God with us 2 – In the Pain
 

Welcome back to Redemption Church. It’s a beautiful Christmas season here in Plano Tx.
Welcome everyone to Redemption Church. We are not a mega Church but we are a mighty Church. We are doing mighty things in Plano, Dallas Fort Worth, and throughout the world. #mightynotmega
Welcome. as always, to everyone watching and listening online.
We are excited about the Christmas season. Last week we started a brand new sermon series called God with Us.
GOD WITH US
The true message of this season is that God is with us.
Matthew 1:23 (NIV2011) “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
You are not alone! Immanuel has come. God is with us.
Last week we told you that God is with us in the silence.
God is with us in the silence
Before God spoke through an angel, God had been silent for 400 years. There are times of silence in our life. There is the “in between space”… the space between the promise given and the promise performed. Even in the space where you are not seeing your prayers answered, not hearing God’s voice, or feeling His presence, God is still there. God is with us in the silence.
The birth of Jesus in the manger is proof that God was with us all along.
Today I want to tell you that God is with us in the pain.
God is with us in the pain
There are many songs that focus on the joy and happiness of Christmas..

* It’s the most wonderful time of the year
* We wish you a merry Christmas… or in Espanol, Feliz Navidad
* Jingle bells
* Santa Clause is coming to town
* All I want for Christmas is you
* Rockin’ around the Christmas tree

Let us never forget that some this Christmas season will be dealing with pain.

* The loss of a loved one becomes more evident than ever when there is an empty chair at the table where they used to sit.
* Christmas is a time for family… but we have to admit that some families are difficult.
* Those who have gone through a recent divorce feel out of place this time of year.
* There are some people who are will work overtime on Christmas to pay the bills.
* Imagine the single mother who can’t afford to put anything under the tree… or to even have a tree.

I remember the last Christmas with my Grandmother, Hazel Fluitt. She was on hospice care after a long fight with breast cancer and was in and out of consciousness. That experience marked that Christmas and every Christmas since.
The original Christmas story is filled with pain. I want to focus on 3 very painful parts of the Christmas story, a Dead Marriage, a Dead Reputation, & a Dead Baby
a Dead Marriage, a Dead Reputation, & a Dead Baby
I cannot think of any Christmas Carols that mention any of these points. The little children’s Christmas plays usually jump right past these plot points. However the writers of the New Testament put these painful moments within the Christmas story.
Matthew 1:18 (NIV2011) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:19 (NIV2011) Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public dis...