Jesus, My Savior

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER R IDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

JESUS, MY SAVIOR!

(PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request #389.)

TEXT: John 1:14; Galatians 4:4-5; Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Hebrews 7:25-27; Luke 2:11 (All Scriptures are from the NIrV for ease of understanding.)

Before I begin my sermon I want to say that I adapted much of the material for this message from an excellent sermon by Jeff Strite, a preacher in Indiana, & from an article by Doug Redford, a retired editor & Bible college professor.

ILL. This Thursday, July 20, 2023 will mark 54 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing. The crew consisted of three American astronauts: Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, & Neil Armstrong.

Even back then, some folks refused to believe a man had actually walked on the moon. “Why, on TV they can make anything look like it happened,” some claimed.

Millions of Americans watched the landing on television. Walter Cronkite was at his news desk covering the landing. He was considered “the most trusted man in America.” He heard the words of the crew when they touched down on the moon: “The eagle has landed,” they said.

And Cronkite was speechless. He took off his glasses & simply said, “Whew!” It was hard to believe that humans had safely landed on the moon.

Neil Armstrong, who took the first steps on the moon, said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

But as amazing a feat as it was for man to walk on the moon, it cannot compare to the “giant leap” that occurred more than 2,000 years ago when, as John 1:14 says, “The Word became a human being. He made his home with us.”

On one occasion, Armstrong said he considered himself an ordinary man who was privileged to do some extraordinary things. But when God came to earth in the form of the baby Jesus, he was an extraordinary being coming as an ordinary baby with an extraordinary purpose - & that was to be our Savior.

(Adapted:Doug Redford, Christian Standard, July/August, 2023)

ILL. A Christian gave a Bible to someone who was going through a rough time. The man’s life had been one disaster after the other, but in all that time he never made an effort to follow Jesus.

So, as the Christian gave a Bible to the man he encouraged him to read it, & suggested that, since it was December, that the man might start by reading the Christmas story.

The man looked at him with real surprise & said: “You mean the Christmas story is in the Bible?” (Rodney Buchanan in Sermon Central)

I. THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS IMPORTANT!

There are 2 Gospels that deal with Jesus’ birth – for a total of 196 verses. And that's not counting Galatians 4:4-5 which says:

“But then the right time came. God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him. … He came to set free those who were under the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have.”

In addition, there are a number of prophecies in the O.T. like Genesis 3:15 where God tells Satan: “I will put hatred between you & the woman. Your children & her children will be enemies. Her son will crush your head. And you will crush his heel."

That term “her son” points TO Jesus, because back then, when speaking of a “son”, you would ordinarily describe him as his father’s son or as “their” son.

But this boy was only described as being the son of a woman. Which, of course, is what Isaiah 7:14 declared would happen: “The Lord himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.”

Now, my point is this: IF you take the 196 verses in the N.T. Gospels, & combine that with all the prophesies about the Messiah, things like, “The virgin is going to have a baby” - you have a lot of verses. And that means that the story of Jesus’ birth is important to God & is important to our faith.

II. JESUS CAME TO BE OUR SAVIOR

Now, I don’t know exactly who decided Jesus was born on Dec. 25th, or who was responsible for a lot of stuff that is now being done during what we call the “Christmas Season.” But what I do know is that our celebration of Christmas can be a powerful time for evangelism.

ILL. According to a survey conducted by “Pew Research” back in 2015, just 8 years ago, 81% of non-Christians in the United States celebrate Christmas in one way or another, including Buddhists & Hindus.