Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12 Call to Worship: When Christ drew near to dwell with men and bear with man His earthly lot, He brought the knowledge of the Lord to sinful hearts which knew Him not. When Christ drew near with pardoning love and freed men from remorse and tears, His triumph over death assured their victory over sins and fears. When Christ draws near His own today; the fullness of His power to give, The Holy Spirit makes Him known, and by His life we all may live. Draw near, O Christ, unveil Thy face, the God of Glory and of grace; My heart reveal, with pardon seal, and bring me to Thy holy place. (New SASB #130) Songs: 75/413 Come and Worship (100/702 new) 85/552 O Come All Ye Faithful (116/496 new) 90/816 The First Noel (126/857 new) Here I Am to Worship (114/653 new) Benediction: Glorious now behold Him arise, King and God and sacrifice, Alleluia, alleluia Earth to the heavens replies. (New SASB #129) HallelujahBreakdown.com 1
Advent Reading Reader 1: The tradition of gift-giving is possibly the most exciting and most people s favorite part of the Christmas season. We give and receive gifts throughout the season with the most anticipated of these events being Christmas morning. Reader 2: We make lists of the people in our lives that we care for the most. We painstakingly search for the perfect gift for each one. We lovingly wrap or package each one and place them under the tree to await their joyful delivery. Reader 1: The excitement of receiving a gift is the fuel for many children during this time. Some shake boxes or take peeks under the wrapping paper to see what is in store. Reader 2: This tradition is a reminder of the Wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. All over the world, families and friends give presents to each other. Most children around the world believe in a Christmas gift bringer. It's often St. Nicholas, Santa Claus or Father Christmas. Reader 1: These presents are also left in different places! In most of Europe, the presents are left in shoes or boots put out by the children. In Italy, the UK and the USA presents are left in stockings, often left hanging by a fire place. In many countries, presents for friends and family may be left under the Christmas Tree. Reader 2: The origins of the giving of gifts is found in Matthew 2 - After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. HallelujahBreakdown.com 2
Advent Reading Reader 1: In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written: 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. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 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. Reader 2: 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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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. Reader 1: As we light the candle of Love may we be reminded of God s great love for us and praise Him with adoration. Light the fourth candle. HallelujahBreakdown.com 3
Title: The Gifts We Bring Scripture Reference: 1 John 4:7-12 Introduction: We three kings of Orient are; Bearing gifts we traverse afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. O star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright, Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect Light. (New Salvation Army Songbook song #129) Point 1: We Bring our Gold (v.7-9) Explanation (WHAT is happening in the Scripture?): Most Christmas sermons rarely travel outside of the four gospels. This morning we take a look at the book of 1 John, to the insight of the purpose of the Christmas celebration, the reason for the season, and the birth of the Christ Child. Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling. In reality, love is a choice and an action, as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows. God is the source of our love: He loves us enough to sacrifice His Son for us. Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything he did in life and death was supremely loving. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love; he lives in our hearts and makes us more and more like Christ. God s love always involves a choice and an action, and our love should be like his. (Life Application Study Bible) Argument (WHY is it important?): John says, God is love, not Love is God. Our world, with its shallow and selfish view of love, has turned these words around and contaminated our understanding of love. The world thinks that love is what makes a person feel good and that it is all right to sacrifice moral principles and others rights to order to obtain such love. But that isn t real love; it is the exact opposite selfishness. And God is not that kind of love. Real love is like God, who is holy, just, and perfect. If we truly know God, we will love as he does. Love explains (1)why God creates because he loves, he creates people to love; (2) why God cares because he loves them, he cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died his love for us caused him to seek a solution to the problem of sin; and (5) why we receive eternal life God s love expresses itself to us forever. (Life Application Study Bible) HallelujahBreakdown.com 4
Application (HOW does it apply to their lives?): Born a king on Bethlehem plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never Over us all to reign. (new SASB #129) The Lord of Love is King over all. The gift the Magi brought to the Christ child was gold. Gold was a gift for a king, and the Wise men presented this gift to the King of Kings. They were wealthy men with a world of experience, but they bowed before the small child. The gift that we bring the King is humility. To realize our humanity and our need for a Savior. We bring to the King the gift of reciprocated love. He created us out of love to love. He offered us the free gift of life through the life of His Son, Jesus. We accept this gift and in turn, our command is to love God and love others. If we are not showing love to others, we are not showing love for God. Of the Father s heart begotten, Ere the world from chaos rose, He is Alpha: from that fountain All that is and hath been flows; He is Omega, of all things, Yet to come the mystic close, Evermore and evermore. By His Word was all created; He commanded and twas done; Earth and sky and boundless ocean, Universe of three in one, All that sees the moon s soft radiance, All that breathes beneath the sun, Evermore and evermore. (New SASB #119) Point 2: We Bring Our Myrrh (v. 10) Explanation (WHAT is happening in the Scripture?): John says that love is not that we love God, but that even though we are all sinners, He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Romans 5:8 reads, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Scripture goes on to say in verse 18, Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. HallelujahBreakdown.com 5
Argument (WHY is it important?): This one verse can sum up the entirety of history and the Scriptures. The perfect world that God created with perfect people was disrupted by sin. Because of Adam s sin all people born thereafter were sinners. But God had a rescue plan. He did not turn his back on mankind when we turned our backs on Him. Through it all, He still loved His creation. He loved them so much, in fact, that He gave of His heart, His only son, so that we could be redeemed from that sin and rejoin Him in that perfect relationship that was originally intended. Would it be easy? Definitely not. Would it be worth it? Extremely. We cannot celebrate the birth of the Savior without also acknowledging the reason behind His coming in the first place. The world needed a Savior, so God sent one. Nothing sinful or evil can exist in God s presence. He is absolute goodness. He cannot overlook, condone, or excuse sin as though it never happened. He loves us, but his love does not make him morally lax. If we trust in Christ, however, we will not have to bear the penalty for our sins. We will be acquitted by his atoning sacrifice. (Life Application Study Bible) The Scripture tells us that the penalty for sin is death. The Israelites sacrificed animals for the forgiveness of sin. The payment was blood. This newborn baby Jesus was born as a sacrifice for mankind. It seems cruel to think about on the bright light of Christmas morning, but the purpose of the birth of the Messiah was for the gloom of the day on Calvary. The moment when the perfect Lamb of God took on the sins of the entire world. The moment when God turned away from the sight of all that sin. The moment when our debt was paid. Application (HOW does it apply to their lives?): Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume Breathes a life of gathering gloom; Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, Sealed in a stone cold tomb. (New SASB #129) The gift of myrrh that the Wise men brought to the young child might strike some as odd. Myrrh was the perfume of death. Generally it was applied to a corpse to mask the smell of decay. This was not your traditional welcome gift. But this gift of myrrh foretold the fate of the baby. The Suffering Servant and the Redeemer. The gift we bring is that of recognition and repentance. We must first of all recognize our need for a Savior. We know from the Scriptures that we are all born sinners, and are thus, in need of a Savior. In the world today, it is easy to see that most people ignore this need. We are lulled into thinking that we are fine on our own, that we don t need God. So the gift we can bring to God this morning is the recognition that our sin separates us from Him, and that breaks His heart. HallelujahBreakdown.com 6
When we acknowledge or need for a Savior, we can then bring Him the gift of repentance. Repentance is the turning away from sin and wrongdoing. This repentance is made possible by the great gift of love through Jesus Christ. The purpose behind his birth, death, and resurrection was so that we could be returned to a right relationship with God. So that YOU could share in this joy with Him. The absolute greatest gift we could bring to God is ourselves. He rejoices for each person who accepts salvation. And the Church rejoices with you. He assumed this mortal body, Frail and feeble, doomed to die, That the race from dust created, Might not perish utterly, Which the dreadful Law had sentenced in the depths of Hell to lie, Evermore and evermore. (New SASB #119) Point 3: We Bring Our Frankincense (v.11-12) Explanation (WHAT is happening in the Scripture?): John sums up his point by emphasizing our responsibility to love others in response to God s love. He says that even though no one has physically seen God, they can see his love through how we love others. When we have recognized our need for a Savior and accepted his forgiveness through repentance it is then our responsibility to love others with the love of God. God s love is the source of all human love, and it spreads like fire. In loving his children, God kindles a flame in their hearts. In turn, they love others, who are warmed by God s love through them. (Life Application Study Bible) Argument (WHY is it important?): If no one has ever seen God, how can we ever know him? John in his Gospel said, the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. Jesus is the complete expression of God in human form, and he has revealed God to us. When we love one another, the invisible God reveals himself to others through us, and his love is made complete. (Life Application Study Bible) HallelujahBreakdown.com 7
Application (HOW does it apply to their lives?): Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity night. Prayer and praising, all men raising, Worship Him, God most high (New SASB #129) The Magi brought the gift of frankincense to the Prince of Peace. Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship. This showed that the baby Jesus was God s Son and worthy of our worship. The gift we bring is our worship. That worship comes in the form of love as described in this passage of Scripture. It is easy to say we love God when that love doesn t cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us our family members and fellow believers. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in his image. (Life Application Study Bible) Our worship means the most to God when it comes from a pure and loving heart. This is how the world will know that we belong to God when we love others as God loves us. When we bring our gift of worship collectively and individually we give God the glory and honor that is due Him. He loves us and gave us such a great gift and our worship is the only fitting response. Sing, ye heights of Heaven, His praises; Angels and archangels, sing! Wheresoe er ye be, ye faithful, Let your joyous anthems ring, Every tongue His name confessing, Countless voices answering, Evermore and evermore. (New SASB #119) Recap/Summary/Closing: The Magi brought gold, myrrh, and frankincense to celebrate the birth of Jesus. These gifts recognized his position as king, foretold his death, and honored him in worship. John also recognizes God s position as a king who loves his creation so much that he provided a Savior from sin, Jesus sacrifice as that redeeming love, and our response to this great gift through loving God and others. HallelujahBreakdown.com 8
Altar Call/Time of Commitment: As we reflect on the gifts of the Wise men and the tradition of gift-giving itself, consider what gifts you are bringing in celebration of the birth of Christ this year. Are you bringing the gift of humility of a fallen creation? Are you bringing to Him the most important gift of a repentant heart? And are you bringing to Him the gift of pure worship in the form of Christ-like love? This morning I challenge you to bring these gifts to Him and lay them at his feet at this place of prayer. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior, there is no better time than now to do so. As we celebrate His birth we also recognize His sacrifice and resurrection. God loved us, God loved you, so much that He was willing to give His Son so that you could be saved. He gave us the greatest gift of all and what He asks in return is our hearts turned toward repentance. It is not too late to accept His gift as you offer yours to Him. This is also the time for recommitment and rededication. If you have at one point allowed Jesus into your heart but have pushed Him to the side or replaced Him with worldly things, I urge you to make room for Him today. Bring to Him the gift of love. Our response to Him is to love like He does. To love God and to love people, these are the greatest commandments. What gifts do you bring today? HallelujahBreakdown.com 9
Children s Sermon Wrap 3 boxes and bring them in for this lesson. In one box place a crown, in another a cross, and in the last box place a heart (felt or cutout, etc.) The Wise men brought gifts to celebrate Jesus birth. These three gifts symbolize what gifts we can bring to Jesus. 1. (Open the first box.) The Wise men brought Jesus a gift of gold. They brought Him this gift because Jesus is God s Son, the King of Kings. He is the greatest Ruler of the whole world. God created the world and loves us. 1 John 4:7-9 says: Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. The person who loves has become God s child and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. (ICB) The gift that we can bring to Jesus is letting Him know that we know that He is the King and by following His instructions. 2. (Open the second box.) The Wise men brought Jesus a gift of myrrh. Myrrh was a perfume used when someone died and was buried to make them smell nice. When the Wise men brought myrrh for Jesus they were showing that one day Jesus would die for the sins of the world. 1 John 4:10 says, True love is God s love for us, not our love for God. God sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins. We are all born sinners and we do wrong things that break God s heart. But Jesus died on the cross so that our sins can be forgiven and we can share a special friendship with God. The gift we can bring to Jesus is a desire for forgiveness. When we ask Jesus into our hearts to be our Savior from sin, it makes God very happy so happy that He could throw a party! That is a great gift to give Jesus. 3. (Open the 3rd box.) The third gift the Wise men brought Jesus was called frankincense. Frankincense was something that was used in the Jewish religious ceremonies for worship. When the Wise men brought this to Jesus they bowed down in worship. 1 John 4:11-12 tells us that we can worship God by loving Him, but also by loving others. When we show love to others, we are showing love to God. When we show love to others, we are also showing them how much God loves them. And so the love goes around and around to everyone. This morning I want you to think about the three gifts the Wise men brought and the gifts we can bring to God. If you want to give God the gift of your heart and ask Jesus to live in your heart as your Savior from sin, pray with me. (Lead children in a version of the sinner s prayer thanking God for Jesus, recognizing their sin and need for a Savior, and inviting Jesus to come into their hearts and help them live a good life full of love that is pleasing to God.) HallelujahBreakdown.com 10