Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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How many are ready for Christmas?
How many have all your shopping done?
How many have all the menus laid out?
How many kids have their rooms clean?
How many are ready, to spend time with others over the next several weeks?
You may get to see family you have not seen in a while.
You may get invites from others.
You may not be seeing any family (This makes you sad).
It could be possible that you won’t be able to see family this year because they are no longer here.
This time of year we encounter relationships with others.
Some may be healthy and others might not be so healthy.
We are at a time of year when all these things come about.
I believe the truth of scripture has the power to help you through these next couple of weeks no matter what your situation might be.
It takes ONE right relationship to make all the other relationships work.
Christmas Lights
There was a short period in my life where I had extra time on my hands and I enjoyed working with broken Christmas light strands.
I now don’t have the time and I have a love hate relationship with broken Christmas light strands.
(Especially a prelit Christmas tree that starts to go out)
Technology continues to advance but back in the day if you had one light that was out either the whole strand was out or in some cases only half the strand would be out.
In my experience, there are several reasons why a strand of lights could go out.
A fuse could be blown
The tiny fuses in the plug
A bulb could be broke
This is my favorite because it is easy
A bulb could be burnt out
I like taking working lights and holding them next to each light to see if I can tell if they are burnt out.
The easy ones are all black
A bulb wire is not connecting to the metal
I usually push in and maybe even give it a little twist for this.
Occasionally I will pull out every light to check the wire.
A wire is loose
This one is tough.
Sometimes you push in the end wire and maybe look down inside the bulb.
On Christmas lights it takes just one bulb to cause all the other bulbs to not light up.
So it is with relationships.
It takes one right relationship to make all the other relationships work well.
Let me be clear we are not talking about a relationship with your parents, your principal, your work, chocolate, marriage, family or friends that heal all other relationships.
We often look to these as the cure but I assure you these are not the cure.
It is a relationship with the Creator Lord and Savior that causes all other relationships to begin to work.
Jesus came, born of a virgin and fully God and man, to renew our relationship with God the Father.
God used Caesar Augustus
Jesus is coming as a baby but he is still using the “plans” of men to carry out the will of God.
Scripture prophesies that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem
Over 700 years before the Birth of Christ this was prophesied.
700 Years from today would be 1321.
Do you know something that took place in 1321?
It takes more faith to not believe the Bible is true than it does to believe it.
Quirinius existed as well as Caesar Augustus
Bethlehem means “house of bread” the ideal birthplace for the Bread of Life
God uses Caesar Augustus to issue a decree that caused Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem.
I love that Jesus is working through all things for His glory.
Take note that God uses the government to fulfill his plans.
Right relationship with Jesus helps us to understand our relationship with government as well.
Jesus uses all things for His Glory and here we see him using Caesar Augustus’s decree to cause prophecy to be fulfilled for the Glory of God.
God uses Mary
Last week, we saw the importance of the virgin Birth and that Jesus was not created but was with God in the Beginning.
Mary has a right relationship with God the Father and this caused her to carry out the Birth of our Savior in an act of obedience.
I am sure Mary faced ridicule she faced that Joseph might think she cheated on him.
I am sure many doubted that what Mary claimed was actually true.
For some these next couple of weeks, you may face trials of doubt from family members, trials of people questioning that your faith is real, trials of your own questioning as life slows for a day or two.
Mary’s relationship with God the Father caused her to walk in obedience to him and bring all other relationships in line.
God Uses Shepherds
The first announcement of the Messiah’s birth was given by an angel to some anonymous shepherds.
(Their names are not mentioned)
Why Shepherds?
Why not priests or scribes?
By visiting the shepherds, the angel revealed the grace of God toward mankind.
Expound on this...
Shepherds were outcasts in Israel.
They were ceremonially unclean
Their work kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time so that they could not be made clean.
God does not call the rich and mighty but he calls the poor and the lowly!
(If we are honest everyone single person fits this category, that is, we are all poor and lowly in view of our Lord and Savior)
Perhaps the shepherds are caring for sheep that would be used to provide sacrifices to God at the temple services.
To some degree, the coming of Jesus meant that their sheep would no longer be needed because of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
The Shepherds relationship to Jesus fixes all the shepherds relationships.
They have been outcast, They are outcast no more because the Savior has come, They are kept out of the temple because of the travel, they are kept from the temple no more because our Savior has come.
They are poor and lowly, because of Savior Jesus coming they are no longer poor and lowly but are heirs of the creator Jesus.
God chose shepherds
The grace of God to think that God chose you as well.
They shepherds are in darkness.
All relationships are broken.
These lowly shepherds get the news of their Savior being born and where do they head.
They take off running for the light that is Jesus.
This meant the end of their raising sheep for the temple was over because the One true sacrifice had come.
Their sheep would no longer be needed for temple sacrifices because of what Jesus would do on the cross for our sins.
This is beautiful because their relationship with their careers was made right because of the Savior coming.
Scripture says they returned Glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard!
A relationship with Jesus causes the relationship with our careers to fall in line as well.
The Glory of the Lord
Scripture gives us the accounts of the Glory of the Lord appearing to Zachariah, Mary, and now this morning the Shepherds.
In each instance, they were afraid.
I have to share this with you this morning
The priest are not able to enter the Lord’s temple because to the Glory of the Lord filled the temple
Their response...
The fired descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple and they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and praised the Lord:
For He is good, for His faithful love endures forever
I marvel at the Glory of the Lord both in the Old Testament and the New
I get why they were afraid when the Glory of the Lord appeared
For ALL PEOPLE
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