Re: Christmas Eve sermon writing is the hardest

Even for the most ardent of believers , it’s still easy to “lose” the awe and wonder over just how amazing the miracle of the incarnation truly is. We hear about the “true meaning of Christmas” so much growing up in church but still, it can lose its luster for us bc it becomes, rote, rehearsed to say “God came into the world as a human infant, to save His people from their sins.” Which is what you’re saying in expressing the challenge I assume?

For me I liken it to Bob Ballard, the guy who found rhs Titanic. Years after his discovery, another team of which he was not a part, found a separate portion of the titanic wreck. Ballard was asked about it in an interview and said something to the effect of “big deal, it’s a ship, it hit an iceberg , it sank. Get over it” Do you think that’s what he was saying the moment he found the wreck initially!?!? No, of course, he was jumping and screaming and celebrating … bc this was a monumental discovery… we do the same thing about Christmas… when you first encountered the living God, and learned, truly learned what He did in Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, did you jump for joy, or was it “big deal, he was born, lived, hit a cross and sank.get over it?” No! You didn’t…. Christ’s birth had cosmic consequences and encouraging your flock to rediscover something of that wonder and mystery is always a wonderful thing.. bc I’d bet that many, like myself at times, forget just how wonderful of a gift we received . That’s my thoughts. God bless !

Anaton21®

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Dec 24, 2023, 8:36 AM

Even among Christians, I think the one message that needs to be reinforced is why we celebrate this season. Christmas has been so over-commercialized that in the public eye it's no longer about celebrating the birth of our Savior, but instead is about Santa Claus, presents, family gatherings, lights and decorations. In all of the noise we have lost sight of "reason for the season". Last Sunday I talked about this very subject at the mission I work with for my church.

Luke 2: 8-14 perfectly explains what it is we are celebrating. It is the announcement of the birth of Jesus to a flock of shepherds in the field, and where they can find the baby. They then go and see for themselves, leave in wonder spreading the word to all that they saw that the Messiah was born.

It's very important to note who the birth of Jesus was revealed to first. In the time of Christ's birth, shepherds were held in low esteem, it was not a job to be desired, even if it was necessary to keep providing lambs for sacrifice at the temple. Like any other job, there's a pecking order, so not only was this lowly shepherds that it was revealed to, but the ones who were watching over the flocks at night, not during the day. Basically the lowest of the lows, yet they received the news first.

This helps to emphasize just how humble of a beginning Jesus had when He came into the world. It's something we can all recognize and learn from; from the humblest of beginnings come the greatest of things. A statement I've seen repeated often over the years helps sum this up perfectly:

- He had no servants, yet they called Him master;
- He had no degree, yet the called Him teacher;
- He had no medicines, yet they called Him healer;
- He had no army, yet kings feared Him;
- He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world;
- He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him;
- He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

From the humblest of beginnings came the greatest man in history.

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Christmas Eve sermon writing is the hardest