“Christmas and Easter Rolled into One!” (John 1:1-18)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day
Sunday, December 25, 2022

“Christmas and Easter Rolled into One!” (John 1:1-18)

This year we have the unusual circumstance of Christmas falling on a Sunday. This last happened in 2016, and before that, in 2005 and 2011. Christmas won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2033. Not only is it Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when Christians have been going to church for 2,000 years, but it is also Christmas Day, one of the major festivals of the church year. So you would think, with this double reason for going to church, that churches across the land would be packed this morning.

Nah, nah! Think again. Now of course, with the bitter cold across much of the country, that is cutting down somewhat on church attendance today. But even apart from that, apart from the weather, attendance is down for another reason. And ironically, it’s because Christmas is falling on a Sunday. Yeah, it’s crazy! Instead of giving people even more reason to go to church, it’s just the opposite. People are choosing not to go to church today, precisely because it’s Christmas.

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Published in: on December 24, 2022 at 2:15 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“O Holy Night” (Luke 2:1-20)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Eve
Saturday, December 24, 2022

“O Holy Night” (Luke 2:1-20)

It’s Christmas Eve! A night to celebrate. A holy night. For on Christmas Eve we start our annual celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight we hear again the familiar Christmas Gospel. We sing the Christmas carols. We light the candles. This is a night to gather here in church with our family and to celebrate as a church family. It is a holy night indeed. And so our theme this evening: “O Holy Night.”

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Published in: on December 24, 2022 at 11:34 am  Leave a Comment  
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“Mary and Joseph, Did You Know?” (Luke 2:40-52)

Second Sunday after Christmas
January 2, 2022

“Mary and Joseph, Did You Know?” (Luke 2:40-52)

Every year when the radio stations start playing Christmas music–like, when, around November 1? And then they stop playing Christmas music right on Christmas Day, when the Christmas season is just beginning, when there are eleven more days of Christmas still to go. But I digress. So, when the radio stations start playing Christmas music, there’s a song you will hear–oh, about 157 times–called “Mary, Did You Know?” And every time I hear it, I want to shout back at the radio, “Yes, of course she knew! The angel Gabriel told her!” Well, yes and no. Mary did know some things. But other things she probably did not know. So the question is, what exactly did she know and when did she know it?

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Published in: on December 31, 2021 at 5:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple” (Luke 2:22-40)

First Sunday after Christmas
December 26, 2021

“The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple” (Luke 2:22-40)

Yesterday was Christmas, and now we’re into the days after Christmas. For us, these days mean eating leftovers, returning gifts that don’t fit, and taking down the decorations. But what about for Jesus? What did the days after his birth mean for him? Our text is one the few places we have an account of what happened during that time. It’s the story of what happened forty days after his birth, when “The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple.”

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Published in: on December 25, 2021 at 11:36 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Making Known What the Lord Has Made Known to Us” (Luke 2:15-20)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day
Saturday, December 25, 2021

“Making Known What the Lord Has Made Known to Us” (Luke 2:15-20)

Last night our message had to do with the “Good News of a Great Joy.” The news went out when Christ was born in Bethlehem. An angel appeared to some shepherds out in their field, telling them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” And then a multitude of the heavenly host began praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” So that was the good news of a great joy that came to the shepherds.

But what did those shepherds do in response to getting the good news? That’s what we’ll take up this morning. Our text is from the last portion of Luke’s Christmas account, reading again these verses: “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.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.”

Notice, the shepherds first say, “Let’s go see that which the Lord has made known to us.” And after they see it–they see the baby in the manger just as they were told–then what do they do? It says they made known what had been told them concerning this child. And so our theme this morning: “Making Known What the Lord Has Made Known to Us.”

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Published in: on December 24, 2021 at 10:57 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Good News of a Great Joy” (Luke 2:1-14)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Eve
Friday, December 24, 2021

“Good News of a Great Joy” (Luke 2:1-14)

For most of us, tonight or tomorrow everyone will be opening their Christmas presents. You’ll know which one is yours, because it will have your name on it and you’ll know where to find it: under the Christmas tree. Now suppose I got a Christmas present for you, but I didn’t tell you about it. I didn’t tell you that I had gotten a gift for you, and I didn’t tell you where you could find it. Well, it could be the greatest Christmas present in the world, but if you don’t know that it exists and you don’t know where to find it, it won’t do you much good. You need me to tell you about it.

Well, that’s the way it is with Christmas. God has given us the greatest Christmas present of all, but if it had stayed hidden, if we didn’t know about it or where to find it, it wouldn’t do us any good. But with this Christmas present, God not only gives the gift, he also tells us what it is and where to find it. And that’s what God is doing tonight. He’s bringing us “Good News of a Great Joy.”

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Published in: on December 24, 2021 at 9:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“At Home in God’s House, Growing in Wisdom” (Luke 2:40-52)

Second Sunday after Christmas
January 3, 2021

“At Home in God’s House, Growing in Wisdom” (Luke 2:40-52)

We just sang: “Within the Father’s house the Son has found his home.” Even at twelve years old, Jesus was at home in God’s house. And earlier in this service, we sang: “For He is our childhood’s pattern, day by day like us He grew.” Jesus is our childhood’s pattern, but he is also our adulthood’s pattern, as well!

Listen to these verses from today’s Gospel. At the start of the reading, Luke 2, verse 40: Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” And at the end of our reading, verse 52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” And in between, when Joseph and Mary find him in the temple, Jesus says: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Taking all these thoughts together, we can see that a) Jesus was at home in God’s house, and b) he grew, not only in stature, but also in wisdom. And since Jesus is our pattern, both for our childhood and our adulthood, here is my wish for you for 2021: that you would likewise be “At Home in God’s House, Growing in Wisdom.”

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Published in: on January 2, 2021 at 11:37 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“A Great Way to End Things” (Luke 2:22-40)

First Sunday after Christmas
December 27, 2020

“A Great Way to End Things” (Luke 2:22-40)

Our text today is the story of Mary and Joseph presenting the infant Jesus at the temple and the reactions of Simeon and Anna. As we will see, what happens in this story is “A Great Way to End Things.” And that applies not only to the persons involved but also to us.

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Published in: on December 26, 2020 at 11:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The Word: Tabernacled and Received” (John 1:1-18)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day
Friday, December 25, 2020

“The Word: Tabernacled and Received” (John 1:1-18)

On this great festival of the Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day, the Holy Gospel every year is St. John’s profound prologue that opens his gospel. And today, as we look at this text, I want to zero in on three portions of this prologue, under the theme, “The Word: Tabernacled and Received.”

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Published in: on December 24, 2020 at 2:55 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Christmas in Three Acts” (Luke 2:1-20)

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Eve
Thursday, December 24, 2020

“Christmas in Three Acts” (Luke 2:1-20)

The Gospel reading that we hear every year on Christmas Eve, Luke 2, verses 1-20–this account naturally falls into three sections, three parts, corresponding to the three paragraphs you find in your bulletin. In a way, it’s like a play that has three acts. Only this play is entirely factual; nothing fictional about it. It really happened this way. And when I say it has three “acts,” I not only mean that the story presents itself in three scenes, but I also mean that these are acts of God. In other words, God is acting in each one of these scenes. So let’s look at the story now, under the theme, “Christmas in Three Acts.”

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Published in: on December 24, 2020 at 12:54 am  Leave a Comment  
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