Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 1 Show Title Slide The Spirit of Christmas Who here is in the Christmas spirit? Yesterday my wife was getting the decorations out around the house and my son said, Why can t we just skip Christmas this year? To which I replied, Bah, Hum bug! Let s gauge your Christmas spirit. Show of hands Who here loves decking your halls, decorating the house? Hanging the lights? Raise your hands? Raise your hands? Who here is glad for singing the Christmas carols at church? Who can t wait for upcoming family visits and gatherings? Anybody visiting family this weekend and your host just said humbug? Who is having fun shopping and spending all the money? Hands? Hands? Who loves all the Christmas specials on television? Rudolf, Frosty, and The Santa Claus? Who loves all the Christmas music everywhere. White Christmas, Silent Night, It s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and all? Last one. Who here is feeling the love, joy, peace, a little more forgiveness, or a little more friendliness & kindness? Who says Bah Humbug to all that? If you said bah humbug zero times, congratulations you are officially nice. If you said bah humbug more than twice, congratulations you will be getting coal in your stocking. Naughty, naughty. There is this thing that we call The Christmas spirit. It s an attitude or a feeling. It s when we start to enjoy the holiday things and we start to act a little nicer. We are talking about The Spirit of Christmas in two other ways during this Advent season. 1. We started last week. We are looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christmas story. Even though the story is about the birth of God the Son, the Holy Spirit is active in the story. He is, in that way, the true Spirit of Christmas.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 2 And secondly, 2. We are looking at how the Holy Spirit can work in our lives to help us to be followers of Jesus who keep in step with the Holy Spirit of Christ now and all year long. We are using Galatians 5:22-23 to direct us in that. There we see how the Holy Spirit works in and through those He indwells. It says, Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The fruit of the Spirit means the things the Holy spirit produces in the life of those he indwells. Many of the these are things we associate with Christmas. And so these are the things that should deck our halls and adorn our lives at Christmas. Here is a clip from A Christmas Carol movie that illustrates our need for one or two of these fruits. See if you can tell which ones. Show video clip A Muppet Christmas Carol (11:38-15:13) Ebenezer Scrooge is the antithesis of what it means to possess and share the Christmas spirit. He possesses little, if any, of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit. He certainly does not, at the beginning of the movie, have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling and empowering these virtues in his life. And he especially has no kindness and no goodness. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Scrooge has no kindness for his family or his coworkers He has no kindness or goodness for his neighbor or fellowman. He is defiantly and insistently unkind. The Bible says, If we let the Holy Spirit lead us in our lives, he will produce in us kindness and goodness. I put these two together, not just because they sound close to us. But also because in the original Greek language the New Testament was written in, these are synonyms. They are a pair.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 3 Kindness in the original Greek is krnstatns It means kindness, benevolence, or generosity. One translation uses sweetness in one passage & a commentator I read said that is true of the word. This kind of kindness is not rolling your window half way down and giving $3 to someone with a will work for food sign. This kindness is a person who, one commentator added, possesses a sweetness, tranquility, and pleasantness of company and character. Goodness here comes from the Greek agathwsuna It is only used 4 times in the New Testament and it appears nowhere in any ancient Greek outside the Bible and later Christian literature. Good is agathos. Agathwsuna is a new form of good that the biblical authors made to convey an active goodness. It is moral uprightness that is active, not just free from immorality. The Good Samaritan was agathwsuna. His goodness was active. It is willing to give to help another person in need. When Jesus tells the parable about the workers in the vineyard, the owner of the vineyard says, Matthew 20:15 Don t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? Generous here is agathasuna goodness. It has this idea of being generous. Our benevolence is close, because benevolence conveys the idea of giving something good. Giving what is not deserved. Goodness is ctively showing your benevolence. Trench s Synonyms in the New Testament says, Kindness is potential goodness. Goodness is energizing kindness. This is goodness that is energized by kindness. Picture - NY City policeman buys homeless man boots Did you hear about this one? A New City Police man used his own money to buy this homeless man some boots last week.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 4 It was a cold night. The man had bare feet. He was sitting in front of a shoe store. The policeman went in and bought boots for $75 with his own money. A tourist snapped the picture and it went viral. That s kindness. That s goodness. Did you hear the second part? It turns out the man is not homeless and it turns out that the man was out a few nights later in bare feet. He was afraid the boots would be stolen. Some part of us says, See that s why I don t help people like that. You can t trust em and you don t know what they ll do with what you give them. Black slide A pro golfer, Robert De Vincenzo, once won a tournament and, after receiving the check and smiling for the cameras, he went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave. Later, he walked alone to his car in the parking lot and was approached by a young woman. She congratulated him on his victory and then told him that her child was seriously ill and near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor s bills and hospital expenses. De Vincenzo was touched by her story, and he took out a pen and endorsed his winning check for payment to the woman. "Make some good days for the baby," he said as he pressed the check into her hand. The next week he was having lunch in a country club when a PGA official came to his table. "Some of the boys in the parking lot last week told me you met a young woman there after you won that tournament." De Vincenzo nodded. "Well," said the official, "I have news for you. She s a phony. She has no sick baby. She s not even married. She fleeced you, my friend." "You mean there is no baby who is dying?" said De Vincenzo. "That s right," said the official. "That s the best news I ve heard all week." De Vincenzo said. That s the fruit of the Spirit kind of kindness and goodness. The kind that cares so much more for others than themselves that the good news of no sick baby overshadows the news of a deceptive woman. The kind that doesn t care if the man is a little unstable and doesn t wear his boots, We give them anyway.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 5 Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. We are to be kind even to those who do not deserve it who are ungrateful and wicked. That s hard. We are to give kindness to all, not because they deserve it, but because our God is kind And He is in us by his Spirit. Josephus, one of the first Christian author we have from after the time of Jesus, wrote that Isaac demonstrates kindness (krnstatns) in Genesis 26:19-22. Isaac moves on when Abimelech, the Philistine, tells him he has grown too numerous and that he has to leave. So Isaac goes to Gerar. Then Isaac moves on again when the shepherds in the valley of Gerar stop up his wells. Isaac is kind even to those who oppose him. Isaac is kind to those who do not deserve it. And God blesses Isaac with good land and water and peace. Black slide Here s another picture of kindness I came across. Despite his busy schedule during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often visited the hospitals to cheer the wounded. On one occasion he saw a young fellow who was near death. Is there anything I can do for you? asked the compassionate President. Please write a letter to my mother, came the reply. Unrecognized by the soldier, the Chief Executive sat down & wrote as the youth told him what to say. The letter read, My Dearest Mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty, and I won t recover. Don t sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and Father. Kiss Mary and John for me. The young man was too weak to go on, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and then added this postscript: Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln. Asking to see the note, the soldier was astonished to discover who had shown him such kindness. Are you really our President? he asked. Yes, was the quiet answer. Now, is there anything else I can do? The lad feebly replied, Will you please hold my hand? I think it would help to see me through to the end. The tall, gaunt man granted his request, offering warm words of encouragement until death stole in with the dawn.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 6 One of our Armbrust Angels, Carol Brown had a similar example from kindness in her own hospital travels. This week she wrote me about a visit she made to someone who was in the hospital... How will you show the kindness and goodness of God in your life? Colossians 3:12 says, Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. We are to put on kindness. We are to make an effort to do kindness and compassion. How will you show the kindness and goodness of God this Christmas season? Lastly let s look at the kindness of God in the Christmas story. Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. 34 How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? 35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called [c] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God. 38 I am the Lord s servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her. The angel tells Mary she is highly favored. And that she has found favor with God. That might sound like Mary has earned this special honor. But it does not mean that. The word here for favored is charis. It is the word that we translate as grace more often.
Sermon, 2012-12-09, The Spirit of Christmas week 2, The Goodness of God 7 Grace is God s unmerited favor. It is Him giving to us what we don t deserve. Mary receives a great gift from God. God bestows his kindness on Mary. His goodness is activated by his kindness and he gives of himself. His Holy Spirit comes upon her and she conceives the Son of God. His Holy Spirit overshadows her. This implies his care for her. The magi also demonstrate the generosity in the spirit of Christmas. They help a simple young family. They give of their abundant resources to help a family that does not have as much as them. They go to great lengths to show the goodness of God. God uses them to show his goodness. God blessed us with his goodness and kindness that first Christmas. He calls us to give others the goodness and kindness he has given to us. Because He is in us by his Spirit, we can do that. As we remember and celebrate his great gift, how will you show and share the kindness with others? Don t be a scrooge. Don t say bah humbug to the Christmas Spirit Embrace the Spirit of Christmas in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit of God to give you his kindness and his goodness, so you have it to give to others. Start with your family. Start with showing kindness to your spouse. Start with being kind to your parents. Then, share it with friends and acquaintances and strangers Even show it to those who haven t earned it or who don t deserve it. Because that is the Spirit of Christmas.