Through Mary’s line, He is truly a son of David in the flesh. God didn’t cheat; He honored every word He spoke and still gave us the rightful King [46:23].

Jeremiah 22:24–30: The Lord says, even if Jeconiah were like a king’s signet ring on My hand, I would pull him off. He and his family would be exiled and die far from home. Record him as if childless, for none of his offspring will succeed on David’s throne or rule in Judah.

Reflection: Where do you feel boxed in by family history, past decisions, or consequences, and how might trusting God’s integrity help you wait for His wiser path instead of forcing your own solution this week?

Day 3: Savior, Christ, and Lord in the manger

The angel’s announcement named the Child with three titles: Savior, Christ, and Lord. Savior means He came on a rescue mission; Christ means He’s the promised Son of David; Lord means He bears the very authority of God. Fully human, He entered our weakness; fully God, He could truly save. As Philippians says, He didn’t cling to privilege but took the form of a servant and obeyed to the point of the cross, and now every knee will bow. In Him, God came near so you could be brought near [40:05].

Philippians 2:5–11: Let the mindset of Jesus shape you: though He shared God’s very nature, He did not grasp at His rights, but emptied Himself, became a servant, and was found as a man. He humbled Himself to death on a cross; therefore God lifted Him high and gave Him the name above every name, so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.

Reflection: Which title—Savior, Christ, or Lord—do you most need to embrace right now, and what single act of surrender or gratitude will you practice this week to align with that truth?

Day 4: The wood of the manger leads to the cross

Why did He come? “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The birth and Good Friday are one story: the infinite became an infant so He could die in our place. The garden’s lost tree of life points forward to the cross, where our curse is borne and life is given. He didn’t just carry our sins; He carried our curse, so we could receive a new name and a new nature by faith [51:51].

Galatians 3:13: Christ bought us out of the law’s curse by taking that curse upon Himself, for the one lifted up on the tree bears the weight of the curse, and through Him blessing comes to those who trust.

Reflection: Name one place you’re still trying to atone for your past by effort; what would it look like to bring that specific burden to Jesus at the cross in prayer this week and rest in His finished work?

Day 5: Trusting and confessing: a personal response to Jesus

This good news calls for a personal, honest response. It isn’t about which church you attend or who your parents are; it is about what you do with Jesus. God invites you to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that He is risen, and He promises to save all who call on His name. He gives forgiveness, mercy, and grace—and then teaches you to walk with Him among people going the same direction. Today can be the day you say yes to the One who came near for you [57:52].

Romans 10:9–13: If you openly declare, “Jesus is Lord,” and trust deep within that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart you trust and are made right; with the mouth you confess and are rescued. Scripture says no one who trusts in Him will be put to shame; the same Lord is generous to all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the Lord’s name will be saved.

Reflection: If you sense God inviting you today, what specific words of confession and trust will you speak to Him, and who will you tell so they can encourage you as you begin to follow?

Sermon Summary

“Unto us a child is born” is more than a lyric; it’s a claim that God drew near. I walked us into the Christmas story through Luke and Matthew because the Scriptures insist Christmas is anchored in time, place, and people—emperors and governors, Nazareth and Bethlehem, a census and a stable. The point is not sentiment but incarnation. God didn’t send advice from a distance; he entered human history and human flesh to rescue us. Fully human so he could stand where Adam fell; fully God so his sacrifice could be sufficient. Philippians 2 tells us he stepped down, took on the form of a servant, and obeyed to the point of death—this is why the manger matters.

We then looked at a forgotten crack in the royal line: Jeconiah’s curse. Matthew traces Joseph’s line through this king—“none of his offspring will sit on David’s throne”—which would disqualify any blood son. But in the virgin birth, Jesus is Joseph’s legal son (and heir to David’s throne) without being his biological son (and thus not under Jeconiah’s curse). Luke traces Mary to David as well, securing the biological line. God didn’t cheat his own promises or judgments; he wove them together so Jesus preserves deity (conceived by the Spirit), humanity (born of woman), David’s promise (rightful king), and God’s justice (the curse stands even as the plan advances).

Finally, I connected the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross. Christmas and Good Friday are one story. The angel named him Jesus—“the Lord saves”—because he would save his people from their sins. The garden’s “two trees” explain our need: sin brings death; separation from the Tree of Life cut us off. At Calvary, the new Tree of Life is raised. The rightful King, who avoided Jeconiah’s curse by birth, took our deeper curse by crucifixion: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” He didn’t just bear our sins; he bore our curse, so we could receive a new name, a new nature, and a new future. The question before each of us this Advent is simple and searching: what will you do with Jesus?

Key Takeaways

1. God stepped near in real history Christianity hangs on public truth: names, dates, places, and a birth that happened in a manger under Caesar’s census. God came not with tips but with rescue; not myth, but incarnation. If he entered our world, then faith is response to reality, not wishful thinking. That nearness demands a personal, lived response. [37:22]
2. The virgin birth is theological necessity Jeconiah’s curse should have halted the royal line, but the virgin birth preserved both promise and judgment. Jesus is Joseph’s legal heir without bearing the cursed bloodline, and Mary’s son from David’s house, conceived by the Spirit. Deity and humanity meet without dilution, securing a sinless, sufficient Savior. God keeps every word—mercy without violating justice. [46:23]
3. The manger aims for the cross We must not divorce Christmas from Good Friday; the cradle was built for Calvary. Only one who is truly God and truly man can atone—able to represent us, and able to bear what we could not survive. In Jesus, the tenderness of a birth and the terror of a cross become one saving act. Advent is love that bleeds to heal. [48:46]
4. He bore our curse to free us From Eden onward, sin has carried the sentence of death and separation. Christ hung on the “tree,” absorbing not only guilt but curse, so that we might be grafted back into life. The cross is the new Tree of Life, received by faith, restoring what was lost and making us new. Don’t manage your curse—transfer it to him. [51:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[19:31] - A Peachtree City Christmas and humor
[21:55] - Church vote on Rock property
[24:18] - Scriptures and the claim of Christmas
[34:17] - What the manger has to do with the cross
[35:58] - Genealogies that anchor the story
[37:22] - A real town, a real birth
[38:18] - Why the Magi came and what they knew
[40:05] - Philippians 2 and God made low
[41:40] - Why God and man were necessary
[43:15] - Jeconiah’s curse explained
[46:23] - Legal right through Joseph, lineage through Mary
[48:46] - He came to save from sin
[51:51] - From Eden’s trees to Calvary’s tree
[54:47] - Invitation to respond and closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Matthew 1
- Luke 2
- Jeremiah 22:24–30

Observation questions (3–4)

In Matthew 1, how does the genealogy change when it reaches Joseph and Mary (note the wording around Joseph, Mary, and Jesus)? What does that detail make you notice about legal right vs. biological descent?
Luke 2 gives concrete historical markers (governors, a census, Bethlehem, a stable). Which specific markers stand out most as anchoring the birth in real history, and why does that matter for the claim that God “came near”? [37:22]
Jeremiah 22 describes Jeconiah’s judgement—what are the main elements of that curse and how would that curse pose a problem for a Davidic king arising through Joseph’s line? [43:15]
Philippians 2 describes Christ’s humility and incarnation. What concrete features of Jesus’ being both “very God” and “truly human” does the passage point to? [40:05]

Interpretation questions (3–4) — written objectively

How does treating the virgin birth as a theological necessity (preserving deity, humanity, Davidic promise, and God’s judgment) shape the group’s understanding of God’s fidelity to both mercy and justice? [46:23]
What is the theological significance of someone being a legal heir without being a biological heir in the story of redemption, and how does that affect the claim that Jesus is the rightful King? [46:23]
How does linking the manger to the cross (the baby born to be the Passover lamb who will bear sin and curse) change the way the group reads Christmas passages alongside Passion passages? [48:46]
If the cross functions as the new “Tree of Life” that absorbs guilt and curse, what does that imply about the nature of salvation offered to sinners and the response required of them? [51:51]

Application questions (4–7) — specific and personal

Christmas claims that God entered real history. In what concrete ways will you let that public, historical claim shape how you share the gospel this season (who you tell, what facts you point to, or how you answer doubts)? [37:22]
The virgin birth shows God wove together promise and judgment. When you face situations that feel unjust or that seem to break God’s promises, how will you practice trusting both God’s justice and his mercy this week? What one step will you take? [46:23]
The cradle was built for Calvary — Advent points toward the cross. How might you reorder your Advent practices (worship, reading, prayer, giving) so that they lead you to the cross rather than only to sentimental celebration? Give one concrete change you will try. [48:46]
Jesus bore not only sin but the curse (“cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”). Are there places in your life where you are still trying to “manage” guilt, shame, or a curse instead of transferring it to Christ? What will you do this week to transfer that burden to him (confession, conversation, a spiritual step)? [51:51]
The claim of the gospel is personal: each person must decide what to do with Jesus. If you cannot say with certainty you would spend eternity with God, what are the next practical steps you will take this month (pray a prayer of faith, meet with a believer, read a short gospel, come to a church class)? [54:47]
Receiving a new name and a new nature implies ongoing change. What specific spiritual disciplines, relationships, or service commitments will you begin or renew in the next 30 days to reflect the new life you claim in Christ? (List at least two specific actions.) [51:51]

(Use these questions to guide a 60–90 minute discussion: read the assigned passages together, allow time for quiet reflection on the interpretation questions, and close by naming one specific application each person will try this week.)

Sermon Clips

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on the cross therefore God has exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge or confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father [00:41:20] (19 seconds) #JesusHumbledThenExalted

that's the story of Christmas this is what we need to come and understand because if he's not truly human he can't make up for the first Adam's mistakes if he's not truly God perfect without sin he cannot become the Passover lamb that perfect unblemished that could actually make a satisfactory atonement so in Jesus in the virgin birth in what we see at Christmas God became man [00:41:40] (36 seconds) #VirginBirthMatters

never giving up his deity accepting humanity so that he could become that perfect sacrifice for you and for me it's a remarkable story and this is where the apologetic of Christmas begins because we see in Jesus that God God didn't stay far off God didn't send advice he came near by entering into history and into humanity for us [00:42:16] (29 seconds) #GodIncarnateCameNear

number one it preserves Jesus's deity and that he was conceived of the Holy Spiritsecondly it preserves his humanity because he was born of woman third it preserves God's promise to David that his descendant would sit on the throne forever and then fourth it preserves God's judgment on Jeconiah that no blood son would ever sit on David's throne [00:47:15] (23 seconds) #VirginBirthPreservesPromises

to me the cool thing about all this is it shows us that God didn't cheat God didn't cheat the process cheat the system instead he wove together every promise he wove together every judgment he honored them and yet Jesus is still the rightful king it's an apologetic of the incarnation not some random made-up fable but a carefully crafted plan that God pulled together this incredible tapestry that he's pulled together to give us a beautiful picture of why Jesus had to be born of a virgin pretty remarkable and that gets to the third thing the third movement is a baby who came for a cross [00:47:38] (43 seconds) #GodWoveTheIncarnation

you shall call him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins the name Yeshua means the God who saves and so we know from the very beginning the reason he has come is to save us all from our sin Luke 19 10 tells us he came to seek and to save the lost who's lost look around look in a mirror we're all lost we're all in need [00:48:56] (32 seconds) #JesusSavesTheLost

but from the manger to the cross these two scenes are part of the same story God had to become flesh in order to die for our sins because there is no other way it doesn't matter how much you go to church it doesn't matter how nice of a person you are it doesn't matter whether you're moral or immoral it doesn't matter what what you think what your opinion is Jesus is God's one and only solution to the problem of sin to the problem of your sin the only one there is no other way [00:49:47] (36 seconds) #MangerToCrossOneStory

do you believe his story is a fable do you believe it's just a legend do you believe he's a liar or do you believe that he's really the Lord the Bible says in order for each one of us to be forgiven it's not based upon what country we live in it's not based upon what church we go to it doesn't matter who our mom and dad are each one of us have to make an individual volitional decision of what we're going to do with Jesus and it says if you would confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved [00:56:13] (38 seconds) #ChooseToBelieveJesusLord

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