Merry Christmas!

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text-Isaiah 7:14
Merry Christmas!

Introduction

I thought that this sermon might continue the lesson which started in
the last sermon. As I pointed out last time, Many think of this as
just another day, and who can hardly blame them. With our current
economy the way it is, no wonder people get the wrong idea of what
this holiday is really about. Christmas these days has gone rather
too commercial that people have no time to consider the true meaning
of the season.

As also mentioned in the last sermon, Though it is great to put up
pretty lights and decorations, sing those interesting carols, and buy
a tree, there is only one thing that truly matters.

As you read through this message, please keep in mind the following
scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 95:6-7, and Psalm 100:4. These
key verses shall set the tone for us as we gather together to
celebrate the birth of our savior. As you read, try to imagine what
the church bells might say. With this said, lets begin our journey
into the birth of Christ.

Part one: Living Advertisements

At christmas time, we remember our Savior's birth sent by the father
on a mission of divine grace, He was born so we might never die. Armed
with the knowledge of his resurrection and victory, we proudly tell
all who are still condemned and cursed that there is hope. empowered
by Christ's command and motivated by our own grateful hearts, we
become living advertisements which say, "in Jesus, there is life."

Part two: Oh Little town of Bethlehem

There has always been a great honor bestowed on this tiny little town.
God chose this town to be the place where the most important act of
all history would take place. This is the place where God himself
became man, what an unprecedented privilege!

But Bethlehem was too busy, too crowded, and too sleepy to acknowledge
what was happening. There was no messengers running down the streets
and telling the people about the holy birth. There were no parables to
celebrate the coming of the savior. Everybody was so busy, that they
did not have time to acknowledge the coming of the long-awaited
Messiah.

The only ones that heard the message were the shepherds out in the
fields, and the small audience to whom the angels announced it. The
glory of God was shining, but only a few saw it. Wisemen came from
afar looking for the king of the jews, but the local authorities did
not dare go look with them. The little town of Bethlehem was missinh
history's greatest event.

Part three: Have you room for the Christ child?

Luke tells us that "there was no room for them in the inn," Mary laid
her newborn son in a manger. it was not by accident that the savior's
birthplace was in the small province of depised Judea, a vanquished,
plundered country. The village of Bethlehem was small even according
to that day's impoverished standards, and the manger was the humblest
spot of that village.

This lowly birth at Bethlehem foreshadows the free approach every
sinner can have to the sin-bearing savior. Suppose Jesus had been born
in a royal palace. How He would have been guarded that only a select
few might behold him from a distance! But no gards surround a stable.
No certificates are demanded for the inspection of a public manger.
Did this not reflect the full grace of the infant Jesus?

As the shepherds, far down on the scale of human society in that day,
were the first to hasten to the manger, today every one of us has the
unconditional inviataion of Jesus, "Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." As sinners, we can go
to him just as we are, trusting only but wholly in the power of his
blood to save us to the uttermost.

Part four: Good tidings of great joy

St. Luke expresses the two sacred, eternal, glorious central truths of
the Christmas tidings. The first, deny one and you have removed the
granite blocks upon which temple of our faith rests. The second, Deny
the other and you have destroyed the girders that strengthen its
towering structure. A savior has been born for you, and he is Christ
the Lord.

No one knows better than you whether you need a savior or not. The
voice of scripture, with its multiplied pronouncements on the
depravity of the human race, has been placed this tragic truth above
the possibility of debate: we are all sinners. I am simply bringing
you the plain truth that Christmas, with its heart-warming appeal and
its soul-lifting promise, asks us not to surrender to the folly and
blindness of striving for our own peace and pardon, but to believe
with all the radience and rejoicing of this blessed day, that "in the
city of David, a savior" was born.

Part five: A Real Christmas

Christmas is real alright. This was made possible by the ferociuos
jealousy of Herod, the cold religiosity of the scribe, the "I can't be
bothered" attitude of the man on the street, and the "why didn't
someone tell me" bleat of the innkeeper who could not find room for
the world's redeemer on the night of his birth in Bethlehem.

Christmas is real in a sinful world still so sure of the wrong things.
Sure that there is no God. Sure that if there is a God in this immense
universe, He can not be concerned with men on our little planet. Sure
that if He has a care for men, it would not have expressed itself in
the birth of a baby at Bethlehem.

To real shepherds on the Judean fields, keeping watch over real sheep
on that dusty hillside below Bethlehem, there came angelic Good News:
"Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is
Christ the Lord".

Make room for this Christmas. Do not assign him to the stable, but
give him place in the living space in your home. With an uncluttered
heart, receive him and give him the honor he deserves.

Conclusion

I just want to take the time to remind everyone that now is the time
to remember the true reason why we celebrate Christmas. Christ alone
makes Christmas real, and it is up to us to make this holiday as
memorable as humanly possible.

Just as our lord came into human history from outside, so he must come
into us from outside. We can not enter into the realm of the kingdom
of God unless we are born from above by a birth totally unlike natural
birth. As a foundation fact, we must be born again. We must yield
ourselves completely to God that Christ is formed in us, and his
nature begins to work in us.

I wish you all a very real Christmas, full of the presence and power
of Christ, adorned with joy of faith in the Savior and radiant with
His glory. If you have not already done, please take the time now to
ask Jesus Christ into your life and accept him as your personal lord
and savior. I assure you that you will be glad you did. Merry
Christmas and God bless.
written by E. Strunk on 12/14/2008