The Shepherd's Wife December 19, 2021

Introduction

You know it's important for us to remember again that the characters that we see as part of the Christmas nativity and the scenes that we enjoy remembering around christmastime are filled with real people. There weren't just characters in a Christmas play there were lifes changed by the rival of this little baby.

The shepherds in the story we are told shared their news with everyone they encountered. Let's take a moment to read that story once more. And breathe in the hope it gives.

Luke 2:8–20 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

You know the shepherds they kept telling people every where they encounter them about the good news of what was coming. They had seen angels and they had heard about the coming of the Messiah. This kind of good news is a story and a message worth sharing to everyone you encounter. And it's true that many people when they really encounter the majesty of God they can't help but share it.

I love what the writer to the Hebrews says:

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Have you stopped and considered what it really means for Jesus to be the author of your story? Of your faith story. Jesus is writing a story in your life that's not about you but about what he is doing through you. The shepherds were running off telling others about the coming birth of the Messiah. There are telling about the majestic and glorious arrival of the king.

In other words the star of that story was Jesus in the same way in our lives the star of the story of our life and our faith is Jesus.

I love what John wrote:

John 3:30 ESV

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

many times throughout history people have remarked that they love Jesus and struggle with his followers. Didn't Gandhi right that he would be a Christian if it wasn't for the Christians he encountered ? :)

More Jesus and less of me it was a good thing.

You know common stores are powerful things aren't they? They have a way of deeply impacting our lives. some of the best movies out today have powerful driving storylines.

Any good story has a beginning and a turning point and a conclusion or a solution. In the shepherd story the beginning was them out in the fields watching over their flocks and the turning point was the arrival of the angels and what they did was go everywhere to talk about the angels and they went to find the baby.

The shepherds were enthusiastically sharing because they were overjoyed of what they had encountered.

Many of you have tried to share your faith with a friend or a coworker or or a family member? How many times does it work when you lay out a logical argument for why they should consider faith in God? People can't often be argued into faith. People can ignore or disagree with what you're trying to convince them of. And specially when we go to spend time with family this week our unbelieving family members don't show up at the holidays looking for a argument about faith.

But we always share stories don't we? We always tell stories about important things in our lives. If you talk about your faith in terms of the story of how God has worked you might be able to share more of your faith with others.

Doug fields, a man who has written a ton of Bob angelism suggested that we organize our thoughts about our relationship with God... our faith story... around 3 chapters.

What was your life like before you became a Christ follower?

How did you become a Christ follower?

What has happened in your life since you became a Christ follower?

that's your story. That's the good news. That's evangelism. Evangelism is spreading the gospel through preaching or personal witness. And the neat thing is sharing your faith with someone else doesn't mean you have to bust out a Bible or quote a bunch of verses at them Sometimes it's simply telling the story of what God has done in your life.

As one person wrote of angelism is about investing in people relationally and inviting them into conversations about Jesus.

I love how Brian McLaren says it:

“Count your conversations instead of your conversions.”-Brian McLaren

The Bible teaches that God is the one who draws all people unto himself. God is in the process of drawing men and women to himself through his works throughout history and the around the world. But he wants each of us to be parts of different verses in that story.

As we find opportunities to talk about our faith perhaps this week let's remember the three parts of our faith story that we mentioned before.

What was your life like before you became a Christ follower?

How did you become a Christ follower?

What has happened in your life since you became a Christ follower?

If we remember these parts we will be powerfully equipped to share our story.

BEFORE + HOW + SINCE = MY FAITH-STORY

If you remember this little cheesy equation you will be able to share your face story in an effective way. And sometimes when we share our faith story people won't at all be ready to listen. And sometimes though our faith story will change a person's life. We can't convert someone two faith in God but we can share about what God has done in our life.

I want to encourage you all this week. I don't think the holidays or a time for solving great conflicts that you haven't been able to work out the rest of the year use the phone and figure those things out ahead of time :) or just don't address those things :)

But sharing the story of what God has done in your life is a non confrontational and extraordinarily powerful way for you to point a friend or a family member to faith in God. Even someone who is committed in his opposition to faith and slash or church. If you are prepared and willing to talk about your faith in God in terms of the story of your life you could plant seeds that change a person's life this Christmas week.

as you think about sharing your faith story a couple thoughts:

Pray

talk to God first. he is the author of your story, submit it to him in prayer.

Organize your thoughts by chapter (Before + How + Since)

Next take time even just in your mind to organize your thoughts about what God has done in your life. Usually when we think ahead of time about what we want to say we do a better job of sharing our faith story.

Write it out.

Next, write your faith story out. It's amazing how writing down our thoughts helps to clarify what we mean to say so we can be intentional with our words. This doesn't mean you have to pull out a paper and read a speech when you want to share your faith story with a friend. But being prepared let's you be intentional.

Watch your language.

Watch your language. I am hoping that you will avoid cuss words... But this is more about the fact that we have a lot of churchy language that we like to use. Be careful that you don't use a bunch of words that someone who hasn't grown up in the church won't understand.

For example, instead of saying I asked Jesus to come into my heart, say I gave Jesus control of my life.

Keep it short: 5 Minutes or Less

A lot of times the opportunity to share our faith story will be a very short window of time. A few moments you have to sit with a loved one or a friend. So plan to be able to share your faith story in 5 minutes or less. Keep it clear.

And I can tell you from lots of experience as a pastor that it's easy to ramble and talk for a long time, it takes intentionality to be short and concise.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Finally, practice sharing your story. practice talking with friends, with other church friends about your faith story. Practice sharing your story with your spouse. It's not a made up thing. It's simply the grand story about what God is doing in your life.

Get feedback from loved ones about what parts of your story communicate God's grace well and what parts need to be changed. And again let me say this when we talk about working and practicing to share our faith story we are not trying to be fake. We're not trying to manufacture something that isn't there. but it takes work to share a story well. Good storytellers invest time cutting out unimportant details so that the truth of their story will shine through.

Remember

BEFORE + HOW + SINCE = MY FAITH STORY

So this week will you Share your story with one person? It might be the best Christmas present you give. Take time to think about what God has done in and through your life. And share that story. Because that's part of the Christmas story.