The Christmas Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Candles
Since the moment Adam took a bite out of the forbidden fruit we’ve all been waiting for a Savior to come and put things right again (Gen 3:15). We waited during the time of Noah and the flood. We waited during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We waited during the years of captivity in Egypt and the years of spiritual rebellion in Israel. We waited under the good but broken King David and the bad kings who followed. We waited in exile in Babylon. We waited and waited in the darkness of our sin. Then one night the angel Gabriel appeared to a young woman, a virgin named Mary.
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
The wait is over. The Savior has come. His name “Jesus” means “Yahweh is salvation.” Yahweh is the God of Israel’s special covenant name. Finally, Yahweh has sent a Savior to put things right again. Jesus is the Son of the Most High, a descendent of King David, and one of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants. Salvation has arrived. So then, if Jesus is the Savior, why did it seem like he failed so spectacularly? His birth was quite extraordinary. Angels sang and shepherds worshipped but a short life later his body hung still on a wood cross. God didn’t save him. His death was final, or so we thought… Three days later the earth shook, angels came down from heaven, the rock covering his tomb rolled away, and inside lay nothing but empty sheets (Matt 28:2; John 20:7). The wait was finally over. Salvation had come. Jesus took our death upon himself. He died so that we could live. These words from John’s gospel offer hope to us all.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Now as we light the candle of Christ we thank God the wait for our salvation is over. Our Savior Jesus Christ has come. He came in the birth of a small baby boy, conceived in the virgin Mary, born in a manger, died on a cross, risen from the dead, ascended to God’s throne in heaven. At Christmas we celebrate our Savior’s first arrival and look forward to his second. Jesus will come soon and finally put all things right, but for now we wait. This time we wait not in the darkness of our sin, but in the light of Christ’s salvation, full of hope as we wait our Savior’s return. Merry Christmas
The Christmas Spirit
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!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Intro:
Intro:
AG: The story of Scrooge by Dickens is a remarkable illustration of the mean-spiritedness of Christmas and the transformation of man’s character. It ends:
“Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him”
As the people of God we should have the True Christmas
Spirit. Let us look at the True Christmas Spirit: What it is not! and What it is:
First,...
I. WHAT IT IS NOT!
I. WHAT IT IS NOT!
A. REFORMATION OF CHARACTER
A. REFORMATION OF CHARACTER
A change for a few wks.
New year's resolutions often last from a few hours to days.
Though made popular in A Christmas Carol, changing ones nature isn’t the point of Christmas.
None of us can reform ourselves all on our own.
Lasting Change comes only through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, not the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
Lasting Change comes only through God’s power, not our own will to become better.
B. REMEMBRANCE OF CUSTOMS
B. REMEMBRANCE OF CUSTOMS
I love family traditions and there is no season in which our family has traditions more than this... Christmas
We spend Christmas Eve together and have a family Candlelight and Carols service. We read the Christmas story. The next day it is a whirlwind of presents being opened and a mountain of trash piling up. Of course, the trash is kept in bags for a week or two until we know everyone made it home with everything!
Myths and traditions define our culture but should never be the basis of our faith.
Some may be harmless, and others directly opposed to Scripture
Chose carefully what you incorporate into your family customs Reinforce the true meaning of Christmas and the bond of love of your family
C. RUT OF COMMERCIALISM
C. RUT OF COMMERCIALISM
shopping, buying, lines, debt
Sadly, to many commercialisms is the true spirit of Christmas
It used to begin on the Friday after Thanksgiving and was called Black Friday.
“Retailers reinvented the "Black Friday" name to reflect the backstory of how accountants used different color ink — red for negative earnings, and black for positive earnings — to denote a company's profitability. Black Friday became the day when stores finally turned a profit.
Now, it is online and even the special deals begin days and sometimes weeks before.
The commercialism of our day almost guilts us into spending more than we can afford to keep up with others.
There have been some years in which “the toy to have” led to a sharklike feeding frenzy to obtain the elusive MUST HAVE gift.
· 1920: Raggedy Andy
· 1963: Easy Bake Oven
· 1975: Pet Rock
· 1983: Cabbage Patch Kids
· 1996: Tickle Me Elmo
· 2011: Let's Rock Elmo
Debt: The amount of holiday debt taken on by Americans who accumulated it in 2023 averaged $1,028 (Highest ever was 1500 in 22)
II. WHAT IS IT! V10-14
II. WHAT IS IT! V10-14
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.
A. SPIRIT OF FAITH
A. SPIRIT OF FAITH
Fear not V10
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.
This is an often repeated phrase with the various announcements of Christmas
The opposite of fear is faith
Keep trusting God
The Jewish people had just endured over 400 years of silence from GOD
The OT had been completed, Judah was back from exile and in place for the Messiah
God had not revealed anything new until 9 months or so before our text
Gabriel told Zacharias, Mary, and Joseph about the birth of Jesus
Now angels repeat the call: FEAR NOT
B. SPIRIT OF LOVE
B. SPIRIT OF LOVE
Unto you is born a Savior V11
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Amy Grant sang the song, Love has Come
That is exactly what Jesus is.... LOVE
He is God
God is love
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus was there to go to the cross, the ultimate expression of love
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
C. SPIRIT OF GIVING
C. SPIRIT OF GIVING
You shall find V12
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
God gave the perfect gift when He gave the Savior
Wrapped in swaddling cloths and in a manger, the King of the universe had arrived.
Every gift we give is a reminder of God’s great gift
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That gift made possible the gift of eternal life!
D. SPIRIT OF PEACE
D. SPIRIT OF PEACE
on earth, peace, good will V13-14
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!”
Jesus came to bring peace between us and God
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“peace with God”: not an inner sense of well-being, or “feeling at peace” (what we might call the “peace of God” [cf. Phil. 4:7]), but the outward situation of being in a relationship of peace with29 God.30
Douglas J. Moo
III. The Passion to Go and Tell v. 15
III. The Passion to Go and Tell v. 15
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
The shepherds left the manger and went to proclaim all they had seen and heard.
How will you respond to the birth of your Savior this year?
Will you give into the commercial Christmas and eat mountains of food, show your love for your friends and family by merely offering them gifts that meet no real needs and do not satisfy their true heart’s desire?
Christmas is almost here and we as Christ’s ambassadors will be held accountable for what if anything we say about our Lord, Savior and King. The giver of salvation arrived more than 2,000 years ago to provide the cure for the deadliest disease humanity has ever seen and defeat an enemy that is best described as a ferocious lion.
Praise be that Christ took on a human nature to atone for our sins and destroy this lion who held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Will you be brave and bold enough to tell others about the awesome gift of salvation that Christ gave to you? Will you this Christmas show God how much you love Him and others by running to the highest mountain and shouting “Jesus is not just a baby lying in a manger He is your only way to be reconciled unto a holy God?”
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
There are many spir can have the Spirit of Christmas, you must have the Holy Spirit. Before you can have the Holy Spirit you must have the “Christ” of Christmas. Before you can have Christ, you must have Jesus. Believe on Him, He is the Spirit of Christmas.
References:
William Scott, The Christmas Spirit, Sermon Central, https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-christmas-spirit-william-scott-sermon-on-christmas-74699
.Why Is It Called Black Friday? the True Story Behind the Name (businessinsider.com)
Holiday Gift Crazes and Fads of the Past Century | Stacker
159 Holiday Spending Statistics | LendingTree
The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/go-and-tell-derek-geldart-sermon-on-christmas-243829
