Sermon Tone Analysis

TEACHING NOTE: The first letter of each point spells out a word revealed in the closing!

Intro:

You may wish to bookmark Luke 2 and Mt 2 before we get going because we we will be flipping back and forth between these chapters this morning.

In the months prior to Jesus’ birth, a curiosity was being aroused in Judea and Israel.

God was doing wonderful and mighty things, some might even say God was doing impossible things!

Four-hundred years of silence was broken when Gabriel delivered God’s messages to Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph.

Two women had miraculously conceived children.

The events surrounding John the Baptist’s conception stirred awe and wonder.

In Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit told a very old priest that he would not die until he saw the Messiah with his own eyes.

Then, a glorious star appeared over Bethlehem.

God had been doing wonderful and impossible things!

We are celebrating Jesus’ birth this morning and I want us all to know that supernatural things take place all around us today in wonderful and spectacular ways because God first loved us.

Think about that time in your life when you first experienced a curiosity for spiritual things.

Think about what caused that desire in you to check out God’s wonders for yourself.

Maybe that curiosity was sparked by...

...loving words from a Christian when you knew you least deserved those loving words.

...a gift or encouragement from an Christian when you were at a very low point in your life.

...a longing in the deepest parts of your being, so you opened the Bible for yourself, or tuned in to Christian radio, or came to church with a friend.

God displays His supernatural power through the church body to radiate curiosity to our world.

His supernatural power should cause people to “come, see what God has done!”

It is impossible that...

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s love, demonstrated to us through Jesus birth, demands five responses from us: I wish to show you these five responses in the next twenty minutes from Mt 2 and Luke 2. The first response to God’s impossible love is....

Come!

(AUTO) Fulfill your curiosity!

“Coming” is foundational for worship.

If we have an interest in a sporting event, we get as close to that event as possible by either attending in person or watching or listening to that event in the background of wherever we are at.

If we have a special friendship with someone, we get as close to that person as possible through lunch breaks, coffee get-togethers, or working on a project together.

If you have an interest in hunting, you might spend all year tuning your gear, scouting the woods, buying the next piece of gear, and dreaming of that next opening day.

Whatever your hobby or other interests, you don’t enjoy those interests from afar.

“Coming” is foundational for worship.

We cannot worship when we are far away!

Ephesians 2:13 (ESV) 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Worship is close and personal.

Perhaps a great example of this is found in Daniel 3...

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits.

He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

In the same way, coming near to Christ is the first step in responding to Jesus’ love.

Worship is a personal, close, and all-encompassing experience.

We must come to the feet of Christ.

In lk 2:8, the...

Angels came.

(Lk 2:8-14)

Luke 2:8–18 (ESV) 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

This example is a bit different from the others that I am going to use… the angels didn’t come to Christ’s feet when they appeared to shepherds in that field.

Remember they lived in God’s presence.

They stopped worshipping at God’s feet for a few minutes to arouse the shepherds curiosity.

They came closer to Jesus, but their coming was to to inspire others to worship.

Angels direct people to move close to God in response to Jesus’ love.

In lk 2:15, the...

Shepherds came.

(Lk 2:15-16)

out of response to the angels’ message...

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

The shepherds believed Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David, the Savior of the world.

News that good could not be recieved with a “ho-hum” attitude!

How did they respond?

They excitedly left the fields came to Jesus “with haste.”

And finally, the...

Wise men came.

(Mt 2:1-9)

Matthew 2:1–9 (ESV) 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Why did the wise men embark on a long journey?

Because “coming” to Jesus was the only way acknowledge him, it was the only way they could engage in whole-hearted, all-encompassing, passionate worship.

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’

” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

9 After listening to the king, they went on their way.

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

Herod stated his desire was also to “come and worship Jesus” but we know this was a lie.

Worship cannot take place from a distance and murder cannot take place from a distance.

In order to try to kill Jesus, Herod had to send people to get close to Jesus.

You came to church this morning to draw close to God for one reason or another.

Maybe you came to satisfy a curiosity, maybe you came to worship, maybe you came to find a reason to kill Jesus.

You and God know your motive, but coming is only the first step.

“Coming” is of no value unless you are inspired to Adore Jesus, the second step!

Adore!

(AUTO) Treasure/Store up in my heart!

Others cannot worship for us.

They cannot act as a proxy and worship on our behalf.

As Acts 16 states, we must believe in our own hearts and confess with our own mouths that Jesus is Lord.

This means adoring Jesus first happens in the privacy of our own hearts.

Consider these examples...

The angels adored Jesus.

(Lk 2:8-14)

Luke 2:13–14 (ESV) 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Words of worship poured out of their lips in a glorious and awe-inspiring fashion!

The shepherds adored Jesus.

(Lk 2:15-18)

If you look at Lk 2:15-18, you will discover the shepherd’s excitement to see come and adore Jesus for themselves.

The shepherds had to worship the newly born Christ with their own lips.

In verses 15-18, we don’t really learn much about their interaction with Jesus, but we do know they worshipped at Jesus feet.