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Christmas is a wonderful time of year. But,
in the last few years, something terrible has happened. Somebody has stolen
Christmas! Was it this guy? [Grinch slide]
Not only have they stolen Christmas, they replaced it with something
terrible. They have replaced Christmas with – SHOPPING!
The gifts of the wise men formed the start of the tradition of ‘giving’
gifts at Christmas. Now, giving things to others is a wonderful way to
express your love and appreciation for them, but if we are not careful, we
end up in the place where America is today. It seems to be all about the
giving, and nothing about the birthday of Jesus Christ. We need to start
taking heed to what is said in Joshua 24:15...
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Joshua didn’t say anything at all about shopping for presents, did he? He
was saying that he and his entire household would serve the Lord. More than
they wanted presents they wanted God’s presence among them.
Talking about giving gifts, there was a married couple once that really
didn’t try too hard to get along with one another. So, one Christmas, she
gave him a burial plot for Christmas. He was stunned, but he didn’t say
anything about it.
The next Christmas she didn’t get him anything. This was more than he could
handle, so he just told her that he was quite hurt that she didn’t get him
anything. She said, “Why should I? You didn’t use the gift I got you last
year.”
To be honest, most of us like to get gifts, don’t we? It is because of this
desire to please others through gifts that Christmas has turned into one
giant selling spree. Parents love to buy for their children, but they cannot
afford to pay cash for everything they want to buy, so they act like the
cavalry and “charge” it. What they don’t realize is that hurts the family
even more because now they are paying for it for years to come.
What do you think pleased the Lord the most? Was it the gifts the wise men
brought to him, or was it the fact that they came to worship Him that
counted the most?
I am not saying there is anything wrong with buying gifts for others at
Christmastime. I think the desire to give shows a very Christian heart. But,
I think that as we do buy things for others, we should not only use common
sense when it comes to our budgets, but we must also keep focused on the
real meaning of Christmas, and what it means to us as individuals.
If we were to ask each of the young men and women in Iraq what they wanted
most for Christmas, I am sure they would not give you a list of gifts they
want. I am pretty sure that they would simply say that what they want most
this Christmas is to be home with their parents, their wives, husbands,
children, etc. They would want to be in the presence of those they love.
If we were to ask the thousands of children that are left in orphanages, or
that are abandoned, I am sure they would all want to have a real home with a
loving family more than any gift.
We can give those around us many things this Christmas, but none of them
even come close to the love we give them by merely being around them and
sharing time with them. See, your presence is the best possible gift you
could ever get for someone whom you love and treasure.
Let me suggest that the most important thing you can do for your loved ones
this Christmas is to...
1. SHARE THE LORD WITH THEM
Can we at least read the Christmas story
before opening gifts? Are we really afraid of offending someone? We should
be! Many offend Christ as He is ignored at His own birthday party.
A little girl came home from Sunday school and proudly told her mother she
had memorized a Bible verse. She said it was JOHN 3:16, and she began to
repeat it –
For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten son...
When Jesus looks down at the way we tend to celebrate Christmas today, I
wonder if He feels somewhat forgotten. We have all the trappings of a
celebration – the trees, the lights, the gifts, and the songs – but where is
Jesus? After all, this is the celebration of His birth! We should be focused
on Him. Not us! We are supposed to be joyously celebrating the presence of
Jesus – not the presents under the tree.
Our schools now have “winter break” instead of “Christmas Break” because
they fear that somebody is going to be offended and sue them. “Happy
Holidays” is the accepted slogan. That may take Christ out of Christmas but
it doesn’t take “Holy” out of “Holidays”!
Nativity scenes have been all but completely
banned on most governmental properties for fear of complaints. The Post
Office’s official statement was that if Christmas offends someone, there
would not be any celebration of Christmas at the Post Office. They sell a
stamp that celebrates the birth of Christ, but they will only refer to it as
the “Religious Stamp”.
I think it is time to make it very clear that we are Christians, we believe
in Jesus Christ, and if that offends somebody we are sorry – we are sorry
they get offended, that is. We are not sorry that we worship the Lord and we
do not plan on NOT worshiping the Lord. Let us make it perfectly clear this
year what the “reason for the season” is: To celebrate the birth of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The greatest presents that we can give to our kids, our families, and our
friends is to share with them the presence of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 6 And these words, which I
command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up. 8 And thou
shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes. 9 And thou
shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Let us make sure that our family and friends celebrate the true meaning of
Christmas this year. Celebrate the birth of Jesus, and not the race to see
who can buy the most. Share the Word of God with them this Christmas, not
the word of the world.
Share with others about how Jesus came to literally sacrifice His very life
– for them, because He loves them. See, the cradle without the cross means
nothing.
Share with them the story after the cemetery. The Christmas story does not
end after the birth, nor does it end after the cross. If Jesus had stayed
dead and buried, He would be no more than the other leaders of other
religions.
The only thing that separates us from all other religions in the world is
that their leaders are all still buried where they died. Ours isn’t. Our
leader arose from the grave and ascended into heaven to be at the right hand
of God, where He sits to this day.
This Christmas, give your loved ones the most important gift of all. Share the Lord with your loved ones...
2. SHARE YOUR LOVE WITH THEM
If you would ask a young child which they would prefer for Christmas, a new
bicycle, or one hour playing with mom and dad on the floor, they would
immediately say the bicycle.
But which would mean the most in their lives? Twenty years later, they will
not remember the bicycle, but they would remember that one-hour with mom and
dad playing with them on the floor until the day they die.
My most memorable Christmas as a small child was in Jacksonville, IL when my
dad hooked my sled onto the back of his truck and pulled me around the
streets and thru drifts at high rates of speed. The immediate amnesia
eventually wore off and now it’s what I remember best about any Christmas.
And, I have long since forgotten what I got that Christmas in the way of
gifts.
My dad gave me a very wonderful gift that year. He gave me his love all
wrapped up in the wrapping of the attention he paid to me.
Give your family the wonderful presence of your love. Give your friends the
wonderful presence of your love. In 1 JOHN 3:18, we read,
1 John 3:18
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed
and in truth.
There’s a story of a family who went to see Grandma for Christmas. The
little boy and the little girl were told to be sure to wipe their feet
before they went inside, because Grandma had brand new carpet.
When they got there, the kids did as they were told. Soon, Grandma gave them
each a glass of Kool-Aid. As you would guess, the little boy ventured into
the living room with his and promptly spilled red Kool-Aid on the light
beige carpet. He tried to clean it up with his shirttail, but when he saw
that wasn’t working, he started to cry.
The grandmother came in and put her arms around him and said, “That’s okay,
honey, don’t cry...Grandma will get you another glass of Kool-Aid.”
That is how you show love to someone. By really caring what they are going
through. By caring enough about somebody to sacrifice something that has
value to you. And sacrificing it willingly – just like Jesus did His life
upon the Cross of Calvary.
Most people will not pay attention to the Lord by themselves. It seems that
everybody who is a Christian was brought to it by someone who cared for
them; someone who led them. This Christmas, care enough about someone else
to…
3. LEAD THEM TO CHRIST
I know that you are sitting there and you truly believe that there is no way
you can share the story of Christ with someone much less lead them to the
Cross. Am I right? But, I am going to tell you something that will probably
surprise you.
Just because you are sitting here each Sunday, you have picked up more
knowledge than 95% of the American people have about Jesus and the plan of
salvation. If you take all the churches in America today, and fill them all
to capacity, that is still less than 5% of all the people in America that
will even fit. Is that sad, or what? And how much do you think those 95%
know about the real story of Christmas? Pretty close to nothing! So, you
have information that most people do not have.
We all know people that are on the verge of seeing their families crushed
under burdens they cannot bear alone. These people need you. They need the
information that you have. They need to know about Jesus. Not just from a
storybook, but from a person who has really felt Jesus in their hearts. They
need to hear from YOU! You only need to decide whether you care enough about
somebody to share that information with them or not.
Lead by illustration. Your children will not do everything you say, but they
will eventually do most everything you do.
What is the point? When our children are younger, they may not want to do
everything we do, but as they get older, they start following our example
more and more. So, should you go to church with your family? You may not
want to sit in church every service, but for the sake of your family, you
need to, and for yourself as well! Do you pray where your family can see
you? Shouldn’t you?
Lead by example. Also, lead by instruction. It might be worthwhile to tell
your family or your friends that they need to go to church too. Plain and
simple! They need to. You’d be surprised at what you will see several months
down the line after you tell someone this. But you need to say it with
conviction.
We need to lead by intercession. Intercession is when you pray to the Lord
for another person’s sake. When you bring another person up to God so that
God can help that other person. When is the last time you brought individual
members of your family up before God in prayer, asking Him to help them in
specific areas? When is the last time you cared enough about a friend to
really pray for him?
During the Great Depression, a couple had one child. This 6-year old boy
asked if he would get any presents for Christmas, and the father had to
explain to him that there was no money to do so. The father told the boy,
though, that instead of buying each other presents, they could draw pictures
of the presents they would like to give to each other and that would be
their Christmas.
It was a very busy week as each drew presents that they would like to have
been able to give to the others. Then, on Christmas morning, they all
assembled by the skimpy branch of a big plant they had made into a Christmas
tree.
The mother gave the father a picture of a shiny red speedboat, and the
father gave the mother a picture of a nice diamond necklace. They gave the
son pictures of wagons and tricycles. When it came the boys turn to give, he
gave them his drawing that simply said “US”, and had a picture of the three
of them engaged in a group hug.
Don’t you know that Christmas was the most special Christmas they ever
celebrated as a family? They knew what the true meaning of Christmas was.
And, they shared it with one another.
Christmastime can be a very hard time to get through for most of us. There
are many demands on us, including our finances and our time.
Ill.--One lady was having a very hectic day
shopping when she pushed the button for the elevator in a department store.
She was tired and frazzled. When the elevator door opened, it was already
filled and she had to squeeze in. When she got in, she muttered, “Whoever
started this whole Christmas thing should be hung.” A voice in the back of
the car quietly said, “It’s okay, Lady, He already was.” From that point
until the last stop the elevator made, nobody made a sound.
This year, we should go ahead and shop and give gifts, but let us do so
without taking our focus away from Jesus Christ.
[from great sermon by Bruce Ball]
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