Consumerism Over Christ

Merry Xmas Series  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  37:34
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Last week I shared with you that the average family spends $1000 for Christmas every year. In 2021, holiday sales reached $859 billion. American’s spend lots of money on Christmas.
Christmas has become a time of consumerism and a pursuit of materialism. This clip from Jingle All the Way makes me laugh each time I see it, but it also makes me pause and think about why we celebrate this time of year. Take a look.
Play Jingle All the Way clip
For the next few moments I want to look at how the pursuit of materialism has eclipsed the true meaning of Christmas.

Christ’s Humility vs. Our Culture of Excess

If you have your Bibles turn to Philippians chapter 2. We will begin reading at verse 5.
Philippians 2:5–11 NIV
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The way that Christ came to earth is a complete contrast to the extravagant consumer culture that we live in today.
Jesus is 100% God, He could have come in with all the fanfare and live in a palace, be ruler over all, but He didn’t. He humbled Himself.
When we let material things lead us away from the humble, selfless nature of Jesus’ birth, we begin a path on a downward spiral.
Philip Yancey remarks on the incredible humility of Christ in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew. He said,
I remember sitting one Christmas season in a beautiful auditorium in London listening to Handel’s Messiah, with a full chorus singing about the day when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” I had spent the morning in museums viewing remnants of England’s glory—the crown jewels, a solid gold ruler’s mace, the Lord Mayor’s gilded carriage… looking toward the auditorium’s royal box where the queen and her family sat, I caught glimpses of the more typical way rulers strode through the world: with bodyguards, and a trumpet fan-fare, and a flourish of bright clothes and flashing jewelry. Queen Elizabeth II had recently visited the United States, and reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved: her four thousand pounds of luggage included two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone died, forty pints of plasma, and white kid leather toilet seat covers. She brought along her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. A brief visit of royalty to a foreign country can easily cost twenty million dollars.
In meek contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in an animal shelter with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn king but a feed trough. Indeed, the event that divided history, and even our calendars, into two parts may have had more animal than human witnesses.
Christ could have had the fanfare, but He chose a humble beginning.

Where Is Your Treasure?

For years now, people have made this time of the year about gift giving. We make sure that we buy the right gift. We plan to spend money. People use their Christmas bonuses to make sure each person receives something. For some, gifts are a gesture of love, for others it has become an obligation or as a status symbol. Where is your treasure?
Matthew 6:19–21 NIV
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
All of the stuff that we have obtained here on earth is only here temporary. It is here today and gone tomorrow.
Where are you investing your treasure? Ask yourself, Am I generous?
When we are generous, we are loving.
Is love an important word? The word love is mentioned 714 times in the Bible.
The word believe is mentioned 272 times in the Bible.
The word pray is mentioned 371 times in the Bible.
I believe that all of us would agree that each of these words are very important to the believer. What about the word give? Is that an important word? I believe it is. It is to God. The word Give is mentioned 2,152 times in the bible. Three times as many as the word love. Why do you think that is?
I believe it’s because God is a giver. God gave His son to us so that we could have eternal life. Jesus gave up His life so that we could have eternal life.
Did you know that in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke, 1/6 of those books deal with our relationship with money.
And here in our text Jesus is telling us to Keep Your Heart Pure. How do we do that? He tells us don’t store up your treasures on earth but store up your treasures in heaven. In other words, use your money now to send ahead in Heaven. Do kingdom work with your money.
By investing your treasures in God’s kingdom here on earth you are sending it on ahead.
Have any of you heard of Humphrey Monmouth?
Have any of you heard of William Tyndale? William Tyndale pioneered the translation of the Scriptures into English from their original languages of Greek and Hebrew.
If it wasn’t for Humphrey Monmouth William Tyndale doesn’t translate the Bible as we know it now. Humphrey Monmouth was a wealthy businessman who financially supported Tyndale as he translated the Bible. Look at all the lives that the Bible has touched over the years. It wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Monmouth.
If you look in Paul’s writing, you will notice a name that he mentions, Phoebe. It is believed that she helped to support Paul in his missionary journeys. If you notice that when Luke writes the book of Luke and Acts he is writing to Theophilus. It is believed that Theophilus helped support Luke’s ministry. The gospel could not be spread if it weren’t for these people that stored up their treasures in heaven. They invested in kingdom work.
A man by the name of J. Paul Geddy, an oil billionaire said this about money. “Money is a lot like manure. If you stack it up it stinks. If you spread it around it makes things grow.”
Where are you investing your treasures? That is where you heart is. Are you focused on things that will give you pleasure now but will fade away or are you focused on things that will give you pleasure now and pleasure in heaven. I’m making plans for the future and I want to invest in what God is doing.

Simplifying Christmas

So, during this holiday season, how can we reduce the focus on “Stuff” and focus on the spiritual aspects of Christmas?
It is so important that we make plans as a family to prioritize presence over presents.

Presence Over Presents

We must shift our treasure back to Christ.
Here is what I want you to do this year. I want to help you and your family make Jesus a priority this Christmas. I have gone and purchased these pre filled communion cups. I want you and your family to take a moment Christmas morning and I want you to share communion with one another. Jesus said, “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me.” This Christmas there is no better way for you to remember Christ than by having communion on Jesus’ birthday. I want a member of each family to come forward this morning and get enough of these pre filled communion cups for those that will be at your house Christmas morning. I also want you to pick up a piece of paper with the scripture for Communion on it. Then save these for communion with your family Christmas morning.
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