Let Christmas Put Hope in Your Heart Luke 2:1-14
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church, West Monroe, LA
Dec. 19, 2004
*A songwriter named Gordon Bok once wrote:
-If I had a thing to give you...
--I would tell you one more time that the world is always turning toward the morning.
*That’s hope...
-And one of the best things about being a Christian is that no matter how bad things may get in our lives...
--We have hope.
*God wants to give you hope...
-And we can find our greatest hope here in the Christmas story.
1. So find hope in God’s promise of peace...
A. That’s the first source of hope I want to mention today.
-(And we see it in vs. 13&14)
B. Christmas gives us hope...
*Hope in God’s promise of peace...
-But we remember the war...
--And those who fight for us.
BI. Most of us have seen this famous picture: -Washington Crossing the Delaware...
*Hope for freedom was almost gone; the war was almost lost.
-But Gen. Washington crossed that river with 2,500 men.
--They were on their way to fight a battle that turned the war around & changed the course of history.
*The picture is famous...
-But not too accurate.
*The actual crossing took place in the dead of night...
-Across the treacherous, ice swollen river...
--In the middle of raging winds & later, a blinding snowstorm.
*Maj. James Wilkinson was on his way to join Washington & said that the route was easy to follow...
-Wilkinson wrote:
--There was a little snow on the ground, which was tinged here and there with blood from the feet of the men who wore broken shoes.
--Or no shoes at all.
C. It was 228 years ago... *And it was Christmas. (1)
-Now this Christmas almost 175,000 of our brave young men & women will be away from home...
--Also fighting for our freedom in Iraq & Afghanistan...
D. We must appreciate them & pray for them...
*Because they are trying to protect us from the people who would like to destroy us...
-And erase the memory of Christmas from the world.
E. There is war in the world today...
*But Christmas gives us the promise of peace, because Jesus Christ came into the world!
-Right now we can have peace with God...
-Right now we can have peace in our hearts...
*And one day there will be true peace all over this world...
-The lion will lie down with the lamb...
-And the swords will be beaten into plowshares.
2. Find hope in God’s promise of peace...
*And in God’s supernatural strength.
A. What good is a promise if you can’t carry it out? *But God can.
-The Lord has the strength to fulfill all of His promises...
--And this gives us hope.
B. We see just a taste of the Lord’s strength in vs. 8&9...
*This angel lit up the sky that first Christmas night...
-He was awesome enough to strike terror into the hearts of those shepherds...
--But this angel was just a tiny reminder of God’s power.
C. Our God is supernatural...
*He created all of nature...
-But is never bound by nature.
*If God wants to shine His glory on a Judean hillside...
-He can do it anytime.
D. He is a miracle worker...
*And we see this all through the Christmas story.
DI. Matthew Rogers says:
*There are some things about Christmas that are pretty weird...
-A virgin teen becoming pregnant...
-A baby who would save the world from its sins...
-A God who wanted to become a human being.
*That’s some pretty weird stuff...
-But to us, the supernatural will always seem odd.
*As one person has said,
-If miracles happened all the time, we would have called them ordinaries. (2)
E. But God is extraordinary...
*He is supernatural, amazing & strong!
-And I hope you believe in angels...
-Because they are just as real as you are.
*Several people in our church family could tell you angel stories today.
EI. A few weeks ago Mary & I saw Pat Rugg at Heavenly Ham...
*And I thought about her dad, Milford Humphreys...
-He died about 12 years ago...
*Some of you knew Milford...
-He retired from the United States Postal Service.
*The last time he got sick, Mr. Humphreys was in Glenwood Hospital...
-And several days before he died, he saw an angel in his room.
*His nurse came in a while later to adjust the IV...
-And Milford told her that he had seen an angel.
*She said: -I’m your angel.
*Well, Milford was a little gruff...
-And he said: --No...
-This was a bona fide angel...
--Guess I’m getting ready to kick the bucket...
F. But Milford wasn’t afraid...
*Because he belonged to the Lord.
-He had hope...
-And the angel reminded him that God was strong enough to see him through.
3. Find hope in God’s supernatural strength...
*And in God’s call to courage.
A. The Lord speaks through the angel in vs. 10 & says: -Fear not!
*God wants to take us from fear to faith...
AI. As Chuck Swindoll once wrote:
*Emmanuel. God with us...
-He who resided in Heaven, co-equal & co-eternal with the Father & the Spirit...
-Willingly descended into our world.
-He breathed our air, felt our pain, knew our sorrows, and died for our sins.
--He didn’t come to frighten us, but to show us the way to warmth and safety. (3)
B. Feed your hope on that truth Christian...
-And fear not.
4. Find hope in God’s call to courage...
*And in God’s gift of good news...
-The angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
A. Good news, Bethlehem... -Good news, West Monroe...
--Good news, World! *God loves you!
-He wants to pardon your sins!
--He wants to give you eternal life in Heaven with Him!
B. Christmas is so much more than lights & parties & presents under the tree...
BI. Even the Grinch saw that in the end...
*As Dr. Suess wrote:
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!"
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas. . . perhaps. . means a little bit more!" (4)
C. Christmas means a lot more...
CI. And Charlotte Carpenter helped us see this when she wrote:
-Christmas is the gift from heaven...
-Of God’s Son given for free;
-If Christmas isn’t found in your heart...
-You won’t find it under the tree. (5)
D. The heart of Christmas is the Good News of Jesus Christ...
*And it brings great joy... -Mega joy!
--Joy to the world the Lord is come!
-Let Earth receive her King.
E. Christmas brings good news of great joy...
*For all who will receive... -So there is hope.
5. Find hope in God’s gift of good news...
*And find hope in God’s divine deliverer...
-(The angel tells us about Him in vs. 11&12...)
A. The Savior of the world lying in a manger...
AI. One church I read about put on a Christmas program that included a manger scene with their children...
*There was a little 5-year-old boy on the drama team...
-I think he was a shepherd that year...
--And I know he was energetic to say the least!
*This little boy was a handful
-During rehearsals he was all over the place...
-He distracted everyone...
--And turned the director into a nervous wreck!
*She was really worried about how he would do during the performance.
*At rehearsal all week, they had used a baby doll for baby Jesus...
-But during the play, the couple playing Joseph & Mary put their own baby in the manger...
--And our little shepherd didn’t know it.
*During the play, he started edging over to the manger...
-Suddenly he saw that it was a real, live baby...
-And he shouted out: --He’s alive!
B. At first everyone laughed...
*But then a holy hush fell over the church...
-As people thought about the Living Lord who was born into our world. (6)
C. Jesus Christ was born to die on the Cross for our sins.
*But the Risen Lord is alive today...
-He’s alive!
D. That’s why Jesus Christ is the hope of the world...
*But is He your hope?
DI. Melvin Newland says:
*I know that there are empty lives...
-I know that there are hurts & pains...
--We all have them.
-But you see, Chrmas comes to help us deal with those things.
*A little hand reaches out of the manger & says,
-Grab hold...
--I’ll lead you to the throne.
--I’ll lead you to the Father.
-Grab hold...
--I will lead you...
--If you’ll only follow me. (7)
Conclu:
*The Savior invites you to hope this morning...
-He has given His blood & His life for your sins...
*Now He waits to see if you will accept His great gift...
-And find hope.
1. See EyeWitnesstoHistory.com - Washington Crosses the Delaware, 1776; AMERICANREVOLUTION.ORG; and Jiskha Homework Help
2. Adapted from SermonCentral He’s For You Sermon by Matthew Rogers Luke 2 8 15
3. Charles Swindoll in The Finishing Touch. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 14. Bible Illustrator / Topic: Christmas / Subtopic: / Index: Date: / 7/1998.1432 / Title: The Christmas Message
4. Dr. Suess
5. Charlotte Carpenter in Herald of Holiness (Dec.15, 1982). Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 18. Bible Illustrator / Topic: Christ / Subtopic: Incarnation of / Index: 720 / Date: 4/1998.1422 / Title: Not in a Box
6. Unknown source
7. Adapted from SermonCentral Christmas Joy or Despair Sermon by MELVIN NEWLAND Matt 2 1 18
