Glory to God: Christ Has Come!

Merry Christmas everyone! My name is Alex. I serve as one of the pastors here. I'm so glad to be with you guys, especially as we celebrate Christmas Eve.

One fun thing that I know a lot of families have just as a tradition of doing during the holiday time is to play some games together. So I figured it'd be fun if we did a little Christmas Trivia with one another as we got started tonight. So I've got a couple of questions for us. I'm gonna ask you, I'll give you some options, and then we'll see how many of you know and are up to date on all of your Christmas trivia.

Question 1: What is the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time?

A: Home Alone

B: The Grinch (animated 2018)

C: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

D: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

The answer is The Grinch, grossing about $540 million worldwide.

Question 2: Which U.S. state was the first to recognize Christmas as an official holiday?

A: Alabama

B: Arkansas

C: Louisiana

D: Nebraska

Answer: Louisiana, with Arkansas following the same year. 1831 was the year.

Question 3: Which U.S. President banned Christmas trees in the White House?

A: Theodore Roosevelt

B: William Howard Taft

C: Franklin Roosevelt

D: Harry S. Truman

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt did it for environmental reasons, but his kids snuck one in anyway.

Question 4: What is Pastor Ricky’s favorite Christmas song?

A: Santa Baby by Madonna

B: All I want for Christmas by Mariah Carey

C: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

D: Snowman by Sia

Answer: All I want for Christmas is. Snowman, as a close second that made him think for a day about it.

It’s fun to laugh about these things, and you can brag to your family tonight about your trivia skills. But while we know the facts and the songs of the season, there is a difference between knowing facts about Christmas and knowing the Savior of Christmas. Today, we join the angels and the shepherds in a response that goes beyond information, it leads to transformation and the praise of God!

This evening we’re to recount the great story that reminds us that Jesus came down to us. This story is filled with truth and beauty to behold. It changes us and grips us because like the angels praise God, this is good news of great joy moves in our hearts! The claims of Christmas are not just interesting historical facts, but the reality of God stepping into our lives.

May the Spirit of God make it fresh for us this evening to lead us all to respond and give glory to God as he has arrived to save his people.

Context v. 1-3

In the first three verses of Luke 2, we read that Caesar Augustus who's actually over the Roman Empire. He gives this decree that people need to be registered. The chaotic scene should strike us as everyone is traveling back to their hometowns in order to be registered for this Census. We think the airport is crowded around the holidays, imagine the roads of traffic and people returning home on foot.

Context v. 4-7

Verses four to seven explain to us what exactly was happening in the life of Mary and Joseph during this census. They travel the 70-some miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem because this is where he needed to go to be registered. This wasn’t a scenic hike, it was a grueling journey for a woman in her third trimester through rocky terrain as they make their way trying to find a vacant airBNB.

Now verse 4 keys us in on something pretty important to know about Joseph. He comes from the family line of David. Maybe you've heard of David. David and Goliath. He was the king of Israel. He was this powerful, great, mighty man, who the Bible tells us is a man after God's own heart. And there was a promise in the Bible in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 that tells us that there would be a son from the line of David who would be enthroned for all of eternity.

Now Mary’s pregnancy wasn’t from Joseph but from the Holy Spirit which we learn in Luke chapter 1. As they arrive in Bethlehem with no place to stay, she begins to go in labor. Verse 7 tells us what must have been one of the most frustrating, odd, yet beautiful things to happen in Mary and Joseph's life as they couldn’t find a place to go, but finally were able to at the inn and after wrapping him up, they lay him in the manger. The “inn” was likely a guestroom in a crowded family home. The manger was likely in the lower level of a house where the animals were kept for warmth. Jesus wasn’t just in a hotel overflow, he was in the middle of the mess of a common household.

I can’t imagine what that was like at all. Consider today how when families find out their pregnant they do everything they can to prepare for that first born kid. You do hours of research of trying to decide what the birth plan is. Which hospital to take them to. Attempting to create the most perfect birthing scene to bring about the arrival of the child. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m just trying to not pass out in the hospital as our kids are born. There is for sure no way I would have made it through giving birth in the inn with Joseph and Mary.

But this isn’t where the story stops - God is doing something miles away from them at the same time.

Context v. 8-10

Verses 8 to 10 kind of paint this picture for us that there's some shepherds who are working. They're keeping watch over their flock and an angel appears to them. He stands in front of them with a message from God. Can you imagine this angel glorious from God? The glory shines around him and you think this is a warrior from God.This is someone who you would be terrified of to see standing in the middle of the night while you're just trying to tend your sheep and your flock.

Here’s the wild thing about the first to receive this message, the shepherds. They are some of the most lowly people in their world. Shepherds were known for preying on lonely travelers; they were so distrusted that they were not considered a credible witness in a trial. But what God does is actually send the first messengers to proclaim the arrival of the Savior to those who are despised, outcasts, and looked down upon so that they would hear about and meet His Son and respond by praising God and telling everyone about him.

The first announcement of the Savior came to the least impressive people imaginable.

But the question for us to continue to ponder on is why this all matters. What is the significance of retelling this same story every year?

Why Christmas Matters

Verse 11 tells us the reason. It's a savior, a savior is born to redeem the world as we consider this. It calls him the Messiah, which means Christ. It's not his last name. Jesus. His last name isn't Christ. It's a title. It means the anointed one. It's the anointed one that God is called to come and to save us this promised his son who would come.

Matthew’s gospel account, which is the other birth narrative of Jesus coming, in chapter 1 it tells us why it matters that Jesus is coming. Luke tells us that Jesus is the Messiah, and that He is for all people. Everyone. Matthew 1 tells us that he's going to save us from our sin. Salvation has arrived the scriptures tell us that all people all of us have sinned. Sin on Christmas? Yes, because that is why Jesus came, to save us!

Christmas can bring out some of the most religious parts of our hearts and we don’t even know it. We get caught up in being good with God because we remember our good morals, were generous to people during this time of year, we make the check box of the church attendance because it’s were supposed to do in the midwest. But here’s what Jesus actually came to do to save us from our sin.

Jesus came for rebellious people but was killed by religious people. Your morality may keep you out of jail and in good relationship with people around you but it will take the blood of Jesus to keep you out of hell. Jesus was born into a cradle to eventually go on and take the cross. This bloody baby became a bloody crucified man. Friends, the first gift of Christmas didn’t go under the tree he climbed up on one to take the sins of those who would believe in him.

Shepherd Lamb Connection

I love how the significance of Jesus' birth is even hidden inside the narrative to display his purpose. Shepherds played a great role in the community, while hated, they would take care of and raise the lambs. And when it came time to make the sacrifices and offer up a spotless lamb, what shepherds would do is they would go through their flock, find one that was spotless and once they found it, they would do everything they could to keep it clean so that they could take it to the priest and offer it up as a sacrifice to be the payment for sin of the people.

What many would do to keep it clean and pure is that once they find the spotless lamb, they would find some cloth, wrap it up tightly to keep it clean and they would think, okay, can’t let it walk on the ground and risk its purification so they would place the lamb in guess what, a manger. And they would take this perfectly spotless lamb and bring it to be the perfect sacrifice for the payment of sin.

This is why we retell this story every year. It isn’t just a nice story, it’s a rescue mission! This is why the Christmas story doesn’t just become numb to us. But this Christmas story strikes us with awe, and should move our hearts to be completely changed and respond to the greatest gift that God would ever give, himself.

He came to save who? Like the text says all people. We tell this story every year to remember He came for you. Verse 11 literally says for you. He came for me He wanted Alex Leyva and sent His own Son to save you to be His son.

Application

How do we respond to the story and truth of Christmas? Here are the 3 responses that I believe we need to consider this evening.

First Look

Because Christ has come, Look at the Savior you need.

In verse 10 the angel says “don’t be afraid - look at the good news!” If you’ve never considered the gift of Jesus and truly given your life to him, not just intellectual knowledge or understanding, but really considered that God came for you not because you’re a good person, but God came for you because you desperately can’t be good enough on your own. If you’ve come because someone invited you or claimed Christianity because you grew up in a home with parents who told you about it, their faith isn’t what changes and transforms you to respond to this great news. But would you personally see the miracle that has happened as Jesus fully God, fully man, lived humbly among humanity to die for you. Would you look at Jesus and see that He came to save you and the only way to be saved and forgiven is for the gap between you and God to be bridged by Jesus. The Scriptures tell us if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Christ is Lord, you will be saved. I pray that this Christmas for you, would be the one that changes your eternity, purpose, and Christmas forever.

Second Prioritize

Because Christ has come, prioritize the Savior you worship.

We can respond by looking at the 3 characters in our story and have the same heart today as we come to remember the arrival, advent, of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin and eternal life that we have with him. The shepherds in verse 15 leave the inn, glorifying and praising God for what they have seen and heard. Would you create space in your heart, would you prepare Jesus room today, this week, prioritize worshipping Him and not the perfect dinner, fantasy of everyone being together and extremely happy with all the greatest presents they’ve received. But even in the random moments, give Christ room to be given glory, and to praise him with your family this season.

If you’re new here or just visiting for the holiday, I’d like to give the challenge to you. Would you prioritize worshipping Jesus this next year? Maybe go from this first time of being at a church gathering in years or if it’s your first time since Easter, there’s no judgement from us upon you. But I’d love to challenge you to prioritize Jesus this next year. Make the commitment to gather with God’s people and commit to making it a priority and God will grow you and your love for him as you spend more time worshipping him regularly. We’d love to see you regularly as we all look to worship Jesus and grow in our walk with him with one another. In the new year we’ll jump back into the gospel of Mark as Jesus now fully grown makes his entrance into Jerusalem for the final week of his life before his crucifixion.

Prioritizing Jesus is not just about forcing Jesus to the top of your list, but it’s responding to him when heaven breaks in and says “come and see!”

Third Treasure

Because Christ has come, treasure the Savior you proclaim.

Take time this Christmas to be like Mary and to treasure these things. Think of what it looks like to treasure something. People treasure and store up things all the time. When I was a kid I collected pokemon cards, now I treasure and collect fancy Bibles. Some people treasure up and store things like tooth paste from hotels.

But the thing about what we store up and treasure is that a treasure is meant to be looked at and shown. Treasuring in the Greek implies a careful preservation. We don’t just show the treasure, we let it change us from the inside out. What you treasure up is meant to be displayed.

Consider how the treasure of the gift of Jesus in our hearts and the salvation that we have as God has come to be with his people is what we can actually treasure up to display to the world. The angels couldn’t hold back their praise that it wasn’t just one that told the shepherds. When the first gave the message the whole host showed up to the party to praise God. The shepherds who have no credibility as witnesses were driven to be amazed and praise God so much that they went out into Bethlehem and further to tell everyone about what they just saw and heard. When you leave here, don’t just store up the story of the birth of Jesus, but display the joy of your salvation to a world that desperately needs it.

Conclusion

The angel tells us in v. 10 “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

This joy is for weary parents, for the doubters, for the moral religious, for the broken people. Christmas is a reminder of the Advent, the arrival of Jesus, God with us to save us from our sin. The shepherds could’t hold back and neither can we. May this old story continue to be fresh in our hearts to remember that Christ has come, so we give glory to God and praise him with people across the world together!