The Gift Of Christmas Part 5 " Remembering The Reason After The Season" Series

The Gift of Christmas

Part 4

“Remembering the Reason after the Season”

Luke 2:21-38

Today we are going to wrap up our Christmas series with a final sermon from the gift of Christmas

We started this series a few weeks before Christmas

With a sermon called What Mary did not know

And saw in that sermon how Mary

With just a small piece of the plan

Accepted God’s plan

Rejoiced in God’s plan

And became such a huge part of that plan

Later that night it was my honor to be able to preach at the Grand Saline Community service at the Nazarene church

And for part 2 of our series

With a sermon titled “the star”

We thanked God for the

Birth

Life

Ministry

Death and resurrection

And eternity of

Jesus Christ

The next week we looked at Josephs part and perspective on God plan

With a sermon titled

“What a strange way to save the world”

And saw how we should use Joseph as a role model when we don’t understand God’s plans

How we must

Think before we speak or react

Respond with the same mercy we have received

Never let the circumstances of our lives dictate our actions or rule us

Respond with faith – even when we can’t see or don’t understand

And obey

Just step up and step out

Then we followed up with a Candle light service on Christmas eve morning

And came together to worship and praise our savior through the singing of songs and scripture reading

I think this year

From a pastor’s perspective

Has been the best Christmas ever

I have felt and heard the love

That is the light of Jesus

But

Now Christmas is over

Well almost

Dick said Wednesday night, that in his mind Christmas is not over until New Year’s Day

And I tend to agree with him

But in the eyes of the world

Christmas ends when the last present is opened

The last piece of pretty paper is bagged up and thrown out

And many in this world begin packing it all up

To place back into storage until next year

Patti and I were in Wal Mart, I think the day after Christmas or maybe the next

Ans already the Christmas stuff was on clearance or gone

Valentines day gifts were already on display

And in every main isle of the store

There were stacks of boxes

Like this one

And it seemed every buggy in the place

Ours included

Held at least one storage box

Today it is my desire to challenge you to extent the feelings

The joy

The love of Christmas into the months to come

Just box it up

And go about life as usual

Or unusual until about next December

Let’s continue with the Christmas story from scripture this morning

Many of you have read the rest of the story

Some have not

But it is a story that is seldom preached

Often as preachers

We box up Christmas

And start thinking about the New Year

About the coming budget meetings

The series we know we must preach on giving

And

Praying and planning next year’s lessons

So today

I want to pull back on the reins a bit

And not let Christmas just turn into just a memory

Not just yet

Please open your bibles to Luke chapter 2

Throw your bulletins in there as we will go back here several times this morning

I am going to read first for you Verses 21-24

And then like always we will come back and break it down and apply it to our lives

Luke 2:21-38

21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD.”[a] 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”[b]

You see the Christmas story

The nativity does not end in the manger

When he was 8 days old

Jesus’ parents took him to be circumcised and at that time he was officially given the name

Jesus, which means “ The Lord is salvation”

The name that Gabriel told them to give him

In those days

You did not have a name

Officially until that time

And then after a total of 40 days

The time required for ceremonial purification of the Mom

The first-born baby was to be presented to God at the temple