The Gospel of Christmas

Luke 2:1-14 NKJV  And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  (2)  This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.  (3)  So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  (4)  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  (5)  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.  (6)  So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.  (7)  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  (8)  Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  (9)  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  (10)  Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  (11)  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  (12)  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”

• If anyone ever asks you what Christmas is all about… what the true meaning of Christmas is… these verses right here are the answer!
  • Christmas is about the birth of a Savior, a Shepherd, a King, a Physician, a Friend.
  • It is about the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ… when God took on flesh and became human, so that He could walk with us, talk with us, teach us, guide us… and ultimately die for us.

John 1:14 NKJV  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

• Now this morning, as we celebrate Christmas Sunday here at CLC, I want to take you on a journey that I had to go on about 7 or 8 years ago…
  • I went on a “Keep Christ in Christmas” journey… keep Christ in Christmas, have you guys heard that phrase?
  • Well I got ALL ABOUT THAT LIFE and I went down a journey that had me convinced that we had completely missed the point of Christmas.
    • Christmas trees… what are those? Why are we singing songs worshiping a tree? Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree… WHAT IS THIS‽ Why are we singing worship songs to a TREE? And isn’t there verses about pagans brining in trees and decorating them with Gold?
      • Plus we are putting gifts under the tree… so we have to kneel before the tree on Christmas morning to get the gifts… THIS IS TERRIBLE!
    • What about Santa Clause‽ We are just lying to our kids in order to bribe them to be good… “You better be good or Santa will know and he will give you coal!!!!
    • And nativity scenes… WHY ARE WE MAKING FALSE IMAGES… WE DON’T KNOW WHAT JESUS LOOKED LIKE, WE NEED TO STOP PLAYING PRETEND.
• I really turned into a real Scrooge when it came to Christmas… and not the McDuck kind… but the Bahumbug kind…
  • Then the Good Lord rebuked me, first through Pastor Dick Speight, then through a personal word to me.
    • I was telling Pastor Dick why I don’t have nativities scenes and I proclaimed “None of us know what Jesus looked like, these are all false images” and Pastor Dick, with prophetic fire in His eyes responded “WE KNOW HE LOOKED LIKE A BABY!”
      • When he said that, the Lord broke a bit of legalism inside of me… He was right… pretty much all babies look the same, especially when carved in wood or sculpted from clay.
        • Of course I am not going to have blond haired blue eyed baby Jesus…
        • But I think it is safe to say that Jesus looked like a baby, like any other baby… and it is ok to remember that our Lord was born in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.
  • So slowly I let Nativity scenes back in the house… BUT THAT WAS IT… NO TREES! BAHUMBUG!
    • And then the Lord Spoke to me… “Christmas traditions have always been about Me, people have just forgotten. Instead of forsaking tradition, bring back it’s meaning and teach your children about it.”
      • What I learned that morning, as the Lord spoke to me, was that I don’t need to put Christ back in Christmas… He never went anywhere… instead of putting Christ back in Christmas, I simply need to show people He has been there all along.
  • So this morning I simply want to preach the Gospel of Christmas.

I want to talk about three elements of Christmas that all point towards the Gospel of Christ…

• The Gospel of Christmas
  • The Christmas Tree
  • The Gifts
  • Santa Clause

• All three of these traditional elements of modern Christmas do in fact point to Christ, and they tell the story of the greatest news ever given to man.

Luke 2:10 NIV  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

• Let’s get into this story of good news by talking about Ol Tanembaum

Point One – The Christmas Tree

• Raise your hand if you have a Christmas tree in your house…
  • Ok, now raise your hand if you have a REAL Christmas tree in your house.
  • Do you know why we have Christmas trees during Christmas? It is because they represent eternal life.
    • Real Christmas trees are generally fir trees spruce trees, or pine trees… all those species of trees belong to a family of trees called “Evergreens”.
    • And the reason they are called evergreens, I am sure most of you know this… is because they always stay green.
      • Even in the middle of winter, when all the leaves on all the other trees have turned brown and died… the evergreens remain green.
• In fact, this is what the song “O Tannebaum” is all about, it is a German song about evergreen trees, originally having nothing to do with Christmas…
  • Let’s take a look at a lose translation of the original lyrics to O Tannebaum
• O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
• How faithfully you blossom!
• Through summer’s heat and winter’s chill
• Your leaves are green and blooming still.
• O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
• With what delight I see you!
• When winter days are dark and drear
• You bring us hope for all the year.
•  
• O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
• You bear a joyful message:
• That faith and hope shall ever bloom
• To bring us light in winter’s gloom.

• You see the evergreen tree represents Christians in two different ways… and the first is emphasized in this song.
  • As Christians we have life and life abundantly. We have joy and peace, love, forgiveness, and contentment in all situation.
    • In the harshest of times, in the darkest of winters, in the strongest of persecutions… when every one else is down, and depressed, looking dead and gloomy… the Christian, like an evergreen in winter, stays bright, and alive, thriving and glowing in the love of God.
• But there is another cool thing about Christmas trees, real evergreen Christmas trees.
  • It is the fact that they STAY GREEN even after you kill them!
    • You can go into a forest and brutally take an axe to a Christmas tree, slaying it in front of it’s friends and family trees… and bring it home… and screw it to a metal base… and yet it stays green!
      • This symbolizes that as Christians we have not just life here on earth… but we have EVERLASTING LIFE.
      • When we die on this earth we wake up in heaven… a place with no pain, no sorrow, no sin, no problems… only perfection, love, joy, peace, goodness, and righteousness… an eternal paradise where we praise God and live with him forever… and when we have been there for 10,000 years, bright shinning as the sun, we no less days to sing His praise then when we first begun.
        • As Christians we are evergreens… ever victorious in the harshest of conditions, and living an everlasting life!
• That’s what I teach my kids the Christmas tree is about, and I hope as you look at yours this year that you too teach of the everlasting life that was given to us.

John 10:10 NKJV  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 3:16 NKJV  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

• For God so loved the world that He gave… that brings us to the second symbol I want to examine this morning… the gifts.

Point Two – The Christmas Gifts

• Look, I have here a Christmas Present… and it is Labeled “Sunbeam Microplush Sherpa Heated Throw Blanked”… huh, that is interesting…  we already know what the gift is, it is an electric heated blanket, with a white and black buffalo plaid print, it has four heat settings, a 4 hour automatic shut off… it is even machine washable… How cool… a gift that we know what is inside of it… in fact, it is the exact same gift I am offering to second service!
• And that makes this next part easy, because I wanted to make sure this went to someone who wanted it and would use it…
  • Does anyone here want a Heated Throw Blanket?
    • Come on up here…
    • Now listen… you don’t have to open this… you can leave it wrapped for the rest of time…
    • Or you can open it right now… the choice is yours.
      • You want to open it, go ahead… ok, have a seat… that is yours to keep! Merry Christmas!
  • the tree represents that we have eternal life, but the gift represents that the eternal life we have is a gift.

Romans 6:23 NKJV  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• You see wages, that is something you earned. If you work for me, and I pay you for your work, then that is a wage… you earned that wage, you deserved that wage.
  • A gift on the other hand is something you did not earn, something you do not deserve.
  • We don’t earn the gift of eternal life.
    • We don’t deserve the gift of eternal life.
    • We didn’t pay for the gift of eternal life.
      • It was a gift, purchased by God through the blood of Jesus… given to those who believe in Him…
      • Because God loves us so much, that He wanted to bless us… to give us the best gift that could ever be given…
        • Just like many parents feel the need to give gifts on Christmas to show their kids they are loved, so our Father in heaven has given us the best gifts… not only showing us we are truly loved, but that God loves us so much that He wants us to be with Him in heaven forever.
• So the Christmas Tree reminds of us a blessed life, an abundant life, and an eternal life… and the gifts remind us that that eternal life was a gift, an undeserved gift, from God our Father.
• But where does Santa play into all of this?

Point Three – Santa Clause

• You know of all the Christmas Traditions, Santa was one I never really took issue with.
  • I certainly take issue with lying to your kids about the existence of magical holiday heroes… like a man who climbs down your chimney, a bunny who gives you chocolate eggs, or a fairy that has a weird thing about collecting children’s teeth…
• But I have always known that Santa was a real man… in fact, Ezra corrected me… Santa IS a real man… not was… Santa still lives, because he was born again, he gave his life to Jesus, believing in him, and Santa was given the gift of eternal life.
  • Now Santa was famous for a lot of things… He hit a heretic in the face at the council of Nicaea… he put gold coins in poor children’s socks while they were hung out to dry… I have nothing but respect for Santa.
• But I want to draw your attention to something else about Santa… part of the mythology, which is totally made up… but still, it points to the gospel of Christmas…
  • You guys know the song, right, “He’s making a list, He is checking it twice, He is going to find out who’s naughty or nice”.
• Growing up Santa was an omniscient force who could see everything… and if you ever did something naughty, Santa would know and he would give you coal for Christmas.
  • My mom would always threaten me “If you misbehave, Santa will know you will get put on the naughty list”!
    • But I never got coal for Christmas! IT WAS ALL EMPTY THREATS!
• The truth is, Santa is not all knowing… but God is… God is omniscient, He is all knowing… and He sees all of the wrong things we do…

Proverbs 15:3 NKJV  The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Hebrews 4:13 NKJV  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 NKJV  For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

• God is all knowing, and He has a list of everything you or I have ever done… God knows who has been naughty… and the answer is… everyone.

Psalms 14:2-3 NKJV  The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.  (3)  They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

Romans 3:23 NKJV  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

• The word “sin” means breaking God’s law… and we have all broken His law…
  • Just look at the 10 commandments… the 9^th one “Thou shall not lie”… show of hands, who here has ever told a lie…
    • You are a bunch of LIARS! I have too guys… we all have…
      • We have lied, we have stolen, we have lusted… we have hated people without cause, which Jesus calls murder of the heart…
    • We break God’s law… and we deserve to be held accountable to that… we all must give account.
      • And when we do, unless something miraculous happens… we will be found guilty, because God is a just judge… He must punish sin.
      • We have sinned against an infinitely good God, thus our punishment must be infinitely severe…
        • The wages of sin is death… we have sinned, so what we are owed is death.
• Santa Claus reminds us that we have all been naughty and deserve death.
  • The gifts under the tree remind us that though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God through Jesus is eternal life.
    • And the Christmas tree, the evergreen tree, reminds us that as Christians we have abundant life no matter the circumstances, and that we will live forever in heaven with our Savior.
• So let me conclude by giving an invitation to receive the gift of salvation.

Conclusion

John 3:3 NKJV  Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

• The thing about gifts is… you have to open them.
  • I gave that blanket away to _____________ and they decided to open it… why?
    • I meant they already knew what it was, I told them EXACTLY what it was… there was no surprise there.
    • And it was already paid for… Walmart tends to like it when you pay for things…
      • So the gift I gave them was completely paid for, and no surprise… so why open it?
      • Well they opened it because they want to use it. A GIFT DOES NO ONE ANY GOOD SITTING UNDER THE TREE>
        • Now them opening it does not mean they earned it, or that they deserved it, or that they had any part in the process of buying it… it just means that they wanted it… they wanted it for more than just show… they wanted to use it.
• Salvation is the same way. The price has been paid for, the price was the blood of Christ… He died so we don’t have to die… like a sponge, Jesus absorbed our sin, He took on the sin of the world… and that sin died with Him… The price has been paid for the gift.
  • And the gift is no surprise… it is an abundant life of joy, and peace, and happiness… a life of contentment and strength and victory… and it is an eternal life.
  • It is a gift that has been given many times before… just like the blanket that I gave away in both services… and there are many here who have received the gift of salvation… you can ask them all about it…
    • But at some point you have to WANT to be saved… you have to WANT to be forgiven of your sins… you have to WANT to follow Jesus from now until eternity… you have to WANT to be born again…
    • And I believe the Holy Spirit is putting that desire in your heart right now… drawing you to Him…
      • If you are here this morning… forget about blankets and trees, and Santa… this is the most important thing ever… if you are here and you have never been born again, you have never cried out to God, repenting from your sins and asking to be saved… you have never received the gift that was bought for you… then I want to give you that opportunity right now.
• Gospel Call

Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com