Our Mess, His Message, God's Working Masterpieces Series

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 (Christmas Eve/Christmas Day)

Title: Our Mess, His Message, God's Working Masterpieces

The Christmas Season is Messy. It is a time when we acknowledge our mess ( our sin). It is the time that we hear the Good News of Salvation and Redemption. It is the time when we allow God through the power of His Holy Spirit to continue His work in creating us to be His Masterpieces.

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world!

Families and individuals across the world are getting ready to or are already celebrating the joy of Christmas. Families have been gathering from every corner of the country to share Christmas together. AAA projects that over 100 million people in the United States alone will have traveled 30 miles or more to spend Christmas with their extended families. That's a lot of people moving in a short period of time.

Along with that all that travel and family time comes a great deal of disorder, disarray and mess. Actually, when you think about it, Christmas is a very messy holiday. Suddenly, you have more people than normal in your home all scurrying around. There are more dishes to be done and there is more to clean than normal. Then on top of that you begin to open all those Christmas gifts, packages and bags. It doesn't take long for all the paper, discarded boxes and piles of new clothes to clutter up and make a whole mess.

But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because behind all that paper, boxes and packages is the spirit of overwhelming love. After all, that is why we spend time together and share with one another in the first place. Christmas is one big agape love fest. We open our hearts and homes to all those who we love. We share our resources with those we love. We do all we can for one another ( driving through all kinds of weather, sleeping on floors, living out of a suitcase, eating more than we should, overbuying ect...) all because we love one another.

For a few minutes, I would like to invite you to join with me as we look at three important things that Christmas is able to touch and transform. Three things that remind us of the supernatural mysteries and miracles of Christmas. Those three things are - 1. Our Mess 2. Jesus' Message 3. The LORD's Working Masterpieces

I. Our Mess

All of our lives parallel the average home scene on Christmas morning. There is a great deal of noise, a lot of mixed emotions along with some disorder, disarray and mess. It's just a fact.

As we get older and more mature we do our best to be refined and hide our true emotions. We try to keep up a front that we have everything together. We don't want anyone to know our inner turmoil's or how close we are to having everything fall apart. We want everything to be perfect - our homes, our families and our own personal lives. We want everyone to think we have it all together. We want everyone to believe that we live in some kind of Norman Rockwell world when all too often we live in some kind of Orwellian world.

The reality is nothing around us is perfect. First off, our homes are not perfect. Even in the best kept homes there are dust bunnies all over the place, scratches on furniture and places that need to be touched up with some paint. Our meals are not perfect. The turkey or ham was a little too dry, the bread was a little too brown on the bottom and the pies did not come out perfect. Our decorations are not perfect. The wreaths need a little sprucing up, the tree leans just a little to the left or right and there is a light or two not burning.

Our families are not perfect. Someone just experienced a divorce while someone else just lost their job. One of them is suffering physically while another one is an emotional wreck. One of our loved ones is battling an addiction or depression while another one is simply a pain in the neck. Truth be told we wonder what has happened over the years to so many of our family members. Didn't everyone seem to have it together just a few years ago? At least that is what we would like to believe. Everyone does their best to be nice with one another but every now and then someone gets on everyone's nerves. The reality is our families are not perfect. At times they are a total mess.

Our own lives are not perfect. Oh, we try to put up a good front and hope no one can see behind our mask but the truth is we are not the person we hope everyone else sees. We know that if they really knew what we have thought, done or thought about doing they would be horrified. We know if they really knew what went on in our hearts and our minds then they might even be afraid to be around us. The truth is we are not perfect. We are a mess.