OPEN: In many homes across the US, and around the world various families have set up Christmas trees. And these trees have all kinds of lights and ornaments on them But there is one decoration that stands out from the rest, because it sits on top of the tree, all by itself. It’s called a tree topper.
As I was researching this sermon I visited a blog that was selling some of these tree toppers and the variety astounded me (we put pictures of these different treetoppers on the screen as they were mentioned):
Some were wintery decorations. Things like:
* Snowmen
* Ginger bread men
* Spires that looked like the steeples of Russian church buildings.
Then, there were some peculiar decorations that still had a Christmas connection.
* I found a few that featured Elvis (Blue Christmas)
* And at least 3 Grinches.
BUT perhaps the oddest tree toppers of all were:
* A “Peace” Sign
* Tinkerbell
* Glinda... the good witch from Wizard of Oz
* and (pause) YODA!
“Christmas will come, it will”
Now I have no idea what those last four decorations had to do with Christmas, but I do know that none of those decorations came even close to competing with the top two choices for tree toppers.
Can anyone guess what the two most popular are?
(Angels and Stars).
Why would these be on top of Christmas trees?
Because they are both part of the Biblical story of Christmas. The angels announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds and the star led the wise men to Him
APPLY: Today I want to focus on one of those two tree toppers - the Star of Bethlehem
Stars have been one of the main decorations of Christmas trees since the beginning.
It’s said that Martin Luther began the tradition of having a Christmas tree and that he put candles on the tree for his children to give them the impression of stars in the sky day Jesus born. Ever since that day, the Star has been one of the most favorite decorations for Christmas trees
The story of the star only occurs in Matthew, chapter 2.
We’re told that “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” Matthew 2:1-2
And that “... the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9
Now, Scholars disagree about what type of star this was.
* Some believe it was a meteor. But a meteor would have burned out long before the Magi arrived.
* Others have thought it was a comet. But comets generally inspired fear, not worship. A comet wouldn’t have drawn men to a King... it would have frightened them away.
* Still others have speculated this star was a super nova (an exploding star), but aside from the fact that a supernova wouldn’t have lasted long enough for the Magi to have made the trip, there is no record of super nova occurring at that time.
One major theory that has some possibility is that the star was result of the line up of 3 planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. This happens about every 1000 years, and would likely have happened around the birth of Christ. Their collective brightness would have lit up the night. BUT we’re left with the problem of a “star” that moved and eventaully “stopped over the place where the child was.”
ILLUS: Probably one of the best explanations was offered 2 respected scholars: Alfred Edersheim and Dwight Pentecost. They suggested that the Greek word translated "star" really means "radiance" and they said the word was simliar to the Old Testament word used describing the "fire" from the burning bush described in Exodus 3.
They also made another observation so that the characteristics of this star was reminiscient of the comment in Ezekiel 11:23. "The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it."
The Glory of the Lord moved... Kind of sounds like our moving "star" - doesn’t it?
Ezekiel tells us the "glory of the Lord" left the Temple of God and it never returned..And it wasn’t mentioned again until Luke tells us, "an angel of the Lord appeared to (the shepherds) and the glory of the Lord shone around them" (Luke 2:9). It’s very possible the star represented the return of the glory of God to Israel.
Now I’m not a great theologian... and I really don’t care what that star was... but this much I know:
There was a star.
And it led the wise men to the place where Jesus was.
And I also know that this star was unlike any that the wise men had ever seen before.
These were men who studied the stars.
They knew the stars by names and they knew which constellations had what stars.
But this star was different.
This star didn’t belong.
This star had a radiance all of its own and the Magi knew it had to be something special.And there was something about this star that drew them... to worship a king.
(PAUSE)
Jesus said: “YOU are the Light of the world” Matthew 5:14
Paul tells us that we should live as “children of God…in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14).
Jesus tells us we are called to be HIS light
But our light is different than the light of this world.
Our light doesn’t belong to this world.
Our light has a radiance all of its own.
And the when we do it right, everyone around will realize it’s something special. And ultimately our light will draw people to worship the King.
In Daniel 12:3 God tells that: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”
You see, when we draw people to God’s righteousness, we shine like stars in God’s presence.
That’s our purpose (yours and mine) to lead people to Jesus with our light.
ILLUS: A Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?"
The missionary was a bit shocked, answered, "I don’t put anything on it!"
And the Hindu began to lose patience and spoke more forcefully, "Yes, you do! All of you who believe in Jesus seem to have it. --- I’ve seen it in the towns of Agra and Surat, and even in the city of Bombay."
Suddenly the Christian understood, and his face glowed because of Jesus, "Now I know what you mean, and I will tell you the secret. It’s not something we put on from the outside but something that comes from within. It’s the reflection of the light of God in our hearts.”
When we walk with Jesus, even our face shows the light within us.
When people spend enough time around us... they should notice something is different.
That’s why we are told to “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
John writes that we should “walk in the light as He is in the light.” I John 1:7
But our walk in the light means we need to be careful NOT to live like others around us.
We live in a world that is filled with hopelessness and despair. A world that is drenched in bitterness, sex, violence and selfishness. But God calls us to shine because we’re committed to love, purity, gentleness, and self sacrifice.
And the closer our lives are to God... the more we shine with His hope and confidence.
Paul writes that “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:19-23
When our lives bear the light of Christ, we will show the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
Jesus said “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
You see – it’s not enough to put a star on our trees and think that’s enough.
That’s not going to draw anyone to Jesus.
Putting lights and decorations on a fir tree is nice... but that’s all superficial.
It’s only when we start putting God’s light inside of us... then God begins to show thru.
ILLUS: A little girl was on her way home from church with her mother and suddenly asked, "Mommy, the Preacher’s sermon this morning confused me."
The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?”
The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"
"Yes, that’s true," the mother replied.
"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?"
Again the mother replied, "Yes."
"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
CLOSE: So, this morning I’m not asking what tree topper decorates your christmas tree.
I’m here to ask you what light decorates your life?
It really doesn’t matter if you have Elvis or an angel gracing the top of your tree.
What matters is if Jesus is within you.
If He IS within you, then your purpose in life (and mine) is to live our lives in such a way that people are drawn to the God we love.
(displayed a “Cross” tree topper on screen)
But, if Jesus isn’t there, if Jesus isn’t inside your heart, you can decorate your home anyway you want... and it won’t matter. Unless Jesus is your Savior... you’ll never be ready for the true reason for Christmas.
INVITATION.
What you need to do is
1. Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (John 3:16)
2. Repent of your sins (Acts 2:38)
3. Confess Jesus as your Lord and Master (Romans 10:9-10)
4. Be Baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 22:16)
5. And then Live for Jesus (Hebrews 3:14)
