MESSAGE – Christmas Day 25 December 2020
Christmas.
PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS – ADVENT – 4 THEMES
HOPE, PEACE, JOY AND LOVE
What has your greeting for Christmas and others this year?
My greeting for Christmas this year has been: Christmas blessings.
May God bless you with the kind of Christmas Gifts that never, never end.
Have you ever struggled to find the perfect gift for someone you love? You want it to be meaningful to them so that they see how meaningful they are to you.
Kids and retailers love it. Parents spend months paying for it!
Still, when it is all said and done – and paid for! – Christmas means family, friends, gifts, and lasting memories.
Ever wonder what Christmas means to God? After all, it began as the celebration of His Son’s birth.
The Christ Child is more than just a convenient backdrop for the holiday festivities.
In fact, Jesus Christ came to earth for a special mission.
Plan of God
Purpose of Jesus’ birth
The Angel proclaimed it: Do not be afraid for see I am bringing you good news of great Joy – a Saviour has been born for all.
The real meaning is not wrapped up in the Baby in a manger, but in what His birth, life, death, and resurrection accomplished.
His birth set in motion a plan that eventually led Him to give the greatest love, one of sacrifice so that we can be redeemed, restored ……………………….. and that gives us and enables us to live with great Joy! Just like the Angels announced.
From God’s perspective, taken from the Bible – we can find the real meaning of Christmas from our scriptures today.
Readings …………………
Gifts or blessings that we are given from Jesus ……………..
A love that can never be fathomed
A life that can never die
A righteousness that can never be tarnished
A peace that can never be understood
A rest that can never be disturbed
A joy that can never be diminished
A hope that can never be disappointed
A glory that can never be clouded
A light that can never be darkened
A happiness that can never be interrupted
A strength that can never be weakened.
A purity that can never be defiled
A beauty that can never be marred
A wisdom that can never be baffled
Resources that can never be exhausted.
We do not just enjoy the benefits of Christ’s birth, we also become messengers of this Good News, carrying the benefits of the Word who dwells among us to all people.
Ultimately, if we don’t begin to live the word that the Word proclaims, we haven’t really heard it at all.
Let our Christmas celebrations be a time of proclamation, and of renewed commitment to being “little incarnations” of God’s Word in our small corner of the world.
Jesus reminds us that we are all made in the image of God. Even people whom we may not like or try to avoid.
In some deep, mysterious way every human being reflects something of God.
This Christmas as we celebrate that ‘God is with us’ I hope you catch glimpses of God in those you meet and especially in Jesus.
May God bless you Jesus’ presence of HOPE, PEACE, JOY AND LOVE – with the kind of Christmas Gifts that never, never end.