John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 
	This week the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Christ. There has been so much that has been added, by this realm, to what should be the honoring of the fact that God, Himself, came into His creation in order to redeem fallen man unto Himself. This age has striven desperately to dilute and overshadow this truth in order to throw camouflage and smoke screens around the true focus of Whom we celebrate and in Whom we glory. 
While a day a year has been set aside by our society, we rejoice in the reality of the magnificent and joyous gift of God, not just one day a year, but every day for all the eternal ages to come. The truth of God’s so great love, given in His Only Begotten Son, is the very light that has shined into the darkness of our hearts to be our life everlasting.
	I would like to share a couple of extended quotations that give us the focus for why knowing Jesus requires that we give God daily expressions of thanksgiving and praise for all that He has shown forth in the brilliance of His shining light. Jesus, at His birth, was the light of God which utterly obliterates the darkness that once so fully encompassed our hearts and minds. 
The first quotation is from the Bible Exposition Commentary, and details how the birth of Christ, more than 2000 years ago, has a tremendous and daily affect on the manner in which we live our lives today in interaction with others. Quote, In Christ we have a new illustration of the old truth that God is love and that the life of love is the life of joy and victory.
What is true in Christ ought to be true in each believer. "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). A believer should live a life of Christian love "because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining" (1 John 2:8, NASB). This reminds us of the emphasis on walking in the light in 1 John 1, verses 5-7. And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Two ways of life are contrasted: those who walk in the light practice love; those who walk in the darkness practice hatred. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes this truth…
When Christ was born, "the Dayspring from on high" visited the world (Luke 1:78). "Dayspring" means sunrise. The birth of Christ was the beginning of a new day for mankind! As He lived before men, taught them, and ministered to them, He spread the light of life and love. "The people who sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt 4:16).
But there is a conflict in this world between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. "And the light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness is not able to put it out" (John 1:5…). Satan is the Prince of darkness, and he extends his evil kingdom by means of lies and hatred. Christ is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2), and He extends His kingdom by means of truth and love.
The kingdoms of Christ and of Satan are in conflict today, but "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov 4:18). The darkness is passing away little by little, and the True Light is shining brighter and brighter in our hearts.
Jesus Christ is the standard of love for Christians. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another," He says; "as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 13:34). And He repeats: "This is My commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12…). We are not to measure our Christian love against the love of some other Christian (and we usually pick somebody whose life is more of an excuse than an example!) but against the love of Jesus Christ our Lord… End Quote. (from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
	This quote takes us back to the incarnation of Christ as described so eloquently by the Apostle John. From the very beginning, the love of God that is to characterize all those who are called unto Him is to shine forth in the life and the light that is Jesus Christ. This is not some story around which we build a holiday season with the token expressions given to peace on earth and good will toward men. It is not the mere gesture of treating others with kindness and generosity for a day. Jesus is the very life that we now live and He expresses the heart of God’s love yesterday, today, and always. For you and for me, the light of Christ is the guiding source of showing the love of God in a living relationship with Him. We behold His glory and grace and mercy and love in the truth of all that John proclaims. Please turn in your Bibles to John, Chapter 1, verses 1-14 and follow along with me. 
	John 1:1-14, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 
	This, then, leads us to the second quote which I would like to share with you. It is a quotation from Charles Spurgeon, dealing with the birth of Jesus. In it, he establishes the great fact that each and every time we think upon the so great love of God expressed in the birth of Our Lord and Savior, great joy and thanksgiving and recognition in the power and the might and the love of God should enthrall us and spring forth as did the chorus of the angelic hosts which proclaimed His birth, as recorded in Luke 2:8-14. 
Luke 2:8-14, And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."   
Now quoting Spurgeon concerning The great birthday: -- Quote
I. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF SUPREME JOY. We have the angelic warrant for rejoicing because Christ is born. It is a truth so full of joy that it caused the angel who came to announce it to be filled with gladness. He had little to do with the fact, for Christ took not up angels, but He took up the seed of Abraham; but I suppose that the very thought that the Creator should be linked with the creature, that the great Invisible and Omnipotent should come into alliance with that which He Himself had made, caused the angel as a creature to feel that all creatureship was elevated, and this made him glad. Besides, there was a sweet benevolence of spirit in the angel's bosom which made him happy because he had such gladsome tidings to bring to the fallen sons of men.
1. The birth of Christ was the incarnation of God. This is a wondrous mystery, to be believed in rather than to be defined. Mankind is not outlawed or abandoned to destruction, for, lo! the Lord has married into the race, and the Son of God has become Son of Man. This proves that God loves man, and means man's good; that He feels for man and pities him; that He intends to deliver man and to bless him.
2. He who was born is unto us a Saviour. Those who will be most glad of this will be those who are most conscious of their sinnership. If you would draw music out of that ten-stringed harp, the word "Saviour," pass it over to a sinner. "Saviour" is the harp, but "sinner" is the finger that must touch the strings and bring forth the melody.
3. This Saviour is Christ the Lord, and there is much gladness in this fact. We have not a nominal Saviour, but a Saviour fully equipped; one who, in all points, is like ourselves, for He is Man, but in all points fit to help the feebleness which He has espoused, for He is the Anointed Man. The godlike in dominion is joined with the human in birth.
4. The angel called for joy, and I ask for it too, on this ground, that the birth of this child was to bring glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men. The birth of Christ has given such glory to God as I know not that He could ever have had here by any other means. We must always speak in accents soft and low when we talk of God's glory; in itself it must always be infinite and not to be conceived by us, and yet may we not venture to say that all the works of God's hands do not glorify Him so much as the gift of His dear Son, that all creation and all providence do not so well display the heart of Deity as when He gives His Only-Begotten, and sends Him into the world that men may live through Him? What wisdom is manifested in the plan of redemption of which the incarnate God is the centre! What love is there revealed! What power is that which brought the Divine One down from glory to the manger; only Omnipotence could have worked so great a marvel! What faithfulness to ancient promises! What truthfulness in keeping covenant! What grace, and yet what justice!
II. Let us consider TO WHOM THIS JOY BELONGS.
1. It belongs to those who tell it.
2. It belongs to those who hear it.
3. It belongs to those who believe it.
III. How THAT JOY SHOULD BE MANIFESTED.
1. Proclaim the Saviour.
2. Sing God's praises.
3. Spread the news -- as the shepherds did.
4. Ponder this miracle of love -- as Mary did.
5. Go and do good to others.
Come and worship God manifest in the flesh, and be filled with His light and sweetness by the power of the Holy Spirit. End quote. (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)
	As Spurgeon so encourages us, each time we consider the birth of Jesus Christ, we should proclaim Him as Our Lord and Our Savior. We should sing forth praises unto God with joyful thanksgiving and awe and reverence for exactly the fact that He is God incarnate Who came to save us. We should spread the news around and about, as did the shepherds as they heard and saw and believed. 
We should ponder the so great love of God, given freely and unreservedly to such as us, and the fact that God wants us to know Him in increasing intimacy and the greater knowledge of His love. And, our lives should manifest, daily, moment by moment, today, tomorrow, and forever, the witness of the so great love that has shined so brilliantly into our hearts. This should be the course of our walk, not just in observance of the stipulated social day of remembrance, but in the day after day after day joy that is ours in Jesus Christ. So be it.    
	"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is John 1:9-14. There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Amen.