The worship service on Christmas Eve almost does not need a sermon! Hopefully, this sermon pointed to the truth the music and the Scripture shared without distracting from it.
“Looking for God? Found God”, Luke 2: 1-20; Christmas Eve, 2024; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church;
8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 15When 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.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Introduction: During Advent, we have been looking for God in our sermons each week.
Someone told me they did not know God was lost,
But nevertheless we have spent Adevnt looking for GOD: looking for God in the future; looking for God in our personal lives; looking for God in repentance; looking for God in Bethlehem (this Sunday we are going to be looking for God among the 12 yr olds).
But tonight, tonight we announce to the world
and claim for ourselves,
that those who have been looking for God have found God.
We have found God in the child born to Mary,
the Son of God has arrived in our midst.
it is a moment of clarity that bring us comfort and gives us confidence.
Move 1: tonight brings us clarity
a. The angel of the Lord announces to the shepherds,
announces to us,
announces to all the world:
“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
God has chosen to live among us by coming as the Christ-child,
and the Christ-child is the messiah who comes to save us.
b. To be clear - or TBC in texting language - God has entered human history to change its trajectory..
1. that’s why Luke starts the story by mentioning it was taking place in the time of Emperor Augustus
in the time when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
2. We do not tell some story this evening that took place in a time long ago,
or a galaxy far away
or in a place of our imagination.
The story we tell this evening is about God choosing to live in the world God created,
among the people God created,
to save and redeem us in the confines of human history and the reality of our lives.
c. The world may not be exactly what we want it to be.
things still happen that we may not be able to explain
God’s plan may unfold differently than we want or on a timeline less exact than we would like
But we know and declare this truth:
God has transformed the world by coming in flesh,
We no longer have to wonder how much God desires to be with us and to save us.
God has answered in the birth of Christ - a moment of clarity.
Move 2: Tonight we also find comfort in the God who chooses to be with us.
a. On a glorious night of worship and celebration, we know that storms, literally surround us.
some of us gather here desperately looking for something to cling to in the midst of the storms in our lives.
for some, death has claimed the lives of loved ones who are not gathering with us for Christmas this year;
for others, the future looks uncertain as our job situations are are unclear;
for some, broken relationships dampen the joyous spirit;
for others, looming medical issues await.
We arrive here tonight as broken people to hear the good news:
God chooses to join with us wherever we are.
b. I think youth groups in every church, or at least every Presbyterian church I have served, like to roam the church in the darkness of the night.
Our own Sr. highs did it just last Friday night.
1. churches like St. andrew can have very dark places.
2. Several games you can play - capture the flag; tag; hide and seek.
3. But my favorite is sometimes called sardines, although I liked to call it Lost Sheep.
maybe you know the game. One person goes and hides in some dark, out of the way place,
and then the rest of the group goes to find the hidden youth.
When someone finds the person hiding, instead of yelling out their discovery and beginning a race in the darkness back to base,
they instead join wiht them in that dark spot, waiting until the next person finds them and joins with them
4. tonight, that game has happened for all of us.
God has come into the darkness of our world and joined with us.
wherever you are,
whatever the challenges you face,
however desperate your life seems
you are not alone.
God has chosen to be with you, to comfort you.
Move 3: Finally, we leave tonight with confidence
a. what a time the shepherds had in this stroy.
1. they begin at work, not aware that their lives were about to transformed.
the angel of the Lord appeared in the night and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified!
2. The angel tells them: “Do not be afraid”
and suddenly they are swept up into the mystery,
the power,
the incredible story of God’s love unfolding before them.
3. they drop everything and race to Bethlehem,
unsure of what they might find,
but risking it all to see if the words of the angel are true.
and they discover the Christ-child alive and in their midst.
b. their lives are changed forever.
1. then they return - glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
2. Can’t you see them headed back to the fields from Bethlehem.
No fear,
just unabashed confidence gushing out of them
as they shout out to everyone they meet along the way.
“the Messiah has come!”
“God has come to save us.”
“no need to fear - God is with us.”
Their fear replaced with confidence in the God who comes to save and redeem them,
who comes to save and redeem us.
A night of confidence.
Conclusion: Martin Luther in his Christmas Day 1530 sermon told the nativity story, in which he portrayed the world as a darkened stage illumined by a solitary pinprick of brilliant light, the Christ.
After telling the story of the incarnation, he suddenly drops the storytellerÕs mask and pierces the veil that always exists there between artifact and audience by concluding: “And if this story is true—and it is truth—then let everything else go
Tonight is a night of clarity that bring comfort and fills us with confidence because we have found God in the Christ-child.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph 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. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And 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 for them in the inn.
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