Sermon Tone Analysis

WHAT? What are we talking about today?

MUSIC | "Away in a Manger" on Kid Instruments

By now you've probably heard so many Christmas carols you're probably singing them in your sleep!

But to get us ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I thought we could start with a song.

INSTRUCTIONS: Give each of your students (or just a few who you bring to the front of the room) with kid instruments and kazoos.

Put the lyrics to "Away in a Manger" in a visible place and have your students perform the song.

Those lyrics sure do paint a picture!

No bed, donkey poop everywhere, a newborn baby, and a brand new mother hanging out in some itchy straw on the hard ground.

I guess that's one way for Jesus to make an entrance.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for Mary in that stable?

Think of the stench she put up with!

But a smelly animal cave wasn't the first sacrifice Mary would make, nor would it be the last.

"Sacrifice" isn't usually what we think about when we think about Christmas, is it?

Instead, we think about what we want, the gifts we're excited to receive, and the experiences that make us happy.

But what if, this Christmas, we asked ourselves some new questions, like . . .

*Title Slide*

What have other people given up for me this Christmas?

What has God given up for me?

What can I give in return?

Why does it matter if I do?

SO WHAT?

Why does it matter to God and to us?

POLL | "What are some sacrifices you've had to make at Christmastime?"

Christmas comes with obligations for everyone.

Some of those obligations we choose and some are chosen for us.

Buying a gift for Secret Santa with friends?

Awesome!

Going to your cousin's cringey Christmas play?

Maybe not so awesome.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read each scenario one at a time while students respond by raising their hand or standing up if they can relate.

What are some sacrifices you've had to make at Christmastime?

Do any of these sound familiar?

Have you ever had to . . .

Help hang Christmas lights until you thought your arms would fall off?

Not see your friends because you had family obligations?

Sit next to your weird Uncle Eddie at Christmas dinner?

Eat every bite of Aunt Edna's Christmas-tree-shaped Jell-O salad?

Babysit your younger relatives while the adults went Christmas shopping?

Spend a ton of your savings on Christmas gifts?

We all make at least the occasional sacrifice at Christmastime, so as we look at a few more of the events that led to the very first Christmas, think about the discomfort and hesitation you sometimes feel when you're being asked to be inconvenienced.

SCRIPTURE | Luke 1:26-38

The full story of Christmas can be found twice in the Bible — once in the Gospel of Matthew and once in the Gospel of Luke.

Today we're going to look at Luke's version of the story.

Luke tells the story of Jesus from a different perspective than the other Gospel writers because he was not Jewish.

Unlike Jesus and His disciples, Luke was a Gentile (which is just another way of saying he was not Jewish).

While some of the other authors of the New Testament wrote mostly with a Jewish audience in mind, Luke wrote his book with everyone in mind — Jew or Gentile, religious or non-religious.

Luke risked his reputation and social status with his Gentile (non-Jewish) family and friends to follow the way of a radical Rabbi named Jesus.

Luke knew God's plan for humanity included every person, no matter their ethnicity or religious background.

He wanted everyone to know Jesus was good news for them too — especially people who weren't usually prioritized by the religious leaders of the time.

Maybe that's why Luke wrote down the stories of more women than any other Gospel writer.

Women were often overlooked in society at that time, but Luke seems to have noticed the way Jesus always elevated and honored women.

One of the women whose story Luke told is Mary, the mother of Jesus.

When we meet her, she is an unmarried young woman.

Can you imagine being in Mary's shoes?

That angel gave her a lot to process.

At first, Mary was really "troubled," which makes sense.

This was a major upset.

An inconvenience.

Not part of the plan.

Then she was confused.

How was this even possible?

But in the end, she said, "Okay!"

She was ready to be part of God's plan for the world, even if it meant making some sacrifices.

SCRIPTURE | Luke 1:46-55

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Luke 1:46-55

In Mary's song, we see she had hope that God's love would one day win over all the evil and broken things.

When she saw that promise being fulfilled, she was full of joy that she had a role in making God's plan finally happen.

Mary expressed a lot of joy, but that doesn't mean she wasn't making a big sacrifice.

Mary was a real teenage girl, having a real baby.

She would experience a real pregnancy with all the discomfort and labor pains that came with it — in a stinky stable, no less.

She would have to deal with judgment and assumptions from people who didn't know her story and simply saw an unmarried girl with a baby.

But Mary trusted God had good things in store, even if she had to make some sacrifices in the meantime.

SCRIPTURE | Romans 12:1

There's a passage in the book of Romans that captures Mary's attitude in this moment.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Romans 12:1

I know what you might be thinking.

"Is God asking for me to sacrifice my body?

What?" Don't worry.

Here's what Paul (the author of Romans) is trying to teach us . . .

Because Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sins once and for all, we no longer need to make religious sacrifices in order to be loved by God.

We're already loved, just the way we are.

But if we're going to make any sacrifices to God, God invites us to sacrifice ourselves — to give ourselves to God just like Jesus gave Himself fully for us.

When you think about it, you start to realize that Christmas is all about sacrifice.

The very first Christmas would never have happened without Mary's sacrifice.

Because of her love for, and trust in, God, she gave up her own plans in order to say yes to God's plan.

Because of Mary's sacrifice, Jesus was born!

On that very first Christmas, another sacrifice happened as well.

By coming to earth as Jesus, God was making a sacrifice too.

Jesus (God Himself) chose to give up His heavenly existence in order to experience an earthly life — a life He always knew would end in death and suffering.

Then, thirty-ish years after that first Christmas, Jesus' sacrificed Himself.

He gave up everything, eventually even His life, for you and me, so God's plans could be completed.

And now today, God is inviting you and me to consider how we can make a sacrifice in order to be part of God's plans too.

God's plans for us and for the world are always good, but just like Mary, Jesus, and so many who have gone before us discovered,

God’s plans require sacrifice.

NOW WHAT?

What does God want us to do about it?

STORY | Talk about a sacrifice you're glad you made.

I don't know what kind of sacrifices God might be inviting you to make.

Maybe it's a sacrifice between you and God.

Maybe you're being asked to give up on a bad habit, or pattern of behavior, or sin that's holding you back from experiencing all of the "good things" God has for you.