Luke 2:11
“Today in the town of a David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Listening guide
The manger is a ___ _____
The Christmas message = In Jesus, God became a man. He lived a perfect life and did all the things we need to do. He died a real death for all of us and was punished as we deserve to be. Now, no matter how bad or good you think you are or how bad or good you think life is, and no matter how bad or good everyone else thinks you are or thinks your life is, God promises you, if you admit you are worse off than you imagined and can accept you are better off than you ever thought possible, he comes to you. Jesus comes to you.
Luke 2:11 “Today in the town of a David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Messiah = ______ ____________ ________
John 3:16 = “God so loved the world that he gave his Son”
Christmas is not a big deal like my babies, but like a gift you want but don’t.
He makes us a really ______ ____________ and that is how Christmas becomes a big deal for us.
“Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in.”
Discussion questions
Sermon
I’m sure some of you know this book cover. (Harry Potter cover)
I bet all of you know this one.
I bet some of you know this logo.
I bet all of you know this one.
I would be surprised if any of you recognized this. (Chinese calendar)
All of us know this.
This is the impact of the manger. There is no greater item that has changed this world. More than 2 billion people tonight and tomorrow celebrate the impact of this (point at the manger). The manager is a big deal.
Tonight God invites you to be part of this big deal.
The message of Christmas is simple: In Jesus, God became a man. He lived a perfect life and did all the things we need to do. He died a real death for all of us and was punished as we deserve to be. Now, no matter how bad or good you think you are or how bad or good you think life is, and no matter how bad or good everyone else thinks you are or thinks your life is, God promises you, if you admit you are worse off than you imagined and can accept you are better off than you ever thought possible, he comes to you. Jesus comes to you. I heard a really powerful story that brought this out for me.
It was the story of Bubba. Bubba’s story goes like this. About ten years ago a couple, I think they were in WI, had a baby. Then they wanted to expand their family and got pregnant again. This time, sadly, she miscarried. She got pregnant a third time and miscarried a second time. Then she miscarried a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, and an eighth time. The couple got involved in a Bible study group at their church.
And it kept happening. They would announce a pregnancy, except it was hard for them to smile, because they kind of knew what was going to happen again. Their friends prayed for them, and then again, a miscarriage. It would break everyone’s hearts.
And so when they got pregnant, they didn’t break out the party hats and cake. They held their breath. The weeks went by, then the weeks into months. Then the second trimester, then the third.
Finally Bubba was born. And everyone said, “Every time I see that kid, it makes me so happy. You’re here. You’re actually with us. Like Jesus.”
That’s the reality of Christmas. Evil is real. Sin is real. And death is real. The Christmas lights, the presents, the hot cocoa, and the carols don’t take any of that away. It’s just that into this reality comes Jesus. He accepts the sin, the evil, and the death on himself. He confirms to you, absolutely, without a doubt that God loves you.
That is what this verse says. “Today in the town of a David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” I would like to direct your attention to that middle title first. Messiah. That word Messiah isn’t Jesus’ last name. That’s a Hebrew word. It’s title. We’ve usually translated it Christ. And the best way we have to speak of it is “the chosen one”.
So I thought about people we might regularly call “the chosen one”. One person that popped into my mind is Lebron James. Some of you might remember this cover from SI a few years back. He was called “the chosen one”. The experts all saw him play in high school and college and said, he will be the guy to rescue teams.
The thing is, he isn’t sure who he wants to rescue. He has played now for what, four teams? Okay, three teams four times. Is he really the chosen one? Nothing against Lebron James, but you have to wonder: Is Miami supposed to say “he is the one for us”. The Cavs? The Lakers?
Jesus only played for one team. Team you. Your team.
Here is just one verse where the Bible puts this beautifully. “God so loved the world that he gave his Son”. Do you see that word “world”? That means Jesus is on your team. He always has been. He is on your team and your team and your team. He is on our team. See, how do you know you are loved?
In our house, one part of our division of labor works like this. I make breakfast and my wife makes most of the other meals. That’s a really good thing by the way, you don’t want me cooking most of the time. We’ll often have oatmeal or eggs or yogurt and granola. Those are common Timmermann breakfasts if you ever want to come over.
I have this terrible habit though at breakfast. I’ll be making some eggs. Fry them all up. We never make less than 6 eggs anymore. Someone is always hungry. They’re done. I take a few out of the pan. Then I leave the pan and walk away. Sometimes my wife wants some eggs, so I’ll get a plate for her. Then a through another 6 eggs in the pan and walk away.
I think about the first 500 times I did that my wife, understandably, said, what are you doing? Why don’t you ever pick up after yourself?
I’ve gotten a lot better, thankfully. Otherwise we might need marital counseling. But it still happens. She says nothing. She just puts it all away.
How do I know I’m loved? She knows my faults, my failures, and my foibles. She experiences them. They cause her pain. She covers over them. She doesn’t just overlook them, but she makes everything right. And she treats me like I didn’t do anything wrong. Like I was right the whole time.
Do you know what Jesus did for you? “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed.” Jesus knows all your faults, your foibles, and your failures. He experiences them all. They cause him pain and hurt. Still he covers over it all with his life and his death. He makes everything right. And he treats you like you didn’t do anything wrong. He never leaves you no matter what.
Would you like that much love to be a big deal to you?
You have to feel the challenge of Christmas.
It’s really easy to think about Christmas like this. I’ve got a pretty new baby at home. And then on top of it, my kids had their first band concert the other night. So I’ve got all these cute kid memories flying around my life. My wife and I are taking pictures and sending them back and forth. We’re sharing little clips with my parents and grandparents. They make me happy. They make us really happy.
Here are a few of the pictures.
A question for you. How happy do my kids make you?
(laugh a little) It’s kind of a weird question, isn’t it?
I was thinking about that. Their birth. How many people did their birth actually make happy? I can actually count numerically the people who rejoiced over these babies. There was mom and dad. 4 grandparents. 6 great grandparents. My siblings. My wife’s siblings. I don’t know how many uncles and aunts, cousins. A couple of close friends. I can actually count numerically the number of kids who rejoiced over my kid’s birth. It’s maybe 20, maybe 2 dozen if you really want to be generous. It’s a big deal for me. They make me feel happy. They don’t make you feel loved.
To know the love of Christmas, you must receive a gift. Imagine you got a copy of the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. How many of you have read that book?
It’s a great book. Especially if you are trying to improve working relationships – non friendly, business or loose social relationships, it’s really helpful. How would you feel if your mom gave you that book for Christmas?
You’d probably say, um thanks mom. Yeah, it’s just what I really wanted. Because what does the book say?
Along with saying I care about you and you are important to me, that gift also says I really hope you get better at winning friends. When you say, “thanks for the gift” you are saying, I could really use some help making friends. Some gifts are hard to receive because to take them is to admit flaws and weaknesses and to say you need help.
There has never been a gift given that makes you swallow your pride than the gift of Jesus Christ. Christmas means you and I are so lost, so unbale to save ourselves that nothing less than the death of the Son of God could save us. That means you and I are not people who can pull ourselves together and live a good life.
Once you have this gift, your whole life changes. From the inside. We love the giver of our gifts more than the gifts themselves, because we have the greatest gift. We enjoy the journey of life rather than regret and resist it, because we are his highest joy and delight. We reflect the light of the world rather than our own darkness, because we have been filled with light.
He makes us a really big deal and that is how Christmas becomes a big deal for us.
New group and study after Christmas starting January 8th at 6:30.
“How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven
No ear may hear his coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”
You're a big deal to him and he'll be your big deal.