The Greatest Christmas Story of All Luke 2:1-20

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1 Message for Sunday Morning, December 14, 2008 (A Christmas Message) Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister The Greatest Christmas Story of All Luke 2:1-20 (If you would please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, and just mark your place. We will get to our scripture in just a moment.) Prayer INTRODUCTION There are many Christmas stories when you stop and think about it. Charles Dicken s A Christmas Carol is probably one of the best known and most read. Who hasn t heard of Ebenezer Scrooge or the Cratchett family? More modern Christmas stories featured on TV each year include How the Grinch Stole Christmas Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. And a host of others. Although we have heard these stories time and time again, Christmas just doesn t seem like Christmas until we ve heard them retold again, does it? But as endearing as all these Christmas stories may be, they all share one thing in common. And that is, they are all fictional stories. They were all created from the imagination of the author who wrote them. -The characters aren t real. -The places aren t real. -And the events never really happened. These stories were written purely to capture the imagination of the readers.

2 At Christmas, there is one story that surpasses all other Christmas stories in greatness. It is a TRUE STORY about some REAL PEOPLE in a REAL PLACE involving a REAL EVENT that happened over 2,000 years ago. It is a TIMELESS TRUE STORY that is recorded in God s eternal word which shall never pass away. This morning for just a few minutes, I want us to think about The Greatest Christmas Story of All. The True Story of the Night God Became A Man. **************** Chances are most all of us has played a part in the retelling of this Great Christmas Story at some time or another. Who among us hasn t played the part of JOSEPH or MARY.. or one of the SHEPHERDS or ANGELS or one of the WISE MEN? Or perhaps you played less visible role like a SHEEP or DONKEY. What Is It About the Story of Christ s Birth that makes it the Greatest Christmas Story of All? Let s briefly consider three things.. (next page)

3 I. It Is A Story of Great Humility Luke 2: In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, author Philip Yancey contrasts the HUMILITY that characterized Jesus royal visit to earth with the prestigious image associated with world rulers today. Yancey writes. In London, looking toward the auditorium s royal box where the queen and her royal family sat, I caught glimpses of the way rulers stride through the world with bodyguards, and a trumpet fanfare and a flourish of bright clothes and flashing jewelry. Queen Elizabeth II had recently visited the United States, and reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved her visit. Her four thousand pounds of luggage included two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone important died while she was in the U.S. forty pints of plasma, and white kid-leather toilet seat covers. She brought along her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. A brief visit of royalty to a foreign country can easily cost twenty million dollars. In meek contrast, GOD S visit to earth took place in an animal shelter with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn King but a feed trough. Indeed, the event that divided history, and even our calendars, into two separate parts may have had more animal than human witnesses. Jesus was born in such humble circumstances he could easily have been stepped on by a mule. The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey Zondervan Publishing Co. Grand Rapids. MI Copyright 1995

4 2. Everything about JESUS miraculous birth displayed revealed an awesome display of humility. (A) Consider the HUMILITY in Jesus ATTITUDE before He was ever born into this world. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself (repeat-----he HUMBLED HIMSELF) and became obedient to death-----even death on a cross! Jesus, the only begotten Son of God..the Creator of the universe the King of all kings..the Lord of all lords humbly shrunk Himself down and down and down until He became a tiny little human embryo. (B) Consider the HUMILITY in Jesus ACTUAL birth. 1. He was born to humble people. verses 4,5 One would think God would want His Son to be born to people of royalty or nobility who could provide the very best in physical care. Instead, God chose a young Jewish peasant girl named, Mary, to be His mother. And a humble Jewish carpenter named, Joseph, to be, not Jesus biological father, but his earthly foster father.

5 2. He was also born in a humble place. verses 6,7 One would think God would want His Son to be born in one of the world s more prestigious cities like Rome or Athens or even Jerusalem. Instead Jesus was born in the humble town of Bethlehem, located about 7-8 miles southeast of Jerusalem. And how about the actual place of the birth itself? Think back to when your children were born. Probably most of you brought your children into this world in a nice, clean, sterile environment of a a hospital. And you, the mother were probably hooked up to monitors that kept a close watch on your vital signs as well as those of your baby. And no doubt your doctor and several nurses were right there by your side throughout the whole birthing process. What would you have thought if on the day you arrived at the hospital to give birth to your baby, they told you, We don t have any rooms left, but you are welcome to have your baby in the barn out behind the hospital. -Chances are you would have been demanding your rights! -Chances are you might have even filed a lawsuit against the hospital. The Lord of the Universe was born in a barn and slept in an animal feeding trough. (C) And consider the HUMILITY in the ANNOUNCEMENT of Jesus birth. verse 8 One would think God would want the NEWS of His Son s birth to be announced to every King and Queen..every Prince and Princess.to ALL of Royalty or Nobility. But instead the very first ones to receive the NEWS of Jesus birth was a group of lowly, humble SHEPHERDS who were watching over their flocks that night in the hills outside Bethlehem. 3. Everything about the birth of Jesus reveals how unlike us GOD is. Yes, one thing that makes this The Greatest Christmas Story of All is that it is a Story of GREAT HUMILITY.

6 Secondly.. II. It Is A Story of Great Holiness Luke 2: While there was certainly an air of humility surrounding the birth of Jesus, there was also an unmistakable air of Holiness. (A) For one thing, Jesus was a HOLY child. In Matthew s account of the birth of JESUS, we read: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18) When you had your first child, you probably thought this is the most special baby in all the world. You probably thought your baby was smarter and better looking than every other baby on earth. That night in Bethlehem, Mary birthed the most special child ever born. Never before and never since has a woman born a child that was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. Never before and never since has a woman who was a virgin given birth to a baby. JESUS was no ordinary child. He was a HOLY CHILD! (B) And this Holy Child was worshiped by the HOLY ANGELS the night he was born. verses 13, 14 Did the angels sing the night you were born? They didn t the night I was born either. Chances are the only ones who looked upon you and me with awe the night of our birth was our mom and dad, and maybe our grandparents and perhaps an uncle and aunt or two.

7 The night JESUS was born, God sent a great company of the heavenly hosts to praise and worship the Christ child and announce his birth to the lowly shepherds. This Holy Child was worshiped by the Holy Angels.. (C) And he received HOLY worship from the humble shepherds. Verses The fact that the shepherds were the ones who were sent to the stable that night Jesus was born teaches us a very wonderful truth about JESUS. And that is JESUS IS APPROACHABLE. Any man, no matter how lowly, how poor, how unimportant can draw near to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you or I tried to get near the President of the United States, chances are we would be tackled by one or more Secret Service agents. If you or I tried to get near some great Entertainer or Sports figure we would probably meet a human barricade of body guards. JESUS, the Son of God invites us to come near to Him, to worship Him and adore him. The humble shepherds left the stable that night, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. It Is A Story of Great Humility It Is A Story of Great Holiness And finally

8 III. It Is A Story of Great Hope 1. Have you ever thought about how different things would be had JESUS NEVER BEEN BORN? -NO gospel..no Christmas NO Easter. -NO cross.no savior NO John 3:16. -NO feeding of the 5,000..NO giving sight to blind Bartimaeus.NO resurrection of Lazarus. -NO Peter, Andrew, James and John. - NO Church NO Sunday School..NO New Testament -NO Revivals.NO Vacation Bible Schools..NO Christmas pageants. -NO Silent Night NO Away in A Manger..NO Joy to the World. -NO forgiveness.no salvation.no heaven NO eternal life NO future. 2. Don t you see? JESUS BIRTH CHANGED EVERYTHING! 3. CHRIST S BIRTH brought HOPE into a HOPELESS world! -Christ brought the HOPE OF FORGIVENESS! We had never had that before! -Christ brought the HOPE OF SALVATION! We had never had that before! -Christ brought the HOPE OF A HEAVENLY HOME! We had never had that before! -Christ brought the HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE! We had never had that before!

9 4. Jesus descended from his position of glory to a lowly position that He might raise us up from our lowly position to a position of glory. Jesus endured physical birth so that you and I might enjoy a new,spiritual birth. Jesus had an earthly mother so that we might have a heavenly Father. Jesus became a slave so that we might be free. Jesus became poor so that we might become rich. 5. Yes, one of the things that truly makes the story of Christ s birth The Greatest Christmas Story of All is the fact it is a story of GREAT HOPE! *********************** CONCLUSION If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an EDUCATOR. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a SCIENTIST. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an ECONOMIST. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an ENTERTAINER. But our greatest need was FORGIVENESS, so GOD SENT US A SAVIOR. The true story of Christ s birth is a story of GREAT HUMILITY a story of GREAT HOLINESS..and a story of GREAT HOPE. It s The Greatest Christmas Story of All!

Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.

Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. Power Hour Lesson Summary for December 25, 2016 The Savior Has Arrived Lesson Text: Luke 2:8-20 Background Scripture: Luke 2:1-21 Devotional Reading: Luke 2:1-7 Luke 2:8-20 (NIV) 8 And there were shepherds