The King Born to Set Us Free
December 24, 2016 • Don Willeman
REFLECTION QUOTES
“To be always relevant, you have to say things which are eternal.”
~Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Behind the debris of our self-styled, sullen supermen, there stands the gigantic figure of one person because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope: the person of Jesus Christ.”
~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer and journalist
“…in the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Henceforth, any attack even on the least…is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all that bears a human form. Through fellowship and communion with the incarnate Lord, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from that individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race.”
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1909-1945), German pastor/theologian executed for his opposition to the Nazi movement
“That God is rich in his heaven is something known also by other religions. That he wanted to be poor together with his creatures, that in his heaven, he wanted to and did indeed suffer for his world, and that through his Incarnation he enabled himself to prove the suffering of his love to his creatures: this is the hitherto unheard-of thing.”
~Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), Swiss Theologian
“Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man.”
~Anonymous
“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.”
~St. Augustine (354-430), bishop in North Africa
SERMON PASSAGE
24
DEC
2016
00:00|17:17
Matthew 2:1-6
December 24, 2016
preached by Pastor Don Willeman
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Time of Reflection Quotations
“To be always relevant, you have to say things which are eternal.”
~Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Behind the debris of our self-styled, sullen supermen, there stands the gigantic figure of one person because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope: the person of Jesus Christ.”
~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer and journalist
“…in the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Henceforth, any attack even on the least…is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all that bears a human form. Through fellowship and communion with the incarnate Lord, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from that individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race.”
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1909-1945), German pastor/theologian executed for his opposition to the Nazi movement
“That God is rich in his heaven is something known also by other religions. That he wanted to be poor together with his creatures, that in his heaven, he wanted to and did indeed suffer for his world, and that through his Incarnation he enabled himself to prove the suffering of his love to his creatures: this is the hitherto unheard-of thing.”
~Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), Swiss Theologian
“Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man.”
~Anonymous
“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.”
~St. Augustine (354-430), bishop in North Africa
Sermon Passage
Matthew 2:1-6
¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’”
