Sermon Tone Analysis

Sing “Silent Night”

On Christmas Eve night 1914 something amazing happened.

Something that still has the world scratching its head.

It was at the beginning of WWI and there was a fierce battle going on in Belgium between the French and the English on one side and the Germans on the other.

The battle had reached a stalemate, and each side had bunkered down and dug trenches.

They were about 60-80 yards apart from one another and the space between was called No Man’s Land because no one could venture there and survive.

It’s estimated that over 100,000 troops were involved in this battle and these trenches went on for miles.

The conditions were horrible, and both sides had lost thousands of lives.

There were bodies scattered all over No Man’s Land because if someone tried to retrieve them, they would be shot.

As Christmas approached, the Germans started decorating some of the trees around their bunkers with candles.

On Christmas Eve both sides were settled down on their respective sides and some of the British were playing their bagpipes and singing some of their favorite pub songs, which no doubt brought them some sense of comfort being so far away from home and in the middle of war on Christmas Eve.

Meanwhile, on the other side, some of the Germans began to sing one of their country’s most beloved Christmas carols, Silent Night, and after singing it through several times, something incredible happened.

The French and British joined in on the familiar tune.

Unbelievably, that night led to a ceasefire that lasted until New Year’s Day.

On Christmas Day, each side helped the other bury their dead and over that next week they celebrated Christmas together, they played soccer together; they gathered around the same campfires and told stories and laughed long into the night.

It was a holy night.

Neither side could have seen a week of peace being born out of the singing of a Christmas carol, and yet, that is exactly what happened.

A song about the birth of a baby in Bethlehem who would bring peace on earth, brought peace to a war-torn battlefield and, for a handful of hours, turned enemies into friends.

All of us probably have our favorite Christmas carol.

We may have even sang one this morning.

It is a song that when it is sung you just melt.

You fill a peace come over you.

The song warms your heart, it stirs your soul.

For some of you it may be this song.

Sing “O Holy Night”

You may know this, but O Holy Night actually follows the birth narrative of Jesus that is found in Luke 2.

If you have your Bibles let’s go to Luke chapter 2 and look at this story.

I want to begin reading at verse 8.

Can we think about these Shepherds for a moment?

Here they were minding their own business.

They were doing their daily job.

The life of the shepherd was no easy task.

They were outcasts to society.

They weren’t allowed in the city.

The people in the general public didn’t trust them.

Some of the shepherds were even thieves.

But Luke tells this story for a reason.

Jesus would come, not to the proud and powerful, but to the outcasts, the humble, those considered “last” on the social lists.

And it was to these men that God would bring the first news of His Son’s arrival.

This was a Holy Night, this night would bring a Holy Message and a Holy Search that would ultimately bring them to a Holy Child.

For the next few moments I want you to take this journey with me.

The Holy Message

The first words that came out of the angel’s mouth was words of comfort.

Look at verse 10 again.

The shepherds that night had never experienced anything like this before.

This was something new to them.

You can only imagine being in a field and all of a sudden an angel and all the glory, splendor that would occur, appearing before their very eyes.

You and I would probably be afraid as well.

So, the angel calms their fears by saying, “Do not be afraid.”

They eased any fears that they may have had.

They let them know that what they were about to tell them was going to be the best news that they have ever heard.

The angel told them,

The Holy Message was that a Savior had been born.

There is only two times in the Gospels where the word “Savior” is used to refer to Jesus.

Here as the angels proclaimed his birth, and in John 4:42 by the Samaritans who came to believe in Jesus as “the Savior of the world.”

For the Greeks and Romans, the word “savior” could be applied to their gods as well as to great military or political leaders.

Julius Caesar was called a “savior.”

The basic meaning of the word was readily understood by Jews as well as Gentiles.

The title Messiah comes from the Hebrew term with the meaning “Anointed One.”

In the Greek the word used is “Christ.”

It has the same meaning “Anointed One.”

To be anointed meant to be set apart for some special purpose.

Moses anointed Aaron and his sons as the first priests of Israel.

The prophet Samuel anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel.

The title was applied to that future one whom God would raise up.

The Jews were awaiting this special deliverer, one who would be the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, the Christ.

The word “Lord” refers here to deity.

That this tiny baby was the “Lord” means that God had arrived in human form.

Thus the angel gave no doubt as to the identity of this child.

He was the one for whom all Israel had been waiting.

So, this message was Holy because it was the announcement that the Savior of the world was here.

The Messiah had arrived.

The One they had been waiting for.

And it was a Holy Message because of who was receiving it.

Of all the people who would have been in line to receive news of the birth of God’s son, the shepherds would have certainly been last in line.

The fact that the angels came to them first seems to suggest that this good news is truly, as is said in verse 10, for all people.

From the least to the greatest, from the poor to the rich, from the nobodies to the somebodies, Jesus was born and is Savior to all.

And it was also a Holy Message because of who was giving it.

These were divine messengers of God.

They arrived on behave of God himself.

For the last 400 years God had been silent.

And now He was bringing a message of hope, a message of peace, a message of forgiveness, a Holy Message.

God’s son, Jesus, the Savior of the world, had been born, and now these shepherds needed to go and see this child and proclaim the good news to all.

So, the shepherds went on a Holy Search.

The Holy Search

All of us are searching for something.

Some people are searching for the meaning of life.

Some are searching for happiness and fulfillment.

The problem is that many people search for these things in the wrong places.

But the shepherds search is a different search because they are searching for the Messiah, Jesus, and in Him is found all of our meaning, significance, happiness, fulfillment and so much more.

I went out this week and bought a few gift cards and I have placed them all under the seats in the sanctuary.

There are five gift cards.

In a minute, when I say search, whichever one you find, is yours.

Are you ready?

Ready, set, search!

The quick response from everyone in the room proves my point.

When we really think something is important, valuable or prized, we are quick to go on the search.

During this time of year, we are reminded that there is nothing more valuable than the birth of Jesus Christ into the world.

His birth gives us hope that our lives can change.

His birth gives us joy because He offers us salvation.