Sermon Tone Analysis
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Poll: What do you look forward to the most at Christmas
What do you look forward to the most at Christmas?
INSTRUCTIONS:
Poll your students by either asking them to run to the corner of the room that you designate to represent each of the following options . . .
The food - Back Right (by the kitchen)
The gifts - Front Left
Your family - Back left by the door where they will pick them up
Christmas movies - Front Right under the screen
There are so many wonderful things to look forward to, right?
But I'm going to be honest.
This time of year often shows me how me-focused I can be.
I catch myself thinking things like . . .
"I can't wait for my Christmas break!"
For me that is my Christmas Leave.
"What should I put on my Christmas list?"
Most of my family lives in Indiana and Ohio.
They all call to ask for my Christmas list.
"That's my third slice of fruitcake!"
(Who even likes fruitcake?)
I’ll stick with the Cherry Pie!
We've all heard phrases like,
"Jesus is the reason for the season!"
Or,
"It's about what you give, not what you get."
But no matter how many of times we hear it,
it's still easy to make Christmas all about us.
By the time January arrives, we might look back on Christmas and determine whether it was good or bad based on what we received or experienced.
Did I get good presents?
What about the food?
Was everyone nice to me?
Is it wrong that I wanted to have great Christmas gifts, fun times with family, and delicious food?
Absolutely not!
But when we spend Christmas focusing on what we want, hope for, or expect, there's a good chance we'll be disappointed by the outcome.
[WHAT IF . . .
?]
But what if I told you that this Christmas could be amazing, even if your gifts are terrible, the food all burns, and your family fights the entire time?
What if . . .
You're not meant to be the main focus this Christmas?
Christmas isn't about what you and I get or experience?
There’s something much bigger going on?
It really is true that "it’s better to give than to receive"?
I think the answers to these questions could actually change Christmas for us, forever.
Discussion
What's one gift on the top of your Christmas list this year?
So far this year, have you spent more time thinking about what you want for Christmas or what you plan to give others?
Have you thought much on what you ask for?
Would you be willing to ask for something that might be uncomfortable, but still a good thing?
Scripture
But if you know anything about the very first Christmas (the day Jesus was born) you probably wouldn’t call it, “comfortable.”
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph, her husband, had to get really uncomfortable in order for the first Christmas to happen.
We’re talking:
long travel days on the back of a donkey
having a baby in a stall made for livestock, surrounded by smelly animals
while almost everyone you knew thought you were living in sin and imagining angelic visitations.
You might be familiar with the names Mary and Joseph.
If you've heard the Christmas story before, you might even think you know everything there is to know about them.
But today I want to challenge you to really imagine what it must have been like to be them — and why the first Christmas would have been so uncomfortable.
Let's start with Mary.
Can you imagine being in Mary's shoes?
She's minding her business one minute when, out of nowhere . . .
An angel shows up.
The angel tells her that she, an unmarried virgin, will somehow have a baby.
Not only is she having a baby (as if that's not already uncomfortable enough) but
she's having a baby who would one day save the whole world!
I don't know about you, but if anything like this happened to me, I would panic — possibly run away screaming — and probably tell the angel to find someone else.
But that’s not what Mary did.
Sure, she was afraid.
And she had some questions, too.
But Mary was willing to do what God was asking her to do.
Mary did what God asked, even though it meant giving up her comfort.
Next Passage
Mary wasn’t the only one who had to give up something to be a part of God’s plans.
Joseph had a role to play in this too.
When Joseph found out about Mary's pregnancy, his immediate reaction wasn't exactly "happiness" or "excitement."
For Joseph, this change of plans was deeply uncomfortable.
Remember, the world today is very different than the world Mary and Joseph were living in.
In their time and culture, if a woman was found to be pregnant before marriage, or if she was assumed to have cheated on her husband, she would have been seriously punished.
I don't know what Joseph thought about Mary's pregnancy at first, but it's clear he was trying to figure out how to keep the peace.
He wanted Mary to be comfortable (which is why he wanted to divorce her "quietly")
But let's be honest — he wanted to be comfortable too (which is why he wanted to divorce her in the first place).
Joseph wasn't getting the message immediately, so God sent another angel to speak directly to him.
When the angel arrived, he finally understood.
Joseph did what God asked, even though it meant giving up his comfort.
Next Passage
I would love to tell you that after Mary and Joseph made these difficult decisions, everything from that point forward was easy, peaceful, and comfortable!
But it wasn't.
Mary dealt with the discomfort and pain of pregnancy, just like any other mother would.
They were required to take a long trip to a town called Bethlehem in the last days of Mary's pregnancy, with her riding on the back of a donkey.
This would be like having to walk from here to Washington D.C.
There was nowhere in Bethlehem for them to stay, other than a stall where animals slept.
And that's where the Savior of the World was born.
After so much discomfort, and before they could fully celebrate the miracle of Jesus' birth, King Herod heard a rumor about the birth of a new "king."
He feared a rebellion.
He feared competition.
So Herod decided to find and kill not just this one baby, but every baby who might pose a threat.
Could Mary and Joseph ever catch a break?
This is how Matthew described it.
While you and I think about Christmas presents, good food, and maybe even football, we've got to remember just how uncomfortable the first Christmas was.
From long travel days on a donkey,
to having a baby in a stall surrounded by smelly animals,
to having everyone you know think you're living in sin and imagining angelic visitations,
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