Christmas 2018
What follows is the text of the Christmas Eve "Meditation" I prepared for, and delivered on, Christmas Eve 2018 at the Community Baptist Church in Wappingers Falls, New York.
If you want to LISTEN to the message as it was delivered live, click HERE.
(The following scriptures were read by various readers:)
Reading #1 John
1:1-5, 9-14 (NIV)
1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning. 3 Through him
all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that
life was the light of all mankind. 5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
9 The true
light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and
though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was
his own, but his own did not receive him. 12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God— 13
children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s
will, but born of God. 14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth.
Reading #2 Galatians
4:4-5 (NIV)
4 But when
the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the
law, 5 to redeem those
under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Reading #3 Matthew
1:18(a) (NIV)
This is how
the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about:
Reading #4 Luke
2:1-4 (NIV)
1 In those
days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the
entire Roman world. 2 (This
was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their
own town to register. 4 So
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem
the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Reading #5 Luke
2:4-7 (NIV)
4 So Joseph
also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the
town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register
with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the
time came for the baby to be born, 7
and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and
placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Reading #6 Luke
2:8-14 (NIV)
8 And there
were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks
at night. 9 An angel of
the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified. 10
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will
cause great joy for all the people. 11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,
the Lord. 12 This will be
a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company
of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the
highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Reading #7 Luke
2:15-20 (NIV)
15 When the
angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has
told us about.” 16 So they
hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the
manger. 17 When they had
seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this
child, 18 and all who
heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered
them in her heart. 20 The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
There you have it. The story
of Christmas, as told by the original tellers: the Evangelists Matthew, Luke
and John. We didn’t consult with Mark because Mark has nothing to say about the
birth of Jesus—he begins his story with Jesus already at adulthood and his
baptism by John the Baptizer.
According to these
witnesses, God did something that had never been done—not before, and not
since. It’s what I’m calling “The Ultimate Miracle.”
God became a man. Infinite
strength put on weakness. Power became fragile. Mighty became meek.
There’s a line from a
Christmas song recorded by The Statler Brothers decades ago that keeps running
through my head:
“We always knew men went to
heaven, but now God had come to Earth.” (To listen to this song click here: "Who Do You Think" by the Statler Brothers)
The OT prophets said that it
would happen, and that it would happen just this way.
Isaiah said that a virgin
would conceive, and give birth to a son, and he would be called “Immanuel,
which means ‘God with us.’” (Isaiah 7:14)
He also described a child to
be born, a son to be given, and that his name would be called "Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
The prophet Micah spoke of a
place for the Messiah’s birth: Bethlehem Ephrathah. He described the one who
would be born there in a curious expression: “whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)
The King James Version
translates it this way: “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting.”
This baby, born in Bethlehem
under unusual circumstances and stressful conditions, was no ordinary baby.
The Christmas story is a
sweet story all by itself. It has all the components for a Hallmark Hall of
Fame drama:
·
An unlikely mother,
·
an unwilling and uncertain father.
·
An unexpected law requiring an inconvenient
journey.
·
An unwelcoming reception in an unprepared
village.
·
An uncomfortable accommodation in an unconventional
maternity suite.
Doesn’t it
just figure that God would do something in just the opposite way that we might
expect?
But this
story we’ve been reading and singing about is not just a sweet story of the
underdog overcoming adversity to live happily ever after!
This was no
unfortunate series of events, or a collection of convenient coincidences.
This was God’s
Master Plan! It all happened EXACTLY the way He designed it to
happen “from of old, from everlasting.”
And it’s
not just the remarkable birthing story that is compelling.
A friend
posted this on her Facebook wall:
This story
is the
Saving Story—the story of the Savior who came to live among us and then
die for us.
Our
response to this story calls for more than smiles and nods of appreciation. Our
response to this story must be a broken-hearted, grateful appreciation of the
truth. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
The sweet
baby Jesus is the Savior of all humankind. Do you know Him only as the Baby Boy
of Bethlehem, or do you also know Him as the Suffering Servant, your Substitute
in Judgment, the Self-Sacrificing Savior? Do you know Him as the Resurrected
and ever-living Son of God?
Will you
offer Him a gift tonight? What can I give to Jesus? What gift could I present
to Him? What do you give someone who owns the Universe?
There is
but one thing that God wants, and it is the one thing He will not take unless
it is freely offered. He wants you. All of you. Your heart, your body. Your
strength. Your affection. Your devotion. Your willing service. Your worship and
adoration. Your fellowship. He wants your trust.
I tell
you—He is deserving of all of this from you and from me, and more.
If you have
never before offered yourself to God as a willing gift, why not now? I tell you
from my own experience and from the testimony of a great multitude of those who
have gone before us: you will not be sorry that you decided to trust Jesus with
your all.
The
Ultimate Miracle is still being performed: the Saving of Many Souls alive.
Why not
you? Why not now?
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