Streamed on: Dec 23, 8:01 pm EST

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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE (continued from 12-21-25) 12-23-25
Two other biblical visitors deserve mention: Simeon, a righteous man at the temple, held the infant Jesus and praised God, recognizing him as the Savior.
These two people, including Anna, who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, can be found in (Luke 2:25-39).
Luke 2:25-35

Anna, a prophetess who lived at the temple, also saw baby Jesus and proclaimed to all present that he was “God’s Son, the Savior of the world!”
Anna was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. An elderly widow who had remained unmarried after her husband’s death, she devoted herself to temple life, spending her days in fasting and prayer.
Her age is uncertain—the Greek text allows for either 84 or 105 years old.
As a prophetess in the Jerusalem Temple, Anna recognized the infant Jesus as Israel’s promised Messiah alongside Simeon.
When she encountered the baby in the temple, she recognized Him as the fulfillment of God’s promises. She responded by giving thanks to God and speaking about Him to all who anticipated Israel’s redemption.
Anna represents a particular type of Jewish piety—a widow whose devotion was expressed through consistent temple presence and spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer.
Her role in Luke’s narrative parallels Simeon’s, as both elderly, faithful believers serve as witnesses to Jesus’s identity and significance. Through their recognition of the child, Luke emphasizes that Jesus’s coming fulfilled the hopes and expectations embedded in Israel’s religious tradition.
Luke 2:36-39

Earthly gatherings after all have something about them that is sad and sorrowful. The happiest parties sometimes contain uncongenial members; the merriest meetings are only for a very short time. Moreover, as years roll on, the hand of death makes painful gaps in the family circle. Even in the midst of Christmas merriment we cannot help remembering those who have passed away.… People do not talk much of such things, but there are few that do not feel them. We need not intrude our innermost thoughts on others, and especially when all around us are bright and happy. But there are not many, I suspect, who reach middle age, who would not admit, if they spoke the truth, that there are sorrowful things inseparably mixed up with a Christmas party. In short, there is no unmixed pleasure about any earthly gathering.
But is there no better gathering yet to come? Is there no bright prospect on our horizon of an assembly which shall far outshine the assemblies of Christmas and New Year—an assembly in which there shall be joy without sorrow, and mirth without tears? Elliot Ritzema, ed., 300 Quotations and Prayers for Christmas, (Lexham Press, 2013).
There would be no salvation without the virgin birth.
LESSON # 76 1 JOHN - (12-23-25)
2.Our Lord’s function inside of the Divine Dynasphere.
a) Of special interest is our Lord’s function by genuine humility. Every other person must be trained by enforced humility which hopefully will turn into genuine utility. (The greatest virtue in life is the greatest human virtue which is genuine humility.)
b) 1 Peter 5:5-6 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
c) James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Principles:
1. Our Lord's humility as a child in the home. The home = organized humility. Organized humility means there must be teachability as far as the child is concerned. The child who is not teachable will never orient to life; he cannot live a normal life. The purpose is to prepare the child for life; the policy is the teaching and inculcation function of the parents. Authority becomes the great issue, that of one or two parents = enforced humility. When the child responds to the authority of the parent, whether fair or unfair, this is the development of genuine humility which is the first characteristic of maturity as well as the most basic human virtue in life. Our Lord attained easily by age 12 all of these factors – total teachability inside of the Divine Dynasphere.
2. The home or Divine institution #3 is provided by God for the human race to make the most difficult transition in life – from authority in the home as a child to freedom in life as an adult.