Christmas Brings Salvation

Introduction: 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

You may know the rest….

This is what Christmas has become in our world. And it seems innocent enough right? It’s about joy and peace, family, presents.

But for many this is all that Christmas is.

Waiting for Christmas morning. And it all happens while we sleep. Dreaming of sugar plums and candy canes.

By I think the Grinch was closer when after removing all the trappings of Christmas from Whoville, Christmas came anyway….

"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! And he puzzled three hours, 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. 'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!'"

And what’s more is that Christmas isn’t about any of those things. But he doesn’t go far enough to see the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is and always has been about Jesus.

I invite you to enter into the rest of the story.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 2:8-20. For our Christmas sermon, we come to an all to familiar story. Because in many ways we are like the shepherds in this story. We go about a daily life without thinking much about anything outside of our little world.

And then Christmas comes out of nowhere and reminds us that there is a bigger story going on and we are invited to come and see Jesus.

We are invited to ponder His worth and His majesty. And each of us is invited to answer a very important question…will I go and see Jesus? Will I answer the invitation.

Because what we call…

Introduce:

Big Idea: Christmas is GREATER than you can IMAGINE!

Let’s journey 2,000 years ago to a field outside of Bethlehem to a group of shepherds. And if I may, try to imagine you are hearing this for the first time.

Read: Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Again….

Big Idea: Christmas is GREATER than you can IMAGINE!

1. The Birth of JESUS is GREAT NEWS! (Luke 2:8-12)

Explanation: At this point Jesus has already been born. He is already wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger in Bethlehem. The miracle has already happened, but nobody knows it yet outside of Mary and Joseph.

And then something incredible happens. God chooses the first people to go and see the baby Jesus. Shepherds.

Illustration: Outside of John 3:16, there is perhaps no more well known verse than Luke 2:10

Luke 2:10 ESV

10 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.

Really because of a man named Charles Shultz. He was an artist who applied to work at Disney, but Walt said he just wasn’t good enough. But he didn’t take rejection lightly. He kept pursuing his dream of drawing cartoons for kids. In 1947 the St. Paul Pioneer Press gave him a chance to draw a 4 panel cartoon which was called “Lil Folks.” 3 years later in 1950, it was syndicated in newspapers across the country and the name was changed to Peanuts.

And then in 1965, CBS came calling and wanted a Christmas special with the Charlie Brown and the gang. Charles Shultz had one requirement. They had to tell the true meaning of Christmas…Jesus needed to be, not just included, but essential. CBS pushed back and Charles said he would walk away.

They relented, and in the end. And now every year, many continue to watch as Linus reads Luke 2:8-14.

But there is something about Luke 2:10. It reminds us that Christmas is about good news.

And it starts with Shepherds.

First of all, this is good news of Great joy.

It’s amazing how often even Christians seem to present the Gospel as bad news.

Jesus is coming to destroy you for your sins. You better be ready!

And it’s well meaning. Because there is some bad news.

Sin is bad and it does separate us from God. We need to deal with our sin otherwise there will be a reckoning in the future.

But there is some great news. Jesus already came, born in a manger to a virgin. He grew up and lived a perfect life and though He was without sin, He willingly died on the cross the pay the penalty of our sin so that we didn’t have to.

That’s great news. Your sin no longer has to keep your from God.

Why?

Because unto you that day in the city of David a Savior was born!

A savior for what? Not from Rome. Not from your dead end job. Not from unhappiness. Not from oppression or responsibility.

But from your sin.

But who is included?

All the people!

Starting with Shepherds.

Not a king or a governor. Not a rich man or woman. But lowly shepherds. Reguarly, ordinary, everyday working class people.

It’s often been said that shepherds were outcasts and looked at with suspicion. They smelled like sheep and usually preferred the company of animals to people. I think we can all relate.

But as outcasts they were invited to come and see Jesus…the true shepherd. The good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.

Application: it doesn’t matter who you are and what you’ve done in your life. Christmas is great news for you, because a savior was born that day for you and for me.

And we need only call upon the name of Jesus and we will be saved.

We won’t be perfect and stop sinning. But the more we move towards Him and follow after Him, He will sort all that out for us.

Will you answer the invitation to come and see Jesus.

Secondly, the angel announces…

2. PEACE of earth will be for those who SEEK Jesus. (Luke 2:13-14)

Explanation: Luke 2:14

Luke 2:14 ESV

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Peace on earth will be among those with whom He is pleased.

You might ask, how can I please God?

Maybe if I do enough good works, God will be pleased with me. Maybe if I read my Bible a lot, go to church, tithe, etc, etc. Is that what God wants? Not exactly.

One of the places in the Bible where it talks about what pleases God is Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

God is pleased when we believe His word.

Now don’t missundertand what I’m about to say. Salvation is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus and we can’t earn it through doing anything.

But, if you do truly believe, don’t you think that it will effect your actions?

Think about this, the angels tell the shepherds everything they just said.

And the shepherds emphatically say, we believe! We believe! Praise God!…But they don’t go to Bethlehem and seek Jesus.

Would their belief mean anything?

Illustration: See I think some of us are afraid to seek Jesus. We’re afraid to ask questions when we have doubts. We’re afraid that our belief won’t stand up to scrutiny.

So we run from questions and we even try to silence those who ask. And say, you just gotta have faith. The Bible never asks you to have blind faith.

The Bible always invites you to come and see. Check for yourself.

Don’t take an angels word for it let along a pastor or worse a guy on a podcast.

See for yourself.

Jesus invited Thomas to come and put his finger in His hands and his hand in His side. Come and see.

And the same is true today. If your faith doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, it’s not faith and you’ll never have peace.

But if you test your faith in the fires of life, and find that Jesus is more than you ever imagined, your faith will give you peace in the stormiest of seas. In the gloomiest of hospital rooms or fiercest persecution. Why? Because if God is for us, who can be against us?!

Application: The Christian life is not devoid of hardship, pain, or suffering. It’s not devoid of a devastating diagnosis or a sudden tragedy.

But there will people on earth for those who believe that there is more to life than this short time on earth.

As quick as the angels arrived to announce to the shepherd, they left just as suddently.

They dropped a bombshell and then when back to heaven.

They did not hold their hands and lead the way.

Because what we do with the information is up to us.

3. The BIRTH of Jesus demands a RESPONSE even today. (Luke 2:15-20)

Explanation: We know how the shepherds responded.

Luke 2:15–20 ESV

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.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

They believe and put feet to that belief. They left their sheep and “with haste” twent to seek Jesus. In other words they ran.

They couldn’t wait. Nothing like this had ever happened to them.

And guess what, their faith in action was met with confirmation. They found everything exactly how it had been told to them.

It wasn’t figurative or symbolic. It wasn’t a parable or a search that would end in vain.

They found everything exactly as they had been told.

And then they did something else that we should take note of.

They told their story to Mary and Joseph.

You see, when you truly believe, you respond with action. But you also tell others.

Illustration: We all have a story to tell of Christmas. Many of us will tell of a family member or friend telling us about Jesus. And perhaps we took their word for it and we went in search of Jesus and we found Him to be more incredible than we could have imagined.

Or maybe we just said we believed, but never matched that faith with feet. Maybe we have taken someone else’s word for it.

Maybe it’s time to actually seek Jesus.

Because your parents faith can’t save you. Your children’s faith can’t save you. Your grandparent’s faith can’t save you.

One of the saddest stories in American history is a man named Aaron Burr.

You might know him from the broadway show Hamilton…because he’s remembered as the guy who shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

But what you may not know about Aaron Burr is who his grandfather was.

Just a man named Jonathan Edwards…one of the greatest american theologian nand preachers every. His father founded Princeton University to train pastors for the ministry.

Aaron Burr on the other hand did not have the same faith as his grandfather or his father. He was a rebellious young man who cared more about success in life than godly character.

Aaron Burr was a distinguished Revolutionary War soldier, a successful New York lawyer, New York Attorney General, U.S. Senator, and the third U.S. Vice President, known for his political skill, championing women's education, founding Manhattan Company (leading to Chase Bank), and his rivalry with Hamilton, but his legacy is defined by the Hamilton duel and later treason trial. He was a fierce abolishionist and was one of the first to advocate for the education of women…because he wanted his daughter to have the same opportunities as men.

By all measures a successful life. But his later life was one of disgrace, suspicion and exile. Hated by the country he helped to create.

His death received not pomp and circumstance. He died alone and largely without any money.

But worst of all, there is every indication he died apart from the Christ his father and grandfathered adored so much.

Application: The same is true for all of us, no matter what we do in this life, apart from Christ, it’s all a waste.

Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

So it begs the question?

Response: How will you RESPOND to the BIRTH of Jesus?

Summation:

Closing Illustration: Christmas is about a rescue mission of Jesus, God in the flesh, coming to earth to rescue us from our sins. To give us salvation, meaning and purpose.

Augsustin perhaps said it best….”The Maker of man became man that He…the Bread, might be hungry; that He, the Fountain, might thirst; that He, the Light, might sleep; that He, the Way, might be wearied by the journey; that He, the Truth, might be accused by false witnesses; that He, the Judge of the living and the dead, might be brought to trial by a mortal judge; that He, Justice, might be condemned by the unjust; that He, Discipline, might be scourged with whips; that He, the Foundation, might be suspended upon a cross; that Courage might be weakened; that Security might be wounded; that Life might die.

So this Christ, I would beg you to seek Jesus. Heed the call by God’s word to come and see.

And this Christmas, may Jesus be born anew in your hearts. And may you live every day in the peace that is promised for all who beleive.

Let’s pray.