Advent Alphabet - "W" - "Wonderful Worship"

Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. (Matthew 4:10) The collage picture is beautiful of Gabriel, the angel, telling Mary she was to carry and deliver the Messiah of the world. Then, Mary praised and worshiped the Lord! Next the picture shows the angel telling Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because that the One Who was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit, and he should call His name, Jesus (Savior), for He will save His people from their sin. Joseph worshipped through obedience. Then this beautiful picture includes the angels singing, praising and worshipping God, and announcing to the shepherds that Jesus Christ the Savior of the world was born not far away in a stable. When the shepherds saw for themselves the Christ Child in a cattle stable, in a feeding trough (manger). Then they returned worshipping, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard. The next scene of this beautiful collage was of an act of worship by Mary and Joseph by taking the baby Jesus to the temple for dedication to God, which was the custom, “As it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be set apart and dedicated and called holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23). While at the temple, Simeon, a man who had been promised by the Lord that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). When he saw the Lord Jesus, he took Him up in his arms and worshipped by praising and thanking God, and prophesying over Jesus (Luke 2:28-32). Also in the temple there was a prophetess, Anna, who was very old, and a widow, who came up at the same hour worshiping and giving thanks, and talked of Jesus to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38). And when Mary and Joseph had done everything according to the Law of the Lord, they went back into Galilee to their own town, Nazareth. After about two years there were wise men (astrologers) from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east at its rising and have come to worship Him.” (Luke 2:1-2). When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed, and the whole of Jerusalem with him. So he called together all the chief priests and learned men of the people and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born. They replied to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler Who will govern and shepherd my people Israel’ (Mic.5:2). Then Herod muddied this beautiful picture by sending for the wise men secretly, and ascertained from them how long the star had made itself visible since its rising in the east. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search for the Child carefully and diligently, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him” (Luke 2:3-8). Actually, Herod was being deceitful and did not want to worship the Christ Child as Messiah, but he wanted to kill him – this deceit he falsely called worship. In our day we still have a lot of false worship. When the wise men had listened to the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which had been seen in the east in its rising went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy, and on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. They opened their treasure bags, they presented to him gifts – gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Every day we should worship Him for the wonder of his birth; how He came as God incarnate in lowly circumstances, announced by angels, blessed by shepherds and wise men, and kept by God until He would make everything beautiful by giving us salvation full and free!