Now for a brief moment, we will reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And if you have your Bible with you, turn to Luke chapter 2. I'll be reading beginning from verse 1 to 14. Luke chapter 2 beginning from verse 1 to 14. This is one of the accounts of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered This was the first registration when Coronius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David. which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and rubbed him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field. keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of Davids. And the angels say to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. and laying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Amen. Let me ask you this question tonight, and you can answer it in your heart. What is Christmas for you? Why do you celebrate Christmas? And every time you celebrate Christmas, what comes to your mind? Who comes to your mind? Cookies? New shoe? New clothes? A postcard? Family members visiting, maybe from other states? What comes to your mind every time you celebrate Christmas? Tonight, I want us to think about Christmas as a rescue mission. How many of you have thought about Christmas as a rescue mission. You know, Christmas is about a rescue mission. It is a story about a loving father who sent his only son to the world to die for sinners. That's the story of Christmas. It's a story of a loving father who is in heaven. And he saw those whom who planned to save being dead in their sins and transgressions, helpless to save themselves. And he sent his own son who was sinless to die for them. So you see, it's a rescue mission. I don't know how many of us think of Christmas as a rescue mission. Jesus was sent by the Father for one mission, one single mission, to save sinners. So every time you celebrate Christmas, how many of you remind yourself this is the time and the season on which my Savior was born to save me from my sin? I want you to notice only verse 11 tonight. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. Now we'll think about only one word tonight, a Savior. And I want to tell you that the word Savior is a title for Jesus. The word Savior speaks to us about three things. First, who he is. Second, why he came. And thirdly, what we need. So keep those three things in your mind. The word Savior in verse 11 speaks to us, tells everybody in the world three things. Who the Savior is, why He came, and what we need. Now notice first, it says a Savior. It doesn't say a teacher. It doesn't say a prophet. It doesn't say a mediator. It doesn't say a king. It doesn't say the Lord. All those things are true about Christ. But the first thing that Christ must be is a Savior. That's fundamental. You know, the word Savior is not in verse 11, it's not incidental. It's not there by chance. It is fundamental. It is the foundation. He came to save. He's a savior. Is he a teacher? Yes. Is he a prophet? Yes. Is he a priest? Yes. Is he Lord? Yes. But before anything else, He is a Savior. He's a Savior. That's what the angel told the shepherds. And he was a Savior who was given to us by God the Father as a gift. The angel said, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. Joseph and Mary didn't consult with one another and somehow brought Jesus for us. No, the Father sent Him. Like what we heard last Sunday from the pulpit. It was a virgin birth and it was a miraculous birth. But he was a gift, you see. He was a gift from the father. I don't know how many of you know this story, but a story was told one time. Two young boys spent Christmas Eve with their grandmother. And the only thing that they would think at the time was what the grandmother will give them as a gift for Christmas. So their whole mind, you know, all expectation was gift, gift, gift. And the grandmother didn't reveal what she prepared for them. And they really wanted what is coming. So the grandmother say to the two boys, go to bed, say your prayers, I'll see you in the morning. And the younger was not happy because he really wanted to know what his grandmother would give him as a Christmas gift. So they were saying their prayers. So the younger prayed first and he prayed like this. Oh God, he was yelling. Oh God, I want a bicycle as a Christmas gift from my grandmother tomorrow. And his older brother said to him, why are you yelling? God is not deaf. And his brother said, yes, God is not deaf, but maybe our grandmother is deaf. He was longing for a gift. Now think about Jesus our Savior as a gift. And let me ask you this. Before you saw the light of the gospel, before the Holy Spirit worked in your heart and revealed to you that you really need a Savior, who among us prayed to God to give him a savior as a gift. No one has prayed that prayer, because we all were dead in our sins and transgressions. But God knew what we needed. And he gave us a gift, not gold, not silver, not a bicycle, a savior. Galatians 4 in the fullness of time. God the Father gave us Christ as a gift. We didn't ask for that gift and it's a personal gift. The angel told them for unto you. Very personal. If you just open your heart, Repent of your sin, put your faith in Him. He's a gift to you from the Father. Isaiah 9, 6. For to us, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given as a gift. He was given to us, a personal gift. See, 200 years ago, God gave us a gift, a special and glorious gift. But what was so unique and special and convicting about this gift was God gave us this gift while we were still sinners. While we were still sinners, dead in our sins. He gave us Christ as a gift. The gift was planned for us before the foundation of the world. And it was a personal gift, a Savior. You see, a Savior comes first. Now, notice carefully. You go from verse 1 to 14. I read it for you. Okay? You go from verse 1 to verse 14. Do you see his name? Do you see his name? His name is not mentioned yet. In all the verses, you will not see your name. There is indication. But the only thing that you see is his titles. Christ, Lord. You see all the titles. You don't see his name. Well, Savior is his name. Savior is his name, Matthew 1, 21. And she will bear a son and she will call his name Jesus, the Greek name, Jesus, Yesus. And then the Hebrew is Joshua. The one who will save. The one who will rescue. That's why I told you it's a rescue mission. Jesus, who will save His people from their sins. Now, let me remind you this. This is true everywhere today. How many people today, tomorrow, you know, as they celebrate Christmas, how many people will think about a Savior? You know, some people, they don't even want to call it Christmas. They don't want to see this celebration connected to Christ as a Savior. They call it, why? Holiday. You know, you go everywhere, happy holiday. You know, what is written on the wall is a happy holiday. As much as they can, they remove the connection to Christ. Do you know why? Because they don't want to be confronted about their sin. There are people who sometimes say, you know, it's Christmas. Why are you talking about sin? We're supposed to be happy. We're supposed to eat, drink, you know, have new dress, you know, new clothes, you know, make us happy. Why are you talking about sin? I'm not talking about sin. God himself is talking about sin because he's calling the gift a savior and he can't call him a savior without the problem of sin. Why does God call him a savior if there is not the problem of sin? So it's not the pastor, it's not the church, it's the scripture. It's God himself who talks about sin. Because the reason why Jesus came was to save. To save sinners from their sin. And that's, you see, the second point, why he came, a savior, and then why he came. He came to save 1 John 3, 8. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. So you see, beloved, when Christmas comes, if we don't think about sin, in fact, There is nothing wrong with you asking people during Christmas time, you know, you asking people, are you saved? And then if they ask you, why are you asking me this question? Because Christmas is about being saved from your sin. The reason why the Son of God appeared was to save sinners. and give himself as a ransom for sinners. See, the most important question that you would ask any person whom you love, you know, about whom you care is, are you saved? Is that what Christmas is all about for you? You know, you go to any church, if that church doesn't speak about sin, then there is a problem. If that church doesn't talk about the rescue mission, you know, the bad news and the good news. The bad news is all men are sinners, dead in their sins and transgressions. The good news is the Savior has come. He was born from the Virgin Mary. And thirdly, what we need. We need to be rescued from our sins. You know, let me mention three things to all of us. We got a sickness that we cannot heal from by our own strengths. Its name is sin. No one can cure himself from the disease of sin. Only Jesus can do that. And we got a barrier that we cannot break. There is a barrier between God who is holy and sinners. No one can break that barrier except Jesus, our Savior. And we got a trap that we cannot escape from. Trap of sin. There is no escape unless we come to Jesus. unless we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as a special gift from the Father. So let's gather our thoughts once more. What is Christmas? Christmas is a rescue mission. The Father and the Son were on a mission. The Father was the one who sent His Son to the world. and the son came to accomplish one mission. Yes, you know, he was a teacher, he was a prophet, he did all those ministries when he was on earth. But the most important thing was he was a savior. Matthew 20, 28, even as the son of man, even as the Son of Man came out, not to be served, but to save and give his life as a ransom for many. That's why Jesus came. So you see, his arrival, his coming, you know, we have two arrivals of Jesus. The first one is his birth. from the Virgin Mary. That's his first arrival. He came to save. He came to rescue us from our sins. And then he will come in glory to judge. So first, he came to save, and he is coming to judge. So what saves you? spares you from His judgment. His work on the cross. His work on the cross. That's why the angel told the shepherds, He is a Savior. Because what you need is a Savior. You are a sinner, and as a sinner, you need a Savior. And God has provided that Savior in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. So you all are encouraged tonight by the word of God to celebrate Christmas as a rescue mission, a rescue mission from sin. And what is needed from you is to admit and to believe that you are a sinner. And you confess of your sin and believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as a ransom for your sins. All your sins, past, present, and future. Christ came to remove all those sins from you by His death on the cross. Amen. May we celebrate Christmas in that spirit and with that understanding. May the Lord help us by His grace to do that.