Christmas Is About...

Title: Christmas is about…

Text: Luke 2:10-14

Date: 12/23/07

Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church

Introduction: About a week before Christmas a five-year old boy was busying drawing a picture for his mother. She walked into the room and asked him what he was drawing. The boy pointed to a brown structure in the right corner of the paper and told his mother that the brown structure in the corner was baby Jesus’ house. Then he pointed to a large yellow star above the house and explained that it was the star that the wise men followed to find baby Jesus. His mother pointed to a man outside the house carrying something in his arms and asked, “Is that one of the Wise Men bringing His gift to Jesus?” The boy quickly replied, “no that’s Joseph taking out the trash.”

Well, it’s almost Christmas, only two more days! For most of the children here today that two days is going to seem like an eternity. On the other hand if you’re like me and haven’t finished your shopping yet, it’s going to get here way too fast.

Second Grade Students at Simpson Elementary were recently asked to write what Christmas means to them. I enjoyed reading through this section, and wanted to share a few of their thoughts about Christmas with you this morning.

One boy writes, “Christmas is a holiday. At my house Santa goes through the door because we don’t have a chimney. Santa comes on his sleigh. Christmas is fun. I am going to ask Santa for a skateboard and pads for my elbows and knees. I can’t wait until we put up our Christmas decorations.”

Another little boy writes, “Christmas is all about being good. If you be good you get good present’s. If you be bad Santa will put you on the bad list.”

One little girl wrote, “It’s a time to have a great time and get presents and laugh with your family and friends.”

Another Second grader said, “Christmas means giving presents. You also get to sing and dance with your family. It means watching Frosty and Rudolph. It means decorating your house and tree.”

I expected to see several answers similar to those and I did, but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised at the number of children who mentioned the true meaning of Christmas in their responses. I was especially proud of a couple of our young boys.

Benjamin Bayles said, “Christmas means Jesus the New born King. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. God sent Jesus on Christmas. Jesus is called the Messiah!”

Owen Carey wrote, “On Christmas Day Baby Jesus was born…Christmas is not all about toys and presents its about baby Jesus!”

I couldn’t have said it any better myself boys! I proud of you and I know your parents are as well.

Christmas means different things to different people. So this morning I want to take just a few minutes to remind you of what Christmas is all about. First of all, as Dr. Pulliam shared with you a few weeks ago…

I. CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT HOPE.

During the First Century there was a heavy sense of Hopelessness among the Jewish people. They despised the Roman Empire and King Herod, and were hoping that God would send the Messiah to save them from all of the persecution they were experiencing. But their hopes and dreams of the Throne of David being re-established and the Romans being thrown out of Israel didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Consequently many of the people had lost hope.

Many people today also have a sense of hopelessness, especially young people. They sense that despite our best efforts everything seems to be falling down around us. I want you to know this morning that there is hope. But I want to make sure you understand that our hope is not in a political party or even a particular presidential candidate. Our Hope is not in scientific discoveries or technological advances. Our hope is found in God and His promises.

There are two definitions of Hope that I want to make sure you understand this morning. There is the common worldly definition or understanding, and then there is a “Spiritual definition.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines hope as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; or as a desire accompanied by expectation.”

One of the little boys I mentioned earlier said he was hoping to get a skateboard for Christmas this year. Now just because He’s hoping to get that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to happen. In other words there is no guarantee He’s going to get a skateboard no matter how much he hopes for it.

That’s the common understanding or definition. Now you might not know this but even though the Bible doesn’t come right out and give us a definition of “Hope,” it does provide us with a good basic understanding of the term. The Biblical or spiritual definition of Hope is this: "Hope is an expectation based on the promises of God."