The Purpose of Christmas Text: Luke 2:8-10 December 24, 2007 Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church ( Oakland, California Rev.

Transcription

1 1 The Purpose of Christmas Text: Luke 2:8-10 December 24, 2007 Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church ( Oakland, California Rev. Chris Gelini PRAY! Welcome to Christmas at Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church. All this week the world has been focused on this event Christmas. An event that happened two thousand years ago in the Middle East in a little town with no fanfare. But today two thousand years later it can still stop traffic. How is that? What s so special about Christmas? Why is it that it s the most celebrated holiday on the planet? Why is it that this week billions of people shut down work, went to a service, had a party, gathered in their homes to celebrate Christmas. What makes Christmas so special? The fact is the birth of Jesus Christ is the most significant event in the history of humanity. It split history into A.D. and B.C. and every time you write a check you re using Jesus Christ as the focus. In this service we re going to look at the purpose of Christmas why we celebrate it. At the very first Christmas, at the birth of Jesus, and angel announced three things. In those three statements we find the three purposes of Christmas. Christmas is a time for celebration. Christmas is a time for salvation. Christmas is a time for reconciliation. We re going to look at how these three words can change your life forever. When Jesus Christ was born there were a group of shepherds out in the field tending their flocks and an angel came and said to them three basic announcements. From these three announcements we discover the three purposes of Christmas. Luke 2:8-10, And there were shepherds out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. I. The first purpose of Christmas is celebration. It s a party. I bring you good news of great joy. Actually, it s a birthday party.

2 2 A. We have more parties at Christmas than any other time of the year. Yet, it s ironic that often the guest of honor is totally left out of the party. Christmas is a birthday part for Jesus. It s why we say Merry Christmas. B. The bottom line is Christmas is a party we re supposed to celebrate but sometimes we re so busy preparing, getting ready, buying presents, planning, we don t have time to celebrate. We lose the joy of what the moment is all about. 1. Post-thanksgiving/Christmas shopping/nobody looks happy. What is the purpose of Christmas? First, it s a celebration. Why do we celebrate? Why is it a party? The angel said, I bring you good news of great joy and it s for everybody. What is the good news? The good news of Christmas is this. This is what we celebrate. When God sent Jesus Christ to earth He was saying A. God loves us. The most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. That s good news. God so loved the world. That s why He sent Jesus. He was sent on a message of love. B. Christmas is saying to you, God says, I love you. The Bible says God is love. It is His nature. God is love. 1. And God created the entire universe, 2. just so He could create this planet, 3. just so He could create the human race, 4. just so He could create you, 5. just so He could love you. 6. God made you to love you. It s the only reason you are alive. C. And His love is based on His character not your performance. You can t make God stop loving you. And you were created by God simply because He wanted to love you. The Bible makes it very clear God loves you. D. When he sent Jesus Christ to earth, Jesus later, as he grew to a man, stretched his arms out on a cross to die for your sins and he was saying at the point, I love you this much. This much! I love you so much it hurts. I love you so much I d rather die than live without you. You will never fully comprehend how much God loves you. And it s worth celebrating. II. The second purpose of Christmas is salvation. A. Salvation. That s the second thing that the angels mention when they announce the birth of Jesus. It says, Today, in the town of David (that s Bethlehem) a savior (there s the salvation part) has been born to you (FOR YOU. A personal savior) and he is Christ the Lord.

3 3 B. What does it mean to be saved? Saved is a synonym for rescued, delivered, set free, released. You and I are saved from something. What is it? The Bible says we re saved from sin. Jesus name means to save people from their sin. In fact, Joseph was told in a dream these words, Give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sin. That s what Jesus means. D. What in the world is sin anyway? Sin is an attitude. It s not something you do. It s an attitude. 1. What s the middle letter of sin? I. 2. What s the middle letter of pride? I. 3. Sin is an I problem. It s I want to be my own boss. I don t need God. I m doing just fine thank you very much. God, You do Your thing and I ll do my thing. That s called sin. E. The Bible says that every one of us has had that attitude at times in our life and that attitude has caused us to be separated from God. That s why God sent Jesus as savior. F. Sin causes confusion, guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, depression and so on. Every single one of your problems is caused by sin because you re not connected to God. 1. As a result of that, Jesus said, I want to set you free. I want to release you. I want to save you. From what? From all the problems caused by sin. G. How does Jesus save you from your sin? By God s grace. What does that mean? That means you don t deserve it. You don t earn it. You can t be good enough to get into heaven because heaven s perfect and you re not. And, by the way, I m not either. I ve got to get to heaven on somebody else s ticket. That is Jesus Christ who was perfect, because He was God. 1. By the way, why do we give gifts at Christmas? Because God have the gift of His Son to you. By grace. That s why we give gifts, because God gave the greatest gift to us at Christmas. H. God wants to save you. When Jesus Christ came to earth He came as a baby. He grew up and became a man and He died for our sins. That s why we celebrate because God sent a savior. III. The third purpose of Christmas is reconciliation. A. Here s the third thing the angel said at the very first Christmas. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward people. The third announcement was let there be peace on earth and good will toward people. That s called reconciliation. B. What is reconciliation? It s when a broken relation is restored. 1. When a father and son reconcile. 2. Or a husband and wife get back together there s reconciliation. They restore harmony; they restore peace between each other.

4 4 3. Where do you need peace in your life this Christmas? That s what Christmas is all about. Peace on earth good will toward people. C. Is peace on earth just a pipe dream? 1. There will never be peace on earth until there is peace in nations, national peace. 2. And there will never be peace in nations until there is peace in communities. 3. And there will never be peace in communities until there is peace in families. 4. And there will never be peace in families until there is peace in individuals. 5. And there will never be peace in individuals until we invite the Prince of peace to reign in our hearts. 6. Jesus is called the Prince of peace. D. What kind of peace does Jesus give to us at Christmas time? Jesus gives us peace with God. I don t know if you realize this or not but if you re trying to live your life without God you re at war with God and you need a peace treaty. You need reconciliation because that relationship has been broken. Jesus Christ came to be that bridge over troubled waters, to be that reconciler between God and human beings. 1. When you trust in Him He makes it all go away. He says, I m going to wipe out completely everything you ve ever done wrong. You re completely forgiven. Come on home! E. Have you made peace with God? If you haven t, you better. Because one day you will face Him. You need to make peace with God. F. Once you make peace with God then you can start making peace with other people. God says once I have shown you grace, I want you to show it to other people. God says I ve cut you some slack. Why don t you cut some other people some slack? Christmas is the perfect time to show grace to other people. 1. Who do you need to restore a broken relationship with this Christmas? Who do you need to reconcile with? 2. That s the spirit of Christmas. Peace on earth good will toward people. Jesus Christ is God s Christmas gift to you. Why even celebrate Christmas if you re not going to open the biggest gift? It doesn t make sense to leave the gift of celebration, salvation and reconciliation unwrapped. The Bible says, It makes no difference who you are or where you re from. If you want God and you re ready to do as He says the door is open.

5 5 I don t care what your religious background is. This is not about religion. God did not send Jesus to give religion. He sent Jesus so you could have a personal relationship with God. It s all about relationship. And Jesus is saying to you tonight, Open the door of your heart and invite me in and you can know the true purpose of Christmas. I m going to pray a simple prayer where you can receive the gift of Jesus into your life. I m going to ask you to bow your heads if these words express the desire in your heart you just say in your mind, Me too, God. Me too. I m in. PRAYER Dear God, I m scared. But I want to get to know You. I don t understand it all. But I thank You that You love me. I thank You that You re with me even when I didn t recognize it. I thank You that You re for me. That You didn t send Jesus to condemn me but to save me. I admit I never even realized I needed a savior. But today I want to receive your Christmas gift of Your Son. I ask You to save me from my past, from my regrets, from my mistakes, from my sins, from my habits and my hurts and my hang-ups that mess up my life. Save me from myself. I ask You to save me for Your purpose. I want to know why You put me on this planet. And I want to be what You want me to be. I want to fulfill what You made me to do. I want to learn to love You and to trust You and have a relationship with You. I need peace with You, God. And I need You to put the peace of God in my heart. To take away that stress and to fill me with Your self and Your love. Help me to be a peacemaker. To help others find peace with You and with each other. In Your name I pray. Amen.