SERMON OUTLINE:
• Mess
• Message
• Messiah
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• A few years ago (30/1/06).
• A visitor to a British museum destroyed a set of priceless 300-year-old Chinese vases,
• The accident happened when he tripped up on his shoelace,
• The Daily Telegraph reports.
• “The three Qing vases, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century,
• Had stood on a windowsill at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for at least 40 years.
• Their prominent position made them among its best-known artefacts,”
• The culprit, was a man called Nick Flynn in his 40s,
• Who attributed the accident to a "Norman Wisdom moment!”
• Steve Baxter, who was another visitor at the museum and saw the accident,
• And was quoted as saying:
"We watched the man fall as if in slow motion. He landed in the middle of the vases and they splintered into a million pieces." "He was still sitting there stunned when museum staff appeared. Everyone stood around in silence, as if in shock. Then the man started talking. He kept pointing to his shoelace and saying, ’There it is; that’s the culprit!’”
• TRANSITION: I have to smile at that story,
• Because I know that, that sort of thing could so easily have happened to me.
• I also like the fact he blamed something else,
• Not my fault, but my shoelaces!
• It is such a human reaction, not wanting to take the blame!
• When interviewed the museum's assistant director Margaret Greeves.
• "They are in very, very small pieces but we are determined to put them back together,"
• When I read that story, I thought to myself,
• Now there is an illustration that will help me explain the message of Christmas.
• We know that Mr. Flynn's clumsy frame was 6ft tall, and weighed 13st,
• Two thousand years ago on a hill outside Bethlehem, near Jerusalem,
• Were a bunch of ‘unmeasured shepherds.’
• How tall they were or how heavy they were we do not know,
• What we do know is that in their day and in their culture,
• Shepherds were seen in negative terms.
Ill:
• I grew up in times before political correctness,
• When we used to tell Irish jokes,
• Now this sort of thing happened all over Europe,
• The Germans told jokes about the Polish,
• Norwegians told jokes about Swedish,
• Moldovans they told jokes about the Romanians etc.
• The idea is you picked on a group or nation of people,
• And stereotype them as being stupid or thick.
• TRANSITION: Now I am glad to say that we don’t do that anymore,
• But at the time of Jesus the stereotype for humor was shepherds.
• Shepherding was a low paid job,
• And it was normally given to the runt of the family,
• Because no-one else wanted to do it!
• Shepherding meant you worked unsociable hours,
• e.g., “They were ‘keeping watch over their flocks at night’”
• Shepherds were also considered to be ‘unclean’.
• This meant that they could not go to worship at the temple
• Utley (2004) said, “The rabbis considered them to be religious outcasts,
• And their testimony was not admissible in court.”
So, for God to announce to a bunch of nobodies the birth of a somebody was big news!
Ill:
• Let’s watch (Lumo Video) & read (NIV) the narrative.
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/aj8ts15QZSU
• TRANSITION: I want to summarize the Christmas story under three simple headings.
• Based on verses 8-10 of the Shepherd narrative,
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’”
(1). The Mess.
“a Saviour has been born to you.”
• You only need a saviour, a rescuer if you are in trouble or in danger.
• i.e., No lifeboat crew ever went out on a mission,
• To rescue someone who was enjoying a nice sail on tranquil waters!
• You only need a saviour, a rescuer if you are in trouble or in danger.
Our world is in a mess…
• A few weeks ago, we had COP 26,
• Where the UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference,
• Our politicians along with the Greta Thunberg’s of the world,
• All agreed on one thing, the world needs saving!
• Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert was one of the scientists,
• One of the creators of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine,
• Warned recently that another pandemic could be more contagious and deadly than Covid.
“This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods. The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both.”
• So, whether it is Taiwan and threats from China,
• Or the Ukraine and threats from Russia,
• Whether it’s a global pandemic or global warming,
• Whether it’s Boris, Greta or Dame Sarah,
• The headlines all suggest that the world needs saving.
Now we can look at the world and blame someone else!
• Like Nick Flynn in the British Museum,
• He can point to our shoelaces and say, ‘There it is that’s the culprit!’
A ‘saviour’ is born:
• Note those words carefully!
• Not an example for mankind (though he was).
• Not a prophet (though he was).
• Not a healer (though he was).
• Not a miracle worker (though he was).
• Not a great teacher (though he was).
• Those things were important, but they are all secondary to why he came.
• That message was clear “A saviour has been born” – Jesus came to rescue people!
Think about it:
• The Bible (and history) gives to us lots of examples,
• It gives to us prophets & miracle workers.
• It gives to us teachers and encouragers.
• Those things can all be done by God working in and through an individual.
• But there was one thing no human being could ever do.
• And that was to be a saviour for the human race!
• And that is primarily the reason Jesus came:
• That message was clear “A saviour has been born” – Jesus came to rescue people!
Ill:
• Gloves, substitute illustration!
• Transaction.
Ill:
• Most Christmases David Lean’s David Lean's Oscar-winning Second World War drama,
• Starring Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins,
• ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ will be shown.
• It is the powerful story of the events of POW during World War.
• In his book ‘Miracle on The River Kwai’.
• Ernest Gordon's Tells the true story of some Scottish soldiers,
• Who were forced by their Japanese captors to work on a jungle railroad?
• Under the strain of imprisonment, they had degenerated to cruel behaviour,
• But one afternoon something happened.
• "A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged.
• He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else.
• When nobody in the squadron budged,
• The officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot!
• It was obvious the officer meant what he had said.
• Then, finally, one man stepped forward.
• The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death.
• When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse.
• And carried it with them to the second tool check.
• This time, no shovel was missing.
• Which meant that there had been a miscount at the first check point.
• The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp.
• An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others!
• The incident had a profound effect on all the prisoners.
• From that moment on they began to treat each other like brothers”
• TRANSITION: An innocent man sacrificed his life on behalf of others.
• Sadly, in that case it was all in vain!
That is why we sing those words:
• “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”
• Because Jesus Christ, “Came into the world to save sinners”
• He was born as a baby with one purpose in mind:
• That one Friday afternoon at 3.00pm when he was aged 33, he would go to the cross.
• And he would give his perfect life on behalf of imperfect (sinful) people!
Ill:
• How can one person die for all?
• Compare a stainless-steel ring with a 24-carat gold ring.
• They may be exactly the same shape and size,
• But the gold ring is worth far more.
• Question: Why?
• Answer: The value lies in the quality of the metal.
• The value of Jesus' life is worth far more than every human who ever lived.
• He was and is the eternal Son of God.
• That's why He and He alone could pay the price.
(2). The Message.
• The gospel is good news not good advice.
• Advice is optional but news should be information that is too important to ignore!
Ill:
• What makes good news
• Those who teach journalism tell us that the best news stories have 5 characteristics:
(1).
• They should be UNUSUAL:
• ill: Dog bites man is not unusual, but man bites dog is.
(2).
• VITAL:
• Who cares if you started a diet yesterday!
• But we all care if you started chemotherapy for cancer.
(3).
• PROMINENT:
• ill: If the Prime Minister breaks a leg, it’s news!
• If I break my leg, then I should have been more careful!
(4).
• PERSONAL:
• ill: If the government puts a penny on income tax, we are all involved,
• If they just tax the rich, then only Mr F is affected!
(5).
• TIMELY:
• Quote: “Yesterday’s newspaper is only good for fish & chips.”
• TRANSITION:
• The news that the angelic beings brought the Shepherds,
• Met all those characteristics of a sensational story:
• It was unusual, vital, prominent, personal, and timely.
• This was front page material, no wonder the shepherds ran to Bethlehem!
• Look again at the shepherd narrative.
• The best news stories have 5 characteristics:
(1).
• They should be UNUSUAL:
• ill: Angelic beings!
• Question: Have you ever seen an angel? Answer: me neither!
• Verse 9: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them”
Ill:
• Guarantee an angels first word to you; “Do not be afraid”
• And if these shepherds were terrified at seeing one angel, it got worse for them!
• Verse 13:
• “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared…”
• If there is one thing more terrifying than an angelic being,
• It’s lots of angels!
• Now I would say that was unusual!
(2).
• VITAL:
• Verse 10: “In the town of David a Saviour has been born.”
• You only need a saviour if you need saving!
ill:
Moldovan well story.
(3).
• PROMINENT:
• This was the biggest news story on the planet - Verses 17-18:
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
• This was news worth sharing and good news at that!
• I like how verse 18 puts it, “Amazed”
(4).
• PERSONAL:
• Verse 12: “This will be a sign to you” (sign was for the Shepherds).
• Verse 10: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
• But the message was universal – “a saviour” has been born!
Quote:
“For God so loved the world, not just a few,
The wise and great, the noble and the true,
Or those of favoured class or rank or hue.
God loved the world. Do you?”
(5).
• TIMELY:
• Verse 11:
• “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
• God always deals in the present,
• Today, now etc.
• We should go in confidence because our message never dates!
• Always applicable for all people, all cultures etc.
(3). Messiah
Ill:
• If you had to pick one person from history,
• A king, a celebrity, a sports star, an inventor, or a preacher.
• Which do you think would leave the greatest mark on history?
• Well, we know!
• One man split time e.g., B.C. & A.D.
• Still today more people around the world (over 2billion),
• Claim to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ.
• From a purely historical perspective,
• The most influential man in all of history was actually a traveling preacher.
• And his name was Jesus.
Ill:
• In 1926 the Rev. James Allan Francis.
• Published a poem in a book entitled "The Real Jesus and Other Sermons".
• The poem was called, ‘One Solitary Life.’
"He was born in an obscure village,
a child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another obscure village
where he worked in a carpenter shop
until he was thirty.
Then for three years
he was an itinerant preacher.
He never had a family.
Or owned a home.
He never set foot inside a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles
from the place he was born.
He never wrote a book
or held an office.
He did none of the things
that usually accompany greatness.
While he was still a young man,
the tide of popular opinion
turned against him.
His friends deserted him.
He was turned over to his enemies.
He went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross
between two thieves.
While he was dying
his executioners gambled
for the only piece of property he had,
his coat.
When he was dead,
he was taken down
and laid in a borrowed grave.
"Nineteen centuries have come and gone
and today he is still the central figure
for much of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched,
All the navies that ever sailed
And all the parliaments that ever sat
And all the kings that ever reigned
Put together
have not affect the life of man
Upon this earth
As powerfully as this
One Solitary Life.
• Unique because of who he is wand was.
• “…a Saviour…he is the Messiah, the Lord.’”
• Question: Is he your, “Saviour, Messiah & Lord.’”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=24ycU4T10jXleCmtnPxIROwgBOYDWkKx
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/EXjOzqGWnxY
