Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome to our Midnight Christmas Service.

It is a great pleasure to have you here especially if you are a guest.

There will be another service at 10am to celebrate on Christmas Day.

You are all most welcome to come to that one as well.

Prayer

At our Carols by Candlelight service I started with a prophecy from Micah about Bethlehem told 700 years before Jesus came.

And tonight I start with his contemporary: Isaiah, who said:

CAROL:

CAROL:

Prayer

Carol:

Il Divo - O Holy Night - mp3

Christmas is, for us, the time when Jesus came to earth, God sending His Son, to live like us.

God was demonstrating His love for us: God Immanuel, God with us.

I never cease to be amazed - one of the overarching themes of Scripture is that God genuinely wants to be with us and actually wants us to be with Him.

But for that to happen God had to deal with the thing that got in the way of that happening: our sin.

So, God sent His Son to pay the price:

The price that Jesus paid for us is death.

He has lavished His love upon us.

What I am speaking of today is not so much of ‘you must do this or that’ but to’ think on His love and the rest will then follow’.

Hear these words from Scripture:

The first word ‘behold’ is a Greek term meaning, Look at this, become aware of this, consider this.

The real emphasis is—hey, look at this, pay attention!

The Lord wants us to stop what we’re doing and look at something He wants to show us.

He wants us to pay attention.

He wants us to see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God.

There are two “John 3:16s” in the Bible.

There is the usual one that we should all know and it is especially thought of at Christmas for it says:

God has given us His Son.

We read about this in the Isaiah readings, don’t we:

These words were not fulfilled completely by Jesus first advent but it shall with His second.

And then there is the other John 3 16 that is from his first letter:

In other words, if you could only draw one picture for the world to depict the concept of love, it wouldn’t be a wedding ring, a sensual embrace, a romantic candle, or a sacrificial act of kindness.

There really is only one picture to draw: It would not be a baby in a manger though this is one of the incredible marvels of coming to be like us, to feel like us, to know what it is like to human - this indeed was a sacrifice but it is surpassed by the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the picture we think of when we think of Jesus - a cross.

John later writes:

Propitiation is an interesting word.

It is about appeasing anger.

In this case, wrath of God.

He hates sin so much that it must be punished but He loved us so much that He wanted to save us for He wants desperately to be with us and we with Him.

And so we read on in his letter

Jesus appeased the wrath of God.

As it says in that great modern hymn ‘In Christ Alone’ by Stuart Townend:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live.

We can rely on His love at the crucial junctions of life.

We can rely on His love when our strength fails, when our friends die, when our hearts break, when our minds reel, when our hopes are dashed, when our health is gone.

We can rely on His love, and His love is embodied in Jesus Christ.

So this verse says, in effect, whatever you’re facing right now, rely on Jesus!

We don’t need to be afraid of anything in this life, because we can rest in the fact that come-what-may, God loves us and His perfect love casts out fear.

(Morgan 2007, p.367)

Perhaps Christmas is not your cup of tea or it does not have great memories; still, remember the reason why Jesus came: God loves you, really loves you, and you can rely on His love.

He wants to be with you - even right now, if you would invite Him into your heart, and He will give you His Holy Spirit to be with you right now.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God.

Carol: Joy to the World

Benediction

Bibliography

Morgan, R. J. (2007).

Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook (2008 Edition).

Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.