Silent Night, Holy Night

Silent Night, Holy Night

December 6, 2009 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: The sacrifice of Christ was not a small thing.

Focus Passage: 2 Corinthians 8:9

Introduction:

I. A Willing Sacrifice ( vs 1)

a. It was with "heavenly peace," that Christ came into this world, for His coming into this world to pay the price for our sins was decision settled long before that day in Bethlehem

b. Paul, in speaking of Christ’s sacrifice for us, uses the word "grace" - "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." The classic definition of "grace," is "unmerited favor or blessing."

c. Grace is needed because God loves in spite of our sin.

II. A Wondrous Sacrifice (vs 2)

a. Indeed, at the birth of Christ, "Glories did stream from heaven afar." The glory of God was brought down to man in human form.

b. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

c. As Paul puts it here in 2 Corinthians 8:9, "though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor."

III. A World-Changing Sacrifice (vs 3)

a. His death, by which the lives of all in this world might be changed. His birth was, indeed, "the dawn of redeeming grace.”

b. Paul expresses it here in 2 Corinthians 8:9, His sacrifice was "so that you through His poverty might become rich."

c. Another definition of "grace," is "God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense" - all that God is free to do for us, in us and through us because of Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Invitation: