The Most Hateful Character In The Christmas Story

Sermon: The Most Hateful Character in the Christmas Story

Scripture Lesson: Matthew 2:1-12."Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ 7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.”

Introduction: What do you like best about Christmas? Is it the Christmas tree with its blinking lights? Maybe it's the beautiful music or the delicious Christmas goodies. Perhaps it's Christmas dinner with turkey and dressing and all of the trimmings. For some it might be all of the parties or visiting with family and friends. For many people the best thing about Christmas is the presents — both the ones we give and the ones we receive. Especially the ones we receive! Can you think of anything I have left out? Oh yes! It's someone's birthday, isn't it? Whose birthday, is it? That's right! It is Jesus' birthday. You know, sometimes we get so caught up in all of the decorations, lights, parties, and presents that we miss the real Christmas.

That reminds me of a story I heard about a little boy who had always wanted to go to a circus. One day he was walking down the street when he saw a poster in a store window. The poster said that a circus was coming to town and that a ticket to the circus cost one dollar. The boy ran home and asked his father if he would give him a dollar to go to the circus on Saturday.

His father told him that if he worked hard and got all of his chores done, he would give him a dollar to go to the circus. Saturday morning came and the boy got up early and did all his chores. "I have all of my chores done," the boy told his dad.

The boy's father gave him a dollar and the boy headed into town filled with excitement about seeing wild animals, trapeze artists, and all of the things that come with a circus. Since he arrived in town so early, he was on the front row when the circus parade started down the main street of town. The boy was thrilled when the animals and other circus acts paraded by.

At the end of the parade came the clowns and following the clowns was the ringmaster. When the ringmaster passed by where he was standing, the boy ran out into the street, took his folded dollar bill from his pocket, and handed it to the ringmaster.

"Thanks," mister, said the boy, "that was a great circus." Then he turned around and walked home. He never knew what he had missed. He thought he had been to the circus, but he had only been to the parade. If we are not careful, we can be like that little boy. We can get so caught up in the celebration, the decorations, and the gifts that we miss the real Christmas -- the birthday of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

One of things I like about the Christmas season is the Christmas movies, “A Christmas Carol”, “A wonderful Life” and The Grinch who stole Christmas and many more! When I was growing up always wondered if the Grinch knew where I lived. My family was poor and unable buy many toys! My stocking was usually filled with fruits and candy. A popular movie during those early days and even today, was “The Grinch that stole Christmas.” This movie was about an old cranky Grinch who hated Christmas more than anything. His heart was too small to embrace the joy of Christmas. Every year in a little village called Whoville, the Who would exchange gift and have a joyful celebration. The Grinch decide to ruin it all by stealing all the presents. He thought Christmas about exchanging presents, so to steal Christmas, the Grinch and his trusted dog Max, set out to steal every present. He managed to get all the presents but discovered it didn’t ruin their celebration. The Grinch finally concludes that Christmas isn’t about presents at all, and his heart has a massive change. His heart grew 3 times larger than its normally been. Instead of destroying Christmas in Whoville, He joined them in the celebration.