Christmas Message

December 24, 2019 Christmas Eve Service Psalm 96 Luke 2: 1-20 Christmas Message Year B Luke 2:1-20 Common English Bible (CEB) Jesus’ birth 2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom. Announcement to shepherds 8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” 15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible The most important line of this story - Do not be afraid, good news of great joy for all people! Sermon So here we are at another Christmas Eve celebration. Every year we sing the same songs, and hear the same old story. If we are not careful, when we hear this story of a baby born into a manger who grew up to become the savior of the world – we can start to believe that this story has no meaning for us. when we think about all of the things that is going on in the world today, all of the challenges of the coming year – we can ask what difference this story makes. Sort of like Jerry Turner, a ten year old on his way to rehearsal for the Christmas play with his mother. Do I have to be in another Christmas pageant he asks. No his mother replied but it is a good reminder for us of what Christmas is all about, besides, it is tradition in our church. Well, Jerry goes on, it is the same old thing every year. And why do I have to be a shepherd anyway. I don’t like having to wear a bathrobe in front of all of those people. Why are shepherds even important to this story. His mother explained that the shepherds were the first to witness and to see the miracle of Christmas. The angels delivered a message from God.- and what are angels anyway. Messengers from God – explained his mother, messengers, why didn’t God just put it in the newspaper? His mother went on that God speaks to us in ways that we understand – God always delivers the message of love in a timely and relevant way. A way we can understand. Jerry still didn’t really understand, but he went along. I will be a part of this story for at least one more year – but I still don’t understand why we make such a fuss about a little baby. One pastor said that some stories that we hear are true to fact, and some are true to life. This is the story of life, of life that Goes on and on, and that reveals itself in unexpected ways time and time again. It is not about looking back at Bethlehem, it is about looking forward to today in our world. And in each revelation is a story of love. God needs us just as much as we need God, but God has such a problem getting through to us. We get so caught up on the news, on the mail, on facebook – that we forget to listen to God, and we miss that message of God’s love for us. But who doesn’t listen to little babies speak - can our children ring our bells…. This year as we here the story of Jesus birth – I thought that we should focus on the psalm. We read psalm 96, there are three readings for Christmas . Psalm 96, Psalm 97 and Psalm 98. All three of these psalms are known as enthronement psalms. They all honor God on the throne. Each of them encourages all of us to sing- song a new song. Joy to the world is based on psalm 98 which says that all of creation, should sing and celebrate that Jesus Christ is born. Psalm 96 says sing, sing, sing, acribe, come ascribe, ascribe, come worship, tremble. We sing three songs three different times Sing a new song in the morning, sing all of the earth in the daytime as we witness creation and sing at night the God is faithful and steady and will hold us together no matter what. We ascribe to God that God is king – king of us all whether we are hear or not, God loves all people. If God is lord of all creation, heaven and nature – that opens the door to our understanding – beyond ourselfs, beyond our family, beyond our community, to all of the world. That is a very wide door! And we worship – worship is not just about gathering in this sanctuary – worship is the life we life anywhere, at the grocery store, at the family table, in the hospital room, in a manger. God is with us in all of our lives, and worship is just acknowledging God’s presence. Someone said that God and our modern politicians have something in common – they make a lot of promises – God is King because all of those promises come true. That is why we are encouraged to sing, sing our faith, sing our Christmas songs, sing for a life full of hope and joy. This is the night we celebrate Christ is with us, Christ has come to us in a brand new way, so we can sing a new song. Bishop Sprague once said that Christ coming is not about the first coming or the second coming. Christ has come into the world a 3, a 4th a 20th time. Every day we can wake up is a new day, and a new day always calls for a new song. If we can sing a song in a new way – we can have hope that things will change, things will be different this time. Who is it that brings joy and good news to the situation of today? – that is God coming to us in human form – Jesus Christ. Where is Christ breaking into our world anew today? Where does joy seep into the darkness? It is in our singing, in Christ born anew. (Can our children ring bells to remind us of Christ presence). Amen. Stewardship moment Each line if psalm 96 gives us a directive, something that we should be doing. We are instructed to sing, sing, sing, tell, declare, ascribe, ascribe, bring an offering, come, worship and tremble. Whenever we are in the presence of God it is important for us to remember to tremble. To stand in awe of the power of God. But the psalm also says that we should bring an offering to God. It is time for us to bring that offering to God, an offering of our gifts, but more importantly our lives, our gratitude, our hearts our worship, our lives. In this season of giving, I want us not to focus on what we give, but what we receive. What have we received from God, this may have been a hard year, but we could not have done it without God. the greatest gift we receive in this season, is the ability to say thank you. Our offering is a part of our total worship of a loving, peaceful, joyful, hopeful God. Christmas Blessing Happy Holidays. This Christmas let hope warm your heart, love warm your family, and the Holy Spirit warm all mankind. May the harmony of Christmas stay in your heart all year round and may the Lord send his blessings. May God bless you and let this Christmas season bring comfort and joy to you and your family.Sep 5, 2018 Additional illustrations……… 6. KIERKEGAARD'S STORY OF THE PRINCE We affirm a belief in the Son, Jesus Christ. We say that God took on human form, came and lived among us, suffered the same trials that we suffered, experienced the same Feelings that we experienced. Jesus was purely human and purely divine. Jesus was not God. Jesus was God incarnate. There is a difference. Jesus never drew attention to himself but always pointed to God. Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish theologian of another century tells a story of a prince who wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day while running an errand in the local village for his father he passed through a poor section. As he glanced out the windows of the carriage his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. During the ensuing days he often passed by the young lady and soon fell in love. But he had a problem. How would he seek her hand? He could order her to marry him. But even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor. As you might have guessed, the prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved, into the village, entering not with a crown but in the garb of a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him for who he was and because he had first loved her. This very simple, almost child like story, written by one of the most brilliant minds of our time explains what we Christians mean by the incarnation. God came and lived among us. I am glad that this happened for two reasons. One, it shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with us, that he is on our side, and that he loves us. Secondly, it gives us a first hand view of what the mind of God is really all about. When people ask what God is like, we as Christians point to the person of Jesus Christ. God himself is incomprehensible. But in Jesus Christ we get a glimpse of his glory. In the person of Jesus we are told that God, that mysterious other that created the stars and the universe, is willing to go all of the way, to be one of us, talk our language, eat our food, share our suffering die on a cross. Why? So that a single person, you, me, might be redeemed. And, grow to love Him. 7. GET THE JOB DONE -- OPENER It's a startling fact but true -- Jesus and politicians have a lot in common. This no doubt comes as a surprise to those who regard politics as a dirty business, or who think of politicians essentially as liars, and who believe steadfastly that politics and religion don't mix. Nonetheless, Jesus and the politicians have a lot in common. When you think of it, politicians get elected by promising us something better. Twenty years ago President Reagan was elected and then re-elected by asking the public, "Are you better off now than four years ago?" The first time, the people answered, "no," and elected Reagan for the promise of something better. Four years later they responded "yes" to the question and elected Reagan for another term in hope for an even better four years. Jesus and politicians do have a lot in common. Not always, however. A little girl asked her mother whether all fairy tales began with, "Once upon a time." "No," replied the mother. "Today most of them begin with 'If I'm elected.'" Jesus made promises, but not like that. Was Jesus, 2,000 years ago, promising something better? Indeed he was. He said he had come to bring in the kingdom of God, the rules of God's righteousness in the world. For 900 years, Jews had been hoping for a restoration of the glorious kingdom of David and Solomon. For 500 years they had been longing for an end to foreign tyranny and a return to prosperity and freedom. And in Jesus' time the longings and expectations were at an all-time high. For Jews of that time, the hopes of a better life were often focused on a Messiah, a new King David who would come and restore their good fortune. Others spoke of a messianic age about to arrive, the coming of the kingdom of God, a time when God would reign supreme over his people, and freedom and prosperity and the good life would be enjoyed. It would also be a time when righteousness and justice and peace would prevail. Had there been people who claimed to be the promised Messiah? Indeed there had been, and the Romans, then occupying Judea and Palestine, promptly disposed of them. But now Jesus appears on the scene, announcing far and wide that the kingdom of God is at hand, and that he is God's agent to bring in his kingdom, the new and better life. Not only is Jesus like politicians in promising a new and better way, he is like them in his struggle to get the word out to all the people, to announce the kingdom is coming, to raise expectations and to prepare them to receive Jesus' message. Without newspapers, radios and television, how do you get the job done? You do it in person and you delegate emissaries, advance men, to prepare the way and to excite anticipation for Jesus' arrival and for his message of hope. The sermon goes on to develop the idea of how Jesus got the job done and poses the question: How do we get the job done in our time? The sermon uses Jesus as our model and goes on to answer this questions with the following outline: 1. To get the job done we must delegate 2. To get the job done we must discover new opportunities 3. To get the job done you must dedicate yourself to the task