2023.12.24 [Candlelight] Be Not Afraid
Notes
Transcript
Be Not Afraid
Be Not Afraid
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
A sentry in the night hears a strange noise.
His blood pressure increases. His sweat glands kick into overdrive. His heart pounds in his chest. As he nervously investigates, he sees a shadow of what looks like another soldier. Halt! Who goes there!
When we encounter the unexpected, our first response is what psychologists would call the fight or flight response. We are afraid, so we have to decide whether to stay and fight or run away.
If anyone knows us, it’s the God who so lovingly created us. My favorite psalm says that God “knit you together in your mother’s womb.” Friends, He knows you!
God spoke to Abraham in a vision, and his first words were, “Don’t be afraid.”
When the nation of Israel was surrounded by enemies, God showed up and said, “Don’t be afraid, I am with you. Don’t be anxious, I am your god!”
When his people were unsure about their future, God told them, “Don’t be afraid, I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, and you are mine!”
When Joseph was thinking about leaving Mary because she was pregnant, an angel showed up and told him, “Don’t be afraid to take her as your wife.”
An angel showed up unexpectedly the night Jesus was born. He appeared to shepherds sleeping in the field, and his first words were, “Don't be afraid.”
Brothers and sisters, God knows us. He knows that in the face of the unknown or unexplainable our first response is fear! So he provides for us. He speaks words of comfort: words of trust.
Some of you may have never been to a Christmas Eve service before … or maybe even never been in a church building at all. That’s okay. Welcome! I hope you hear words of comfort and words of trust tonight.
You see, for centuries, the Church has shouted loud about God’s standards and humanity’s sins. Then, we’ve whispered about God’s grace.
Tonight, I want to suggest that God’s loudest statement was a pronouncement of mercy! Christian artist Michael Card wrote:
You and me we use so very many clumsy words.
The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.
When the Father's wisdom wanted to communicate His love,
He spoke it in one final perfect Word.
He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.
His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.
Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.
And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.
God’s final Word was not just spoken … He was born!
in the most unlikely of places
to the most unlikely of parents
and announced to the most unlikely of people.
Whatever you may think of yourself, you can’t think much less of yourself than poor, unwed parents giving birth in a foreign land among the livestock with the first guests being dirty shepherds.
It doesn’t matter what has kept you from finding out about this Jesus and what it means that he would bleed to make a way to Heaven for you and me. In this birth, God screams that you are so much more important than any of the junk of this life. Your soul is infinitely valuable to the infinite God of Creation.
So, if you’re nervous being in a strange place with strange people tonight … let me quote the angel to you:
“Don't be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you--wonderful, joyous news for all people.
11 Your savior is born today.”
Rather than condemning you because of your past … I believe God would shout that he loves you tonight! He sent his very own Son so you could be made right with Him and become a part of his eternal family.
Maybe you’ve never heard that before. Maybe you’ve heard it with a heavy dose of judgment or condemnation. Maybe you’ve just never heard the desperation in God’s voice.
[desperate] God loves you! You matter to Him! I cannot possibly tell you that in enough ways to convey how true it is! He wants you so badly to be a part of his family … but he will not force himself on you.
Revelation 3:20 shows God as the ultimate gentleman:
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
He wants so desperately for that door to open … but he wouldn’t dare violate you by forcing himself in. Instead, he stands and continues to knock.
Tonight, as you stand on the inside of the door to your life … I can encapsulate all of God’s promises and all of his interaction with humanity in these simple words:
“Don’t be afraid! Your savior is born, and God wants to show you his love and mercy!”
Be not afraid! Open the door!
Let’s pray ... [Communion]