Jesus - The Priceless Gift Series

SERIES: “GIFTS UNDER THE TREE”

TEXT: LUKE 2:1-7

TITLE: “JESUS – THE PRICELESS GIFT”

INTRODUCTION: A. Have you ever desired a certain gift? Gone to great lengths to make sure that everyone

knew what gift you wanted only to find that no one was really listening?

1. I heard about one woman who told her husband that she wanted something that

would make her more loveable and beautiful

--He got her an exercise bike and a bathroom scale

2. I read some time ago that about 15 million pounds of fruitcake are given every

Christmas

a. Of course, no one knows how long a particular fruitcake has been around or how

many times its been passed from one person to the next

b. I would imagine that only a small fraction of those 15 million pounds is actually

eaten after being given

B. Many of you may have already opened gifts this morning

1. Over the last several weeks, we’ve been talking about the gifts that God gave us on

that first Christmas morning

a. The first gift was “Joy – The Enduring Gift”

b. The second gift was “Peace – The Mysterious Gift”

c. Then came “Purpose – The Indispensable Gift”

d. Next week is “Salvation – The Eternal Gift”

2. But this morning, I want us to look at “Jesus – The Priceless Gift”

a. 1 Pet. 1:18-19 – “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as

silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down

to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb

without blemish or defect.”

b. Paul puts it this way in 2 Cor. 9:15 – “Thanks be to God for his indescribable

gift.”

3. Jesus is the greatest gift of all.

a. None of the other gifts matter if we don’t first of all have a relationship with

Jesus Christ.

b. All of the other gifts that God wants to flow into our lives flow through Jesus.

C. Lk. 2:1-7 – “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be

taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while

Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem

the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there

to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a

child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave

birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn.”

I. A GIFT OF HUMILITY

A. We’re often attracted by the glitter and gold of Christmas

1. We like the “bling”

2. It’s what stands out when we look at Christmas presents

B. But it’s important to remember that the first Christmas gift came wrapped very simply

--in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger

1. God came to visit this earth and He came through humble circumstances

a. His mother and stepfather were peasants from an obscure village

b. While most kings are born in a palace and sit on a throne, this king was born in a barn and laid in an

animal’s feeding trough

2. The apostle Paul reminds us of this humble gift in Phil 2:5-8 – “Your attitude should be the same as

that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to

be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human

likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to

death— even death on a cross!”

3. Jesus was equal with God

a. He came to earth in humility

b. Because of His submission in humbling Himself, you can’t look at the wooden manger without

looking ahead to see a wooden cross

II. A GIFT OF HAPPINESS

A. Christmas Day is a happy day for most people

1. They share gifts with people that they love and receive some nice gifts as well

2. However, the weeks leading up to Christmas Day are not always that happy

a. December can be such a hectic, hurried month

b. A few days before Christmas, two men in Florida decided to go sailing while their wives went

Christmas shopping. While they were out sailing, a terrible storm came up and they had great

difficulty keeping the boat under control.

As they maneuvered their way back to land, the boat got grounded on a sandbar. They had to