Christmas Lights John 1:1-5

In Celtic times before they came to know Christ, people celebrated the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. There sun God would regain his strength and bring life again. People would decorate with evergreens and celebrate the coming spring. Cutting down a small tree and decorating it with cookies and other goodies and the exchange of presents were part of the celebration. Christians forbid the Christmas tree until Martin Luther turned the pagan holiday into a celebration of Christ birth called “Christmas”. The tree became the Christmas tree. But Christmas trees did not become popular until the 1800’s. Now some kind of tree can be found in homes, churches, and public parks.

Light is important to Christmas as well. The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Burning candles reminded people of the coming light of spring. Kathy and I went to a wonderful light display in Duluth on Friday, what a magnificent display it was.

Today our celebration of Christmas has a tree, decorations, presents and lights.

When John was writing his Gospel light was very important because it was a word used by Gnostic’s who claimed special enlightenment or spiritual knowledge that made them more spiritual. So John uses their words to express the truth of Jesus. So you find our passage in John the Word, became the light of men that shines in the darkness. In 1 John 1:5 “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” In Mathews Gospel tells us that Jesus called believers the “light of the World.”

In the Gospel there is a tree, John tells us Jesus started out caring His cross, and Luke tells us in chapter 23:26 that when Jesus could no longer carry it the guards laid it on Simon of Cyrene. The roads were decorated by people who were mourning and lamenting. I can see a man with a withered handmade whole, a man healed of leprosy, men who were blind now see their healer taken to the cross. So many lives changed and touched by God.

In the Gospel there are gifts, John 1:9-14 through Jesus God gave the gift of salvation, the right to become children of God.

In the Gospel there is a tree, made into a cross, decorations made of people whose lives had been changed, and gifts of the Spirit of God. So long ago just outside the city of Jerusalem there was a tree, there were decorations, gifts and lights.

Our Christmas today has a tree, shaped like a cross, it is the place where we are healed and new life begins. A tree of hope, a tree of healing, a tree of promise, a tree of life.

There are decorations made of the things God has done, in the lives of people we have known, lives saved and touched by God, each and every one a beautiful work of art by God.

There are gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts to be used to build God’s kingdom, gifts of healing, forgiveness and encouragement. Many gifts waiting to be unwrapped.

But most of all there are the lights. You are God’s Christmas lights, set upon a hill, placed upon a stand, meant to give light to world around you.

The winter solstice has passed, soon decorations will be taken down and put away. But God’s Christmas we must never put away. We must leave it out for all to see, every day. Remember every day.

There is a tree. There are decorations. There are gifts. And you are God’s Christmas lights! Burn brightly my friends.

The Christmas Story

Part 1

Christmas began even before Time it’s self for;

¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²  He was with God in the beginning. ³  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

 

For God knew mankind would need to be rescued from itself. So before God said a single word of creation the decision was made that Jesus would come.

²  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵  God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶  And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷  So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸  God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. ⁹  And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰  God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the Second day.
²⁶  Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
²⁷  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” ²⁹  Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.  

But just as God had known from the beginning mankind lost its way.

 

⁵  The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶  The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

 

But there is nothing to fear for God had a plan to rescue us formed before the very first day.

²³  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

¹  In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ³  And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ³  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
⁵  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁹  The true light that gives light to everyone came into the world. ¹⁰  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ¹⁴  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Part 2

The time had come for God Himself, Jesus, to step into the world to save us. Mary and Joseph had no idea the importance of the Baby they cared for in the manger in the dark. Near Bethlehem that night;

there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks. ⁹  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.¹¹  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” ¹⁵  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 

 

part 3

A group of Magi, astrologers, who pursue wisdom and magic, who lived in Persia, saw a star over Israel. Perhaps they remembered Balaam’s prophecy found in Numbers 24:17; “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Or maybe God granted them the knowledge of a Kingly Birth. So they set out on a 40-day journey to find a king. Mary and Joseph were in a home in Bethlehem.

¹  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
²  and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
³  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
⁴  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
⁵  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
⁶  “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
⁸  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
⁹  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
¹⁰  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
¹¹  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
¹²  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

But this is not the end of the story.

 

Part 4

The Christmas Story is not finished. Jesus’s rescue of us all continued as He grew, as He taught and healed crowds of people. Jesus gathered people around Him called disciples and taught them of God’s love and plan to save us. When the time was right Jesus told His disciples that He die on the cross to save us and gave the symbols we use to remember His sacrifice. Later they listened to Jesus while He hung on the cross.

 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
²⁹  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
³⁰  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

After 3 days Jesus arose from the dead and some time with His disciples helping them understand the rest of God’s plan that started before God said let there be light.

¹⁶  Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
¹⁷  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
¹⁸  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
¹⁹  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

So the Christmas story continues with them gift of grace passed from disciple to disciple, generation to generation, until some how it came to me and you. The Christmas story will continue on until there are none left to rescue, none left to receive God’s Christmas gift. Today the gift is for you. “if we confess our sin, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is God’s Christmas gift to you. And it all started when God said. “Let there be light!”

The Gift From a King

What is so important about the Wise men, other than they brought Jesus cool gifts? Who are these travelers and why is all Jerusalem upset? Why did they bring the gifts?

1.       Wise Men
a. Magicians, Astrologers
b. From Persia
c. Going around town asking dangerous questions.
d. they bring gifts to Jesus

2.       They get it wrong also
a. we think the Magi get it and bring gifts
b. Gifts for a king
c. They look, they rejoice and then they go home
d. The star in the sky lead them to Jesus not so they could give gifts but that they could receive a gift.

3.       Getting it wrong today
a. We focus on gift giving
b. It’s all about receiving a gift
c. forgiveness, healing, redemption, life, another chance
d. our lameness walking, our blindness seeing, our brokenness made whole.
e. what is the gift you really need?
f. it’s not about giving, not even about the gift of a king, it’s about the gift from the King.

There is a gift for you today. It could be forgiveness and the promise of heaven. It could be release from a sin that has kept you captive, an abusive memory, a broken worn out body or a broken heart. Jesus know the gift you need and the right time for you to receive it. Will you look for that gift, believe in that gift? There is a gift for you from the king of heaven and earth, please don’t miss it.

luke 2:8-20

Shepherds, on the quite hillside in the night, so peaceful that we would like to climb into the picture and sit with them for a while. As we are sitting there the sky lights up and song burst forth, “Gory to God in the highest!” A Voice thunders out, “Fear not! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy!’ The shock wears off and we all start to talk. Uh, you see that? What did you see? After we are sure of what we saw and heard we might ask why us? Why would God send angels to shepherds, working class people like you and I? Today I want to look at why shepherds?

The prophets are filed with imagery of God as the shepherd and Israel as the sheep. Psalm 23 paints a wonderful picture of God as the shepherd caring for his sheep. Israel’s king David was a shepherd. Most of all is the prophet Zechariah’s picture of the shepherds in Zechariah 11. Here is a picture of the sheep doomed to slaughter.

1.       Zechariah

a.       Shepherd who devours the sheep vs 15&16

b.       The flock doomed to slaughter, sold out, vs 4&5

c.       Ezekiel 34:1-10 The priest and the leaders of Israel

2.       Another shepherd

a.       Isaiah 40:9-11

b.       High on the mountain herald of good news!

c.       Behold your God!

d.       He will tend the flock and gather the lambs

e.       Ezekiel 34:11-24

f.        God searches for the sheep

g.       Gives them good pasture

h.       Strengthens the weak

i.         Rescues the flock

3.       Jesus the good shepherd

a.       Vs 1-5 the voice of the true shepherd

b.       Jesus is the door to the goodness of God vs 7-10

c.       The shepherd who lays down his life vs 11-16

4.       We are the shepherds

a.       John 21:15-17 feed my sheep

b.       Do you love Jesus, really? Feed his sheep.

c.       Whose voice do they hear?

d.       do we use the tender voice of God?

e.       Do we go and gather them gently into our arms and carry them home?

Jesus came as the shepherd to the shepherds. Jesus has called you and I to be the new shepherds to call and find the lost. Whose voice do they hear? Is it the gentle voice of the savior seeking them out? Who’s arms wrap around them? Is it the strong gentle arms of Jesus picking them up and carrying them home? You and I are God’s shepherds of the sheep.

A Christmas Message

I read a story about a woman who collected dolls. She kept them in display cases in her home so visitors could look at them. The woman had a friend visiting who noticed three dolls on the mantel over the fireplace. She asked about them and the woman explained that these were her most valuable dolls. Her friend understood the value of two of the dolls, for they were very beautiful. But the doll in the center of the mantel was a rag doll with a torn dress, an eye missing, and an arm coming off. The friend asked about why this doll was where it is? The collector of dolls told her that this was the most valuable doll of all. And then told her the story of the doll.

This doll was her first doll, which she had lost when she was a little girl. She looked for it everywhere but could never find it. Then when her grandmother died a few years back she was cleaning out her grandmother’s house and found the doll behind some boxes in the attic. The woman looked at her friend and said some things are loved because they are valuable, but this doll is valuable because it is loved.

When I see a manger scene I often think of the doll story. I usually start with the question why? Why would Jesus leave all the splendor of heaven to be born in a cattle stall? He grew up in a common laborer’s home and then died a criminal’s death. The Bible tells us that the resurrected Jesus still bears the scars of crucifixion and will for all eternity. How could it be for you and I? In Psalm 8:4 we read “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” The Bible says that “all like sheep have gone astray” and “There is no one that is righteous, not even one.” Each and every one of us is flawed, sinful, and broken in some way. So why would God value you and I enough to come into our world that first Christmas day?

The answer is in the doll story; we are valuable to God because we are loved by God. God has chosen to love us. We don’t understand it when we look at all our flaws and brokenness but God has looked beyond these things and declared us to be special in His eyes. Because God chose to love us, there is a baby in a manger, a carpenter’s son, a man on the cross, and a lamb that was slain in heaven.

We will most likely receive gifts this Christmas, and we will place a value on these gifts for various reasons, but only one gift will place a value on us, God’s love. Because God loves us, we are valuable. Because God loves the rest of the people in this world, they are valuable to God and should be valuable to us. With all that goes on during Christmas keep in mind that you are valued enough for Jesus to come and save you, to come and find you. With all the gifts you receive treasure the gift that treasures you, God’s love. The baby in the manger, the carpenter’s son, the man on the cross, the lamb that has been slain, all for you. The best gift is the gift that makes you valuable, God’s love.

Luke 2:1-7 “No Room For Jesus”

 

Mass shootings, protest, and terrorist attacks fill our news, our world. Revelation 6:1-4 the white horse of the conquer has come and gone. The red horse which takes peace from the earth so people kill each other is now here. Politicians and news people debate what the answer is, gun control, back ground checks, surveillance, and other ideas. Everything but Jesus. Bethlehem is known as much for its violence as it is for being the Birthplace of Jesus.

1.       No Room for Jesus

a.       No room at the inn

b.      John 1:11 “He came to His own...”

c.       At his trial Luke 23:18 the crowd called out for Barabbas

d.      Acts 4:16&17 the Council warns them not to speak of Jesus

2.       Making room for Jesus

a.       Guest vs residents

b.      Your favorite famous person came to your home

c.       Personally each day, reading, prayer, some action that reflects Jesus

d.      As a family

e.      In your world, work or school

f.        The only way to bring peace to the world is to bring Jesus to the world.

Who’s decorations are on the walls of our life? Is there truly room for Jesus? Is Jesus at home in our life or just a guest? Do the people we meet each day know that Jesus lives in our life? In a few minutes we will take communion which reminds us that Jesus gave His life on the cross to make room for us. Let us commit ourselves to make more room in our lives for Him.