What If There Were No Christmas (December 1, 2024)
Sermon Outline for Sunday, December 1, 2024
PASSAGES: Isaiah 12:1-6
This morning as we sit here or join on Live Feed, we all have one thing (I HOPE) in common. We are all Christians. We are Christians because someone was a missionary in our life. Someone, either mom, dad, grandparents, someone told you about Christ. Now that conversation could have happened in so many different ways, but the point is, it happened. You were communicated about the wonderful deeds of God that are revealed in the life, death and living presence of Jesus Christ. This is facts that are not, or should not be, guarded secrets of the gospel, but treasured and able to be shared.
We are the recipients of the blessings of our faith because of the missionary discipleship activities of others. The shepherds went forth from the stable with a story to tell. The wise men came bringing their best gifts and returned to their land by another route, communicating the good news of what they had discovered. The apostles gave themselves without reservation to sharing the good news. The early disciples went everywhere spreading the gospel. Our spiritual fathers and mothers were communicators of the good news the angels sang about and the shepherds told about.
What if there were no Christmas?
Isaiah 12:1–6 ~ “You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.””
Christmas means different things to different people. To some Christmas is about Santa Claus. To others it means a Christmas tree and presents. To some Christmas is a time for visiting relatives and eating lots and lots of good food. To some Christmas is a time for communication between friends; card and letters are exchanged.
However, to others, Christmas is a time of escape from the realities of life through drugs and alcohol. More alcoholic beverages are purchased and consumed during the Christmas season than any other time of the year. This shows us that there is much pain in our land and people are in need … in need of what you might ask.
Christmas really means a time of celebrating the communication from God to the earth through His only begotten Son a message and a plan of salvation for all mankind. God communicated through angels, shepherds, disciples and through His Son and He continues to communicate His love to the world through His church; this is where you and I come in to this plan.
Yes, we need to tell the good news of Jesus Christ year round, but Christmas is a time we have a grand opportunity to share the good news of Jesus and have no excuse to NOT share. Think about it: Christmas Cards, Christmas Carols, Christmas Services at Church, and the list can go on and on. Christmas is a wonderful time of the year and a great time we have set aside to celebrate the birth of our risen Savior.
In 1870, President Ulysses Grant declared Christmas a national holiday to encourage a sense of unity in the county after the Civil War. In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison set up a Christmas Tree in the White House for the first time. Some traditions that have stayed with the celebration of Christmas include: Christmas Trees, exchanging of gifts and cards, hanging stockings, wishing others well, donating to charities, just to name a few. Yes, some believe that Christmas is a pagan ritual and believe that Christians shouldn’t have anything to do with it; however, when you look back to the Roman church and the start of the Christmas celebration, you find a change of celebration to weaken and separate from pagan traditions. Christmas is yet another event that the devil has tried to take away from Christian.
What if there were no Christmas? I am glad we have Christmas! Yes for the food, songs, gifts, but most importantly for the time we set aside to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!! Don’t let this Christmas season slip by without telling someone the good news of Jesus and the plan of salvation He brought to the world. Aren’t you glad we have Christmas?
Pastor Andy Lambert
Call/Text: 205.642.8744 ext 101