Sermon Tone Analysis

I. Sermon Introduction

Setting

I want to tell you about what is going on before our story begins today.

Before our story begins, Jesus has already been born.

Mary and Joseph were in the town of Bethlehem.

It had been ordered by the government that they had to leave their hometown of Nazareth and travel there.

There was no room in their friends’ or families’ houses, so they had to stay in the place where the animals were kept.

Bethlehem is a town in the countryside, like Battambang.

There is a little city, but also a lot of fields all around.

Not far from where Mary and Joseph were staying there were some shepherds out at night.

So let’s read the text and see what happened on that night in Bethlehem:

Read the Text

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.

II.

Telling the Story

The Shepherds’ Normal Work

So our story begins by telling us about these shepherds who were out in the area of Bethlehem.

Working as a shepherd in those days was not an easy job.

You had to keep very close watch on the sheep especially at night.

There could be wild animals to come and attack them, or they might wander off and get hurt.

At that time, many people did not respect shepherds because they were dirty and kind of strange.

But imagine if you lived out in the field with no one to talk to all night but the sheep.

You might be a little strange too!

The Angel’s Appearance

So these shepherds are watching the sheep at night, just like every other night.

And all of a sudden two things appeared to them: (1) the Angel of the Lord and (2) the glory of the Lord

First the Angel of the Lord: what is the picture in your mind when I mention this word: Angel?

Do you think of a pretty creature that looks maybe like a young girl?

Those are the pictures that came up when I searched for Khmer Angels.

And, as I understand it, Khmer Angels are always helping people.

But Angels in the Bible are not the same.

Angels in the Bible are God’s warriors.

When an Angel shows up in the Bible, do you know what the first thing he says is?

“Do not be afraid”.

Do you know why they say that?

Because they are scary to us!

So this angel shows up in the middle of the night, but also the glory of the Lord was shining around them.

I know Pastor Sophin preached through Exodus a few years ago.

Do you remember that story of Moses, when he came down from meeting with the Lord on the mountain to talk to the people?

When the people saw him they were very afraid because the glory of the Lord was shining on Moses’ face.

Have you ever been inside in the dark and then you walk outside into the bright sun?

What do you do?

It was like that, but much brighter and stronger.

So these shepherds were very scared.

In the Bible, when people see God’s glory it makes them realize they are not worthy to be in His presence.

It makes them realize that they cannot try to come near to God.

I wonder if you have ever felt this way.

Have you ever felt that you cannot do enough to please God?

Have you felt that your sin separates you from God?

Can I tell you something?

That’s the first step to following Jesus!

You have to see that you cannot help yourself and you need Jesus to help you.

Back to our story: the angel and the glory of the Lord shine in front of the shepherds.

One of these things would have been very scary to them.

But both together caused them to have great fear.

The Good (and Strange) News Announced

But the angel tells them not to fear.

The angel has not come to destroy but he has come to bring good news.

This good news is for all people.

It is for people in Bethlehem and people from America.

It is for people from Phnom Penh and from Battambang.

The Angel of God said that this good news is for everyone!

And here is the good news: in Bethlehem, on that day over 2000 years ago, a baby was born.

But that baby was not any baby.

He was a Savior.

This means He would be the one to save us.

But what do we need to be saved from?

You remember the shepherds were afraid when they saw the angel and the glory of the Lord?

They were afraid because they were separated from God by their sin.

Our Savior, Jesus, came to bring us back to God.

He is Christ.

This means that he is the expected King that was coming.

This is not a normal baby.

He is royalty.

He is the expected King who has come to rule over His people.

One more thing, the Angel said He is the Lord.

This word was used to show that Jesus is not simply a human baby.

Jesus is actually God!

Now this is really good news!

Every religion in the world sees that the world is broken.

Even the Buddha said that suffering is universal.

Every religion is about us trying to make our way back to God.

It’s like the people at the Tower of Babel.

They were trying to build a tower up to heaven.

But it would never work.

When we try to make our way to God it does not work.

But this is the best news that we have ever had: God is not waiting for you to climb up to Him.

He is not waiting until you can do enough good things and make enough sacrifices.

The God of the Bible did not wait for you, but he came to you.

When Jesus was born, God became a person.