Un-wrap the Gift of Joy this Christmas
Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
The angel said, “I bring you good news.” Christ is our good news of great joy.. Regardless of the circumstances, the pain, or problems, we look to Jesus, He is our good news. In Christ we can face life with optimism and joy.
What gift do you hope to unwrap this Christmas? Are you hoping for new clothes? An electronic gadget like a palm pilot or video cell phone or Sony Play Station 3; Or maybe you’re hoping to get a new HD TV?
Here are some letters children wrote to Santa Claus:
Dear Santa Claus:
Last year you didn’t leave me anything good. Also the year before last year you didn’t leave me anything good. This year is your last chance. Alfred.
Dear Santa:
In my house there are three little boys. There is Richard, he is 2. There is Jeffrey, he is 4. There is Norman, he is 7. Richard is good sometimes. Jeffrey is good some times. Norman is good all the time. I am Norman.
In the Christmas musical our choir sang about the best gift you can gift God. The best gift you can give is yourself.
The Greatest Gift
# The story is told about a wise and good king who ruled in Persia. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their king. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. The king ate the coarse food the poor man ate. The king spoke cheerful and kind words to the man. Then the king left. Later the king visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought for sure the poor man would ask him for some gift or favor, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given the best gift you gave yourself.”
In Jesus, God gave Himself as the greatest gift. The Bible calls this gift the “Unspeakable gift!”
Pastor Clifford Steward of Louisville, KY, sent his parents a microwave oven one Christmas. He described the response of his parents:
They were exited that now they, too, could be a part of the instant generation. When his dad unpacked the microwave and plugged it in, literally within seconds, the microwave transformed smiles into frowns! Even after reading the directions, his parents couldn’t make the microwave work. Two days later the mother confessed to a friend that she couldn’t even get the microwave oven to boil water. She said, “I really don’t need better directions; I just needed my son to come along with the gift!”
In the birth of Jesus God just didn’t send directions in His Word, he sent Jesus His Son to communicate in person the love of God.
When you embrace the love of God you have a sense of well being and joy. You know that all is well with your soul.
The message of the angel to the shepherds is needed today: “I bring you good news of great joy.” Because Jesus was born we sing out, “Joy to the World the Lord is come.
Instead of joy people live lives of quiet desperation, a life filled with fear and worry. Longfellow expressed the mood and clouds that hang over many at Christmas time. Longfellow wrote in his Christmas hymn: “I heard the bells on Christmas Day---and in despair I bowed my heard: There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Someone has written to describe our secular society:
In a day of illusions
And utter confusions
Upon our delusions
We base our conclusions.
Whatever your situation is this evening, the Angel of the Lord says to you: “I bring your good news of great joy.” It’s a gift from God to you. All you have to do is un-wrap the gift.
The scripture give this command: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” Phil. 4:4 The apostle Paul goes on to say, “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition…” Phil. 4:6 Did you notice words, “anything and everything.” “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer…”
What is our natural response to bad news and challenging problems? We worry and get anxious. A normal reflex doesn’t have to be taught. A child touches a hot stove and the immediate response is to jump back.
When you first learned to drive you had to concentrate on putting on your seat belt, putting the key in the car and starting the engine, and looking both ways, and holding the steering wheel just right. But after awhile these things all became normal responses.
Conditioned responses can sometimes get you into trouble. A guy went to the doctor with severely burned ears. “This is horrible,” the doctor said, “How did you burn both of your ears?”
The man said, “I was doing some ironing. The phone rang. I got a little confused and I answered the iron instead of the phone.
The doctor said, “That’s awful.” “How did you burn the other ear?” “He called back.”
The Apostle Paul says our normal and conditioned response should be to look to God in prayer
To maintain the joy of the Lord -- pray.
Christ is our joy.
The angel announces to us this Christmas, “I bring you good news of great joy. A Savior is born, Christ the Lord.” We can put on bifocals that filter out the pessimistic and negative side of life and help us focus on the joy of the Lord.
The Apostle Paul said that once you un-wrap the gift of joy you maintain joy by keeping your focus on the blessings of the Lord. Paul gives this counsel to live a joy-filled life: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
When you un-wrap the gift of joy. it is a gift you can enjoy and have not only at Christmas but all year long.
A Charlie Brown comic strip has Charlie Brown sitting on a bean bag watching TV when Lucy walks over and abruptly says: “Get up I want to sit on that beanbag.” Charlie Brown continues to sit on the beanbag and says, “Remember last year when we were all sitting around the Christmas tree and opening our presents? That’s when you said it.”
Lucy, “That’s when I said what?
Charlie Brown: What you said was beautiful. “Why do we have to be nice to each other only on Christmas? Why can’t we be nice to each other every day?”
Lucy: “You drive me crazy!”
Charlie Brown says: “Joy to the world.”
One of the real blessings of holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter is getting together with family and friends. For many in our congregation the fellowship and encouragement they get comes more from the Willow Vale Church family and Sky Church than from their own families.
In times of crisis our love for each other and our love for God become all important.
I read about a father who lost his job. George Smith tells his own story:
“I locked the door to my office. Never had I felt so low as I did when I turned my back on the door of my broken dreams. I walked slowly to the parking lot, got into my car and headed for home. It was all I had left. I stepped into the house I expected to hear my wife call out, ‘Is that you, dear?’ I heard nothing. I walked to the kitchen and found a note: ‘I’ve gone shopping. Be home late. I sank into a chair a crushed human being.’
Suddenly, the door opened. It was my little girl, home from school. She put her lunch box on the table, spotted me and called, ‘Daddy! How come you’re home so early?’ I answered, ‘Well, honey, Daddy is changing jobs, but let’s not talk about it now, okay?’ Then my daughter jumped on my lap, hugged me tight around the neck, pressed her soft and warm face against my face and gave me the warmest sweetest kiss, saying, ‘Oh Daddy, I love you so much.’ That really did it. I really cracked up. My lips quivered, she said, “What’s wrong, Daddy?’ I said, ‘Nothing honey, nothing at all. There’s absolutely nothing wrong.”
“In that moment, I discovered that I had what I really wanted. Suddenly my whole life unfolded before me; a young fellow who wanted to be a great success in order to be recognized, in order to feel important, in order to be loved, in order to really respect myself. I had what I wanted. My family! I was loved. And in loving and being loved, I found my sense of self-worth, self respect and self dignity.”
Jesus comes to you this Christmas and gives you a wrapped gift of joy. Un-rap the gift and allow the grace of God to work in your heart and life. Jesus wraps His arms around you as His child and says to you calling you by name _______ I love you so much.
Silent Night Holy Night
A special song was written on Christmas Eve many years ago by a pastor and school master. Every year at Christmas time we sing this Christmas carol.
The two men were Josef Mohr and Fran Guber. They lived in Oberndorf, Austria. The entire countryside was locked in the grip of cold and hunger that Christmas many years ago. Both people and animals were going hungry.
The people in Oberndorf, Austria looked forward to Christmas and the special service at church. It was a small church but the music on Christmas Eve was a bright spot because of the joy it brought to the people in the community.
When the pastor, Josef Mohr, and the school master, Franz Guber, started to work on the Christmas music they were horrified to find that the starving church mice had eaten the church organ bellows and the organ was not playable for their Christmas Eve service.
They considered canceling the Christmas Eve service, but then they decided to make the best of it. They spent most of the night before the Christmas Eve service writing a simple hymn tune that could be accompanied by guitar. The next night the congregation was blessed as they sang their new Christmas hymn accompanied by guitar:
Silent night, holy night.
All is calm all is bright,
Round yon virgin mother and child!
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
On this Christmas Eve let’s un-wrap God’s gifts of love and joy and let the Light of Christ shine trough our lives throughout the coming year.
Special Music
Lighting of the Christmas candles
