Three Presents (Luke 2.11)

Introduction

On the night that Jesus was born, the Bible says that there were some shepherds on the hills around Bethlehem.

And they were probably doing what shepherds always do; which is look after their sheep. They were

·         Checking that all the sheep were all O.K.

·         Making sure none of them wandered off.

·         Keeping the little lambs warm.

It was very dark. It was very quiet.

And then, all of a sudden, there was an unusual light in the night sky and a messenger from God appeared with some news for them.

But first of all, he had to say what all angels must say the minute they come into contact with any human being.

There must be standing instructions from heaven.

Job description: Angel. Page 1, first bullet point, says this: as soon as you are seen, or noticed, by any human being (man, woman or child) you are immediately to say the following three words: “Don’t be afraid.”

Right? Angels really freak people out. So everywhere you find angels in the Bible that’s always their opening line.

Anyway, once the formalities are taken care of, Luke 2.11 tells us what they say next. And here it is:

“This very day in King David’s hometown (that’s Bethlehem) a Saviour was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.”

It’s a brief announcement, just 18 words long, 107 characters. But in this simple sentence, the shepherds learn three important things about the new-born baby called Jesus.

1. He is just what everyone was hoping for

The first thing is that this baby is just what they were all hoping for.

I’ve got three presents today that I thought I’d let you watch me open. I put them all in a blue Christmas present bag but I can’t seem to find it. Has anyone seen my present bag?

Let’s open my first present. Can I have a helper to get the wrapping off..?

Well, that’s exactly what I wanted. It has been on my wishlist a long time. I was really hoping for this Nativity DVD. I heard how good it is and so I was really hoping that someone would buy it for me.

It was on TV a few years ago. The script was written by Tony Jordan. He was an atheist, he didn’t believe in God at all, and he thought the first Christmas was just a fairy story. But when he researched it all carefully to write the script, it all made sense and he came to believe that it’s true. This right here is Lambert televisual heaven.

Is there anyone here who hasn’t yet opened their presents?

·         When do you open yours..?

·         What are you hoping to get for Christmas..?

When the angel told the shepherds that Jesus was the Christ, that meant that Jesus was just what everyone was hoping for.

Because everyone had been hoping that God would send a special king who would make everything better. That’s what the word ‘Christ’ means.

Jesus is the good king that God had promised. It’s great, isn’t it, when we get a present that’s just what we were hoping for.

2. He is more than anyone expected

The second thing the angel told the shepherds was that the baby was more than they were expecting.

Let’s open my second present... Oh, it’s a card. It’s just a card.

Let’s open it up… Can someone read my card..?

It’s from Great Aunt Bessie. Oh, there’s something else in the envelope. What’s this..? Oh! There are some twenty-pound notes. Well, I haven’t seen Great Aunt Bessie for years. I wasn’t expecting that.

She’s given me 100 quid, isn’t that kind of her? That’s so much more than I thought I’d get. Aunt Bessie and I  haven’t spoken for ages.

When the angels told the shepherds that Jesus was the Lord, it meant that Jesus was more than anyone was expecting.

They thought that God would send a special king, the Christ, but no one thought that he would be the Lord; God’s Son. Jesus is the Son of God. And that’s way more than anyone dreamed of.

Has anyone opened a present today that was more than they were expecting?

Isn’t it great when we get a present that’s just what we were hoping for and more than we were ever expecting? That’s who Jesus is.

3. He is exactly what we all really need

The third thing that the angel told the shepherds was that the baby was just what they needed.

Let’s open my third present...

It’s a woolly hat. Well, that’s just what I need. I’ve got no hair on my head to keep me warm in the winter and it gets really cold some days, so this hat is perfect.

When the angels told the shepherds that a Saviour was born for you, they realised that Jesus was just what they needed.

Everyone knew that it’s impossible to save ourselves to become friends of God. If we want to be friends with God, we need someone called a saviour to make it possible.

Jesus is the Saviour that God sent. And that’s exactly what we need.

Conclusion

It's brilliant when we get a present that’s

·         just what we’re hoping for

·         more than we were expecting

·         exactly what we need.

God has already given us the best present we could ever get because he gave us His Son, Jesus.

·         the Christ, the good king who takes care of everything;

just what everyone hopes for

·         the Lord, not just a person like you and me but God’s Son as well; more than anyone ever expected

·         the Saviour, who came to make us friends with God;

exactly what we all really need

I’m going to end with a short video of my friend Gram Seed. Some of you know him. He’s a real person who lives in Stockton.

Gram used to be a violent thug, a hooligan, a drug addict, in and out of prison, and an alcoholic tramp living on a bench.

His story shows just how much God loves us and what an amazing saviour he is.

Merry Christmas…

All-Age talk at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 25 December 2017

Adapted from a resource found on The Urban Pastor