Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon taken from the internet.

(Speaker enters, carrying an armload of packages.)

Okay, let's check this list one more time... Let's see... Mom & Dad--check.

Grandpa--check.

Grandma--I still need something little for her.

Aunts--uncles--check. Cousins--check.

No, wait.

There's still Jimmy--the man who has everything.

Great!

Oh, and there's Charles, and Beverly...

This is not good.

Every year it's the same thing.

I tell myself I'm going to get this shopping done early, and then it never fails: Here I am on Christmas Eve, picking through everyone's leftovers, trying to find those perfect gifts.

Not that there are any "perfect" gifts.

Oh, why do I even bother?

All right, who else is on this list?

Let's see... "Jesus"?

Oh, wait a minute.

Now you can see how delirious I get when I'm worrying about Christmas shopping.

I can't imagine what crazy thought was going through my head when I wrote that down.

Although, you know, I guess it's not a bad idea.

I mean, it is Jesus' birthday--that is still why we celebrate Christmas, isn't it?

You know what?

I think I'll do it!

I'll get Jesus a Christmas present!

Oh, I know I can't actually give it to him, as in wrap it up with a bow and watch him open it--but who knows?

Maybe it'll calm me down a bit.

Maybe it'll be just the lift I need to get back in the ol' holiday spirit.

So let's see, then... I'm picking out that perfect gift to give to Jesus; what'll it be?

(Hums "Happy Birthday.")

Well, maybe this is going to be harder than it looks.

Wait, though.

Wasn't there a story in the Bible about some wise men who gave presents to Jesus themselves?

Maybe I'll get an idea there.

(Flips through the pages of a Bible.)

Let's see...

Here it is: "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:11).

Hmm.

I think I'm in trouble.

First of all, I'm afraid that gold is a bit out of my price range this Christmas.

And frankincense and myrrh?--well, that's just plain silly.

You don't find that sort of thing around here, and to tell you the truth, I don't know where you would find frankincense and myrrh.

Oh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

I guess it is kind of silly for me to think that I could give Jesus a decent present for Christmas?!

I wonder if there's anything else in here that might help?

Let's see... (Flips through the pages and stops suddenly on...) Wait!

What's that?

Something about a "present"?

Where was it...? Oh, no, never mind.

It's not "PRE-sent," it's "pre-SENT."

"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" [Romans 12:1].

Oh well--that was close, anyway.

(Pauses, then rereads Romans 12:1.)

You know, I think I figured it out?

I'm not delirious, you know that?

I think I've figured out what Jesus wants for Christmas!

He wants me! (Laughs, bemused.)

That's right--he wants my life to be "holy and acceptable" to him!

A "living sacrifice."

I remember reading about the sacrifices that the people would offer up to God in the Old Testament.

They had one offering called the "whole burnt offering," where the entire lamb would be completely consumed by the fire.

It was supposed to symbolize the people's commitment to be absolutely, one-hundred-percent devoted to God.

It was a serious thing.

And you know what Jesus wants from me this Christmas?

He wants me to present myself as a "living sacrifice," so completely consumed by him that there's nothing left over at all from that person I used to be before I met Jesus!

The rest of Romans 12:1 says that, if I do this, it is my "spiritual worship."

Yes, that's it!

That's what Jesus wants me to give him this Christmas!

When I talk about the nativity, the birth of Jesus, and all those great stories, he wants me to worship him!

And I don't mean just "worship" him with my words; I mean "worship" him with my life, with everything that I am! Serve him as Lord, and Savior, and Master!

That's not a bad Christmas gift, if I do say so myself.

It sure beats that new pair of socks I bought for Uncle Fred!

I'm still not quite sure how gold and myrrh and frankincense fit into the picture, though.

Let me take another look at that... (Reread Matthew 2:11.)

"...and they bowed down and worshiped him."

That's it!

They worshiped him!

How about that?

The wise men already knew what I just now figured out! (I guess that's why we call them the "wise" men, huh?)

The important thing here is not all the expensive stuff they brought with them.

The important thing is that they bowed down and worshiped Jesus!

If they had just ridden into town with their big stash of gold and perfume, and just dropped it off at Mary and Joseph's door, who would've cared?

I'll bet they sure wouldn't have gotten written up in the Bible for it!

No--they came to worship.

I guess the same is true for me, too.

I can give money to that Lottie Moon offering, that Christmas offering for foreign missions--but if I don't bow down and worship Jesus while I do it, it's not much of a present.

I can pat myself on the back for how much hard work I've done for the poor and needy this Christmas--and all year round, for that matter--but if I haven't taken time to present myself as a "living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," then I haven't remembered Jesus at all.

I've left him off my Christmas shopping list.

But if I do remember Jesus in this way, it gives a new, more special meaning to all the Christmas gifts I give to people.

You know what?

I feel a lot better already about all this shopping I've still got to do.

I might even be able to muster up enough holiday spirit to buy a present for old Aunt Mary!

I want to thank God right now for showing me the gift that I can give to Jesus this Christmas.

Will you pray with me? (Prays.)

\\ (To audience:) It is hard to find that "perfect gift" at Christmas.

But God has delivered that one absolutely perfect gift to us: He gave us His Son, on that first Christmas long ago, so that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

It is that simple.

And right now, there's a "gift" that each and every one of us can give back to Christ on this Christmas morning.

If you know Christ as your Savior, you can commit right now to make your life a "living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" in every area, holding nothing back.