How Does Christmas Change My World?
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14, John 3:16 and other selected scriptures
Theme: The birth of Christ brings love, peace and purpose to our lives
Seed: multiple sermons from other pastors and personal study.
Purpose: To challenge the listeners to allow Christ into their lives this season so that he can bring true transformation to their lives.
INTRODUCTION: How does Christmas change your world? Think about that for just a minute. How does Christmas change your world? How will your world be different on December 26th, January 18th, February 12th or March 23rd because of Christmas? Will you be happier? Will you have more peace in your life? Will you be a better person? Or will you simply have more things and owe more money and have to work more hours to help eliminate the additional strain that debt puts on your budget?
If we are completely honest, Christmas doesn’t really change our world all that much. Even for those of us believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and the Savior of the world, Christmas doesn’t change our lives that much. Largely, we celebrate Christmas as a great American holiday. Snow, Santa, holly and mistletoe, family and friends gathered around the fireplace remembering what Christmas was like when we were kids. The shopping, the parties, and all of the busy activities that we cram into the season are a part of how Christmas goes. But when everything is said and done, the only real change Christmas brings to our world is that it makes us a little bit poorer and a lot more tired; and all of this for an event that God never called us to commemorate.
We are never once asked to remember the birth of Christ. Our celebration of Christmas is a purely human endeavor. He commanded us to remember his death, which we do through the act of communion, but he never asked us to celebrate his birth. That’s our thing. It’s not a bad thing, in fact it can be quite good, but does it change our lives?
The purpose of Christmas, the birth of Christ, was to bring a change to our world. I don’t mean just “the world” in general, but I mean he came to bring a change to each and ever one of our personal worlds. Where we carry out life on a day to day basis, our job, our relationships, our families, our spirituality, all should be radically transformed by Christmas. Not transformed by our celebration of Christmas, but transformed by Christmas itself. How does Christmas change my world?
When the angels announced the birth of Christ they said,
“Do not be afraid. 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. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:10-14 (NIV)
The angels tell us that the arrival of Christ in our world, Christmas, is to be joyful, it should be something that helps quell our fears, and it should be something that brings us peace. Yet most of us today wouldn’t say that Christmas quells our fears, brings us true joy or that it truly brings us peace. No, I would guess that most of us would be hard pressed to see just how Christmas changes our world. But it should and it can. Let’s explore how Christmas, not just the celebration of a holiday, but how Christmas itself will change our world if we’ll allow it to happen.
Christmas will change my world by…
• …allowing me to experience genuine LOVE.
God is love. We’ve all heard that said many, many times. The Apostle John wrote those words in his first letter to the believers in the Mediterranean world.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I John 4:7-8 (NIV)
At Christmas we celebrate God becoming flesh, becoming a man so that he could free all men from the power and penalty of sin.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1, 14 (NIV)
God became a man because he loves us. He became a man so that he could show us the way to Him.
There once was a farmer. One winter evening, just before dark, he heard something hit the bay window in the dining room. He went to investigate and saw a small bird flying into the window repeatedly. Farther out in the yard he saw a whole flock of little songbirds. He realized that these were birds migrating south and they had been caught by an early snowfall. They were cold and scratching through the thin snow in search of food. The one bird had seen the light and had tried to get into the house where it was warm. The farmer had an idea: He had a large barn where the birds would be safe and warm and there was plenty of hay on the floor so they could find seed. He put on his coat to go out and open the barn doors. He did… but the birds did not come in. He turned on a light hoping that would attract them. No luck. He sprinkled seed on the ground to make a path for them to follow. They ate some but did not come close to the barn. Fearing for their safety, he decided to take more drastic measures. He planned to circle around behind the flock and chase them into the barn. THAT WAS A REAL FLOP! After running himself ragged, he dropped to his knees on the snow. Finally a thought hit him--- “If only I were a bird. Then I could tell them about the warm barn and the seed. I could save their lives.”
That’s what Christmas is: Jesus becoming one of us so that we can understand God’s plan. Jesus becoming one of us so that he can tell us where to find safety. Jesus becoming one of us so that he can save us.
In Christmas – God becoming man – we get to experience genuine love.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 (NIV)
God loved us so much that he gave his Son, not to condemn us but to save us. That’s an amazing love. So how does knowing about the love that God has for me change my world?
It doesn’t. Knowing about God’s love isn’t enough to change my world. I have to experience that love and I will never experience the love of God in Christmas unless I truly believe in that love.
Christmas changes my world by allowing me to experience genuine love. It also changes my world…
• …by providing me with lasting PEACE.
The second way that Christmas changes my world is though providing me with lasting peace. Peace is something that all of us need and most of us don’t have. Most of us spend a great deal of time and energy pursuing peace, but very little time experiencing it.
Decisions we have made and the actions we have taken in the past often haunt us. Our desire to have a better, more fulfilling life keeps us awake at night. Questions about what could have been or what should have been often plague our minds. We want to be fulfilled, satisfied, we want to be complete but we lack that completeness and as a result we lack peace.
Rather than days filled with peace and confidence we find our days filled with stress and worry. Often that sensation is heightened at Christmas because we hear all about peace on earth but can’t find peace in our own lives.
One of the great things about Christmas is that, if we truly accept in faith what God gave us, His Son, then we can experience peace…
…Peace with GOD,
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us
Romans 5:1 (NLT)
Jesus; that baby born in a barn and laid to rest in a manger, came so that we could have peace with God. Sin separates us from God. Sin puts us at odds with God but Jesus came in order to pay for our sins. He came in order to bring us forgiveness. His death upon the cross paid the penalty for our sins. Therefore, if we will accept his sacrifice and the forgiveness it provides, we are made right with God. When the relationship between man and God is fixed, we then experience peace with God.
Much of the lack of peace we experience is because we know we’ve messed up. We know we’ve done things that are wrong and we worry that God can’t love us and won’t accept us because of our past. Now, imagine the peace you can have in knowing that God has no record of your past. Imagine the peace of knowing that God has erased your past sins from his memory. Imagine the peace of knowing that God isn’t looking to punish you but that he is seeking to love you and embrace you.
When you believe the Christmas story—the whole story, not just the part about the baby in the manger, but also the part about that baby growing up and dying on a cross to pay for your sins, the part about that baby-turned-man rising from the grave and defeating sin and death – when you believe the Christmas story and accept God’s forgiveness you will experience peace with God.
I will also experience…
Peace with OTHERS
Let’s face it; we often don’t live at peace with others. We find that other people have a way of disturbing our peace and we never stop to consider that we tend to disturb the peace of others.
Living at peace with others is hard work, but Christ calls us to do so nonetheless.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18 (NIV)
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19 (NIV)
So how does Christmas help me to experience peace with others? It relates to having a true understanding of Christmas. When I understand what Christmas is all about – God providing a way for me to be a peace with him – I can choose to experience peace in my relationships.
If God can forgive me and restore me to a right relationship with him after all I have done to violate his trust and love, if God can choose to be a peace with me, then I can choose to be a peace with others. I can learn to forgive them. I can learn to tolerate what it is about them that disturbs me. And when I choose to live at peace with others, I will be less inclined to disturb their peace as well.
I will also experience…
Peace with MYSELF
One of the great aspects of peace I get to experience because of Christmas is peace with myself. In my more honest moments, I don’t like myself much. I am too aware of my failings and my sin. But because of Christmas I can have peace with myself.
Not because what I’ve done doesn’t matter, but because I am a new person in Christ.
those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (New Living Translation)
I can be a peace with myself, not because I’m such a great guy, but because in Christ I am a new creation. I’m not the same old mean, evil, hurtful, self-centered person I once was. In Christ I’m forgiven and I’m a new creation. That doesn’t mean I don’t have moments when I fail. But it does mean that, in Christ, those moments become the exception and not the rule. I am growing and becoming more than that I am today. I can be at peace with me because Christ is now working in me and renewing me daily.
Christmas changes my world by allowing me to experience true love and by providing me with a lasting peace. Christmas also changes my world...
• …by giving my life PURPOSE.
Too many people aren’t living their lives. Too many people just exist. Too many people are moving day to day without any sense of purpose in their lives. This lack of purpose leads to depression and self-destructive behavior. This lack of purpose leads to a sense of hopelessness that is heightened during the holiday season for many people.
However, Christmas is about hope and purpose and rather than feel defeated and lost during the holidays, I can have a sense of true hope because Christmas gives purpose to my life.
Christmas brings hope because it drives home the fact that I was made for a purpose. I was made to have fellowship with God. I was created to have a relationship with God and that relationship is so important to God that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to repair that relationship when it was broken.
My life has purpose and my purpose is to love God and serve man. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army put it like this. We are to serve with “A heart to God and a hand to man.”
Christmas, the coming of the Christ child, gives my life purpose. Jesus came, becoming one of us, so that we could fulfill our purpose, that of having a love relationship with God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-2, 11-14 (NIV)
Jesus, full of grace and truth, came from the father, he became one of us so that he could pay for our sins and restore the relationship we were created to have with God. His birth, his death and his resurrection give us purpose in our lives.
Imagine living life everyday with a clear sense of purpose – to know God and to please God. Everything else fades away when I make this my focus. I have hope and purpose everyday when I understand that in everything, big or small; I can grow to know God more and I can live to please him.
Yes, I believe in the purpose driven life. I believe that we were all created by God with 5 clearly defined purposes.
1. To worship God
2. To belong to the community of believers
3. To grow in spiritual maturity
4. To serve others
5. To share the Gospel
But all of it starts with the foundational purpose of knowing God and pleasing God. And in Christmas, Jesus provided the way for us to know God. We are given hope and a purpose at Christmas.
Conclusion: How does Christmas change my world? It’s not through the gifts or the memories made. It’s not through the time spent with family. It’s not through any of the trappings of the holiday. Christmas, as we celebrate it doesn’t change my world.
But Christmas – as the birth of Christ, the Son of God made flesh, the birth of Jesus – Immanuel – God with us, changes my world by.
Allowing me to experience genuine love
Providing me with lasting peace
Giving me a purpose in life
That’s a major change in my world. Christmas will change your world too if you will allow Christ to be the reason for and the center of Christmas.
Let’s pray.
