Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome to our Christmas Day Service.

It is a great pleasure to have you here especially if you are a guest.

Prayer

Let me start with a 700 year bc prophecy of Jesus:

Carol

Carol/Prayer/Carol

For those who were not here last night I will replay the song I played:

Il Divo - O Holy Night - mp3

Jesus: The Name Above All Names

After 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament there are two announcements by the Angel Gabriel, first of the birth of John the Baptist and then, the birth of Jesus.

Joseph and Mary were betrothed which is like engagement but much more serious and it is a joyous occasion.

That is, until Joseph heard that Mary was pregnant somehow because he knew it was not him.

And the laws of biology say it must have been another man.

Virginity was very important in these days and because Joseph felt betrayed he wanted to break off the relationship but quietly without doing any harm to Mary in the process.

He must have really loved her.

Breaking it off was the same kind of process as divorce; it was not simply to say, OK, we're not getting married now.

And it was only the dream given by the angel of the Lord that he took Mary to be his wife for he found out that it was no man who had made Mary pregnant but it had happened by some supernatural means by the Holy Spirit.

You really have to admire the faith of Joseph in all this.

You have to remember that getting a girl pregnant before you were actually married did not look good at all.

The same cannot be said today.

Joseph took his responsibility seriously regardless of what people might think of him.

In the dream he was told that the name of the child would be Jesus.

And that’s what I want us to think about now; His name.

The name of Jesus, past, present and future

His name meant a lot to those who met Him:

The name of Jesus meant salvation to the shepherds there on the hillside

The name of Jesus meant healing to the helpless

The name of Jesus meant destruction to the demons

The name of Jesus meant life to the lepers

The name of Jesus meant resurrection from the dead

There are so many examples in the Gospels and Acts of these for what the Name meant back then.

In fact, what His name means now is exactly the same.

All those things that the Name of Jesus meant then can mean the same now.

His name means salvation today as well as back them.

We know Jesus saves today, too.

In fact, it is only the name of Jesus that can bring salvation today:

The name of Jesus is important for the future too in that as Jesus was raised from the dead we will also, but the name of Jesus will also mean judgement for those who rejected Him in this life: for

The name of Jesus past, present and future is the name above all names:

A name, in Jewish thought, is more than just what we are called by parents but also designates what someone is or will be or something that they will do.

The Name we look at today, the name of Jesus reveals something of their character and purpose.

He is the One who saves.

Saves from what: yes, from sin, hell, judgement but also from sickness, broken hearts:

Do we love the name of Jesus?

We read in

Iniquity means unrighteousness.

We are called to a different way of living; the way that Jesus lived; to point the way to the Saviour.

This is how we show our love.

Bearing the name of Jesus meant a whole lot more to early Christians:

Polycarp, a man that both Irena and I love for the way he faced his martyrdom: Polycarp, on the day of his death said, "Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong.

How then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?

You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked."

On his farewell, he said "I bless you Father for judging me worthy of this hour, so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ."

And even today many are suffering for the name of Jesus.

How much do we really love the name of Jesus?

We sing songs like; Jesus, the very thought of thee; Jesus, what a beautiful name.

Do these touch the heart as they ought?

There’s a little song we sometimes sing: “Jesus, name above all names, Beautiful Saviour, Glorious Lord.…”

That song was written by a middle-aged woman from New Zealand who had been studying the subject of the names of Jesus in the Bible.

One day she wrote out some of the names on a piece of paper, and she happened to take that paper out to the laundry room so she could mull over it while washing her clothes.

Like many New Zealanders, she had a laundry room behind the regular living quarters of her home.

Well, while she was washing her clothes, she became aware of the Lord’s presence in that laundry room with her, and she began to sing the words, “Jesus, name above all names,” and pretty soon she had composed the whole little song right there in that laundry room.

She thought to herself, “Well, I’ll write it down,” and she went to the piano and wrote it out.

After finishing, she said, “Lord, is that okay?

Is that all right like that?” Sensing the Lord’s approval, she went back to her washing, unaware that she had just written a little song that would one day be sung around the world.

He is:

Jesus, name above all names

Beautiful Saviour,

Glorious Lord

Emmanuel, God is with us

Blessed Redeemer, Living Word

Even in the laundry room, even in the garage, even in the kitchen, even in Tescos—we do not have a God who is merely above us; we have a God who is among us and His name is above all names.

The Word became flesh and has pitched His tent among us.

Jesus' name truly is the name above all names.

Conclusion

Today we celebrate the birth of a boy and that boy’s name was Jesus.

Why Jesus?

His name means ‘Saviour’ for He would save His people from their sins.

Whilst we celebrate the fact that Jesus came to earth at Christmas the cross was always in view and as I said last night God did this because of His great love for us and His desire to be with us.

Today, I finish with one of the finest pieces of Scripture found about Jesus and His name:

Carol

Benediction

Let us go from this place proclaiming

that we have seen the glory of God

Believing that there is a light that shines in the darkness

Which the darkness shall not overcome

And may the love of the Creator

The joy of the Spirit

And the peace of the Christ-child

Be with you this Christmas, and evermore

Amen.

Bibliography

Morgan, R. J. (2007).

Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook (2007 Edition).

Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.