Christmas Celebration Series

Let Christmas Change Your World!

Part 2 - Christmas Celebration

Luke 1:26-35

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - Dec. 10, 2006

*Christmas is a time of celebration, so the first thing that the angel Gabriel said to Mary in vs. 28 was, “Rejoice!” But in vs. 29, we see we see instead that Mary was “troubled.” That word means she was completely disturbed, she was greatly distressed. She was probably scared to death.

*And we would be troubled too, if we saw an angel in all of his glory, but there are a whole lot of other things that can trouble our hearts. There are troubles around the world and troubles at home. Some people here today are in the grip of grief. Many people we love have troubles in their health. Some of us have troubles in our families and some have troubles in their finances.

*Is there any room for joy? -Any reason to rejoice? Without a doubt the answer is yes. Christmas is a time for celebration. And in these verses we see three great reasons to rejoice.

1. First of all, rejoice Christians because Jesus is our Savior!

*The angel Gabriel revealed this great truth in vs. 31, when he told Mary: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”

*Jesus... -Even His name reminds us that He is the Savior of the world, because it means “Jehovah is our salvation.” This is what the angel stressed when he brought the good news to Joseph in a dream. In Matt 1:20-21, the angel spoke to Joseph and said: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

*Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world. And believers, we can rejoice in our Savior, because He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came looking for you! That is the way you need to see it this morning.

*King Duncan told the story of a serious coal mining accident years ago in the Allegheny Mountains. Many miners escaped, but three men were trapped deep in the earth. No one knew if they were alive or dead. As the hours passed, intense heat and deadly gases built up in the mine. Two days passed before a search team was allowed to go in.

*A camera team from the local TV station interviewed the three-man rescue team as they got ready to enter what could be their grave. A reporter asked one of the men if he was aware of the extreme danger down in the mine.

*When the man said yes, the reporter asked, “Are you still going down?”

*That brave man simply replied, “Those men may still be alive.”

*And without another word of explanation, he put on his gas mask, climbed into the elevator, and went down into the mine.

*“Are you still going down?” That is a question the angels in Heaven could have asked Jesus 2,000 years ago. King Duncan pictured the questions this way:

-Are you still going down into that world where darkness reigns: where might makes right and people value temporal things and ignore the eternal?

-Are you still going down when you know that only a few will listen and even fewer will heed your message of peace and good will?

-Are you still going down when you know that you will be despised, rejected and finally die a most cruel of death with nails in your hands and feet and a spear in your side?

-Are you still going down? (1)

*Thank God Jesus did come down to save us! He came because of the Father’s love: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

*He came because of His own love. As He told the disciples in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus Christ came into the world to die on the Cross for our sins. He came to save us. God help us to realize how badly we needed to be saved!

*Rodney Buchanan says: “Think for a moment of the worst thing you have ever done — the thing that makes your brain burn with shame. And then think of what it would be like if Jesus had not come and you could not be forgiven for your sin. What would that be like? Your guilt would never be relieved, and condemnation would always be hanging over your head.