12-07-2025 The Christmas Gift from God

Text: Luke 2:8-14

                   So here we are in the Christmas rush.  A lot of us are focused on shopping.  We ask for wish lists from family and friends and even provide our own list for what we would like or need for Christmas.  Anticipation is high with the getting and receiving the right gifts.  There gifts that come from God that some gifts that some of us need to be reminded of, and some may not have ever gotten before.  That is what we will focus on this morning. 

                   Our text is from Luke 2:8-14 that say:  “ (8) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  (9) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.  (10) And the angel said unto them, fear not for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  (12) And this shall be a sign unto you:  You shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  (13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of Heavenly Host praising God and saying (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good with toward men.”

                   The gift that God gives us for Christmas is Jesus.  Christmas is about Jesus.  Sadly, today the world has commercialized and sanitized Christmas to the point that it’s often hard to find Jesus there at all.  But the actions and opinions of the world can’t change the fact that Christmas is about Jesus who is God’s gift to us.

                   We see in vv. 9 to 12 of our text how the glory of the Lord shone all around the angel and the shepherds.  What did the shepherds see that scared them out of their minds?  It’s likely that there was bright light all around them the likes of which they had never seen.  Think about it.  Suddenly their dark, calm, quiet night exploded into a brightness they had never experienced.  What they saw and heard was the presence of the eternal God in the form of the angel.   This experience was similar to what Moses experienced when God came to him in the burning bush, and then when God was in the pillars of fire and cloud that guided the desert wanderings Israelites. 

                   The Christmas angel brought the good news to the world that the Savior had been born and told the shepherds where they could find Him.  The angel also shared that Jesus had a purpose for coming into this world:  Jesus came to bring His Father glory, and to save us.  God gave Jesus to us with Christmas and Jesus’ gift to us is forgiveness of our sins.

                   We all have sins that are on our conscious and minds.  We may hide it from the people around us and even try to bury it in ourselves.  But God knows it’s there and we can’t escape it or its consequences.  Jesus came to free us from our sins.  Through Him we can be freed from the burden of sin so our conscious and minds can be released from the guilt of sin.  We’re all responsible to God for every single sin we have committed.  Through Jesus, we can be pardoned from the penalty of sin which is death.  God offers the gift of forgiveness to all who will come to Jesus and let Him into their hearts and lives.  Jesus was born, not to sit as King on the throne of Israel, but to die for us.  God offers the gift of forgiveness to all who will come to His Son.  Jesus gives us the hope of a bright and eternal future.

                   The world we live in today is so cynical.  Many people live defeated lives with no hope of seeing any improvement.  People are looking for anything that offers something better and will do anything if they find someone who pretends to care about them.  But relying on worldly ways to bring us peace only results in disappointment and deepens the cynical view point.  But there is someone who cares.

                   God cares.  He cares so much He sent His Son Jesus to die for you and me.  Jesus is always there, and He wants us to come to Him.  Jesus is the source of our hope for the future.  He can fill our earthly lives with hope and purpose, and He’s available to all who choose to allow Him to take charge of their heart and mind.  Only Jesus brings us the gift of eternal life in Heaven. 

                   This world is just a stop along the way to eternity.  Every person will spend it in either Heaven or Hell.  Jesus offers us the gift of eternal life in a place where there will be no pain, sorrow, depression, fighting, helplessness, tears, or death.  Satan offers us a place that will be filled with pain, sorrow, helplessness, tears, and death.  God will never force His will on us.  We all make the choice about where we want to spend eternity.  Only we can make that decision.  Parents can’t make the decision for their children.  Pastors can’t make the decision for their parishioners.  Every individual must make that decision on their own to accept or reject the gift of eternal life in Heaven from Jesus.

                   I Corinthians 2:9 tell us “But, as it is written (Isaiah 64:6), Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them who love Him.”  God has a place prepared for you and for me through Jesus Christ.  Our finite human minds aren’t capable of fully understanding what we have to look forward to when we finally get to eternity in Heaven or Hell.  There are hints of it will be like throughout the Bible.  The shepherds in those fields so long ago saw a glimpse of what waits for us in Heaven, and it scared them.  But when we’re transformed from our human bodies and minds, it will all become clear, and we will understand all the things that remain a mystery to us here on earth.  This is God’s gift to all of us.  I can’t give it to you.  Only God has offered it.  There is nothing we can do to earn it.  All we have to do is to accept it through Jesus with faith and trust that all that we are told in God’s Word will one day be ours. 

                   This morning as we share the Lord’s supper, we are again reminded of the reason Jesus came into this world in human form.  If you haven’t yet done so, open your heart to Jesus this Christmas season so you can receive His gift of eternal life in heaven. 

                   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.