Miraculous belief 12/21

A few Christmas miracles

Summary: This Christmas sermon deals with the miracles associated with the Christmas Story.

Three Miracles of Christmas

[26] Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,[27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.[28] And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

[27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

[28] And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

[29] But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. [30] Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

[30] Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

[31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

[32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. [33] And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." [34] Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

[33] And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

[34] Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

[35] And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.[36] age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.[37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

[36] Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

[37] For with God nothing will be impossible."

[38] Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

I have heard many say, “I hate Christmas!”

He said that because he didn’t like

waiting to get his Christmas presents.

As a child, I loved Christmas and I still do.

I love to hear the Christmas Carols like Silent Night,

O Holy Night, Away In A Manger and many others.

I love the Christmas Lights Displays.

However, Christmas took on a new meaning this year.

since the death of my wife Pat.

A miracle birth in our family

and decorating my house with all the stuff we used to use though.

Some might think I’m an Old Scrooge or the Grinch.

Not so!

that they run on the Hallmark Channel.

I’ve lost count of how many Christmas movies they have.

All of those movies include beautiful Christmas lights scenes.

There’s always lots of snow on the ground and snow in the air.

Watching those movies helps me get in the Christmas spirit.

This year, they call those movies “The Miracles of Christmas”.

Just about every one of those movies

features someone who needs a miracle in his or her life..

Sometimes it’s a young widow or a young widower

who meets someone, falls in love, and gets married.

Sometimes it’s a person with a serious health problem

who experiences a miraculous healing at Christmas.

Other times, it’s a person with financial problems.

Each featured person in those movies experiences a miracle.

They say, “Christmas is a time for miracles”.

Think about that for a moment.

The Christmas Story is a story of miracles.

Let’s find out just what is a Miracle?

Is it a last second basket that wins a basketball game?

Is it a long pass with seconds left that wins a football game?

NO!

A miracle is an event not explainable by natural or scientific laws.

Webster’s Dictionary defines it this way: An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.

The Christmas story is loaded with miracles!

Point #1. The First Miracle Is The Virgin Birth.

[26] Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

Mary was a young Jewish girl living in Nazareth.

She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph.

Jewish girls were expected to be virgins before marriage.

If they got pregnant before marriage,

it was a disgrace to the whole family.

If a Jewish man married a girl and discovered on the wedding night

that she wasn’t a virgin, he could get a divorce.

So Mary was definitely a virgin!

Let’s read further in Luke chapter 1.

28] And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" [29] But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. [30] Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

Mary experienced a miracle

when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her,

and she conceived a baby through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That hadn’t happened to anyone before

and hasn’t happened again since.

It was a miracle made for Mary.

Her miracle was one of many Christmas miracles

that remind us that “nothing is impossible with God!”

When it comes to Christianity,

the virgin birth is an essential aspect of our beliefs.

If Jesus came into this world the same way you and I did,

then He was born with original sin like you and I are.

If He was born with original sin as we are,

then He was not qualified to be the sinless sacrifice for sins.

The miracle of the virgin birth has made our salvation possible!

Hundreds of years before Mary became pregnant

said: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Joseph knew it was an immaculate conception.

According to Jewish law he could have had Mary stoned.

He certainly could have called the marriage was off.

He didn’t choose either of those options

because he was convinced what Mary and an angel told him

were the truth.

The Holy Spirit had implanted baby Jesus inside Mary’s womb.

What a Christmas miracle!

Point #2. Another Christmas Miracle Was The Christmas Star.

[1]Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, [2] saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

Led by an unusual star, the Wisemen found the Christ-child.

There are many theories about that star.

Some speculate that it was a supernova

which is an exploding star that lasts for several months.

It is very bright and distinct from all of the other stars in the sky.

If it had been a supernova, everyone would have noticed it.

Herod didn’t see it because he asked the Magi in

when the star had appeared in the sky.

The star wasn’t a comet because comets don’t stand still.

tells us the star was stationary over the house

where Jesus could be found.

Some scholars believe the star was probably a “conjunction”

when planets come together to create an amazing light in the sky.

However, a conjunction of planets

Could not go ahead of the Wisemen,

leading them from Persia to Jerusalem.

A careful reading of the text

says the star then went ahead of the wisemen

and suddenly stopped over the place where Jesus was.

By that time, that star wasn’t high up in the sky.

It was hovering lower to the earth’s surface

to distinctly mark the whereabouts of Jesus.

God used the miracle of the star to lead the Wisemen to Jesus.

What a Christmas miracle!

Point #3. Another Christmas Miracle Was The Appearance of Angels.

Do you believe the presence of angels in our lives?

References to angels occur at least 116 times in the Old Testament

and 175 in the New Testament.

The most talked about characters of the Christmas story

were the angels.

An angel appeared to Zechariah to tell him

his wife aged wife Elizabeth was going to have John the Baptist,

the one who would prepare the way for Jesus,

even though she had been unable to conceive a baby.

An angel visited Mary to tell her her role in birthing the Messiah.

An angel visited Joseph to tell him

he could trust that Mary hadn’t been unfaithful.

Angels visited the shepherds to announce Jesus’ birth.

An angel appeared to Joseph sometime after Jesus was born

to warn him that Herod was trying to kill the baby.

In all 4 of those accounts, the angels gave direction and comfort

so that those who were hearing what they needed to do

would not be afraid.

Listen to

[9] Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, [10] No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; [11] For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

God sends angels to guard and protect us.

An angel was on the Christmas scene to protect Jesus

when he warned Joseph that Herod was out to kill Jesus

and told Joseph to flee to Egypt to keep his family safe.

That’s a Christmas miracle.

CLOSING:

I could detail many more miracles in the Christmas story.

The Virgin Birth, the Star that led the Wisemen

and the multiple manifestations of angels

make Christmas nothing short of miraculous.

I believe any miracle you need, God can supply.

It is never too late for a miracle.

Don’t give up on what you are praying and hoping for.

God has a miracle in due season for people

who will trust Him and His plan and His timing.

Some of you need a miracle in the middle of your life!

I’m praying for one in my life.

I believe everything will work out according to God’s plan

For what I need this Christmas.

Are you afraid of what the future holds?

God can reassure you of His working in your life.

The shepherds needed some Good News.

God’s miracle for you might just be Good News

that is on the horizon.

I firmly believe “With God all things are possible!”

The Christmas story says what was impossible for you and me

to accomplish on our own, the salvation of our souls,

God has made possible through the miracle of Jesus’ birth, life,

death, and resurrection.

Jesus paid the price for our sins.

God is still performing miracles.

He is still giving people courage.

He is still providing for people’s needs

and making a way for their hopes and dreams to become reality.

He is still delivering people from grief.

He is still making children of God out of sinners like you and me.

It’s Christmas, a time for miracles.

Why not ask for yours today?