Christmas Eve. Can you believe it? Today we come together to celebrate the day before the anticipated arrival of our Savior. Let’s start there with that well known story of the birth of Jesus. PRAYER
Luke 2:1-20 – “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
********4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
********8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
********10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
********13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
********16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
******** 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
The message title today is “Home for Christmas.” Just about everyone wants to go home for Christmas. We may be tied up with a career or with getting an education that keeps us busy all year long. But come Christmas time, we get this inner yearning to go back home. It’s as though we want to revisit our days of growing up. We want to go back to the place where all of our childhood memories were made.
There may be extra time and expense involved, but it is certainly worth it all. No one tries any harder to make it happen than Mom and Dad, because parental love has a way of going the second mile in bringing the family together.
It reminds me of the year when Christmas was approaching quickly. The kids were all grown up now with lives of their own. They all lived in other states now, tied down with their careers and families of their own. They had missed being with mom and dad at Christmas for the past 2 years and it looked like this might be year number 3 that mom and dad would once again celebrate Christmas by themselves.
It was the day before Christmas now and the elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." He hung up.
Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "Like heck they’re getting divorced," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this." She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. The kids are coming home for Christmas this year and not only that, they’re paying for their own flights."
When I learned to play the guitar in high school, I modeled most of my singing and style after the late John Denver. One of his songs was “Back Home Again.” My dad would always want me to play that song because it reminded us how good it was to finally be back home again.
This same sentiment is heard a lot when it comes to the church. Occasionally we will get someone to drop by for a church service because they grew up in this church. A lot of fond memories were made growing up in the children’s or youth group. That may have been 30 or 40 years ago, and they may not know much of anyone here at the church now, but it just feels good to get back to the place where they once worshipped God as a young person.
I lived in a little town north of here in Belton, Tx. when I was little. My grandma used to keep me at her house in Nolanville while my mom and dad were at work. But on Sundays, we would be in church at the First United Methodist church of Nolanville. A lot of memories were made there.
I never dreamed or knew that there would come a day when I was asked to preach at that church at the end of one of our family reunions. Another fond memory that I will cherish.
Yes, churches can give us the feeling of going home. I thank God for each and every one who has come to this place of worship on this Christmas Eve. Maybe this seems like home to you or maybe this is the beginning of some fond memories to be made for the future.
And the fact that so many people, of all ages and backgrounds, have taken time out of your busy schedules to come, tells me that there is something very special about this day. Praise God, we can celebrate the most wonderful news ever brought to planet earth! The claim, that the great God and Creator of the universe, came into human history, eternity entered our world, through the birth pangs of a virgin mother, who found favor with God.
And this is what Christmas is all about – coming home! God, who so loved the world, went far beyond the limits of what we as humans can understand to bring us home to Himself. God created this beautiful world for humanity, his crown of creation, to enjoy.
His original plan was for us to live in perfect harmony, peace, joy and love. But clearly, something very tragic has taken place so that everywhere we look now we see broken hearts and homes, broken dreams and relationships. Sin entered the human heart and man chose to declare his independence from God's perfect will.
But I thank God that He did not turn His back on mankind and leave us to our own fate. At that first Christmas, Christ came “out of the beauty of heaven into this sin filled world.” Christmas means that in spite of us deserving hell because of our sins, even though God could not permit sin to go unpunished; God, in His love for us, permitted that judgement to fall upon his own Son. And then, as we turn to Him in repentance and faith, we can find forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life.
We've all heard this story of the manger, shepherds, wise men and star so often that it does not grip us, does not excite us, the way it should. But, at that first Christmas, 2000 years ago, a light came into our troubled world and all the darkness of sin and sadness has never been able to put that light out. As I explained to the children just moments ago, Jesus was that light. And Jesus IS that light of our world today.
And this message of faith, hope and love is very much needed in the lives of all of us here today. God knows every one of us by name. Do you realize that? God knows your name. He knows all about your hopes and dreams, your fears, and failures. And His ears are open to the cry of anyone here right now who is facing sorrow, loneliness, temptations, problems over health, finances, even unemployment.
And Christmas reminds us that we are not asked to trust a far-off God, cold and indifferent to our needs. On that first Christmas, He became our Emmanuel, our God with us. And He wrote His greatest message of love, not with words, but with drops of blood, shed in agony and death. An empty tomb proves His victory over sin, hell and death. And yes, I know that is actually the message of Easter. But without Christmas Eve, without Christmas Day, without the birth of our Savior, we wouldn’t be here right now. Why not? Because without Christ, there would be no Christianity, no Christians, no Christmas.
And in our cynical, unbelieving world, this good news does not make sense. Why should God, show such love and grace to a thankless, heartless humanity? But that only proves that this story of Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation is not man made. Only God, could demonstrate a love like that. We can only wonder how mankind can be so reluctant to believe and accept God's free Christmas gift.
But let’s get back to talking about being home again. Have you ever been homesick? It is not a good feeling and yet there is something warm and meaningful about it. We are reminded of better days. So, in the realm of the spirit; there will be moments in your life when you will be homesick for God. Deep within your heart there is a hunger which all the treasures and pleasures of this world can never satisfy.
As C. S. Lewis pointed out in his writings, “If I have longings and desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Certainly, there is no other time of the year when so many memories of home and childhood are awakened in our hearts, as at Christmas. You remember the innocent faith you had then, in contrast to the cynicism and carnality of our world today.
Maybe your heart is saying as the poem speaks of:
“If I could pray like a child again, beside my mother's knee.
Recall the prayer that I uttered there, and from my sin set free.”
Maybe you have climbed the ladder of success only to find it leaning against the wrong wall. You look at your children or grandchildren and wonder what kind of a godless world they are facing. You reflect on your priorities and what you have done with your life so far. You know that this world has not brought you the happiness you were looking for. Something in your soul cries out a warning; this is not the way you want to end your life on planet Earth!
Maybe you have tried to ignore God; you seldom go to church or read the Bible. But this feeling, this longing lingers and you wonder why it is there. God put it there, it is heaven born! He has placed eternity in our hearts, so that nothing else can truly satisfy.
The same God who created these deep desires can meet your heartfelt needs and show you that you can live life on a higher plane. You are only cheating yourself when you try to live apart from Him.
Right now, Christ stands knocking at the door of your heart. He wants to bestow upon you His pardon, peace and power. He wants to give you abundant life now and eternal life forever. He has given each one of us the power of free will.
We are free to choose our own eternal destiny, even if it means excluding God from our lives forever. He will never force His way into our lives. The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside. He simply waits for you to open the door and allow Him to be born again in the manger of your heart.
When Christ came, on that first Christmas Eve, there was no room for Him in the Inn. But because He came, Heaven's door is now open wide, that WHOSOEVER WILL MAY COME.
The wages of sin is death, but His gift of forgiveness and eternal life is offered to everyone, regardless of race, color or creed. You are never going to find a more generous, openhearted offer that has ever been extended. God tells us in:
Romans 10:13 - “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
It's a wonderful thing to come back home. Some of us have been away too long.
But it’s never too late go there. Especially when it’s coming back home to your church.
I hope that you think of this church family as your home. I hope you are making lots of memories that you will cherish later in your life. I hope you consider this place to be your respite from a troubled and turbulent world.
But what brings me peace of heart, and I hope it does you as well, is that this old world is not our final home. The old song say, This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beacon me from heaven’s open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
I close with this thought. A three-year-old had to go through some medical testing. He was a very active little boy who did not like to sit still. This particular test involved having to lay still for the better part of an entire hour while some diodes, wires, and things were hooked up to his little body while he lay there in a strange room, in a strange hospital, in a strange city.
The entire test came out fine, and the parents were very pleased with that. But the story caught my eye for a moment. As the test was under way, the little one began to cry. He was scared and uncomfortable and didn’t understand what was happening to him. Through his little tears, he kept saying to his dad, "I go home, Daddy. I go home."
In this life, very often we find ourselves in strange lands, in unfamiliar and uncomfortable circumstances, wondering what is happening to us, not understanding why we are in pain, why we are afraid; we find ourselves crying out to our Heavenly Father, "I go home, Daddy. I go home."
And it’s all because of who we celebrate during this season. That little boy born on a hectic night in a little town called Bethlehem, has ultimately given us Christmas HOPE, Christmas JOY, Christmas PEACE, and Christmas LOVE. And it is His love for us that gives us the hope of eternal life with Him.
You see, the ultimate hope that we have in Christ is the promise that He made to us when He said:
John 14:1-4 - “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
We may wander away as life and it’s circumstances pull us in all directions. But there is no one that senses that their life is incomplete, no one that has unmet expectations and unfulfilled dreams that should ever be lost for long.
Right now, God is waiting for you to COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Won’t you ask Him to come into your heart and into your life and experience this Christmas as you never have before, as a child of God.
