Experience the Nativity Story: The Love of God
Experience the Nativity Story
The Love of God
The Nativity Story…A Story of Love
1. The stable declares the love of God
Luke 2:4-7
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
(from New International Version)
2. The manger demonstrates the love of God
Luke 2:7
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
(from New International Version)
1 John 4:9-10
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
(from New Living Translation)
3. The love of God demands a response
Luke 2:20
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
(from New International Version)
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
(from New International Version)
Intro:
It’s Christmas Eve…
Guys, I’ve got one question for you: Do you have your shopping done?
You do know how important it is to get a gift for your wife!
Don’t fall for this trick…”Oh, honey you don’t have to get me anything this year.”
What that means is: Show me how much you really love me.
Have you ever given your wife such a nice gift that it was hard to top it in the following years?
That happened to me a few years ago.
You see, my wife never had an engagement ring.
Where I come from we just said, “Hey Baby, let’s get hitched!”
This was never a problem until our daughters started asking a bunch of questions like: How did you propose and why doesn’t Mom have a diamond ring.
This may surprise you…but I don’t know anything about diamonds.
So I started collecting ads from the paper…pricing and comparing diamonds.
I decided I better ask someone who has a bunch of diamonds for advice…so I pulled Laura Martin aside and showed her my ad collection.
I am sure she thought, “Poor Lisa!”
She gave me a couple of names of stores and told me to take one of my daughters with me…since they would know what to get.
So Amy and I went shopping...and long story short: I bought a beautiful past, present and future diamond ring!
Why?
Because I wanted to show her I love her.
She cried…and I felt great inside knowing that this gift meant so much to her!
I will never be able to top that gift unless I bring home something with four legs and fur!!
You see, that diamond ring was as close-to-a perfect gift that I could give her…because it conveyed my deep love and appreciation for Lisa in an extravagant way!!
The most extravagant and perfect love gift ever given was the gift God gave at Christmas – the gift of His Son.
To help us appreciate that gift, think for a moment of the Nativity scenes you have probably seen all around at Christmas.
They usually feature shepherds and Wise Men and perhaps a few barnyard animals.
But at the center of the scene we always see Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus lying in a manger.
I’d like to use that scene to talk about the greatest love story of all…God’s love for us.
As we consider the Nativity scene in Luke ch. 2 we see 3 parts to this love story.
Part one is focused on the Stable.
1. The Stable Declares the Love of God
In Luke 2:4-7 we read these familiar words:
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
(from New International Version)
We’ve read the Christmas story many times.
Sometimes we think of the setting as romantic and quaint!
But I can assure you the stable that Jesus was born in was anything but quaint.
It was just like other stables…crowded with smelly animals…dark, damp and rodent infested.
While Luke 2:7 doesn’t say anything about a stable—it does say,
“(Mary) placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Whenever there is a manger, there are animals and that means some kind of barn.
But instead of the wooden hut that we often picture---the barn was more likely a shallow limestone cave.
Farmers herded their animals into these caves and put barriers across the openings.
If you visit Bethlehem and go down to where tradition says Jesus was born---you’ll find yourself looking into a shallow cave.
A huge ornate Church has been built over the shallow cave…but you can still go out into the shepherd’s fields around Bethlehem and find dozens of examples of these caves.
They are still used to keep animals sheltered.
The question that we need to think about is: Why was Jesus born in what we call a barn?
A barn crowded with smelly animals, cark, damp and rodent infested?
If God was really in control, wouldn’t you think He would have arranged for Jesus to be born in a Palace?
Bill Hybels writes,
“From day one, God the Father determined not to shelter His Son from the rude, crude realities of life on planet earth.”
Why?
Because the stable is a permanent symbol of the fact that God sent Jesus to live in the real world…where there are difficulties and disappointments, hurts and heartaches, ridicule and rejection!
In the cartoon “Peanuts” Lucy putws up her little sign:
“Psychiatric help -- 5 cents.”
As usual Charlie Brown becomes her target.
She says to him:
“Charlie Brown, sometimes I feel we are not communicating.
You, Charlie Brown, are a foul ball in the line drive of life.
You’re often in the shadow of your goalpost.
You’re a miscue…
You’re 3 putts on the 18th green.
You’re a seven-ten split in the 10th frame.
You’re a dropped rod and reel in the lake of life.
You’re a shanked 9 iron!
You’re a called 3rd strike!
You’re a bug on the windshield of life!
Do you understand? Do I make myself clear?
Have you ever felt like Charlie Brown—like the whole world is against you?
Jesus was born in a barn so he could relate to us.
The mesage of the stable is:
As bad as your life may be, you can identify with Jesus.
He understands—He has been there.
A life without advantage?
He lived it!
A life of poverty?
He’s been there!
A target of discrimination and oppression?
Jesus was a refugee before His 1st birthday!
Have you ever been rejected?
He experienced it!
Ridiculed?
It was part of His daily life!
Abandonment?
By life long friends in His greatest time of need!
Death of loved ones?
Multiple times!
Physical pain?
More than you or I will ever experience!
Has some experience in our life driven you to within an inch of your breaking point?
Has some experience hurt you so deeply that you’ve wanted to cry out: “I can’t go on because nobody understands?”
If so…look at the stable…be reminded that Jesus understands…He’s been there.
He can identify with what you’re going through…and you matter to Him!!
Can you see how important the stable is?
It symbolizes the unsheltered life of Jesus.
It stands as a monument to His ability to identify and sympathize with whatever you are going through.
It is an undying declaration of His love for you!
He loves you no matter who you are or where you have been!!
1. The Stable Declares the Love of God!!!
2. The Manger Demonstrates the Love of God
Again look at Luke 2:7…
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
(from New International Version)
Because of the Christmas story…some people think a manger is a nice little bassinet with a soft bottom and frilly ribbons.
Not so…a manger was nothing but a common feed trough for cattle and other livestock.
It was a crudely constructed piece of barn furniture.
In Nativity scenes the manger often appears as a little box that looks inviting and warm…a good place to lay a baby.
Instead, it was probably long, narrow, and smelly from sloppy animals that had eaten out of it.
Think about it?
God humbled himself…by coming into this world as a baby in a dirty filthy manger…
Before the birth of Christ, no royalty would ever show their humility.
That would be too human, too common.
Kings have parades & entourages to draw the focus toward them.
When Queen Elizabeth last visited America, she brought with her the following items
• 4000 pounds of luggage – 4 outfits for everyday she was in America
• 40 pints of plasma
• Her own hairdresser
• Two valets
• An official photographer
• Two personal secretaries
In meek contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in an animal stable, no attendants were present, there was no place for the baby to lay down except in a feeding trough known as a manger.
In fact, the event, which divided history and our calendars, went by unnoticed except for a few shepherds who came by for a visit.
Think of it: Jesus had always lived in a perfect environment surrounded by perfect love and absolute purity.
He had always lived in total freedom with no restrictions or restraints upon Him.
He had always been all-powerful.
But now He limited Himself to the body of a vulnerable infant boy born in a dirty stable.
He did it because He loves you! And me!
Here’s how the Bible describes it in Phil 2:5-8:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!
(from New International Version)
In summary, what these verses teach is:
He was, and remained, true God. (2:6a)
(Nevertheless. . . )
He chose not to selfishly grasp His privileges as God. (6b)
He chose instead to divest Himself of His rights: (7a)
- He relinquished His dignity (but not His deity)
- He swaddled His glory (hiding it inside His humanity)
- He surrendered His riches (living as a poor carpenter)
- He restrained His power
He became fully human: (2:7b-8a)
He humbled Himself (2:8b)
- Even to the point of dying a despicable death.
Rich Mullins described this incredible truth with these words:
"On that night in Bethlehem, God breathed our air for the first time."
Why did He do it?
1 John 4:9-10 says…
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
(from New Living Translation)
There is an amazing truth here: God initiated the relationship with us!
That is the exact opposite of what religion teaches!
Religion starts with the assumption that we must initiate the relationship with God.
Religion tells me that I must improve myself until I have earned the love of God.
But the opposite is true!
Think through these two statements carefully:
· God loves you and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more.
· God loves you and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less.
You cannot persuade God to love you more because His love is absolute.
And although God hates sin, His love for us sinners is so absolute that He sent his one and only Son to die for us while we were yet sinners.
God loves us…and He demonstrated it once and for all.
God in the manger…I did this for you!!!
Max Lucado tells the story of Billy Joel giving his daughter…an unusual and unforgettable gift.
On her 12th birthday she was in New York City, and the pop musician was in Los Angeles.
He phoned her that morning, apologizing for his absence, but told her to expect the delivery of a large package before the end of the day.
The daughter answered the doorbell that evening to find a seven-foot-tall, brightly wrapped box.
She tore it open, and out stepped her father, fresh off the plane from the West Coast.
Can you imagine her surprise?
Why did Billy Joel go to all that trouble?
He wanted to demonstrate to his daughter his love for her.
His gift was himself…in the flesh!!!
Your gift came in the flesh too…from God…when Jesus Christ came to this earth.
The Nativity Story does a great job of capturing this… (show Video clip)
How do you respond to the love of God?
That brings us to the third part of the Nativity Story:
3. The Love of God Demands a Response
Luke 2:16 records the fact that someone else was part of the Nativity Story that first Christmas…the Shepherds.
Luke 2:16 tells what happened after the Angel of the Lord told the shepherds about the birth of Christ…
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Luke 2:16 NIV
What is interesting is Shepherds were part of the Nativity story considering they were outcasts in Israel…
Their reputation was lowly at best, and religious people snubbed and ignored them.
They were despised because they were unable to attend services and to keep the ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing.
They were alienated from people and from God.
But God’s message from the example of the shepherds is:
God meets us where we are.
There is no place we can go where God won’t find us…even out in a dark lonely field.
Some of you think you are so far gone, God doesn’t even know your zip code.
You feel somehow that God might be able to work in other people’s lives…but He couldn’t possibly draw close to you.
Let me set your heart at ease…God loves you and He knows your address.
God’s message found the Shepherds out in a lonely field and it will find us today if we will listen.
What is the message?
Luke 2:10-11
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:10-12 (NIV)
You don’t have to be afraid…you don’t have to be alienated anymore… because Jesus is Savior and Lord!
The Shepherds found Jesus that day…by responding to the message
And once they found Him Luke 2:20…
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
(from New International Version)
They went back to their fields different men!!!
You see, when we find Jesus everything changes!!
There are no strangers, no outcasts, no orphans when it comes to God.
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on Biblical principles) in the public schools.
They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage.
As it neared the holiday season, the orphans heard the traditional Christmas story for the first time.
The Americans told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem and after finding no room in the inn, Mary and Joseph went to a stable, where Jesus was born and placed in the manger.
Throughout the story, the children listened in amazement.
Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
As a follow-up activity to the story, each child was given three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manager.
Each child was also given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins that the children tore into strips, and then carefully laid in the manger for straw.
Small squares of flannel from a discarded nightgown were used for the baby’s blanket.
Pieces of tan felt were used for the doll-like baby.
As they made their way around the room to observe the children, one of the Americans noted,
“All went well until I got to one table where 6-year-old Misha sat. He appeared to have finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see, not one, but two, babies in the manger!
Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger.”
The observer goes on to note that Misha very accurately recalled the story that had been told until he came to the part where Mary put Jesus in the manger.
“Misha then started to ad lib his own ending,” recalls the observer.
“And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.
I told him I have no momma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him.
But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did.
I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift.
So I asked Jesus, if I kept Him warm, would that be a good enough gift?
And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’
So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him – for always!”
As Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks.
Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon or abuse him, someone who would stay with him – for always!
You see, this little boy along with the Shepherds teach us: there are no strangers, no outcasts, no orphans when it comes to God.
Let that message sink in as you listen to this song…
[ Insert Orphans of God…Song]
The Nativity Story is a love story…and you are in the story!!!
Jesus came to earth for you…Jesus died on the cross for you
John 3:16 says…
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
(from New International Version)
Tomorrow you’re going to open up a bunch of gifts.
And as great as those gifts will be…they won’t be able to compare to God’s gift…
God has a wonderful, perfect gift for you…nothing can match… God gave his one and only Son
God's gift is personal. It is made for you…for God so loved the world…that includes you.
God's gift is priceless.
Jesus Christ paid for it with His life…God gave his one and only Son…to come to this earth and die on a cross for our sins.
That’s how much it cost to pay for this gift.
God's gift is permanent. It will last forever throughout eternity… whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Where are you going to get a gift like that?
Nowhere, except from God.
If I told you that I have a gift for you and that gift will…
· solve all your biggest problems,
· heal all your deepest hurts,
· forgive every single mistake you’ve ever made,
· help you understand the purpose you were put on earth for,
· make you a better person,
· fill your life with confidence and joy and peace and eternally secure your future in heaven…
…Would you be interested in a gift like that?
I guess so!
So let me ask you a very personal question.
How many more Christmases are you going to go through before you finally accept God's gift to you?
You celebrate this event year after year after year without unwrapping the biggest gift under the tree… …God's gift to you – the whole purpose of this.
How many more?
An unopened wonderful gift is a worthless gift.
Today, now, this time, don’t let another Christmas go by without accepting and unwrapping God's gift to you.
The Love of God Demands a Response
What is your response?
Will you accept Jesus today?
What does that mean? What does it mean to accept Jesus as Lord of your life? ABC
A – I admit that He is God…and I have sinned
B – I believe that He loves me, that He’s in control and He can take even the bad things in my life and turn them around and bring good out of them because He’s calling the shots.
C – I commit the rest of my life to following His plan for my life, the purpose I was created for in the first place. I commit to that.
Let me clarify this. We’re not talking about a religion.
You may have a religious background or you may not have a religious background.
You may be Catholic or Protestant or Jewish or Buddhist or Baptist or I don’t know what.
We’re not talking about that.
We’re talking about a relationship with God that you were designed to have.
And you can begin that today…
This is your moment to accept God's Christmas gift to you…I’m going to say a prayer and if it kind of expresses the desire of your heart why don’t you follow in…Say, “Yes, God, me too.”
Dear God, I don’t want to let another Christmas pass without accepting Your gift to me.
Thank You for coming to earth so I could know what You’re like. I am amazed that You would want a relationship with me.
I want to get to know You. I want to learn to trust You.
Please help me to know the purpose that You put me on earth for.
I know I’ve done a lot of things wrong and I’m especially grateful for Your forgiveness and Your gift of eternal life.
From this day forward I want to be under new management. I want You to be the Lord of my life. Amen.
Concl:
We can come to Him and find love and life!!
I’m embarrassed to admit this but this week, as I was cleaning out one of my drawers of my desk I found a Christmas gift unopened from a year ago. Inside was a gift certificate, given to me last Christmas. It said, “A gift for Rick Warren. This certificate entitles the bearer to the wonderful experience of a one hour therapeutic massage.” That is a wonderful gift! I can’t count the number of times I could have used that gift when I was tired, when I was stressed out, when a good massage would have been really great. I could have used it. But it was unopened. I was hoping this hadn’t expired. I hope I can get at least a pedicure or something. A wonderful gift unopened is a worthless gift.
God has a wonderful gift for you. The Bible says, “We were restored to friendship with God by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies and we will be delivered from eternal punishment by His life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.” Circle “wonderful”. This is the most wonderful gift you will ever be given. Nothing even compares to it.
Tomorrow you’re going to open up a bunch of gifts. Some of those gifts are going to be impersonal, some of them are going to be impractical, you really can’t use them, some of them are going to be temporary – they’re going to wear out or break before the day is over. Some of them are going to flat out be cheap.
None of those adjectives apply to God's gift to you.
In the first place God's gift is personal. It is custom made to you. “Unto you is born a Savior,” the angel said. It is personal.
It is practical. This is the most practical gift you’ll ever get. You need this gift that God has to offer you. It’s very practical.
It is priceless. Jesus Christ paid for it with His life. That’s how much it cost to pay for this gift.
It is permanent. It will last forever throughout eternity.
Where are you going to get a gift like that? Nowhere, except from God. If I told you that I have a gift for you and that gift will solve all your biggest problems, heal all your deepest hurts, forgive every single mistake you’ve ever made, help you understand the purpose you were put on earth for, make you a better person, fill your life with confidence and joy and peace and eternally secure your future in heaven would you be interested in a gift like that? I guess so!
So let me ask you a very personal question. How many more Christmases are you going to go
through before you finally accept God's gift to you? You celebrate this event year after year after year without unwrapping the biggest gift under the tree – God's gift to you – the whole purpose of this. How many more? An unopened wonderful gift is a worthless gift. Today, now, this time, don’t let another Christmas go by without accepting and unwrapping God's gift to you.
If God loves you this much you’ve got to know this God. If God has a plan and purpose for your life, you’d better figure out what it is. If He wants a relationship with you, you sure should want a relationship with Him. The Bible says this in Psalm 70:4 “Let those who love Your salvation exclaim, What a wonderful God He is!” God has a wonderful gift for you because He is a wonderful God.
When you fully understand how wonderful this gift is, how incredible, how magnificent, how marvelous, how mind blowing God's gift of love through His Son Christ is to you. When you really understand that there is only one logical, rational, sane response.
Accept it.
To reject that kind of love would be madness. A God who loves you that much, to reject it and walk out and say, “So what?” would be madness.
How do you do that? How do you learn to love God? How do you learn to trust Him? The Bible says this “If you will say with your mouth Jesus is my Lord and you will believe in your heart that God raised Him back from death(after the cross He died but He was God so He came back to life. Proved it). you will be saved.”
You say, “Jesus is my Lord”. What does that mean? What does it mean to make Jesus the Lord of your life? ABC
A – I admit that He is God.
B – I believe that He loves me, that He’s in control and He can take even the bad things in my life and turn them around and bring good out of them because He’s calling the shots.
C – I commit the rest of my life to following His plan for my life, the purpose I was created for in the first place. I commit to that.
See Rick Warren’s sermon…love
I know you’ve probably seen the bumper stickers or lapel pins at Christmas time that say “Jesus is the reason for the season” that is true – Jesus is the reason for the season.
Christmas is not about a Santa. It’s about a Savior.
It’s not about jingle bells. It’s about Jesus.
That’s why we celebrate this.
But let me teach you a deeper truth than that.
Yes, Christmas is about Jesus. He is the reason for the season but let me tell you something even deeper.
You are the reason for the season.
If God hadn’t known that you needed Him to come to earth and die for you He wouldn’t have done it.
If you didn’t need what Jesus Christ had to offer He wouldn’t have wasted the effort.
You are the reason for the season.
You are the reason we celebrate Christmas.
It’s God's Christmas gift to you.
The relevance of Christmas is this: God came to earth as a human being.
But the reason for Christmas is this: He came for your benefit.
What is the result? What is the result of Christmas?
III. YOU CAN KNOW GOD.
You can know God personally. You can have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe. God knows everything about you. He wants you to know about Him. He wants you to be His friend. He wants to be your friend. In fact, that is the reason you were created. The reason you were put on this earth is to have a relationship with God. That’s why God made you.
If you miss that you’ve just blown your whole life.
You’ve just missed the whole reason you were created by God in the first place – to get to know God on a personal basis.
That is the gift of Christmas. He says, “I want you to know Me like I know you.”
But you have to receive the gift if it’s going to make any difference in your life.
Lee Strobel Impressed by Impoverished Family's Example
Concl
CONCLUSION
There is a story that comes out of the Vietnam War that reminds me of the love of God. A Vietnamese orphanage had been struck by artillery rounds and a small girl lay bleeding from shrapnel wounds. When American medics arrived on the scene they realized that she needed a blood transfusion as quickly as possible. They were somehow able to find an orphan boy who had the same blood type as the girl. Despite the fact that they could not speak Vietnamese, the medics were able to communicate to the boy that they needed to transfer some of his blood to the little girl.
They laid the boy on a mat and the medics were soon beginning to draw blood from his arm. The little guy lay as stiff as a board and after a moment his body began to shake and tears came streaming down his face. Just then a Vietnamese nurse arrived and the medics, thinking they were hurting the boy, asked her to find out what was wrong.
The nurse talked quietly to him and, with eyes wide she told them, “He thinks you’re going to take all of his blood and put it into the girl.” “Does he understand that if we did that he would die?” they asked. “Yes,” she said. “”But why would he be willing to do that?” they asked.
The nurse once again spoke to the boy and turning back with tears in her eyes she reported, “He said, ‘Because she’s my friend.’”
Jesus said,
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus became our blood brother and laid down His life that we might live forever.
Jesus has loved you from the moment you were conceived. (Psalm 139)
Jesus loved you on the cross.
Jesus loves you now!
Please believe in Him so that He may give you the most perfect gift of all – the gift of eternal life.
The Nativity Story
Film Clip Scene 158-161
Mary & Joseph after the birth of Jesus
Experience the Nativity Story
The Love of the God
The Nativity Story…A Story of Love
See Hybels message
See previous message
· Jn 3:16/best gift
· R Waren
· Symbols of the stable
The Story Behind the Scenery
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4-7)
12/22/2002
What can we learn from the first nativity scene?
1. The Lesson of the Stable
“From day one, God the Father determined not to shelter His Son from the rude, crude realities of life on planet earth.”
~Bill Hybels
· As bad as your life may be, you can identify with Jesus.
2. The Lesson of the Manger
· God’s presence changes the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Illustrations:
Incarnation
"On that night in Bethlehem, God breathed our air for the first time." - Rich Mullins, An Arrow Pointing Toward Heaven (Broadman & Holman, 2000)
ILLUSTRATION
Billy Joel Illustrated the Incarnation Send to printer
Topics: Birth, of Christ; Birthdays; Christ, birth of; Christ, incarnation of; Christmas; Expectations; Giving; Incarnation
Filters: Christian Culture, Famous People, Stories
References: 1 Timothy 3:16, Galatians 4:4, Philippians 2:7, 3 John 1:14, 1 John 1:1, Matthew 1:20-23, Luke 1:30-35
Tone: Commend
Max Lucado compares our relationship with Christ with a gift Billy Joel gave his daughter.
On her 12th birthday she was in New York City, and the pop musician was in Los Angeles. He phoned her that morning, apologizing for his absence, but told her to expect the delivery of a large package before the end of the day. The daughter answered the doorbell that evening to find a seven-foot-tall, brightly wrapped box. She tore it open, and out stepped her father, fresh off the plane from the West Coast. Can you imagine her surprise?
Perhaps you can. Your gift came in the flesh too.
Max Lucado, Next Door Savior (W Publishing Group, 2003), p. 113; submitted by Marti Pieper, Charleston, South Carolina
ILLUSTRATION
Son Slow to Recognize the Real Gift-giver Send to printer
Topics: Acknowledging God; Giving; God, goodness of; Gratitude; Help from God; Thankfulness
Filters: Christian Culture, Stories, Youth & Children
References: 2 Corinthians 9:15, James 1:17, Ephesians 1:3
Tone: Neutral/Mixed
To illustrate how we often fail to give God the thanks he deserves, Chuck Swindoll told the following story of a man he visited in a dismal veterans hospital:
The day I arrived to visit, I saw a touching scene. This man had a young son, and during his confinement in the hospital, he had made a little wooden truck for his boy. Since the boy was not allowed to go into the ward and visit his father, an orderly had brought the gift down to the child, who was waiting in front of the hospital with his mother. The father was looking out of a fifth-floor window, watching his son unwrap the gift.
The little boy opened the package, and his eyes got wide when he saw that wonderful little truck. He hugged it to his chest.
Meanwhile, the father was walking back and forth waving his arms behind the windowpane, trying to get his son's attention.
The little boy put the truck down and reached up and hugged the orderly and thanked him for the truck. And all the while the frustrated father was going through these dramatic gestures, trying to say, “It's me, son. I made the truck for you. I gave that to you. Look up here!” I could almost read his lips.
Finally the mother and the orderly turned the boy's attention up to that fifth-floor window. It was then the boy cried, “Daddy! Oh, thank you! I miss you, Daddy! Come home, Daddy. Thank you for my truck.”
And the father stood in the window with tears pouring down his cheeks.
How much like that child we are.
Chuck Swindoll, Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility (Word, 2000); submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky
Love
"God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him." - Rick Warren
Love
Husband Sends a $17,000 Apology
Topics: Christ, cross of; Christ, love of; Communication; Cost; Forgiveness; Forgiveness, Human; God, love of; Husbands; Marriage; Reconciliation; Relationships; Wives
Filters: Marriage & Sex, Pop Culture, Stories
References: Romans 5:8, Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:16, Hebrews 1:1-2, Romans 8:31-32
Tone: Neutral/Mixed
After 17 years of marriage, Marianne finally left Larry. "It was a culmination of things," said Larry. "But I am desperately trying to save our marriage."
Marianne left their home in Orlando, Florida, and went to her parents' home in Jacksonville. She changed her cell phone number so he couldn't reach her. Her parents blocked him from entering their gated community, so he sent her five-dozen roses. His goal was to ask forgiveness, to plead for the chance for the two of them to work on their relationship.
When none of those actions brought any response from his estranged wife, Larry took out a full-page ad in the Florida Times-Union on January 25, 2005. The ad read: "I can only hope you will give me the chance to prove my unending love for you. Life without you is empty and meaningless."
The cost of a full-page ad meant that Larry sent Marianne a $17,000 apology. A relative told Larry that his wife had seen the ad. "She said my wife read the ad and started crying," he said. "But so far I've had no response from her."
When it comes to our relationship with God, we've all sinned, and it's broken our relationship with him. No amount of money, no extravagant effort can right that. But what if God chose to offer us forgiveness anyway? According to the Bible, he has.
Rubel Shelly, Nashville, Tennessee; source: "Man Begs Wife's Forgiveness in $17,000 Ad," CNN.com, (1-26-05)
Suffering Boy Given an Extravagant Gift
Topics: Caring; Christ, substitute for humanity; Compassion; Disease; Generosity; Giving; God, Grace of; God, love of; Grace, of God; Grace, salvation by; Gratitude; Human limitations; Salvation, gift of
Filters: Christian Culture, Stories, Youth & Children
References: Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 9:15
Tone: Commend
In his book Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them, John Ortberg tells of a young man named John Gilbert. At age five, John was diagnosed with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic, progressive, debilitating disease. At age 25, the disease finally claimed John's life.
Every year John lost something. One year, he lost the ability to run, so he couldn't play sports with the other kids. Another year he could no longer walk straight, so all he could do was watch others play. He lost the ability to do all the outward things that we think of that make us human. Eventually, he even lost the ability to speak….
John Gilbert suffered far more than what most of us can imagine during those years. Groups of students humiliated him because of his condition and because he had to bring a trained dog to school to help him. A bully used to torture him in the lunchroom where there were no supervising teachers. No one ever stood up for him; maybe they were afraid for themselves; who knows?
"What a silly species we are," John writes. "We all need to feel accepted ourselves, but we constantly reject others."
But John had other moments in his life, too. Once he was invited to a National Football League fundraising auction. When it began, one item in particular caught John's eye: a basketball signed by the players of the Sacramento Kings professional team. John so desperately wanted that ball that when it came up for bid, he felt his hand raise up in the air. Not having the funds to participate, John's mother quickly brought it back down.
They watched the bidding go up and up and up. It rose to an astounding amount compared to the value of the ball and especially compared to other items at the auction. Finally, a man made a bid that no one else could possibly match, and he won the prize.
The man walked to the front and claimed the basketball. But instead of going back to his seat, the man walked across the room and gently placed it into the thin, small hands of the boy who had desired it so strongly. The man put that ball into hands that would never dribble a ball down a court, never throw it to a teammate, never fire it from the foul line. But those hands would cherish it for as long as they lived.
"It took me a moment to realize what the man had done," John writes. "I remember hearing gasps all around the room, then thunderous applause and weeping eyes. To this day I'm amazed…Have you ever been given a gift that you could have never gotten for yourself? Has anyone ever sacrificed a huge amount for you without getting anything in return…except the joy of giving?"
John Ortberg, Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them (Zondervan, 2003), p. 197; submitted by Gino Grunberg, Gig Harbor, Wa
Not your normal baby!
'Giant' 17-pound baby born in Brazil
A woman in Brazil gave birth in January of 2005 to a boy that doctors nicknamed "giant baby." The infant weighed 17 pounds, about the average size of a six-month-old. He was delivered by Caesarean section.
The boy's 38-year-old mother is diabetic, a condition which can commonly cause women to give birth to larger babies. The boy is named Ademilton dos Santos.
The boy's father and four sibilings were reportedly surprised at the news.
He is the heaviest baby ever born in Brazil, according to Brazilian medical officials.
picture & story courtesy msnbc.news.com, 01/24/05
Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:1-7
For to Us a Child Is Born
9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (ESV)
When I read the story about this baby weighing 17 pounds at birth, my mouth just dropped! But when I showed this story to my dear wife, who has given birth to three babies, she about fell on the floor! Guys, we will never fully appreciate what women go through to bring little babies or really big ones into this world! No wonder this baby, perhaps one of the biggest ever, made international news!
This got me thinking more about God's Christmas baby. We don't know if Jesus was big or little at birth, or if He had much hair, or if He kept Mary and Joseph up at night. But the news of Christ's birth spread quickly when He was born and it is still making news today....constantly!
In fact, the prophet Isaiah put Jesus in the news long before our Savior was born! Isaiah foretold the "good news" about the coming Messiah, the Christmas child. Jesus is still making the news today because He is the "good news" and has lived up to His name(s)!
How can today's God's Story scripture impact us? Think about how each of the following names for Jesus with their (translated definitions) make the "Good News" real in your own life?
"Immanuel" - (God with us)
"Wonderful Counselor" - (infinite wisdom)
"Mighty God" - (champion in battle)
"Everlasting Father" - (perpetual, compassionate provider)
"Prince of Peace" - (His coming peace)
If you know Jesus as your personal Savior, you have a personal relationship with the One Who has been given the "name above all names". Let the truth of the meaning of Christ's names make news in your life every day!
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Go back and read the meanings of Christ's names out loud. As you do, ask Jesus to apply this in your own life. Thank God that you can live in Christ's presence, receive His wisdom to guide you and His power to win spiritual battles. Thank Him for His "daddy-like" protection and provisions, plus His promise of eternal peace for you and everyone who belongs to Him.
- keep these names of Jesus from Isaiah in mind as you pray during these holidays.
- memorize today's scripture as a reminder of Who Jesus is in your life.
- as you watch or listen to the media, notice the news (both positive and negative) about Jesus. Let it remind you that some day, "at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"!
How can we connect today's story, God's Story and our story to others?
Ask those in your storysphere if they can guess the size of the biggest baby ever born in Brazil, or maybe in the world? Share what you learned about the meaning behind the "names" of the baby making the biggest news ever. Ask your friend or family member about a need or challenge in his or her life. Encourge him or her with the truth of how the "baby" named Jesus can meet that need.
INTRODUCTION
Pastor: Choose an introduction that illustrates from your life the fact
that we seek out gifts that say “I love you.”
Shopping for a Christmas gift for my wife is an experience that fills me with a tremendous amount anxiety because I want to find a gift that says “I love you” as meaningfully as possible. It usually takes days and days of seeking as the panic grows inside me that I won’t find it in time.
But one happy year I found the perfect gift on my very first day out shopping. It was a crystal chandelier that fit our new home and matched my wife’s taste in decorating. I was so excited I almost gave it to her before Christmas. The only thing that restrained me was the realization that if I did I would have to go out and search for another gift for her to open on Christmas morning.
That chandelier now brings us lots of pleasure as the crystals capture the sunlight, refract it and send colorful splashes of light all around our dining room and living room. I am still pleased with myself that I found the perfect gift!
The Real Value of the Gift
An African boy listened carefully as his teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day. "The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other," she said.
When Christmas day came, the boy brought the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty. "Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?" the teacher asked.
The youth told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found. When he named the place, a certain bay several miles away, the teacher was left speechless. "Why ... why, it’s gorgeous ... wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get the gift for me."
His eyes brightening, the boy answered, "Long walk part of gift."
God came from heaven to a manger, from a manger to a cross, from a cross to the grave and from a grave back to heaven. And we ask, "Why all this trouble, God?"
And God would say to us, "Long walk part of gift."
SOURCE: Sharon Jaynes, Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas
Contributed by: Dana Chau
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