The SermonCentral.com Weekly Newsletter
December 16, 2002

Theme: Christmas

Dear SermonCentral.com user,

Last week I was reminding my eight year old daughter that some of her friends may still believe in Santa Claus, so she needed to be careful about what she said around them. She replied, "Sydney (her classmate) told me that if you don't believe in Santa Claus, you're not a Christian." I laughed, and she said, "I told her I didn't think that was right."

There are a lot of Christmas Christmyths. May God use you to joyfully proclaim the truths of Christmas that reveal "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Ephesians 3:18). We hope this newsletter on Christmas will help you find the best material fast.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at SermonCentral!
Brian Mavis, General Manager
SermonCentral.com

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In This Issue

1. Top 5 Sermons On Christmas

2. Top 5 Illustrations On Christmas

3. SermonCentral.com News - Christmas Dramas

1. Top 5 Sermons On Christmas

THE CRADLE, THE CROSS, AND THE CROWN
by R. Deem: Philippians 2:5-11
R. G. Lee, that great Baptist preacher once wrote: "There never was another Who caused all creation to be ransacked in pursuit of words appropriate to convey to human hearts and minds His glorious pre-eminence. There never was another Who was a

more

ONE PERFECT PLAN
by Darren Ethier: John 3:16-16
A father and his son were taking a nature hike through the woods when they came upon some ants working furiously to clear a path. The ants were scurrying here and there trying desperately to provide a clear path for ant travel. They worked
 
more

THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS
by Aaron Burgess: Luke 2:1-20
A ninety year old couple sat on the front porch one night. The old man was overcome with the romance of the evening and he said to his hard of hearing wife, "I'm proud of you." "Huh," she said.
 
more

WHY DID HE COME AS A BABY?
(THE JOY OF HIS BIRTH)
by Dwight Gunter II: Luke 2:1-7
I hope you're ready for Christmas - it is here! The church bulletin declared, "The choir will sing 'I heard the BILLS on Christmas Day.'" In a B.C. Comic strip: One ant said, "Dad, who is Jesus?" The father ant
 
more

A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN!
by MELVIN NEWLAND: Luke 2:1-20
It's a simple & familiar story, isn't it? Yet, I realize that there is a danger when you hear a familiar story of thinking, "I've heard that before. There's no need to listen to it again." Then you tune it out. I hope that doesn't happen this morning, & I
 
more

2. Top 5 Illustrations On Christmas

ROOM IN THE CHAOS
I believe that a picture of Jesus’ birth has been painted throughout the years of a quiet and calm night in which everything was still and hushed. I don’t think so.

Let’s think about if for a moment. What if every man in this country had to go back to his hometown on January 31, 2010 and register himself and his household in person for the next US census? What would the roads, rail lines, and skies of this country look like? Get the picture?

It was a madhouse that night. People were everywhere all looking for the same thing - a place to stay. But there was no room in the inn.

Have you ever seen pictures of the streets of ancient Israelite cities? They make our streets here in Kendallville look like boulevards!

They are narrow, they are crooked, and they are crowded. People, animals, and merchandise are stuffed into them much like, dare I say it, parking lots, malls, and shopping centers.

In the midst of this chaotic mess is an innkeeper who has done battle with numerous Bethlehem natives all trying to get in, get registered, and get out in a day or two. Just about the time things seem to slow down, Mary and Joseph arrive.

There is no room, she looks miserable. He looks scared. No family around to take them in.

The innkeeper knows the question is coming, "Have you any room for us?" And he knows the answer that is coming out of his mouth for the hundredth time.

But this time, the innkeeper it seems, finds them room in the livestock shelter, of his inn. -

Jim Kane, First Church of God, Kendallville, Indiana.

HOLY CHILD
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.
Martin Luther.

Contributed by: David DeWitt

A KING AMONG US
Suppose there was a king who loved a
humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesmen trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all his opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden.

How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his very kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist- no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

She would say she loved him of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she left behind. Would she be happy at his side? How could he know?

If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross over the gulf between them.

The king, convinced he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend. He clothed himself as a beggar and approached her cottage incognito, with a worn cloak fluttering loosely about him. He renounced the throne to win her hand.

by Soren Kierkegaard in Phillip Yancey's
"Disappointment with God."
Contributed by: Andrew Chan

YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!
A little girl said she liked Santa Claus better than Jesus because "you have to be good for Santa only at Christmas but for Jesus you have to be good all the time."

Much of the Christmas observance at church is not far removed from that attitude.

SOURCE: from "Goodness That Lasts,"
Citation: Vance Harrier in The Vance
Havner Quotebook. Christianity Today,
Vol. 38, no. 14.

Contributed by: A. Todd Coget

SIGN ON CHURCH BULLETIN BOARD
"Merry Christmas to our Christian friends. Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends. And to our atheist friends, good luck."
SOURCE: Jeff Strite, Church of Christ at
Logansport, Logansport, IN.

3. SermonCentral.com News - Christmas Dramas

Have you checked out the SermonCentral Dramas yet? We probably have one that would be just perfect for your Christmas services. How about using this one:

WISEMEN

MARY -- (enters carrying woven basket heaped with laundry)
WISE -- (follows, 3 wise men follow carrying gifts. One may
speak all lines or lines may be divided among all three) Dear
lady....
MARY -- (turns) Yes?
WISE -- We are looking for the baby who is called "King of the
Jews".
MARY -- (pause, looks both ways) You're not from around here,
are you? more...

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