Our
church has just come through a time of unprecedented and unparalleled period of
spiritual growth.
During
our 40 Days of Purpose, we were reminded over and again that we are not an
accident; that God has created us for 5 purposes.
We were created
for Worship, for fellowship, for discipleship, for ministry and for evangelism.
We now know what
our purpose is. We also know what can happen when we fail to obey God and run
from Him. We will end up going places that we shouldn’t go, and doing things
that we shouldn’t do.
When we move in
the direction that God wants us to move in, we will be right where God wants us
to be.
Most of us are
doing our best to, only by the grace of God, move in the direction that God
wants us to move in.
We are not going
to remain in the past; we are going to move forward and reach out and take the
Greater things that God has planned for us.
As you may know,
today is the first Sunday of advent. Advent comes from the Latin word for coming, and ever since the sixth century,
the Church, has taken the four Sunday’s leading up to Christmas to celebrate
Jesus’ first Advent and prepare for His Second Advent.
As I’ve been
thinking about what I would like to share with you this holiday season, a
question has been floating around in my head for the last few weeks. The
question is “what
is the purpose of Christmas”?
In the interest
of full disclosure, this thought comes from Rick Warren’s book called “the purpose of Christmas”. The thought
is from Rick, but the words I am about to share with you now, come from the
Holy Spirit.
PRAY-
“What is the
purpose of Christmas”?
If I were to
give you the opportunity to respond to that question, I am sure the answer would
be as varied as the people present in this room today. Some of the answers
might even surprise us.
ILLUSTRATION- a Sunday school teacher once
asked her class a question: “what is gray, has a bushy tail, collects nuts, and
climbs trees?”
Before
anyone else could answer, a 4 year old boy stuck up his hand and said: “I know
the answer is Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me.”
Many
people miss the purpose of Christmas. Perhaps you are one of them.
Perhaps you are
one person who thinks that Christmas is about one of the following situations:
ILLUSTRATION- Most of us in this room
observe holiday traditions. You do things in your homes that you have done for
years. Beth and I are no different.
One of our
holiday traditions is watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
While we have
seen this show several times, it’s not quite Christmas until I have seen Clark
Griswold at his absolute best.
Maybe
you think that the purpose of Christmas is observing family traditions….
ILLUSTRATION- Maybe you think that
Christmas is all about the commercials. Let’s
face it; there are some pretty creative commercials on TV this time of the
year.
Who wouldn’t
like to receive a nice big-screen television, a new digital camera and a
blue-ray player for Christmas this year?
Is the purpose
of Christmas found in commercials?
ILLUSTRATION- A few weeks ago, my
Grandmother asked my family for a Christmas list. She does this ever year, so
it wasn’t unexpected.
She
wanted us to flip through the Sears Wish Book and write down the things that we
would like to receive.
At
the bottom of my list, I wrote “iPad 2”, because what I would really like for Christmas
is an iPad 2. I sent this list off to her.
This
past Wednesday, while talking to my father, he asked for a Christmas list, so
Beth and I sat at the kitchen table, and wrote out a list of things we’d like
to receive from my side of the family.
At
the bottom of this list, just before I sent it off, I included the words “iPad
2 from Staples”
A
few weeks ago, I asked my wife what she would like to have for Christmas, and
she responded with the usual: “I don’t know.”
After she
thought about it for a moment or two, she told me that she would like to have a
new coat, or cross country skis for the family.
She
then asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Can you guess what I told her? I
told her that I wanted an iPad 2.
Are
gifts the purpose of Christmas?
No
doubt, getting and receiving gifts is a big part of Christmas. It was during
the first Christmas that wise men traveled many miles to present their gifts of
frankincense, gold and myrrh to the new born King.
But
is gift giving and receiving what Christmas is all about? Are gifts the purpose
of Christmas?
ILLUSTRATION- Maybe the purpose of
Christmas is getting a few days off work. Everyone knows how hard we work, and
we all deserve more days off than we currently have, so maybe the purpose of
Christmas is extra time off?
Maybe the
purpose of Christmas is sitting around a fire drinking the world’s worst
drink—eggnog—and singing “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.” Certainly, this is
the message that we’ve become accustomed to today.
I
wonder if we have lost the real meaning of Christmas. While I am not saying
that any of these things in and of themselves are bad, I simply wonder if we
overlook the purpose of Christmas.
I would suggest to you today
that Christmas isn’t so much about gifts as it is about a Gift, Jesus Himself.
ILLUSTRATION- D.A. Carson once wrote the
following:
If
God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, He would have sent an
economist.
If God had
perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, He would have sent us a
comedian or an artist.
If
God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, He
would have sent us a politician.
If God had
perceived that our greatest need was health, He would have sent us a doctor.
But God
perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from Him, our
profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior." (http://rockedbygrace.blogspot.com/2011/07/if-god-had-perceived-that-our-greatest.html)
The purpose of
Christmas isn’t a story about commercials; the purpose of Christmas isn’t about
what we will give or receive, the purpose of Christmas is about God’s gift to
us, the Gift of a Savior.
This gift is
described in Luke chapter 2:
“The Roman emperor,
Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2
(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for
this census. 4 And
because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in
Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in
Galilee.
5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously
pregnant. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to
be born.
7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him
snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no
lodging available for them.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby,
guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the
radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10
but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good
news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in
Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a
baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the
armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those
with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:1-14, NLT2)
This passage
reminds me of what the purpose of Christmas is all about. This passage reminds
me that Christmas is about the Gift that was born that night in
the manger so many years ago.
The Purpose of
Christmas is so we might receive Jesus, our Immanuel.
You do know that
Jesus was given to you, right? Over 400 years before Jesus stepped foot on this
earth, the prophet Isaiah said these words:
“For to us a child
is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And
he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.” (Is. 9:6, NIV)
Hundreds of
years before Jesus breathed His first breath, it was prophesied that He would
be given to and for us.
The angel himself,
in Luke Chapter 2, reminds us that the purpose of Christmas is threefold:
Christmas is a
time to celebrate,
Christmas is a
time for salvation;
And Christmas is
a time for reconciliation.
Over the next few
weeks we want to examine a little closer what each of these statements mean to
us, but first we need to notice just exactly who was among the first to receive
The Gift of God.
Who were the
first people on the scene? Who were the first people to witness the new born
King? The shepherds.
The Good News of Jesus Christ was
first proclaimed to lonely shepherds. They weren’t scholars, or superheroes.
They were everyday, ordinary people.
God chose to
make His entrance known to ordinary people.
Friends, God
longs to reveal Himself to you in a fresh new way this Christmas season. God
wants to show up in your life in a way you never thought possible.
God still longs
to speak to ordinary people.
God wants 4
words to change your life forever…
Show “four words” clip
http://www.sermonspice.com/product/21564/four-words
“…The angel said to
them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to
you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke
2:10-11, NIV)
This
Christmas Season, we are going to explore the purpose of Christmas, and see how
the answer can change our lives forever.
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