Sermon Tone Analysis

There is an old Christmas song that isn’t sung too much these days.

It goes like this...

"C" is for the Christ Child born upon this day;

"H" for herald angels in the night.

"R" means our Redeemer;

"I" means Israel;

"S" is for the star that shone so bright.

"T" is for the three wise men,

They who travelled far.

"M" is for the manger where He lay.

"A" is for all He stands for;

"S" means shepherds came,

And that's why there's a Christmas Day.

That was a popular Christmas song from a much simpler time in our country.

A time when the true message of Christmas was understood by most people.

I took the time to re-write that song to better reflect the day and age in which we live.

"C" is for the craziness seen within the mall;

"H" the hurry of the crowds you see.

"R" means rest - or lack thereof;

"I" means "I want it all;”

"S" for shopping still needing to be done.

"T" is for the time spent in those traffic jams,

"M" for managing the credit cards.

"A" is for all the wrapping;

"S" means spending more,

And that's why we can’t wait till New Year’s Day!

I believe that we would all agree that life is anything but “simple” these days; Christmas is anything but “simple!”

It seems as though everything is more complex today than it has every been.

While we may never get back to that “simpler time” in our country, Christmas is simple and what could be more simple than the “A, B,C’s?!” And, since Christ IS Christmas, I would like to share with you this morning the “A,B,C’s” of Christmas.

A - All Have Sinned

This is the central theme of Christmas: “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...”

Christ Jesus came into this world to save you because you are a sinner; Christ Jesus came into this world to save me because I am a sinner.

Paul declares that all have sinned.

Regardless of how rich, or how poor a man is, he is a sinner.

Regardless of how cool, or how fantastic a person is, he is still a sinner.

No matter who you are; no matter where you live; no matter how religious you are; you are a sinner.

All means simply that - ALL.

Scripture concludes that all have sinned.

After all of Scripture is wrung out into one final drop, that final conclusion of every verse of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is that you are a sinner.

To deny that is to call God’s Word a life!

Death proves that all have sinned.

As an adult I have been interested in my ancestry.

And, here recently, I’ve been doing more digging and researching into my family background and that of my wife’s.

Do you know what I have found that is consistent with each generation that I find?

They all were born and they all died.

Why do people die?

Because of accidents?

Because of disease?

Because of sickness?

No!

Why do people have accidents, get diseases, grow sick and old?

And why do these things cause death?

In other words, why is there such a thing as death?

What is the real cause of death?

According to Romans 5:12 men die for one reason only - because they are sinners!

Before Adam sinned there was no such thing as death.

Death entered the universe because one man - Adam - sinned.

Now, how many people have to die?

Romans 5:12 says that death has passed upon all men.

Therefore, how many people are sinners?

Romans 5:12 says that all have sinned.

The fact that we grow old and die is proof that we are sinners.

Every tombstone, funeral home, hearse, and ambulance should be a reminder to us that we are all sinners headed for the grave!

You must accept it.

Paul declares it.

The Scriptures conclude it.

Death proves it.

And you must accept it!

To refuse to admit this fact will doom your soul to an eternity in hell and the lake of fire.

Young person, teen, adult, you need to realize right now the very real fact that you, like everyone else in the world, are a sinner and therefore, are condemned to die and suffer forever in the lake of fire.

The first letter of the Christmas alphabet is...

A - All Have Sinned

The second letter of the Christmas alphabet is...

B - Behold the Lamb of God

Imagine how a person, dying with cancer, would feel if a doctor rushed into the room and excitedly announced, “Look, here is the cure for your cancer!”

Such is the good news that we can announce at Christmas - and at any time - to a world that is lost and dying in sin.

“Behold.

Stop.

Look.

There is a Lamb.

The Lamb of God.

And this Lamb can actually take away the sin that is dooming you to death and hell.”

Who is the Lamb?

The Lamb is a person; it is Jesus Christ!

Peter did not say that the Lamb was a church.

No church can take away your sin!

You can join all the churches in the world, but they cannot remove one single sin from your life!

Peter did not say that the Lamb was good works, or baptism, or any of the other things that people trust to get them to Heaven.

Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ remove your sins that have condemned you to death!

Why is He called the Lamb and how can He remove our sins?

“Lamb” is an odd name for a person.

The term lamb comes from the Old Testament.

Throughout Old Testament days when men sinned they had to die for their sin.

However, God provided an escape.

They could offer a substitute.

That substitute had to be a young, spotless lamb.

(Leviticus 4) Thus, when a man sinned, either he died or a spotless lamb died in his place.

For hundreds of years this practice continued.

Millions of lambs were offered for men’s sins.

Finally, God chose to send His own Son to be the perfect Lamb for all the sins of all men over the whole earth.