Sermon Central
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When You Tell Them About The Baby, Tell Them He Grew Up
Contributed by Samuel Bass on Jan 3, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: The sermon is intended to invite the listener to encourage others during this season not only by retelling the birth of Christ, but the awesome things done in His life.
When You Tell Them About the Baby, Tell Them He Grew Up
Many people associate this day as a day to tell a wonderful story. Christians and non-Christians alike tell of the birth of Jesus.
• Some tell it just out of tradition, not attaching any new meaning to it or seeing the big picture.
• Some tell it because it sounds good, a virgin, one chosen by God, had to give birth to a baby boy in a stable because there was no room anywhere else.
• And still others tell it because they don’t believe it and think it is incredible that others believe it! So it is told with sarcasm.
• And I really like this one...some body said, you know they’re going to be telling that same old story again, it’s just a glorified birth announcement!
• Do you know some people didn’t come to church this morning because they felt like all we are going to do is listen to some Christmas songs and hear the same old Christmas story and go home.
Look at you neighbor and tell them the Good News of My Savior’s birth is more than just a sweet story. He grew up!
Look at all the time that went into planning His birth. Man was separated from God because of all the sinful things he did. There were not enough bulls and sheep and doves available to pay the price for all our sin. We, just like those before us were a corrupt people, we lie, cheat, steal, covet, curse, drink, gamble, and if that is not enough...we are unfaithful in our relationships, sometimes we go from one affair to the other in the same day! Some of us switch partners within the hour! Unfaithful!
We are unfaithful to our family, those that care for us and nurture us, we’ll turn our backs on them for something that looks good to us and when we finish with what seemed like a good idea and are laying open, vulnerable and defeated, like the prodigal son we come crawling back to where we left in a hurry.
Then we are unfaithful to our God. God cares for us and provides for us and we, just like the children of Isaiah’s time, don’t listen to His voice and we try to hide our dirt. We won’t worship and praise Him like we do the basketball players or the other sports heroes or stars, we quietly sit in church and look around like the ax will fall if we lift a praise!
But I read somewhere, let everything that has breath, Praise the Lord!
But, Jesus was born to save us and unite us with God! In spite of our unfaithfulness, He was faithful to us. And in being born, He opened up a whole new direction for us. What I like about it was it was all part of God’s Plan. God had already lined it all up...Isaiah prophesied of the wonderful Servant that Jesus would be. If you looked at the last few Sunday School lessons, you know that Jesus is the servant that Isaiah spoke of in his writing. Let’s look at the text because in that first verse of the 61st chapter all of the Trilogy is present. Jesus is speaking, The Spirit is up on Him and God is anointing. If you don’t believe me read over in the book of Luke in that 4th chapter it tells us that Jesus read this same passage of scripture and told the listeners that this day, the day He read it, that the scripture was fulfilled.
But look at what He is appointed to do. He was to preach good tidings to the meek, those people who are willing to listen, not proud and arrogant but ready to hear some good news. Ever notice that folks who think they really got it going on are not going to listen to your instructions or advice. They think they are better than we are and why listen to you. That’s how they felt about Jesus, isn’t he just a carpenter’s son. They didn’t realize what they had in their midst.
Listen to what He came to do because He grew up!
Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted, God knew that because of our sinful nature, we would get brokenhearted...don’t you think the woman with the issue of blood was brokenhearted? Surely the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery were broken hearted, what about the leader Jairus whose daughter had just died, don’t you think he was brokenhearted or Mary and Martha whose brother, Lazarus was in the grave long before Jesus arrived on the scene! But didn’t Jesus fixed it right on time!
