The Kindness of God Appeared
Notes
Transcript
Carols by Candlelight 2025
Happy Christmas!
“Imagine for a moment you’re dead. I know, not what you expected to hear after a cheery Happy Christmas!”
You’re not just unwell,
or having one of those days where you can’t get out of bed—you’re completely and utterly dead.
Breathless. Motionless. Lifeless.
People around you seem to think you just need a little pep talk:
(Adopt a cheerful tone here.)
“‘Come on! You can do it! Believe in yourself! Be the best version of you!’”
Pause
“But you’re still dead. No amount of pep talks, self-help books, or inspirational memes on Instagram will make a bit of difference because—here’s the reality—dead people can’t help themselves.
And that’s exactly how the Bible describes us apart from God: not sick, not struggling,
but spiritually dead in our sins. Completely unable to save ourselves.”
Everyone around us is deceiving us - ‘you just need a pep talk’.
And the world is full of of these lies that you can live without God.
Even our churches are often full of lies that you can know God by your own good behaviour and work.
But no - we are dead.
“BUt, here’s where it gets amazing:
God didn’t leave us that way.
At Christmas, when the kindness and love of God appeared in Jesus being born in our world,
He did something no motivational speech ever could—He brought dead people to life.”
CHirstmas is not about warm feelings of love,
it’s not about family and friends,
it’s not about presents of present giving.
If it was about those things then many in our world, perhaps many here, would have nothing to celebrate.
Christmas has not survived 2000 years based on human emotions, experiences and feelings!
Christmas, is about the kindness and love of God appearing in Jesus being born in our world,
so he could bring spiritually dead people to life.”
And that is worth celebrating.
Evertyhgin else and eventually everyone else will let us down.
But Jesus will not.
I chose the following short passage which I’ll read in a momnet,
for this years sermon,
beccasue it captures the summary of the joy that we celebrate at Christmas perfectly.
We’ve seen the sumamry of it through our readings already.
From Genesis - God created all things - he is therefore worthy of all honour, and glory. But the first man and woman thought they knew better, and turned their back on God.
From the Psalms we saw the desire of humanity to be reconciled to God, but they couldn’t do it themselevs - for we always choose sin, ourslevs, not God first.
BUt Isaiah reminded us that despite us being dead in sin - God alwasy planned to save us himself through a saviour to be born.
And that is what re heard happened in Luke’s gospel.
The death and darkness of this world - overcome - as we read in John’s gospel by the light of Jesus.
And here it is summarised in a little book called Titus.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Let me summarise these verses in 4 simple words:
Dead, Saved, Transformed, Hope
1. Dead - Our Condition Before God (Titus 3:3)
1. Dead - Our Condition Before God (Titus 3:3)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
It has to be true that if there is a God who created us -
we have not lived in perfect loving obedience to him!
Even Christians struggle to always seek the will of God.
Rather we live according to out passions and pleasures.
We have believed the empty pep talks on tiktok and Instagram,
lies of the world that promise so much, but if we’re honest deliver nothing.
Before God then, we are foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to our own pleasure!
And we only need to look about our world to realise that the ultimate end to living like this is malice and envy and hate.
It may not feel like that to us all the time - but that’s becasue if we deny God, we are dead to him.
We can’t even feel the reality of how we live becasue we are dead!
We turn to instagram gurus and influencers,
slef-help mantras,
and we tell oursleevs their lies until we start to believe them!
I’m not expressing this to be mean, or harsh, or make us feel bad!
Ironically - I tell you this out of love - no-one in this world will tell you the truth,
but the truth is that we are dead before God - we will be judged by him - and we will face eternity in hell - punished rightly becasue of our refusal to turn back to him!
The world wont tell you that becasue they don’t care for you and don’t believe it themselves.
The blind are leading the blind.
The dead leading the dead.
like a dark house without light—we stumble about.
Not very Christmassy you may say,
But Christmas shines brightest when we understand the darkness of our hearts. We cannot save ourselves.
And here comes the light!—Our second word:
2. Saved - by the kind appearing of Jesus (Titus 3:4-5a)
2. Saved - by the kind appearing of Jesus (Titus 3:4-5a)
Titus 3:4–5 (NIV 2011)
But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s kindness and love.
God acted decisively to save us in history.
Even though we were dead - unable to save ourselves - God in hIs kindness, his goodness, his love - appeared - born as a baby - to Save us.
And it was his work, not ours!
Dead people don’t raise themselevs - someone must act upon them
- someone with enough power to raise them to new life!
Jesus - was not just a spark, or a glimmer in the darkness.
He brought a flooding worldwide light to us in his mercy.
So bright is he, that even though we don’t deserve it - he came anyway!
We can not move towards God our creator - so God moved toward us because of His character.
Do you know what that means for you and me?
No one is too far gone for God’s mercy. Salvation is not earned—it is a gift.
It means life is available to you and me - even though we are dead.
Pause
And his appearing as man is central to God’s gift.
Because God cannot overlook or dismiss our deadness, our sin.
He must deal with it justly.
Someone must pay the penalty of sin and it will either be us, or it will be a substitute!
JEsus appeared so he could in kindness, be our substitute.- to save us.
He died on the cross and the bible explains ‘drank the cup of God’s right wrath’ so we don’t have too!
Such is the brightnmess of Jesus appearing - he overcomes darkness for us by taking on our sin upon himself - so we might be saved from what we desereve!
What a saviour he is. Kind, good, loving, merciful.
---
3. Transformed - by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5b-6)
3. Transformed - by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5b-6)
Titus 3:5–6 (NIV 2011)
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
Not only does Jesus take our death on the cross, to save us,
but he exchanges it for his own righteousness that he puts upon us.
And he gives it to us by His HS.
The Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to us—
The verse uses 2 words with similar meanings - **regeneration** meaning (new birth) and **renewal** (meaning transformation).
- Being saved does not merely mean we are forgiven; rather - we are **made new creatures**
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!
- The Spirit’s work is rich and abundant, poured out through Jesus Christ.
We are now made acceptable to God - even though we are not by our own work.
Freed from darkness and the lies of this world,
and given light and new life - transformed before God by His own work,
through JEsus, by his HS
- so that when God looks on us he sees his beloved son Jesus - and rejoices in us becasue we are transformed!
Christmas - Christ appearing is amazing!
It’s not about warm fuzzies or family,
it about dead people being saved by the appearing of Jesus,
Who then transforms us into new creations who can know and love and be at peace with God.
It’s why the angles declared to the shepherds:
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’
It;s all to the glory of God
- becasue it’s his good, king merciful work
- and it’s all for our transformation
so we can miraculously, underservedly, indescribably have peace with Him.
CHristmas offers, Withered,
weary and dead people like us, a transformation to new life!
Jesus offers what we are all looking for deep down.
---
Finally
4. Hope - of Eternal Life (Titus 3:7)
4. Hope - of Eternal Life (Titus 3:7)
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
That word justified means to
be declared righteous (or right) before God,
and again not by our works,
but by grace - by Christ’s work on our behalf—we receive what we don’t deserve.
And the result of justification:
We become heirs of God’s.
Meaning we inherit Eternal life with Him.
And so now today - we live in Hope of eternity with God our good and kind creator.
This is not an ‘I hope I win the lottery’,
This is a sure and certain hope.
I keep going everyday becasue I know Jesus will return again to take me home!
He is the sure Hope I have.
- **Hope**: The sure promise of eternal life—God’s gift, secured by Christ.
- Christmas points beyond the cradle to the cross, then the empty tomb and finally to Christs return in the future to take us home.
Jesus appeared in kindness to secure eternal life for His people.
Will you receive this gift of grace today?
Repent and believe in God,
who appeared as man at that first Christmas to save dead sinners,
tranform them freely by his grace,
and give us a sure hope of eternal life,
rather than our deseved judgement?
Or will you return to he empty promises of the world this year?
I say turn to Jesus and live,
That would be a very Happy Chirstmas
Pray
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