Hark The Herald Angels Sing

Introduction

Recap the Series

Week 1 - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Emmanuel = God with Us, and that is what we celebrate this Christmas Season, God coming to this earth to be with us

Week 2 - Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

We looked at the prophecy in Isaiah 7, concerning God himself giving a sign, the virgin would give birth!

This week - Hark the Herald Angels Sing

A very well known song and

Hark the herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled" Joyful, all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies With the angelic host proclaim: "Christ is born in Bethlehem" Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!"

Luke 2:8–15 (CSB)

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.

9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

In the same region… the city of David, called Bethlehem

We have heard the story before…

Caesar Augustus had called for a census

Joseph and Mary who is 9 months pregnant go from Nazareth to Bethlehem

because of the amount of people who had to go to these small towns there was no room in the inn.

Just so happen, that very night is the time for Mary to give birth

so in the manger, in a cave outside of Bethlehem, the baby Jesus was born

I know that we have heard the story before

we might be callused to it

we’ve heard it so many times that just hearing does not draw in the amazement in our hearts

The God who created everything that is seen and unseen took on flesh, entered into his creation

as amazing as this story is, he did not come and declare it to the religious leaders, the elite rich class of people

but the angels came and declared it to the lowly shepherds who were taking care of their flock in the region of Bethlehem

The gospel reveals the glory of God.

An Unlikely People

Do you think that the angels laughed or questioned God when he told them to go tell the shepherds

Did the angels give him a sideways look

are you sure…

I know you know all things… but, really

Luke 2:8–9 (CSB)

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.

9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

What shepherds were, lifestyle

looked down on by the rest of the people

not able to worship, seen as unclean people

not able to testify, seen as unreliable or not honorable

they took care of their sheep

feeding and protecting

have a pen they would keep them in, sleep in the doorway

in the field, they would take turns sleeping and keeping watch

sheep in this region people believed were for sacrifice

God has loved and used shepherds all through out Israel’s history

Moses had run from Egypt and was living as a shepherd when God came to him in the burning bush

David was a shepherd when he was anointed king

he was in the field when Samuel went to Jesse’s house

said we cannot eat until the boy gets here

David used the tools of his occupation to defeat Goliath

God condemned the leaders of Israel as evil shepherds that were leading the people astray

not caring for their flock

God refers to himself as a shepherd

Psalm 23:1 (CSB)

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need.

God identifies with the lowly

does not matter where you find yourself, you are not too low for God

but Pastor, you do not know the sin in my past

may be right, but I do not that even the smallest of sin required that Jesus pay the price with his life

God does not care for the high class, the elite

he did not come to the religious leaders

no big announcement to the king

Regardless of who we are the glory of God is terrifying

Terrifying = feeling of terror

this is not an awe or respect

Humanity cannot see the full glory of God and live

Exodus 33:18–20 (CSB)

18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”

19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”

even just the glory of the Lord around the angel causes shepherds to quake in it’s site

terror comes on every sinful heart that looks on the glory of God

these were not men that we afraid of a lot

David spoke about getting fighting lions and bears to protect his sheep

1 Samuel 17:34–36 (CSB)

34 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

yet the shekinah glory of the Lord shone around them

this is the glory that filled the temple when Solomon had it built

the glory that left the people when they worshipped false gods

the glory that now has returned to earth to proclaim a glorious message

A Glorious Message

Romans 10:15b - As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

some study and context is important with this thought

it is not my hairy feet that are beautiful just because I am preaching the gospel

when in battle, they would send a runner back to the king to say what had happened

those that were bringing bad news, were not to excited to run back

heavy slow moving feet

but one who was coming back with good news

gliding through the mountains excited to come to the king

those who were looking out for the runner, could tell just by looking at their feet

This is much more than a simple battle has been won

Luke 2:10–12 (CSB)

10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

The message is the comfort to the “do not be afraid”

“for” is our key

do not be afraid, FOR I proclaim

this is not a message of condemnation

when we see the glory of the Lord, we realize how inglorious we are

The Messiah has come

who is the messiah

the promised or anointed one

from the very beginning, Genesis there would be one who came to crush the head of the serpent

the lion of the tribe of Judah

the deliver like Moses

the son of David

what was this messiah promised to do

redeem God’s people and set them free

The messiah is the Lord

the very one whose glory shown around the angel

the one whose glory filled the temple

has now taken on flesh and is dwelling among sinful man

The sign to show it is true,

this messiah, Lord, baby will be wrapped in cloth lying in a manger

wrapped up in cheap fabric in a feed trough

not a barn like our pictures show, with the region they were in, this was a cave

there is nothing clean about sheep and cattle

nothing sanitary about this place

even the trough… for those that feed cattle, do any of them after the cattle stand over them look clean at all?

A Resounding Praise

The message of the new born babe was so glorious that all of heaven rejoiced

the angel that was came in the glory of God is now surrounded by a multitude of angels

do you know how many a multitude is… I don’t it just means there was a lot of them

Luke 2:13–15 (CSB)

13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

we would expect praise from the shepherds

they took off to go see the sign

they recognized that it was the Lord that made these things known, not the angel

wouldn’t you be excited if God had a message just for you and made it available

I am sure that you would be running to it

The angels praise God

Celebrating the peace that has come to men

Jesus said all of heaven rejoices when one soul repents and turns to the Lord

What is this peace

peace between man and God has come

a sacrifice once and for all time has come for all who will believe

this is why he came… to reconcile man to God

this peace is available to you today

a war that has been going on can now have peace

Discussion Questions

What is the meaning of 'Emmanuel' as discussed in the sermon?

Why were the shepherds considered an unlikely audience for the angel's announcement?

How does the sermon illustrate God's choice to reveal the birth of Jesus to the shepherds?

In what ways does the sermon describe the reaction of the shepherds upon receiving the announcement from the angels?

What emotions did the shepherds experience upon seeing the glory of the Lord?

What does the sign of the baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger represent in the sermon?

How does the sermon connect the birth of Jesus to the prophecies in the Old Testament?

What roles do the angels play in the Christmas story as outlined in the sermon?

How does the sermon describe the concept of peace brought by the birth of Jesus?