Well, good morning, everyone. Good morning, and welcome to Old Providence Associate Reform Presbyterian Church. And let me wish you all a very happy new year. It's a joyous thing that we can be here together in our nice, warm sanctuary to start off the year 2025 correctly. It's the first Lord's Day. So I welcome you, and especially I welcome our visitors. If we haven't met, I'd love to meet you. I'll be out under the portico shivering after the service, right out that way. So I'd love to meet you. Now, the Lord has brought us here to worship and that's exactly what we're going to do. But let me just first reference the bulletin because we're really getting back into the swing of things after all of the different Christmas events, right? Well, regular things are going to be taking place now this week. Wednesday night prayer meeting, Lord willing that it's not snowpocalypse and hope everybody got their bread and milk and that kind of stuff, right? Okay, but Lord willing we'll be here Wednesday night. Regular time for a prayer meeting and Bible study home Bible studies back on daily devotionals resume tomorrow Those are available at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday They're on our Facebook page or at sermon audio forward slash Old Providence And if you ever need any help with that, let me know and I'll be happy to help you Other things that are normal activities are really getting back into the swing of things, right? So be aware of those different things happening Um, like youth group and and little lambs is on for tonight. But I will say this youth group is being moved to five o'clock and they're going to get out early in the event of winter weather. So come if you can. Um, one thing that I will mention one week from today, elders and deacons alike, one week from today at three p.m. We are having a joint meeting. So officers do be aware of that. Now there are lots of other things going on, but I'm going to let you find those in your bulletin. The Lord has brought us here to worship. So Let's prepare our hearts as Donna leads us in the prelude. As we come together this, the first Lord's Day of 2025, I think it's valuable, it's important that we remember who it is that we have come to worship, and that is the Lord our God. There are many passages in God's Word that tell us all about who God is and who we are, but I love Psalm 103, and I think we should keep it in mind. for it is a wonderful call to worship. It says, My soul bless the Lord and all that is within me, bless His holy name. My soul bless the Lord and do not forget all His benefits. He forgives all your iniquity and He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He revealed His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve. or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we were formed. He remembers that we are dust. My friends, the Lord remembers that thing which oftentimes we can forget. And in his remembering, he does not deal with us harshly, but instead his mercies are new every morning. Even this, the first Lord's day of 2025. So, with these things in mind, let's go to our Lord in prayer, after which we'll pray the Lord's Prayer together, and then confess the Apostle's Creed, both of which will be on the screen should you need them. But let's go to him now. Our God and our Father, we praise you that you have called us to this place. Each one of us, not a single one by accident, you've worked out all things to bring us here right now, and you have done so, so that we would worship you. For you alone are worthy, Father, and you know how we were formed. "'cause you formed us. "'You remember that we are dust indeed "'and you also remember, you know Father, "'that we will worship. "'The question is who and what. "'So we thank you for bringing us here to worship you. "'Would you guide us now by your Holy Spirit? "'Would you work in our hearts and minds in this time "'that we would focus on you, "'that we would see your splendor and majesty "'and again be filled and leave here as changed people. We pray these and all things in the name of Christ. And we also pray as he taught us to pray by saying, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And now as we say the Apostles' Creed together, let me ask you, Christian, what is it that you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty. maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From this He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen, amen indeed. Now I've got to warn you as we begin lifting up congregational singing together, our congregational hymns, don't think I've lost my mind. It's not Donna that picked this, it's me. And it will make sense in just a little bit as to why we're going to stand together now and sing yet another Christmas carol. 170, please stand with me as we sing, O come all ye faithful. 170. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Christ the Lord. Gave whom we grieved thee for this happy morning, O Jesus, to thee be O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. You may be seated. And children, come on down front for the children's session. Good morning, guys. How are we doing today? Good. Are you excited for the potential snow we have today? Yeah. Really? I'm feeling mixed about it, personally. But another question for you. If you guys like to read, hand up if you like to read. Hand up if you don't like to read. That's right. Well, fun fact, reading more than actually one of my New Year's resolutions, but there's one book that I always make sure I try and read almost every day. I'm not super great at it sometimes, but can you guess what book that is? The Bible. The Bible, that's right. The Bible is very special. If you remember way, way back in 2024, I gave my first children's sermon with you guys on why the Bible is kind of like a guidebook or a rulebook or a game, so to speak. But, I think what's really important from the Bible tells us how to love God. Now, that was pretty simple. Just say you love God. Well, that means you love Him, right? Well, he actually gives us two very great and important commands, and one of them is how to love them. It's written in the Book of Matthew. Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together, one of them an expert in the law, and tested him with one question. Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law? And Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, for this is the first and greatest commandment. So, what Jesus is saying there is that while it may seem easy to say you love God, to catch your requirements and love Him of everything we have, you guys have everything. Do you have a best friend? My best friend's my wife. Go ahead. So, imagine for a second taking the love you have for your best friend and saying, hey, don't you love your best friend? Multiply that by everything you have in your heart, your mind, your body, your soul. That's how much we're supposed to love God. Does that sound like a lot? Sounds like a lot. And it's supposed to sound like a lot because that's how much God loves us. And for being such a wonderful Creator and Savior, we're supposed to love Him back that much. So, you're going to learn a bit more about that in Children's Church days. We're back on the catechism questions. So, with that being said, would you guys bow your heads with me? Dear Lord, we thank you for allowing us to gather here at Old Providence today. Lord, help us remember just how much we're called to love you. Father, it may seem like a lot at times, but I ask you to keep it in all of our minds and hearts at all times in these coming days. Lord, I pray this with these children as they go to children's church, that you will be in their minds and all their hearts and allow them to know you better. In Father, our prayer, I ask you in Christ's name, amen. I ask you to dismiss the children's church. Thank you very much, Will. As they're being dismissed, let's take this time now to go to our Lord in silent prayer. Take those things before Him that you need to take before Him. Perhaps it's in light of what we have just heard and loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Perhaps it's taking those things to Him or those times to Him where you have not done so. Take those times to Him in confession. But let's spend this brief time and then I will lead us in the pastoral prayer. Let's go to Him now. Eternal God and Heavenly Father, it is with grateful hearts and grateful minds that we come before you now, not just as individuals, but as your people, as the people that you have reckoned for yourself, purchased with the blood of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet, Father, as we come before you now, we come realizing that we do not come with clean hands of our own accord. And we come recognizing that we have failed you. That instead of trusting you as we should, we have trusted ourselves instead of loving you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. Oh, it's so much easier to love ourselves. That's our default wiring. But again, Father, you know that. You understand us. And so in your grace and in your mercy, you have done the best possible thing, and that is You have given us Jesus Christ so that we would be less of us, and you would transform us so that we would be like you. And yet, Father, in this transformation process that ultimately culminates in glory with you, we still have many rough edges. Yet whether it is in what we have lifted up about your magnificence or what we've read in your word both point to the fact that you are gracious, you are merciful, you are long-suffering, you love to forgive. And Father, in understanding us, you tell us to come to you, and so we do now, seeking forgiveness, seeking right relationship with you, seeking direction even, that we would do what you would have us to do. On this, the first Sunday of the new year, we know that the earth moving around the sun for a certain period of days has no magical hold or anything like that, but the new year brings new opportunities. And so Father, give us a renewed desire, a renewed passion even to seek your kingdom first, understanding that all other things will be added to us. As we face challenges to this, we pray that you would address them. Father, there are many challenges in our midst, many of which are medical. Some people have had surgeries. Some people have had treatment for conditions. Some people are waiting on surgeries. And you know all of these situations, Father, and you know the healing that is needed. So we pray that you would heal, but that you would also give comfort and peace and assurance. We pray also for healing of another variety, for in this life, we are not limited to medical issues. We face emotional issues, relational issues. There are times when you can feel so far away. Yet Father, we know that you've gone nowhere. So please, by your Holy Spirit, refresh us, renew us, give us a renewed passion again to do what you would have us to do. For Father, we know what you want is what's best. And not only for us here at Old Providence, we know this for your church universal, the brothers and sisters in Christ that you've united us to, that you've given us the same common task, but the same common privilege to be your representatives. Let us do just that. For as we consider the world around us, a world that is groping in darkness, that is so lost, we pray that the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ would blaze forth and that you would do this through us. So Father, please let us be real about those things that we face. Let us be honest with you and honest with ourselves. And again, let us seek your face and we pray it all in Christ's name, amen. Now let's continue in our worship together by again, it'll make sense soon, taking your hymnals and turning to number 168 as we sing angels from the realms of glory. Please stand with me, number 168. you and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King. Shepherds, in the fields of ivy, watching o'er your flocks by night, come in that Israel residing, yonder shines the infant light. ♪ Worship Christ, the newborn King. ♪ ♪ Sages, lead your contemplations. ♪ ♪ Brighter visions beam afar. ♪ ♪ Seek the great desire of nations. ♪ Virgin, virgin, Christ the newborn King. Saints before the altar in King, marching on in song. Let's go to our Lord, our Father, we praise You that indeed You are worthy of our worship and worthy of all that we have for nothing we have is ours. It all comes from You. And so, Father, as we return to You, we pray that You would work in our hearts and in our minds, that You would work in Your kingdom as a result. And we pray it all in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. O beautiful star of Bethlehem, Shining those overshadowed still, Giving the light for those who long and grow old. And the things of evil might spell on their way, But to the place where Jesus lay Beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine on, shine on. Oh, beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine upon us until the glory dawns. Oh, give us the light to light the way into the land shine on, shine on. O beautiful for the land of France, for our redeemed, our burdened past, now we recall Jesus is now the star divine. Brighter and brighter he will shine. Beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine on, shine on. Oh, beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine on, shine on. into the land of perfect day. Beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine on, shine on. Beautiful light to guide the way into the land of perfect day. Beautiful star of Bethlehem, shine on, shine on. Thank you very much. Thank you, Donna. Name that tune. Does anybody recognize the operatory? I wonder as I wander. Very good. Thank you. So we're adjusting. done up to that, because maybe you're wondering at this point, let me start out by addressing a question that some of you might be pondering. Namely, why are we still singing Christmas carols? And if you've looked at the bulletin, why am I preaching from Matthew chapter 2? Maybe you're thinking, I thought Christmas was over. I didn't have to worry about it for another year. But Not any Godfather fans, maybe it's Michael Corleone where just when you think you're out, we suck you back in, right? It's, it's, I get it, Christmas is over, it is, all right? It is the new year, but there is one aspect of the Christmas story that is quite valuable that oftentimes is missed. And it shouldn't be. And it happens to correspond to an event on the liturgical calendar known as Epiphany. Yes, Epiphany, which falls actually tomorrow on January the 6th. Now, you might be saying, what is Epiphany? Well, that term is really used in two ways. The first is used by people just processing life, right, They talk about having an epiphany. Maybe you've heard somebody say, I've had an epiphany. Or you've seen it in a movie or a television show. The light bulb goes off where they realize something. That's not the epiphany that we're talking about. Instead, the epiphany that we're talking about that shows up in the liturgical calendar, the church calendar, is that which revolves around Christ, and especially the revelation of Christ. That's actually the first thing on your paper if you're filling that little thing out there. Epiphany is the revelation or revealing of Christ to the Gentiles. That's what epiphany is. And the story of epiphany involves none other than those wise men, or as the Bible calls them, the magi, right? Hence our singing in just a few minutes at the close of the service. That's right. We're going to be singing We Three Kings. Now, maybe you're wondering what's the big deal about Epiphany? Why is this part of the liturgical calendar? Well, there's lots of reasons really as to why this is a big deal. I just told you that Epiphany revolves around Christ being revealed to the Gentiles. And that's important here. How many Jews we got here this morning? Well, my great-grandmother was a Jew, so I guess I'm partially right. If not, well, mazel tov anyway, right? Because look, if epiphany revolves around Christ being revealed to Gentiles, this is pivotal for us, isn't it? But more than that, maybe you remember John chapter one. What do we find there about Jesus? We find that he came unto his own, but something happened. Though he came unto his own, His own received him not. And yet, instead of leaving after that rejection, instead of saying, if you won't have me, no one will have me, instead, we see something quite the opposite. Well, this is tragic for the Jewish people of Jesus' time. It's a wondrous thing for you and me and the rest of the world in that because of Christ, the gospel went forth, not just for Jewish people, not just for one ethnicity, but for all people, Gentiles alike, to the utmost ends of the earth. Even Spotswood, Virginia. So yes, epiphany, that moment in time when the gospel was first revealed to Gentiles is of vast importance. But again, sadly, it often gets left out when we focus on Christmas, but not here, not this year. Instead, let us celebrate God's faithfulness in limiting salvation not to just one people group, but sending his son for all people. That's why epiphany is so important. That's why the three wise men are so important. But here's the thing. Maybe you're already thinking, okay, three wise men, Frankincense, gold, and myrrh. We got it. We know this story already. Why do we have to spend time on it? It's even become comical at this point, you know. It's all over social media. We'll give them, but wait, there's myrrh, right? Everybody knows about the wise men. It's part of cultural literacy. But here's the thing. It's those Bible stories, I warn you about this all the time, it's those Bible stories that we think we know the most that often enough we miss. What do I mean by this? What I mean is that it's the stories that we think we know the best that often get dismissed the most or whose real meaning we end up losing. That's why the second thing on your paper, if you're filling that out, is be careful with the Bible stories you think you know. We think we know the story, but we can miss key aspects of God's word that really can transform our thinking and enrich our faith. This happens with lots of stories in the Bible, stories like David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, Noah and his ark, right? And certainly it happens with the wise men of Matthew chapter two. Again, we know the story, but in our knowledge, we can miss some really important things. I'll give you an example. And it's a really good one, are you ready? Why are they called wise men? Especially when, as we read in a few moments, they aren't called wise men in the Bible. In fact you don't find that term. Now I know in some English translations it says they were men of wisdom or it calls them wise men. But that's something that was added, ok. That's one of the reasons why I'm using the translation I'm using this morning which is the New American Standard. It's the most faithful translation to the original Greek. We call them wise men but the text calls them something else. So what makes them wise? Well, the answer to that question is powerful. Indeed, it's life-changing, really. And this is only one of the aspects of this familiar story that we're going to be focusing on. Now, we're only going to get part of the way there this week. We'll finish up next week. But big, big questions to be answered. Who were they? were these magi, right? That's the term that is used. Well, we find out the answer to this and so many more questions by being detectives here. And we find it out by going to Matthew chapter 2. So, if you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew chapter 2 with me. Again, I'll be reading from the NASB version. It's going to be the one that's on the screen this morning. This is one passage that's actually pretty readable. Now we're gonna start reading in Matthew chapter two, verse one, but before we read anything, we need to stop and we need to pray. We need to ask for God's help. So let's go to the Lord now. Our God and our father, as we come to your word now, we need your help. please guide us by your Holy Spirit. Work in our hearts, work in our minds, get hold of us so that we would see the truth of your word in the story that we know, that we've heard about, that's become part of cultural literacy. Help us to see the truth, yes, but also how your word applies to us, what you would have us do and who you would have us be. Father, we can't see this on our own. We need you to turn the lights on for us. So please work in our hearts and minds now and we pray all of these things in Christ's name. Amen. So Matthew chapter 2 beginning in verse 1 here. Now the word of the Lord it says. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together, got a little too far, and gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. For from you will come forth a ruler, who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called for the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him. After hearing the king, they went on their way and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to stop over the place where the child was to be found. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after they came into the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way. And we'll stop reading right there. May God bless the reading of His holy and errant an infallible word, amen and amen. Well, my friends, there you have it, the story of the wise men. But as I asked before, who are these men? We call them wise men, but we just read it. That's not what the text calls them or calls them. So let's be detectives here. We're going to ask questions. The who, the what, the when, the where, the why, all of these questions. And we're going to start out with the Magi. Who were the Magi? Well, starting at the start, we call them wise men, but as we've just read, it shows up multiple times in verse 1, 7, and 12. This is the English translation, but the term there in Greek is Magi. Magos, but the plural form of Magos is Magi. The plural form of Malfrous is Malfry, in case you didn't know if your name ends with that. That's just how it goes, right? That's why we call them Magi. It's the plural form of Magos, okay? Now, that's what they're called, but there's a lot of speculation over them. We know their names, but where are they from? For instance, lots of different opinions. Who were they? Some people say, some scholars say that they were astrologers out of Babylon. Well, right out the front here, we know that that's wrong. These men were not astrologers. Instead, they were astronomers. And hopefully, you know the difference between astrology and astronomy. Astrology is all of the different zodiac things, right? Your sign, your lucky numbers, why you're in a bad mood today, that kind of stuff. Astronomy is the study of the stars, the movement of the celestial spheres, right? Astronomy is legitimate. Astrology is a hoax. I'm sorry if I'm bursting your bubble. It doesn't matter if you're a Pisces or an Aquarius, you can still like long walks on the beach and puppies. That's fine. Knock yourself. But all that other stuff is a hoax. It's not true. It's garbage, okay? That is not what these men were. They were not astrologers. But even with that being said, there's still a lot of controversy. Some scholars say that the term magi is used because they were magicians, okay, akin to those of pharaohs, magicians, that they were sorcerers, really. And while horoscopes and astrology is a scam, sorcery was and is real. A lot of so-called magicians, it's true, are just illusionists. But magic is real, y'all. If you don't believe me, look no further than God's word. Look at the witch at Endor, for instance, in the scriptures. Look to Pharaoh's magicians. Magic is real. It's an abomination that's for another sermon. But nevertheless, we should not call these men magicians either. So who are they? Again, controversy, right? Some say that they are astronomer explorers from all the way over in China, right? We three kings of Orient are. Remember that term Orient is a broad term used to describe anything or anyone from the East in Asia. And Asia includes places like Turkey, okay? Others say that they came up from Africa. Lots and lots of opinions, lots of controversy. But needlessly so, y'all, because this is where God's word comes in. And the Greek especially, it comes in handy. Also a little bit of historical research. As it relates to Greek, y'all know that I don't punish you with the fact that I had to learn Greek too often. I don't bring that up often, but it is important that I don't know. Some of you are visitors. I don't know what your regular church is. If you're online, you may have a regular church. You need to go to a church where the pastor knows Greek and Hebrew because of the value it brings to translating the text. It is a regular part of my sermon preparation to translate from the original text. to English because so much is exposed there. In the ARP church, ministers must know Greek and Hebrew. You've got to have a graduate degree. You've got to learn those things. Will, I heard you say you didn't like to read. Well, brother, Those things are going to change rather quickly, OK? We'll start in seminary very soon here. We're going to break you of that. We're going to help you keep your resolution, Will. But nevertheless, the Greek and the Hebrew is so important here, especially with these words. So getting back to that word, magos or magi, when you look at the Greek, it reveals something to us about who these men were and where they were from. All you got to do is find out where that word finds its origin. And where you find it first is not in the scripture. You find it actually in the 6th century BC, hundreds of years before Jesus was born. And it was a word created to name a caste system, a social class into which a man named Zoroaster was born. Now, maybe you're wondering what Zoro has to do with this. It's not Zoro, it's Zoroaster, right? And he was the founder of an ancient Eastern religion called Zoroastrianism. Imagine that. When you found a religion, you can name it whatever you want, right? That term magos that we read in Matthew chapter 2, that we get in our text, was the term created to name the social class into which Zoroaster was born. Now, you might say, okay, so what? Why is that important? Well, connect the dots. If the term magos and magi was used to name the wise men and that term came from Zoroastrianism, if you want to know where they came from, just find out where the term was, where they used it. And what you find out is that that term came from Persia. The wise men were Persian. They weren't African. They weren't Chinese. They were astronomers from Persia. That's the next thing in the paper. The wise men were Persian astronomers. Now, you might be wondering, OK, great. Why doesn't Matthew 2 tell us that? Well, it doesn't tell us that because we got a 2,000-year problem here and that we're 2,000 years later. Realize that language is always fluid and changes, right? And terms work that way, too. If I were to tell you that I want you to meet my friend here, he's a Buckeye, well, you would probably know that he was from Ohio, right? If I said, well, this is my friend, he's an Aussie, you would probably guess that he's from Australia, right? We use those terms, we know those terms. If I said, hey, here's a redneck, and you might say, he must be from South Carolina, like me, okay? That's not what we're, we're sand lappers, actually, technically speaking. I don't know if you know that, but nevertheless, I'm a Virginian now. But we use these terms that make sense to us, right? That are part of our regular language, and if you use them, people understand. Well, if you rewind 2,000 years and you hear the term Magi, back then people would have understood these to be Persians. We face the deficit. The problem is not God's Word. Now, that's out of the way. We've got to move on. When did they show up? The who, what, whens, and where? When did they actually get there? Well, we don't exactly know when they came, but I can tell you that church tradition, as early as the second century, maintains that they came on or around the equivalent to January the 6th. Okay, after Jesus was born. We're not going to get into the intricacies of the Greco-Roman calendar versus the Jewish calendar or anything like that. But while they came on or around January the 6th, that doesn't necessarily mean they got there the first Christmas. In fact, the idea that we get from the Greek text is it was probably a year or two later because the idea we get from the text from the wise men, the term that they use is that Jesus was a child. Okay, he's not an infant, but he's also not yet a boy. That's that terminology that's used there. And there is a difference if you know children, right? The developmental stage of toddler falls between infancy and childhood. And we got another pretty good indicator here of when they came. Remember what Herod would go on to do. He would issue a decree for infanticide. killing Hebrew male children that fell within a certain range of ages, okay? If Jesus is still a newborn when the wise men show up, that range of ages would not be employed by Pharaoh. Now, let's deal with an obvious question. If the wise men didn't get there until Jesus was two or so, then why are they in all the manger scenes, right? I've got a very technical answer for you. It looks really nice. Okay. That's I don't know what else to tell you. Okay. It wasn't when Jesus was a newborn baby. They didn't show up at the manger that night. They're in manger scenes. Don't be a Scrooge over this stuff y'all. Okay, my grandmother gave me our manger scene. Do you think I said to all that size, but let me tell you something about the wise men. I'm not going to put them up until January the 6th next year. Of course not. Yep. Look, There are some things that you just have to deal with that morph over time. That's one of those things. And that's kind of the same way with the numbers. How many wise men were there? You might be saying, hello, we three kings. Doesn't he know any? We say three. Were there only three? We don't know. We know that Jesus received three gifts. That's where we get the idea that there were three wise men, because the Bible doesn't say that there were only three. But this is a non-issue, y'all, and we've got to move on because we've dealt with a few of the minor questions. All of that stuff's interesting, at least to me. But the real question in all of this is why. Why is any of this important? Why does any of this matter? Why does this have bearing in your life? This is your so what moment of all of this. And it really corresponds to the question, why are they called wise men? Well, today you get a short, short answer and next week you get a more full answer. The reason all of this is important and the reason that these men are called wise is because of what they did and what they can teach us. And no, I'm not referring to them being Persians. And no, I'm not referring to them being astronomers, learned men, okay? They're called wise men because they guess at their profession. The only thing we really know is that they followed the star and they came from a certain social class. That's all we get. That's not why they're called wise. They're called wise because of what the Bible says they did. Consider it. Verses 1 and 2 again, it says, now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. Now, y'all, I'm going to ask you some questions that I want you to be pondering, and we're going to get to the full answer next week. But there's a few problems in the first few verses of Matthew chapter 2. Problem may not be the right word for it. There's a few dilemmas here. I got a question. If these men are Persians that come out of Zoroastrianism, how do they know about the Messiah? How do they know that this Messiah that's been born is going to be king of the Jews? Where did they learn about the star? What it signified? How did they know what gifts to bring? You know, these are mysteries that are surrounding the text at first glance, and they all point back to why these men are called wise. But looking at it just at the surface level today, and we'll get into all of that stuff next week, just looking at the surface level today, what they can teach us is seen in the example they leave. Think about it. They came all the way from Persia, hundreds of miles, which is a drastically long journey. They came bringing gifts of immense worth. Okay, this is not cheap stuff. This is incredibly valuable stuff. Recognizing, they came recognizing that their goods meant nothing. Why? Because this is the last thing on your paper. Why are they called wise men? Why did they come? The last thing on your paper is they came to worship the Christ. You want to know why we call them wise men? This is why. Because they came to worship the Christ, pure and simple. Now, I realize you might be saying, really? That's it? I thought it was because they outsmarted Herod and didn't go back the same way. We read the text, y'all. They didn't outsmart anybody. The angel came and told them not to go back that way. They just did what the angel said. That's not why they're called wise. Maybe, again, you think it's because of their profession. No, no. They're wise because they came to worship the Christ. And if you're saying, really, that's it? Yes, that's it. because I challenge you to find a more practical application of wisdom than worshiping Jesus Christ. Think about what wisdom is and choosing wisely. Think about what living a wise life looks like. With that in mind, what could possibly be more wise than recognizing Jesus for who he is and then doing the most wise thing possible, which is recognizing him and worshiping him. Do you know what worship is? Worship is throwing yourself down. Worship is recognizing glory and awe and splendor. Worship is recognizing greatness on the one hand, on the part of that thing which is worshiped, and worshiping how small we are in comparison. As the Puritans spelled it when they taught their children the alphabet, W was for worship, but they spelled worship with a TH. Worship is ascribing worth. It's appreciating. It's recognizing what this thing being worshiped is and does and has been and will be. So again, in the world of wisdom and doing wise things, what could possibly be more wise than worshiping the giver of life itself? The one, as we read from Psalm 103, that understands how we were formed. who remembers that we are dust. The one who, as we read in God's word from James 1.17, we'll use this last week in a children's sermon that tells us that every good and perfect gift is from above. The Bible tells us that God cares for us in accordance with His pleasure and His will because He is our perfect heavenly Father who sent His one and only Son. So what could possibly be more important, more valuable, more wise than worshiping Him? Really think about that. I would venture that if you do, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more valuable, anything more important than Jesus Christ. And yet, sadly enough, it is our natural tendency to worship anything and everything but God. Yet, these Gentiles from Persia, these men, came to worship Jesus, and thus they are called wise. And the lesson that they leave for us, for you and me today, is that we are called to worship the Christ too. Now, that's the short, short answer, but next week we're gonna pick up and we'll see even more important things from their story, what the different things represent, and more about the example they leave us. But in closing today, we have seen what is important to the wise men, that they left everything to come and worship. I must ask, What's important to you? This, the first Lord's Day of 2025. As we go forward into a new year, what glorious opportunities the Lord gives us to be a part of his grand redemptive plan, to take part in the wonderful, amazing things that he's doing. He gives us that right, that privilege, that opportunity. And it begins with worship. So what is important to you? What do you worship? Who do you worship? God has created you to be worshipful. The question is not if you will worship, it is who you will worship and what you will worship. If it is not the Christ, then your worship is misplaced. If you do not know him, turn to him today. Repent of your sins and believe on the name of Jesus Christ and be saved. And if you wanna see me, come and get me and we will talk. But if you've done this, Evaluate what's important to you. Evaluate what the Lord would have you do and seek his kingdom. Let's pray. Our God and our Father, we praise you for your word, for its promises, for the beauty and the wonder, the glory of belonging to you. For those here that do not, please work in their hearts and draw them to yourself. Let us all be wise as we turn to you. And I pray it in Christ's name. Amen. And now, let's close by singing it. I said that we would. Number 176 in your hymnals. Please stand with me as we sing, We Three Kings of Orient Are. Field and fountain, pool and fountain, following yonder star. Oh, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. Lest her leading, still proceeding, guide us For the King of Heaven has made Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all. Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, to offer a lie. It's the sons of D&D nigh. Proud and brazy, bold and brazy, worship you proudly. ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ ♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪ ♪ Blue is thine, it's ever new ♪ ♪ Green's the life of gathering new ♪ ♪ Star is shining, leading, guiding ♪ ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ ♪ As we're leading to proceeding ♪ ♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪ ♪ Glorious now behold him arise ♪ ♪ King and God and sacrifice ♪ Receive the benediction. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace, both now and forevermore. Amen.