713. Bill & Judy's Third Annual Christmas Podcast - December 25, 2024

[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:21] Let's open in prayer. Father God, I wish everyone listening today a very Merry Christmas. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today, I pray that everyone would be blessed as they listen to this podcast.

[00:00:35] Lord, help them to have a wonderful day with their family as we celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ being born.

[00:00:45] Christ's birth announced to Mary. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

[00:00:55] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

[00:01:03] And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.

[00:01:13] But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.

[00:01:20] Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus.

[00:01:33] He will be great and will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

[00:01:41] And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there will be no end.

[00:01:48] Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be since I do not know a man?

[00:01:53] And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you.

[00:02:01] Therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

[00:02:09] Now, indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age.

[00:02:14] And this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

[00:02:19] For with God, nothing will be impossible.

[00:02:22] Then Mary said, Behold, the maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.

[00:02:30] And the angel departed from her.

[00:02:34] And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

[00:03:41] This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

[00:03:48] So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

[00:03:54] Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,

[00:04:04] because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

[00:04:14] So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

[00:04:19] And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

[00:05:22] Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

[00:05:31] And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

[00:05:40] Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people.

[00:05:51] For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

[00:05:58] And this will be the sign to you.

[00:06:00] You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

[00:06:05] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

[00:06:14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

[00:06:21] So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another,

[00:07:32] Let us now go to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

[00:07:41] And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

[00:07:48] Now, when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child.

[00:07:56] And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

[00:08:03] But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

[00:08:08] Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

[00:09:25] Wise men from the east.

[00:09:27] Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king,

[00:09:33] behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

[00:09:38] Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

[00:09:41] For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.

[00:09:46] When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

[00:09:52] And when he gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,

[00:09:57] he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

[00:10:01] So they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,

[00:10:07] But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah.

[00:10:14] For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

[00:10:20] Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

[00:11:27] And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young child.

[00:11:34] And when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also.

[00:11:42] When they heard the king, they departed.

[00:11:44] And behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them,

[00:11:50] till it came and stood over where the young child was.

[00:11:55] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

[00:12:01] And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,

[00:12:06] and fell down and worshipped him.

[00:12:09] And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him,

[00:12:14] gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

[00:12:17] Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod,

[00:12:23] they departed for their own country another way.

[00:14:46] Well, hon, we are finishing up 2024.

[00:14:49] It doesn't seem like a year since we did this last time,

[00:14:53] but time goes by so fast, especially now that we have grandkids and we see them a lot,

[00:14:59] and we're watching them grow before our eyes.

[00:15:02] They just keep getting bigger and bigger.

[00:15:03] So as we close out this year, what are some of your major thoughts about the celebration of Jesus

[00:15:10] as we celebrate his birth today?

[00:15:13] Well, truly, he is the most important thing in the world.

[00:15:17] There's nothing more important than Jesus.

[00:15:20] And if we want to leave a legacy to our children, to our family,

[00:15:25] we just need to remember that Jesus is the one.

[00:15:30] Jesus is the one we want them to remember.

[00:15:33] We want them to remember that we loved Jesus, and we served him,

[00:15:38] and that we expect to be in heaven with him,

[00:15:41] and we expect them to be in heaven with him, too.

[00:15:44] Well, that's so good.

[00:15:45] And I thought that we could close with O Holy Night.

[00:15:49] I used to sing this song all the time, many years ago.

[00:15:54] And since then, I don't sing much anymore, so my voice may crack.

[00:15:58] But before I sing that song, what I'd like to do is just offer a prayer over everyone listening today.

[00:16:06] Father God, I just pray that everyone would have a blessed Christmas,

[00:16:11] that they remember the reason for the season.

[00:16:15] And it's not about Santa Claus.

[00:16:17] It's not about gifts.

[00:16:19] It's about receiving Jesus into your heart.

[00:16:23] He is our Savior.

[00:16:25] He is our Redeemer.

[00:16:27] And this is the day we celebrate his birth.

[00:16:32] We thank you, Jesus, for coming to earth

[00:16:34] and being ready and willing to die on that cross for us.

[00:16:40] But we are celebrating your birth today.

[00:16:43] Everyone have a blessed day, and I'll see you tomorrow.