Slide 1—Advent Candles
Welcome, to the beginning of our Christmas Celebration here at Bethany. This is the first Sunday in Advent—which means we are begiining a look forward to clebrating both the first and seconding coming of Christ. I’m Pastor Don and I’m especially honored to have guests with us today. I hope you will find this service meaningful to you as we begin to celebrate Christmas.
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Today we begin Humbug to Halleujah—this will be our theme throughout the month of December for all of our Christmas activities.
In the Bible, one of the writers of the New Testament, Titus, speaks of Christ’s journey to the Cradle, and from the cradle to the cross.
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From Titus, the second chapter,: “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”
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1. Now and then a story has the spark of divine inspiration. It’s not the word of God, but it has a word from God that causes us to look at our lives differently. I think the work by Charles Dickens helps in this regard—A Christmas Carol.
MOST EVERYBODY HAS SEEN AT LEAST ONE VERSION OF THE CHRISTMAS CAROL. Who has seen the Muppet version? It will be presented this month as a live theatre presentation at the Blackfriars Theater in Staunton.
I’m going to use the movie version of this work, during this Advent and Christmas to try to help you see what it has to say about the true
meaning of Christmas for your life.
The central figure of The Christmas Carol is Ebenezer Scrooge... His very name "scrooge" stands for the worst in human nature.
8:30 Show quote from PA 8 Slide
SHOW VIDEO CLIP 9:27-12:25—Visit from Fred inviting Scrooge to Christmas dinner
a. As we just saw in the video clip, He calls Christmas a “humbug” and spreads his Christmas sneer to everyone he encounters.
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To Scrooge, Christmas is “a time for finding yourself another year older and not an hour richer.”
b. At times, we know exactly what Scrooge means. How many of you are already feeling overwhelmed by all you have to do to get ready for Christmas?
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c. Let’s say “Humbug” now to get it out of our system! Say it with me HAMBUG!!!
2. It’s easy to fall into a humbug attitude when the pressures of Christmas overwhelm you. This attitude is like a tightening chain around your chest; it squeezes the joy of Christmas out of your heart.
So as we prepare for this Christmas, I want to help you think about changing your humbugs to hallelujahs.
a. We’ll be taking a journey through A Christmas Carol and seeing what we can learn from Scrooge about Christmas.
b. Scrooge’s Christmas journey was not one he had planned. It came upon him unexpectedly, and it changed his life. And maybe your Christmas journey this year will be an unexpected one.
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It all began when he returned home one Christmas Eve.
8:30 SERVICE: Watch what happens.
(SHOW VIDEO CLIP 21:40 to 27:20—Scrooge hears Marley’s footsteps and end with Marley pointing out window.)
[READ SUMMARY DURING 11:00 SERVICE: Scrooge reached his front door and was frightened to see the face of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, staring back at him from the door knocker. Shaken, he hurried to his bedroom and got his bowl of gruel. Suddenly, his ghostly business partner, Marley, entered the room and confronted the terrified Scrooge.
When the frightening specter of Marley’s ghost confronts the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, he is weighed down with a long, heavy chain. "It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel." When Scrooge inquired about the chain, Marley replied, "I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."
Then Marley asked Scrooge, "Is its pattern strange to you? Or would you know the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it since. It is a ponderous chain!" (END OF SUMMARY.)]
6. Before I comment on the film clip, I need to mention that while I do not subscribe to Dickens’s speculations about the afterlife--there is no biblical theology that human spirits are condemned to roam the earth as penance--we can still appreciate his message.
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So today I want you to think about Breaking Christmas Chains in your life And the first question I want to ask you is:
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A. What are the chains that bind you?
1. Chains, chains, nothing but chains. Marley has condemned himself to spend eternity hauling around the chains of his past. No peace, no freedom, no joy.
a. Is it strange to any of us? We all carry with us the consequences of the choices we have made in our past.
Think of some of the humbugs that are pressing on you now. (Be honest. Take a moment and offer them to the Lord.)
a. Let me see if I can identify some of the humbugs that chain us all:
1) unrealistic expectations fueled by commercialism--especially from our children--which leads to financial issues
2) past family hurts
3) overcrowded schedules that lead to family tensions, either at home or with our in-laws
4) loneliness because a loved one is gone
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c. When you think of these things, sometimes “Humbug” is all we can say.
d. Like Scrooge, we need to look within ourselves to see why we have let our circumstances chain us to the wounds of the past and the unrealistic pressures of the present.
2. The tragedy is that Scrooge was not always the hard-hearted, miserly, self-centered curmudgeon we now see. Once he was loving, giving, filled with hope. Once he was happy. What happened?
a. He became chained to his own hurt and resentment. He came to believe that life’s business was all about himself. Remember during the 40 Days of Purpose we said it was all about God? Scrooge apparently had not learned this.
b. The result? He’s a mean, miserable old man, sitting alone in his cold, drafty room, eating a bowl of gruel on Christmas Eve.
3. Marley learned too late that Christmas is not about us. It’s about caring for others.
“… Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode?”
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4. Scripture reveals there was also a Scrooge in the Christmas story: King Herod.
a. Herod, too, was a man bound by the chains of wealth and power; he believed the world revolved around him.
b. Like Scrooge, Herod had unexpected visitors who came to him one night with a message--the three wise men.
1) Herod was also frightened by his visitors’ message when they told him they sought the new ruler of Israel.
2) Unlike Scrooge, however, King Herod’s heart was closed, and he did not listen.
c. Here is Herod’s sad story. (PASTOR: Read Matt. 2:7–15a.)
Matthew 2:7-15 –The Message Paraphrase
Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”
Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage.
d. Herod missed God’s opportunity for his life at Christmas. History tells us that Herod died a hated man, despised by all who knew him.
5. There seems to be nothing that we can do to break our chains--unless we discover a power outside ourselves that can help us make lasting changes.
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a. The promise of the gospel is that through Christ we can be set free from the chains we have forged in life. Freedom comes in getting outside ourselves and in giving ourselves to others, as God gave his Son to us.
b. The real power of Christmas is not found in what we have done, but in what God has done.
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B. How can I break the chains of Christmas that bind me?
1. First I will begin to focus on the prospect of a joyful outcome and not on the prospect of a dreadful process.
Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament of the Bible, was put in prison for being a follower of Christ. He was able to take his situation and encourage others to be courageous and fearless, because he himself was courageous and fearless. He was physically chained but he was able to break the emotional and spiritual chains despite his imprisonment.
How did he do that?--by focusing on the prospect of a joyful outcome and not on the prospect of a dreadful process. He concluded his thoughts on being imprisoned and being the target of troublemakers with "And because of this – (this being "Christ is preached") - I rejoice!"
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Philip. 1:12-14, 18 (NLT)
And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. [13] For everyone here, including all the soldiers in the palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. [14] And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here have gained confidence and become more bold in telling others about Christ. … so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
I heard of the prayer of an alcoholic businessman as he got ready for a company party. He prayed:
"Dear God, help me not to drink any alcohol.
But if I do, help me not to drink too much.
But if I do, help me not to get drunk.
But if I do, help me not to faint.
But if I do, help me to fall face down, so my name tag won’t show."
Do you sense he was focusing on the prospect of a joyful outcome or the prospect of a dreadful process?
The prospect of joy is a powerful motivation for courage. Even the Son of God allowed himself to be crucified for the prospect of joy, when sinful people would be reconciled to their God and the fellowship of God and humankind would once again be restored.
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This is what Hebrews 12: 2-3 tells us: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." The prospect of the joyful end enabled Jesus to endure the cross with courage.
I’ve heard that a common reaction to bad or difficult situations, whether a car accident, a broken relationship, an illness or any misfortune is to ask, "Why me?" That’s not a helpful reaction and such will lead to a victim mentality.
A pastor I know of would say, "Why not you? Everyday, the world rolls over someone who was just on top the day before." In other words, what makes you immune to the tragedies of life? God never promised to make Christians immune to cancer, to hardship, not even to stupidity.
If you read Jesus’ words carefully, He promised that we would have tribulation or hardship in life. The pastor would continue with his belief that God allows there to be a Christian with cancer for every non-Christian with cancer, so the world can see the difference. I don’t know that I would agree with the statistics here, but I do know that Christians can respond differently than non-Christians in difficulties, even to respond courageously because we have the prospect of some joyful outcomes.
This Christmas, you can focus on the prospect of a joyful outcome and not on the prospect of a dreadful process.
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2. Second, this Christmas I will forge some holy chains that will fulfill God’s purpose for my life.
Paul rejoiced in his prison because even in there, he was fulfilling the purpose God had for him to advance the gospel, to spread the Gospel to Roman soldiers, who became captive audiences by the fact that they were chained to Paul.
He also multiplied workers for God by his courage.
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Philip. 1:14
And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here have gained confidence and become more bold in telling others about Christ.
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He was able to turn spectator Christians into participants who told others about the good news of Jesus Christ. If you come and sit here on Sundays, you have not worshipped. We offer the building-blocks for worship, and we individually have the responsibility of using what we learn on Sundays the rest of the week in our homes, place of work and place of recreation.
Instead of asking, "Why me?’ when you face difficulties in life, ask, "What does God want me to learn or gain from this situation?" Or "What outcome does God want from me in this situation?" In other words, ask, "What purpose does God have for me in this situation?" Focus on the purpose God has for you, not on the pain you are experiencing.
Then along with God’s help, take action to fulfill the purpose God has for you. From the outside, others will see courage flowing out of you and your actions, because from the inside, you are looking at the prospect of joy at the completion of God’s purpose in your situation.
If you are about to lose your job, don’t focus on the dreadful process of updating your resume or the possibility of a long unemployment period in between. Pray about what God could possibly purpose in your life through this. Is God developing your trust in Him? Is He wanting you to be in a different job that you might be a better witness for Him? Or will your next job actually pay more? I don’t know.
Are you looking at the prospect of joy at the completion of God’s purpose in your situation?
I heard some years ago about one of the team members of the Billy Graham Crusade ending up in the hospital and wondering why God kept him from helping at a critical time. Even worse, he was placed in the same room with a very bitter man, who ridiculed his Christian faith. Yet, each day, he treated his obnoxious hospital roommate with encouraging words and offered to share the food that others brought to him.
On the day the member of the Billy Graham Crusade was to be discharged from the hospital, his roommate slipped him a note that read, "If only for me, God brought you here, to show me His love."
While in hardship, we can check to see if we are fulfilling God’s purpose in us or in others. We may be the object lesson of God’s love or strength for another. We may be in our difficulty because difficulties serve as the sand paper for refining character. Maybe only in our weakness, can we see God’s strength, when all the chains of life are removed.
There’s a saying that reads, "Courage is knowing that you are indestructible until God’s work is done," and I would add "in and through you."
There is a phrase, "Turning lemon into lemonade, " which is use to mean that one can take the bad and sour things of life and make it good. If you go away this morning thinking I’ve taught you how to turn the lemons in your life into sweet lemonade, you’ve missed the point. The truth is bad things do happen to good people, even to God’s people.
And sometimes when we work with bad lemons in our lives, no amount of sugar added will make the lemonade taste any better. But if we understand that the most important thing and the thing that will bring us eternal joy in life is not sweet lemonade, or the American dream, but fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives and following Christ, then we’ll have the courage to swallow every drop and even swallow some lemon slices, because our God promised a joyful outcome for those who have Christ in our lives.
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C. So here’s something you need to get if you don’t get anything else today: The chains begin to break when I realize that Christmas is about Jesus and sharing his love with others.
1. Marley, though rich, was spiritually poor. To his grief, he learned that we only get to keep for eternity what we invest in the lives of others now.
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Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? John’s gospel tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16b(NLT)
2. God loved us.
a. He invested in us by becoming one of us and showing us what true life is all about.
b. But note this. He knows us so well that he came to us stripped of all the things that chain us and distract us from what real life is all about.
c. Jesus did not come with worldly power or glory, but as a frail, vulnerable baby, subject to all the dangers of the world.
d. He had no home; he was born in a stable. His parents were homeless and soon to be refugees, fleeing to a foreign country for safety. He was not laid in a designer crib, but in an animal’s feeding trough. When Jesus was born, he was not surrounded by the influential and socially proper, but by poor, outcast shepherds.
e. Yet, as John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Do you get the message? Your humbugs are turned to hallelujahs when you discover that Christmas is not about you. It’s not about your circumstances. It’s about Jesus and investing in others the life he’s given you.
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I’m going to give you some homework for this week’s lesson from A Christmas Carol.
Take a moment now and ask God to remind you of someone who needs a special touch of love and encouragement. Write that person’s name down on a sheet of paper (in racks in fron t of you), and take it home and tape it to your bathroom mirror so you can pray for him or her each morning as you prepare for the day. Be sure to check up on that person a few times in the next few weeks, to put action into your prayers!
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This daily prayer exercise will serve as a reminder that Christmas is not about you; it’s about investing God’s love in others.
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That’s what our Communion is about today—receiving the gift that Jesus has prepared for us as we prepare for his coming and then sharing his gift of love with others.. I invite you to come to the Lord’s table today as a reminder that He invested god’s love in you—now you are to go and do the same with others. God will break your Christmas chains as you help others to break the chains they have forged in life.
Closing prayer: PRAY LIKE THIS: Father, I don’t want this to be a humbug Christmas. Unlike Herod and Scrooge, I desire to break the chains that I’ve forged over the years that limit my joy and freedom. Incarnate King, today I’ve learned that "Christmas is not about me," but you--it’s all about you. I need your strength this week to begin breaking the chains of selfishness, greed, unrealistic expectations, stress and old wounds so I can begin to experience a hallelujah Christmas season. I am unable to complete this task without your help. I pray in the name of Christ, Wonderful Counselor, who broke the chains of death and all other chains. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer for the first time this morning—I have some free materials and NT to mail you if you will complete the response tab……
(Research resources: Mainstay Sunday Sermons and Sermon Central)
