“The People Around Jesus”
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Prodigal God Series; Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
(from the book The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller)

Introduction: This week we begin a new sermon series on the “Parable of the Prodigal,” found in the gospel of Luke chapter 15, and we will relate this series to our Monday night Bible study as well. The Random House Dictionary (2009) first defines the “prodigal” as an adjective: 1) wastefully or recklessly extravagant: prodigal expenditure. 2) Giving or yielding profusely; lavish; 3) Lavishly abundant; profuse. It then defines “prodigal” as a noun: A person who spends, or has spent, his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance; spendthrift.
The term “prodigal” is used in Jesus’ well-known parable and we are quick to apply it to the younger son. But, as we study the “Parable of the Prodigal” we discover it is an even more accurate description for another central figure. Let us take some time to do an overview of the parable.

I. The Essentials- (Luke 15:11-32; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
The story of the Prodigal is really about the essentials of the Christian message,
or what we know as the gospel. While many Christians believe they understand the basics of the Christian faith, it never hurts to remember the basics, and in fact, when we look at the basics more than once, we will gain much more each time we return. It is easy to forget the radical nature of the gospel, and the radical nature of God! Sometimes, the longer you are a Christian, you tend to forget. This series will help us to look at the three main characters of the story, the father, the elder son, and the younger son, and understand God, and God’s relationship with us more fully.
Of course you probably know the story, and we just read the passage, but let me summarize for a moment: there is a father who has 2 sons. The younger asks for his share of the inheritance, he receives it, and promptly leaves for a far away country, where he spends his inheritance on frivalous pleasure. He returns home, asks for forgiveness, and to his surprise receives it with open arms from his father. But the elder brother alienates his younger brother, and gets very angry at the whole situation. The story closes with the father appealing to the elder brother to join in the celebration, and to welcome back and forgive the younger brother.
Because we know the story well, it is easy to lose the intensity and excitement of the story. If we allow ourselves to really take it in, then we will be changed in how we understand Christianity. It is a parable that can truly encourage, enlighten and help us to know God’s heart, and God’s desires.
I encourage us all, that as we go through this series, we will wrestle with the concepts that God is trying to teach us here, and let it deepen our faith in Christ. The Monday night Bible study will be an excellent time for us to process this all the more, and to join together in our growth. It will also help us to understand the Bible as a whole, as we realize that it is not right to single out the younger brother as the sole focus of the story. Even Jesus didn’t call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son. As the story starts: “a man had two sons.” The narrative is as much about the elder brother as it is about the younger brother, and as much about the father as it is about the sons.
We will learn that what Jesus says about the older brother is one of the most important messages in the Bible, and how the father responds is as important too. A better name for the parable could be “The Two Lost Sons.” Prodigal really means, “to spend until you have nothing left.” This term is therefore appropriate for describing the father in the story. The father’s welcome to the repentant son was literally reckless, because he refused to hold the son’s sins against him, or to demand a return payment. We see this response offended the older son, and the local community.
In this story, was is so telling is that the father represents the Heavenly Father Jesus knew so well. As the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:19- “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses.” Jesus is showing us that God is a God of great expense, willing to spend everything on us, His children. Our greatest hope then is found in this God of reckless grace. This is what should create the desire to seek out God all the more so that change might happen in our lives!

II. The People Around Jesus-
a. Two kinds of people- As I said before, most of the time when we read
this parable, we think about the younger son. The biggest reason is because in many Bibles the passage is titled “The parable of the prodigal son,” and so the focus is placed on the younger son. This morning I want us to see the bigger meaning of the parable, because in both sons, we can see different ways that we alienate God, and there are different ways to seek acceptance into the kingdom of heaven.
I started out this morning reading the first 2 verses of chapter 15 because it gives us the historical setting. Jesus is telling the story to two groups of people: on the one side you have those who are categorized as tax collectors and sinners. On the other side you have the Pharisees, who represent the teachers of the law; the religious leaders; those who are supposed to be following and living for God. Both of these groups of people had come to listen to Jesus.
If we are to understand what Jesus is doing with the parable, we see that Jesus is placing the tax collectors and sinners (who observe neither the moral laws of the Bible nor the ceremonial laws of the religious Jews; and engage in wild living) he is placing them in line with the younger brother who leaves home to experience wild living. The other group, the Pharisees, are placed in line with the elder brother. They held to traditional morality, and studied and obeyed the Scripture. They worshipped faithfully, and prayed continually.
The first two verses of the chapter is a summary of the responses we will understand from the younger and elder brothers. There was something about Jesus that brought both groups to him, even though they responded to Jesus in different ways. And Jesus was very open to receiving both groups because He knew they both needed the teaching of God in their lives. And yet, we see that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were not open to the other group, as they complained: “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.” They couldn’t understand why Jesus wasn’t condemning them. They didn’t believe that Jesus was telling them the truth like the Pharisees would.
So to whom is Jesus really directing this teaching? It is to the second group that Jesus is trying to impact. It is in response to their attitude against the tax collectors and sinners that leads Jesus to this story. This parable is meant to look at the soul of the elder brother, as it climaxes with a powerful plea from the father to change his heart.
While it is easy to get caught up in focusing on how the father forgives the younger son when he comes back, and this should be a focus of ours, unfortunately we have gotten too caught up in that, and missed the point that Jesus meant for His original listeners. It is about God loving us no matter what we’ve done. And so, we see that the target is about religious people who do everything the Bible requires. Jesus is pleading with the moral insiders through this story. Jesus wants to show them their blindness, narrowness, and self-righteousness, and how these things are destroying both their own souls, and the lives of the people around them. It is a mistake to view it as a story just about the younger brother.
Unfortunately, we see that the intended listeners’ hearts were not softened, but rather they were offended and infuriated by Jesus’ teaching. They, who had hard hearts, did not let this story penetrate their heart.
Through this parable Jesus challenges what nearly everyone thought about God, sin, and salvation. His story relates the destructiveness of self-centeredness (the younger brother), and condemns the elder-brothers moralistic life in the strongest terms. Jesus is telling us that both the irreligious and the self-righteous are both spiritually lost, and their paths lead to dead ends.
b. Why people like Jesus and not the church- The truth is, both the
younger brother and the older brother are with us today; living in the same society, and maybe even in the same family.
As family structures have been observed, it is usually the oldest sibling in the family that is the parent-pleaser. The younger sibling tends to be more of the rebel; the free spirited one. The first child often grows up and takes a conventional job, settling near mom and dad, while the younger sibling goes off to experience life less conventionally, and not usually in the vicinity of their parents.
In today’s society, we see how many people consider themselves non-religious or even anti-religious. They believe moral issues are highly complex and are suspicious of any individuals or institutions that claim moral victory over their lives. Likewise, there has been a considerable amount of growth of those who are now drawn to conservative religious movements. Here we see the lives of the two brothers played out.
So, whose side is Jesus on? Example- In the movie The Lord of the Rings, when the hobbits ask the ancient Treebeard whose side he is on, he answers: “I am not altogether on anybody’s side, because nobody is altogether on my side…But there are some things of course, whose side I’m altogether not on.” Jesus’ own answer to this question is similar, and comes out in this parable. Jesus is not on the side of the irreligious or the self-righteous, but singles out the religious moralism as a particularly deadly spiritual condition.
Imagine for a moment back after Jesus died and was resurrected, and the Christian church began. They didn’t have a temple, they didn’t have priests. Where did they meet? How did they practice the sacrifices? And they would answer that they don’t make sacrifices anymore, because Jesus’ sacrifice took care of that, and they meet in homes. So because this was beyond anything they knew, the Romans called them atheists.
The irony of this parable should not be lost on us. To most people in our society, Christianity is a religion, and is moralism. The crucial point is that religious people were offended by Jesus, but those who were estranged from religious and moral observance were attracted to Jesus.
Jesus’ teaching consistently attracted the irreligious, while it offended the religious. This is why the Pharisees, the religious leaders, were the ones to lie about Jesus’ guilt, and stir up the people to move Pilate to have Jesus crucified. Jesus wants the church to attract the younger brothers, and challenge the elder brothers. Overall, Jesus wants us all to follow Him!

Conclusion: The younger son certainly was a “prodigal” in the sense of the
noun form of that word. Like the “tax collectors and sinners,” the younger son
didn’t follow the rules, didn’t obey the moral laws of the Bible, certainly didn’t adhere to the rules for ceremonial purity (I mean, he lived with pigs!), and he left home to engage in wild, reckless living.
On the other hand, we see the older son maintaining the traditional morality of the family. He represents the “Pharisees and teachers of the Law.” These people studied and obeyed scripture; they worshipped faithfully, and prayed constantly.
Do you see how Luke shows the different groups’ responses to Jesus? The unrighteous are flocking to him while the self-described righteous are appalled and offended by Jesus’ acceptance of them.
The parable is actually addressing the Pharisees and teachers of the Law” whose hearts are cold toward those who need new life. The parable is a plea for the “older brothers” to change their hearts. I believe it is also a strong plea to you and me who might be – unknowingly and unintentionally – like the older brother. It is Jesus’ plea for us to have a change of heart to that of the Father who is truly “prodigal” in his lavish, extravagant love and mercy.
So in these next few weeks I want us to experience the depth of this parable so that we might be able to grow even closer to Jesus, and we might welcome all the more the “younger brothers” of our world. Let us be blessed by the words of Jesus. Amen.

“Once Troubled, Now at Peace”
Luke 1:26-38
Sunday, December 20, 2009

Introduction: I think that most people, if asked, would say that they would like to see peace in our world. However, the place to start is by finding peace in our own lives, because you can’t bring peace to the world if you are not at peace. We all struggle over how to be at peace. Yet, to be at peace, we must overcome the troubles in our lives; the troubles that challenge us, overwhelm us, and cause us anxiety.
Example- (Poem) “The Oyster”
There once was an oyster whose story I tell.
Who found that sand had got under his shell;
Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain,
for oysters have feelings although they’re so plain.
Now, did he berate the working of Fate,
which had led him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse out the government, call for an election?
No; as he lay on the shelf, he said to himself,
“If I cannot remove it, I’ll try to improve it.”
So the years rolled by, as the years always do,
and he came to his ultimate destiny—stew.
And this small grain of sand, which had bothered him so,
was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral—for isn’t it grand.
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand.
What couldn’t we do if we’d only begin,
with all of the things that get under our skin.
As we come to the last week of Advent, we first remember how we have talked about the hope, joy, and love of Christmas. This morning, we look at the peace that God wants to give us by the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. How we can go from people who are troubled, to people who are at peace in the midst of our troubles!

I. I Will Be With You- (Luke 1:28; Judges 6:12-16)
We’ve talked about how the story of Christ’s birth is about God’s presence;
God coming in the flesh to be with His people. Last week we talked about how God’s presence gives us joy. But God’s presence also give us peace. In Luke 1:28, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and says: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
a. The Lord is with you- The angel’s message first and foremost wanted
Mary to know that whatever was to come about, however perplexing, or troubling, is that everything would be okay because “the Lord is with you.” Let’s pause for a moment and think about what Gabriel is saying. The angel is telling Mary that she has found favor with God. What is the reason for this? Is it because she is an influential person? NO! Is it because she stands out above everyone else? NO! Is it because she has a high position? NO! Mary has found favor with God because of her humbleness of spirit and love for the Lord. This is why God is with her; this is why God’s favor is upon her.
Mary very well could have asked: “If God is with me, then why do I have so many difficulties in my life?” And after she becomes the mother of the Savior, she will have even more troubles.
Illustration- “Where’s the paint can?” 1001 Humorous Illustrations, p. 114, #269
There is a story of a man who landed a job painting the yellow line down the center of the highway. This he had to do by hand. He was doing well, but his worked tapered off each day, so the foreman came to speak to him, saying: “Your first day out you did great. You painted that line for 3 miles. Your second day wasn’t too bad, although not as good as the first. But today you painted only one mile. Why are you struggling to keep up your work?” The man responded: “Well, the problem is that each day I get farther away from the paint can!!”
I tell this story as a reminder that our difficulties are often caused by our own choices, and because we get farther and farther from God. When we have less intimate time with God, when we seek God less and less each day, we will not have the wisdom, guidance, or power of God working in our lives, and thus our difficulties will tend to be greater. Sometimes these difficulties can make us stronger, or help something beautiful be achieved, like with the oyster and the pearl, but this really only happens when we walk closely with God.
b. The Lord is with us- This thought, that the Lord is with you, is to be a
comforting word to Mary. But what does it say to us? Most often we are not at peace in our lives because of several reasons; Maybe: 1. You are not happy in your family situation or marriage; 2. You are not happy in your work or career, or maybe you don’t have a job right now; 3. You don’t feel like you have any direction in your life; 4. You are not sure about what God wants you to do; 5. You don’t believe in yourself; 6. You are unhappy because of some medical issue or financial issue; 7. You are feeling lonely because you have lost someone close to you.
These can be just a few of the many things in life that can keep us from being at peace. And in each situation, there are reasons why we feel the way we do. But most often it is because we have not really understood what it means when God says: “I am with you.” Even though God isn’t physically present in our lives, God is still with us.
We have been talking about just this throughout this Advent season. God is with us in His presence in Jesus Christ. God is with us in the example we see lived out in Christ. God is with us in the Scriptures He gave us to read and live out. God is with us as He fills us with His Spirit.
This is the important message of Advent, that God is with us. It is in understanding this that changes our lives. It changes how we live our lives, because we know that we have God walking with us. It changes how we make decisions, because we know we have God’s wisdom guiding us. It changes how we feel about life, because we know we have a purpose, and that we are not alone. It changes how we see our circumstances, because we know that all things are possible with God!
There is great peace in knowing that God is with us always, to guide us, and comfort us and give us direction. We need to hold on to this.



II. I Will Be Over You- (Hebrews 1:4-8; 1 Corinthians 1:27; Mark 15:12-14)
God gives us peace by being with us, but there is a second way that God brings us peace, and that is by His authority over us.
a. Christ’s superiority- In the book of Hebrews, the author sets up for us
the position of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is greater than people; greater even than the angels. Hebrews 1:5-6 tells us, “To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son…’ And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him.’”
Why is it so important to understand Christ’s superiority?
Because of the confusion so many have with the thinking that God the Son is on a lesser level than God the Father. It is important because if Christ is not God in the flesh, then the promises we have that give us peace, would not be fulfilled, and we would not have the assurance we do of victory in life, and in the life after.
In many ways it can be difficult to understand the place that God the Son, Jesus Christ, holds. How can Jesus be both fully God and fully human? How could Mary become pregnant by the Holy Spirit? How could God be willing to be born in such a lowly place as a stable? And the questions go on and on to the point where we begin to doubt the lordship of Christ.
There is a verse in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that helps us here; it says: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”
Often God does things in such a way that goes beyond our comprehension. He does it so differently than we would think it should be done. And by doing it that way, it shows how great God is. This is confirmed time and time again in Scripture:
Hebrews 1:8a- “But about the Son, He says, (read slowly) ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever…’” You see how the Son is referred to here as “God,” with a capital G, and that He is seen as being upon the throne.
b. Christ’s righteousness- There is a quote which says: “The jackass brays mightily but the forest does not tremble. The tiger’s paw barely presses the fallen leaf, and all rush for shelter.”
This quote is true because the tiger wields more authority and power than the jackass. This is usually shown by intimidation and by scaring those around him. Usually, when we think of authority, it is in terms of power and intimidation. But this is not how Christ shows His authority.
Christ’s authority is shown by His righteousness and by His love. We see this very clearly by the way that He came to this earth; not as a king, born in a palace, but as a humble child, born in a manger! As a human being He allowed Himself to face temptation, yet He was perfect in every way; righteous.
That is why there is so much power in the words found in Mark 15:12-14, “ “‘What shall I do then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked them. ‘Crucify him!’ they shouted. ‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’”
The religious leaders knew that Jesus hadn’t committed any crime. He was sinless, blameless, totally righteous. The religious leaders were concerned with the power, the authority that Jesus possessed because of this righteousness.
Jesus knew of the power He possessed; he calmed a storm, and raised the dead, and healed those who couldn’t be healed by others. Jesus turned water into wine, and stood up to the religious leaders and to Pilate, the judge. Jesus called people to follow Him and was bold enough to forgive people of their sins. Jesus challenged the laws of the country. Jesus did all this because He knew who He was and what He could do. Jesus knew that He was God in the flesh. Jesus knew He was perfectly righteous. Jesus knew not to condemn people with His power, but rather love people in His power. Jesus came to this earth to use His power to save His people!

III. I Will Overshadow You- (Luke 1:26-38)
But lastly, peace comes to us because we are overshadowed by God, and through
this overshadowing we can go from feeling troubled to feeling at peace. Listen again to these words in Luke from the angel Gabriel to Mary:
First, Mary is told that she will be with child, and this child will be great, and
that He will be the Son of the Most High, and that He will be given the throne of David. Mary is understandably troubled by this.
Second, she wonders how she can be pregnant when she is a virgin.
Third, she wondered how she, a lowly Jewish girl, could have a son that would be given the throne of such a great king as David.
So Mary asks the angel about all of this that is troubling her, and the angel Gabriel tells her in Luke 1:35- “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
Power of the Most High will overshadow you…”
a. Power will overshadow you- Illustration- “Working as a Team,” p. 123,
#1, Illustrations Unlimited. There is a story of some missionaries in the Philippines who had set-up a croquet game in their front yard. Several of their Agta Negrito neighbors became interested in their game and wanted to join the fun. The missionaries explained the game to them, and then started again. As the game progressed, opportunity came for one of the players to take advantage of another by knocking that person’s ball out of the court. A missionary explained the procedure, but his advice only puzzled the Negrito friend. “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?” he asked. “So you will be the one to win!” the missionary said. The Negrito man shook his head in bewilderment. Competition is generally ruled out in a hunting and gathering society, where people survive not by competing but by sharing equally in every activity.The game continued, but no one followed the missionaries’ advice. When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the game was not over for him. He went back and gave aid and advice to his fellow Negrito’s. As the final player moved toward the last wicket, the affair was still very much a team effort. And finally, when the last wicket was played, the “team” of Negrito’s shouted happily, “We won! We won!”
God did not come into this world to just give us an example, die, and then go on to heaven. God came in human form, in Jesus Christ, to love us, help us, strengthen us, so that we would have peace. After Christ was resurrected, God sent His Holy Spirit to fill us, and live in us so that He might give us the guidance, encouragement and power we need to know that we can be victorious in life. We work as a team with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as well as with each other. When we succeed, when we live with peace, God shouts: “We won! We won!” And we should shout this for each other as well.
b. Possibilities will overshadow you- As God’s Spirit overshadowed Mary,
so His Spirit overshadows us; not only to give us peace through His power, but also to give us infinite possibilities. We usually are troubled, not at peace, because we feel that we are lost in our despair; lost in our struggles with no way out.
At first Mary felt this way, overwhelmed at the predicament she felt she was in. But Gabriel goes on to explain to her how God is a God of possibilities. Not only will she, a virgin, become pregnant with a son, but her relative Elizabeth, who is old in age and barren, will also become pregnant with a son. As Gabriel says to Mary, “For nothing is impossible with God.” God is a God of unlimited possibilities.
What are the areas in your life where you feel trapped? Lost? Without peace? You feel this because you feel you have limited options in these areas. You can’t see an answer to your problems. You feel this way because you are not plugging yourself into the possibilities that are there for you through God, who overshadows you.
Some of you might say to me: “Yes, pastor, I’ve tried to believe. I’ve tried to be positive. I’ve tried to trust God. But it didn’t work out. Things still went wrong, and I still failed.” What happened though was that you were looking at God through your own expectations, and because it hasn’t panned out the way you anticipated it happening, your worry returned and your peace left you.
To be overshadowed by God’s Spirit means we always come back to what Gabriel told Mary: “Nothing is impossible with God.” This is the expectation we are to have. Never stop trusting. Never stop believing. This is the only way we can turn our troubled feelings into a life of peace!

Conclusion: Illustration: “So Do Something About It,” Illustrations Unlimited, p. 154, #2- A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring and old-fashioned with words that didn’t mean anything to his generation. Because of this he told his father that he was bored in church. So his father challenged him, saying: “If you think you can write better hymns, why don’t you?” The boy accepted the challenge, went to his room and wrote his first hymn. The year was 1690, and the young man’s name was Isaac Watts. Isaac Watts has written some of the greatest hymn we know: Among his 330 hums are “Joy to the World,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “I Sing the Almighty Power of God.”
Someone once said: “There are 2 categories in life; those things you can’t do any-thing about and those things you can.” We need to give those things we can’t do anything about to god, and even those things we can do something about we need to let God be a part of it as well. It is easy to be at peace when things are going well, when things are falling into place. If this is how it is with you now, if things are all good for you and you are feeling at peace, praise God, and thank Him for the peace you have. But for those who are struggling, who are having difficulty these days, who find it hard during the holidays, let Christ’s presence give you peace. Let the authority of Christ reign in your life. Let the Holy Spirit overshadow you and give you God’s power and the possibilities that come with this power. And then take this strength, and as Isaac Watts did, so something that will not only help yourself, but will help others. There is great peace to be known through Jesus Christ. May we experience this peace this Christmas Season. Amen.

“Preparing the Way”
Sunday, December 13, 2009
1 Peter 1:17-25; Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8

Introduction: These words in Isaiah are powerful, as God says to His prophet: “Comfort, comfort my people…” We all need to be comforted. Even when we are grown-up and mature, there are still times when we need comforting. Having two children has changed my life, because when you are a parent, you understand how you can love another person so deeply. When they need comforting, I am there for them. This relationship with my children has given me a greater depth of understanding about my relationship with God.
However, there are times when Tyler and Tiffany might be sad because they aren’t happy about something. Maybe they want to watch TV, but they have to do their homework. We tell them “no” to watching TV, and they get upset. The comfort I give them in this time is different. It might just be some words of assurance that I love them even though I’m saying “no.”
Through my relationship with my kids, it helps me to understand that God’s relationship with me is similar. Sometimes I need to be comforted by experiencing the love and presence of God. Other times the comfort comes from God ending a situation or struggle, or in giving me understanding about it. And often times this comfort of God comes from another person. GOD USES US TO BRING HIS COMFORT TO PEOPLE!
This morning, we look at how Jesus Christ, our savior, brought “love” into the world. This morning we learn about how God wants to love us, and how we are to love others. So I would ask that you come to this time with a willingness to gain a fresh perspective on what God has to say to you.

I. Preparing the Way- (Isaiah 40:1-5; Mark 1:1-3)
In verse 3 of Isaiah 40, Isaiah mentions that a voice will proclaim some
comfort. What is it that the voice says will bring comfort? Let us listen to Isaiah’s words again: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
PRPARE THE WAY!
In this season, this phrase is not hard to understand. Christmas is a season full of preparations. Preparing the house with decorations; for relatives coming, or preparing for traveling over the holiday; preparing the gifts to be opened; preparing baked goods; and on and on the preparing goes…. In fact, for many people, the time is so busy with preparations that it is difficult to even focus on what we are preparing for.
Just like we prepare for a party so that we will be ready for it to go well, so we need to prepare for the Lord so that He can work in our lives. Have you ever wondered how sometimes you call out to God, but He doesn’t give You the answer right away? Maybe it is because He needs to prepare you to receive the answer that will come. Have you ever wondered how sometimes it seems God isn’t answering at all? Maybe it is because You have not prepared your heart to connect with God.
As Israel was crying out to God for comfort, God was telling her that the comfort was to come; that the “way of the Lord” needed to be prepared. At this point their comfort was in God’s promise that He would come to His people in the form of a human being; in the Messiah; the Savior; Jesus Christ! This is how His love and comfort would be shown in the coming of the One who would save them. This is the “LOVE” of Christmas that God has come to us in Jesus. And so we are to find comfort in Jesus.
Example- “Rudolph and Olive,” Hot Illustrations, p. 176- A contestant on a game show only had to answer one question to become the champion. “To be today’s champion,” the host said, “name two of Santa’s reindeer.” The contestant was a man in his early thirties, and he sighed with relief at having gotten such an easy question. “Rudolph,” he said right away, “and..” he paused, “Olive!” The host replied: “We’ll accept Rudolph, but can you explain Olive?” “You know,” the man stammered, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it, your would even say it glowed. Olive, the other reindeer.”
We laugh at this, but even worse than not knowing Santa’s reindeer is not know the real meaning of Christmas. I remember many years ago, when my niece was very young, my brother asked me to share with her the meaning of Christmas.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t know the meaning of Christmas? That God came to give us comfort through the birth of Jesus Christ?
God calls us to prepare the way for Him to be known by all people. This isn’t to be just happy holidays, it is Merry Christmas. We are called to let people know about this. Don’t just assume that people around you understand what Christmas is all about, but speak to them the meaning when you have the opportunity. This is what Isaiah 40:5 is about: “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it…”
Advent is a time for us to reveal the glory of this season; the LOVE of God seen in the comfort that the Christ child brings to us!

II. Prepare our Hearts- (Mark 1:4-8)
We also shouldn’t assume that our hearts are prepared for this Advent season. It
is easy for us to get distracted and lose focus. We can get caught up in the rush and preparations, and forget the meaning of Christmas.
Henry Van Dyke, an American author, educator, and clergyman had this to say about “Keeping Christmas” (Knight’s Master Book of 4,000 Illustrations; p. 77):
“Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your right’s in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see that your fellow men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy; to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas….Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world—stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death—and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem…is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas….And if you keep it for a day, why not always? But you cannot keep it alone.”
Because of all the philosophies that exist in our world, because of all who have gone astray from the Lord, we believe Christmas is about who we are and what we deserve, instead of who God is and what God has done for us. God has sent Jesus to save us, but it is for the purpose of how we can in turn serve God. This is what the preparing of our hearts is all about. We cannot accept the true meaning of Christmas, we cannot accept the love of Christmas, if our hearts are not in the right place.
I’d like to read for you a letter written from the perspective of someone who is not from earth, and who is not familiar with the Christmas season. What if someone observed the people during this season. What would they make of it? This letter helps to give us this perspective: It is called EXMAS IN ACREMA…
A Letter Home: My travels have taken me to a strange and wonderful country called Acrema. It is a land of many contradictions. It has high mountains yet flat plains. It has vast open spaces, yet cities crammed with people. It even has a holiday filled with contradictions—a holiday called Exmas.
Preparations for this festival last for over fifty days and yet on the one day of what is supposed to be celebration, there is more quiet, than merriment. It is difficult to determine whether the holiday itself or the preparation for it is the reason for the season. The preparations are very strange. They begin when people purchase tremendous quantities of cardboard cards with pictures and messages upon them. The pictures are of various subjects. Some portray snow scenes, some depict fireplaces; some have quite a modern tone; some are pictures of the way Acremans believe their ancestors lived. The pictures convey no central theme, and the message inside usually says “Season’s Greetings,” which could be said at any time of the year.
The Acremans go through untold suffering in getting the cards out. A card is sent to everyone on their list, and great care is taken not to miss anyone. Apparently there is some curse associated with neglecting someone. When the task is done, the Acremans sigh with relief, and give thanks to the gods that the task is over for one more year. All is peaceful then, as the Acremens receive their cards, unless he receives one from someone to whom he did not send an Exmas card. Then there is much wailing and cursing of the gods as the Acreman has to go out, through unspeakably crowded streets to get and mail the Exmas card that was forgotten.
An equally strange custom is the purchase of Exmas Gifts. This is a very difficult procedure. Another list is made after which an elaborate guessing game begins. Every citizen has to guess the value of the gift which every friend will send him so that he may send one of equal value, whether he can afford it or not. The sellers of the gifts, as well as the buyers, become exceedingly exhausted from the strain of the crowds and traffic. They are frantic in their attempts to finish everything on time and yet are in constant need of stopping and resting. This frenzied state, in their barbaric language, is known as the Exmas rush.
The motivation for this strange behavior is most confusing to even our best scholars. The motivation could not possibly be merriment, for most Acremans seem more weary than joyful. Our best explanation is that their motivation must have its source in their pagan worship.
There is another group in Acrema, almost too small to be mentioned at all, that celebrate a completely different festival at this time of the year. They call their celebration Crissmas. The celebration centers around an ancient story about a baby that was born a very special birth many, many years ago. The story has it that there were signs in the heavens proclaiming this baby’s birth. He grew to be an extraordinary man who performed many miracles, and who life was absolutely perfect. Many said he was the Son of some God, which they claimed was the only God. He was killed to pay some penalty, but came back from the dead and went into the heavens. His followers claim that only those who believe in this will be forgiven.
So every Crissmas they remember again the birth of this One who is their “savior”. They continue to retell the story of his birth. They gather together on the eve of his birth date to sing and praise him. They light candles and say that He is the Truth that came into the world, and now illuminates the whole world in his truth. These people call themselves Crisstians, I assume after this beautiful holiday.
Hecataeus, in his usual way of oversimplifying the facts, has formulated a hypotheses that Crissmas and Exmas are the same. This is utterly impossible. First of all, the pictures stamped on the Exmas cards have nothing to do with the sacred story which the priests tell. Secondly, although most Acremans don’t believe the religion of the few, they still send gifts and cards and participate in the Rush. It is unlikely anyone whould suffer so greatly for a God they did not know.
No, my theory ties it all together, except those who celebrate Crissmas. They are the strange ones. I have no idea where their story could have originated—unless it actually did happen.
Do you celebrate Exmas or Crissmas? You can see how easy it is to get caught up in the tradition of Exmas, and by doing this, lose the true meaning of Christmas. You can see how this could cause you to lose the celebration of Christ our Lord. You could see how you could miss how God shared His LOVE with us by coming to us in human form and by living this LOVE on the earth as an example for us. You could see how you could forget to enjoy God’s love, and in turn share God’s love, because you are caught up in practices and traditions that lead you astray.
As Mark 1:4 says, “John the Baptist appears in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And then in verse 8 he continues: “I baptize you with water, but He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus came so that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit, which cleanses our hearts and gives us full access to the presence and love of God.

Conclusion: This third Sunday of Advent emphasizes the LOVE of Christmas. We have been shown God’s love in Christ’s birth. WE have been shown God’s love because in Christ we are also filled with the Spirit of God. As we go through this last week and a half of Advent, may we have a renewed sense of God’s LOVE for us, and may we prepare our hearts so that we might not lose sight of what Christmas is all about, and so that we can help others around us see it as well. Amen.