Why did Jesus come?

[0:00] If we could this morning, with the Lord's help, could we turn back to that portion of scripture that we read? The Gospel according to Matthew in chapter 1.

[0:15] Matthew chapter 1, and if we read again just a few verses from verse 18 down to the verse Mark 20. Matthew 1 at verse 18.

[0:26] Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

[0:38] And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

[0:59] She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

[1:16] You shall call his name Jesus. Now boys and girls, I hope that when you came into church this morning, you noticed the little note that was at the door, and you did, as I requested, that you picked up your little present.

[1:36] Because this present, it was sitting at the door waiting for you as you came in the door, and so I hope you picked yours up, and I hope you took it, I hope you haven't eaten it yet. And I know it's not much. It's not much at all.

[1:49] Because all it is, is this little candy cane. But if you didn't pick one up, you can get one at the door when you leave. Now, I'm sure that you're all getting very, very excited because of Christmas.

[2:00] Because it's just around the corner. This week is the day where Christmas is going to be. And I'm sure maybe that for some of you, you're counting down the days. Because there's only one, two, three, four.

[2:16] Four more sleeps. Four more sleeps till Christmas. Four more sleep nights until Christmas Day. And I'm sure you're getting all excited to open all your presents on Christmas Day. And I'm sure that you've been buying lots of presents.

[2:28] You've been buying my present. Really big present. That I expect at the door. And maybe you've been buying lots of presents for other people. For your mum and dad.

[2:39] Or for granny and shenna. Or your brother or sister. And maybe you've received a lot of Christmas cards. Maybe you've sent Christmas cards to all your friends. And I'm sure that by now you've put up your Christmas tree.

[2:51] And you've got all your decorations. And you've put up your lights. And your house is full of all these lovely decorations. And you've been doing all these preparations for this big day. Of getting presents and sending and receiving cards.

[3:03] And putting up all the decorations. And you've been doing everything. And it's all building up to this one big day. Christmas Day. When you get to open up all your presents. And your family comes together for this big dinner.

[3:17] Where you get so full that you can't eat anymore. And then you play games and have fun. And there's all this excitement about Christmas. And it's good to get excited. And it's good to give presents.

[3:28] And it's good to have fun. And it's good for us to come together and spend time with our family. But it's also good for us to remember what it's all about. It's good for us to remember.

[3:39] That amongst all the excitement and all our fun. It's good to remember who it's all about. And I think it's good to use any occasion to make us think about Jesus.

[3:51] I think it's good to use any occasion. Because Jesus is the most important person in the world. And he's the only person. He's the only person that I want you to know.

[4:04] And I want you to love. And I want you to follow. The only person. And with this candy cane. And by looking at this candy cane. I want to tell you all about Jesus.

[4:17] Because that's the only person I want to speak to you about today. Jesus. Because Jesus is precious. And I want to ask the question. And keep asking the question.

[4:28] Why did Jesus come? Why did Jesus come? That's the question I want us to ask. And the first thing I want us to see. Is that when we turn this candy cane upside down.

[4:39] We can see that it's the letter of the alphabet. The letter G. And G is for Jesus. And if we were to ask our question. Why did Jesus come?

[4:51] We're told that Jesus came. That's what we just read. We read in Matthew 1. Jesus came when the angel of the Lord spoke to Mary. And told her to name the baby Jesus.

[5:02] And the angel said to Mary. You shall call his name Jesus. And then they gave a reason as to why he was to be called Jesus. Because he shall save his people from their sins.

[5:14] You shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. And so boys and girls. Jesus came to save us from our sin.

[5:25] And the name Jesus. It means saviour. It means saviour. Or it means salvation. And salvation means to be set free.

[5:36] Because when we sin. When we sin. We're like putting ourselves into prison. When we do bad things. When people do bad things. They go to prison. And that's what sin is like. We put ourselves in prison.

[5:49] And because of our sin. We're in prison. And the only person who can deliver us. From our prison of sin. Is Jesus. The only person. Jesus is the only one.

[5:59] Who can save us. And because of our sin. We need to ask Jesus. To save us. And that's what the Bible tells us. The Bible tells us. That the name of Jesus.

[6:11] Is precious. The name of Jesus. Is holy. The name of Jesus. Is special. Really special. Because there's. No other name.

[6:22] That we can call out to. To be saved from sin. Other than the name of Jesus. No other name. You can't ask your mummy and daddy. To save you. From your sins. Can't ask granny or shenna.

[6:34] That won't work. Because they need Jesus too. You can't even ask. Me to save you from your sin. You can't say murder. You can't call out my name. To save you from your sin. Because I need Jesus too.

[6:45] You have to ask Jesus. We can't ask anyone else. To save us. We can't call upon. Any other name. Apart from the name of Jesus. Because the Bible tells us.

[6:56] There is no other name. Under heaven. Given among men. Whereby we must be saved. Other than the name. Of Jesus. So in order to be saved.

[7:07] From your sin. We need to ask Jesus. To save us. And I hope that you will ask Jesus. To save you. Because that's the word. That's why Jesus came. That's why Jesus came.

[7:18] J is for Jesus. J is for Jesus. You shall call his name Jesus. But he shall save his people. From their sins. But by looking at our candy cane again. And asking the question.

[7:30] Why did Jesus come? Why did Jesus come? I want us to see that our candy cane. As you can see. It has two colors on it. Two colors on it. It's red. And it's white.

[7:42] But I want us to see. First of all. That the red color. The red color on it. It tells us that Jesus came. To die. Jesus came to die.

[7:52] Why did Jesus come? Jesus came. To die. And the most important part. About Christmas. It's certainly. It's important that Jesus was born.

[8:03] And that he was born without sin. He's sinless. And he's pure. But the reason Jesus was born. Is that he was born. To die. Jesus was born.

[8:14] To die upon the cross. And save us from our sin. And the only way. That Jesus could save us. From our sin. Was by his blood. His blood.

[8:25] And the red of the candy cane. It points us. To his blood. That's why at the communion times. When God's people gather together. Around the Lord's table. And they drink a sip of red wine.

[8:38] They're remembering. The blood that Jesus shed. At Calvary. And that we're saved. And we're rescued by Jesus. Because of his blood. Because the blood of Jesus.

[8:50] It was poured out. When Jesus was crucified on the cross. And he experienced torture. And hatred. And Jesus was beaten. And big nails were put through his hands.

[9:02] And through his feet. Which would have been agony. I don't suppose any of you. Have ever experienced that. And I hope you don't. And then Jesus.

[9:12] He also had a crown of thorns. Put on his head. And there was lots and lots of blood. But do you know what the Bible says. About the torture of Jesus. It was all for us.

[9:25] That's what the Bible says. It was all for us. Because the Bible says. That Jesus was wounded. For our transgressions. That's for our sins. The Bible says.

[9:36] That Jesus was bruised. For our iniquities. That's our sins. The Bible says. That Jesus was chastised. So that we would have peace. So boys and girls.

[9:48] Jesus received everything we deserve. In order that we could be saved. He deserved. He received everything we deserve. In order that we could be saved.

[9:59] Jesus didn't deserve to die. Jesus came to die. In order to save us from our sins. In order to save us from our sins. And the Bible promises to us.

[10:10] That if we confess our sin. Jesus is faithful. And he is righteous. That he will forgive us our sin. And cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[10:21] And the Bible tells us why. Because the blood of Jesus. Cleanses us from all sin. All sin. All sins. So I hope we'll confess our sins to Jesus.

[10:33] And ask him to cleanse us. From all sin. Because when we do. Jesus will make us as white. As snow. As white as snow.

[10:45] That's the third thing I want us to see. With this candy cane. We've seen the name. Jesus. Jesus. You shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. We've seen that the red colour tells us.

[10:57] That Jesus came to die. When he shed his blood upon the cross. But by looking at the candy cane. And asking. Why did Jesus come? I want us to see that the white colour. It tells us.

[11:09] That Jesus came. To cleanse us. Jesus came to cleanse us. Because through his blood. Jesus cleanses us. As white as snow. And that's what we were singing about.

[11:21] Earlier on. In Psalm 51. In Psalm 51. It's my favourite psalm. I love Psalm 51. And I love it. Because it tells me. And it tells us all.

[11:33] That the blood of Jesus cleanses us. As white as snow. As white as snow. And when we see snow. I'm sure you've all seen snow before. I'm sure you've all seen snow before.

[11:45] And maybe I'm sure some of you are hoping for a white Christmas. Maybe you are. But when we see snow. There's nothing as white as snow. Nothing as white as snow. Because when snow falls on the ground.

[11:56] It looks so pure. And so white. It's just so lovely. And fresh. And clean. Especially when there are no muddy footprints. That have gone through it. It's all just as white.

[12:09] So white. And so pure. That even the wool on the sheep. They look really dirty. The sheep look all yucky and dirty. In comparison. To the white snow.

[12:20] And that's why Jesus came. Jesus came. To cleanse our hearts. And to make them. As white as snow. Because our hearts.

[12:31] They're really dirty. Really really dirty with sin. Our hearts are really dirty. With all the bad things that we say. And all the bad things that we do. And all the bad things that we think.

[12:41] But Jesus is able to cleanse us. Through his blood. He's able to cleanse us. As white as snow. And that's what the man in Psalm 51 was asking. He was asking God.

[12:54] To cleanse him. Because David. He had said to God. That he did really really bad things. And he was asking David. David was asking God.

[13:04] To cleanse him. Because he knew his heart was really dirty. And sinful. But David also knew. That the blood of Jesus. Was able to cleanse him. He knew that he could ask God.

[13:15] And as soon as he asks God. God would forgive him. And cleanse him from his sin. And that's what David did. Because he prayed to God. He said. Sprinkle me with hyssop. Which means that.

[13:26] He was asking. Sprinkle me with the blood of Jesus. And I shall be clean. Wash me. And I'll be. Whiter than the snow. Whiter than the snow.

[13:38] Can anything be whiter than snow? Can anything be whiter than snow? Well Jesus says. Our heart. Can be washed. Whiter. Than snow.

[13:50] Whiter than the snow. Because that's what Jesus promises to do. If we ask him. And that's why Jesus came. To cleanse us. As white as snow. So we've seen the J.

[14:03] For Jesus. He shall call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from their sins. We've seen the red colour. Tells us. Jesus came. To die. Shed his blood on the cross.

[14:15] But the white colour. Tells us. Jesus came. To cleanse our sinful hearts. As white as snow. And by looking at the. Candy cane again. We ask another.

[14:25] Ask the same question. Why did Jesus come? Why did Jesus come? Now. I want us to hold our candy canes. I hope we've got them. Hold them up.

[14:37] And when we hold it up. The right way. When we hold it like this. It looks like a shepherd's staff. Doesn't it? A big. When a shepherd. I'm sure most of the crofters. Don't use them here.

[14:47] But. They would have a shepherd's staff. Like a big hook on it. And it just looks like a shepherd's staff. And so. We can ask our question. Why did Jesus come? Jesus came to be our shepherd.

[15:01] Jesus came to be our shepherd. And as you know. A shepherd is someone who looks after sheep. And. You might have sheep at home. Maybe you have lots and lots of sheep.

[15:12] And if you have sheep. You'll know that a shepherd has to. Take care of the sheep. By protecting them. And the shepherd has to feed the sheep. And the shepherd has to. Lead the sheep. To all these different places.

[15:23] So they can eat. All the lovely green grass. And. And be filled in their tummies. But in the Bible. Jesus. Is described as. Our shepherd. And those who follow Jesus.

[15:34] Those who trust. In Jesus. They are described as. His sheep. But the Bible. Not only describes Jesus. As a shepherd. He also described.

[15:46] He's also described. As. The good shepherd. Because Jesus says. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd. Lays down his life. For the sheep.

[15:57] And so. As the good shepherd. Jesus. Saves us from our sins. As the good shepherd. Jesus. Cleanses us. With his blood. As the good shepherd.

[16:07] Jesus. Washes us. As white. As snow. And because. Jesus. Is the good shepherd. He says. That he gave his life. On the cross. Jesus gave his life.

[16:19] For the sheep. And we were singing. Earlier on. In that well known psalm. Psalm 23. We're singing about. Jesus being. Our good shepherd.

[16:31] Because as you know. The opening line. Of psalm 23. Is. The Lord's my shepherd. The Lord's my shepherd. But can you say that?

[16:42] That's what I want to know. Can you say. Can we all say that? Can we all say. That Jesus is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd.

[16:54] The shepherd who died on the cross. To take away. My sins. Can we say that? Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd. Because that's the most important question.

[17:05] Is Jesus your shepherd? Are you a follower of Jesus? Do you love Jesus? Because if Jesus is your shepherd. And you are his sheep.

[17:16] Then Jesus promises to take care of you. He promises to protect you. And Jesus feeds us. Not with grass. But spiritually from the Bible. Because the Bible is where we can draw all our nourishment.

[17:29] And our strength. And our hope. Especially when we're sad. When we're really, really sad. And I was thinking about that. At this time of year especially. At Christmas time.

[17:40] When many families come together. And they open presents. And they're all having fun. There are some families who can't come together. Maybe because people are working away.

[17:53] Or other people are sick in hospital. Or there are those who have passed away. And they're sorely, sorely missed. And it makes them really, really sad. But boys and girls.

[18:04] When we're sad. And when we're upset. And crying. Jesus is the good shepherd. Who promises to help us. And encourage us.

[18:15] And comfort us. And he promises to be with us. That's why Jesus was called Emmanuel. God with us. God with us.

[18:27] And that's what Jesus promises us. He tells us in the Bible. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow me. And I give to them eternal life.

[18:41] And no one is able to pluck them out of my hand. No one is able to pluck them out of my hand. And isn't that wonderful? Jesus the good shepherd. Promises.

[18:52] That when we trust him. We will never be plucked out of his hand. Because as a sheep. He will take care of us. And he will love us. And he will look after us.

[19:04] But when Jesus said those words. My sheep hear my voice. When he said. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. Jesus also gave us. The promise of a gift.

[19:15] When we trust and follow him. As the good shepherd. Because he said. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow me. And I give to them. Eternal life.

[19:26] I give to them. Eternal life. Jesus came to give us. A gift. A gift. Of eternal life. And so we've seen. Jay.

[19:36] For the name Jesus. Shall cleanse it. Cleanse his people. From their sins. We've seen the red colour. Tells us about Jesus' blood. He died on the cross.

[19:47] Tells us about the white colour. Jesus cleanses us. As white as snow. We've seen the candy cane. It looks like a shepherd's staff. Looks like a shepherd's staff. Because Jesus.

[19:58] Is a good shepherd. Who gave his life. For the sheep. And as a good shepherd. He gives us a gift. The gift of eternal life. Eternal life.

[20:10] Because. By asking the question. Why did Jesus come? I want us. To hold your candy cane. Some of you are probably. Eating it by now. Hold your candy cane.

[20:22] And see that it was given to you. For free. Cost you nothing. Why did Jesus come? To give us a gift. Of eternal life.

[20:34] So when you came to church. This morning. You had the box. Full of candy canes. I hope it's empty now. And all the signs said. Under the box.

[20:45] Was. Please take one. Please take one. And as I said. The candy cane. It's your Christmas present. And because it's a gift. To you. It's free.

[20:56] It didn't cost you anything. You didn't have to pay for it. You didn't have to go to the shop. You didn't have to do anything. To take it. You didn't even have to be good. To receive it. All you had to do.

[21:07] When you came into church. Was put your hand. Into the box. And just take one. It was there for you. Because the offer said. Please take one. And that's what Jesus is like.

[21:19] In the Bible. When he talks about the gift. Of eternal life. Jesus says. Please take it. Please take it. Because eternal life.

[21:31] It's free. It doesn't cost us anything. It cost Jesus everything. In order to provide the gift. Of eternal life. Jesus had to die. In order to cleanse us.

[21:41] As white as snow. And to give us. Eternal life. Jesus had to suffer. On behalf of our sin. So that we would have. Eternal life. But the Bible tells us.

[21:54] The wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God. Is eternal life. Eternal life. Through Jesus Christ.

[22:04] Our Lord. The wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God. Is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. So boys and girls.

[22:16] Eternal life. Is a free gift. It won't cost you anything. You don't have to pay anything. You don't have to be good. To receive it. Because Jesus says. That in order to receive.

[22:26] Eternal life. All you have to do. Is take it. Take it. All you have to do. Is accept Jesus. As your saviour. All you have to do. Is ask Jesus. To save you from your sins.

[22:38] All you have to do. Is ask Jesus. To cleanse you. With his blood. All you have to do. Is ask Jesus. To wash you. As white as snow. All you have to do. Is say that Jesus. Be my shepherd.

[22:49] Be my shepherd. And if you ask. Then you'll receive. You'll receive the gift. Because it's free to you. If you don't ask. You won't receive.

[23:01] You won't receive the gift. So make sure you ask. Make sure you ask. Jesus into your heart. Because there's no one. In here that's too young.

[23:13] There's no one. Who's too old. No one too good. No one too bad. No one too sinful. To ask Jesus. Into their heart. And as your minister. I can give you a gift.

[23:26] Like this. I can give you a gift. Of a little candy cane. To make us think about Jesus. But what I wish. I wish I could give all of you.

[23:38] Is Jesus himself. I wish I could give you. The gift of Jesus. I wish I could give you. The gift of eternal life. I wish you could all know.

[23:49] Jesus for yourself. Because Jesus. Is so precious. Jesus is a wonderful. Savior. Savior. But I can't give him to you.

[24:02] You have to ask for yourself. You have to ask for yourself. And the promise of the Bible. Is ask. And you will receive. Seek.

[24:13] And you will find. Knock. And the door will be opened to you. But I just want to close. By saying. I can tell you all about this candy stick.

[24:24] I can tell you all about it. About its color. About its shape. About what it looks like. It looks like a J. It looks like a. A shepherd's staff.

[24:36] I can tell you that when you open it. Some of you have already done it. When you open it. And taste it. Tastes really sweet. Peppermint flavor I think. It's nice.

[24:47] And I can assure you that. When you take off the wrapper. You will enjoy it. You'll love it. You'll really really enjoy it. But unless you pick one up for yourself.

[24:59] And taste it for yourself. You'll never really know. How good this candy cane is. Unless you taste it. For yourself. You'll never know how good it is. And the same is true with Jesus.

[25:12] Because by looking at this candy cane. I can tell you that. Why Jesus came. I can tell you all about Jesus. That the J. For the name Jesus. You shall call his name Jesus.

[25:25] For he shall save his people from their sins. We can see that the red color tells us. Jesus came to die. Died upon the cross. The white color. Tells us that. He cleanses us as white as snow.

[25:37] We can see that the candy cane. Looks like a shepherd's staff. And I can tell you that as the good shepherd. Jesus gives to us. The gift of eternal life. I can tell you all about Jesus.

[25:48] And how wonderful Jesus is. And how faithful Jesus is. And how much of a friend Jesus is to us. But unless you take him. As your saviour.

[26:00] Unless you ask him. Into your heart. Unless you taste. And see for yourself. That God is good. You'll never fully understand.

[26:12] And you'll never fully know. How wonderful a saviour. Jesus is. You'll never understand fully. Why he came. So what I want to say to you.

[26:25] Boys and girls. Mammies and daddies. Grannies and grandpas. Aunties and uncles. Please. Please. Make Jesus your saviour.

[26:38] Make Jesus your saviour. Because that's why he came. To save his people. From their sins. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us.

[26:49] We'll just bow our heads and pray. Let us pray. Oh Lord our gracious God. We give thanks for Jesus. That he is a precious saviour. He is one who came into this world.

[27:01] To die on our behalf. We give thanks that his blood. Cleanses us from all sin. We give thanks oh Lord. That when we follow him. He is our good shepherd. And who will lead us.

[27:13] And who promises that goodness and mercy. Will surely follow us. All the days of our life. And that in God's house forevermore. Our dwelling place shall be. Help us then we pray.

[27:24] To lay hold upon this free gift. The gift of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. Bless us Lord. Watch over us. Remember our homes and our families. Bless Lord also the food and drink.

[27:37] That's provided for us after. We give thanks for it. That every good and perfect gift. Is from above. That thou art as blessed to our body's use. Help us Lord. To enjoy fellowship with one another.

[27:49] And to see that as the church of God. We are to be the family of God. Looking out for one another. Bearing one another's burdens. And exalting the name of Jesus together.

[28:00] Oh do us good then we pray. And go before us. For Jesus sake. Amen. We can conclude by singing in Psalm 34.

[28:14] Psalm 34. That's in the Scottish Psalter. Page 247. Psalm 34.

[28:31] Psalm 34. Psalm 34. Singing from verse 8. Down to the verse marked 11. This is what you need to do with Jesus.

[28:46] The psalmist says. Oh taste and see that God is good. Who trusts in him is blessed. Fear God his saints. None that in fear. Shall be with want oppressed.

[28:56] The lions young may hungry be. And they may lack their food. But they that truly seek the Lord. Shall not lack any good. O children. O children hither do ye come. And unto me give ye.

[29:08] I shall you teach to understand. How ye the Lord should fear. These verses of Psalm 34. Will stand to sing to God's praise. Amen. Save us today. God MR. The chronology of the angels be.

[29:20] To be blessed. O Tiscaf Recon look. Peace of the Lord. We are分得不了. His gift to see.oker faith.

[29:32] Q express. terrible faith. Precisely. Hear God. See you, love is God. If you love is God. You fear.

[29:42] We shall be with one professed. Thine and w Sket también, and live in ever.

[30:03] But they that truly seek the Lord Shall not die there be good For children with her do ye come And unto me give me air I shall you teach to understand How we the Lord should fear The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all now and forevermore Amen