The Angels Of Christmas Series

If you want to get in the mood for Christmas, Texas Monthly says you have a lot of choices in Texas. Six hours from here over in Amarillo, there’s the Christmas in the Gardens featuring 300,000 lights strung throughout their Botanical Gardens. Down in College Station, you see Santa, go for a horse-drawn carriage ride, and experience real “Texas snow!” And there’s nearby Grapeview, the self-proclaimed Christmas Capital of Texas, where you can explore the world of Whoville and see the largest lighted Christmas parade in North Texas. But of all the Christmas celebrations, the one that caught my attention in recent days is this special celebration from British Columbia where you can get your picture taken this Christmas with Satan, not Santa (show picture on screen). No thanks!

Christmas is by far the biggest holiday in American culture. The average American is expected to spend more than $900 on gifts and decorations in 2019 alone. Literally, millions of passengers will fill airports and cram themselves into tiny seats on planes in order to be with loved ones. Beyond our country’s borders, the holiday’s popularity is so widespread that even largely Muslim countries that spend most of the year ignoring the Son of God will pause to celebrate his birth. Imagine Islamic women wearing the hijab decorating Christmas trees, and you get an idea of just how popular this holiday is around the globe. Around the globe, people everywhere cannot get enough of Christmas, even for those who don’t cherish the birth of Jesus. We long for the joy and rest Christmas offers and at the center of all these good feelings is the birth of the promised Child.

I invite you to rediscover the story of Christmas with me this morning by looking at The Characters of Christmas. Throughout the story of Christmas, we are identifying the major and minor characters that play a significant role in making the story of Christmas such great theatre. If you remember, we looked at Herod and the Wise Men week ago. And today, we take our focus upward by looking at the angels’ role in the story of Christmas. Christmas is such a special time of year and part of the reason the time is so special is the message from the angels. We sing about angels this time of year when we sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” or “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Angels literally hover over the Christmas story.

Stop and picture an angel for me. Ok, what do you see when you picture an angel? I overheard one man say earlier, “My wife. My wife’s an angel. She’s always up in the air and harping about something.” Some of you picture Tinker bell. Others of you think Willow Tree Angels as some of you collect these. Angels are thought by many to be bite-size, cute pets you can place in a woman’s purse. It’s thought they offer us nice feelings of warmth like when you receive a delivery of flowers. Angels play a key role in moving the Christmas story forward, and they will surprise you.

1. Angels in the Bible

Now, Gabriel is only one of two angels mentioned in the Bible (the other is Michael, the archangel). And Gabriel shows up in your Bible only two other times, so you catch him when you can. In fact, Gabriel earlier introduced himself to a priest when he says, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God…” (Luke 1:19a). When God wanted to send out a birth announcement for His Son’s birth, He chose an angel to do so. Who are angels, you might ask?

It’s important you know a little about angels because you’ll spend more time with angels (of one kind or another) than you will with your parents, your siblings, or your children. In your second life, you’ll be surrounded by angels or fallen angels, depending on where you spend eternity.

1.1 Angels

Angels are supernatural agents that have great power and are entrusted with important assignments. The name angel means, “messenger” and throughout the Bible, you’ll see angels carrying God’s message to people. Angels protect, comfort, and guide people. Angels make war, make announcements, and teach. But the main job of the angels is to worship God Almighty. Angels have a rich history in your Bible. An angel shows up the night before Jesus is crucified to strengthen him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). And it was an angel that met the women at the empty tomb to explain to them that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:5). And it will be an angel’s voice to alert all the earth for Christ's Second Coming one day soon (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

There are two classes of angels in your Bible: the cherubim and the seraphim.