Sermon Tone Analysis

Announcements

Ambassador Baptist College Choir, Sunday night, December 11.

Christmas Day @ SCBC, December 25 - Only one service on that day at 11 AM.

Dwain Roache has asked us to renew our praying for his brother and sister, Dudley and Ceila.

They need to be saved and Ceila has been told that her breast cancer has come back.

Thank you for allowing Stephenie and I to go to Israel.

If I had a bucket list, a trip to Israel certainly would have on it!

Scripture Reading

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20.

Title of Message: Celebrate Christ

Message

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

    And wild and sweet

    The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

    Had rolled along

    The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

    A voice, a chime,

    A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

    And with the sound

    The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

    And made forlorn

    The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

    "For hate is strong,

    And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

    The Wrong shall fail,

    The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

In 1861, Longfellow’s wife of 18 years, Frances, died.

She had been sealing envelopes with hot wax when her clothes caught fire.

She was badly burned and died the following day.

Her death marked a very tragic turning point in his life.

On Christmas day in 1862 Longfellow recorded in his journal:

“A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

In 1863, Longfellow suffered another blow.

The United States was divided as a result of the Civil War.

Longfellow was a staunch abolitionist but his oldest son was determined to join the fight against his father’s wishes.

On December 1, 1863, Longfellow was having dinner with his family when he received a war telegram stating that his son Charley had been severely wounded in battle.

Surgeons warned Henry that his son could face lifelong paralysis.

All of this set the stage for took place on Christmas Day, 1863.

In the words of one writer:

On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow—a 57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him.

He heard the bells that Christmas day and the singing of "peace on earth" (Luke 2:14), but he observed the world of injustice and violence that seemed to mock the truthfulness of this optimistic outlook.

The theme of listening recurred throughout the poem, eventually leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair.

And in despair I bowed my head;

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

It would be easy to look around in our world today and, like Longfellow, hang our heads in despair and say, “There is no peace on earth.

For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men.”

It would be very easy to say that there is nothing to celebrate in our world today!

But my message this morning and throughout the month of December is this:

Celebrate Christ!

After the angels had shared the news of Christ’s birth with the shepherds, and they had gone to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, the Bible says:

They celebrated!

The word celebrate means:

to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities: to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.

There are many events that we celebrate:

Birthdays

Holidays

Job Promotions

Weddings

But one thing that we all enjoy celebrating are victories!

(Especially those victories of our favorite teams!)

Question: During the time of Christ’s birth, were there any victories that the typical Jewish person could celebrate?

No.

They were being ruled by the iron hand of the Romans.

We are reminded of that in the first few verses of Luke chapter 2:

Question: In our country today do there seem to be any victories that we can celebrate?

Not many if any!

Last week the vast majority of our United States Senators, including both US Senators from North Carolina - Senators Burr and Tillis, voted for the “so-called” Respect for Marriage Act which quite literally threw every Bible-believing Christian “under the bus.”

As we come to the celebration of Christmas, it again would be very easy for us to say:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

That is why it is so important for us to celebrate Christ and the victory which His birth represents!

Celebrate Christ!

The battle began long ago when Satan, and those angels which chose to follow him, rebelled against God!

Even at the onset of the battle, Christ’s eventual victory was prophesied!

Satan brought mankind into the battle when, in the Garden of Eden, he tempted Adam & Eve.

Even in the judgment of their sin, God declared His eventual victory through the seed of the woman.

Throughout their history, God’s people - the Jews, at times needed encouragement that they would be victorious!

In Isaiah chapter 7, the nation of Judah was threatened; the people, including Judah’s king, King Ahaz, was fearful.