THE CHRISTMAS STORY
INTRODUCTION:
-People have all kinds of ideas about Christmas.
-Some of them are right on, and some are way off.
-Today we’ve invited the kids to be part of the service.
-We’ve got the families together and we’re just going to have a good time and retell the simple story of Christ’s birth.
-Nothing fancy, nothing too complicated, just the GOOD NEWS of a loving God, who sent his only Son, to be the Savior of the world.
-I’m going to need your help this morning.
-We’re going to do some audience participation and there are no Grinches allowed at Adventure Christian Church.
-We’re doing this for the kids, and so I know you will all go along!
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-This section over here is going to be the “Mary section.”
-When I say Mary you hold a baby in your arms. (Practice)
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-This section over here is going to be the “Joseph” section.
-Joseph had to decide whether to marry Mary…
-So when I say Joseph you “put a ring on it”
-(if you liked it, you should of put a ring on it) (Practice)
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-You guys are the angel section…maybe I picked the wrong section to be the angels. (look pretty rough)
-Whenever I say angels you make the halo. (Practice)
-And the angels have lines “don’t be afraid!”
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-And lastly, you all are the Shepherds section
-Whenever I say “Shepherds” you’re on the lookout.
-Shepherds are always watching their flocks by night. (and day)
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-ok, now with Mary, Joseph, Angels, & the Shepherds we are ready for the Christmas story.
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Mary - Luke 1:26-37
…God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
-Joseph and Mary were engaged & planning on getting married.
-You kids in the room may not realize it, but in the old days the parents decided who their kids would marry.
-That could be kinda gross right?
-But God decided that this couple was perfect for his plans
-So here’s what happened:
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. And the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary,” ….“for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
-I want the Mary section to remember that part. Say it with me.
Joseph-Matthew 18:1-25
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
-Joseph is never quoted as saying anything in the Bible.
-But the Bible tells us that he was a good man.
-The only conclusion he could reach was that Mary had been with another guy…that’s how she was pregnant.
-How did he know that? Because they were behaving themselves!
-And so he was thinking about not putting a ring on that finger.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22
-I love that part. Jesus is on the way, and he is the one you’ve been waiting for. He will save people from their sins.
-He is the one who can forgive us. The only one!
-Our good deeds don’t cancel out our bad ones. Telling it to a priest or pastor doesn’t make them go away.
-Jesus is the one and only son of God and the only one who can save us from our sins. This fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah wrote:
23 “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.’”
-That’s the part that I want the Joseph section to remember.
-Say it with me. “God is with us” Hang on to that.
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
-See, he put a ring on her finger! Let’s move to the last group!
SHEPHERDS – Luke 2:8-20
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel said “Do not be afraid!”. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
-I love that part. Good news of great joy!
-That’s the Shepherd part. Say it with me shepherds. Hang on to it
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
-And that’s the story of Christmas right out of God’s word!
-Now I’ve included some passages of Scripture in your bulletin this morning so that your family can read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas morning.
-I want to challenge you to keep Christ in Christmas.
-And I would encourage you to read the Scripture and have a time of prayer before you open all the presents.
-But now I want to return our focus to those phrases I told you to remember: Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, Angels
Angels: Do not be afraid.
-Some here are heading into Christmas and the New Year afraid.
-Marriage, kids, job, finances, changes, health concerns.
-Three times in the Christmas story we find a word from God.
-The angels said, “don’t be afraid!” But why not?
-Why is there no room for fear at Christmas.
-Because the good news about Jesus outweighs any bad news, any bad things, any bad circumstances that life could throw at us.
-Whatever you’re afraid of pales in comparison to the Good News about Jesus Christ our Lord.
Luke 12:32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”
-Whatever this life throws at us we know that God has something much better in store.
Mary: For nothing is impossible with God.
-There are people here today who feel like they are facing an impossible situation.
-There are things that just seem impossible. Things that seem like they will never change, or never get better, never be resolved.
-Some of you feel trapped, stuck, and in need of a miracle.
-And that’s what the story of Christmas is about. People who were stuck in sins with no way out and God did the impossible.
-He sent a baby to be the Savior of the world. Christmas reminds us that miracles are possible.
-Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Joseph: God is with us.
-There are people here today who feel all alone. Feel like no one knows what they’re going through, no one knows their pain.
-Some feel that there is no one who loves them, no one that notices their loneliness or suffering.
-The message of Christmas, foretold by the prophet Isaiah is that God is with us. You’re not alone. No matter how bad it seems.
-If everyone left you, you’ve got someone who will never leave. JC
Heb 13:5 “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Shepherds: Good news of great joy!
-The message we’ve shared today is the same message those guys heard 2000 years ago.
-It’s a simple message. It’s a timeless message.
-It’s the message that is the heart of Christmas, but it’s also the message that is the very foundation of our lives.
-Our loving God, sent his only Son, to be the Savior of the world.
-He came as a baby then, but he’ll return as a conquering king.
-He appeared to common people then: teenagers, quiet dudes, and shepherds. But his message is for everyone.
-It’s a message of salvation, of hope, of forgiveness, of love and kindness, and mercy through Christ our Lord.
-What has always stood out to me is that the announcement to Mary, Joseph, Shepherds…and later Anna & Simeon…resulted in praise.
