BEATING THE CHRISTMAS BLUES
Mt. 1:18-25
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There are a lot of things Dads don't typically do much of around Christmas -- like shopping.
2. A little girl noticed this and asked, "Is it true that Santa Claus brings us our Christmas presents?" Her Mother said, "Yes, that's true."
3. The Daughter said, "And the stork brings us babies?" The Mother responded, "Yes, that's true."
4. The Daughter asked, "And the Police Department protects us?" Her Mother said, "That's right." The Daughter asked in consternation, "Then what do we need daddy for?"
5. We need dad to help pay the bills!
B. “BIBLE DAYS! HOW WONDERFUL!”
1. SONG: THE 12 PAINS OF CHRISTMAS, BOB RIVERS
The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Is finding a Christmas tree
The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Rigging up the lights
And finding a Christmas tree
The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Hangovers…
2. ALL 12 PAINS IN REVERSE ORDER:
Singing Christmas carols
Stale TV specials
Batteries not included
No parking spaces
Gotta go to the bathroom!
Salvation Army
Fa-cing my in-laws
Five months of bills!
Sending Christmas cards
Hangovers
Rigging up the lights
And finding a Christmas tree. Is Christmas really just a pain?
C. “IS THIS REALLY CHRISTMAS?”
1. Joe Bunting, a writer, asked people to write about Christmas. He expected to hear the Andy Williams version, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
2. But what he mainly got were stories about growing old, comparisons with happier Christmases, stories about cancer, etc.
3. 7 MAJOR PROBLEMS PEOPLE HAVE AT CHRISTMAS
a. Finances. Not enough money.
b. Stress…shopping, planning, dinners, decorations, etc.
c. Loneliness. A whopping 43 percent of Americans are single, and 27 percent of Americans live alone. Tough.
d. Grief. Missing a deceased loved one. Christmas is made 2X as sad when we’re missing one who made it good.
e. Estrangement. When you’re not speaking to a relative, family get-togethers can usher in feelings of sadness, guilt, resentment, or inner conflict about whether to communicate.
f. Divorce. If you’re newly divorced, the holidays may remind you of happier times and accentuate your grief.
g. Pleasing others. We try to meet everyone’s expectations & prob. fail. [Understanding & Coping with the Christmas Blues, By DARLENE LANCER]
4. We’re going to read about a Bible couple who also had a difficult Christmas season.
D. TEXT
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “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. 21 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.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:18-21,24.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem…5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” Luke 2:4-7.
E. A PERFECT BEGINNING
1. Luke 1:26-46 records how Mary's part in the Christmas account begins with angelic visitations to tell her of the birth of the child and Spirit-inspired Prophecies (Elizabeth, her cousin).
2. God sends angels, fills people with the Holy Spirit, and performs miracles.
3. But this was followed by a time when circumstances seem to contradict God's great purposes for this Child.
4. Did God have a prescription to help them (and us) with their Christmas blues? Title: “Beating the Christmas Blues.”
I. JOSEPH & MARY’S NIGHTMARE
A. JOSEPH’S BETRAYAL
1. Poor Joseph! He & Mary’s marriage got off to a bad start -- Mary turned up pregnant during the engagement and Joseph knew that the child was not his; they had never been intimate.
2. What must have been Joseph's feelings?
a. ANGER? Yes. Anger at her unfaithfulness and at whomever had defiled their marriage bed.
b. EMBARASSMENT? Yes. Half of his friends thought him a fool for picking her and letting her get away with it. The other half thought that he was the guilty party, not having enough self-control to wait. So Joseph’s reputation took a hit.
c. SORROW? No doubt. His life had been planned around her and he was sorry for her too; she had ruined her life.
d. NOW WHAT TO DO? Jewish law allowed stoning -- Deuteronomy 22:23-24. He could make a public spectacle to prove his innocence. Or he could divorce her quietly and let
her go away. He decided that was the right thing to do.
3. Here we have a person in the center of God's will and disaster strikes. Had God abandoned Joseph?
4. But the story isn’t over. God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to explain that Mary was carrying the Savior of the World. God brought order to the chaos and peace to Joseph’s storm and He will to yours too!
B. MARY’S REPUTATION SMEARED
1. Mary was one of the most righteous women of all time. And yet she became ostracized and stigmatized for a pregnancy that was not caused by sin.
2. At six months, her pregnancy began showing. The rumor mill and gossip chains began cranking.
3. Two kinds of human beings talk too much: the male and the female kinds. Someone has said, "We’re born with our eyes closed and our mouths open, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to reverse that mistake of nature."
4. Paul called rumor-mongers "dogs." Why? Think about it: dogs get into your trash and spread it all over the neighborhood.
5. Have you ever been accused of doing something you didn't do? Then you know a little of what Mary felt like. She was innocent, but everyone believed she was guilty. She was labeled an ‘adulteress.’ But God vindicated her and He will you too.
C. 3RD ACT: JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM
1. Imagine Mary (think of your wife or your daughter). She was nine months pregnant, at the very point of birth, swollen and aching all over.
2. She had to travel 70 miles; more than 3 hard days on the road. Up and down mountains and ravines; cold and hot; with bandits and wild animals all around – riding on a donkey (not a comfortable car)!
3. Doctors routinely tell women not to make trips when they’re far along in their pregnancy.
4. Then Mary's birth pains began. Joseph knocked on every door in town, but everywhere he went, there was a "no vacancy" sign up.
5. Joseph must have thought, "Could I have been mistaken? Did the angel really say "Son of God?" Where is God now?”
6. There was no antiseptic room, no comfortable bed; no incubator, no competent physicians -- only a barn with some hay. What a disappointment; what a desperate situation!
D. REMEMBER THIS
1. No matter what the circumstances,
no matter what people thought,
no matter who talked about who,
no matter how rough the journey,
or how lowly the birthplace...
II. CHRISTMAS STILL CAME!
We know what this meant to Mary and Joseph, but what does it mean to us?
A. GOD & HIS WORD WILL BE PROVEN TRUE
1. Heb. 11:1 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN."
2. Mary and Joseph didn't see the hand of God, but it was there. You may not see the hand of God on your life, but it's there! Hang on to God's word; it will be proven true!
B. WE WILL HAVE VICTORY
1. Even though everything didn't go right, God still accomplished His purposes.
2. The same is true of our lives: we will ultimately have victory!
C. JESUS WILL COME: ALL WILL CHANGE
1. The first Christmas was Christ's first coming. It changed Mary and Joseph's lives.
2. Jesus is coming again. We can't stop it. Just as surely as he came before, he's coming again. Jesus wants us ready.
III. HOW GOD HEALS THE PAIN OF CHRISTMAS
A. JESUS IS IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US
1. Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah’s 7:14 prophecy, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" —which means, "GOD WITH US."
2. Jesus became fully human – sharing in our poverty, our troubles, and our struggles. Because of this, He can sympathetic with our weaknesses and problems.
3. WE’RE NOT ALONE! He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” Heb. 13:5 and “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” Mt. 28:20.
4. Take consolation in the fact that God is with you!
B. GOD IS A GOD OF COMFORT
1. Isaiah said that Jesus was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief….Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows Isa. 53:3-4.
2. Paul called God the ‘God of all comfort’ “Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” 2 Cor. 1:3-4.
3. If you’re hurting this Christmas season, know that it’s the nature of God to comfort you. Go to Him and pour out your hearts to Him. He will heal you of all your hurts as you cling to Him.
C. A FUTURE HOPE
1. Rev. 21:4 tells of a future time when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
2. In that time, we won’t have any more stress, or worries, or troubles, or sadness. We won’t have to go to work, or the doctor, or pay the bills, or worry about the future or pay taxes!
3. We’ll be with our loved ones again, never to be separated. Heaven will be so awesome that God says we can’t, with our current feeble brains, even comprehend how good it’s going to be! That’s awesome. Think of the wildest, best scenario you can, and you’ve still fallen far short!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. The Movie “Man of Steel” released in 2013 is a fresh imagining of the Superman story. It drew great crowds.
2. Some said the reason for the popularity was its special effects; others said it was due to the longstanding superman mythology.
3. But Amy Adams, the actress who played Lois Lane in the movie, had a different opinion of why Superman is so appealing;
4. She said, “Who doesn’t want to believe that there’s one person who could save us from ourselves?”
5. Folks, that’s what Christmas is all about! The One who can save us from ourselves has come and died on the cross for our sins. All we need to do is trust in Him for salvation. Will you do that?
B. THE CALL
1. Salvation. “How many need a Savior this morning?” The angel said, “His name shall be called Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Let’s pray.
2. How many of you are experiencing the Christmas blues on some level? God wants to help you. Stand and let’s let the healing begin!
3. Prayer for healing of hearts and minds.
