Sermon Tone Analysis

*Christmas Dreams - “I am dreaming of this kind of Christmas!”*

*A Christmas unlike any other!*

Mark isn’t the only one needing to conduct a little business here this morning.

Today I begin a new series called Christmas Dreams.

The series will run through the entire month of December including Christmas Eve!

I have 100 yard signs (50 for each service) advertising our Christmas Eve series.

I need 50 people to come get one.

Just place them in your yard and then put the sign with your Christmas decorations so you can locate it again for next year!

I want people to come and worship God’s one and only Son.  Why?

*God has a message for you, for me – for us to hear this Christmas – TODAY!*  Speaking of Christmas the Columbus Dispatch printed a little article entitled “Yuletide Gems.”

The article listed the 25 most popular Christmas songs played over the radio in the last five years.

Coming in at #25 is Gloria Estefan’s  “This Christmas, at #22 is Gene Autry’s Here Comes Santa Claus, #21 is John Mellencamp’s “I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

#19 is Elvis Presley’s Blue Christmas.

#17 is Burl Ives signing “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” #13 is Kenny-G in Silver Bells, #11 is Andy Williams singing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year #8 is Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, #3 is Have yourself a Merry little Christmas by the Pretenders and the #1 played Christmas song is Winter Wonderland by the Eurythmics.

Well, of these 25 songs my all time favorite came in at #7 on this list – are you familiar with – “White Christmas by Bing Crosby!  *(Show lyrics)*

What are you dreaming of this Christmas?

Is there anyone honestly dreaming of – wishing for - a white Christmas?

I asked a few people “give me a dream or two for this Christmas?”

*Tim Pressler* said, /“To be together with my family...”/  *Matt Crill* took a page from Clark W Griswold, /“A gift certificate to the jelly-of-the-month club.

It's the gift that keeps on giving all year 'round...of course!”/  *Lisa Davis* said in one word – /“PEACE!”/  /That could be World peace, peace of mind, a piece of pie/.

*Chris Brooks* said, “A DETROIT LIONS SUPERBOWL IN 2011!”  *Becky Medley* said, /“I’m dreaming that a little Christmas elf would come and clean my house!”/

A word of caution here.

Do not show up in an elf’s costume at Becky’s house – her husband is a cop and he will shoot you!

So what are you dreaming of this Christmas?

Is it a cool video game?

Some new form of technology?

Another pair of shoes?

A budding romance?

A better marriage?

Maybe it’s just ONE gift OR something to eat!  *What do you think is God’s dream for you not just this Christmas but for your entire life?*

Dreams are interesting…I was reading a commentary by Dr. Mark Moore.

Mark is scheduled to come speak again here next April.

Mark pointed out that of the six dreams in the New Testament – four are from God to Joseph.

Let’s take a tour that can only be described as “dreamy.”

*Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 1.  Do YOU NEED A BIBLE TODAY?*

The birth of Jesus is recorded in Matthew chapters 1 & 2 – foretold in Luke 1 and recorded in Luke chapter 2.  Luke emphasizes Mary.

Matthew emphasizes Joseph.

We will get deeper into these verses in the next three weeks but for right now let’s be pinpoint specific.

/Find Matthew 1:20.

That’s dream #1.

Go to Matthew 2:12.

That’s dream #2.

One verse later.

Matthew 2:13.

There’s dream #3.

Move further along to Matthew 2:19 (dream #4) and then to verse 22 – here’s dream #5./

But there are six dreams in the New Testament.

*Go to the end of Matthew – find chapter 27.* 

Stephen Covey coined the phrase – “begin with the end in mind.”

That’s habit #2 of his Seven habits of Highly Effective People.

Covey coined it but Jesus lived it.

27 chapters ago we were at the beginning – the birth of Jesus.

Now we sit hours from the end – the death of Jesus.

When I say to you that Jesus began with the end in mind, I mean this – Jesus knew his purpose – he was born to die.

*Do you see verse 1 in Matthew 27?*  It would be around 5:30 or 6:00A.M on Good Friday morning.

*Go to verse 11*.

John 19:14 tells us it’s now 6 hours later – around 12 noon.

Look at what happens!  *(Read 27: 11-19)*  *There’s dream #6.*  Pilate’s wife had a dream.

And not just any dream.

Could this dream be considered a nightmare since she suffered like she did?

Not sure.

Maybe!

And on top of that Pilate’s wife through Matthew gives no specific details about the dream except that – *this Jesus dude is innocent*.

But Pilate already knows that.

She’s simply confirming what he already knows to be true.

*Let’s revisit verse 14.*  Pilate is amazed because Jesus is unlike any prisoner he has ever seen.

He acts on that fact.

*Look at verse 15.*  *Read 15-17.*

Barabbas had a bad reputation.

Mark & Luke both tell us that Barabbas was naughty and not nice.[i]

His rap sheet is long – a known insurrectionist and a murderer.

There’s no way these people will free a guilty man and kill an innocent man.

Right?

Not unless envy gets in the way!  *Highlight verse 18.* 

*COMMUNION HERE!*

*Envy and jealousy go hand in hand.*

/Proverbs 14:30 says that envy will rot your bones!/  Envy will eat us up from the inside!

*Let’s play a little color association game.*

What emotion do we associate with the *color blue*?

Depressed or freezing cold.

How about *red in the face*?

Angry.

*Yellow* -  besides being jaundiced – shouts happy.

*What about **green**?*

Green is associated with envy – has the little green monster been visiting your heart recently?

*Vicki Medvec is a professor* and she conducted research on Olympic medalists and discovered that bronze medalists were happier than silver medalists.

The reason makes perfect sense.

Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold, so they weren't satisfied with silver; bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all…”[ii]  *The religious leaders felt like silver medalists compared to Jesus!*

There he is up there while we sit down here.

Man, it fried them.

/“He’s got to go.

He’s making us look bad.

He said our prayers are just a bunch of babble!

He says we’re filled with pride.

Well, enough’s enough.

After all, who does he think he is?” / 

*/According to Pilate’s wife - Jesus is unique.

He’s the innocent one!

/*I don’t think for a moment this woman had a dream about every  person who appeared before her husband, the governor – Judge Pilate!

But God communicated with her and God wants to communicate with us – in whatever means possible.