for the Benin of the online church. I want to mention that we are going to resume both our study through

1st Corinthians and our prophecy updates next week. But today is our annual Christmas service in which we celebrate the birth of the Savior.

I always like to begin my Christmas sermon by first expressing to all of you

how thankful I am for you as a church. And I think you know that it comes from the heart, but I am so thankful to you as a church both here locally and online globally as well.

I am just in awe of the Lord and the great things he has done and is doing, and I believe yet future will continue to do.

Truly the Lord has blessed this church exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond anything that

anyone could have ever imagined, let alone asked.

And I can't even begin to tell you how much I deem it a privilege to be your pastor.

So from my Ohana to yours, I want to wish you a blessed Christmas and God's very best in the new year. So thank you.

And by the way, one last thing, most pastors cannot say what I just said as a pastor of a

church.

We are truly blessed as a church body. Let's get started. This time I'm going to

invite you to join me in Luke's Gospel, the second chapter. We'll begin reading in verse

1, and if you're able to ask you to stand, you can follow along as I read. If not, that's

all right. I like Luke's account. I like Matthews too, but I really

like Luke's. Luke by the Holy Spirit writes that in verse 1 it came to pass in those days,

that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

And we're told verse two parenthetically that this taxing was first made when Serenius was governor of Syria.

And verse three, all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went

up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David, which

is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. Verse five, to be taxed with Mary, his

espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days

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