Sermon Tone Analysis
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This morning we are picking back up in our Christmas series, and as I stated last week, when it comes to Christmas services messages, for me they tend to be the hardest to conduct and write.
And they’re hard, because from year to year Christmas never really changes.
In other words, the story of Christmas is always the same.
And as a result, as December roles around, we already know what to expect and what we’re going to hear.
And the problem with that is, over time, the Christmas message can become so familiar, that for some people, the impact of Christmas gets lost due to its predictable and repetitive nature.
Last week I likened it to when a person flies on a commercial airline.
Because whether you fly frequently or once a year, the experience is always the same.
For example:
Because we all know regardless of the which airline your flying on, before the plane takes off, the stewardess is going to demonstrate how to put the seatbelt on and what to do in the event of an emergency.
We already know once the plane has reached altitude, the stewardess is going to come around and ask what we’d like to drink.
We already know after we get our drink that the little snack bag is coming.
You see, even if you don’t fly very often, due to the predictive nature of a commercial flight, we already know what’s coming.
The same is true for Christmas.
And honestly, that’s my concern, and the challenge I face each year as we begin our Christmas series.
Because the last thing I want is for Christmas to become a predictable and repetitive message.
And so this year I decided to approach Christmas a little bit differently.
To approach it in a way that I hope will give all of us a renewed and fresh perspective of the Christmas story.
And so, as I stated last week, as Christmas approaches, we’re going to look at four components of the Christmas story.
Components that not only highlight the Christmas story, but components that represent the benefits and certainties that Christmas offers us.
Certainties that we need to understand and hold onto if we truly want to keep Christmas from becoming a predictable and repetitive time of the year.
So, to get us started, last week we looked at the first component.
It was a component we labeled “Unshakeable Faith”.
Our text came from , as the writer of Hebrews defined what Biblical faith looks like.
He writes:
And what we learned from that text is that Christmas was never meant to be a predictive and repetitive holiday, but instead, a continued reminder of the promised faithfulness of God.
Because as we learned last week, the promise of Christmas
Because at the end of the day, that’s what Biblical faith is all about.
It’s about putting your faith in a faithful God.
We saw this through the story of a man named Abraham.
A story the writer of Hebrews highlights and that is found in .
A promise that was made by God to a man named Abraham back in .
A promise that one day God would provide a redeemer for mankind.
A promise that God came through on nearly 2000 years later through the birth of Jesus.
A story where God made a promise to Abraham.
A promise that one day, through Abraham’s offspring, God would provide a redeemer to save mankind from his sin.
A promise that one day He would provide Christmas.
And the good news for all of us is that God came through on that promise.
A promise that was fulfilled through the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning.
So, what that means then is, if we want to put our faith in something secure, we need to put it in the faithfulness of God.
Because that’s what Christmas is all about.
It’s about God fulfilling His promise.
It’s about God showing us that He can be trusted.
That He is a God of faithfulness.
And that’s what Christmas is all about.
It’s the ultimate example of the faithfulness of God.
A God who is always true to His Word.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what faith is.
It’s you and I putting our faith in the faithfulness of God.
And so if you want Unshakeable faith in your life, that’s where it starts.
It starts by putting your faith in the faithfulness of God.
Faith in a God that always comes through.
Faith in a God that always keeps His Word.
Faith in a God, that when all seemed lost for mankind, He came through on His promise of Christmas.
And so if you want Unshakeable faith in your life, that’s where it starts.
It starts by putting your faith in the faithfulness of God.
Faith in a God that always comes through.
Faith in a God that always keeps His Word.
But that’s not all Christmas provides.
Because with“Unshakeable Faith” also comes “Unwavering Hope”.
Let me show you what I mean.
Going back to the passage in , listen again to what the writer tells us:
The writer says, “Because of the faithfulness of God, we now have the assurance of things hoped for...”
In other words, since God is a faithful God, a God we can trust, we can now have “Unwavering Hope”.
Meaning, regardless of what our situation is or circumstances are, we can be certain that God will be true to His word no matter what.
That’s the kind of hope we can have.
And that’s amazing news...But there’s a challenge that comes with that news.
The challenge, is while God will always be faithful to His Word, His faithfulness doesn’t always happen in the way we think it should or on the timeline we’d prefer.
Have you ever noticed that?
Have you ever noticed that in the midst of faith, in the midst of trusting the faithfulness of God, sometimes it doesn’t feel like God is being very faithful.
In fact, it feels the opposite.
For example, maybe you decided to step out in financial faith and tithe.
You decided to trust where God promises to provide financial blessing for those who give 10% back to Him.
But for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to be working.
Because even though your tithing, your financial situation hasn’t changed.
You’re still struggling as much as you were before you started tithing.
In fact, it almost feels like your financial situation has gotten worse.
And now your starting to question the faithfulness of God.
Now your losing hope.
Because what you hoped for financially doesn’t seem to be panning out.
Or maybe you’ve been trusting God for healing.
You’re holding onto the promise where James says:
But for whatever reason, it feels like your prayers are falling on deaf ears.
Because you’re still sick.
The cancer is spreading.
The doctors haven’t change their prognosis.
And now your wondering where God is at in all this.
You’re starting to lose hope.
Or maybe you’ve been trusting God when it comes to your kids.
You’re holding onto the promise of where Solomon writes:
But if you’re honest, you’re losing hope.
Because the more you pray, the further your kid seems from God.
The more you pray, the less they want to go to church.
The more you pray, the more trouble they seem to get into.
And now you’re losing hope.
Now you’re questioning the faithfulness of God.
And we could go on.
Because the fact is, we’re all trusting God for something.
We’re all hoping that God will come through and be true to His Word in some aspect of our lives.
But if we’re honest, at the same time, we’re losing hope.
We’re questioning God’s faithfulness.
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