Introduction:
A. Good morning! I’m so thankful to be here this morning to worship Jesus, our Savior and Lord!
1. If you are visiting with us this morning, we are so happy you are here, and we pray that you have a very uplifting experience with us today.
2. May God bless you with hope and joy because of Jesus’ birth.
B. I thought we might start with something that might give us a little chuckle.
1. Children are so precious, and the things they misunderstand often are so cute.
2. For instance, three small boys were in a Christmas play at school.
a. They represented the three wise men and they were to give their gifts to baby Jesus.
b. The first boy stepped forward, held out the gift in his hands and said, “Gold.”
c. The second boy stepped forward, held out his gift and said, “Myrrh.”
d. The third boy stepped forward, held out his gift and said, “Frank sent this.”
3. There’s a story of a boy who drew a manger scene in his Sunday school class.
a. When he showed it to the teacher, she looked it over saying, “There’s Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the animals, the shepherds…and who is the chubby boy sitting by baby Jesus?”
b. He replied, “That’s round John Virgin.”
4. Let’s finish our silliness with a Top Ten List – Top 10 Reasons why there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the Inn.
10. The Roman Government’s “Buy one night, get a second free” promotion was a bit too successful.
9. The only room left was by the ice machine.
8. The Nazareth Shriners tore up the place the night before.
7. The innkeeper didn’t accept the Judean Express Card.
6. It was the weekend of the Caesar Impersonators convention.
5. The last pregnant lady riding a donkey took all their towels.
4. The health department had shut them down because of an E. coli outbreak.
3. The innkeeper’s wife wouldn’t let him take olive wood carvings as payment anymore.
2. The front desk was closed early so the innkeeper and his family could go outside and watch the unique star.
1. No last names; no service.
C. How many of you enjoy the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” as much as I do? I just love that movie! It gets me every time!
1. As you probably remember, Jimmy Stewart plays a character named George Bailey who had aspirations of greatness, but was stuck running the old family business called “The Bailey Building and Loan,” after his father’s sudden death.
2. The business had never really made any money, but it had helped many hard-working families achieve their dreams of owning a home.
3. When the stock market crashed in October of 1929, the Bailey Building and Loan barely survived.
4. But the real crisis occurred when George Bailey’s absentminded uncle misplaced 8 thousand dollars.
5. Knowing that he was ruined and would likely go to jail, George Bailey, decided he was worth more dead than alive, so he went to a bridge and contemplated committing suicide.
6. Just before he jumped into the icy waters, another man jumped in ahead of him, and George saved that man’s life.
7. The man turned out to be an angel named Clarence Oddbody, who was trying to earn his wings.
8. George declared to Clarence that he wishes he had never been born, and in an effort to help George see the value of his life, Clarence, the angel, showed George what the world would be like if he had never been born.
9. Throughout the rest of the movie the viewer discovers that George Bailey had actually lived a wonderful life, and had made a significant impact on his family, friends, and the whole community.
10. The movie wonderfully points out the difference that one person can make.
D. As we think today about the birth of Jesus, let’s consider this question: What if Jesus had never been born? Can we even conceive of that?
1. What if there was no virgin birth?
2. What if there was no baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger?
3. No angels, then, would have announced his birth to the shepherds.
4. The shepherds would not have made that nocturnal trip to the stable in Bethlehem.
5. Imagine the last 2000 years of life on this earth without the influence of the life of Jesus.
E. I believe Jesus has made an incredible impact on the world.
1. I wish I were an angel who could lead us through a virtual reality experience so that we could see what this world would be like, and what each of our lives would be like if Jesus had never been born.
2. Some of the first things we would notice would be the absence of so many hospitals, colleges, and relief organizations, all of which have been started by Christians, because of Jesus.
3. As great a problem as poverty and sickness are today, the situation would be far worse had it not been for Christianity.
4. We would be able to see how the Christian faith has held off the moral decay of nations for centuries.
5. But as great as these losses would be, if Jesus had never been born, we would have even more significant and fundament losses.
If Jesus had never been born…
I. We Would Not Have a Clear View of God
A. John 1:1 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1. These verses tells us one of the most amazing truths that has ever happened.
2. God came to our little world and became one of us.
3. God came in the flesh as the Son of God, who we know as Jesus.
4. If I want to know what God is like, all I have to do is look at Jesus.
5. Colossians 1:15, “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God.”
6. Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…”
B. Jesus cleared up the faulty images that people have about God.
1. For example: In Jesus’ day non-Jews had many wrong views of God.
2. They didn’t believe there was one Creator God, they believed in multiple gods and goddesses (Zeus, Aphrodite).
3. They believed these gods were simply a more powerful version of themselves, which meant they were prideful, deceitful, vengeful, and full of lust.
4. It’s a pretty sad situation if the god or goddess you worship is morally as bad or worse than you.
5. Even today there is a lot of wrong thinking about God.
6. There are people like Shirley McLain, who believes she is god. “I am god, you are god, we are all god.” She is “out on a limb.”
7. There are people in our day who believe in a Star Wars theology. They think God is just some kind of force or energy. “The force be with you.”
C. Maybe you have a wrong image of what God is like.
1. Maybe you think God is like a judgmental Father waiting for you to mess up so he can punish you.
2. Maybe you think God is like Santa Claus who wants to grant your every wish, just pray and God will do everything you want, as long as you’ve been a good boy or girl.
3. Maybe you think God is like a gentle old grandfather who loves everybody and doesn’t really care what we do.
4. Or that God is some remote being out there somewhere on the edge of the universe, who really doesn’t care about us very much.
5. Like Bette Midler sings, “From a distance…God is watching us from a distance.”
6. See, people have a lot of wrong ideas about what God is like.
D. But what the Christmas story reminds us is that we don’t have to wonder what God is like because the Bible says Jesus is God come in the flesh.
1. Jesus himself even said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).”
2. We marvel to think that the defenseless baby in the manger was the very presence and glory of God come to earth, but that is what the Bible teaches us.
3. So what do we see more clearly now that Jesus has been born?
E. First, Because of Jesus we clearly see that God is NEAR.
1. Because of Jesus’ birth we know that God is not some distant deity living on the edge of the universe looking at us through a super Hubble telescope, but a God who is near us.
2. Jesus’ title was Immanuel, which means “God is with us.”
3. Through Jesus we know that God is right here. God is with us as we worship. God listens to us as we pray. God is with us when we sleep, at work, at play, wherever we are at whether we are aware of God’s presence or not, whether we feel God’s presence, God is near.
4. Jesus told his disciples he would be with us always.
5. Jesus even promised those who follow him that he would not only be present with them, but would actually live within them through his Spirit.
6. You can’t get any closer than that.
F. Second, Because of Jesus we clearly see that God is LOVE.
1. Some people think God is out to get them, or to punish them for their wrongdoing, but Jesus shows us otherwise.
2. Through Jesus we see God’s incredible love for us.
3. The Son of God was willing to give up his throne in heaven to take on a frail human body, to be born a helpless infant into humble circumstances (stable, manger), to grow up and endure temptation, to face the evil and injustices of this world, and to die in our place.
4. Why? Because of God’s incredible love for us.
5. God did not have to come to us, but he chose to come of his own free will because he knew there was no other way to make our lives right.
6. Romans 5:8 reads, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
G. Third, Because of Jesus we clearly see that God is FAITHFUL.
1. Through Jesus we realize God kept the promises he made to his people in the OT scriptures.
2. In the OT God promised he would save his people and create a kingdom which would never end.
3. He promised that He would raise up a descendant from king David who would deliver his people from evil, and transform their hearts so they could love God and love one another.
4. This person would even be a light to the Gentiles; that’s you and me by the way.
5. Through Jesus we know God kept every promise.
H. If Jesus had never been born, then we would never know or have these things.
1. Because Jesus was born we have a clearer view of God.
2. We clearly see that God is nearer than we can ever imagine, and that God is full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And those are good things to know! Amen!
If Jesus had never been born…
II. We Could Not Have a Personal Relationship with God
A. If Jesus had not been born, we would not be able to become God’s children.
1. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
2. God came to earth as a child so we could become a child of God. God became like one of us so we could become like him.
3. Ephesians 1:5 tells us, “His [God’s] unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (NLT)
4. God planned from the very beginning of time to come as the Son of God to earth so that we might become part of His family, a family which will be together forever.
B. You might think, “what’s the big deal with becoming part of God’s family?”
1. See, ultimately, God isn’t interested in religion. Religion is following a set of rules and laws.
2. What God is interested in is a relationship.
3. Being in God’s family means we are in a relationship with God, like a mother or father to a child.
4. You can be religious. You can go to church. You can pray, and read your Bible, but if you don’t have a relationship with God you’ve missed the whole point.
5. And if you don’t feel worthy to have a relationship with God and be part of his family, then pay close attention: none of us are worthy.
6. It doesn’t matter how much you or I have messed up our lives or disobeyed God in the past, because Jesus was born, and gave His life as a sacrifice, we can find forgiveness and be in a relationship with God.
C. But as John’s gospel reminds us, we don’t automatically become a part of God’s family, we have to receive God’s gift of Jesus.
1. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn. 1:12)
2. At Christmas time you sometimes see the saying, “God wrapped his gift too,” referring to Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.
3. Many of us will be giving and receiving gifts tomorrow, but as we know a gift is useless unless we open it and accept it.
4. We have to choose to accept God’s gift, Jesus. We do so by believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized into Christ by immersion in water for the forgiveness of our sins. (Acts 2:38)
Conclusion:
A. If we open and accept the gift of Jesus, then we will experience what Jesus called abundant and eternal life.
1. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (Jn. 10:10)
2. In John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
B. Unlike George Bailey, who didn’t realize the impact he had made on others, Jesus knew the difference his life would make on us.
1. That’s why He gave up the glory of heaven for the darkness of our world.
2. That’s why He died on a cross for our sins, and then was resurrected.
3. What the angel of God told Mary that day has come true, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Lk. 1:31-33)
4. What the angel of God told Joseph that day has come true, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:20-21)
5. Today, and every day, we celebrate the truth of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
C. What impact has the birth of the Jesus made on your life?
1. Fortunately for us Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God came near, and showed his unfailing love and faithfulness to us so we can be his children, and experience the light of abundant and ever lasting life.
2. I hope you have received God’s gift of adoption into his family.
3. I hope you have experienced the new, abundant and eternal life in Christ.
4. If not then we invite you to come forward and receive the gift of Christ…
(Based on sermon “What if Christmas Never Happened” by Matthew Stoll)
