Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Charlie Brown famously demanded to know the meaning of Christmas.
Linus - wise beyond his years - quotes Luke chapter 2 and solemnly affirms that Jesus’ birth is the true meaning of Christmas.
Even after all these years, I still get teary when I hear that part of the story.
We know there’s a degree of sentimentality to Christmas.
That’s a good thing.
It’s good to have great memories of family, food, fun, gifts, going to church.
And the message that pastors share during the Christmas season is good, too.
God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to save us.
For a few moments this morning, though, let me take our minds in a different direction:
Did you catch the emphasis of these verses?
Prophecy and story about the coming King.
Some use the word Messiah but in a Jewish context, it means the same thing.
At Christmas, we sing carols that speak of the coming King but I think it gets a bit lost in the focus on the baby in the manger.
That makes this Lord’s Day a great time for us reflect on the message that the baby in the manger is destined to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Two Kinds of “Awe”
When we see pictures of new babies it’s a nearly a given that we’ll say, “Awwwwww.”
This year, we’ve welcomed three babies to the T&C family (more in our extended family).
Clark, Eva and latest, Luke Mathew.
Man, that Luke Mathew.
That’s a strong name.
He’s going to grow up to be either a country singer or pro bull rider...
It’s not all that different when we see a beautiful picture of the manger scene or Mary & Jesus.
It prompts us to that “Awwww” emotion.
And that’s wonderful.
It’s great to express joy and gladness when we think about how God has wrapped our bruised flesh around Himself in Jesus.
It’s also important that we continue to worship the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
We learn to distinguish between two kinds of “Awe.”
There’s the awwww of a cute baby.
Then there’s the shift to “awe” at God made manifest in flesh.
We move from the Christmas lullaby to a rousing anthem of praise for our King Jesus.
We need that sense of awe and wonder.
Today’s Caesars and Herods fight for control and power in schools, businesses and government just as they did in Jesus’ time.
But Jesus arrives, unnoticed by nearly everyone.
Not in opulence and fanfare but in humility and obscurity.
We’ve learned that putting all of our faith in the modern-day power brokers will never be sufficient nor will their solutions satisfy.
When Jesus is King
He’s so much better at kingship than I am.
I am not a very good king of my own life.
When Jesus is King, we cast off our own misguided rule.
We learn to reject temptations.
We learn to handle material wealth (or the lack of it).
We learn how to live in relationships and how to restore relationships.
We learn how to be generous.
We’ll begin next year rebooting our spiritual lives together as we learn what Jesus taught his disciples about his kingdom.
So let us continue to gather at the manger to celebrate the new-born king.
It’s entirely appropriate for us to have an emotional reaction to God, in flesh, come among us.
Let us also fall to our knees in awe of the might Christ of the Cross who is King of Creation and Lord of our lives.
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