Sermon Tone Analysis

What Christmas Is Really About

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - Dec. 22, 2013

*I have some fond memories of Christmas as a kid: Like getting the Sears Toy Catalog every fall.

By Thanksgiving we had that thing in tatters, completely falling apart.

Then there was that sawed-off toy rifle I got in 3rd grade.

It was just like the one Steve McQueen had on the "Wanted: Dead or Alive" TV show.

Then there was that new bike in the 5th grade, and the chemistry set we used to launch a few rockets.

We also use it to start a couple of fires -- (small fires).

*I have quite a few fond memories of Christmas as a kid.

But the thing that bothers me is that none of them are connected to the real meaning of Christmas.

That's why it's so important for us to have special services like we've had for the last two Sundays, and like we will have tonight.

*People need to know what Christmas is really about.

A Pew Survey two weeks ago says only 51% of Americans now see Christmas as a religious holiday.

(1)

*People need to know the real meaning of Christmas, and they will find it right here in the Word of God.

The shepherds and the angels help us see what Christmas is really about.

1. First: Christmas is about God's availability to us.

*The God of the whole universe is available to us, because He loves ordinary people like me and you.

The shepherds in vs. 8-10 remind us that God cares for everyday people like us.

*There they were in verse 8. . .

living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people."

*The Good News is for ALL people, even people like these lowly shepherds, even people like us.

*Most of us feel a little close to these shepherds.

Brian Bill told about another survey that asked people to choose someone in the Christmas story they identified with the most.

It wasn't Mary or Joseph or the wise men.

The shepherds came out on top by far.

*We relate to the shepherds, because they were ordinary working men.

There was nothing special about them.

They were even considered to be outcasts in their day.

Because of the nature of their work they were unable to attend religious services.

Shepherds were isolated and forgotten.

Because their flocks needed to move around to find new grass and fresh water, they never stayed in one place for long.

*Shepherds were treated with contempt and mistrust.

They were often suspected of stealing from others.

And their testimony was never allowed in court because they were so unreliable.

(2)

*But when God first sent the greatest message ever sent from heaven, He sent it to a bunch of smelly shepherds.

And they remind us that God is available to everyday people like us.

[1] The God of the whole universe is available to us! -- And He is available to give us His encouragement.

*Listen to how God's angel encouraged the shepherds in vs. 9&10:

9. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

*I don't know what you might be frightened or fretful about today.

But God knows.

And I know that God wants to calm your fears.

He wants to encourage you today: "Do not be afraid."

[2] The God of the whole universe is available to give us His encouragement.

And best of all, He is available to give us everlasting life.

*God has good news for us!

As the angel said in vs. 10, "I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people."

Then in vs. 11, it's God's good news of salvation, "For there is born TO YOU a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

*Good news!

God loves us in spite of our sins, and came to earth to die on the cross for our sins.

Good news!

Jesus Christ rose again from the dead!

*But notice that the shepherds had to find Jesus.

In vs. 12 the angel said, "This will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

Then in vs. 15&16:

15.

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.''

16.

And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

*They found Jesus and so can you!

We have a findable Savior!

We have a findable God!

In fact, the Bible tells us that by His Holy Spirit, Jesus is here today, knocking on the door of your heart.

And Jesus will come in, if you will open your heart to trust in Him.

Good news!

Jesus will save everyone who opens their heart to Him, and trusts Him as Savior and Lord.

*God is available to us! Craig Loscalzo summed up this great truth by saying: "The angels came to shepherds: People who were doing what they did every day and every night, people going through the routines of life, people living their ordinary lives.

The angels came to them."

*And "isn't that what the birth of Jesus is all about?

It's about God meeting us, not on high holy days, but on ordinary days, in ordinary places, in an extraordinary way.

The birth of this Child is about God coming to us in our everyday lives and saying to us, 'Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news.'

*The birth of Jesus Christ is about God meeting us in our pain and loneliness.

-It's about God meeting us in our frustration and anger.

-It's about God meeting us Monday, Tuesday, and every other day.

-It's about God wanting to be a part of our lives every day."

(3)

*Christmas is about God's availability to us.

2. It's also about our adoration for God.

*We should worship and adore the Lord the way we see the angels worship in vs. 13-14:

13.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!''

*Think about the glory of God.

God reveals His glory through the star-lit vastness of the universe.

As Psalm 19:1 says: "The heavens declare the glory of God."

*In the Old Testament, God revealed His glory through consuming fire and blinding light.

In Exodus 24, Moses went up on Mount Sinai to meet with God for 40 days and 40 nights.

And there God's Word says:

16.

The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days.

And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17.

The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a raging, consuming, devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

*In 2 Chronicles 7, when Solomon was dedicating the Temple, the Bible says:

1.

Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

2. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.

3. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.''

*God has revealed His glory through the star-lit vastness of the universe.

And God has revealed His glory through consuming fire and blinding light.

But the best way God ever revealed His glory is through His Son Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person."