I’VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!
Luke 2:8-20
S: Proclamation
C: The appropriate response to receiving the good news is to share it with others.
Th: Holy Responses to God
Pr: WE HAVE GOOD NEWS TO TELL!
KW: Narrative
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Realize the good news is for you!
• Tell the good news!
Version: ESV
RMBC 05 December 04 AM
OUR STUDY:
The Shepherd:
(Come running in from the back…)
Hey, everybody!
Have you heard the good news?
The Messiah has been born!
Yes!
The Messiah!
The One we have been waiting for.
The One the prophets foretold.
I have just seen the baby in Bethlehem!
Wait a second…
Where am I?
I was just in Bethlehem telling people about the baby…
And Joseph and Mary…
And the angels…
How did I end up in Jerusalem?
I don’t get into Jerusalem very much.
We shepherds are not exactly welcome there, but this must be the temple.
There are grand columns…
A huge ceiling…
And look at the size of the people here!
You are huge!
You are one-half of a cubit higher than a normal Jewish citizen.
We are typically three cubits tall.
In fact, I am one of the taller ones, about three and one-quarter.
I don’t see what is so funny about that.
Perhaps this is not Jerusalem after all.
I am beginning to think you are descendants of Philistia.
I hope there are no giants in here.
Look at this man here.
What tremendous size.
You must be four cubits.
You are so big you remind me of Goliath.
Have you ever heard the story?
He didn’t come to such a good end.
I hope your end is better than his.
Believe me, I think it is much safer down here.
That reminds me of our greatest king.
Perhaps you have heard of him.
His name was David.
You know what I like about David?
He was a shepherd.
People nowadays forget that.
Times have changed…
Did you know that I am a shepherd?
Well, maybe that was obvious by now.
But you know, we shepherds…
We are different.
We are a different breed, that’s for sure.
In fact, we are not well respected.
Most of us are uneducated.
Sophisticated would never be a word that is used to describe us.
We don’t look that good.
You probably don’t want your daughter marrying one of us.
We are not sharp dressers.
And why bother?
Because we don’t smell that good either.
Well, you wouldn’t smell good if you spent all day with sheep.
Being a sheep herder is a lonely and boring job.
It is wearisome and tedious.
And you never get a day off.
The job is 24/7.
It may not appear to be hard work, but it is.
The sheep need constant attention.
We even stay with them at night, whether it is in the pen, or in the fields.
And we know each one.
We have a name for each one, so if one is missing, we figure it out.
Did you know that sheep are rather stupid?
Yes, they are not the smartest animals in the world.
You have to lead them around, because on their own, they can’t find grass and water.
And you can’t stay in one spot.
For they will stay in one place way too long and eat themselves sick.
There are several biological issues that go on there, but perhaps this is not the thing that you want to talk about here.
Sheep just don’t foresee danger.
The shepherd has to keep an eye out for predators – snakes, bears, and wolves – are all unwelcome.
And I have had to fight them all off.
I don’t mean to brag about it, but we are a different breed.
But there are some that are not all that crazy about us.
For…
We are outcasts.
I know it is hard to believe, but the religious establishment doesn’t think much of us.
We are pretty much religious outcasts.
It is really not our fault.
Like I said before, our job is 24/7.
We don’t get to participate in feasts and holy days.
We can’t leave the sheep.
So, we don’t tend to get too involved in spiritual kind of discussions.
But when comes right down to it, people just don’t like having us around.
We really don’t get a chance to develop relationships with anybody (except the sheep, of course).
We are constantly on the move.
We are wanderers and drifters, so to speak.
So this kind of lifestyle has made us social outcasts.
We are not considered trustworthy.
In fact, some of my brethren are considered a little shady, if you know what I mean.
So, as you can see, we are on the opposite end of the social strata than the beautiful people.
We have no power.
We have no prestige.
We are pretty much overlooked.
Until last night!
You see heaven lit up.
I don’t even know how to describe it.
It was one of those nights that we were out in the fields.
We were too far from home to return to the pens.
It was kind of a lazy night.
Some were sleeping.
And some of us, like myself, were standing guard.
When boom!
Glory!
I don’t know how else to describe it.
Every hair on my body was standing on end.
We wanted to run and hide, and yet there was nowhere to go, except to our knees.
You see…
We were scared.
I don’t know if you have ever met an angel, but let me tell you it is a terrifying experience.
I was afraid to look up.
But this angel, who was displaying all this power of God, told us, “Don’t be afraid.”
All I can say is that is a lot easier to hear than do.
The light of his presence was so pure and intense, it penetrated our souls.
But then we heard the words we will never forget…
“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
Last night, we heard the most amazing, joyous news that has ever been told.
God is doing something so great.
It is going to change the course of history.
And you know what?
We were chosen.
We were chosen to be the recipients of this message.
I mean absolutely no offense to these others, but did you notice who didn’t get chosen…
…political leaders, kings, governors, magistrates…
…not even Caesar.
Neither did the religious leaders, priests, rabbis, synagogue officials, and Sanhedrin.
I mean, if it had been me, I wouldn’t have chosen us.
I would have chosen the people of distinction, military leaders, or wealthy merchants.
But God chose us to hear this greatest of news.
That was not the end of it, because all of sudden one angel turned into thousands of them.
We had never seen anything like it.
They were singing with a thunderous echo…
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”
Well, we had been told what to do.
We knew what to look for.
The baby had just been born.
He was in Bethlehem.
He would be found in a feeding trough.
That was enough information.
So…
We responded.
We didn’t wait around, you know.
When you are told such great news, you get moving.
We certainly didn’t seek out the religious professionals or look for a second opinion.
You know what else we didn’t worry about…the sheep.
We just left them there.
We figured if the Lord was going to give us such great news, He could take care of the sheep.
So, we went.
And, just as the angel described it, we found Mary resting as comfortably as she could after giving birth.
We found Joseph looking a bit weary as well.
I am sure he had never been a part of anything like that before.
And we found their boy.
They told us His name was Joshua.
And when we told them why we had came, they too were amazed.
For this was such an extraordinary event, and we were such ordinary people.
We could see that they were tired, but I cannot express to you what it is like to have seen the Messiah.
This little baby is going to be our Savior and our Lord.
His beginning may be humble, but we are sure there are great things ahead.
So we left, and…
We changed.
I have been telling everyone about it since.
And that is how I ended up here.
I know that we are never going to be the same.
APPLICATION:
So that you don’t miss it, let me tell you this…
There is good news for you!
God shows no favoritism.
He does not give preferential treatment.
No matter how insignificant you might think you are, God knows you, and you are important to Him.
He does not discriminate on the basis of intelligence, education, wealth, profession, or social standing.
You are not forgotten.
You are not designed to be on the outside looking in.
There is good news for you.
Your Savior has been born.
All you need to do is be humble enough to receive Him.
Well, it is time for me to leave, because I am not done.
You see…
There is good news to tell!
And there is more people for me to tell it to…
Now that you know, you had better be telling others as well.
(Leave the way of the arrival…)
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are…]
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral.com
Love Divine, Melvin Newland
The Shepherds, Alan Perkins
Why Sheep Herders? Terry Rolen
A Savior Is Born, David DeWitt
A Shepherd’s Story, Joel Smith
