Well, Christmas is here again. Are you ready? If you're not ready by now you've probably waited too long.
As you enter into the day I want to encourage you and your family to,take some time to reflect upon the birth and life of Jesus Christ. Maybe you could gather your family together to read the account of the birth of Christ in the either the Gospel of Matthew or Luke. These familiar passages would be a great place to start the day.
Many would say that the Gospel of John doesn't have a birth record. Yet, the Apostle John says, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." So much truth is couched in those few words. "Became flesh" is the entire story of the the account of Mary's visit by the angel to the visit of the angels to the shepherds.
Then, the words "dwelt among us" covers everything from His birth to His Ascension back to heaven. Please take time to consider all that Christmas contains.
Do you believe in miracles? One of the popular Christmas movies is "Miracle on 34th Street." Like most Christmas movies, the plot line is centered on someone who doesn't believe in the "miracle" of Christmas. By the end of the movie our main character believes in Santa Claus and her life is fulfilled. She repeated the phrase, "I believe, I believe." But, is this the type of miracle that Christmas is actually all about?
When we think of the real story of Christmas we see many many miracles in the story. Some of these miracles is the perfect fulfillment of certain prophecies, some written over 6000 years before they came to pass. The prophets declared such things as the birth place, guest, tribe, and even family of the coming Messiah. The particulars from a very general promise of the coming of a Saviour to specific details as to His birth. Yet, though these events are miraculous in their fulfillment people would rather choose to believe in man-made miracles and deny God-made miracles.
Maybe the greatest of all the miracles of Christmas is the virgin birth of Christ. To a young, Jewish girl living in the northern Israeli town of Nazareth a visit from an angle happened. She was told that she, of all the Jewish girls, would be the mother of Messiah. Yet, she knew a problem existed that seemed impossible to overcome; she was a virgin! However, the angel told her that with God all things are possible. So, Mary became pregnant without the involvement of a man. And, ever since, man has denied this miracle as happening. To believe in Santa Claus is ok. But, to believe in a God powerful enough to allow a woman to give birth to a baby without benefit of a man is too big of a stretch for most people.
Sunday we will look at this miracle among others. During our choir presentation of the collection of songs entitled, "Come, Let us Adore Him," I will point out some of these miracles. As we come to adore and honor Jesus Christ, I want us to be reminded that God is the God of miracles. These miracles of real.
Do you believe in miracles? What kind are they, fake or real? Let's remember that Christmas is about God coming to our world and fulfilling prophecies of old. Let's give Him praise.
What’s in your wallet? Have you heard this commercial lately? If not, you are obviously not watching any TV! Which isn’t a bad thing. But, this phrase was made popular by Alec Baldwin as the spokesman for Capitol One credit card. Now, Samuel L. Jackson is the pitchman. But, in each commercial the final question is, “What’s in your wallet?”
Well, at Christmas time, after all the buying is over, maybe we would conclude that not much is left in our wallets! But, if we pull the Capitol One credit card, there just might be a big balance on our bill come January 1.
Today I want to pose a different question. I’m not as concerned about what’s in your wallet as I am about what’s in your heart. As you navigate through this Christmas season have you even thought much about God’s love for you or your love for God? Do you stop to recognize the motivation behind the coming of Jesus to Earth was His love for the Father and sinners? He was obedient to His Father’s will to be humbled to such a low estate. Please read Philippians 2:5-11 to see how the Apostle Paul presents this humbling.
But, we also must ask ourselves how much do I love God; what is in my heart? Nearly every person associated with the Christmas story demonstrates an unflinching love for God. Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, the Magi, and the shepherds, all showed their love for God by their obedience. They gave themselves first to God and then to others.
On Sunday we will hear a beautiful rendition of the Christmas story via music. Come to worship the Lord with us.
It sure was. A few lonely shepherds on a lonely hill just doing their job. Not expecting anything more special on that night than on any other night. But, things were about to change!
Stars and the sky seem to take a prominent place in the Christmas accounts. Beginning in Numbers 24:17 the subject of stars and lights take center stage in the expectations of the coming Messiah. By the time of the birth of Jesus darkness had gripped the world. Without warning the skies lit up to proclaim the birth of Messiah. To forgotten shepherds and to to scholarly Magi, the skies trumpeted a message for all the world to hear.
On Sunday we will have the joy of our Adult choir singing music that points us to the stars and the birth of Jesus. A live orchestra will accompany our choir to proclaim the joy of the birth of Jesus. I trust you will make plans to be here at 10:30 am for this wonderful message in song.
A part of the Christmas celebration in Los Gatos is the Fantasy of Lights display in Vasona Park. Though it doesn’t present the real meaning of Christmas, it is still quite spectacular. This year we have a a few passes which entitle the holder to enter the display for FREE! If you are one of the first THREE to call the office at 408-395-6144 you can have one of these coupons. Remember, first come, first served! Call NOW.
Shepherds, aren’t they so cute. Little boys wearing their bathrobes scooting off to the manger to see the Baby Jesus. No Christmas play is quite complete without them. But, do they actually represent the shepherds of old? Not really.
If you look into the social status of shepherds in the first century you will find they were on the same rung as the tax collectors! Now, everyone knows how much we love it when the “IRS man cometh.” Can you recall the hateful things said of tax collectors in the Gospels? Well, shepherds were thought of just as malevolently as the tax collectors.
Shepherds were thought of as dirty, filthy, lonely, uncouth people. They were classed as lying, cheating, and conniving. In fact, in a court of law a shepherd could not testify because everyone just assumed he would lie! Their job was important to the ongoing of the society, but, no one wanted to be one.
Oh how different from the status of shepherds was throughout the Old Testament. Names such as Abraham, Moses and even David evoke wonderful mental pictures. David’s experience as a shepherd prepared him for one of his greatest challenges; battling Goliath. And, King David’s most endearing Psalm came from his experience as well. Psalm 23 is David’s way of pointing out that just as he shepherded his sheep, so the Lord shepherds his people.
Yet, all of that good will changed by the time we reach a bunch of shepherds on a hillside on that first Christmas night. While these lonely, dejected shepherds prepared for another long night, with the fire flickering and the stars twinkling, the sky lit up like noonday. The black darkness of their secluded spot became bright. Then, on top of seeing an unbelievable sight, they heard a voice! Was it an illusion? Was it a dream? Whatever it was couldn’t be real, or could it?
The words they heard were, “Fear not.” Don’t be afraid, are you kidding me? But, then they heard the words the world was longing to hear, the words the Jewish people had been looking forward to for centuries, the Messiah is born. But, this message wasn’t delivered to the “powers that be” in the capitol city of Jerusalem. No, it was deliverd to a bunch of looney, dirty, neglected, and rejected shepherds. Crazy, huh? But, then, God does so many things that are “out of the ordinary.”
But, then, who would feel more “at home” in a barn? Smelly shepherds or squeaky-clean Scribes? I think you know that answer. You see, God really does know what He is doing. And, you and I can trust Him for our lives as well. Let’s thank Him for showing us that we normal people are welcome to come to worship. Be sure to do that during this Christmas season.
Do you see the words above? Read through the list to see what they are? No, I mean read them NOW! Did you see it? Each of these words are used so often in our modern speech that they have lost their impact. When nearly everything is “amazing” or “wonderful” what sets anything apart as truly amazing?
When you read the Christmas story for the first time you are amazed at it. You cannot grasp how God became man and came as a little Baby in “the little town of Bethlehem.” You are astonished by the love of God that He would send His Son to be the Redeemer of a lost, sinful human race. You wonder about it.
Christmas 1933 saw the introduction of a “new” Christmas carol. I put new in quotation marks because the song wasn’t new. It was a folk song well known in the hills of the Appalachia Mountains. A songwriter b y the name of John Jacob Niles was traveling in the Appalachia mountains when he heard a little girl sing a few lines of this song. He went home and put the words to a haunting melody and the song became an instant classic. Here are the words to the first verse.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
Do you still wonder about Christmas? Or, has it become just “old hat”? This Sunday we will look at how some of the characters in the account of Christmas reacted to the news of the birth of the Baby Jesus.
Let’s add wonder back to Christmas and again be amazed at the story.
How many have you asked this question? Maybe most of you reading this post have known the real meaning of Christmas all your lives. Or, maybe it’s been many, many, years for others. But, we all know that many people will pass through another Christmas season wondering why we do it. Some will question the purpose of the gift giving, the strands of lights and the singing of obscure carols. They will wonder, what does it all mean?
You and I have the answer to their question. More than the trappings the world puts on Christmas, we know it points to the birth of the Saviour of the world. The gifts are to remind us of the first gifts brought to Jesus. The lights are to remind us of the one great light that announced His birth to the Magi. And, the carols are to remind us of the song of joy the angels sang on that night. For those who are informed, all of the “trappings” of Christmas make sense.
But, what about those who are uninformed? How can they know? Well, in December, 1965 Charles Shultz gave the world a cute, but pretty correct, view of the real meaning of Christmas. He battled the CBS tv executives to not remove Linus reciting the Christmas story. Without Luke’s account in the production the show would not have gone on! So, for 48 non-stop years Linus recounts the story of Christmas. Now, two generations of children have at least hear the story from the lips of Linus.
Below is the clip from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Watch it one more time and see if it will remind you again of why we go through the Christmas holidays.
“We three kings of orient are; bearing gifts we travel afar…” So says the popular Christmas carol, “We Three Kings.” Tradition even names these “kings”; Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. We’re even told they are from three different countries; Babylon, Persia and India. Did they ride camels? Did they come from different countries? Let’s see.
Matthew 2:1-12 (click to read) records the account of the visit of the Magi. First of all, no where are they called kings. Rather they are Magi. Most likely they are associated with the Magi of the Book of Daniel. Having been influenced by Daniel’s prophecy they likely had been watching for this event for centuries.
Second of all, we have no idea of how many Magi came. We know they brought three gifts. But, the number of the people who came in this caravan is indeterminable. Could this entourage of people numbered into the hundreds? Certainly! It is possible it was large, loud and learned.
Third of all, they saw a star in the sky. This star reminded them of a passage the old sage Daniel told them about five centuries earlier. Numbers 24:17 points to a star that would appear at the coming of Messiah. Daniel predicted a certain amount of time to pass before the coming of the “Anointed One.” These learned scholars were not only watching the sky, but they were also watching the calendar. Now they knew the time had come to travel to the place Messiah was born.
Without a GPS or map, they simply traveled to the best possible place a king would be born. The capitol city of Jerusalem seemed like the only viable city for this to occur. So, they came to that town and excitedly asked “Where is He who is born King of the Jews?” Being told it was about 5 miles south in the little town of Bethlehem they went. The came, they saw, they worshipped and they left.
Saturday and Sunday our children will present a wonderful presentation of the musical, “Wise Guys and Starry Skies.” Both performances will be at 6:00 pm. Plan to attend at least one presentation. And, ask yourself how wise you are this Christmas season. Are YOU looking for Christ or not. The Wise Guys looked for Him! Wise men today still look for Him.
Joy at Christmas, where do we find it? Many folks will be looking in every ad from now until Christmas Eve to find just the right gift. They will travel to every store imaginable to find just the perfect sale. Not too much nor not too little should be spent on this gift. Friday morning lines of people will be waiting to get into the right store that has just the right sales. Some, in fact, will camp out all night to save a few dollars on the “perfect” gift. Thereby, assuring themselves of joy for Christmas.
Do you remember Charlie Brown’s Christmas? He was concerned for the overt commercialization of Christmas. December 9, 1965 was the first airing of this classic Christmas message. This Peanut’s special has been shown every Christmas since 1965. Charles Shultz was concerned that people had forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. He battled with the CBS executives over the inclusion of Linus reading Luke 2:8-14. In the discussions with the network he wouldn’t budge on its admission into the final product. He is quoted as saying, “If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?” If he were still alive today how much more amazed would Charles Shullz be?
Joy at Christmas come from keeping Christ as the focus of our celebrations. As you approach Thanksgiving and the onset of Christmas shopping, I want to encourage you to keep Christ in Christmas. Sunday we will look at the subject of the Songs of Joy at Christmas.
