The Presence of Emmanuel

INTRODUCTION: “The Visit That Never Ends”

Most of us know the difference between a visitor and a resident. A visitor stops by. A resident moves in.

Visitors are temporary. They bring greetings, maybe gifts, and then they leave. Residents stay when the house is quiet, when it’s messy, when it’s dark, and when it’s hard. Many people think of God as a divine visitor, someone who shows up at Christmas, maybe Easter, maybe in a crisis, but Emmanuel declares something far greater:

God didn’t come for a visit. God moved in. Christmas is not merely the story of God stepping into time; it is the proclamation that God has chosen to abide with His people forever.

Focus: The miracle of Christmas is not just that God came to us, but that He stays with us.

3-PILLARS THAT PROVE GOD WITH US

I. THE WORD BECAME FLESH

a. The ETERNAL GOD entered human history.

b. John does not begin with a MANAGER; he begins with ETERNITY.

i. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God.”

1. Jesus is not a CREATED BEING.

2. Jesus is not a MORAL TEACHER who rose to GREATNESS.

3. Jesus is GOD HIMSELF, stepping into HUMAN FLESH.

c. Genesis 1:1, reminds us that the CREATOR entered His own CREATION.

II. THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

a. No DARKNESS can overcome His PRESENCE.

b. John declared that the WORLD was DARK, but DARKNESS did not WIN.

i. John 1:5 “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

c. The word “COMPREHENDED” means to OVERPOWER or EXTINGUISH.

III. THE DWELLING OF GOD

a. EMMANUEL means God not only came NEAR, but ABIDES with His PEOPLE.

i. John says: “And the Word was made flesh, and DWELT among us…”

b. The word “DWELT” literally means “TABERNACLED.”