Dear Christian friends:

The first Christmas almost 2,000 years ago Jesus was born in Bethlehem; this Christmas 1986 A.D. Jesus wants to be born in our hearts!

Our prayer this Christmas Eve should be the same as we sang before when our choir led us in singing "O Little Town Of Bethlehem." In the fourth verse we sang:

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in;
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!

How can Jesus be born in our hearts this Christmas? Through faith! Jesus said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

My wish and prayer this holy evening is that we all will humbly kneel down before the manger, confessing our sins and looking to the Baby lying there to receive forgiveness, peace with God, and new inspiration and life to serve Him this Christmas season and throughout the New Year!

This Christmas season we are hearing much about the homeless here in Los Angeles. From our text we see that Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus were homeless that first Christmas. The Baby Jesus had to lay in a manger, "because there was no room for them in the inn." Jesus understands how it feels to be homeless. The holy family was without a home that first Christmas. I know that Jesus loves the homeless people, too. He does not call them "bums." He wants us to love the homeless, too, and welcome them into our homes and help them to have a home!

I hope we all will try to help find homes for the homeless this Christmas and in the New Year! It will show that Jesus is living and ruling in our hearts! It will show that we are real Christians!

I want to close my Christmas sermon tonight by signing for you one of my favorite Christmas hymns TLH 105, Praise God The Lord, Ye Sons Of Men, verses 1,2,3,7,8:

Praise God the Lord, ye sons of men,
Before His highest throne;
Today He opens heaven again
And gives us His own Son.

He leaves His heavenly Father's throne,
Is born an infant small,
And in a manger, poor and lone,
Lies in a humble stall.

He veils in flesh His power divine
A servant's form to take;
In want and lowliness must pine
Who heaven and earth did make.

He serves that I a lord may be;
A great exchange indeed!
Could Jesus' love do more for me
To help me in my need?

He opens us again the door
Of Paradise today;
The angel guards the gate no more,
To God our thanks we pay.

Amen.