Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are picking back up in our Christmas series, “The Reason for the Season”.

If you’re new to MCF, it would be good for you to know, that typically we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what the Bible means in our lives today.

And currently we are doing that through the NT book of Acts.

However, through the month of December we are taking a break from our study of Acts in order to give focus to the Christmas season.

With that said, last week we started our Christmas series, “The Reason for the Season”.

A series that highlights what we are calling the four seasons of Christmas.

The first season is called “A Season of Promise”.

And as we learned last week, Christmas is season of promise because it’s based on a promise.

A promise found in .

A promise that came as a result of Adam and Eve disobeying God and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

An act of disobedience that ushered sin and death into the world.

An act that separated man from God.

But the good news is, despite man’s unfaithfulness.

Despite our inability to keep a promise.

In that moment God made us a promise.

God promised that one day He would send a savior to redeem mankind from sin and restore our relationship with God.

In that moment, God promised us Christmas.

And God made good on his promise.

Because from on, God began to make preparations for Christmas.

It started through a man named Abraham as God promised Abraham that his seed would become a blessing to all people.

It continued as God gave Abraham a son named Isaac.

And then God gave Isaac a son named Jacob, who would eventually would become known as Israel.

It gained momentum as the nation of Israel was born through 12 sons, one of which was the tribe of Judah.

It picked up speed through a specific family line within Judah, through a man named David.

It picked up speed through a specific family line within Judah, through a man named David.

And it eventually came to fruition in as Christmas was born.

And that’s why the Gospel writer Matthew introduces His gospel with these words, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

(ESV)

Matthew opens His gospel reminding us of God’s promise.

That when it seemed man had no hope, God not only made a promise, He made good on it by providing a redeemer.

The Apostle John puts it like this:

And that my friends is why Christmas is a season of promise.

Because it’s a season where we are reminded of a promise made and a promise kept.

And as we learned last week, that promise is for you.

It’s for me.

It’s for anybody that will put their hope and faith in Jesus.

And that’s good news, because without that promise, there can be no Christmas.

The Apostle Paul writes:

Paul says there was a time when we were separated from God, strangers to the promise.

You see, without the promise of Christmas, there can be no Christmas.

So, if you missed the first season of Christmas, I would encourage you to go online to mcf.life where you can listen to that message in its entirety.

With that said, today we are going to look at the second season of Christmas.

A season that is connected to, and builds off of the first season.

It’s based on a promise of redemption.

A promise tha

Because now that we understand the promise of Christmas, we need to understand how to engage with the promise of Christmas.

So, to help us do that, I want to introduce this next season by asking you a question.

A question I’m confident we can all relate with.

And the question is this:

Question - Have you ever had a moment in your life when you were asked to put your trust in someone or something?

In other words, someone asked you to trust them.

I think we probably all have, right?

For example:

Maybe you were concerned about a situation at work, so you brought it to your boss’s attention, and they said something like, “Trust me, I’ll take care of it.”

looking at the first of the four seasons of Christmas.

Or maybe a friend asked you to share a secret with them, and they said, “You can trust me, I won’t tell anyone.”

Or maybe your teenager asked to go out with their friends, and they say, “Trust me, I’ll be home on time.”

Or maybe somebody asked to borrow money from you, and they said, “Trust me, I’ll pay you back.”

The truth is, we’ve all been in a situation where somebody or someone asked for our trust.

They asked that we put our hope or assurance in what they promised or were saying.

Because that’s what trust is, right?

Trust is the belief that someone is being truthful.

Trust is you buying into their promise.

Because if you think about it, that’s how trust works.

In a way, trust is kind of like a commodity.

It’s something you give to somebody in hopes of getting the return they promised.

That’s true, right?

So, the question then is, “Was your investment of trust a wise investment or not?”.

In other words, did the person you put your trust in come through?

Did you get the return you were hoping for?

Well, it depends, right?

It depends on whether the person kept their promise or not.

And herein lies the challenge of trust.

Because as we learned last week, while promises are often made, promises are often broken.

And their broken because promises are made by broken people.

And when promises are broken, the investment of trust is lost.

That’s true, right?

Trust in your boss is lost when they don’t take care of the problem.

Trust in your friend is lost when they tell somebody your secret.

Trust in your teenager is lost when they break the curfew.

Trust in your friend is lost when they fail to pay the money back.

It’s the moment when you say, “I trusted you!

How could you do this!

You’ve lost my trust!”

You see, that’s the challenge of trust.

Because like all investments, sometimes it comes with losses.

Losses that can destroy relationships and sometimes make it tough to trust again.

As a result, it makes it hard to trust people, right?

Because the truth is, we’ve all experienced the loss of trust.

We’ve all had that moment where promises were broken and trust was lost.

And because of that, some of us are not very trusting.

In fact, some of us have no trust.

We’ve been hurt too often and as a result, trust is not a commodity we’re willing to trade any longer.

Now, at this point, you might be wondering, “Pastor, where are you going with this?

I’m tracking with you on how trust works.

And you’re right, and sometimes I struggle when it comes to trust.

But what does this have to do with Christmas?”

Well, just like Christmas is about a promise, Christmas is also about trust.

And the truth is, if you want to experience the promise of Christmas, then it’s going to require you to give your trust to God.