Joy!

Dillon led us through the advent of "joy" in Luke 2:8-12. This passage reveals the "Scope" of the good news of great joy, the "Savior" of the world that brings great joy, and the "Sign" given to the shepherds. The Scope is to all people. This means it is for you. You can have great joy. (Luke 2:10) The Savior is the Messiah, the Lord. We are saved, through Christ, out of the domain of darkness, which will be destroyed, into the Kingdom of God's Son. In this saving, Jesus has given us forgiveness of sins, He has taken the wrath of God, broke our slavery to sin, and has transferred all of us from sons of Satan in the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God's Son as children of God. (Luke 2:11; Colossians 1:13-14; Romans 5:12,18-19; John 8:31-47; Romans 1:18; Romans 10:9; Acts 26:17-18; 1 John 3:8) The Sign of the Messiah was that of a baby boy wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger. Through this humbled birth, we see the Savior of the world emptying Himself, not by subtraction of divinity, but by the addition of humanity. Through this baby, Jesus Christ, is where joy is found. (Luke 2:12; Philippians 2:7-8; John 10:10)