Illus: I read about a suburban church that was having a live Nativity scene… They had real people playing the parts and live animals… Well, overnight the animals were locked up in the pastor’s garage…
Somehow the donkey got lose and wondered downtown and walked right up in
the middle of an open bar…
The police were
called to remove the animal and that night on the local news, the newsman said,
“tonight a Jack Ass from the Methodist Church was
picked up in a local bar… We are told that he escaped from the parsonage…” J
You’ve
got to watch those Methodists… but more
so, you’ve got to watch how the secular world trys to change the truth of
Christmas…
Illus: I read a cute story of how a little 6-year
old girl was telling the Christmas story to her little brother…
She
said, “On the very first Christmas, Mary and Jospeh were staying in a stable
because the Holiday Inn was full…
And
Jesus was born just in time to get gifts from Three Wise Men and Santa
Claus… And there in the stable were
cows, sheep, and donkeys and of course Rudelph the Red-nosed Reindeer… J
Well,
it happened but NOT quite like she told it…
Christmas has
finally made it – Thanks be to God! We’ve waited 4-long weeks through the Advent
Season and now, we celebrate the Christ Child – God’s greatest gift given to a
world that HE so loved…
Santa Claus came a
couple of nights ago and left us all some goodies (depending if you’ve been
naughty or nice this year)…
and there have been millions of presents shared with loved
ones…
But of all the
gifts given, today we celebrate the greatest gift of them all – Jesus
Christ!
If you are like
most of us, people tend to put a lot of time and effort into their gift
giving… They want to give their loved
one the perfect gift…
and not only the perfect gift, but we want it wrapped nicely in
pretty paper with pretty bows…
Perhaps that
custom came from heaven because that’s exactly what God did – HE gave us the perfect
gift, HIS best gift
and It was wrapped in swaddling clothes…
This morning, as
we celebrate the birth of Christ, I want to conclude my Advent series, as
today, we take a look at the CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS!
The secular world
has done just about all they can do to take Christ out of Christmas… Who’s ever heard of a Holiday Tree? And if you want to be politically correct,
you’re supposed to say, “Happy Holidays, not Merry Christmas…”
Well, forgive me,
but I don’t want to be politically correct, I want to be heavenly blessed… Happy Holidays is for Thanksgiving or the 4th
of July or Labor Day, but NOT for Christmas!
So I say “Merry Christmas!”
We celebrate
Christmas because it’s a day of Good News…
It’s the day that the Word was made flesh… The day in which God became man… And how did HE come?
Well, as we know,
HE didn’t come as we would expect HIM to come; not in a palace and not on a
white horse… Instead, HE came born to a
virgin teenager… born
in a lowly stable and laid in a manger – a feeding trough… HE came in a CRADLE…
HE came in the
middle of the night and had it NOT been for the shepherds, HE would have come
without being noticed at all…
How did HE come? Friends, HE came in the flesh… In the flesh so HE could relate to us… so HE could understand us… so HE could experience our pain and our joy… God became one of us… and HE came as a baby in a cradle – the Christ Child – God’s greatest gift!
That’s the Christ
in Christmas… a Child wrapped in
swaddling clothes and laid in a lowly manger…
But why did HE
come? The Bible says that HE came to
save the world – HE came to save us from our sins – to save us from our death –
to give us new life – eternal life…
HE came just as
the prophets of old predicted – to make a New Covenant with God and HIS
people…
Illus: (Bethesda only) When I was at the church in
Crystal Springs, we built a full-size Nativity scene for Christmas… We had the manger, the crib, Mary and Joseph,
the Wise Men, and several animals… We
had the full-meal deal…
It was an
ordinary Nativity scene with only one exception… It wasn’t planned this way – but when we
turned on the floodlights we noticed that one of the Wise Men standing in front
of the horizontal beam of the stable was casting a shadow… Not everyone noticed the shadow… but those that did
saw a shadow of a Cross…
In a Nativity
scene erected to portray the birth of Jesus – it also portrayed His death…
*********
Newhebron ******************
Jesus was born in
the manger and laid in a crude cradle but he didn’t stay in the cradle… For it
was clear to Jesus that he wasn’t born for the cradle, but he was born for the
Cross…
Jesus knew that
He was born to die… HE came to die in
order that we could live… HE came born
in a cradle but facing the CROSS…
That’s why God’s
gift of Christmas is so special… The Word that was made flesh was God’s only
begotten Son… and He was sent to die as a ransom for our sins…
The Bible says
that we all fall short of God’s glory… for we are all sinners…
all of us… and it says that the wages (the price or the
costs) of sin is death…
But instead of us
dying for our sins – The Word became flesh and Christ died on the Cross to pay
the wages for our sins… God’s gift is a
gift that keeps on giving…
because every time we sin – Jesus pays the price… just like a debit card…
That’s the Christ
in Christmas… the Christ Child who was
willing to hang on the Cross for you and for me…
But not only do
we see the Cradle and the Cross, God wants us to see the CROWN…
I’m so glad God didn’t stop with the Cross… because it’s the Cross and death that leads us to the Crown…
Once Jesus was crucified on the Cross, we’re told that on the third day God raised Him from the dead… and that He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father… and He has received a Crown…
The book of
Philippians tells us that Christ being born in human likeness humbled
Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a Cross… Therefore, God highly exalted Him and gave
Him the name above every name… so that at the name of Jesus every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…
The baby born in
Bethlehem is the King of Kings – He is Christ the Lord and He has received His
crown…
But not only did
He receive His crown… but we are told in
the book of 2 Timothy that there is a crown of righteousness reserved
for each of us who long for His appearing…
Friends, the
Bible tells us that the Word became flesh and it dwelt among us and we
have seen His glory – the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and
truth…
That’s the Christ
in Christmas… Jesus came and lived
among us… and through His life God has revealed Himself to us… and we have seen
His grace and His truth…
But having seen
His grace and truth, we are called to live likewise… We are called to live as Christ has
lived… We are called to be filled with
grace and truth… and
we are to look and long for His appearing…
Years ago, God’s
people were longing for a Savior… they
were looking for the Messiah that God would send them… and He came…
the Word was made flesh… but very
few recognized Him…
The Christ Child
was seen in the Cradle, but rejected… He
was seen on the Cross, but rejected… and though we celebrate His birthday,
do we celebrate the Christ in Christmas?
Or, have we in our own busyness rejected Him also?
I hope that we
have put Christ back in Christmas… I
hope that He is the center of attention…
With every gift that we give and with every gift that we receive may it
remind us of God’s gift…
Illus: I think the Grinch may have finally figured this out… for Dr. Suess said,
“And the
Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It
came without ribbons! It came without tags!"
"It
came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he
puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the
Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas.
. . perhaps. . means a little bit more!"
Oh Does It! Christmas is so much more! It’s the Good News of Christ!
Friends,
in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory…
and His name is Emanuel, God with us…
And may we be
found longing for His appearing… looking for His grace and His
truth… so that we might receive our
Crown of righteousness on the day of His appearing…
Today, let us
celebrate the Christ in Christmas as we receive the gifts of Christmas that God
has given us…
The gift of
Hope…
The gift of Love…
The gift of
Peace…
The gift of Joy…
The gift of
Christ…
All wrapped up in
swaddling clothes as a baby in a Cradle, Christ on the Cross, and Jesus Crowned
as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…
Let us pray!