Sermon Central
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A Child Is Born
Contributed by Johnny Small on Dec 2, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: It is that time of year again that we celebrate the birth of the Son of God. If we are really celebrating Christ, why are we so stressed out this time of the year?
A Child is Born
It is that time of the year again. We have just finished the last of the left over Thanksgiving turkey and have recovered from all of the early morning sales from the day after. Most of us probably have our Christmas trees up and many have lighted up the outside of our houses like the Grand Central Station. How many of you men blew fuses when you plugged the lights in? I know that Pastor Shawn did. Hopefully the entire neighborhood didn’t go black. Driving around the neighborhood you can see many beautifully decorated houses some with Santa sitting in a sleigh. Where is Christ? I saw many lighted reindeers, some even with red noses. But where is Christ? You will find many beautifully decorated trees in our houses with many presents underneath wrapped in multicolor bright wrapping paper with large bows on top. But where is Christ? Isn’t Christmas the day that we celebrate the birth of Christ?
Did you know that this is the most stressful time of the year? There are more car accidents during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas than any other time of the year. More people are killed by drunk drivers than any other period of time. There are more suicides during the Christmas holidays than any other time of the year. This is suppose to be a joyous holiday, why is there so much stress and grief. Is it because we have turned Christmas into something it was never suppose to be? Like most of our other Christian holidays, have we brought secular values and traditions in with our worship of the birth of our Savior? On Christmas day we will spend more time opening presents, being with family, preparing food, eating that food, watching sports and napping, than worshipping the birthday of our savior. Many families on Christmas day will not even think of Christ, because they are to busy. This applies to Christian families also. If it were not for Christ there would not be a Christmas day. If Christ hadn’t left heaven to be born here, none of us would have the blessed assurance of eternal life with God.
Are your children more concern with Santa Claus and what he will bring, than celebrating the birth of Jesus? If you ask Children what Christmas means to them (even Christian children) they will tell you getting gifts. This isn’t surprising considering that stores; newspapers and television are bombarding our children and us with constant reminders of what we want for Christmas. It seems like that the birth of our Savior is secondary to everything else that is going on during this time of the year. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying to stop giving gifts to each other, but I am saying that Christ needs to be the primary focus of Christmas.
Read with me:
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
(NIV)
I can’t think of any better reason for celebrating Christmas than knowing that "God is with us". If God is with us, why is there so much grief and stress during this time of the year? Is it that God is with us, but we are not with God due to all the rush of the holiday season? How can we forget God, when we are celebrating His Son’s birth? At this time of the year more than any other time, we should be in a constant state of worship, praising God for sending His Son so that we may have eternal life with Him. God is always with us, but we act and talk as if He is not around. If you are arguing with your spouse and you look around and saw Jesus standing next to you, would you continuing your argument? I don’t think so! I have news for you. God is with us. You may not see Jesus, but He is there while you are arguing with your spouse and He hears every unkind word that we speak. Remember, "God is with us". Start living your life with that in mind.
Let’s read:
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
