Sermon Tone Analysis

In the 1970’s TV Commercial . . .

E.F.

Hutton . . .

“My broker is E.F.

Hutton and he says...” — “When E.F.

Hutton talks people listen.”

“The Word became flesh” to redeem by his word what he had created by his word.

When God speaks, things are made and they are redeemed.

It is through Jesus, the Word, that God created the world.

Jesus is Lord, God in the flesh.

And this Jesus has been at work since the beginning of time.

You see, the preincarnate Christ was at work in the account of creation in the Book of Genesis.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” ().

This is a reference to God the Father.

We also hear that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” ().

An obvious reference to God the Holy Spirit.

So where’s Jesus?

He’s the “God said.”

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good” ().

Jesus is the “God said.”

Listen to how St. John in the Christmas Gospel affirms this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him” ().

Notice the pattern of how things are made through Jesus.

“God said . . . it was so . . .

and it was good.”

“In him was life” ().

God through Christ finished the work of creating us on the sixth day, and on the seventh day he rested.

So life comes from the Father through the Son by way of the Holy Spirit.

When God speaks, things are made and they are redeemed.

Christmas is about God’s gift of new life for us, a gift given when God speaks.

Yes, it’s a Christmas gift!

When God Speaks, What He Says Is Given and Bestowed.

Listen to How God has Been Speaking!

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (vv 1–2).

The eternal Son’s word first created us.

That’s the “God said” at creation.

The Holy Trinity always works together on such things.

1. That’s the “God said” at creation.

The Holy Trinity always works together on such things.

2. And the way God chose to work in creation was through speaking.

For whatever reason, in his perfect wisdom, God has simply decided that the way he’s going to do things, the way he’s set up the world to work, is through words, speaking.

That’s God’s way of getting things done.

And the way God chose to work in creation was through speaking.

For whatever reason, in his perfect wisdom, God has simply decided that the way he’s going to do things, the way he’s set up the world to work, is through words, speaking.

That’s God’s way of getting things done.

3. That’s the Son, the speaker, the Word.

That’s the Son, the speaker, the Word.

The preincarnate Christ long ago spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

B. The preincarnate Christ long ago spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

1.

For thousands of years, ever since Adam and Eve’s sin, David, Isaiah, and countless others spoke these words . . .

but also clung to these words for their hope of salvation—for they, as we, shared in that first sin and needed a Savior.

(Give specific examples of sins that are common among us.)

For thousands of years, ever since Adam and Eve’s sin, David, Isaiah, and countless others spoke these words . . .

but also clung to these words for their hope of salvation—for they, as we, shared in that first sin and needed a Savior.

Sins that are common are: impatience; anger; jealously, etc.

“No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” ().

2. “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” ().

These are God’s words, not the words of man.

We have them written down for us in Scripture; we can cling to them too.

3.

These are God’s words, not the words of man.

We have them written down for us in Scripture; we can cling to them too.

But now, since Christmas, Jesus has the last word, a word that redeems us from sin and death.

C.

But now, since Christmas, Jesus has the last word, a word that redeems us from sin and death.

The Word became flesh to accomplish our salvation.

Hear that word the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son” ().

1.

The Word became flesh to accomplish our salvation.

Hear that word the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son” ().

2. And the word, as always, came true! (Insert illustration 1 from the Ideas for Illustrating section.)

And the word, as always, came true!

Just as God once spoke to create and “God said . . . it was so . . .

and it was good,” so

Jesus said to a storm, “Quiet, be still,” and it was so, and it was good.

Jesus said to a paralytic, “Get up and walk,” and it was so, and it was good.

He said to Lazarus, who had been dead in a tomb for four days, “Come out,” and it was so, and it was good.

Then Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to accomplish our salvation.

On the sixth day, Good Friday, he finished that work that he was born to accomplish for the life of the world.

He cried out as he died on the cross for the sins of the world, “It is finished,” and it was so, and it was good.

On the seventh day, he rested in the tomb.

On the eighth day, if you’re counting from Palm Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead.

The number 8 signifies eternity.

The resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday marked the dawn of the new day that never ends.

On that first Easter evening, Jesus goes to the disciples who were behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, and he says, “Peace be with you,” and it was so, and it was good.

When God speaks, he does the same for you.

“Peace be with you!”

Hear all that when you hear the Christmas angel say, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (, KJV).

3. Hear all that when you hear the Christmas angel say, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (, KJV).

See What God’s Speaking Has Given and Bestowed!

“He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (v 3).

The Father eternally begets Jesus.

1. Jesus possesses and reveals to us all that is of God.

Jesus possesses and reveals to us all that is of God.

When you see Jesus, you see God the Father.

2. When you see Jesus, you see God the Father.

3.

This Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (v 3).

(Insert illustration 2 from the Ideas for Illustrating section.)

This Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (v 3).

4. Can you see all that in the face of the baby in the manger?