Advent: God's Love expressed through the his Son, and exemplified Through Us.
Notes
Transcript
Love Divine, Second Sunday Of Advent "Love"
Love Divine, Second Sunday Of Advent "Love"
Luke 2:8-14, Dec. 2, 2012
The Christmas season is still, and always will be an amazing time of the year. As we take time to enjoy the Christmas season, there are many different reasons we all enjoy it. Listening to Christmas music and carols, spending time with family and friends, and can we talk about the food!?
REMEMBER TAMALE MAKING WITH FAMILY
We all have different memories of the Christmas season. For some of you who grew up in the east cost, or in higher climates, you may have had a white Christmas. For some of us who grew up here in Phoenix, we are still dreaming of one.
but I do wonder what Christmas means to people from different parts of the world
I wonder what it means to our missionaries who are half a world away from families and friends, who are sacrificing so much to take the precious gospel to others who have never heard? What does it mean to them?
Oh, Christmas means different things to different people.
To the Merchants it is the busiest time of the year. Stores hire extra people to take care of all the shoppers. It means more profit, hopefully enough to see them through leaner times ahead.
SHARE FEELING OF WORKING RETAIL:
long hours working
the season was a blur
The joy of closing the doors on Christmas Eve. At this point Christmas could officially begin.
To some it means a Christmas bonus or a time for Christmas parties.
For children it is a time of impatience as the days to Christmas take forever to pass. I wonder some time if I ever felt that way and I know that I did, but now time just seems to flit away.
I take a look back at my childhood, and I can still remember some of the wonders of being very little, and the feeling I had coming downstairs, only to see gifts, that were there just for me.
I remember some of the gifts I had, even as a very young child.
My first hot wheel bike (The loudest bike in the neighborhood)
My first set of Star Wars Toys. (The love never ends)
Most important as I got older was the memories:
The feels you get when you remember family gatherings
The emotion of ones we have lost
For some, this is a very busy time of the year. The hustle of:
preparation: Lights and decorations (WHO DECORATES BEFORE THANKSGIVING?)
Hustling to buy gifts (This is the time of year people overspend)
Parties and gatherings: Going from one event to the next
I recently talked with a friend who was “Anti-Chritmas.”
The reason was valid. He simply stated, “It’s too commercial.”
He never felt loved, because he could never give people gifts that were worth a lot. People just spend way too much on each other.
The Christmas songs are cheesy, and so are the movies.
the love of the season is only for those who can keep up with it.
Lastly, he stated, “Christmas just lost its meaning to me when I lost my parents. The love and purpose for it is gone. It is just me, who cares...”
I was, and still am convinced that what my friend needed, was to experience love. A love of the season, that only can be explained, experienced and given by God. So as we talked, I shared with him this passage.
READ LUKE 2:8-2:14
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Just imagine this moment, all heaven was preparing for a grand party. Heaven was on tiptoe, a baby was going to be born, the Savior of the world, and his name would be Jesus.
The moment with the Shephards.
Lowly Shepards: The lower class worker. The forgotten.
Imagine that night for them: Just another day at work. no parties
Just like my friend, they felt like they were on the outside-looking in.
God had chosen these shepherds to reveal the promise of His love of the world, to send a Messiah, to the world.
The fact that God made the announcement to shepherds helps us to understand the real meaning of Christmas:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Shepherds were on the opposite ends of the social strata from King Herod and all the influential people of that day. They lived in the fields with their animals. They had no social status, they had no respect, they had no power or prestige. Yet, God’s angel came to them and said, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord.”
Unto the shepherds a Savior was born.
In that one simple announcement the dimensions of God’s great love was revealed to us. It was love divine!
First of all, it tells us, “No matter how insignificant you may think you are, God knows you, & you are important.
All through the scripture we see God honoring and using people and things that the world often overlooks or ignores.
The Apostle Paul writes,
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
A Jewish youth was sold into slavery by his brothers & carted off to Egypt. Yet, when God wanted to deliver a very special message to Pharaoh, it was the slave, Joseph, who was brought out of the dungeon to interpret the message. It was a young slave that God elevated to the highest position in Egypt’s Govt., next to Pharaoh, to save God’s chosen people, the Israelites.
So when God decided to select a mother for His Son, He went past the fashion saloons & beauty parlors. He went past the furs and diamonds & gold. He went to an insignificant village called Nazareth. There he found a peasant girl. A girl who did not dress in designer clothes, neither was she educated. The one thing that she did have was a pure heart and a deep faith. It was she that God selected to become the mother of His son Jesus.
On a beautiful sunny day, 5000 men plus women and children, somewhere in the neighborhood of 13,000 to 15,000 people sat and lounged on a hillside as they listened to this same Jesus speak. Suddenly, it was late. There was no food and the people were hungry. Well, that is not totally accurate. There was one little boy whose mom had thought ahead and had prepared him a lunch of 2 little fishes and 5 small loaves.
But, it was enough, because Jesus took that small amount & fed the many. He is always doing that, isn’t he?
So when Christ comes, He is not born in Mt. Sinai Hospital in Jerusalem surrounded by gynecologists, nurses and assistants. But rather , He is born in a stable. He is wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. When God made His announcement, It is delivered to shepherds. It is like Jesus saying in the Sermon on the Mount, “If God cares about sparrows and lilies, then He cares about you.
Little children need to hear that, adolescents who are struggling for identity and purpose need to hear that. Mothers trying to raise children without a father to help need to hear that. Husbands who have lost their wives in death need to hear that. a generation of people who are sad, depressed, searching for meaning and hope need to hear this. Church people who feel useless and empty need to hear that. We all need to hear that. All of us have known feelings of rejection. All of us have known feeling of being left out. But Christmas comes and the light shines, & God says, “No you’re wrong. I made the announcement to lowly shepherds and I make it to you, “Unto you, listen where ever and whoever you are, unto you a Savior is born.” And He came in LOVE.
I imagine these shepherds must have set around the campfire many times and wondered if life was really worthwhile or not. They may have said, “What difference does it make if we watch the sheep?”
Just like my friend, who felt small, and insignificant. Feeling Christmas was not significant, because his life really doesn’t matter to others.
Well it does to Jesus
It matters so much that he WILLINGLY came to live with us, and like us.
It matters to Jesus so much that he exemplified the love of God to many, including people such a tax collectors, sinners, the blind, the poor, the sick, the Jews AND Samaritans.
It matters enough to give his life’s blood on the Cross for you. No matter how insignificant any of us think that we are, remember, Jesus died that we might live. To Him Everybody counts!
Through Christ, God gives us His love, because he IS love.
Some years ago, a cartoon appeared in newspapers across the nation. It pictured two farmers, in a very primitive setting, talking across a rail fence. One asked the other, “Anything exciting happen today?” “Nah, nothing exciting,” said the other, “nothing but a baby born over at Tom Lincoln’s house, you know nothing exciting ever happens around here.”
But that baby, Abe Lincoln, born in the house of Tom Lincoln one day became president of the United States and changed the course of history and liberated the slaves. One life can make a difference.
Could it not have been on that night in the City of Bethlehem, someone asked, “Well, what exciting thing happened today?” And someone replied, “Nothing exciting ever happens around here, except a peasant girl gave birth to a child in one of the stables.”
Sometimes when life seems just to heavy I pray, Lord, why don’t you come today? Why don’t you come and take us all home, out of our misery and pain. There will be no death, no more sad goodbyes. Then we will say, It was worth it all, it was worth it.
Last week we sang a beautiful song: that says,
“Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours
Lord, I am forever Yours
Mountains high or valley low
I sing out and remind my soul
I am Yours
I am forever Yours”
Jesus is God’s love, and we are talking about Love this morning, Jesus is God’s love come down to dwell among us. We celebrate His birth and the great love that He brought to us. The Love of Jesus that compelled Him to the Cross.
Through His shed blood we now have life and life more abundantly. So in our celebration of the Christmas season let us see beyond the glamour and excitement of the Season to Jesus Christ who grew to manhood, taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world, died offering us forgiveness, salvation and peace.
Do you know Him today, Is He your savior? If not, will you come and give your heart to Him?
We lit the candle of love today, and as we do every Christmas season, I can’t help but be drawn to memories. I am sure that
LET US PRAY.