What is the real meaning of Christmas? - Unwrapping Christmas
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14 Date: 6 December 2009
Purpose: Do we go through all the decorating, & buying presents, & preparing elaborate meals, but somehow forget whose birthday it really is? What does Christmas mean to you?
VIDEO: “Unwrapping Christmas”
At Christmas time we find ourselves getting all wrapped up with the business of the holiday rather than the true meaning of what Christmas is all about. This Christmas I pray that we can focus on the greatest gift of all, the gift that God sent to us through the Virgin Mary long ago.
It seems that throughout the years we, instead of realizing the true meaning of Christmas, have wrapped Jesus up with wrapping paper decorated with Santa, Sugar plums, Egg Nog and the almighty dollar.
- It is time we unwrap JESUS and realize what Christmas is all about. This month we will be unwrapping Christmas to get a better look at it and to enjoy what God has given to us. Let’s unwrap the best present of all!
A. What do you think Christmas means to the non-Christian. To someone that has never accepted His love and forgiveness.
- What do you think Christmas means to someone that lives in a far off region, living in a hut, who knows nothing of Santa, presents or Christmas trees? What do you suppose Christmas mean to them?
- What do you think it means to little children in a third world country with no running water & empty bellies? What does Christmas mean to them?
- What Christmas means to each of you. Do you cherish the truths?
B. I’m sure that it means different things to different people.
To merchants it is the busiest time of the year. Stores stay open longer, & hire extra people to accommodate all the shoppers. It means more profit, hopefully enough profit to see them through lean times ahead.
For some employees it means a Christmas bonus, a little more money in their pockets to do things that they want to do.
For many teen-agers & adults it is a time of fun & parties. For children it is a time of impatience, with time seeming to pass so slowly, as they wait for Christmas morning.
Illustration: But sometimes I get the feeling that we are like the folks who decided to throw a party to honor a very special friend. They sent out invitations, decorated the hall, & had the food catered. All the people came together at the designated time, but to their surprise, the guest of honor was not there.
Finally, they made the embarrassing discovery that no one had ever invited the guest of honor.
- I wonder? Do we go through all the decorating, & buying presents, & preparing elaborate meals, but somehow forget whose birthday it really is?
- It isn’t our birthday, is it? It’s the Lord’s birthday & it’s a time to remember His birth & what it is supposed to mean to us. So please stand with me this morning as I read God’s word from the book of Luke 2:8-14. Listen as I read.
8And 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."
* Children may now be released for our Children’s Program Practice.
C. The fact that God made the announcement to shepherds helps us to understand the real meaning of Christmas. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," & He chose to announce that to shepherds first of all.
Shepherds were at the opposite end of the society of the day. They lived in the fields with their animals. They weren’t respected. They had no power or prestige. Yet, God’s angel came to them & said, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord." Unto shepherds a Savior was born.
- In that one simple announcement God made known some very important truths.
I. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD
First of all, it tells us, "No matter how insignificant you may think you are, God knows you, & you are important to Him."
A. All throughout scripture we see God honoring & using people & things that the world often overlooks or ignores.
1. The Apostle Paul writes, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world & the despised things..." (1 Cor. 1:26-28a).
Illustration: A Jewish youth was sold into slavery by his brothers & carted off to Egypt. Yet, when God wanted to deliver a very special message to mighty Pharaoh, it was the slave, Joseph, who was brought out of the dungeon to interpret the message. God uses the lowly & despised to show His power.
B. When God decided to select a mother for His Son, He went past the fashion salons & beauty parlors. He went past the furs & diamonds & gold, & went to an insignificant village called Nazareth. He found a peasant girl. She did not dress in designer clothes. She did not have a sophisticated education. But she was pure, & God selected her to be the mother of His only begotten Son.
1. The world looks down its nose & says, "That’s foolishness." But Paul says, "The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, & the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25)
C. When God makes His announcement, it is delivered to shepherds. It is like Jesus saying in the Sermon on the mount, "If God cares about sparrows & lilies, then He cares about you." If God cares about shepherds, He cares about you!
1. We need to hear that, don’t we? Children 12 & 13 years old need to hear that in orphanages when they see younger children being adopted & realize that they probably never will be adopted. They need to hear that.
2. Mothers of children without a husband to help need to hear that. Lost souls on skid row who drink away their fears need to hear that. People who are lonely need to hear that. Husbands who have lost their wives in death need to hear that. Church people who feel useless & empty need to hear that.
3. We all need to hear that. All of us have known feelings of rejection. All of us have known feelings of being left out. Christmas comes. The light shines, & God says, "No! You’re wrong. I made the announcement to shepherds, & I make it to you. Unto you a Savior is born."
II. YOUR LIFE MATTERS TO GOD
The second thing this passage teaches us is that life matters. Not only you, but your life counts with God.
A. I imagine those shepherds must have sat around the campfire many times & wondered if life was really worthwhile or not. "What difference does it make if we watch the sheep or not?"
1. Maybe we wonder as well, "What difference does it make if I get up every morning or not? It seems as if my life is an endless cycle of things that really don’t mean anything. I just wonder if life is worth living at all?"
2. When God comes & makes His announcement to shepherds, He is also saying to us, "Your life is worthwhile. It is My gift to you. Therefore live every golden moment of it, because YOUR LIFE DOES MATTER TO ME."
B. You see, every life matters. We should know that. It’s impossible to live, even for a few moments on this earth, & not influence somebody in one way or another. We are always influencing someone, either for good or for bad.
Illustration: Do you remember Bubba Smith? He retired from professional football a few years ago. Then, after he retired from playing football, Bubba Smith started making beer commercials. He was the guy who tore the top off of beer cans, & engaged in the argument about whether it is less filling or tastes great. You remember him now, don’t you?
In a magazine article about him, Bubba Smith said that he has never, ever drunk beer. Drinking any kind of alcoholic beverage just isn’t a part of his life. But he advertised it & felt good about his job. It was an easy job. It was an enjoyable job, & it paid a good salary.
Until one day when he went back to Michigan State, his alma mater, as the Grand Marshal of the Homecoming Parade. As he was riding in the limousine at the head of the parade, he heard the throngs of people on both sides of the parade route shouting. And what were they shouting? "Hail to Michigan State?" No! One side was shouting, "Tastes great!" & the other side was shouting, "Less filling!"
Bubba Smith suddenly realized that he & the beer commercials that he made had had a tremendous impact on the students at Michigan State. And the message that they had gotten was that "It is all right to drink light beer."
Later, Bubba was in Ft. Lauderdale during Spring Break, & he saw drunken college kids up & down the beaches, shouting "Tastes great! Less filling!"
And when it came time to renew his contract, he refused to sign because he said that he didn’t want his life to count for something like that. He said that there was a still, small voice in his mind that kept saying, "Stop, Bubba. Stop."
- You see, everybody’s life counts for something.
Illustration: Some time ago I shared a story about a church that kept records of various things including their Baptisms. One entry stated: Not much happened this month. We had a few Baptisms but they were all children. Within the list of names was that of Tony Campolo!
He founded the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE), which works to help "at-risk" youth in the US and Canada, and has helped to establish several schools and universities.
He is an ordained Baptist minister and evangelist, presently serving as an associate pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.
1. What do you suppose the people in Bethlehem wrote about that evening? Maybe they would have wrote, "No, nothing much happened this month. Some woman gave birth to a baby in a stable, but that’s about it."
- Except that a baby was born, a baby that changed the world.
III. YOUR FAITH MATTERS TO GOD
A. Finally, this. Your faith matters, too. Shepherds were men of faith. They probably had more faith than some of the scribes & Pharisees who went to the synagogue every day.
1. They believed in a Messiah. All of God’s chosen people believed in a Messiah. When things got especially hard, during times of poverty & enslavement & exile, they would think about the Messiah & God’s promise that one day the Messiah would come.
2. They prayed over & over again, "Let the Messiah come. Let Him come today!" They prayed that prayer for hundreds of years, & they must have wondered, "Is our faith worth anything? Does God hear our prayers? Does God keep His promises? Will the Messiah ever come?"
3. There must have been many who quit praying, & quit having faith. But when the announcement came to shepherds, God was saying, "Your faith matters, & it is not in vain. I am a God who hears & who keeps His promises. Now the Messiah has come, & I have kept My promise."
B. How about us? Sometimes we become weary. There may be times when we wonder if it is worthwhile going to church. There are times when we wonder if it is worth sacrificing for God.
1. There are times when I wonder if it is worth it to be a preacher. Maybe I ought to do something else. Why bother with all these responsibilities? Why deal with all the issues and problems of the church. Sometimes, when I feel like giving up and moving on
2. Sometimes we wonder if our prayers are even heard. We wonder why He is waiting so long. We wonder if it is worth it all.
3. But one day He will come. He will come for all of us, shepherds & kings, wisemen & peasants. He will come for His people. He’ll dry our tears & take away our pain. There will be no more death, no more good-byes. Then we’ll say, "It was worth it. It was worth it all!"
Conclusion: We need to be encouraged during this time of the year to INVITE friends, family and neighbors during the Christmas season. This video I am about to share with you, some have seen from last year for others it will be brand new, Either way it doesn’t matter. Because it confronts the fact that Studies show again and again that during the Christmas season more people are open to spiritual truth than any other time of the year -- they’re willing to let down their guard and hear the name and good news of Jesus. This is something that we all must be reminded of because the true meaning of Christmas must be shared by us.
VIDEO: “Christmas, Just Invite”
Friends, the Christmas season is among us. This is our time as Christians to share what it truly means to us. This is our time as Christians to take a stand and share the truth with a world that has accepted lies and meritocracy for far too long. This is our time as Christians to get busy for the Lord, our Savior, The one and only Christ. This is our time to realize the importance of Christmas. What does it mean to you?
