The Christmas Sermon

 SERMON What Child Is This? What's the big deal with Christmas? Jesus is God 'with' us and God 'for' us. SCRIPTURE:Matthew 1:18-23Isaiah 9:2-7Isaiah 7:1-14 What Child Is This? Juan Sanchez Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Jesus is God with us. II. Jesus is God for us. III. Jesus is the one who can save us. Introduction I want to wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas. We just finished singing "What Child Is This?" and I think it's an appropriate question to ask. It's an appropriate question because if you've grown up in the Christian tradition you already know the answer to that question. You know why we sing about Jesus. But if this whole Christianity thing is foreign to you, that's a very legitimate question. What's the big deal with a child born in a manger over two thousand years ago? Why all the songs, carols, whistles, and bells? Did you know that in our day over four million babies are born in the United States each year? The

 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

 SERMON What Do I Do with My Heartache at Christmas? We can rest in the relief of Christ's coming—and wait well on God. SCRIPTURE:Luke 2:21-35 What Do I Do with My Heartache at Christmas? Steve Luxa Sermon Outline: Introduction I. Waiting on God II. Relief, not resolution of Christmas III. Resolution through sorrow Conclusion Introduction During this Christmas season, we're talking about the "Real Questions of Christmas"—because we all enter into every Christmas season with visions fit for a Norman Rockwell painting, but we end up living something akin to a National Lampoon Christmas. As we live in that gap between Christmas expectations and Christmas reality, we end up raising really profound questions about Christmas: questions that were, in fact, raised and wrestled with in the very first Christmas. So we're trying to go back to the first Christmas to answer a handful of these questions we raise. To get us thinking about what we do with our heartache at Christm

 SERMON Connecting the Dots at Christmas Sometimes seemingly imperfect timing is perfect for accomplishing God’s purposes. SCRIPTURE:Galatians 4:4 Connecting the Dots at Christmas Ken Shigematsu Sermon Outline: Introduction I. 'Fullness of time' II. Christ's coming was at the right time for many evident reasons III. God can use difficult circumstances to accomplish great good in his timing IV. God uses our choices for his perfect purpose Conclusion Introduction My professor Haddon Robinson from seminary tells a story about a married woman who decided to go on her own private vacation to Europe. She went from the Midwest to London and then she was planning to go to Paris, Rome, and Vienna. When she got to London she called her husband back home in the Midwest and said, "How are you doing?" Her husband said, "I'm doing fine but our cat Lucy died." So his wife starts bawling her eyes out on the phone. But when she regains her composure, she says, "

 SERMON The Purpose of Christmas Because Christ came, we have a joy that transforms our lives. SCRIPTURE:1 John 1:1-41 John 1:1 The Purpose of Christmas Tim Keller Sermon Outline: Introduction First John 1:1-4 gives us the teaching and the purpose of Christmas. I. Christmas is frankly doctrinal. II. Christmas is boldly historical. III. Christmas makes you deeply mystical. IV. Christmas makes you happily material. V. Christmas makes you fiercely relational. VI. Christmas makes you free to be emotional. (c) Timothy Keller The Purpose of Christmas was preached 12.19.99. First John 1:1—4: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fe