This is the final sermon of the Christmas 2010 series as well as the last sermon of 2010. It is a simple message about one of the most familiar texts in Scripture: Luke 2:1-20. I told a joke to begin the sermon, but I told it so terribly that I deleted it from the audio version. So... I thought I would print it here. Hope you enjoy it.
After hearing the Christmas Story and singing "Silent Night," a Sunday School class was asked to draw what they thought the Nativity Scene might have looked like. One boy did a good likeness of Joseph, Mary, and the infant, but off to the side was a plump roly-poly figure.
The teacher, afraid that he had somehow worked Santa Claus into the scene, asked him who that was. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or even more worried when the boy responded, "Oh, that's round John Virgin."
(The following is excerpted from my sermon for this past Sunday. There are quotes at the end which are not footnoted, but this is a sermon, not an essay. The full sermon can be downloaded at the end. Enjoy.)
The miracle of Christmas is so much more than just the miracle of the virgin birth and the coming of the Christ-child.
The miracle is that God would care enough for this fallen and corrupt creation not to abandon it, but to preserve a line of inheritance throughout the ages of man so that in the fullness of time – when the time was just right according to His perfect plan – He could give the very best that Heaven had to offer on behalf of all mankind.
So who is this Child whose birthday we celebrate every Christmas?
To the Jews He was just another noted rabbi who was confused about the workings of God.
To Islam, He is only a messenger, born of a virgin, but whose importance was transcended by Muhammad.
To the Mormons, He is referred to as Savior, but they believe that, instead of being eternal God, that Jesus was born to the god of this world who was at one time a man himself and is only one among an infinite number of gods.
To the Jehovah Witnesses, He is a kind of god. He was created by God and is neither the eternal Son of God nor part of the Trinity.
To Scientology, He is only a good man and a good teacher who Himself was a product of reincarnation and offers no hope of salvation.
To the world, He is the baby in the manger that completes the Christmas scene – lost amidst the halos of Mary, the songs of hovering angels, the sounds of a stable, and the glitter of tinsel and the decorations of the season.
But for those who know Him as Savior, He is…
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9.6)
Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2)
Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End (Rev. 1:8; 22:13)
Bread of Life (John 6:35)
Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22)
Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)
Lamb of God (John 1:29)
Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)
Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
Son of the Most High God (Lk. 1:32)
The way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)
Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42)
King of the Ages (Rev. 15:3)
Ray Pritchard said…
If he is not God, we are fools to worship Him.
If he is, we would be fools not to.
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most well-known names in history. He was one of the greatest military commanders of all time and was, at one time, the Emperor of the French. He controlled an empire that spanned all of Europe.
What did Napoleon say about Jesus?
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison.
Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him.
Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and His will confounds me ... I search in vain in history to find anyone similar to Jesus Christ, or anything that can approach the gospel.
Dr. Philip Schaff, the famed historian, said…
Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mahomet, and Napoleon. (and someone else added… or Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao Tse Tung!)
C. S. Lewis said there are only three possible reactions to Christ:
You can shut Him up for a fool,
You can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or
You can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But you cannot write Him off as simply a good teacher or a good man, and you certainly cannot ignore Him.
Last week's sermon did not record, but I think you will find the subject matter interesting. Another title for the sermon might be "Christmas and the Gospels" since the message deals with how each of the gospel writers viewed the story of origins or the birth of Christ.
A few weeks ago, I posted a poem I wrote about 35-40 years ago in honor of Veteran's Day. Someone asked if I had written any other poems. The answer is no, not many, unless you count the few efforts I have made for my wife in an effort to be romantic. I was looking through some old files, though, and found this one. I do not have any idea how long ago I wrote it. It is just a simple testimony of what the Gospels mean to me. Enjoy.
On the Gospels
Moving between the words of these chronicles
There is a Living Essence reaching out from Eternity
To grasp the very cords of man’s heart to create
A harmony which only the Eternal could compose
And which only the redeemed can experience
In all of its magnificence and grandeur.
There is within these records more than the story
Of a man rejected by the nation which gave Him birth
And reviled by those for whom He died
Of a Man denied by His followers
And denuded by His foes
For the words have power within themselves,
There is even more so a pulse of Life
Like the essence of cut flowers which fills the room
With fragrance and stifles the repulsive
That quickens the soul from corruptible to incorruptible
I have heard many teachers and preachers explain how and why believers were first called Christians at Antioch. In this article, based on my sermon from this past Sunday, I would like to give my own opinion about this subject. This is not doctrine – just me expressing my thoughts in print.
If you are interested in reading about how others think the name Christian came to be applied to the believers, you can click here to read a very interesting though technical article on the subject.
The Bible says in Acts 11:25-26 that Barnabas and Saul fulfilled the Great Commission in Antioch – they lived among the people for one year teaching a great many people the truth of Christ.
On an earlier occasion, Jesus said to His disciples, “… everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6.40)
The disciple who is true to his lessons and models himself after his teacher will soon begin to think and to believe and to act as his teacher.
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Cor. 11.1, NLT)
Barnabas and Saul were disciples of Christ. They taught and modeled the life of Christ among these new believers in Antioch until the believers themselves began to think and to believe and to act just as they did – just like Christ.
In fact, Barnabas and Saul were so successful in disciple making – in teaching believers to follow Christ – that the city soon began to refer to the believers as “Christians” because their actions were so much like those of the Christ they professed.
The implication from this lesson is that believers were not called Christians until they had grown to look and to live like Christ among their community. They were not called Christians because they believed in Christ, but because they behaved like Christ. They were “little Christs” to those who observed them.
Wouldn’t it be grand if today people called us Christians, not because of our culture or our religious affiliation or even because of what we professed, but because we allowed Christ to live His life in us to the extent that those around us would see Christ in our everyday lives.
At DaySpring Church, we are in the final stages of our study of David Platt’s book, Radical. The last chapter of the book calls for readers to accept a challenge called “The Radical Experiment.” Over the next year, readers are asked to make a commitment to…
1.Pray for the entire world
2.Read through the entire Word
3.Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
4.Spend your time in another context
5.Commit your life to a multiplying community
If you accept the challenge, you can visit the Radical Experiment site at the web site for Brook Hills for resources that will help – at least for the remainder of 2010. I am not sure they will be there in 2011.
If you prefer your own material for praying for the world, you can purchase Operation World by Jason Mandryk, a terrific tool for carrying out this project. Through the church they are $16.00 each. Contact the church office if you are interested in a copy. Or you can visit www.operationworld.com and accomplish the same challenge.
If you accept the challenge to read through the entire Word in one year, you can visit the Radical Experiment site. Or, if you prefer, here are some web pages where you can download reading plans.
You may also like to listen to someone else read while you follow along (especially in light of the challenging names and words in the OT). Here are web sites where you can download or listen to the Bible being read. If you need help with this, contact Pastor Dan or the church office.
I recently read an article concerning how we should recognize that the Bible is not a series of stories, but actually one story concerning the gospel message. It contained this passage that really goes along with our emphasis on living the call to missions. “…the church is essential to the gospel. That is, Jesus did not make provision for the communication of the good news through history and in every culture until the end of the story by writing a book as did Mohammed. Rather he formed a community to be the bearer of this good news. Their identity is bound up in their being sent by Jesus to make known the good news of the kingdom. The story of the Bible is their life.” (Goheen, Michael W., “Reading the Bible as One Story,” Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C., Canada)
Muslims revere the Quran as Christians do Christ. It is the word of God. They see it as the infallible messenger – revered almost to the point of worship. When it is read in its original language of Arabic, it is not like reading the words of God – it is reading the very words of God. For Muslims, Jesus was simply a messenger in a long line of messengers. Muhammad was the last and greatest messenger. They have no concept of a personal Savior. For them, salvation is “in the book” and in the works it prescribes for those who would join God in eternal bliss.
The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10.17) So we assume that all one has to do is hear or read the Bible. If we print a gazillion Bibles and ship them all over the world, then we don’t have anything to do but wait for it to work its magic and the world will be saved, relieving Christians of the tedious task of “going.”
But to believe this is to ignore context. The same text (Romans 10.13-15) also says, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?”
It isn’t the word of God (the Bible) that saves, but the Word of God (Christ). And the only effective method of communicating the gospel of Christ is for those who know Him personally to “live and move and have our being” among those whose lives we seek to affect.
I'm not sure when I wrote this poem. I believe it was sometime before I was married (1974). It was published in the Wayne County Press-Sentinel (Jesup, GA), so the date could be verified if someone wanted to take the trouble.
It was written at a time when it seemed that our nation had turned its back on patriotism – when the veterans of the war in Vietnam were treated with so much disrespect by the press and the culture in general. I did not go to war, but that did not make me less the patriot and it did not diminish my respect for those who did go and for those who died or suffered wounds, both physical and psychological.
Now, about 40 years later, I have two sons who are veterans, having served in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Both experienced combat and had their vehicles blown up while they were riding in them, yet both came home with no physical harm.
Just knowing that they were in harm's way makes November 11 mean so much more now, because it's personal. The poem was written during a time of patriotic passion in a young man. It now is simply the memorial from a maturing father to those who served, including those of my own blood.
