8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will towards men.
Luke 2:8-14
Can you believe that God chose shepherds as the people who would first get to see the new born Savior of the world? The lowliest of all, who weren’t even allowed to testify in court because they couldn’t be trusted. They had a rather detestable reputation.
I can imagine how surprised they were to have an angel appear to them on the night Jesus was born. It’s not every day that you meet an angel, let alone a multitude of the heavenly host!
But, let’s notice what the angel said to them, ”Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” It doesn’t say to the rich; to the faithful; to the powerful; to the royal. It says to all people.
God loves everyone. He doesn’t limit his love to any single group of people. His love goes much deeper than any of us can fathom.
Not only did God choose a couple of kids to raise the Son of God, shepherds to be the first to see him, he also sends the Magi to find him. They weren’t God-fearing Jews, they were foreigners, but they were seeking and God revealed the Savior to them.
God loves all means God loves you. Can you grasp that? Of course you don’t deserve it. You’re not worthy, but he loves you anyway. More than you could ever comprehend!
How can you take the Charlie Brown Christmas story and possibly tie it in any way to The Christmas story? Our pastor has this knack about analogies that blow my mind sometimes. The thing that stands out in my mind is Linus and his security blanket. As Linus relates the story, with Jesus Christ as the center stage, he no longer needs the security of his blanket and he drops it. We no longer need the security of our old dirty blankets because now we have Christ and the promises he offers. Christ in a manger who came to save us all.
As soon as Linus finishes the story and steps out of the bright light of center stage.and step away from the good news of Jesus, he picked his blanket back up. Without Jesus, our world is a dark scary place. Without Jesus, we look for security where we think we can get it.
We look for security from the things that have hurt us in the past. We do what we think we need to do to protect our hearts.
But we can find what we need in that baby in the manger. We must accept the gift he offers. Whatever we must deal with in life Jesus is there to help us through it.
Jesus didn’t stay in the manger. He came to save us. Gave his life for you. We’ll still have troubles, but it will be okay. He is in control.
Today’s take away:
- Jesus was born to die that we might live.
- The Son of God was born so that we might be born again.
- He left his home in Heaven so that we would have a home in Heaven.
- That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
- That’s the story of Christmas
- And the story was written for you.
To listen to this sermon, click here.
Thankful for sermons that are engaging and cause me to look deeper into the Word!
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 