Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Home Sermons 2010 Joe the Shephered (Part 2 of 'Seeing Christmas through 5 diferent eyes')
 
Joe the Shephered (Part 2 of 'Seeing Christmas through 5 diferent eyes') PDF Print E-mail
Written by David Charlton   

Scripture

 Luke 2:8-20

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Summary and Function

 

Summary: When the shepherds heard the angelic announcement, “…to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” they must have wondered what was going to happen next. Would this Messiah pick up a sword, topple the Roman government and re-establish the nation of Israel? Many Jewish people believed the Messiah would be a military and political leader much like King David.

Jesus the Messiah, however, was nothing like that. He was God coming into this world as a human. He did this in order to be the sacrificial lamb for our sins. Jewish prophecies attest to this (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6 & 53:1-12; Jeremiah 23:5 & Micah 5:1-2 to name a few).     

Once the shepherds realized who Jesus really is, they may have thought, “Why would God do this? What does it all mean?” In other words, “What does Christmas really mean?” To put it simply, Christmas means that God loves us and we matter to Him. That’s why God entered humanity as an infant. It’s also why He willingly died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He rose from the dead and conquered sin, death and evil on our behalf. We matter to the one Creator God. That’s what Christmas means.

If we matter to Him, then how we spend our lives matters to Him. During Advent and beyond, let’s live our lives in the knowledge that it matters to God.      

Purpose: To help the congregation to understand what Christmas means.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Hello, my name is Joe the Shepherd

     1. My daddy was a shepherd; my granddaddy and great-granddaddy were also
         shepherds. We always have been and always will be shepherds.
     2. We like being shepherds but some people consider us to be the dirty uneducated
          dregs of society. We’re considered ‘low class’. 
     3. Well, if we’re so lowly, then how come God announced the coming of the Messiah
         to us first? That’s right. We got the message first!

     4. It happened when I was just 5 years old but I remember it like it was yesterday

II. The story of the angel’s annunciation of the birth of Jesus

     1. It started out like any other night. My older brother and I were sitting around the
         fire listening to our father tell the old Jewish stories.
  • These stories are important because they shape who we are as a people.
  •  Dad told us about Abraham, Moses and David
  • He also spoke of the prophets, so we knew about the coming of the Messiah. Prophets such as Isaiah 9:6-7 and Micah 5:1-2
  • Then, it happened!!

     2. Suddenly, an angel appeared

  • It was scary!!! I tried to appear brave but hid behind my father. The angel sure didn’t look like Roma Downey from ‘Touched by an Angel’
  • Angel said, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger”
  • Then thousands and thousands of angels appeared and sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” – God pleased with men? After all the sin we committed? I suppose God is pleased with us simply because He loves us, not because we deserve it.
  • After the angels disappeared, we just stood there dumbfounded – mouths open, eyes big and round – finally someone said, “Hey, let’s see this newborn savior”

     3. Finding the stable where Jesus was laid in a manger

  • The angel said He would be lying in a manger, so we went into Bethlehem and started visiting all the stable. We must have visited what seemed like a million stables before we finally approached an Inn.
  • We asked the Inn keeper if there was a couple staying in his stable. The Inn keeper got very defensive and explained there was no room for the pregnant couple to stay in the Inn. We knew we finally found the right place.
  • As we walked into the stable, we saw a young, worn out lady lying next to a manger with the baby Jesus in it. The husband was sitting on the other side of the manger. He also looked tired but not as tired as Mary. We found out their names were Mary and Joseph.
  • Joseph got up and welcomed us in. I’m not sure he actually wanted visitors but he was polite and hospitable. We told him our story and he showed us Jesus. 
  • After a while, Jesus suddenly woke up and wailed so loud the sheep and cows began to make noise. It was pure bedlam! Joseph calmly picked Jesus up and handed him to Mary. Mary began feeding Jesus. We left to give Mary some privacy to feed Jesus. (Mary wasn’t using a bottle to feed him.)
  • WE didn’t go back to the fields. We spent the rest of the night and the next day visiting everyone we knew to tell them what we experienced.

III. What was really going on?

     1. As a 5 year old, I didn’t understand what was going on. I don’t think my daddy
         totally understood either.
     2. However, as I grew older I heard stories about Jesus. Stories of healings, calming
          storms, casting out demons and feeding 4 thousands with fives loaves of bread
          and two fish.
     3. I also heard Jesus was teaching strange stuff about the Kingdom of God.
          According to travelers who were passing through Bethlehem, Jesus said…
  • "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
  • “…the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21)
  • “…turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39)
  • “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44)

     4. According to all the stories, Jesus was making claims that only God could make

  • He claimed to be the Bread of life and source of living water (John 4:10-26 & 6:35)
  • He claimed to be the great “I Am”, a name attributed to God (John 8:58-59 and Exodus 3:14)
  • He claimed to have the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12)
     5. In response to these stories about Jesus, I searched Scripture and started making
         the connection between what Jesus was doing and what the Scriptures say
  • Isaiah 9:6-7 – The Messiah described as ‘Mighty God’
  • Isaiah 53:1-12 – The Messiah will suffer for our sins
  • Psalm 16:10 – The Messiah will rise from the dead
      6. I began to ask myself, “Why would God do this? Why would God become
          human?”

IV. Why would God become human? What’s the main point about Christmas?

     1. To put it simply, God loves us and we matter to Him.

  • This is why God entered humanity as an infant.
  • It’s also why He willingly died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins
  • He rose from the dead and conquered sin, death and evil on our behalf.
  • We matter to the one Creator God. That’s what Christmas means.
  • It doesn’t matter how good or bad you’ve been. You matter to God!

      2. If we matter to Him, then how we spend our lives matters to Him.

  • If you’re tired of living under the dominion of sin, trust in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness. If you’re tired of trying to make it on your own, doing things your own way, trust in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness. If you’re tired of being addicted to some destructive behavior, trust in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness. If you’re tired of being tired, trust in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness. God will change you into the person He created you to be.
  • During Advent and beyond, let’s live our lives in the knowledge that it matters to God.      
 
Joomla Templates by Joomlashack