A Right Christmas

Galatians 4:4-7

A Right Christmas

“The coming of Jesus was for the purpose of salvation.”

Sunday Morning Sermon

12.9.07

Intro: (start with video)

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4642543

“12 crazy days of Christmas”

(Title and text)

That video is funny – but it’s honest. The second day was 2 missing parts – but did you notice every time it came back to the second day of Christmas – it was a different missing part.

This time of the year can bring a plethora of different feelings and emotions – excitement and joy – depression and frustration. I know, because I’ve been to both extremes, during this time of the year.

We could make this season be about different things, Santa and reindeer – we could make it about shopping and finding that right present for the special people in our lives, like your preacher. We could make it about family, house guests and people we haven’t seen since mother’s day. We could make it about church – be a part of the CEO group – (Christmas and Easter ONLY) – we could hear the same theme we heard last year, expected message and nothing really changes.

Could we do something this morning and this season – and make it be simply about Jesus? Surprisingly, enough if we allow this morning, this season to be about the savior we can still enjoy our family, we can still give good gifts and we can still be in church (although I encourage you to do it more than just twice a year, and set an honest and good example for your children.) If we focus our attention on the savior this season – this season will mean something more, than just gifts and Santa and mistletoe.

Discussion:

When I was a kid I wanted and prayed for a white Christmas – I loved seeing the snow flakes and having the snow ball fights. My desire now that I’m an adult isn’t so much a white Christmas as it is a RIGHT Christmas. A time of the year focused and set on the right things and the right person, not just a baby in a manger filling a story that seems casual, but a time focused on what God did for us by sending Jesus. This morning I hope you are encouraged and challenged to deepen your faith through the word preached – I hope you are moved to seek the salvation freely given by God. If the coming of Jesus was for salvation – I hope this morning that you will embrace the salvation you have been given freely.

Our text takes us not to Matthew or Luke –

If you have your bible with you turn with me to Galatians 4:4-7(Advance) (Read)

I see three things this morning that will help make this season a right Christmas – all three involve what God did through sending Jesus. It was:

(Advance)

I. The Right time (4)

Someone said – verses 4-7 contain a note of joy, but only as Christmas leads to Good Friday and Easter, only as a baby born of woman redeems those under the law.

a. It was a planned time (Advance)

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: Verse 11 says --

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

God didn’t just look down on creation and decide at that moment that everything was such a mess and he needed to send his son – Listen church, Jesus was the plan from the very beginning. The word “fullness” indicates that God has been working his purpose throughout history, and it was only when the right time came that he sent his son. At a major point in human history God took action. Paul sees the coming of Jesus into the world as the high point in human history.

b. It was a good time – in human history

i. Romans

The Romans had made uniquely ready by building a network of roads and establishing a stable government. Never before had travel been so easy and safe; not again for another 1500 years would it be so. The Greeks made their contribution through their common language and the failure of their religion. It was an age of opportunity in communication, but an age when the traditional faiths had little to communicate. The Jews had made this moment in time ripe for the birth of the church by establishing synagogues throughout the known world, and by translating the Old Testament into Greek.

ii. Contrast to now

We would put Jesus on a reality show, make him sing the lyrics to music, drive a car instead of an SUV and vote him off the island, when we were done with him. Oprah couldn’t agree with Jesus and agree with everyone else on the show that she claims agreement with, that’s probably true anyway.