11-30-2025 When Did Christmas Begin?

Text: I Peter 1:18-21

                   Now that we’re through Thanksgiving, the Christmas Season is officially in full swing.  The stores have had Christmas decorations out since October and the ads for toys for the kids are all over the TV.  But this morning I want us to think about when Christmas began.  We know the first Christmas was in Bethlehem.  We know how Mary and Joseph were spoken to by an angel, that they went to Bethlehem for the census, that there was no room at the inn for them, and how Jesus was born and wrapped in swaddling clothes then laid in a manger.  These are the stories of the first Christmas.  But is that how it all began?

                   Our text is from I Peter 1:18-21 where Peter writes:  “ Our text is from I Peter 1:18-21 where Peter writes:  “ (18) Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish and without spot.  (20) Who verily, was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (21) who by Him do believe in God, Who raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory that your faith and hope might be in God.”

                   The first Christmas was amazing.  It was miraculous, but it was no accident.  A baby born in a stable didn’t just happen by chance.  The birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t some hiccup in nature.  There was a divine plan behind that great event in Bethlehem.  The fact is, Christmas actually began in the mind of God.  Peter tells us in verse 20 of our text that Jesus “was foreordained before the foundation of the world.”  The word ‘foreordained’ means to ‘know or chose before.’

                   Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world which tells us that the coming of Jesus was God’s plan even before Genesis 1:1 when God created this world.  God had chosen Jesus to come here long before the events in Bethlehem took place.  He knew before it happened where Jesus would be born.  God knew before John the Baptist was born, before the prophet Isaiah was born, before King David was born, before Moses was found in the Nile River, before Abraham ever left Ur, and before He took a handful of dust and blew life into Adam, that Jesus was coming and would be born in Bethlehem.

                   It was God’s plan for Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  The first Christmas was God’s plan before the foundation of the world because of us.  We have Christmas because of us.  Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem because of us.  And God planned for that first Christmas because of us – you and me.  So what does this mean for us?

                   Does it mean we have an opportunity to get lots of presents?  That we get two weeks of vacation from school?  That we get a day or two off from work?  We may have that because of Christmas, but God’ plan goes much deeper than that.  Knowing that God planned the first Christmas before He created the world reveals things about God to us.

                   It tells us that God isn’t surprised or shocked by who we are.  Whatever we do in life – good and bad - doesn’t catch God off guard.  He knew that we would sin, and that we would live life contrary to His commands.  He isn’t shocked by our behavior.  That’s why He planned Christmas in the first place so that Jesus could come into the world because of our sin.  It wasn’t just to be born in a manger.  Jesus came into the world to die.  His death wasn’t without meaning either.  He came to die and pay for the surprising and shocking sins that we commit.  So you see that first Christmas was all about us and saving us from the penalty of our sins so that we could have eternal life with God.

                   God’s Christmas plan reveals that we have meaning to God.  When you think about it there’s a lot of time and effort involved in God’s plan.  The entire Old Testament - all 4,000 years of it - was part of the plan.  All the prophets announced a Messiah was coming.  God went to all that trouble because He wanted to save us.  If He did that for us, He must think an awful lot of us.  And you know what?  He does.  If you were the only person on the planet, God would have done the same thing because you have meaning to God.  The world may look down on us, most people may not even know us, we may feel like the most ignored, insignificant people in the world but when it’s all said and done, we are something to the God who created the universe.  He sent His Son that first Christmas night because we mean something the Him.  God loves us – you and me.

                   Sure, love is a word that’s tossed around lightly these days.  People will tell you they love you in one sentence, then tell you they love chocolate milkshakes the next.  The truth is that the word ‘love’ has no significance whatsoever for far too many people.  It’s just another adjective along the same lines as ‘excellent’ or ‘cool.’  But the truth is, the word ‘love’ gets its true meaning from God. 

                   God backs it up.  He tells us in John 3:16 that He gave His Son Jesus because He loves the whole world – and that include all of us in this room.  We are loved by God.  He proved His love by sending His only Son to die on the Cross.  The Christmas plan is all based on God’s love for us.  The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins wasn’t an afterthought, not something God decided to do when the world spun out of control.  This plan was set in motion by the all-knowing, eternal God before this world was created.  What a comfort it must have been to early believers to know that Christ’s coming, and His work of salvation were planned by God before this world began.  This assured them that the law wasn’t being scrapped because it didn’t work, but that both the law and the coming of Jesus were part of God’s eternal plan.

                   But we can’t get to this loving, holy God on our own.  Our sins have made us unclean before Him.  So God’s plan for that first Christmas is what provided us the way for us to get to Him.  It begins with faith because it’s faith that allows us to know the baby who was born in the manger and grew to be the One who was crucified on the Cross.  God’s plan before the foundation of the world was to provide us with a way to be saved and live with Him forever.  The plan requires us to turn from our sins and trust in the work that Jesus did on the Cross.  If you have already accepted Jesus into your heart and life as Lord and Savior, you have already fulfilled God’s plan for you.  If you haven’t, don’t hesitate any longer.  We don’t know what tomorrow will bring so act now and ask Him into your heart and life. 

                   Yes, enjoy your decorating, shopping, gift wrapping, baking, and Christmas celebrations with your family and friends.  But never forget that the reason we have Christmas is because God loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him.  God redeemed us from the guilt of sin not with money, but with the precious blood of His own Son.  We can’t escape from sin on our own; only the life and death of God’s Son can free us.  Being a ‘good person’ isn’t enough to get anyone into eternity.  Accepting Jesus into your heart and life by faith is the only way.  No one can get there without Him. 

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.