The Child That Lit Up The World
John 1:1-9
Introduction:
Newsweek Magazine conducted a poll asking some questions about Christ and His birth.* Here are some of the results:
67% - believe that the entire story of Christmas is historically accurate
24% - believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention
If Jesus had never born, people believed there would be:
63% - less charity
61% - less kindness
59% - less personal happiness
58% - less tolerance
47% - more war (16% say less, 26% say the same)
A. Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births.
1. William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England’s finest statesmen.
2. Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literacy world in a marked manner.
3. Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
4. In Boston, Edgar Allen Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life.
5. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.
B. If there had been a news broadcast at that time, I’m certain these words would have been heard: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today.”
1. But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America.
2. Everyone thought taxation was the big news—when Jesus was born. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the birth of the Savior.
His birth brought us light
John 1:1-9
John 8:12 - "Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in."
Observations: 3 R’s
1. Redemption (freedom) – Ephesians 1:7 – “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” By Jesus coming into the world, to bridge the gap between God and man, he brought the remedy, which was redemption. Without redemption, there would still be the great divide between God and man. But now through the sacrifice of Christ’s own blood the way has been made for us through His grace.
2. Reconciliation (bringing together) – Romans 5:11 – “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
3. Relationship with God – Isaiah 59:2, “Our sins have separated us with God.”
