Christmas Celebration

 

I. We Celebrate our Savior's Birth. Luke 2:9-14 (NKJV) ⁹  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." ¹³  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴  "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" There was 400 years of silence from Heaven between the Old Testament which ended with the book of Malachi and the New Testament beginning in the book of Matthew. We are now no longer under the old covenant of law, but Matthew tells we now have a New Covenant with God through the birth of Jesus Christ. That new covenant is based on the blood of Jesus which He shed on the cross as payment for our sin. Matthew tells us that Now You and I have a Savior. A Savior is one who delivers or rescues one from destruction. The bible says in Romans 3:23 that all mankind has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Romans 6:23a (NKJV)  For the wages of sin is death, according to this scripture, The wages of our sin is death, eternal separation from God. But the verse goes on to say Romans 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So we conclude from the previous scripture that all mankind was eternally lost until Jesus came. Jesus came to save us from our sins which had held us in slavery and bondage to the devil. The angels’ message was comforting. The shepherds were told not to be afraid. The message was that “a Savior,” Christ the Lord, was born. This was good news of great joy. Throughout Luke “joy” is often associated with salvation. This news was to be proclaimed to all the people.

II. We Celebrate Jesus as Our Redeemer. He paid the penalty due us for our sins. 1Tim. 2:5-6 ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we can be forgiven our sins against a holy God. Not only do we celebrate His birth, but we also remember His death and His soon return, because it was not only His birth, but it was also by His death & resurrection that our salvation was made complete. No matter what sin we have committed we can be forgiven if we repent and ask for forgiveness and turn from our sinful ways. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Colossians 2:14 says Jesus has wiped out the handwriting of requirements [10 commandments] that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. O what great news the angel brought that night. What a truly Holy Night when Christ was born! We no longer have to carry the burden of the penalty for our sins, we are forgiven in Christ. This is good news of great joy to all people.

III. WE PRAISE GOD FOR THE GIFT OF HIS SON. [Luke 2:13-14]
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, toward men of goodwill!" Praise means the act of expressing approval, admiration or commendation. Since there were no people to praise God He opened the mouths of the angels and they began to praise God saying ^“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, toward men of goodwill!" We can learn a great lesson about praise from the angels and tonight we praise God for His wonderful gift of salvation for all mankind. We Praise Him for the love, mercy, grace, salvation, and eternal security He revealed to us thru His Son Jesus whom we worship.

Invitation: If you don't know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, now is the time to confess your sins to Him and ask Jesus to forgive you of those sins and invite Him into your life to save your soul for Heaven, and you will enjoy the greatest Christmas ever.