A Christmas Song For All Year ’Round
Text: Lk. 1:67-80
Introduction
1. Everyone loves Christmas songs, but what we need is a Christmas Song For All Year ’Round.
2. A Christmas song for all year round is a:
a. Song of Redemption
b. Song of Promise
c. Song of Hope
3. Read Lk. 1:67-80
Proposition: A Christmas song for all year round reminds us the real reason that Jesus came, and that is to save us from our sins.
Transition: First, a Christmas song for all year round is...
I. A Song of Redemption (67-71)
A. Visited and Redeemed
1. We are not the first to think of songs at Christmas. God thought of it first.
a. In the next chapter, which describes the events of Jesus birth, the angels sang praise to God over the birth of the Messiah. This is the basis of the familiar song "Angels We Have Heard On High."
b. Earlier in this chapter we see Mary’s song of praise, which is called The Magnificat, which comes from the first word of the Latin translation which means "glorifies."
c. This is Zachariah’s song called The Benedictus, again from the Latin translation, which means "blessed."
2. This song begins by explaining the nature of the song. Luke tells us, "Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:"
a. Zechariah was a priest, and since he and his wife were both along in years and had not been able to have children, couldn’t believe when an angel told him that they would have a child.
b. Just like Abraham and Sarah, they had a son, who would come to be known as John the Baptist.
c. Since Zechariah doubted God, he was punished by God in that he was not able to speak again until after John was born.
d. When he finally did speak again, this song was the result.
3. When learn a few very important things about this song.
a. First, we learn that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was because he was filled with the Holy Spirit that this song came out.
b. The Holy Spirit would have a major role to play not only in this birth, also the birth of this boy’s cousin, a young lad named Jesus.
c. Second, it was prophetic. Of course the word being translated here means "to speak for God" (Rogers and Rogers, 110).
d. It was not only a song about God, but a song from God.
4. However, the song itself tells us the true meaning of Christmas, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people."
a. "In Luke’s view, the coming of Christ is a divine ’visit’ intended to bring blessing and salvation to those who receive it with repentance and faith" (Trites, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Luke-Acts,49).
b. The word translated "visit" means "to go to see a person on the basis of friendship and with helpful intent" (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
c. The key here is "with helpful intent," which leads us to the next key, the whole idea of redemption.
d. The visitation of God’s Son was not merely a casual visit, but one in which He would buy us back by taking our place on the cross.
e. We could not pay the price to buy ourselves back, so God had to send His Son to stand in our place.
5. The meaning of the visitation, and the true meaning of Christmas itself, is "He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David"
a. The phrase translated "mighty Savior" is literally "a horn of salvation."
b. A “horn of salvation” was the horn of a powerful animal such as a ram or an ox. To “raise up a horn” invoked strength and power (NLT Study Bible Notes).
c. God sent Israel a powerful Savior, not to save them from physical enemies, like the Romans, but from the power of sin, Satan, and death.
B. Payment
1. Illustration: “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. But, our greatest need was forgiveness and redemption, and, therefore, God sent a Savior!
2. We needed redemption because of our sin.
a. Our sin separated us from a holy God.
b. Our sin made us enemies of God.
c. Our sin left us on the outside looking in.
3. We needed redemption because we had a debt we could not pay.
a. Our sin had to be compensated for.
b. We now had a debt that we could not pay.
c. We couldn’t pay it because it needed to be someone who was without sin.
d. Hebrews 9:22 (NLT)
In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
4. We needed redemption; therefore, we got a Savior.
a. God knew a price had to be paid.
b. God knew there was no way we could pay it on our own.
c. God knew we needed a Savior, so He sent Jesus.
Transition: A Christmas song for all year round is also...
II. A Song of Promise (72-75)
A. Remembering His Sacred Covenant
1. In v. 72, Zechariah addresses in his song the idea of covenant, when he says, "He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant"
a. A covenant is "a mutual agreement or contract (between persons, between nations, or between God and humanity) with conditions and consequences spelled out" (NLT Study Bible Online).
b. The covenant that Zechariah is referring to is one between God and humanity.
c. You see, we messed up by sinning, and therefore, separating ourselves from God.
d. However, God in His infinite mercy and kindness made a covenant with humanity in which He would send a Savior, a Messiah, who would set things right with Him again.
2. Then Zechariah gets more specific. He says, "the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham."
a. We read about this covenant way back in Genesis 12:1-3
b. Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
c. God promised Abraham that if he did what God told him to do, and went where he told him to go, then God would bless everyone on earth because of him.
d. This blessing would come in the form of a Savior.
e. The blessed event of Christmas is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
3. Because of the fulfillment of that promise, Zechariah says, "We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live."
a. This has the effect of emphasizing the importance of God’s covenant and his faithfulness to it.
b. Not only does this serve an important theme in Luke, but it gives encouragement to us to trust the promises of God (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke).
4. The most important aspect of this is the fact that we do not have to live in fear.
a. We do not have to live in fear of the Devil.
b. We do not have to live in fear of sin.
c. We do not have to live in hear of death.
d. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NLT)
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Promise Keeper
1. Illustration: A pastor in a small church was greatly annoyed by one of his elderly members who fell asleep during his sermons every Sunday. After the service one day, the pastor said to the old man’s grandson who always sat with his grandfather, “If you can keep the old man awake, I’ll pay you a dollar a week.” This worked for two weeks; the aged man was very alert and listened to the sermons attentively. On the third Sunday, however, there he was, up to his old tricks again, sound asleep in the pew. After the service the pastor called the boy over and said, “I am disappointed in you. Didn’t I promise you a dollar a week to keep your grandfather awake?” “Yes,” replied the boy, “but Grandpa gives me five dollars not to disturb him.”
2. Christmas is all about God’s promises.
a. Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT)
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
b. Christmas is all about God’s promise to Abraham that through him all the world would be blessed.
c. Christmas is all about God’s promise to David that the Messiah would come through his family, and that one of his descendants would always sit on the throne.
3. Christmas is about God always keeping His promises.
a. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
b. From Christmas, we learn that God never breaks a promise.
c. From Christmas, we learn that we can always count on God’s promises because we can always count on God.
d. From Christmas, we learn that God has never failed us, and He never will.
4. Christmas is all about God’s future promises.
a. Because of Christmas, we know that God will never abandon us.
b. Because of Christmas, we know that God has a place prepared for us.
c. Because of Christmas, we know that Jesus will be returning to take His people home.
Transition: A Christmas song for all year round is also...
III. A Song of Hope (76-80)
A. Prepare the Way For the Lord
1. Zechariah’s song is above all a song of hope, and the reason for his rejoicing is that his son would lead the way.
2. Look at what he says, “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord."
a. God was going to use his son in the special capacity as "the prophet of the Most High."
b. As the prophet of the Most High, he would be a "true forerunner, who would prepare the way for the Lord" (Trites, 51).
c. The word for Lord here is the Greek word kurios. Here it functions as the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew divine name Yahweh (NLT Study Bible Online).
d. There is to be no mistake, John would prepare the way for the promised Messiah.
e. Malachi 3:1 (NLT)
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
3. He indicates the reason for hope when he says, "You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins."
a. "His role would be a significant one in holy history: showing Jewish people their need for salvation and directing the lost to forgiveness of sins" (Trites, 51).
b. He would tell them to repent, for only through repentance could they find forgiveness.
c. However, the hope that John reveals is that one is coming who could bring forgiveness.
4. Zechariah further illustrates the idea of hope by saying, "Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
a. John’s entire purpose would be to show people living in darkness a way into the light.
b. John 1:6-9 (NLT)
God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
c. He was to tell them that they did not have to live in darkness any longer, because they light of the world was coming to shatter the darkness.
d. This is the hope of Christmas! Before there was no way out of the darkness, but now the true light has come.
B. The Hope of Christmas
1. Illustration: A woman took her husband to the doctor’s office. After his checkup, the doctor said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious infection." The husband, who was hard of hearing said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says your sick". The doctor went on. "But there is hope. You just need to reduce his stress. Each morning, give him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, nice, and kind. For lunch and dinner make him his favorite meal. Don’t discuss your problems with him, it will only make his stress worse. Don’t yell at him or argue with him. And most importantly...just cater to your husband’s every whim. If you can do this for your husband for the next 6 months to a year, I think your husband will have a complete recovery." The husband said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says, You’re going to die".
2. Christmas brings hope to our past.
a. Hope that God loves us in spite of what we have done.
b. Hope that God forgives us for what we have done.
c. Hope that God forgets what we have done.
d. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
3. Christmas brings hope to our present.
a. Hope of abundant life
b. Hope of our needs being met
c. Hope protection and comfort
4. Christmas brings hope to our future.
a. Hope that one day we will be with him in paradise.
b. Hope that we will once again see those who have gone before us.
c. Hope that we will stand around His throne and worship Him forever.
Transition: If there were no Christmas, there would be no hope.
Conclusion
1. We need a song that means something all year round.
a. A song that brings redemption
b. A song that brings promise
c. A song that brings hope
2. A song like this one:
3. Illustration: I wonder if this Christmas
They’ll begin to understand
That Jesus that they celebrate
Is much more than a man
Cause the way the world is I can’t see
how people can deny
The only way to save us
Was for Jesus Christ to die
And I know that if St. Nicolas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven when they nailed him to a tree
But most of all the children
They’re the ones I hope will learn
That Jesus is our savior
And he’s going to return
And Christmas isn’t just a day
And all days aren’t the same
Perhaps they’ll think about the word
And see that it spells his name
And I know that if St. Nicolas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven
We were all forgiven when they nailed him to a tree
So merry Christmas
