1 Slides 1-4 Play "Mary Did You Know" with the words displayed on the screen. Next Slide Christmas Is About Family Luke 2:1-18 Please open your Bible to Luke 2. Read Luke 2:1-18. Christmas is about family. As the emperor of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus made sure the first Christmas was about family. In verse 1, we see that he issued a decree that the entire world should be taxed. His decree caused men to return to their birthplaces with their families. All Roman Emperors assumed the name Caesar. Caesar Augustus was the second emperor of Rome. His name at birth was Thurinus, but a man named Munatius Plancus advised a name change, so his name would express grandeur, majesty, and reverence. The name Augustus was the perfect name to achieve the desired false glory. Others advised Augustus to choose the name Romulus, to make people think he was the founder of the city of Rome, but he chose Augustus. Augustus ordered a tax of the whole world. It wasn't really the entire world. Augustus was just bragging about the vastness of his kingdom. "All the world" was really the Roman Empire, which was so large and encompassing that it made the boast almost factual. It wasn't really the entire world and it wasn't really a tax. It was a census. The purpose of the decree was to create a tax roll, so that a tax could follow. In verses 3 and 4, we see that each family was required to travel to the birthplace of the husband. It was a family trip. It was an interesting decree. Caesar Augustus had no idea he was fulfilling prophesy. It was his decree that caused Joseph to go to the city of his birth. As a result, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea instead of Nazareth of Galilee. Twenty-seven years earlier, Augustus had planned a similar census, but an uprising in the Roman Empire caused a delay. Twenty-seven years earlier was not God s appointed time to send Jesus to Earth, so God delayed the emperor s intentions.
2 Ultimately, God is in control of the events of history. Can you see God's hand at work prior to the birth of Jesus? God s hand is at work today. God s hand is at work here. When the time was right, God caused Caesar Augustus to issue a census decree, which forced Joseph to go to Bethlehem, which fulfilled the prophesy that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. God worked it all out in perfect fashion. The first Christmas was about family. A family comprised of Joseph and Mary traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem. It was a long 70-mile journey. Joseph and Mary didn t have a car. There was no bus, train, or plane to take them. The journey was completed the old fashioned way, on foot and beast. For a moment, imagine that you are nine months pregnant. Men, I want you to imagine too. Is everyone ready? Imagine that you feel much larger than you usually feel. You are uncomfortable. It's difficult to sit down and to get up. Your baby moves into positions that make it hard to breathe. Your baby kicks hard against the inside of you. You are uncertain and apprehensive about your first delivery. With each pain, you wonder if it's the start of real labor. Got the picture? Now, put your self on a donkey and ride to Daytona Beach. That's how far Mary rode to the first Christmas. Can you feel the discomfort? Do you enjoy the jarring and pounding caused by each step of the donkey? Do you like traveling a dusty road for days without a shower? Is it fun to think about what will happen if labor begins out in the middle of nowhere? The road to the first Christmas was about family. It was about a young mother enduring the discomfort of pregnancy. It was about a young father doing his best to comfort his wife. It was about a family traveling to Bethlehem for a family reunion at the forced invitation of a Roman Emperor. The first Christmas was about family. The journey was long, hard, and painful, but after several dangerous days on the road, the family finally arrived in Bethlehem. They checked into a Holiday Inn Express and enjoyed lemonade and cookies. Before they settled into clean beds, Mary and Joseph each took a long soothing shower. No, it wasn't like that. There was no Holiday Inn Express. There was an inn, but there was no room for Joseph and Mary. There was no lemonade. There were no cookies. There was no shower. The dirt or straw-covered floor was the only bed. It was pri-
3 mitive. It was rough. It was dirty and smelly, but it was family. The first Christmas was about family. The family of two stayed in the barn until they became a family of three. Jesus was born and placed in a manger. A manger is a food trough for animals. I like this definition of a manger. A manger is a food basket designed to hold the Bread of Life. Praise God, the Bread of Life was born. The Messiah entered the world. God became a baby. Baby Jesus silently and permanently changed the course of history. The angels rejoiced. The shepherds came to celebrate and see the family. The world would never be the same because of this family and Jesus presence. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were a family. They traveled as a family to attend a family census. Mary delivered Jesus in the same way that a baby is born into any family. Mary and Joseph, changed cloth diapers, used spit up towels, and lost sleep as a family. Together as a family, they created the first glorious Christmas. The first Christmas was about family. This Christmas is about family. Families all over the world get together at Christmas. Some of you will travel to see family. Some of you will receive a visit from family. Families will send cards and make phone calls. They ll say, Merry Christmas, I miss you, and I love you. Families will make sure they get in touch with other family members on Christmas. Like the first Christmas, this Christmas is about family. I hope you ll get together with your family. I pray that you enjoy time with your family. If you can t, Christmas is still about family. You can call or remember family. My family will gather tomorrow on Christmas Eve. Our family has become fewer in number, as the years have passed, because we have family members who celebrate Christmas in heaven. Though we are a smaller group, we are family, and we will celebrate as a family. On Christmas Eve, we ll share a meal together. We ll have a devotion and prayer time. We ll open presents. We ll talk and laugh and remember that we have come together to honor the birth of Jesus, our Messiah, our Savior, and our Lord. We ll go to church as a family for our candle light service. It will be a fabulous family time.
4 On Christmas Day, we ll wake up and have breakfast together. We ll set a place at the table for Jesus. He s always welcome in our family. We ll have a breakfast birthday party for Jesus. Jesus will receive the special family china plate. We ll have a birthday cake for Jesus. We ll listen to Christmas music and watch each other open presents. We ll let our dog play with wadded-up wrapping paper and keep her from turning our gifts into things to shake into submission. We ll do family stuff. For my family, this Christmas will be about family. Family activities will be our focal point. We ll intentionally make our time family time. We ll talk about family things. We ll put other interests aside for family interests. As a family, we ll make Christmas more about Jesus presence than our presents. Will your family make this Christmas about family? Will you spend time with each other? Will your conversation be encouraging, kind, and supportive? Will you bring joy to each other? Will you try to make this Christmas a family time to remember for the years to come? God wants this Christmas to be about family in your family. He smiles when you gather as a family. He enjoys it when your family has a great time together. God is thrilled when your family invites Jesus to join your celebrations. He is pleased when your family time is filled with love and respect. He s overjoyed when you treat each other the way a family should treat each other. God wants your family to have a family Christmas. Christmas is about family. The first Christmas was about family. This Christmas is about family. Every Christmas is about God's family. Now, we ve arrived at the reason for the season and the main reason for this message. The first Christmas was really about God's family. This Christmas is really about God's family. Every Christmas is about God's family taking time to honor Jesus by remembering his birth. The world at large celebrates Christmas, but the celebration is about their presents not God s presence. To experience the real joy of Christmas, you must be part of God s family. To appreciate the real meaning of Christmas, you must be a member of God s family.
5 For the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary traveled as a family to Bethlehem, so that God could start his family. God s family began with the birth of his Son, Jesus. Because the first Christmas was about God s family, every Christmas is about God s family. To share the full glory of Christmas, you must be in God s family. Are you in God s family? Are you sure? Romans 8:16 says that the Holy Spirit tells your spirit that you re in God s family if you re in God s family. If you re in God s family, you know it deep inside. There is an assurance in your spirit. The assurance is planted there by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you wonder how you can join God s family. Maybe you want to know how you can become a child of God. Galatians 3:26 says, For you are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. It takes faith to join God s family. By faith, you believe that Christ Jesus left heaven to be born as a baby to a family on Earth. By faith, you accept that Christ Jesus lived without ever sinning. By faith, you acknowledge that Christ Jesus died on a cross to pay the price for your sins. By faith, you trust that Christ Jesus rose from the dead in victory over your sin. The verse on the screen says you are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus. By faith. By faith. By faith. Do you believe? Do you accept? Do you acknowledge? Do you trust? That s faith. You can become part of God s family only by faith. You can become a child of God only by faith. By faith, will you receive the present of his presence in your life? Romans 10:9-10 tells you how to exercise your faith to join God s family. That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. You must believe and confess. Do you believe in Jesus? Believing is the faith that is required to become a child of God. Will you confess that you want Jesus to be the boss of your life? That let s others know of your decision. It s the most important decision you ll ever make. You must believe and confess for your Christmas to be about God s family.
6 You can t experience the glory, majesty, fullness, joy, and power of Christmas unless you re God s child. You can become God s child by believing in Jesus and confessing that you want him to be your Lord. The first Christmas was about family. The first Christmas was the arrival of God s indescribable gift, Jesus. Jesus is a gift that saves the world and makes eternal life available to everyone who believes in Him. Do you believe? This Christmas is about family. I hope you ll be able to spend joyous time with your family, sharing encouragement and love. Every Christmas is about God s family if you re part of God s family. This Christmas can be your best Christmas, if you ll accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. This Christmas can be about God s family, if you re a member of God s family. Next Slide There is no better time to join God s family than at Christmas time. There is no better time to make a decision to accept Jesus as Lord than at Christmas time. At Christmas time, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus into the world. Today, at Christmas time, you can celebrate the arrival of Jesus into your life. Then, you ll be in God s family. Are you a member of God s family? You can be, if you will accept the Christ of Christmas! Will you? Let s pray. Next Slides For the invitation, play "Mary Did You Know," with the words displayed on the screen. Ask the congregation to sing.