Sermon Tone Analysis

Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year­ where joy and thanksgiving abound as we spend time with family, friends, and colleagues.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”

A time when we send Merry Christmas Cards and share cheerful Christmas greetings.

Christmas is the time of year when we sing “Jingle Bells” AND “Joy to the World” and yet, it’s a well-documented fact that people struggle with depression and discouragement more during the holidays than any other time of the year.

One North American survey reported that 45% of all Americans dread the Christmas season because it’s another reminder of the death of a loved one, or a painful divorce, maybe the loss of a job, and unrealized dreams as one more year passes us bye.

So what can help us get through these Holiday Blues?

That’s what I want to talk to you about today and you can sum it up in one word . . .

HOPE!

Hope is an essential ingredient for an abundant life.

Because the Bible says that:

Dr Victor Frankl was a prisoner at Auschwitz Prison during the Holocaust… wrote Man’s search for meaning.

Listen to what he says about the power of Hope.

“The prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future was doomed.

With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay.”

Victor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning.

Hope is powerful force in the human heart.

Listen, there is hope.

I’m not talking about positive thinking.

I believe that true and lasting hope is a result of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So much more than a human baby was born on Christmas morning in that poor family in a stable 2019 years ago.

There was something different about Baby Jesus and when we discover that difference, we will be surprised by hope.

Four Qualities of the Savior

Quality 1: Jesus as my counselor reveals God’s love for me.

Being God, Jesus doesn’t need counselors or advisors.

He is omniscient.

So we know that whatever Jesus says is true.

Lit: Wonder of a Counselor… it refers to the impact created by supernatural act of God.

There has never been a more supernatural event than the God of the universe becoming a baby and becoming the Savior of the world.

That’s the greatest demonstration of love ever....

Jesus came into our world 2019 years ago as the embodiment of God’s love and paid the penalty for our sins and he offers Salvation to all who will take him up on it.

Jesus did not die so we could go to heaven, Jesus died so we can have a relationship with God.

Do you realize that the God of the universe… wants to be with you?

Because of Jesus and what he did for us, We are now friends with God.

God loves us so much that can’t even comprehend it.

When you embrace the love of God… live in it… allow yourself to be controlled by it - everything will change.

You will never be the same again.

Quality 2: Jesus as the mighty God is in control over everything.

The attribute that gives me comfort and hope is that Jesus is sovereign.

He is in control of everything in my life… the good, the bad and the ugly.

And that he is at work behind the scenes.

Jesus doesn’t cause the ugly things in our lives, but he uses them to strengthen our faith and develop our character.

There can’t be transformation without tribulation.

Peter says similar…

Peter is talking to Christians being persecuted by Nero.

He has the nerve to say that hope is coming… it’s not here yet, but it’s coming.

So live your life with eternity in mind.

God accomplishes His purposes through my problems.

He has a reason for them… he is in control and he is working to develop you.

Do you remember science class?

An atom is the fundamental piece of matter in creation.

It’s made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.

The Protons and Neutrons make up the Nucleus of the atom and the electrons fly around above the Nucleus in a small cloud.

Protons have a positive charge, but Neutrons don’t have any charge at all.

Positive charges repel each other… two magnets… so all these protons should not stay together.

If Neutrons had a negative charge, you would understand how they stay together, but Neutrons are neutral.

The Million dollar question is… what’s holding them together.

Why don’t they fly apart?

They don’t know

“...all the massive nuclei have no right to be alive at all.

Indeed, they should never have been created, and, if created, they should have blown up instantly.

Yet here they all are.…

Some inflexible inhibition is holding them relentlessly together.

The nature of the inhibition is also a secret… one thus far reserved by Nature for herself.”

Dr Karl Darrow

No it’s not.

You and I now exactly what holds everything together.

We know what holds a Nucleus together … the world together.

It’s Jesus!

It means what it looks like it means… Jesus is holding the Universe together.

Every atom should explode apart but they don’t because Jesus is holding them together but one day he is going to turn loose.

This won’t happen until Jesus lets go of the atom.

One commentary…

“Not only did Jesus create the universe, He also sustains it.

He maintains the delicate balance necessary to life’s existence.

He quite literally holds all things together.

He is the power behind every consistency in the universe.

He is gravity and centrifugal and centripetal force.

He is the One who keeps all the entities in space in their motion.

He is the energy of the universe.”

Listen, if Jesus is strong enough… big enough … to hold every atom… every molecule… the entire world together, don’t you think that He can take care of your current problem?

No matter what’s going in your life, there is HOPE because Jesus is not going to let go… He wont’ let you fall… He is literally holding your life together.

ILL - ever watch a beautiful sunset?

If God can do that… he can take care of me…

So you don’t have to worry… be afraid… of anything.

You can place your trust… confidence in Jesus because you know that He loves you more than you can imagine and because He is the mighty God who is holding everything together and he can take care of your stuff.

So many times when the bottom seems to fall out, people go, God must be mad at me… get that out of your mind.

God does not operate that way.

But God is right there with you and he cares for you!

When you believe he is the mighty God, you will be surprised by the hope that you will have.

Quality 3: Jesus as the everlasting Father keeps His promises

ILL - I used to laugh at parents when they would go to Toys R us before Christmas with their children.

Why would you do that?

The kids are asking for everything.

Whenever any parent ever says yes, the reply is almost always the same.... Do you promise?

NOTE - Don’t make promises you and not keep them.

Broken promises lead to broken hearts and no father wants to do that… God doesn’t either.

Jesus being fully God has all the divine attributes of the Father...

So when the Bible says…

You can believe it.

When the Bible says...