It's All About Jesus

"It's All About Jesus" is the perfect wrap-up episode for Season Two (Holiday Edition) of My Tennessee Table. (It seemed appropriate wIth Christmas right around the corner!) Jesus is so vast in magnitude that it makes squeezing all that He is into a 30 minute episode impossible. So we decided not to try! Instead, the promise of a future Messiah, the arrival of Jesus, and the implications of His birth for all creation is where we center our conversation on today's episode. We hope the the wonder of His coming captures your heart, as it has ours, as you join us at the Table. Merry Christmas!

Paul David Tripp- "Come Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional"

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/what-intertestamental-period.html

Transcript

juli-_1_12-05-2024_104232: 0:01

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to my Tennessee table. This is our final episode of season two. And today we're just so excited to be back with you guys. just so you guys know, as we start this episode, we're going to go ahead and break the news to you guys. Yes. This isn't into ourselves. Well, we knew, but this is good news. It's good news. It's great. We'll be back with season three on January 9th. We'll be talking about the new year, all things new in that first episode. It's going to be fun. Goals are versus of the year. Word for the word for the year. All those hopes. Yes. It's going to be great. It's going to be a new, new year, new season. It'll be so fun. Yes. So we'll be back January 9th. So I know you'll miss us so much, but you guys enjoy your Christmas, spend time with your families, soak it all up, including a I'm waking up on Christmas morning and here's my funny, my funny thing of the week is I saw this. Julie thought it was hilarious. This is so good. I saw one of those little, you know, what do you call them? Like a post. Okay. Yeah. Not a meme, right? Does meme have the people? I don't know. I'm so uncool about that. We're too old for this. Okay. I don't know. We need like a young little person that's like sitting here with us. It's like, guys, that's wrong. That's totally, you're off. Like I'm 20 and I know, I reposted it. Yes. So it said, I'm just going to say it the most useless Christmas decoration is the mom's stocking. And. It's funny because we all know it's true. Like how many years do I go buy my own stocking stuffers? And I'm like, here, honey, here's my favorite shampoo and my favorite conditioner and my favorite makeup. Please put this in my stocking or I just put it in my stocking. I was going to say, don't you just put it in your own stocking when you do everybody else's stocking? Yes, I do. Pretty much. Okay. We just gave up on the stockings. Yeah. Because I would do the kids and I would do Lance's. And I don't know if I had anything in my stocking. And I'm not so sure why I never thought of this before when you said the most useless Christmas decoration, the mom's stocking. Yeah, we, we usually go to the movies on Christmas day, So a lot of times I get everybody their favorite candy to put in their stocking. And so I have bought my favorite candy to put in my stocking because I'm like, I need five candies for the movies. So everybody gets their favorite candy. So I might have like a thing of candy. That's a great idea. Yeah. What about other traditions? I didn't know that one, that you go to the movies. Oh yeah, we do. On Christmas day night. Oh, I didn't know that. Anything else y'all do? So Christmas morning is like so fun and exciting and the kids open up their presents and they're super happy and they're, for probably, I don't know, Six hours, right? Everybody's like la la la happy in their jammies, whatever and then we hit this point in the afternoon where Everybody's kind of bored. We've been in our house all day because we don't usually travel on Christmas day, so we started going to the movies because That's a great idea. I guess I didn't even know you could go to the movie You can't I think I started that tradition when I was in high school I went with friends. So it's fun. So that's one of our traditions. one of my favorite traditions that we do, mine is like Christmas Eve service and all that kind of stuff. Churchy stuff. But my family, the Fane family, we're, I'm one of four kids, y'all know that. And we all get together and we have like our Fane family Christmas. One weekend. I love this. And it's all of us and my mom and all the cousins. And you can imagine when there's four kids, there's a lot of cousins. I think there's a little, yeah, there's 11 cousins. And so several years ago, I told Lainey, y'all got to start doing the Christmas story in pageant form, like in a play form for all of us, because she's, she's theatrical. She's, she's beautiful. She's been in a play. She's in another play right currently. Yes, that's her thing. That's her like whatever her loves. so she and the oldest Niece Campbell they put together the Christmas story and each of the little cousins plays a role So the first year they ever did this me and my brother both Each have a kid who's just kind of quirky and funny and both of those kids dressed up. One of them dressed up as a minion and one of them dressed up as Spider Man for the Christmas story. And I think they're supposed to be like barn animals. Did the director know this? Did Lainey know this was happening? I think they were like kind of boycotting it in a way, but then, but they still wanted to be apart. So she's like, whatever, as long as she had the main characters, Mary Joseph, baby Jesus, which there's always been a baby in the family. So there's always been a baby. Yeah. You have 11 of you. And, usually I think Lainey's the angel. Which she's hilarious. And then Campbell, the oldest reads the story, but anyway, it's our favorite tradition. And so every year now they, they do it now they're older and it's kind of getting funnier, but then also like sweeter. And I don't know, it's just one of those like really great traditions that I love. And we will always go back and watch the first year when we're all together. Do you video? Yeah, my sister in law videoed it, with her iPhone, but she'll, she'll fling it up on the TV and we watch the first year and it's, it is, it's the best. What great memories. I know. And I will say this, they did a great job telling the Christmas story. Like it's like right on point with scripture. You're like, okay, yeah, girls get it like, I'm so proud of y'all. And they know their Bible. They do have that memory of that Christmas story. I know. Anyway, so that's like one of my favorite. What about you, Julie? What's your favorite tradition? Let's see. Well, ours doesn't sound that holy, but listen, Minion and Spider Man. It's not that holy. Well, we, usually watch Christmas vacation as a family. I don't even know how that starts. Lance probably started that because he's the funny, fun one. I'm like the, I don't know. Clean up, nurture. She's a beaut. Clark. Kiss your face. Yes. Love it. That one. Now, I did. Oh, actually, I can't even take credit for that. Lance's mama started. I don't know how long. Christmas Vacation? They've done it. No, no. Oh. Not Christmas Vacation. I was like, wow. I don't know. She's probably seen the movie, but she started a tradition, I guess with her kids, because when I married into the family, it was happening already, but decorating Christmas cookies. So she would make a whole big bunch of sugar cookies and line the table with frosting and sprinkles and all kinds of fun stuff. And, we would decorate. And so our kids have grown up doing that. And now I do the whole big bunch of sugar cookies and, My kids still decorate it. It's mandatory. Oh, your children, your adult children. My grown up adult children, yeah. When I go home, they still have to decorate a cookie. Yeah. and then my grandchildren do it now. And so, funny part, when the kids would come home from college, they were like way over this. Because you know, when you've been gone, you want to see your friends. You know, you're like, hey mom, Love ya. Be back in a little bit. I'm going to coffee or I'm going to go. Well, I would have them do a cookie before they could leave. So do they just like scribble on it and they'd be like, all right, well, good. Peace. I'm out of here. Left one on there. so anyways, that's a tradition that we've done for quite a while. Sure. Cookies. We had, it, it didn't become a tradition. I think we only did a couple of years. We did Jesus's birthday cake. Oh yeah. Cause it's his birthday. So we would sing happy birthday to Jesus. Christmas morning, which is a sweet thing to do. That one just didn't stick around as long. Oh, we've never done that. And I wish that we did because truly that's what we're celebrating is Jesus. And so we should be doing a birthday cake for Jesus, He is the reason for the season. He is. So, that's what we're actually talking about today. It is. It's Jesus. Julie and I were throwing around ideas like, what are we gonna talk about the last episode of this season? What, what should we talk about? let's just talk about Jesus. he's it. this is what we're, this is what we're here for. And as we were both studying for this and thinking about it, we were both really overwhelmed. And I told Julie, but that's a good thing. It means that hopefully that we're growing in our depth and our knowledge of God and who he is. And so when you're trying to put together a 30 minute podcast episode about Jesus, it feels overwhelming because there's so much you want to communicate. Like through what the scriptures say, through what like just we know through our gift of knowledge through our personal experiences with Jesus, there's so much to share. And so it's hard to throw all that down into just a small, short, how do you squeeze Jesus in 30 minutes? You can't. You can't. So we're not going to try to squeeze him down into 30 minutes. We're just going to try to tell y'all what we can tell you and just share What he's meant to us and the things that we are thinking about and walking through with him. And so I have been reading, the Paul David Tripp Advent, Oh, come, let us adore him, I think is what it's called. And as I was reading recently, I read this and it just really stuck with me. He said, good news is only ever good news to the people who know they need good news. And I loved that. And he gives the example of, how 10 to really you. Poor person is good news, right? But 10 to an extremely wealthy person is like nothing. I mean, they would like leave 10 just sitting on the ground. that just doesn't mean as much. And so basically what he's getting at is that until we see our need for our savior, that we may not see it as good news. or at least the good news that it is. And a lot of times personally in my everyday life, I don't think, I don't think about this a lot. there's definitely like moments throughout the day. My days that I might be like, oh God, you know, when I'm short with my kids or I am short with my husband or whatever it is, yes, I am in need of a savior. Mm-Hmm. definitely, like, I wish I had not said that. God, please forgive me. Talk to my kids. please forgive me for, lashing out like that. Mm-Hmm. Whatever. But for the most part, as I'm just piddling throughout my day, I'm not sitting there being Oh, I'm so desperate for a savior. But the truth of the matter is that we really, we really are. We are so desperate for him, for Jesus, because we're born sinful in nature. And so when we look back, back at what scripture says, we can see from the Old Testament that the people were, they were desperate in need of a savior and they were looking for him. And there were between the Old Testament and the New Testament, they were living in such darkness. Like how many years is that? Julie, do you know between, yeah, over 400, over 400 years of darkness. And then There was light. Yes. As we open up the first book of the New Testament, we see Jesus and, he was there all along. he's been there since the beginning. So it's creation. So Julie, before that. since forever, this is one of those mind tricks that I'm forever. So Julie, tell us about, tell us about what the Old Testament says. Oh my gosh, that's so big. But I was thinking, I was thinking about, today's topic, Jesus again, just that it's he is so vast and in magnitude. we just can't get our arms around all that he is, or the triune God is. Yeah. and thinking about his arrival to the world and that long before he ever got here, there was such expectancy that he would come. Yeah. there's over 300 prophecies about, a future messiah coming. We see that all the way through the old Testament again and again and again. And once we kind of train our, well, I shouldn't say that first. Once we know that there's prophecies throughout the old Testament, then we can train our eyes to catch them, which is just so amazing to me because I think, Ooh, there's another one or, Oh, they're talking about the coming Messiah. And with our knowledge, we. know we came. we're living on that side of the advent right of his arrival, but to think about people in the Old Testament, They didn't have that they had a belief that he would be here, that he would come and they never saw him physically. But this amazing hope, this first week of Advent, is emphasis on hope and wow. Having hope that he's coming, even though they haven't seen him, trust in his word is interesting. R. C. Sproul said, faith is not just believing. In God, it's believing God. Yeah. It'd be leaving what he said in his words. So we have those prophecies throughout the old Testament. Isaiah talks about one Isaiah seven 14, that about the virgin will conceive and have a child and you'll name him Emmanuel. And then when we open. The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, we see that fulfillment, and Matthew one, it's 22 through 23, but Matthew used the same words. He quotes Isaiah when he's, telling the story of when the angel came to Joseph and said, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Remember? I mean, the angel doesn't say, remember, but it does say it was foretold and then says it. So these connectors of, prophecy of Jesus being born, is beautiful and just, reinforcement. and that, that, it was always the plan, right? That god would come to us in the flesh and dwell among us. one of my favorites really and we hear this in some, I think it's a Christmas song, Christmas carol. Isaiah nine six, it says, for unto us a child is born to us. The son is given, the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty god, everlasting father, and prince of peace. I love that last Christmas I tried to Memorize those in order. I was all over the place. I was like Prince of Peace. Anyways, I didn't do them in order But that's not really the point But I did try just grab a hold of them because I thought okay, so we're talking about someone who's not coming to be a political figure or great conqueror which in a little bit when we talk about the Gap between the Old Testament and New Testament We can understand why they wanted someone to be a political figure or a warrior to save them, but he's come to save and deliver our souls. And so when we think of the word wonderful counselor, which, whew, I need that a lot on ending wisdom, the wisest, I mean, wisdom itself, is who he is. And then mighty God, just reiterate, reiterate, excuse me, that he's God in the flesh, that he came to live among us. And then everlasting father that he's eternal has life never ending. you were talking about, or we were just talking about that. He's been here. I said, he's been here since creation. Well, before that, you know, before creation, he was here hard to get our minds around. And then the prince of peace, I'm, I don't know, I just think it's awesome that he is peace in a person, but his presence brings peace to our life. Yeah. and also his death and resurrection brings the peace and joy of grace and salvation. It's just so rich to me to think of that. That title given to him because oftentimes I'm in need of peace. So, but you had mentioned this time period between the old Testament and new Testament is the inter testa mental period. Thank you. That's why you did that research. Well, I'm telling you, I ripped it off last week and I was like, I think I said that word right anyways. and it is over 400 years in that time now, while the canonized scriptures may be quiet, that we don't see that within our, our Bibles right within that gap period. That does not mean that it was quiet for Israel. There was, there was conquering and re conquering. Yeah. And this is the time of Alexander the greats Greek empire that took over to, and. And, greatly influenced, the culture broad stroke. So, language of business switched to Greek. This is when the Bible, Bible was translated into Greek during this period too. So lots of Testament, yes. And so lots is happening. a lot of things are happening in these 400 years. So. As I said, we can see why they were still hopeful and clinging, to the idea of this Messiah coming and saving them from this tyranny and other empires are taking them over and, taking their, country. And, we can understand how it shifted. The interesting part was that in that time period, prophecy ceased. And so. They clung to the word that they had of the Lord. Now they didn't have the new Testament, but they invest in themselves and knowing and learning and clinging to the knowledge they had of him. and then Jesus comes. This Emanuel is born, Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus and, then we see again the angel, tells Joseph, don't be afraid, and that he's living among us the name Emanuel, God with us. And I was thinking yesterday, just, I'm, I'm trying to take a page from Lili's book and I just kind of sat and pondered just a little bit, just thought a little bit about, What that means, Emmanuel, God with us, omnipresent, all those big words, omniscient. What would it be if I live with reality that God is with me? What does that, what does that look like now for me or, for us in this time? how would it change? I thought of this story of when we lived in Washington, Lance travels a lot and he had gone back home at this particular juncture just because he had just finished selling her home. But, and I was driving to work and I was happy and I was alone a lot because at home, because he wasn't there. I mean, at work I used my words, but at home I didn't use my words. And so. driving to work one day, I just thought that I just had Jesus in the passenger seat. I know it sounds so crazy, but I was like, okay, all right, Jesus, we're going to work today. This is what's happening. I'm so excited about this. Please be with me in that. I thought he's my friend, like in the front seat of my car because he's present all the time. And then another example I thought of was, again, Lance wasn't there. Oh no, he was there. He was fixing to leave and I, I got up to use the restroom and. I came back to bed and I had a little fear, you know, inside because we lived in the city now, Wyoming, we lived in the country, we're in the city, we're in an apartment right on a busy street and, all the city things happen, you know, in the night and I'm new and, and I was just a little fearful and I thought, God, I just don't know. I'm a little worried about Lance leaving, And very clearly not through words, but through a spirit, I've heard the Lord say as I climbed in bed right next to him, I am more real to you. Then Lance laying next to you in this bed. Yeah. I am more strength. I am your protector. I'm with you every minute. He can't be, I love you more than he does. I see everything you do. You're not forgotten. I just thought, wow, isn't that powerful? So powerful that he's with us all the time. So how would that, I don't know, how would that be different? If we live that way. I love that. I, I think I told you guys, I saw, took two of my kids to see the best Christmas pageant ever movie. Yes. Great movie. Again, go see it. just a good, something to see like this time of year, but, there's a part in the movie kind of towards the end where they cut back in time to like show you a scene of where Jesus was born. And for me, I, I'm such a visual person, that really helps me just kind of absorb and think more about what's going on. And so when they cut to that scene and they had Mary, and Joseph and the shepherds were all in a barn and Jesus had just been born and they just were looking at him with such wonder and awe, like he's here. And I just like had that same thought of like, what if I lived every day? With that wonder and awe of like, he came, like he was here and he came for us, lived in flesh among us. And so when I think about one of my favorite, I don't even know if you'd say favorite, but just something that really just sits with me as far as, just a name of God. It is, it's Emmanuel, God with us. And really that when I think about it, it's the sacrifice of what that name means. With us, because the Hebrew name Emmanuel, it, it comes from the Hebrew expression with us. And then 1 of the words for God, which is Elohim, which is actually 1 of the most common names for God in the Old Testament. It starts very like from the very beginning from Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. And so it just reminds you that Jesus. Was there in the beginning, Emmanuel, Elohim with us, God with us, He was there in the beginning, He was present on the cross, and then He's here with us now. And so, the sacrifice of what that name means, that God was there. The father would send his son to dwell among us in the flesh to die for us for the forgiveness of our sins. It just holds a lot of weight for me. just the sacrifice of it, but then also the reality of it, like living in the reality of that name of God with us, Emmanuel. And so. I love, what Matthew says, or actually what Jesus says in the book of Matthew. these are Jesus's words, but he talks about, he gives us the command to go therefore and make disciples. And then his promise in verse 20, of chapter 28 and says, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. It almost like when I was reading this, I almost thought like, this sounds like a really dramatic movie. You know what I mean? Like, and he's with us to the end of the age. It just sounds like Star Wars and beyond and beyond. And so I just kind of, sometimes I get really overwhelmed with that to the end of the age part, but it is so significant in our lives. And do we live in that reality of the, he really is with us. All the time. Yes. Just more than Lance laying in the bed next to you. Like he said, okay, let me jump. I just, uh, just the connection of Emanuel was the name given prior to his birth, Telling Joseph, you'll name him Emanuel God with us. And then the verse you mentioned when he, before he ascends in Matthew 28. And the last thing he says is, I am with you. It just is chilling to me. And that he relieved the Holy Spirit so that he would be with us. It's the bookend, he came that way, departed physically. I mean, he came physically that way and he departed physically that way, but leaves us his Holy Spirit on the other side of that. And I've just never until I'm so glad you brought that up. Yeah, that's beautiful of the great commission. He's with us. He's with us. Wow. One of those Wowie moments. Yes, thank you for sharing that. I'm sorry I interrupted you, but I know that's beautiful. I just had never put that together before. So, Jesus, the reason for the season, and just being sent to us from God after hundreds, years of darkness, to bring light into the world. To be our rescue from our sin and so It makes it so that we can live how we were always intended to live when in communion with god and for his glory and so I don't know like we said at the beginning. It's so hard to sit here and think about jesus It feels more overwhelming even now after we've talked about it than it did when we started, because I just, I keep thinking, Oh my gosh, and Jesus and Jesus and Jesus did this and Jesus is that, and he's all these things to us. and I think that's why it's just such an overwhelming thing and such a beautiful thing that we won't fully understand or grasp the side of heaven. And so we do our best and we're grateful. Yeah. And we live, we do, we live in the reality of Jesus and we need to like be mindful of that. And I think to, to look up, I took a little minute to look at other, titles or names given to him, Old Testament, New Testament. And there's lots and lots of them. I'd encourage you just Google search it because there's so many King of Kings, Alpha and Omega. Lamb of God, light of the world, bread of life that our savior, redeemer, it goes on and on. Prince of Peace, wonderful counselor. It's such a, such a comfort, he sent us the Holy Spirit who would be our comforter and he's our comfort through the Holy Spirit. And so, a quick search on who he is, the titles or names given to him during this time is beautiful too. Maybe you just dwell on or think, look one up a day, and ponder what that means, who he is. So much. More than what we can really get our brains around. Yeah, so well, it's beautiful. Well, we're gonna close today We thought we would read the Christmas story Luke 2 1 through 20 and Julie. Why don't you start us? Okay, and then you hop on in the birth of Jesus In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census would be taken of the entire Roman world, and everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, to the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her first son, Jesus. She placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And then there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were afraid. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that for all people for today in the town of David, a saver has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You'll find the baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger and suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. When the angels had left them and got into heaven, the shepherd said. One to another, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that's happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were Amazed at what the shepherd sent to them But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart the shepherds returned Glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen which were just as they were told Merry Christmas, y'all. We really hope the joy of the Christmas story just captures your heart this year. Until next year, blessings.