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[ Silence ] [MUSIC PLAYING] Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright

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Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night!

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Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar. ♪ Heavenly hosts sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Christ the Savior is born ♪

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♪ Christ the Savior is born ♪ ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ Son of God, love's pure light ♪ ♪ Radiant beams from Thy holy face ♪

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With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. [choir singing] [choir singing]

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[choir singing] [choir singing] Speak to our hearts, O God, and grant us listening ears.

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In Jesus' name, amen. In Jesus' name, amen. Meanwhile, the oldest son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.

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So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound."

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The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. The subject, receiving the gift,

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receiving the gift. A welcome home party is in progress. Banquet Hall is beautifully decorated, delightful music, and great graceful dancing.

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It's a joyful occasion. [audience laughing] Halls are decked with holly. [audience laughing]

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For it's a season to be jolly. [audience laughing] It's a welcome home reception. [audience laughing]

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[audience laughing] We use the word reception when we have affairs from time to time, food and drinks and chit-chat,

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[audience laughing] to welcome someone sometimes to the city, to present them in some way. At the same time,

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to be pointed out that a real reception is not measured by the food, the music, or the drinks. A genuine reception has to do with the act of receiving. Receiving a person, our persons,

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it's a way of saying we accept you. We receive you into our ranks. So a reception is a way of extending to an individual a formal welcome. This particular reception is the celebration of an event

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which has long been anticipated. It marks the return of the father's younger son. It is a royal reception. The Father has made the arrangements.

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Every detail is meticulously and properly planned and executed. This welcome home celebration shows that the Son is accepted in the highest circle. It is in progress.

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The youngest son is the honoree. The celebration indicates the manner in which this youngest son is being received back into the family. And while the celebration is in progress,

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the oldest son, who has been out in the field working, comes near the house, this older son, the firstborn,

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the one who received two thirds of the father's inheritance, the older son, the one who has remained home all these years, the older son,

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The one who has been involved in managing the family's possessions, the older son. This is the son that according to tradition was the first in the line of authority. The older son comes near the house. Oh, it may have been that this younger son had lived in his earlier years under the shadow.

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of the older brother. Sometimes that is the case with siblings. He was being constantly reminded possibly that his behavior was not as good as his older brother. People were repeatedly saying, "Why don't you

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behave like your older brother?" Maybe that was part of the reason that this younger son left home in the first place. They were brothers by blood, but they were not brothers in spirit. They did not receive each other as brother.

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Every person is a gift from God. Not only is a newborn babe a gift to a family, but a gift to the world. the world. We are intended as gifts to each other. This means we are to receive each other and share our lives together. That's what Christmas is all about. Giving and receiving,

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and sharing, that's the heart of the celebration that occurs in the Father's house. For you see Christmas is about relationships, family relationships. "I'll be home for Christmas" are the words of a popular song, but to be home means more than being in a particular house. It has to do with our relationships with

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each other. The younger son has been alienated from his family. Now he has changed. He has a different vision of himself and his family. He has a a different attitude toward himself and his family. Now he is prepared to receive and obey his father's orders.

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He does not consider his daddy's orders a chore and a bore. He's glad to do what his father commands. His father shows his acceptance by preparing a royal reception. The son is asked just to be treated as a hired servant.

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He acknowledges his wrongs and his unworthiness, but he is accepted as a child of the King. He is received with honor. The father has given a party for his son unlike anything the son has ever witnessed.

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He's at home. Home for Christmas, so to speak. Home where each member of the family is accepted. Home where each receives the other. Home.

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What it means to every one of us so much to be home. to be able to go home.

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On my way here this morning, downtown, we passed a building that was open, it was a part, something like a shed, and as cold as it was, there were those

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who were sleeping there, out in the open air with some cover over them, the homeless. And so while we celebrate, we must be aware that there are growing numbers of people in the world today who are homeless, homeless.

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And sometimes we are not as sensitive to this condition as we ought to be. I remember a young man came here some time ago. He had no place. And he wanted to sleep in the church, to have somewhere.

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And there were those who didn't want him to sleep in the church. No, no. And I remember one night when he was looking for somewhere to sleep, He went into a car that happened to be open.

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And he slept in that car all night. He came out. The man came to the car who owned the car and said, "What are you doing in my car?" You know, I could kill you and the man acted as if he was prepared to do that.

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And we let him stay in the church for some time after that until he found other arrangements. But this condition prevails in our world.

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It's a wonderful thing to be able to go home and it's also important that we recognize our responsibility to help people in the journey homeward.

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This is expressed many times in some of the things we do when we go out to have affordable homes, to see that our city provides an affordable home for everybody. It's a part of our responsibility, our work. But here this boy is being honored. It's a joyful occasion.

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He's able to come home. He's come home in a rather dreadful condition. He was in rags when he came home, but now he's dressed up. He has on the best clothes. He received the signet ring from his father, the ring of authority, so he's given some power.

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He has some clout around the place, even though he's gone out and made a mess of his life. life but when he changes and comes home the daddy gives him some authority and accepts him. He has power and so there's a sound of music in the place. Rafters seem to leap for joy. The servants are smiling and this boy is the center of

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attention. Word has gone out to the neighbors nearby to come join in the celebration and while the celebration occurs the music and the dancing the elder brother was out in the field, one who's been faithfully discharging his duties, he's been on the job all the time, he comes near the house and he hears

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it calls the servant. What's happening in there? The servant replies with unrestrained ecstasy. Oh, your brother is here. Your brother has come home. And you know what your father has done? He He has arranged a royal reception. He's killed the fattened calf

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because he has received him safe and sound. Come on in, join in the party. We're having a wonderful time. Join in the festivities.

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The elder brother was angry and refused to go in. He refused to receive his brother. his brother as his brother.

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He was angry. You know, it's possible to be in the midst of the Christmas celebration and miss the joy. One may be surrounded by the sound of music

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and not be in tune with the music. The elder brother was angry. He was jealous. He was filled with envy and malice, even angry.

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And it's so easy for this to happen in the midst of the season of celebration, to forget what the celebration is really about. I can think of an incident that happened in my life when I was in elementary school. We had the practice of exchanging gifts.

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Everyone was to select a name, choose a name from the hat or whatever we passed around and you were to give that person a gift. And I remember I took my lunch money and I selected a gift for the name that I drew. One of my friends drew my name and he just gave me an old dirty tie.

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And I felt I got cheated because I had sacrificed my lunch money to buy a gift and in my receiving I just got an old dirty tie that I was not certainly going to wear. And so I left the celebration that we had, the little Christmas party that the class had, I left angry.

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Here in a season of joy, a period when he should be engaging in the festivities, this elder brother is angry. He's angry. He failed to think about all the good things he has received from his father.

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He couldn't be thankful because of his jealousy. In other words, he wants something that the younger son has received. He wants the attention. He wants all of the fanfare that seems to be centered around this younger son.

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He wants that for himself. So you see, he is covetous. He wants for himself that which is the possession of another. He's angry.

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He's jealous. In other words, he's envious. His heart is filled with malice. And so when he's invited, "Come on in.

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Sure you want to come in?" And John, he said, "No, I'm not going in there." "Come in!" "No, I'm not going in!"

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So, no doubt the servants tell the father, and the father goes out. And the scripture here says that the father pleads with him.

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This father is such a gracious person. Older son refuses to go in. Instead of him saying, "Let him stay out there." The father goes out to the field where he is and pleads with him, "Come in, come in.

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Come in, son. This is your brother." "No, no, it's not my brother. He's your son, but he's not my brother.

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Been out there all these years wasting your money with prostitutes." "He's not my brother. I've been here faithful. here faithful. I've been taking care of your possessions. I've been faithful. All of your

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commands I've obeyed. He's not my brother. You may dress him up. You may put him in the best robe, but he's not my brother. You can have a royal reception for him, but he's not "My brother, I'm not going in." I said, "Please, Cunnington."

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"No, no, I'm not going in. I will not go in." And look at here, what you've done. I've served you all these years when he's been out here

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somewhere in a strange land, some warden with the a fast crowd, wasting your substance. But I've been here, I've been faithful. And you never had a party for me.

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You never killed a goat or anything for me to celebrate with my friends, but the moment this rascal comes home, you killed the fattened calf.

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He's not my brother. I'm not going in. You never had a party for me. The father's still so gracious.

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He says now son everything I have is yours. You have been cheated. Sometimes when a an oldest child,

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the first child is of some age and a newcomer enters the family, the other one is afraid that they may not receive the attention that they received before.

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So there's this sibling rivalry sometimes, seems to come out in this story. - What is that? No son, I love you.

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Everything I have is yours. You have access to everything. Your brother coming home at our celebration doesn't deprive you of anything that the father has,

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because the father has two sons. Jesus tells this story to an assembly involving some publicans and sinners and Pharisees. The younger son represents the publicans and the sinners,

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so to speak, and the oldest son, the Pharisees. The publicans and the sinners do not even profess to be righteous. They're out doing whatever they want to do,

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but the Pharisees, they're the holy ones. But even though this boy has been home and been faithful in carrying out the duties, he still has had the wrong spirit.

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And the Father explains to him, he said, "Everything I have is yours." And the wonderful thing about it is whatever may be our condition or circumstance today

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as we celebrate, the Father's word comes to each of us saying everything is yours. You have access to my love, you have access to my care,

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You have access to everything that I provide for you in this world. Everything is yours. Come in, come in. Come on in son, come on in, join in this banquet.

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Receive your brother as your brother. Come in, come in. Well, when the curtain falls in this story, the elder brother is left outside. We do not receive any word as to a favorable response to his father's invitation.

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The father tells him, he said, "We had to celebrate. We had to celebrate." "A radical change has occurred in the life of your brother!" "We had to celebrate." Something wonderful has happened.

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He has come from darkness into light. We had to celebrate. Something wonderful has happened. He was dead, but now he's alive.

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We had to celebrate. And you know, when you really have the conviction, and you really, really deep down in your heart, accept the goodness of God, and recognize how good God has been

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you have to celebrate. You have to celebrate. You have to celebrate. And wherever I am, it's always been like that.

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Not just since I've been pastoring the church, but wherever I am on Sunday, I have to go and celebrate. I just have to go. God has been too good.

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As a youngster, I felt that he had kept me all through the week, and he has somehow provided a way, many times out of no way, I just have to celebrate.

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And I know that there are those of you who have the same feeling that you have to celebrate. Doesn't matter about how cold it gets, it doesn't matter about what the difficulties may be,

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but we have to celebrate the goodness of God, who accepts us when we have been in a far country and we make the journey homeward, the Father who prepares a banquet for us.

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- Well, we have to celebrate, have to celebrate. Jesus is portrayed in the book of Revelation as one who knocks at the door. Holman Hunt has taken that passage and he has produced a painting, Jesus, the gentle

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knocker at the door. The scripture says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice, open the door to me, I will come in and sup with him,

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and he will sup with me. We will celebrate. He comes, he comes. That's the meaning of Advent, he does come.

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He knocks on the door of every heart. He comes. can remember when we accepted the fact that he knocked on the door of our heart. One little boy saw that picture of Jesus knocking at the door and he

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said, "Why is it that he's standing there knocking at the door?" And as you notice on the painting, there's no latch on the outside, the latch is on the inside, because we can make the decision whether to let him in or not, whether he comes into the hall. "We, we, the latch is on the inside!" But he's still there knocking.

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The boy said, "I know why he's there knocking." He said, "Because the person on the inside is down in the basement too far away and can't hear the knock." Well, whether or not we hear the knock depends on where we are. Depends upon our spirit. It depends upon our attitude. It depends upon our concern, but behold, behold, I stand at the door and up.

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If you just let me in, I'll come in and I'll bless your life. He does that. Some of us are living witnesses of how he blesses. Some of us are living witnesses of how he comes in the midst of the darkness and how

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he sheds light. We are living witnesses. He comes. "Thanks be to God that he comes!"

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No one can keep him from coming. He comes. Herod's armies cannot keep him from coming. They may go about seeking to slay all of the baby boys, but he comes.

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They do not provide room for him in the inn, but he comes. He comes. speak to God that he comes and we can celebrate his coming joy to the world the Lord has come that earth receive her King as we join in singing this

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invitation hymn we invite you to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life celebrating His coming into the world, the Word made flesh dwelling among us. We invite you to come and unite with the people of God in accepting the invitation. Receive the gift that God sends. It comes to us wherever we are, out in the field,

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Wherever we may be, we can receive it. We invite you to come. [MUSIC - "JOY TO THE WORLD"] Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.

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Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. ♪ As they e'er have fared ♪

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♪ From age to age ♪ ♪ Joy to the earth ♪ ♪ The Savior reigns ♪ ♪ Let me in their souls employ ♪

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♪ And fields and floods ♪ ♪ Rocks, hills, and plains ♪ ♪ Beneath the sounding joy ♪ ♪ Beneath the sounding joy ♪

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♪ With your heart, with me, in foundling joy ♪ ♪ O good the sins and sorrows ♪ ♪ Our God did this for us ♪ ♪ We come to make His blessings flow ♪

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♪ For as the first of all ♪ ♪ The first of us, the first is come ♪ ♪ He rules the world in truth and grace ♪ ♪ And makes the nations prove ♪

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♪ The glory is God, is righteousness ♪ ♪ And wonders of his love ♪ ♪ And wonders and wonders of his love ♪ [ Music ]

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