God’s Christmas Plan

God’s Christmas Plan 10 Dec.23

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

“I Been Thinking”

Thanksgiving has come and gone. And we are in the Season of Advent. Advent is what we call the Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And it is also the season of waiting and expectation for Christmas

celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We prepare our homes and hearts for Christmas.

Advent also signifies the “arrival” or “an appearing or coming into place.” Christians often speak of Jesus Christ’s “first advent” and “second advent”; that is, His first and second coming to earth. Jesus Christ's first advent would be Jesus Christ birth and—Christmastime.

The Second Advent is the future return of Jesus Christ in glory, when it is understood that Jesus Christ will set up his kingdom, judge his enemies, and reward the faithful, living and dead.

Everything is God's plan. What is His Christmas plan for you? You must understand today that all the Christmas planning we do won't compare to all that God has planned for us.

But Just like all the other holidays, Christmas will come and go before you know it. Remember when you were little and it seemed to take forever for Christmas to get here.

*This is such a wonderful time of the year. And I am pretty sure that I don’t have to preach about the Christmas season being so much more than giving and receiving gifts. The children would disagree with me when I say that but as we grow older, we tend to look more at the general feelings of friendship, or closeness, or just the expression of love, and peace, and joy, and hope that fills the air.

There’s always a lot of planning that goes into the Christmas season.. not just here at Kirkwood Church of God but around the world. And all of it is designed to help each of us get out of that grinch attitude that so easily sets in each year and fill our days with a festive spirit.

But you know, all of the planning that goes into Christmas wouldn’t even happen if God did not have a plan. God’s plan was to get our attention and remind us that there is so much more for us than what we see

and are doing here on earth. God had to somehow get our attention so that we would focus on Him.

Now, God could have come down here Himself but there would be so many mixed reactions if God did. It would scare some people to death.

His appearance might convince some to be in awe and to listen to His message. But there would still be some that would see and still not believe.

So, what could God do? He came to this earth in the form of a baby. Most every human being has a positive reaction to a baby. We see a little baby and all of a sudden, we start talking funny.

So, God, in His perfect plan, comes to us in the form of a tiny baby. And this got the attention of those who knew the prophets of old. Isaiah 9:6 reads, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Now, you must know that Isaiah’s prophecy was given some 700 years before Jesus was even born. So, I been thinking, “God planned on Jesus coming to earth 700 years before.”. God had His prophet Isaiah ANNOUNCE it some 700 years before Jesus was born. God planned all this long before that.

If you look at the history of Jesus you can see how long and how far back God had planned Jesus’ birth. The 1st chapter of Matthew traces Jesus’ history back to Abraham. The 3rd chapter of Luke traces Jesus’ history back to Adam.

So, since the beginning of the creation of this world, it was God’s plan to come to earth in the form of Jesus Christ as a baby.

God did it all and God planned this since the beginning of time. Now that is amazing. It’s God’s plan. Do you even realize how much God knows and how much He plans?

Let me ask you, “This past Monday morning, did you know that you would be here in this worship service right now?” God knew.

God had a plan for you to be here for whatever reason. God’s plan for us to prosper us to bless us and God's plan for us is all good, God’s plan gives us hope. And hope is what this God’s Christmas plan is all about.

You must know this morning that there is a huge difference between those who live according to God’s commands and who believe in Jesus Christ, and those of the world. And that difference is HOPE - Having Our Priorities Eternal