Merry Christmas!!!

We love this time of year!

We love that it is a time of celebration

We love that it is a time of joy and singing and lights and decorations

We love that it is a time of feasting

We love that it is a time of gifts and giving

We love that it is a time of remembering that Jesus Christ came into the World

-as the Savior

-as Diety

We love the Christmas story

1. Matthew 1-2
   1. Geneaology of Joseph - to list Jesus legal right to the throne of David
   2. TheAngel's message to Joseph
   3. The Angel's insistence that He be called Jesus
   4. The Angel's insistence that he be called Immanuel
   5. The arrival of the Wise Men
      1. their knowledge
      2. The star
      3. The way the events completely fulfill the OT prophecies about the Messiah
         1. Called out of Egypt
         2. Weeping for the loss of Children
         3. Called a Nazarene (lived in Nazareth)
2. Luke 1-2 is the most detailed account
   1. Emphasis on prayer
      1. multitude was praying
      2. Zechariah was praying
      3. Anna and Simeon were praying
   2. Emphasis on faith
      1. Mary just accepted it and acted on it
      2. Joseph did the same
   3. Emphasis on Messiah's deity
      1. Mother of my Lord (Elizabeth)
      2. He who is Mighty hath done great things for me
   4. Emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah
      1. He fulfilled the OT prophecies
      2. He claimed Diety and had the power of Diety
      3. He was cut off just like Daniel had said he would be
      4. He died and lived again just like Isaiah had said he would

Celebrate Him this week!

1. Read the story
2. Attend church
3. Teach it to your kids and grandkids
4. Sing the songs
5. Turn to Him

Dave and Bethlie discuss the book Manhood by Senator Josh Hawley.

1. About the Author:
   1. Represents Missouri in US Senate
   2. First Amendment Lawyer and law professor
   3. Former Attorney General of Missouri
   4. They live in Ozark MO and have three children
2. About the Book:
   1. Senator Hawley addresses an issue that concerns many in our world today - the issue of masculinity under attack.
   2. He calls this issue a crisis and I agree
3. Why I love the book:
   1. It is good and offers a perspective that is sometimes outside of my realm
   2. He shows how manhood was perceived in the Greek and Roman era
   3. He has great illustrations from his own experiences growing up in a rural area
   4. He build a model of manhood following the Bible, the Word of God
4. What is the point?
   1. Senator Hawley shows the essential virtues a man should cultivate
   2. Shows why a man has to be a warrior, builder, priest, and king
   3. Show the important of courage and commitment as the starting point for manhood
   4. Shows the philosophy behind modern liberalism and offers evidence of why it is so destructive to our nation as a whole.
5. The chapters;
   1. 2 Parts
   2. 10 chapters
      1. In the Beginning
      2. A Man's Mission
      3. A Man's Battle
      4. A Man's Promise
      5. Husband
      6. Father
      7. Warrior
      8. Builder
      9. Priest
      10. King

Chapter 1

1. General patterns
   1. Living Habits and Work
      1. More and more young men remain at home
      2. 50 % of Lower skilled young men in their 20s who have a job still live at home (or with a close relative)
      3. If they don't have a job, 70% still live at home.
      4. 2015 - 1/4 of young men 20-20 had no work at all
      5. In 1970, 95 percent of 30 years old made more money then their fathers had
      6. In 2014, only 44 percent did
   2. Underperformance at school
      1. 70% of Ds and Fs are given to boys
      2. By 8th grade, only 20% of boys are proficient in writing
      3. At same age, only 24% can earn proficient scores on reading exams
      4. Boys now make up 2/3 of students in remedial programs, not because their intelligence is lower, but because they aren't trying!
   3. What do young men do with their time?
      1. Screens
      2. Leisure
      3. Porn
      4. Another way of saying it is: Socializing, relaxing, leisure
         1. Vast amount of leisure time includes video games and porn
   4. These young men are now battling depression and drug abuse at historic levels and the results have been disastrous
   5. Liberalism is the philosophy behind it all
      1. Liberalism believes that western society is unequal unjust and corrupt to its foundations
         1. Masculinity is one of the foundations and it must be "smashed" for man to be free
   6. Senator Hawley's point is that the answer to our masculine crisis is "the oldest and most profound story there is. It is the story of the Bible"

Chapter 2 places an emphasis on man's purpose by tracing our story back to the garden of Eden

Chapter 3 places an emphasis on man's responsibility and duty

Chapter 4 is especially worth considering

1. It details how masculinity became something oppressive, something to be avoided and eradicated
   1. In chapter 3, he introduces the readers to Epicurus and to Rousseau and showed how that their ideology lead to men throwing off all responsibility and choosing only to do what they wanted to do. Their happiness and their fulfillment was the only reason to live
   2. In this chapter, he show how the followers of Karl Marx paved the way for the attack on modern masculinity
      1. It saw traditional culture as the enemy; especially Christianity
      2. From there, it attacked femininity and masculinity
      3. Senator Hawley gives ample illustrations of how this is being taught in our schools and in our institutions and how it is destroy our nation as we know it

Part 2 Dave and Bethlie discuss the book And The Bride Wore White.

Chapter 2-4 about Satan's lies.

His lies haven't really changed (Gen. 3:1-13)

"Did God really say that?"

"God is keeping something good from you."

"A little won't hurt you."

"Now that you've fallen, God has no use for you."

There is no debating with the devil.

We must learn truth and shut him down with truth.

Chapter 6 about Purity being a process.

Realizing:

*I was not born pure. (We are born innocent, but we are also born sinners.)

*I will face the beast of lust, perhaps over and over again, but that in itself is not

a sin. Rather it is a chance to develop my purity by talking to God, talking to a

friend, and making a fast, strategic exit.

*I can become pure. (Pg 57)

Chapter 7 about envisioning a Godly Husband.

One of Charity's favorite chapters, simply because the author encourages girls to dream about and pray for the man that God has for them. (Incidentally, when I was praying for David Young, I was dreaming of a handsome man with dark, curly hair, blue eyes, and dimples. The Lord loves me! Ironically, David wasn't even saved when I started praying for him!)

Chapter 8-12 give practical and Biblical tools to maintain purity including awesome dating advice.

*Woven throughout the book is Bob and Dannah's love story, how they met, how they dated, broke up, got back together, became engaged, and eventually married.

Self-control and self-denial

Modesty in dress and conduct

Having the right kind of conversations. ("Foul lines"—things you won't discuss until you

are ready to be married.) (pg 98-99)

Be sure you (and the one you're interested in) love God MOST.

Being open to wise counsel, particularly from parents.

Conclusion

The book finishes with God's beautiful, sacred plan for sexuality.

There are "letters" in the appendix which deal with things like

sexual abuse

pornography

fatherlessness

abortion

singleness