What if there was no Christmas?
Thesis: Have you ever wondered what we would be missing if there was no Christmas? When you reflect on this thought you quickly discover just about every good thing you can think of in your life!
Scripture Text:
Luke 2:1- 40
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Introduction:
Have you ever wondered what you would be missing from your life if there was no Christmas?
I originally thought – I would not get any presents, no days off from work, no Christmas dinner, no holiday to spend with my family, no chance to listen to Christmas music and no chance to play practical jokes on others at Christmas with wacky presents. After some quiet reflection on this thought I quickly discovered that I would be missing more than what I first thought of. I soon discovered that I would be missing just about every thing good that I enjoy and benefit from in life.
I. What if there was no Christmas what would I be missing in life?
a. There would be no Christmas cheer
There would be no Merry Christmas
There would be no jingle bells
There would be no joy to the world
There would be no hark the herald angels sing
There would be no silent night
There would be no gift giving
There would be no lights
There would be no candy canes
There would be no God with us
There would be no reason for the season
There would be no holiday spirit
There would be no Good News
There would be no sacred romance
There would be no faith
There would be no prayer
There would be no bridge to Heaven
There would be no healings
There would be no grace
There would be no mercy
There would be no forgiveness
There would be no purpose for our lives
There would be no bondage breaker
There would be no freedom
There would be no eternal life
There would be no transformations
There would be no light at the end of the tunnel
There would be no revivals
There would be no church
There would be no Christians
There would be no bridge to the presence of God
There would be no Spirit filled life
There would be no life recovery
There would be no love
There would be no wise men
There would be no family gatherings
There would be no New Testament and the Bible as we know it
There would be no entrance to the Holy of Holies
There would be no revelation
There would be no Church
There would be no pastor’s
There would be no worship music
There would be no Bread of Life
There would be no deliverance
There would be no joy in life
There would be no testimonies to His resurrection power
There would be no miracles
There would be no defeating of death
There would be no salvation
There would be no hope
b. But there is Christmas and therefore we have the benefit and the blessing that comes from it.
i. Instead we do have the blessing and there is a Christmas and all these items above belong to us if we choose to receive the gift of Christmas.
1. Christmas is “Christ in us!” That’s the gift, that’s the Christmas spirit we all need to live in us!
2. We need to give him space in hearts!
ii. Because of the Christ we have Christmas! Yes, because of Christ’s willingness to come and His willingness to be born in a barn. Yes, because He was willing to die on the cross for us we have all the stuff mentioned above and even much more. The truth is because of Christmas we really do get an endless array of heavenly gifts. Jesus did come and he gave us the greatest gift of all “His very own life!” His sacrificial gift just keeps multiplying to this earth over and over as it touches individual lives.
iii. Christmas to me has become a time to ponder the spiritual benefits that come from its inception. Christmas time is a time to reflect on the importance of its eternal benefits to me and to others. But for there to be eternal benefits to others I have to pass on the true meaning of Christmas in my life to others.
iv. Christmas is so much more than we think today- it has eternal blessings that go far beyond a material present. It points to something more meaningful and wonderful than just “Lots of presents.”
v. The truth is if we pass the gift of Christmas along to others then we ourselves will soon realize you cannot give the gift away without getting something in return from God. It appears that what we sow is what we reap and these unexpected rewards come from the reason for the season. Listen to this story:
1. Leader’s Insight: Nothing for Christmas
My wife gave away the gift money, and now our kids will have no presents by Clark Cothern, guest columnist "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). Once upon a time (in the mid-1990s), my wife, Joy, and I received a request to sing a few songs, perform a comedy routine and then lead in a serious time of reflection about the meaning of Christmas for a group of senior citizens. That year we were especially short on both time and money. (What’s new?) We decided to accept the invitation, partly because we loved seniors, and partly because we viewed the opportunity as God’s invitation to "abound in every good work," since he had provided all we had needed. We wanted to share some laughter, warmth, memories, and the timeless Christmas story from Luke 2 with many people who probably missed their families. Our children were young enough to write out a Christmas wish list and we began to wonder if they would receive much of anything from their lists. Over the years we had tried to instill in our kids the awareness that Christmas was not about materialism, but you can imagine the looks on their faces when we said, "You may only get a couple of small gifts this year." When we accepted the invitation to perform, we hadn’t expected anything in return. After the program someone handed us an envelope. It contained a fifty-dollar love gift. We were thrilled. To us it was an unexpected bonus. Only a couple of days later we learned, through our church, that a family had just spent every last dollar moving into a new apartment, and that their circumstances had left them with nothing for Christmas. And I mean nothing. Joy and I both felt that tug in our hearts. You know the kind. It’s the one that lets you know God is asking you to do something. We knew we were being called upon to give generously to this family in need. With the holiday quickly approaching, Joy went shopping for that family. She spent all fifty dollars we had been given after the seniors’ program and quite a bit more than that out of our regular budget. When Joy showed up with all the wrapped gifts, she almost got knocked over from the kids’ hugs. The mom in that family stood there looking at all the packages, crying tears of thanksgiving. Joy beamed when she returned from her delivery. Through her giving, God had poured out even more joy to Joy. As we turned in for the night it hit us: What are we going to do for our own kids for Christmas this year? I will candidly admit that I silently struggled for a short time with some not-so-nice feelings about spending our money on another family, when our own kids would have very little for Christmas. I also admit that for the first time in a long time I thought (only for a split second) about withholding our tithe (a tenth of our income) for that two-week period, using it instead to buy things for our kids. But tithing had been our joyful habit, for years, and that selfish thought became quickly replaced by the thought that God had always provided us with everything we had needed. Joy and I made a willful decision to give happily to God what belonged to him. As I wrote out our tithe check the next day, I was grateful for the peace that flooded my soul. I was quite sure that God’s grace would continue to abound in our lives, with or without a bunch of toys at Christmas. Then, on December 22, we checked our mail. There, in the midst of a stack of Christmas cards, sat an envelope with no return address. We were curious and opened that card first. Inside the envelope was another typical Christmas card, but when Joy opened it, money, the green kind, fluttered to the ground, landing at her feet. She picked up the bills. On each corner you could read the number 100. She counted, "One, two … oh my goodness … three," and then she squealed again. Shaking four crisp bills, she screamed, "Four hundred dollars!" We both literally jumped up and down. Then we stood there for a moment, mouths open, shaking our heads. The card said simply, "You two are a blessing. God bless you this Christmas." Nobody had signed the card. To this day we have no idea who sent that card, or why. We wondered if it might have come from one of the senior citizens who saw us perform, but we really didn’t have a clue. Maybe we’ll get to thank the anonymous donor in heaven some day. I’m pretty sure that they had no idea just how timely or important that gift was to us and our kids. What we do know is that God provided, abundantly. In our kids’ minds, God’s gift to us that year was a miracle. Our kids learned, by listening to us marvel at God’s goodness, that God makes his grace abound in his children, and that his ways really are not our ways. And we learned that God’s cure for greed is giving. We learned that God releases the greedy grip materialism has on our hearts as we loosen our grip on money. I am reminded of that Christmas miracle every time I read the following words from Paul the Apostle: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). God expanded our joy in giving that year. He taught us (again) that when we give out of the abundant grace he provides (not out of compulsion or reluctantly), that he pours out blessings in ways we simply cannot comprehend. We sang Christmas praises that year to our grace-giving God—a God who surprised the world with his amazing provision at Christmas. His gift of Jesus magnified his glory to all who will see it. And he continues to give, abundantly, most often when we least expect it. And every time that happens, his glory is magnified again. Clark Cothern pastors Living Water Community Church, Ypsilanti, Michigan. To respond to this newsletter, write to Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net. Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
II. So why do we miss the importance of having Christmas?
a. Why do we so easily forget Christmas’ eternal value? Why do we underestimate its personal benefit to me and my family?
i. I think because we get so hurried this time of the year we forget to reflect on the benefits of having Christmas. We neglect all the spiritual, eternal, material, emotional, psychological benefits that come because there is a Christmas. But we so often miss it because I think we get hurried at this time of the year.
1. We really need to slow down this Christmas season and quietly reflect on what we have because Christ came and Christ gave the gift of Christmas to all of us.
2. His ultimate everlasting gift keeps on multiplying itself over and over in our lives as we receive it and then as we give to others over and over.
3. I have discovered as I give it away it just keeps coming back with more blessing and more reward. It’s really amazing how this works.
Conclusion:
Quote:
Why did Christ come to the earth? Why in the world did the Son of God become the son of a carpenter and his wife? Why in the world did God trade a throne in heaven with a manger on earth? Have you ever thought about it? …So, why did Christ come? He came, so that when we stand before God, we would not have to be sorry. He came to pay the price for our transgressions, for our sins. We have a saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” That’s partly true; but we are the reason. Jesus came for you, and you, and you, and me. He came, because His love for us compelled him to come. Contributed to Sermon Central by James Buchanan
So tonight let’s remember the eternal and good blessings that came into our lives as a result of Christmas!
