simplechristmas
Part 3: Give Presence
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Luke 2:17-18
Icebreaker: Three six year old boys were playing the wise men in their church Christmas program. As they came up to Mary and Joseph at the stable, the first one handed over his present and said, “Gold.” The second presented his gift and said, “Myrrh.” The third one then gave them his treasure and said, “And Frank sent this.”
-Another little boy paid a visit to Santa in the department store and presented him with a list of requests: a bicycle, a train, a bat and ball, a rocket set, and an airplane. Santa was impressed. He said, “Thanks for the list. I’ll check between now and Christmas to see whether or not you’ve been a good boy.” The little boy reached over to take the list back and said, “Never mind, I’ll settle for the bicycle.”
Intro: Now let’s face it ! Most of us like to get presents ! I would also say that most of us like to give presents ! We parents want to please our children, and so we buy and we buy.....and then we charge, and we charge.........
-Yet....what do you think pleased the Lord the most ? Was it the presents of gold, myrrh, and frankincense that the Magi brought or was it their presence with the Christ child that counted the most ?
-Now kids “relax”. I’m not trying to convince your parents that you don’t need anything this year, but I do want us to realize that presence is more important than our presents.
-Ask the 150,000 men and women serving in Iraq what they would like to have for Christmas.....and they no doubt would say......I’d like to be home. I’d like to be with my family ! Ask their wives, husbands, children, and parents the same, and I believe you’d receive the same answer ! Oh....I’d give anything if they were home !
-Ask the thousands, and thousands of children in orphanages, and foster home what they would like to have, and I believe most would like to have a family !
Illustration: (Show Youtube video "A Soldier Comes Home."
-We can give our children, our family and our friends lots of different kinds of presents for Christmas, but nothing will compare with our presence !
-So this morning, I want to challenge to you, as part of having a Simple Christmas this year, to give presence…your presence. Let me show a short video clip that really shows how presence is that most important give you can give. (Show video “A Soldier Comes Home.”)
-We find out how to do this in the Christmas story. Imagine that.
3 Gifts of Presence Given on the 1st Christmas
1. God made his presence known to ordinary people, right where they were. (Vs. 8-14)
Statement: Last week we talked about the Magi and everyone knows that the Magi brought gifts to Jesus that first Christmas. But you know who gave the first gift? You know who gave the best gift? God did. It was more valuable than gold. It was more precious than the oil and perfume the wise men brought. And who God chose to give that gift to tells us so much about how He operates.
-You see, the first gift that was given that Christmas was God’s gift of presence. God made his presence known to ordinary people, right where they were. You probably remember the familiar words of Luke 2. But consider them this morning through the eyes of the shepherds:
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
-Whoa! Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been among those shepherds that night? Can’t you just imagine how the sky must have lit up when the hosts of angels joined together to give the shepherds a private concert? Can you imagine how the Heavenly symphony must have risen into the night and filled the shepherds with wonder and terror at the same time?
-I love the picture the Bible paints for us of what happened that night, but you know what I like to think about even more? I like to think about what it must have been like in the moments after the angels left and the stillness of the night returned to the shepherds. I like to think about what must have been going through their minds as the night sky turned black again and they slowly turned their gazes to one another, again.
-I bet for long time, they said nothing. They probably couldn’t. I mean, what could you say to describe what had just happened? And I can’t help but think that the one thought weighing heaviest on their minds after the angels left; the one impression that was most indelibly etched into their consciousness forever that night after they caught a glimpse of the glory and majesty and power of the God who made the universe was this: “Who…are…we? Why…us? Who are we that we should be the ones to see such things?”
-Wouldn’t you wonder the same thing? I know I would. But can I be really honest with you this morning? When I consider who God is…when I think about the way He works in my life…when I see what He’s doing in our church…I wonder the same thing. Who am I?
-Have you ever had that thought in your head? Have you ever had one of those “God-moments” where you knew God was doing something awesome and you got to be a part of it? Maybe you’ve felt it at church when you felt like everything about the message that day was intended for you. Maybe you’ve experienced it while you served a homeless man a meal and he looked at you with sincere gratitude. Maybe you’ve sensed it when you saw the sun rise over horizon early one morning. Or when you held your child for the first time.
-Do you know what I’m talking about, yet? Those times when you just get that transcending feeling that there is a God and you are experiencing part of Him in that moment. What happens in the moments afterwards? That feeling begins to creep over you: “Who…am...I?”
-And you begin to wonder, “What have I done to deserve this?” “What have I done to deserve this?” The answer? Nothing. Not a thing. You can’t do anything to deserve it or earn it. And yet...it was given to you, anyway. That’s the first and best gift that has ever been given. It was God’s gift of making his presence known to ordinary people, who had done nothing to deserve it.
-And the shepherds had to know that they had done nothing to deserve it.
2. Shepherds with nothing to bring brought their presence to Jesus. (Vs. 16-17)
Illustration: “In the Bleak Mid-Winter,” by Christina Rossetti, famously set to music as a Christmas carol by Gustav Holst, says this:
“What can I give him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give him—Give my heart.”
Questions: What can you give Him? What could you possibly offer a God who has everything? What can you possibly hope to give to the One who needs nothing?
Statement: Don’t you think the shepherds wondered the same thing? They were just ordinary guys. Blue collar workers. Out on the job one night when God showed up in a big way and called them into His story. But what could they offer to the God of the universe? What could they bring to the Messiah?
-The brought the 2nd gift of presence that 1st Christmas. Shepherds with nothing to bring simply brought their presence to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 2:16
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
-They just came. And they didn’t come with a lot of possessions. They weren’t rich. They didn’t come with a lot of knowledge. They weren’t educated. They didn’t come with a lot of fanfare. They were loners.
-But they brought Jesus all they had to give…they brought themselves. They brought the gifts of their presence to the new born King.
-Do you think God was disappointed in the shepherds? Do you think He was upset because they didn’t have much to bring? Of course not! What was God really after? Their hearts. Their lives.
-And God is still after the same thing today. He wants your heart. He wants your life. All of you, not just some of you. Some of us want to just bring God our tithe every week. Some of us want to just bring God 95 percent of our hearts. Some of us want to just bring God our Sunday morning attendance. But is that what God really wants?
-Of course not. He wants a real, living relationship with you. He doesn’t need your money if your heart’s not behind it. He doesn’t need your fanny is a pew if you’re not coming to really seek Him. What he wants is for you to acknowledge who He is, to humble yourself before Him every day, to worship Him with your whole heart and to live completely sold-out for His Kingdom!
-There’s something about Christmas that makes a lot of us take account of our own lives. Maybe it’s the fact that the year is coming to and end, maybe it’s the warmth of people we meet. But around this time of year many of us will start to turn our thoughts to our lives and our relationship with God.
-So I want to encourage you this morning to think about what you are bringing to God in your own life? Is He getting your best? Do you think you don’t have anything left of offer Him? The shepherds probably didn’t, either. But God had something better in store for them. God used the shepherds to impact the lives of other people!
3. The shepherds gave their presence to others in Jesus’ name. (Vs. 17-18, 20)
Illustration: (Making an impact through genuine giving) I received this e-mail from my best friend who pastors in Oklahoma. He received it from a member of his congregation.
Andrew,
I just wanted to let you know how excited I am about the changes in Christmas plans. I would love to be at the pampering night for the ladies but we will be in PA from the 10th to 17th seeing our little twins. I thought it would have been a good time for me to do some haircuts. We have signed up for some other things though.
I would like to share with you what we have done in our family for several years and it has become our favorite part of our family Christmas get-together. We asked our kids a few years back NOT to buy us anything but to do something for someone or a family and then share that story with us. The kids have gotten pretty creative with their ideas and everyone is excited to hear each of them share their story, which is usually written down in a card that they read. They know it doesn’t have to be anything that cost money, as some years they may not have extra cash, but all can do something to make someone else’s Christmas better. One year my son who is in law enforcement bailed a young father out of jail after he had put him in jail. That was unique! After 911 Bob’s daughter who lived in NYC at the time gave up a day to work at Ground Zero, another touching story for us to hear. Over the years we have been continually blessed by the love and generosity all of our kids have shown and we feel this is the best gift they can give us. The relating of the story is the grand finale of our evening and we all are anxious to hear everything and usually shed a few tears.
Just thought you might see a time to pass the idea on to someone else sometime.
Blessings,
Questions: Talk about impacting people’s lives for Jesus! Could you do something like that? Couldn’t all of us?
Statement: We miss this so often in the Christmas story. You see, we like to read the Christmas story and just stop at the manger scene. And all of our focus and all of our energy is put into thinking on that one, little scene.
-But the story didn’t end at the manger for the shepherds! Yes, it was incredibly important that God gave His presence to the shepherds. Yes, it was incredibly important that the shepherds gave their presence to Jesus. But equally as important is what happened next…what happened after the shepherds gave all they had to give to Jesus. What happened?
-They gave their presence to others in Jesus’ name. They didn’t just stay at the manger. Because of what God had done in their lives, they were able to turn around and impact the lives of other people.
Scripture: Luke 2:17-18, 20
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them….20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
-Do you see what God did in the lives of those shepherds? He called them, they responded and then He gave them ministry. He gave them a new purpose. He sent them to be His servant and to do His work in the world!
-And that same plan is echoed over and over again in the Gospels by Jesus. Again and again, Jesus told the people who came to Him, “Go and do likewise,” “Go and do likewise,” “Go and do likewise.” God has entrusted us with the responsibility of bringing others into His presence.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:18
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…”
-Do you hear what Paul is saying? You have a ministry! You have a mission! The shepherds left the manger changed forever by Jesus, and God entrusted them with the message of reconciliation. And He trusts you and I with the same message today.
-And it’s all about presence. God wants you to give your presence to others in this ministry of reconciling all things to Himself.
So, how can you give presence?
-Our experience parallels the shepherds perfectly. God’s plan of reconciling us and giving us a ministry hasn’t changed.
1. First of all, you must experience God’s presence in your life first. (Vs. 8-9)
2. Secondly, you must bring yourself to Jesus. (Vs. 16-17)
3. Finally, you must give your presence to others. (Vs. 17-18, 20)
3 Gifts of Presence You Can Give this Christmas
-We understand the greatness of God coming to our world when we willingly give our presence to others.
1. You can give your presence in service to the “least of these.”
-This Friday, we’re going to be taking a group of people from our church to the Community Meal Center downtown to serve the poor, homeless and hungry in our community. You can give you presence to the least of these by coming with us.
2. You can give your presence in relationship to those who are lonely during this time of year.
-This Wednesday, instead of having a Bible study, we’re going to go in small teams to visit some of the families and shut-ins in our congregation. You can give your presence to these people who are hurting and lonely by coming with us.
3. You can give your presence by giving meaningful gifts this Christmas.
-Let me offer you some examples of this. The gifts we give say a lot about how we feel about someone. But you don’t have to spend a ton of money to give a meaningful gift, in fact, it usually are the gifts that cost the least amount of money but really come from the heart that make the most impact.
-You see, a pound of coffee is just a pound of coffee…until you give it to someone and say, “Only you and I can drink this. And we can only drink it together. And when we do, we’ll really talk…and listen…to each other. You and me together.”
-A baseball glove is just a baseball glove…until you give it to your son and tell him, “You and I are going to play catch together and I’m going to teach you about baseball. You and me together.”
-A cookbook is just a cookbook…until you tell your granddaughter, “This cookbook is a special one…because this is mine and yours. We’re going to go through it together and I’m going to teach you how to make all of these things. You and me together.”
Conclusion/Response
-This year, let’s give differently. Let’s allow ourselves to experience God’s presence in our lives. Let’s bring ourselves daily to Jesus and give Him the best of ourselves. And let’s commit to giving our presence to each other. Let’s commit to giving as Jesus gave to us. What do you say? Can we do this?
-As I close, let’s respond to God today. Are your experiencing God’s presence in your life, or has your heart become cold to Him? Are you as close to Jesus as you want to be? Are you bringing yourself to Him every day? Is He really getting the best of you? Or have you become lukewarm in your walk with Him? Are you taking part in the ministry God has called you into? Or are you discouraged because you think you have nothing left to bring?
-Bring yourself, today. Let’s all come to these altars today and just talk with God, openly and honestly, about these things.
