Sermon Tone Analysis

Open: Well, here we are the day after Christmas and the big rush is over.

All the waiting and anticipating, and now it’s over for another year.

Time to take down the lights, undecorate the tree, and start planning on how to lose that extra 5 pounds that magically appeared after all of the family get - togethers!

Transition: What spiritual direction do we take at this point?

What are we even hope to accomplish the Sunday after Christmas?

Traditionally, the Sunday between Christmas and New Years belongs to the Youth pastor.

The senior pastor has finished his Christmas series and is working on the high energy, big motivational message to start the New Year.

People are tired and worn out and many just go through the motions.

I want to encourage and motivate you this morning.

This is NOT a throw away Sunday; the Spirit of Jesus is here with us this morning and He has something for us.

Today’s message is how the Promise of Christmas CAN sustain us in our faith journey, and it is a message that many of us need to hear and to absorb in our hearts.

READ the TEXT: Luke 2:21-40

The Promises of Christmas are found in the Word (Luke 2:21-24, 39-40)

Explanation: Following the birth of Christ, Luke records several important events that take place.

When Jesus was 8 days old, Joseph and Mary had Him circumcised, according to the Law of the Lord.

When Jesus was 40 days old, Joseph and Mary took Him to the Temple to present Him to God, according to the Law of the Lord.

When they had performed all of the necessary duties, according to the Law of the Lord, Joseph and Mary took Jesus home.

Joseph and Mary performed all of these duties because they were faithful Jews who were familiar with the Law of the Lord.

There is no hint of Joseph and Mary being magically endowed with this knowledge - no angel appeared to walk them through these important tasks.

They performed them because they were aware of their expectations as parents as given in the Law of Moses

Illustration: Old joke about student with poor study habits sleeping with the text book under the pillow on the night before the test.

Hoping for the magic of osmosis!

Argument: Many believers have the mistaken idea that growth in holiness is much the same as salvation.

God is the One who justifies (saves) a person - he or she does nothing.

Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for salvation, but a believer is to work with the Holy Spirit for sanctification.

Application: We CAN grow in holiness, but we won’t accomplish much by sitting back and doing nothing.

We CAN (and should) practice the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, worship, giving, etc.

The most basic and foundational discipline is that of Bible Study.

You aren’t going to obey the Word if you don’t know what’s in the Word!

All we know about the Birth of Jesus and how His entry into this world changed everything is found in the Word.

We read and study the entire Bible and we see the Promises of His Coming, both past and Present.

Focusing on these promises CAN and WILL sustain us and encourage us as we grow in holiness.

The Promise of Christmas sustains the soul to live in Hope (Luke 2:25-32)

Explanation: As Joseph and Mary bring the baby Jesus into the Temple at Jerusalem for His presentation, imagine their surprise when a stranger approaches them and takes the baby in his arms.

Not only does this stranger take Jesus from Mary, he starts speaking some incredible things about the Child.

Thus, Mary and Joseph are introduced to Simeon, another Christmas Portrait of faithfulness.

The text doesn’t give many details about Simeon other than he was a just and devout believer - one who had grown and matured in personal holiness.

We are also told that he was a believer who was looking forward to the Coming of the Messiah.

We aren’t told how old he was, or how many years that he had lived with the promise of seeing the Lord’s Anointed, but we do know that the Promise of God sustained him and encouraged him to remain faithful.

The text informs us that God had supernaturally revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had personally seen the Messiah

NOTE: Think about that for a minute.

While we aren’t given the amount of time that Simeon lived with this promise, suppose that it was 10 years.

Now this is just a guess, nothing to back this up.

Also, realize that at the time of the promise, Simeon did not know how long he had to wait.

It could have been 20 years or even 30.

Here’s the point: Simeon lived with anticipation of the Messiah, and he allowed that knowledge to draw him to a life of personal holiness.

How would you live your life if you were guaranteed that you WOULD NOT DIE until a specific future event took place?

Argument: This was a unique promise given to Simeon, but each and every believer is to live his or her life in anticipation of the Lord’s Second Advent.

Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”

Unlike Simeon, God does not promise us physical life until this event takes place, but each of us is commanded to live just and devout lives just as Simeon did.

Application: Live in light of His Return.

Allow the Promises of Christmas to shape your daily life and the decisions you make.

The prophecies of the Advent of the Messiah are in two stages.

The promise of His Advent led Simeon to live a righteous life - the promise of the second Advent CAN shape us just like Simeon.

The Promises of Christmas can deepen our Prayer life (Luke 2:36-38)

Explanation: The text introduces us to the final Portrait of Faithfulness in the Christmas story: the prophetess Anna.

As Simeon finishes his prophetic words to Mary concerning those who would reject and Crucify her Son, The Holy Spirit arranges for the arrival of Anna.

Unlike Simeon, Anna had received no explicit promise.

She was simply an old widow woman who was trusting in God and was maintaining a life of prayer and fasting.

Anna was a servant of the Lord who was also looking for the Redemption of Israel.

Like Simeon she had her heart set on the Promise of the Messiah and God rewarded her with an encounter with the Christ Child.

Anna was in the right place and at the right time because her life was focused on pleasing God through prayer and fasting.

Argument: Don’t make the mistake of trying to use prayer as a means to manipulate God.

Instead, pray from a grateful and thankful heart.

Anna didn’t focus on the negatives in her life.

She was not only a widow, she was only married for seven years when her husband died.

At 84 years, she had been a widow for a long time.

Instead of allowing her circumstances to lead her into bitterness or despair, Anna focused on serving God through prayer and fasting.

She did what she could with what she had.

We can learn a lot from Anna.

Conclusion: Another Christmas is in the history books and exists now in pictures and memories.

Where do we go from here?

I suggest we take lessons from the lives of Joseph and Mary, and Simeon and Anna.

We can follow and serve the Risen Lord in 2022 by doing as they did

Know and Follow His Commands like Joseph & Mary

Trust the Holy Spirit and anticipate His Return like Simeon anticipated His first Advent

Pray more fervently than we ever have before like Anna