INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Why do we take time to celebrate the Christmas holiday? Why does a nation of people take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate this national holiday? Are you all busy?
• How much time have you taken out of your busy schedule to decorate (how much have you taken out of your budget), to buy presents and open and send Christmas cards?
• Sometimes in the hype of a holiday, we tend to forget the real reason for the holiday that we are celebrating.
• I see this during the Easter season; many people think that Easter is all about a big bunny that comes to the house to give us candy. Who thought that up? The dentist?
• The Forth of July and Memorial Day get reduced to another day off of work.
• If you ask people what the reason for the season is, you will get many different answers, they will range from; “it is a special time for the kids”; to “it is a time to give and receive gifts”; to “it is a time for family” to “Jesus”.
• I know why we say these things. With all the commercialization and hype around Christmas we lose sight of Christ.
• Christians should understand that Jesus is the reason for the season; however, there are elements in our society who are seeking to remove Jesus from the Christmas equation.
• When we say that Jesus is the reason for the season, what mean?
• Is Jesus being the reason for the season simply that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, or is there more to the story?
• Today I want to briefly examine a few of the statements Jesus made in the Gospels to see if we can uncover how Jesus defines His reason for coming.
• The first reason for the season we will uncover together is found in Matthew 5:17.
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 5:17 (HCSB) “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Jesus was born to fulfill the Law.
• Why did Jesus have to come to fulfill the Law? Why would the Law need to be fulfilled? The purpose of the Law was to lead a person to Christ. It was designed to let a person know that they could not get to heaven on his or her own.
• The Law was never meant to be a permanent fixture hanging over the heads of the people.
• SLIDE #4
• Galatians 3:24 (HCSB) The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
• Jesus was the focus of the Law; the Law was to be fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• This is important because without Jesus fulfilling the Law, there would be no salvation by grace. Without the blood of Jesus, there would be no true forgiveness of sins.
• The Law was never meant to be a permanent fixture hanging over the heads of the people.
• SLIDE #5
• Hebrews 10:1–4 (HCSB) 1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
• Today some people find their righteousness in keeping the Ten Commandments; however, this is a tough way to go since this means of deriving one’s righteousness would require perfection.
• SLIDE #6
• Galatians 3:10 (HCSB) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed.
• In our passage from Matthew, it is apparent that part of the reason Jesus came was so that we can be freed from the curse of the Law, that curse was having to be perfect!
• Let’s turn to Luke 12:51-53 to examine another statement Jesus made concerning the reason He was born.
• SLIDE #7
• Luke 12:51–53 (HCSB) — 51 Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
• SLIDE #8
II. Jesus was born to draw the line of division.
• This statement does not sound like a nice family meal around the table!
• I really do not like this picture; Christmas time is a time that we are to go to war with each other in our family. Jesus came to make war?
• Jesus tells us in this passage that He came to divide those who believe in God and those who do not.
• There are only two teams you can be on.
• You are either on God’s team by deciding to give your life to Christ and to be immersed into Christ, or by simply doing nothing; you choose not to be on God’s team.
• Jesus makes other statements to tell us He is the line between belief and unbelief, between being saved and being lost!
• SLIDE #9
• Matthew 12:30 (HCSB) — 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.
• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. The reason for the season is war?
• Jesus cane to draw the line between the lost and the saved, Jesus does not want anyone to be on the wrong side of the line; however, He loves you enough to give you the freedom to choose which side of the line you want to be on.
• Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.
• SLIDE #10
• Matthew 20:28 (HCSB) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”
• SLIDE #11
III. Jesus was born to serve.
• Now this is starting to sound a little bit more like it. We do the Santa Claus thing so that we can get something from someone.
• Maybe the reason for the season is service?
• This fits right in with the spirit of the season. Santa Claus comes to give gifts, not take them away.
• It is interesting that Jesus said this in the context of James and John asking Jesus if they could be His right hand men in the kingdom.
• Do you find it interesting that God sent His Son into the world to serve HIS creation?
• Just who is He here to serve? Why did we need Jesus to give His life as a ransom for many?
• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. The reason for the season is service? This is sounding better, but I do not think we have gotten down to the real reason for the season yet.
• What kind of service did Jesus do for us?
• Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.
• SLIDE #12
• Luke 19:10 (HCSB) For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
• SLIDE #13
IV. Jesus was born to seek and save the lost.
• The setting of this statement was Jesus at the house of Zaccheus; a known cheat and thief, who happened to be a tax collector.
• The religious leaders were shocked that Jesus would take the time to eat in the house of a sinner, Jesus knowing their hearts gives us this response found in Luke 19:10.
• Just who are these lost people that Jesus came to seek? What caused them to be lost?
• SLIDE #14
• Matthew 9:12–13 (HCSB) But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• Jesus came to seek sinners! Who are sinners? Those who commit sin. What is sin? It is doing what God has told you not to do and it is not doing what God told you to do. Sin literally means to miss the mark.
• The Bible tells us that sin separates from God; sin puts us at war with God.
• Jesus came to do some things for people who were lost. He wanted to give us the chance to be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus came to do some things for us so that we can stand before God knowing that heaven will be our home.
• SLIDE #15
• Romans 6:23 (HCSB) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• You want to talk about an awesome gift; one like no one else can give to you!
• Jesus not only came to save you, He came to give you an abundant life in Him!
• SLIDE #16
• John 10:10 (HCSB) A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
• The world has it so wrong, and I guess Christians throughout history are part of the blame.
• Jesus did not come to steal your life and joy; He came to bring life and joy to you!
• When we reduce Jesus to a bunch of religious practices we are cheating those who see us.
• What the world has to offer you is not real life. It we settle for what the world has to offer it could be compared to a person who is given a wonderful gift.
• When they open the box, they ignore the real gift and play with the box. The world offers you the box; Jesus offers you the gift of life!
• The enemy wants your life and soul. The enemy wants us to forget about the real reason behind our Christmas celebration.
• He wants us to forget about why Jesus was born in a manger and why He suffered and died on the cross.
• If we do not have a good grasp on why Jesus was born of a woman into the world, then we will also not have a thankful heart toward Jesus for what He did for us.
• Let’s examine an final thought as to why Jesus was born to this world!
• SLIDE #17
V. Jesus was born for YOU!
• Jesus was born for YOU! YOU are the reason for the season because without you, Jesus would have not needed to come to this earth!
• We must not forget that on one level Jesus is not the reason for the season.
• Dr. Jack Cottrell is right when he says that Jesus is not the reason for the season. Sinners, you and I, we are the reason for the season. Christ came to give us life and hope. Without sin, there would be no reason to come. You are the reason for the season.
• This thought should humble us, it should serve as a reminder of the love that God has for us that He would send His Son to redeem us from the curse of sin.
• The season is really all about sin and its devastating effects on mankind.
• The season is about a God who loved you so much He sent His Son to die in your place.
• The season is about the love that the Father and the Son has for you.
• The season is about family, the family of God; it is about gifts, the gift of salvation that God is offering to you through His Son Jesus!
• Theologian R.C. Sproul said, "Moses could meditate on the law. Mohammed could brandish a sword, Buddha could give personal counsel, Confucius could offer wise sayings, but none of these men was qualified to offer atonement for the sins of the world. Jesus alone is qualified.
CONCLUSION
• When you received your gifts this year, I hope you remembered the gift that Jesus wants to give to you, the gift of salvation.
• As you gaze upon your tree, so finely decorated, I want you to think about the cross and how it was decorated with the lifeless body of Jesus and how He allowed Himself to be put there to pay for our sins.
• What is the reason for the season? The reason for the season is sin. It is about Jesus coming to redeem what was lost. This is the greatest gift that God could give to mankind.
• Will you accept it? Will you to moved to take Jesus up on His offer of salvation?
