AM Sermon preached at Syria Christian Church December 19, 2004
"Good News, Everybody!" Luke 2:8-20
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Let’s start off this morning with a little bit of audience participation. If you’ve ever attended church camp as either a camper or faculty member----please raise your hand. Okay, you can put them down. Those of you who have been to church camp know that meal times can get pretty crazy sometimes. Mail call is usually good for a few jokes or songs from campers who received three letters or a package from home. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to sing a song or tell a joke at church camp because of mail you received. A lot of us have been there and done that. Now, raise your hand if you were ever sent around the flag pole hand in hand with a camp sweetheart... Okay you can put your hand down. All of that and more happens during meal times at camp but having been a dean of several weeks of camp over the years meal time almost always involved making announcements but not until after a song about announcements was first sung. You camp goers know what I’m talking about---the dean or some faculty member motions for everyone’s attention and says something like "Listen up! I’ve got a few announcements to make..." and then immediately that person is interrupted by a room full of people singing "announcements, announcements, announcements, a terrible death to die, a terrible death to die, a terrible death to talk to death a terrible death to die, announcements, announcements, announcements...ments...ments..."
You know, there’s something about making announcements... at church camp, campers don’t want to hear them and deans don’t like having to make them... in church services, most church goers dread announcements and I know for a fact from our own worship leaders it’s a struggle in trying to find a good spot to work them in because announcements usually seem dull and boring and they can kill a worshipful atmosphere in a few seconds. But no so with the angelic announcement made to the shepherds, as we shall see. I’ll be reading from Luke 2:8-20 and I encourage you to follow along in your Bible or up here on the screen..... [SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly 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."
15 When 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."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
As we begin to take a closer look at the good news announcement that the angel of the Lord made the night of Jesus’ birth we find first that the good news was personal...
[1ST SERMON POINT SLIDE] the angel said to the shepherds, "I bring YOU good news of great joy." How surprised these shepherds must have been. That night in the hours before the angel’s visit as the shepherds busied themselves with the routine care of the sheep---tending their wounds, removing parasites from their skin, uprighting sheep that had carelessly become tipped---probably one of the furthest things from their minds was that they personally and individually were of infinite value to God. And yet surprise---one minute they’re somewhat bored listening to the bleating of sheep as they’ve done night after night for years, the next they’re surrounded by the glory of God. A second before it was the same old, same old and now they know it’s true that God is doing a new thing---and He’s doing it for them!
It amazed them and it amazes us that God chose to send this personal message to shepherds. It seems to us that the birth announcement of Jesus should have been made first to dignitaries or to the religious leaders of the day or perhaps to the heads of state--people of power and influence but God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. The Apostle Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 some possible reasons for God’s making this announcement first to shepherds---Paul writes, "26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 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. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
God often chooses humble things for grand purposes, and ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things. And while we may never fully understand why God chose to send the heralding angel to the shepherds it does bring us great comfort to know that ordinary people matter to God. Today, centuries later we need to understand that the good news message is still personal. Even though some 2000 years have passed since the announcement was first given to the shepherds---and even though millions have since been told the story of the angel’s visit to the shepherds---we still need to understand that the good news message is personal. Good news friend that should bring you great joy, the reason Jesus Christ was born into this world is because YOU matter to God.
The good news is personal. [2ND SERMON POINT SLIDE] It is also universal. The angel said that this good news was "for ALL the people." Now don’t think that there’s a contradiction taking place here. The fact that the message was universal doesn’t change the personal nature of it at all. God’s love is universal in its scope, but personal in its impact. Allow me to illustrate. As a family man I love each and every member of my family---and in that regard I have a universal or all encompassing love for the members of my family. But while my love for my family is universal, it is also personal---for you see I love the members of my family for who each is. I love my wife Lori for being Lori, my daughter Shannon for being Shannon, my son Adam for being Adam, my son-in-law Jacob for being Jacob---and so on and on it goes for each member of my family.
The good news is not just that God loves YOU personally, but it’s also that God loves us ALL collectively. God doesn’t just love the shepherds or the common folk of the world, God loves the not so common people too. God loves both poor and rich, the super intelligent and the not so bright---God loves those who are short and those who are tall; He loves those people have brown hair, blonde hair, red hair or no hair. And while it may not feel like it this year God loves you Purdue and IU fans just the same as He loves us Illinois fans. Seriously folks, the good news is that God loves us EACH and EVERY ONE.
And friends we are reminded in today’s scripture passage by the very actions of the shepherds who according to verse 17 spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child that one of the primary purposes of the church is to get the good news message out to everyone in every place so that all will at least have heard of God’s love for them. And this brings us to a sad reality associated with the good news message which is the fact that while the message of what God did through Jesus was always meant to be good news TO ALL---it has never been taken as good news BY ALL. From the very beginning of the message of Jesus there have been those people who didn’t receive the news of Jesus as something good. Herod for example when he learned about the birth of Jesus, tried to kill Jesus in infancy. During Jesus’ adult years, during that time when He was traveling from city to city preaching about the love of God, the high ranking Jewish officials rejected both the teachings and example of Jesus. No friends, although the universal nature of the good news means that God is willing to forgive and receive everyone who will put their hope and trust in Jesus---the sad truth is...the majority of people will make the personal choice to reject Him. But again that sad truth is not the good news---The good news friends is not that the majority of people will reject Jesus and spend eternity in hell without Him ---no not at all---the good news is that all who personally accept the universally offered love of God will spend their eternity in heaven with Jesus because according to John 1:12-13, "all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
The good news, it was personal and universal and [3RD SERMON POINT SLIDE] timely. In the famous musical Mame, there is a production number that continually repeats the refrain, "we need a little Christmas, right this very minute." And that refrain expresses the feelings of many people as the Christmas holiday is so quickly approaching. I’ve spent a number of hours this past week in my car driving and listening to the radio---and on many occasions I’ve heard people talk about their not yet feeling very Christmasy---many others talked about what they do to get into the Christmas mood or to feel the Christmas spirit. Some people were saying it just doesn’t feel like Christmas because there’s no snow and they say you gotta have snow for it to be Christmas. Some others were saying how the family wasn’t going to be able to get together ---and it just won’t be Christmas if everyone can’t get together. And while I’m as sentimental as the next guy, and maybe more so than most, I realize that Christmas doesn’t rest upon our feelings, its rests upon the fact that God loved the world so much He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ.
Think about what happened back in Bethlehem with these shepherds. "Today" the angel said to them, "in the town of David a savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord." The message come in a timely manner. Today. The angel didn’t say, "listen up you guys, only 5 shopping days til Christmas." These shepherds responded to the timely message of Christ’s birth by going to the city and seeing what they had been told about. And they responded to the gift of God by returning to their fields glorifying and praising God for all the gifts they had found under their Christmas tree---wait a minute that’s not what it says, it says they returned glorifying and praising God for all that got in their stocking---not that’s not it either---it says that they returned glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard. Amazing isn’t it? Very few I doubt will ever "feel" more Christmasy than those shepherds and yet they experienced Christmas without a decorated tree, without cards, gifts, candies, carols, mall trips or family get togethers. They were filled with Christmas joy and praise and yet not a single stocking was hung by the chimney with care---nor was there any talk of Saint Nicholas soon being there. No friends, all they experienced was the gift of God---and it was enough for them. And while I admit I can and have gotten caught up in the whirlwinds of Christmas activities and traditions, I pray that I realize that the gift of God which was enough for the shepherds is enough for me.
And this brings me to a final point concerning the good news ---it’s wasn’t just personal and universal and timely---[4TH SERMON POINT SLIDE] it was and is timeless. The angel announced that the baby that was born was born to be a Savior----and other scripture passages make it clear, Jesus isn’t just A Savior---as if He’s one among many---Jesus is the one and only Savior. Just as people back then needed a Savior, someone to rescue them from the punishment they deserved because of their sins---we today need a Savior, too, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve because of our sins. A Savior was needed 2000 years ago---a Savior is needed to day---a Savior has been needed every day from back then til now and a Savior will be needed by people until the end of time. And the good news is timeless because Jesus is that Savior---all people whether they lived 2000 years ago are living today or are yet to be born, all people who put their hope and trust in Jesus and what He did for them on the cross will find in Jesus a Savior.
As we approach our hymn of invitation and decision we need to understand that hearing the announcement that a Savior has been born is not enough. Even if we listen closely to the message about Christ, simply hearing about Him is not enough. If the gift of God is to have its intended effect upon us, we must respond to the message which not only the angel announced but which the whole of the Bible tells us---that message being that we are sinners in need of a Savior---and good news Jesus will be a Savior to us, if we will receive Him. If you’re here today and you’re already a Christian and yet you know you’ve been kind of moping around this holiday season because you haven’t been feeling that old familiar Christmas feeling --maybe because there’s an empty space in the family circle or because you weren’t able to participate in a long standing tradition or even for reasons unbeknownst to you---I encourage you to pray during this time of invitation and decision and to ask God to help you know that His gift is enough. If you’re here this morning and you’re not a Christian---if you’ve never experienced the joy, the pleasure and the internal release that comes from having your sins forgiven and the Holy Spirit coming to live in your heart as a result of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior---know this, you can return to your home the same way you came here or today you can return to your home praising and glorifying God for His having made you into a new person. The choice is yours to make. As we stand and sing if anyone has a public decision to make for Christ, we welcome it and ask that you come to the front as we stand and sing.......
NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I know that coming up with new Christmas sermons every year can be difficult! I apologize for any blatant typing errors---I debated submitting the Christmas sermons I have this year because I have not taken the time to edit them. However, I decided that people will find them more helpful at this time than at other times of the year. So, there you go…. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
