The savior has come

The Christmas Story

Intro

Were gonna do something a little different this morning.

We have all the kids with us..

and it is christmas after all..

So were going to put on a house play.

Do you know what that is?

You know.. when your kids put on a play in the house..

Using whatever they have around them..

And just telling the story and going with it?

I promise.. its gonna be better than it sounds!

But were gonna tell the Christmas story..

And the kids are going be the characters..

And were going to look at the significance of the story

So I need all the kids to come down and sit here in the floor..

Anyone who wants to be a part of the story!!

(Gather all the kids… Have karla, max, melissa, jamie, sit with the kids)

Act 1: it Begins…

Let’s start

you ready?

Were gonna start in luke..

If you have your bible you can get it out and turn to Luke 1:23..

Kambria is gonna read for us..

Lets follow along..

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 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.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Alright for this first section I need to people..

an angle and a Mary..

Put the angle on the chair with a halo and flash light

Put mary on the floor with a nametag (my name is mary)

Stage left

Recap/ Acting

So Mary is just hanging out one day..

and all of a sudden an angle.. gabriel appears..

(Angle shine your light)

and the bible tells us mary is afraid

(mary can you be afraid?)

and the angle tells mary..

DONT BE AFRIAD!!

(Can you tell her that?)

because I have good news!

God has given you grace. favor..

and your going to have a baby..

a son..

and not just any son..

the son of the most high..

and he will be a king..

who will reign over jacobs house forever..

Mary is shocked!

(mary be shocked)

and she says how will this be?

and he says..

the holy spirit will come upon you..

and you will conceive..

and he will be called holy..

the son of god..

WOW!

what an event..

can you imagine if you were Mary?

Signifigance

This is the start of our story..

and its pack with significance..

lets look at it real quick..

Born of a virgin

First.. the bible says mary was a virgin..

(Parents you might have to clean this up for me later)

Mary was a young woman..

probably 12-14..

she had never has a husband..

and was ready to get married..

so she had never had a child..

and this is important..

Sign

this was actually the fulfillment of prophecy..

that the savior would come and be born from a virgin..

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

but the reason for this was more significant than just fulfilment of prophecy..

Significant birth

Look at how the angle say mary will concieve..

he tells mary..

The holy spirit will come upon you..

and you the power of the most high will overshadow you..

And this is how you will conceive..

This is important!

Godship.

First, this indicates Christs Godship..

He was fully god..

Born of God..

The only one in the existence of the world able to make such a claim..

Proved by his miraculous birth..

Sinless

but second.. and just as important..

This points to Jesus sinlessness..

His purity..

Jesus was not conceived like the rest of man kind..

He was conceived of the holy spirit..

And the angel in telling Mary this says..

THEREFORE..

or … SINCE HE WAS CONCEIVED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT..

HE would be called.. holy..

You see.. since Jesus was not conceived as the rest of humanity..

Jesus did not inherit the sinful nature that all of humanity inherited through there own births..

This would be important through his life..

As he would become the final sacrifice for our sins..

And the sacrifice had to be spotless..

So the virgin birth is very significant..

It lays the foundation for the rest of the story!

SO MARY WAS HAVING A BABY!!!

EXCITING..

To everyone except Joseph..

who was not yet in on the announcement..

alright angle stay here.. Mary go hang out over there for a minute..

Joseph

But the bible tells us in Matthew that God took care of that..

Lets read it in Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

So Joseph find out Mary is pregnant..

I need a Joseph! (Put name tag on joseph)

and hes upset..

Joseph be upset

not gonna lie..

He plans to divorce her..

because in those days and engagement was a legal relationship and required divorce for seperation..

BUT BEFORE HE DOES..

THE ANGLE SHOWS UP AGAIN!!

This time in a dream..

Angle turn your light on..

And tells him..

Jospeh

Its ok..

This is of god..

and the baby will be called the son of god..

and you will call his name Jesus..

Meaning YHWH saves..

And so Joseph takes mary..

jo go get mary..

and he married her..

and they waited for the baby..

Act 2: A baby is born

8-9 MONTHS GOES BY..

And we pick the story up again..

Lets look at luke 2:1-7..

Luke 2:1–7 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

So Jospeh and a very pregnant mary are required to go to Josephs ancestral town for the census..

Bethlehem..

mary and joseph go to the stable..

And when they get their..

The town is packed..

Theirs no room for them any where..

and the time comes to give birth..

I look what luke …. 6.… 7.. says..

Luke 2:6–7 ESV

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

she has the baby

give Mary the baby

She wraps him in swaddling cloths..

give her a cloth

and lays him in a manger

lay the baby down.

But this doesn look like a manger..

we need some animals..

give out the masks for the animals..

Melissa to help keep them wrangled..

have the kids sit next to the stable

Great..

not we look like a stable..

Lets look at the significance here..

We have the manger..

the swaddling cloths..

the stable.

God is making a statement here

The Manger

normally when a king is born..

Especially a savior king..

he’s given the best of the best..

but Jesus is born.. in a stable..

why?

because god was changing the Naritive of kingdom life..

The jews were expecting a conquering king..

to over throw rome..

But Jesus was coming to establish a new kingdom..

A spiritual kingdom..

one what would not be marked by pride and worldly power.

but by humility and sacrifice..

and Jesus birth in a manger shows us just how much he will willing to humble himself before his own creation..

jesus said in Matthew 20:28

Matthew 20:28 ESV

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Look what Paul writes of him in

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

You see the manger of a symbol of christ humility

and willingness to lower himself before humanity..

and in the same vain we see this in the clothes he was wrapped in..

Swaddling Cloths

You might not have though much of the swaddling cloths..

It was typical for mothers of the day to put these cloths on their children..

BUT LUKE MAKES A POINT TO WRITE ABOUT THEM..

You see Shepherds were responsible for making sure that the new born lambs had no defects since the sacrificial animals had to be without spot or wrinkle..

So shepherds would tightly wrap the animals in cloth to keep them from becoming blemished..

luke make its such a point that Jesus was wrapped tightly in cloth..

just like the lambs..

why?

Because from his birth.

He was the sinless lamb of god.. and would become the final sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world..

jesus being wrapped an cloth and lying in a manger points to his reason for coming..

THAT HE WOULD LATER HUMBLE HIMSELF TO THE POINT OF DEATH AND GIVE HIS LIFE AS A PERFECT SACRIFICE FOR ALL

God knew what he was doing when the Inn was full..

It wasn’t just bad luck..

it was god speaking through the details..

Act 3: The Angelic Announcement

the birth story concludes in Luke in a beautiful and dramatic way..

lets read what it says!

Luke 2:8–20 ESV

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

JESUS IS HERE..

AND NOW GOD IS ANNOUNCING THE BIRTH..

wow…

this is a big act in the play..

I need some shepherds…

(Give them sticks and have max help with them..)

And some angles

give them halos

and our main angle..

… ok your ready?

Recap and act

so a bunch of shepherds are in the field

watching the sheep..

can you speak sheep?

and out of now were..

and angle appears

angle shine the light

And the angle tells them..

DONT BE AFRAID!

I HAVE GREAT NEWS

TODAY A BABY HAS BEEN BORN IN THE CITY OF DAVID..

A SAVIOR..

CHRIST THE KING..

AND YOU WILL FIND HIM IN A MANGER

AND IT WILL BE A SIGN..

and as the angle says this..

a host of angles..

thousands of them show up

come on the rest of you

and they start to proclaim

ok you ready?

repeat after me..

loud!

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST..

AND ON EARTH..

PEACE AMOUNG THOSE..

WITH WHOM HE IS WELL PLEASED

YEAH!! Great Job!

And the bible tells us the shepherds go to see the baby..

and tell mary what happened

Shepherds go see the baby

and then when they see him they leave and rejoice!!

Rejoice on your way off the stage!

Phewww.

Lets look at this real quick..

Theirs so much significance here..

lets look at the message the angles proclaim!

Good News

The angle says I bring you good news..

That word translated good news her is the word euangelion..

It where we get the world evangelism in the church

and it the it’ the verbal form of the word gospel..

Luke uses is throughout his to describe the message that the savior of humanity has come into the world..

so the angle is saying

hey ..

this is lifechanging great news..

and its not just for you..

All People

He says the news is for all people..

And this good news is not just for the jews..

not just for the shepherds..

but for all people..

John reminds us of this in

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Jesus reminds us of this in John 3:16

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Paul even reminds us of this in

Romans 10:13 ESV

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This announcement from the angels is for everyone!

Its good news for everyone!

Shepherds

this point is further emphasized in who the announcement is too!

Shepherds..

Shepherds were the lowest of the low..

They were stinky.. smelly.. dirty people..

They lived with the animals and slept with the animals.

And people looked down upon them..

BUT GOD CHOSE TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF HIS SON TO THIS GROUP..

Shows us that it wasnt the elite that Jesus birth singled out..

but he was a savior for even the lowest of the low.

For ALL PEOPLE

Announcement

And what is it?

what is the news?

SAVIOR, CHRIST THE LORD..IS BORN

God has come into humanity!

To save humanity..

Three Names

The angle gives Jesus three names here..

Savior, christ, and lord..

Names

Savior

We know that Jesus 33 years later would go to a cross..

and give his life for us..

saving us from our sins..

He is the savior..

the restorer of our relationship with christ..

Christ

second he calls him the christ..

the name christ is the greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah

he was the expected one whom isreal had been waiting for

that name means annointed one..

in the way of the high preist and the king..

He was the one god said would come and restore the kingdom.

but it was anew kingdom..

a spiritual kingdom..

an eternal kingdom

and a kingdom that included everyone!

The Lord

Lastly he calls his Lord.

This name implies his authority and sovereignty

But its also the greek word Kyrios which luke uses interchangeably to refer to both Jesus an YHWH of the personal name for god in the old testament..

The names the Jews held sacred for God..

So the angle is not Just telling us that a saving messiah has come..

HE IS SAYING GOD HAS COME..

Matthew

Matthews account point to this in referencing the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 himself

Matthew 1:23 ESV

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Hope Has Come

THE CRUX OF THE MESSAGE THAT THE ANGLES GIVE IS THIS..

THE KINGDOM HAS COME..

THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD IS HERE

AND HE IS FOR ALL!

AND FOREVER!!

what a message of hope!

the one who saves us from our sins has been born..

The Journey…

I want to point out the shepherds response to this message..

They heard the savior had come..

and they came to find him..

THE WISE MEN.. even though we didnt talk about them today..

did the same thing..

They here the message..

and they came to find him..

He’s still calling people to himself today

Did you know he’s still calling people to come to him today, 2,000 years later?

That the message the angels declared..

is still relavent for us today..

JESUS HAS COME IN TO THE WORLD..

AND NOW..

HE HAS ALREADY CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH FOR US!!

AND HE CALLS US TO COME..

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus is not just talking about sleep…

Hes talking about rest for the soul..

Remember John?

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

HE IS HERE!!!

HE HAS COME!!

HE HAS CONQUERED..

The question is have you responded..

Altar Call