Reason For The Season

INTRODUCTION

 Why do we take time to celebrate the Christmas holiday? Why does a nation of people take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate this national holiday? Are you all busy? How much time have you taken out of your busy schedule to decorate (how much have you taken out of your budget), to buy presents and open and send Christmas cards?

 Sometimes in the hype of a holiday, we tend to forget the real reason for the holiday that we are celebrating.

 I see this during the Easter season; many people think that Easter is all about a big bunny that comes to the house to give us candy. Who thought that up? The dentist? The Forth of July and Memorial Day get reduced to another day off of work for many people.

 If you ask people what the reason for the season is, you will get many different answers, they will range from; “it is a special time for the kids”; to “it is a time to give and receive gifts”; to “it is a time for family” to “Jesus”. I know why we say these things. With all the commercialization and hype around Christmas we lose sight of Christ.

 I have watched a few new Christmas programs that lead you to believe that this season is all about children and family. It is a time to give gifts and be with family and reconcile any differences that exist in the family.

 If you push hard enough, many people will finally say that Jesus is the reason for the season. Over the last several weeks we may have seen that statement in a variety of places from cards to T-shirt’s to Church bulletin boards.

 But is that a true statement? Is Jesus really the reason for the season?

 Is Jesus really the reason for the season or is there some deeper reason for the birth of Jesus that we celebrate during this season?

 I want to look briefly look at a few statements that Jesus made in the Gospels to see if we can uncover the real reason for the season.

TS: As you celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas don’t forget the real reason for the season.

SERMON

One reason that Jesus came was:

I. FULFILL THE LAW. Matthew 5:17

• MAT 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

• Why did Jesus have to come to fulfill the Law? Why would the Law need to be fulfilled? The purpose of the Law was to lead a person to Christ. It was designed to let a person know that they could not get to heaven on his or her own. GAL 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

• Jesus was the focus of the Law; it was to be completed by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

• This is important because without Jesus fulfilling the Law, there would be no salvation by grace. Without the blood of Jesus, there would be no true forgiveness of sins.

• READ HEBREWS 10:1-4

• READ HEBREWS 9:12-22

• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.

One reason that Jesus came was:

II. DIVIDE MEN. Luke 12:51-53

• LUKE 12:51-52 "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five {members} in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.

• Does this statement sound like a “time for family”?

• READ MATTHEW 10:34-39

• I really do not like this picture, Christmas time is a time that we are to go to war with each other in our family. Jesus came to make war?

• Jesus tells us in this passage that He came to divide those who believe in God and those who do not.

• There are only two teams you can be on. You are either on God’s team by deciding to give your life to Christ and to be immersed into Christ, or by simply doing nothing, you choose not to be on God’s team.

• Satan wants us to ignore God so that he can keep us from God. MATTHEW 12:30 states, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

• JOHN 9:39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."