Going into the service, I thought it was going to be a pretty good sermon. The sermon flowed fine, but it didn't seem to grab people's attention as I would have liked. We had a heat wave (80 degrees) and no AC in the sanctuary (once we switch to heat, we don't switch back until the sprint), so it may have been too hot for people to even pay attention! The story I got from a colleague was really a good addition to the sermon.
“Telling the Story”; Luke 1; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; December 24, 2025
Luke 1: 8-20
Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying,
14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[c]
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
Introduction: I imagine most of us have lived through or told some great Christmas stories,
or maybe even Christmas Eve stories,
or stories about THAT Christmas gift you received one year.
I have heard lots of great Christmas stories through the years:
the one about how at the end of the Christmas Eve service when the candles are lit, the kids somehow lit up Mom’s new fur coat.
or the story about being stranded at the airport Christmas Eve night because of weather
or the story about the young child who bought his own gifts to give for the first time in his life, and gave everyone in the family, siblings and parents alike, a garish ash tray, even though no one even smoked,
or the story about that first Christmas after a loved one died and how hard it was, but how someone helped make it special
or the story of that perfect moment on Christmas Eve when time seemed to stand still and Heaven and earth seemed oh so close.
You know those stories.
We have spent Advent looking at how the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - tell the stories of Christ’s birth
(or in some cases, do something else instead of telling stories about Christ’s brith - in fact, tomorrow, in the aftermath of opening gifts and eating too much, grab your Bible and figure out which Gospels actually have birth stories of Jesus!)
As we have reflected during on how these gospel stories Have told this incredible story of God coming in flesh, I have been struck by what great storytellers the gospel writers were.
It got me thinking about what makes a good story,
so, of course, I had to consult the Internet to see what really makes a good story.
Move 1: according to the Internet search, compelling characters and engaging conflicts make a good story.
a. the story we just read has that doesn’t it?
1. Compelling characters:
Mary - a young mother bearing God’s son
shepherds in the fields
or the innkeeper - a very minor character, but because of him the whole story takes a very dramatic shift.
if we look to the gospel of Matthew, we have wise men or magi - mysterious characters who come into the story from faraway bearing gifts
2. What about engaging conflicts?
not a lot of apparent conflict in the way Luke tells the story,
but in Matthew there is the conflict between King Herod and the new born king
and, of course, the conflict between God, who comes in Christ and the sin of the world
well, that is a pretty big conflict.
This story certainly has Compelling characters and engaging conflicts
move 2: the Internet also says “Don’t tell the reader what to feel or how to respond,”
but tonight I am going to ignore that advice because there are two things I hope you will do with this story of Christ’s birth.
a. First of all, Find yourself in the story.
1. a minister friend of mine shared this story with me just last week.
The church she serves has an after-school reading program - it sounds sort of like our Treehouse afterschool program, except it is focused totally on school work, with a strong emphasis on reading.
each young student has a study buddy, who reads with them and helps them with their homework.
one of the adult volunteers is Joe Palumbo.
he is paired with a Michael, a young boy.
They do math together, read together, do any other homework assignments together.
as you might imagine, in The weeks leading up to Christmas, they read the Christmas story several times as part of their reading together.
in fact, they had a nativity scene, and the leader would have them talk about the story after they read it as they looked at the different characters found in the nativity scene.
they would pint out , oh there’s Mary, and the shepherds, the wise men, and so on.
at the end of the semester, they had a gathering with cookies and punch for the kids, and parents, and volunteers.
the leader finished by telling the Christmas story and asking some of the students to identify the different characters in the nativity scene.
the magi,
and the sheep,
and baby Jesus had been identified already when the leader called on Michael to help her.
first, she showed him Mary, and he told everyone, “this is Mary, the mother of baby Jesus.
then, she showed him Joseph,
but Michael could not remember Joseph’s name.
he told them that he was Jesus’s Father, but he could not come up with the name.
as he was struggling to think of who Jesus’ father was,
he looks over, and there is his volunteer,
his buddy, and
friend Joe Palumbo
who is pointing to his name name tag, where it says “joe.”
Michael suddenly looked out at everyone,
smiled
and announced:
“that’s Jesus’ father - Joe Palumbo!”
The story of Christ’s birth is the story,
the non-fiction story,
of the God who comes in flesh and invites each of us to be part of the story.
2. maybe tonight you see yourself as a shepherd - an ordinary person, holding down an ordinary job.
but so moved by the story of the arrival of the Christ-child that you are compelled to act,
to go and get involved.
3. Or maybe you see yourself as a wise man or magi or wise woman - it may take you awhile to get there
you may wander around and get lost a time or two,
but you keep following the star and finally arrive with many gifts to share
4. Or maybe tonight you see yourself tonight as Mary,
ready to commit to giving yourself over to what God desires from you, even if it is a big ask with lots of risks
or maybe you see yourself more like we see Mary after the birth of Christ,
taking things in,
pondering what God is doing in your life and in the world.
more of a reflective mode.
5. Or Maybe tonight you are the innkeeper - having to deal with the reality of his job and no rooms available,
but trying to find a way to be part of the story,
offering up his stable room.
maybe that’s you.
Find yourself in the story because this story is about the God who comes as the Christ- child to find you.
b. Also, allow yourself to be transformed by the story.
1. Be transformed like the shepherds
they went from watching sheep in the night to racing off to Bethelehem
to being the ones who amaze even Mary and Joseph with the story they told about the announcement they heard from the heavens
the shepherds, who are transformed into storytellers who tell everyone they meet about the coming of God in flesh
2. Be transformed like the magi
whose lives literally changed course as they dealt with the evil of King Herod and had to go hime home a different way.
3. or be transformed like Mary, who gave herself over to God’s plans and was never the same again.
4. Or be transformed like the innkeeper
whose story we do not fully know,
but who undoubtedly was changed by the events that happened that night at his place.
The story of the coming of Christ changed the trajectory of the world,
let it change you!
Conclusion: “A story is a promise. It says: give me your attention, and I’ll give you something meaningful.”(https://www.paddyhirsch.com/what-makes-a-good-story/)
We tell the story of Christ’s birth tonight because God has fulfilled a promise in the coming of Christ.
we tell the story of Christ’s birth tonight because God has given us a promise to always be with us.
the story gives meaning to our lives.
So find yourself in the story and may your life be changed forever.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.[a]
