Setting the Christmas Table
Luke 2: 8-14 November 29, 2009

Intro: I suppose that most of us spent Thanksgiving gathered around a dinner table somewhere… We either had family and friends come over to our house or maybe we went to their house… But chances are wherever you were; you were gathered around a table with family or close friends and someone had set the table…

Lori and I thought we were going to have a quite Thanksgiving this year… Usually, our house is where our families spend Thanksgiving – but this year everyone seemed to be going their own way, they had their own plans… (we were both in tears – tears of JOY…) but at the last minute plans begin to change and once again everyone came to our house… Our plans for a quite Thanksgiving were changed as we were suddenly surrounded by the love of family.

And although we weren’t sure who was coming, Lori set the table for the whosoever’s that might show up… She used our best tablecloth, our best dishes, and our best silverware… And with a festive arrangement in the middle, the table setting was fit for a king…

And our family gathered around that table and we gave thanks to God (our King) and we enjoyed the fellowship and the food that had been prepared for us…

In our scripture this morning, we see that the shepherds had planned just another quite evening out in the fields with their sheep… They weren’t expecting any excitement or anything miraculous… But their plans changed and all of a sudden they were surrounded by a host of angels bringing them the good news of great joy that Jesus Christ, our Savior was born that day…

Don’t miss this! God chose the lowly shepherds to make the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world… You might say, “Bro. Mike, what’s so important about that?” You have to understand that shepherds were nobodies…

They lived in the fields and valleys, separated from society… They were dirty, stinky, uneducated, poor people who were shunned by society because of their occupation… You could be a shepherd when you couldn’t be anything else…

But I think that’s why God choose them… By making His greatest announcement, the birth of His Son Jesus, to a group of lowly shepherds, God has shown us that HE ACCEPTS EVERYBODY… Everybody is valuable in the kingdom of God… Everybody is Somebody…

We may wonder why God choose shepherds, but the real question we should ask ourselves is, “Why would God choose me?” What have I done to deserve God’s love? What have I done to deserve God’s favor and blessings? What have I done to deserve God’s forgiveness? What have I done to be called a child of God?

Church, let me tell you what you’ve done! And it’s the only thing that makes you deserving… YOU FOUND YOUR FAITH… and you exercised your faith by believing that Jesus is God’s only Son, our Savior…

It’s by our faith that we believe… and it’s through our believing that we are saved… and it’s through our salvation that we receive God’s love, God’s favor, God’s forgiveness, and we become a child of God… We become a part of God’s family – the family of faith…

Today we begin the Advent Season… The word “Advent” simply means coming… Advent is the 4-weeks that will lead us to Christmas – the day that we celebrate the coming of the Christ Child, the birth of Jesus.

GOD HAS SET THE CHRISTMAS TABLE FOR US… The traditional Advent Wreath is designed as a circle which represents God’s existence – no beginning and no ending… It’s usually decorated with green holly – the green represents new life and the red holly berries represent the blood of Christ…

And then it has four purple candles in a circle – the color purple represents majesty, Jesus the King… And each candle is there to remind us of the gifts that Jesus brings to us – the gifts of faith, hope, love, and peace… And then in the center of the circle, there is the white candle… it’s called the Christ candle which represents the life and the light of Jesus…

And each week we will light a candle and reflect on its meaning as they lead us to the Christ candle (on Christmas Eve.)

But this morning, not only do we celebrate the beginning of the Advent Season, but the Lord’s Table has been set with the Lord’s Supper… It only consist of Bread and Wine… It’s the same meal that Jesus served His disciples the night before He gave His life up for us and was crucified… Jesus told His disciples, “Take, eat and drink in remembrance of me…” This is our reminder of the great mystery of faith that “Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again.”

Today, this table has been set by God as our Christmas Table… And it’s our reminder that God has given us everything we need… For this table represents the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the NEW LIFE that Jesus brings to us through faith…

As we begin this Christmas Season, the season of Advent, the season of coming; let us come to the Lord’s Table in faith and thankfulness for what God has done for us through Jesus Christ…

Let us receive the good news of great joy; a child has been born unto us and His name is Emmanuel, God with us… Let us pray!