O Little Town
Christmas Carol Series #3
(adapted from Michael Luke and Bob Russell)
SCRIPTURE READING: Micah 5:2-5
INTRODUCTION:
Christmas doesn’t fall on Sunday very often. Are we the only ones who thought, “Christmas is on Sunday!?! How can we do our Christmas Morning “thing” if we have to go to Church?” Why would we feel like it’s an imposition to go to Church on Christmas Day? How ironic to think of Worshiping Jesus as an interruption to His birthday celebration!
It reminds me of a story I heard about a mother who was running furiously from store to store on Christmas Eve … trying to get those last-minute gifts. Suddenly she realized she’d lost track of her little 3-year-old son. In a panic, she retraced her steps and found him standing with his little nose pressed flatly against a frosty window. He was gazing at a Manger Scene.
When he heard his mother call his name, he turned and shouted in innocent glee: “Look Mommy! It’s JESUS! Baby Jesus is in the hay !”
The harried mom grabbed his arm and jerked him away, snapping, “We don’t have time for all that! Can’t you see that Mommy’s trying to get ready for Christmas!?!”
It’s easy to see the humor in that Mom’s statement. But how many of us felt the same way about Christmas this year? When you think about it, what could be more appropriate than meeting together on the morning of His Birth to sing Carols of Praise with other Believers?
Today I want to talk about one of the Christmas carols we sang this morning. It was 1865 when a well-known American Preacher named Phillips Brooks made a trip to the Holy Land. Years earlier --- in his mid-20’s ---Brooks had become pastor of the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. He recruited a salesman named Lewis Redner to serve as his Church Organist. The church grew from 30 to 1,000 in less than a year, partly because of Brooks’ preaching and partly because of Redner’s music.
Brooks gained a reputation as one of the most dynamic speakers of his day. In fact, after the Civil War ended, Brooks was asked to preach the funeral sermon for President Lincoln. After preaching that sermon, Brooks felt so spiritually drained that his Church gave him a Sabbatical.
Brooks made a trip to Jerusalem. On Christmas Eve he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem where he listened to a Choir singing in the Church of the Nativity.
Brooks decided to write a Poem to express how it felt to stand near the place where Jesus was born. He entitled the poem: “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Later, Lewis Redner, the Organist, wrote a melody that turned the Poem into a Christmas Carol.
The first thing this familiar Carol points out is that Bethlehem was a LITTLE town. You see, God chooses to use SMALL things to accomplish his GREAT purposes.
1. God’s Greatest Gift came to a Little Town
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
How many of you grew up in a small town --- say… less than 10,000 people? My wife grew up in Dalhart, Texas --- population 6,000. Some of you may have heard of Dalhart, but I bet no one has heard of Hartley. Hartley is about 15 miles out of Dalhart with a population of under 200. That’s the kind of town Bethlehem was. At the time of Christ it was a quiet little shepherding community with a population of about 150.
Well, for you who aren’t sure if you were from a small town, let me help you out. You know you’re from a small town when:
• The city limits signs are both on the same post!
• The local Motel 6 sleeps 6. (You’ll notice is says that in Bethlehem “…there was no room in THE Inn.” Bethlehem didn’t have a big tourism industry.)
• You know you’re from a small town when: You call a wrong number and they supply you with the correct one.
• You don’t signal turns because everyone knows where you’re going anyway.
• The one-block-long Main Street dead ends in both directions. (That’s actually the case in Juneau, Alaska.)
• Driving cars up and down Main Street is a universal High School experience.
• A “Night on the Town” takes exactly 11 minutes. (By the way, if you’re getting these jokes, then you’re from a small town.)
• The New Year’s baby was born in October.
• You have to name six surrounding towns to explain where you’re from.
Well, if you were giving Directions to Bethlehem, you’d say it was about 2 miles outside Jerusalem. Bethlehem may have been a sleepy little Suburb, but it did have some notable History.
Bethlehem is first mentioned in Geneses 35:16-19 because Jacob’s wife, Rachel was buried there. She died giving birth to Jacob’s youngest son. Before Rachel died, she named him Benoni, which means “son of my sorrow.” But Jacob changed the boy’s name to Benjamin which means “son of my right hand.” It’s interesting that both of these terms were used to describe the Messiah.
Bethlehem is featured again in the Book of Ruth. It was in Bethlehem that Ruth was “redeemed” and married Boaz. It was in Bethlehem that Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed --- who would be the grandfather of King David --- who was also born and raised in Bethlehem.
Years later, Bethlehem (along with all of Judea) was conquered by the Assyrians. The last person in David’s family line had been carried into captivity when the Prophet Micah made this prophecy: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel …” Micah 5:2
700-year-old years later, this prophecy led the Wise Men to the birthplace of Jesus.
God still chooses small places for great things. Who would have guessed that anything important would happen in a little place called Cane Ridge, Kentucky. Cain Ridge was the site of a gigantic revival in the early 1800’s. That revival was the first of its kind. It lasted for weeks and was attended by over 30,000 people.
The Cain Ridge Revival was the trigger for a Spiritual Awakening that has particular significance for our Church. That Revival gave birth to what became the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in America today. Under the leadership of Barton Stone and Thomas Campbell this became the fastest growing Church group in the country by the Turn of the Century.
And it all started at a little Crossroads called Cane Ridge.
2. God’s Greatest Gift came through a Humble Family
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!
Mary and Joseph were not big shots in their community. Joseph was a Carpenter, and Mary was a simple Peasant girl. They were far from rich and famous. But they are the ones God chose to parent His One and Only Son.
Phillips Brooks once said, “It is while you are patiently toiling at the little tasks of life that the meaning and shape of the great whole of life dawns on you.” For most of their lives, Mary and Joseph simply went about the mundane little jobs of daily life … living small lives in small towns. But in the process, they protected and nurtured and raised up the Hope of all the World.
I heard a World War II story that shows how the smallest deed can make all the difference. During the last months of the War, the British conducted daily bombing raids over Berlin. One night the bombers were attacked by a large group of German fighter planes.
During the dogfight one of the Bomber Planes got separated from the protection of British Fighter Planes. They watched helplessly as a German Fighter Plane came within range. Bullets whizzed by over and over until Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Five bullets slammed into the fuselage of the bomber near the gas tank.
The crew braced for the explosion, but it never came. Fuel poured from the bullet holes, but there was no explosion. After landing, a mechanic handed the pilot 5 bullets he had pulled from the plane.
The pilot carefully opened the shells. They were empty --- except for a tiny wad of paper with a note that read: “We are Polish POWS forced to make bullets. When guards do not look, we do not fill with powder. Is not much, but is best we can do.”
Five tiny bullets, made by a few weak and lowly prisoners … but for the Crew of that British Bomber it made all the difference.
God often chooses insignificant people and events to bring about His great purposes. I Corinthians 12:27-28 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are…”
God loves to show His strength through human frailty. God can use YOU in big ways. He does not require you to be strong or extremely intelligent or amazingly talented. The one thing God requires is obedience. Joseph and Mary were chosen because they were obedient to everything God called them to do.
3. God’s Greatest Gift came as a Helpless Infant
How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.
Chuck Swindoll writes about a Department Store that decided to market a new item in their Christmas Sales. Their idea was a Doll in the form of Baby Jesus. It was advertised as being unbreakable, washable, and cuddly. It was packaged in straw with a satin crib and a few appropriate scriptures to make it complete.
It did not sell… The manager of one of the stores panicked. In an effort to move the merchandise, he hung up a huge sign that read:
JESUS CHRIST – Marked down 50% - Get Him while you can!
When God sent his Son as a helpless little infant, there was no Big Advertisement to tell how Valuable this Gift was. Jesus came to earth silently and humbly. He came to earth like every other human being, as a tiny infant --- entirely dependent on loving care from human parents.
God took on flesh … not to show us how God would live on this planet … but to show us how a man can live in humble obedience to God. Look again at how Malachi 5:4-5 describes the Messiah: He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.
Through His Obedience, this tiny infant attained greatness that reaches to the ends of the earth. The Power of Jesus is a Power that brings Peace to every heart that receives Him.
Conclusion:
It was Christmas Day in the hills of South American Columbia. Two Missionaries had been kidnapped by Bandits, and were held captive in a squalid hut. On that Christmas Morning, one of the Missionaries worked intently with pieces of hay that were there on the hard clay floor. When he finished, he stepped back and showed the other Missionary the finished product. In the dim light of the hut the other Missionary smiled down at the single word spelled out … there in the straw: Emmanuel.
On that first Christmas Morning --- the day when Christ was born --- there in the straw lay the hope of all mankind: Emmanuel – God with Us.
Stand with me as we sing the last stanza of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Let this Verse be your Prayer today:
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
(Brief words of invitation while keyboard music continues...) Invitation Hymn
