Christmas is about a CHOICE
- The most important choice any of us will ever make
Series: SONGS OF CHRISTMAS
HOPE – Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel
STORY – Go Tell It on the Mountain
Our song this week…
Oh Come all Ye Faithful
This song speaks of God’s GLORY
Before we look at the song, we need to do a little Theology
First, Let’s define GLORY
GLORY:
Beauty, power, or honor: a quality of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and authority
The word is used in 3 senses:
1: God’s moral beauty and perfection of Character
Psalm 113:4
The Lord is exalted above all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
We all fall short of this version of God’s glory…
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
2: The Audible honor and praise of His creation
Revelation 5:13
I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!
The last and for us today, most important…
3: The manifestation of God’s Presence
Leviticus 9:23-24
23 Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown.
There was a problem though…
- Only a few could approach this version of God’s Glory
- Was very dangerous
- Because of Israel’s rebellion, God removed His Glory
- Vision in Ezekiel
For generations, God’s Glory/presence seemed gone from the world…
until…
John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This in Christian theology is called…
THE INCARNATION:
The act of being made flesh. That Jesus, being fully God, took on human flesh, also becoming fully human
Now, with that understanding, let’s look at this week’s song
O come all ye faithful (Just 3 verses)
1. O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels;
2. True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten not created;
3. Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest;
Refrain: <<OUR RESPONSE>>
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
Back to our this or that Game
- Choices made based on preference
Christmas is a reminder of the choice that lies before each of us… Before the world
Story of the Wise Men
- Wisemen from the east came looking for the “ONE BORN KING OF THE JEWS”
- Came following a star
Herod was king of Jerusalem
- A puppet king through Rome
- Ruthless and evil
Herod was also clever…
Tricked the Wisemen…
Matthew 2
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
Herod flew into a rage and demanded that all boys under 2 in Bethlehem be put to death
What does this story teach us?
- The same thing O Come All Ye Faithful
The Glory of God Demands Response
The enemies of God try to convince the world that you can NEUTRAL
- You don’t have to pick any side
But God has INTERRUPTED this world with the birth of Jesus
- Nothing will be the same
- God’s GLORY has COME AGAIN
What is our only response to the GLORY OF GOD?
We either WORSHIP Him or HATE Him
- Worship or kill him
Let’s play THIS OR THAT – Luke 2 edition
Worship Jesus like the Wisemen
- Brought valuable things recognizing the GLORY of Jesus
Choose to remain the “KING” and destroy anything that threatens your authority
- Like Herrod
You may say…
“But I’m not trying to be King…”
Here’s the key question
What are you regularly surrendering to God in recognition of his GLORY?
- Presence and perfection/power
The gifts of the Magi were things of VALUE
What are some things of VALUE that we should be giving to God?
Maybe some physical things
- Money/resources
- Time
God is not as interested in those things as He is in other things…
- Dreams – Willing to give those to God?
- Trauma – Willing to give it to God?
- Sexuality – Willing to give it to God?
- Fears – Willing to give it to God?
Those are pretty terrible gifts…
But it’s what he wants
This is not the only time we have seen this
Chief priests to Pilot
John 19
15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?” “We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered. 16 Then he handed him over to be crucified.
At it’s heart, Christmas is a season of RESPONSE
- What are we responding to?
John 1
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The GLORY of the Lord made known to us in Christ Jesus
What is our response?
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.