Rev. David Holwick ZN What We Bring To Christmas, #2
First Baptist Church [better received than I expected]
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 9, 2007
Luke 2:8-17
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I. Shepherds are cool.
A. The most fun role in a Christmas pageant.
1) Simple costume - bathrobe and maybe a crook.
2) Little if any speaking.
3) Easy to pack with extra people.
4) You don't have to look after real sheep.
B. What did shepherds bring to the first Christmas?
1) They didn't bring any gifts.
a) Fortunately none were expected, because shepherds were
usually poor.
2) They brought their presence.
a) They obeyed the angels and went.
b) Their experience was a one-shot deal.
3) They brought a sense of wonder.
a) We know they were excited at the angels' words.
b) After seeing the baby Jesus, they rushed to tell others.
1> The other people are said to be amazed.
2> I imagine the shepherds were, too!
C. Wonder may be the best Christmas gift of all.
1) How is your "wondering"?
II. When the wonder is lacking.
A. Not many see wonder in the church these days.
1) Writer Jim Buchan saw his own worship getting routine and
boring, so he did a study of the Bible.
2) The gospels stress how the ministry of Jesus really amazed
people.
a) They came from far and wide.
b) They crowded him.
1> At least 16 large crowds are mentioned in Mark 1-12.
2> At times they had trouble eating, walking or even
teaching (he resorted to boats).
c) They touched him. Mark 5:31
d) They dug through roofs for him. Mark 2:4
e) They were amazed by his miracles, and by his teaching.
3) So Jim figured the problem was with him, not Jesus.
a) Jim isn't the only one who feels this way. #1393
b) Why is this so?
B. Impact of science.
1) It seems the more we understand, the less we are amazed.
a) The world becomes mechanical, soulless.
Charles Darwin described something fascinating in his
autobiography.
He said that when evolution had become absolutely
entrenched into his consciousness, he lost all
interest in the arts and in music.
The romance of life had drained away from him. #22607
b) Even religious people have fallen into this trap.
Liberal New Testament scholar Rudolph Bultmann rejected
a supernatural worldview.
Whenever he interpreted the Bible, first he stripped
out the miracles.
He did believe God created everything, but after that
he took a back seat.
2) Famous saying by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
So, the better our technology becomes, the less we
need the wonder of religion, etc.
C. Impact of miracles.
1) When we focus on rare stupendous events (so rare we may
never see one) we miss the wonder of everyday life.
2) Fourteen centuries ago, Gregory the Great preached this in
a sermon:
"If a dead man is raised to life, all men spring up in
astonishment.
Yet every day one that had no being is born [in other
words, an ordinary baby], and no one is amazed....
Because the dry rod of Aaron budded, all men were
astonished;
But every day a tree is produced from the dry earth, and
no one wonders.
"Five thousand men were filled with five loaves; ... every
day the grains of seed that are sown are multiplied in
a fullness of ears, and no man wonders.
"Full of wonder then are all the things which people never
think to wonder at, because by habit they have become
dull to the consideration of them."
#6917
D. Impact of sentimentality.
1) Christmas is famous for this.
a) Little kids are wide-eyed at the thought of presents
and treats.
b) But as a result, a sense of wonder during the season
is written off as child-like, not for adults.
2) Christmas should be amazing.
a) The eternal, all-powerful Creator has become one of
us, and then he died for us.
b) If you really grasp this truth, you can't be ho-hum
about Christmas.
c) If you're still jaded about it, you probably only
THINK you are a Christian.
III. Our wondrous God.
A. He is beyond our comprehension.
1) God is different from us - his thoughts are not our thoughts.
a) Yet we can catch glimpses of his greatness by what he
does.
b) After the parting of the Red Sea, Moses sang:
"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who is like you -- majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory, working wonders?" Exod 15:11
B. His wonders are all around us.
1) Intricacy of creation, including us.
a) The psalmist noted, we are "fearfully and wonderfully
made." Psalm 139
b) Just check out the little babies among us.
c) Even the vastly increasing knowledge of the universe
should add to our appreciation for God, not subtract.
1> God is bigger than we ever dreamed.
2) Unknowingness of the supernatural.
a) We sense there must be more, but we cannot see it.
b) Perhaps we glimpse it in an answered prayer.
3) Our personal relationship with Christ.
a) God can do more than you ask or can even imagine.
b) A sense of wonder that we are forgiven.
IV. Recapturing amazement.
A. Meditate and ponder.
Spend some quiet time meditating on what God has done in your
life.
I like to come into this sanctuary when it is completely quiet
and dark, maybe with just one candle lit.
You will be amazed at the blessings you will recall.
B. Read.
It is beneficial to read stories of Christians who have
accomplished great things, or overcome great obstacles.
C. Stretch your faith.
Many are bored with their faith because they are not using
their faith.
Get involved in a ministry here at the church, or out there all
on your own, and you'll see God do amazing things.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 1393 "Is Your God Too Boring?" by Jim Buchan, Discipleship Journal #52,
July-August 1989, p. 52.
# 6917 "Miracles Are All Around Us," by St. Gregory The Great, Rev. Brett
Blair's Illustrations by Email, www.sermonillustrations.com,
April 15, 2001. The quote is from Gregory's MORALIA (translated:
Morals on the Book of Job, 1844-50) and adapted by David Holwick.
Gregory I was Pope from A.D. 590 to 604.
#22607 "Blessed By Wonder," by Jill Carattini, A Slice of Infinity: Ravi
Zacharias International Ministries; http://www.gospelcom.net/slice/,
February 13, 2003.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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