Christmas is a time for many things. One of them is for reflection. When considering the meaning of Christmas and who it is really about, you can draw some great life lessons from it! This sermon does that. Hope it makes you think!
Title: “A Lesson From Christmas!”
Text: Matthew 1:21
(Matthew 1:21) “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (KJV)
Introduction:
• In our text we find what Jesus came to do!
• Joseph was told by the angel that he should name the child Jesus, which was for a purpose. He would save God’s people from their sin!
• In John 3:16-17 we find how Jesus would go about to live up to what He was proclaimed to do!
(John 3:16-17) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (KJV)
• We know Christmas celebrates God giving His only begotten Son to the world.
• Many view Christmas in terms of what they are going to get, not what they can give!
• I want to share some things about the subject of giving that should help you and I this morning!
Proposition: There are four things that we should remember about giving this morning that should help us celebrate Christmas in the right spirit!
I. Remember That You Cannot Out Give God!
A. No person can surpass what God has given to any of us!
B. God sent Heaven’s best to this old world that man could be saved!
C. With that said, you and I cannot worry about giving too much!
D. The truth is we just do not give enough!
E. If our eyes were opened to just how much God thinks we can give in comparison to what we think we can give, then we would cover our heads in shame!
II. Remember That You Cannot Give Up Something For God That He Won’t Give You Something Better!
A. Not necessarily speaking of sin, because it is expected of every child of God to stay out of sin. Minimum requirement for the favor of God in our lives as a Christian.
B. Some people hold on to things, relationships, jobs, memberships in churches, etc. as if they were sacred cows!
i. God says to give those up sometimes and we think that we just cannot do that.
ii. We say this because we have put so much our life into these particular areas.
iii. God says to let Him have them and we say no!
iv. Many of us have done this numerous times!
C. We will only stay in God’s Will and be settled with His peace when we give these issues up!
D. No one has ever given up something for God that He has not made up for it in the greater! (Consider Job)
III. Remember That You Cannot Expect Rewards In Heaven If You Do Not Give Down Here!
A. Many a Baptist can be considered a Scrooge!
B. We must give of our time, talent, and treasures!
C. We do not give to get, but we will not be what God intended us to be if we do not start giving of ourselves! Sometimes it is more than money!
D. This is what servant hood is all about!
IV. Remember That You Cannot Give Your Life For Sin, Only Christ Could Have!
A. Many of us would like to think that we would die for someone’s sin if we could! Paul expressed that he wished he could be sent to Hell if it meant that his kinsmen according to the flesh might be saved!
(Romans 9:1-5) “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” (KJV)
B. The fact is we cannot give our life for someone else’s sin.
C. Although we would like to do things according to our thinking, we must do it God’s way! (For example: Baptisms, church memberships, etc. cannot save… though many think they do!)
D. Mormons try to save people, so to speak, but they are following man’s doctrine and not God’s!
Conclusion:
• Some keep Jesus in the manger, some on the cross, others in the grave, but I submit that according to the Word of God, He is in Heaven at the right hand of God!
• Let us think about giving rather than getting!
To The Sinner:
• Be saved!
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