The Christmas Sermon

 SERMON More Than a Baby Jesus came in a wooden manger to die on a wooden cross. SCRIPTURE:Luke 1:26-56 More Than a Baby Ryan Welsh Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Who is Mary? II. Who is Jesus? III. Mary's questions IV. Mary's emotions V. Mary's response VI. From the manger to the Cross Conclusion Introduction We find in Luke 1 the well-known story of the prophecy of the birth of Jesus that comes to Mary. Most of you could give me the details of the story right now, and you don't need me to even read it. But we're going to do it anyway, because like every famous or very popular passage in Scripture we miss things all the time. But before we go to Luke 1, let's read why we need Luke 1. It's like when you come into the movie in the middle and you start asking people around you, "Why is he mad at her?" "Was she married to him? I don't get this." We don't want to do that here. So first let's read Genesis 3 to get the idea of why

 SERMON Girl Interrupted: The Unmistakable Strength of Mary The mother of Jesus experienced a divine interruption unlike any other. SCRIPTURE:Luke 1:26-56 Girl Interrupted: The Unmistakable Strength of Mary Tracey Bianchi Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Mary's favor II. Mary's fear III. Mary's response IV. Mary's question V. Mary's song VI. God's interruptions Conclusion Introduction I never know what to do with Mary. I'm in good company: The archives of history and the echoes of ancient sermons never quite knew what to make of her, either. She has been venerated in shrines, prayed to—worshipped, even. Botticelli, Cassatt, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bellini, Caravaggio, Dalí, and thousands of artists have imagined her on canvas. For some traditions, Mary is an afterthought: a means to an end. She is rarely discussed other than to occupy a figure in the set-up of the annual crèche, where she occupies her demure place in Biblical history. The dominant un

 SERMON Have Yourself a Global Little Christmas What does it mean to have a global Christmas message? SCRIPTURE:John 1:1-18 Have Yourself a Global Little Christmas Matt Woodley bio Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Christ is the Light that shines on everyone II. Christ is the One who offers grace to all people III. We are a witness to the Christ's light and grace Conclusion Introduction [The sermon began with a 30-second clip from the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," performed by Michal Bublé.] I really like the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I don't know if they call it a carol, but it's one of my favorite Christmas songs because it presents a particular vision of Christmas. A cozy, familiar tight circle of friends and relatives who are near to us and who are dear to us and who have gathered around us. It's one vision of Christmas that I would call a good vision of Christmas. Our Gospel reading this morning from John 1 pr

 SERMON Immanuel The Almighty God became Immanuel, "God with us," so we can spend eternity with him. SCRIPTURE:Matthew 1:18-25 Immanuel Mark Batterson Sermon Outline: Introduction We underestimate God by infinity to the infinity power. I. Immanuel: God with us II. Downsizing III. The present of presence Conclusion The dwelling of God will be with men. From the editor Here's a short, to-the-point Christmas sermon from Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, and author of Wild Goose Chase (Multnomah, 2008). One of the things to look for is Batterson's ability to encapsulate big thoughts in memorable ways: "He is God Most High and God Most Nigh;" "He (Jesus) became nothing so that we could become something;" "The greatest gift God gives us is the present of presence;" "The best experiences are lacking when we experience them by ourselves." Introduction Matthew 1:18–25: This is how the birth of Jesus C

 SERMON Round Yon Violence Christmas is God making war against sin. SCRIPTURE:Luke 1:26-38 Round Yon Violence Russell Moore Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Declaration of war II. The wages of sin III. Jesus' presence is a judgment IV. Seeking the face of the Lord Conclusion Introduction I've learned in my life that there are some people who will say just about anything to a pregnant woman. When my wife Maria was pregnant, we would find that people would come up and ask all sorts of questions. People don't feel one bit nervous or awkward about coming up and grabbing hold of a pregnant lady's stomach and rubbing all over her stomach and saying all kinds of things to you. But the weirdest conversation that I ever had when we were expecting a child was a middle-aged man who walked up to us and said, "I understand that y'all are expecting a baby." This was when we were expecting Samuel, who's now four years old. And I said, "That's right. Yeah, we&

 SERMON Oh Christmas Three The wise person continues to seek and worship Jesus. SCRIPTURE:Matthew 2:1-12 Oh Christmas Three Daniel Fusco Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Three kinds of people II. Three types of revelation III. Three offices of Jesus Conclusion Introduction We have been reflecting on the birth of Jesus, and what we found in this season that we celebrate is that when God chose to enter his own creation it wasn't neat and tidy, everything wasn't ideal, so to speak. So today on Christmas Eve we want to focus on the story of the wise men who were called the Magi, from Matthew 2. The title of my message is "Oh Christmas Three." Now, I know when you probably saw it you thought, Oh, Christmas Three, isn't it supposed to be "Oh Christmas Tree?" It's "three" on purpose. It was a tongue-in-cheek way of focusing on something. What we're going to find in this passage is that there are three series of threes in it. There is this three