Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Segment 1

It’s a great question. Just what is Christmas all about? You’ve really got to feel for poor, old Charlie Brown. He was so confused and so perplexed with all the commercialization of Christmas that he himself had lost perspective on what it’s all about. Fortunately Linus was there to help his friend regain some holiday perspective and remember the true meaning of his holiday.

A whole lot of us probably have a little bit of Charlie Brown in us. How many of us are blinded by the disarray that Christmas is in? How many of us, even those of us who are Christ-followers, lose sight of the reason this holiday exists in the first place? This morning we’re slowing everything down. We have created a slow, warm, casual environment that will allow us to do some filtering. We’re here to filter out our world’s messages and look to the Bible to find out what Christmas is all about.

One of the first things we learn in the Bible is that Christmas is about seeking.

So far this morning, the Bible has told us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And then angels announced his birth to a bunch of shepherds out in the field. What happened after that?

The Bible says, “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (Luke 2:15-16, NIV)

Christmas is about seeking. When the angels left the shepherds, they didn’t say, “Hey, let’s head for the mall,” or “Let’s go see that new Tim Allen Santa Claus movie” or “Let’s go find the perfect tree.” When the angels told them about what had happened, the shepherds said, “Let’s go see the Christ child.” Christmas is about seeking Christ.

We are driven by seek. We can’t underestimate seek’s power. The power of seek is a driving force in our lives. Billions of dollars are made on the power of seek. Websites like match.com and eHarmony exist for people who are seeking a mate. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig exist because people are seeking to lose weight. Hollywood exists because people are seeking to be entertained. The list could go one forever. Fashion companies exist because people are seeking to look better. Doctors exist because people are seeking to feel better. The power of seek drives almost everything we do.

But we can really take it even a step further. We’re not only driven by seek. We are defined by seek. What we seek in our lives defines who we are. It defines who we are because it reveals what is truly important to us.

After the angels left, the shepherds decided to seek out Jesus. It’s interesting because that could have possibly meant leaving some, if not all, of their flocks behind. Shepherding provided a very meager income. It barely put food on the table. But all hope was lost if a shepherd left his flock. And yet this flock of sheep, the shepherds’ only source of income, was not as important as seeking Jesus. The moment they decided to seek Jesus was the defining moment of their lives because it revealed what was truly significant in their lives.

The problem most of us run into is that we seek out immediate things. We seek out answers to immediate problems. Whatever the immediate issue is determines what we seek. The problem with that way of life is that Jesus is rarely immediate. Rarely does Jesus jump up and down and scream for your immediate attention. So we seek him when things move at a slower pace. But when things really get busy, like during the holidays, we seek to fulfill our schedule and our commitments instead of seeking Jesus.

Actually that’s not a new problem. Even Joseph and Mary lost track of Jesus when things got busy. When Jesus was 12 years old, his family went to Jerusalem for The Feast of the Passover just like they did every year. But when it came time to return home, they were so busy with all their travel plans and things got so hectic on the trip that they actually left Jesus behind.

The Bible says, “After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.” (Luke 2:43-45, NIV)

They traveled a whole day before they realized that they had left Jesus behind. Remember the scene in the movie Home Alone when the mom realizes that they had left their son, Kevin, behind. She freaked. Now imagine if, you not only left your son behind, but you left the Son of God behind! That’s called messing up BIG time!

So they ran back to Jerusalem, which took another entire day. They finally found their 12-year-old boy at the temple teaching the adults.

When things get hectic and busy and crazy, it’s easy to lose Jesus. And it’s never easier than at Christmastime. It’s interesting that, in a season designed to remember his birth, it’s so easy to lose track of Jesus.

Christmas is about seeking. What will you seek this Christmas?

Segment 2

Christmas is about pondering. “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19, NIV) Can you imagine all the commotion that was happening all around her? She had a brand new baby. They were probably in a stable or a cave because there was no room for them in the hotel. A bunch of shepherds came from out of nowhere, saying that an angel had told them all about her baby boy. The whole town was buzzing. And yet Mary was still able to withdraw from all the commotion and ponder what God had done.

Christmas is about pondering. But pondering is often lost to us because it isn’t convenient. It isn’t easy. It doesn’t happen quickly. We want a microwave faith, but pondering is more of a crock pot kind of thing.

But pondering is a part of Christmas and it is a part of Christianity. God-followers have always been called to ponder the works of the Lord.

In Psalm 46:10, God commands us to, “Be still and know that I am God.” (NIV) He didn’t just say, “Know that I am God” because that is incomplete. We can’t know God until we quiet our lives and slow down enough to ponder Him. To ponder His ways. To ponder His strength. To ponder His love. When we ponder, the magnitude of God comes into clearer focus.

If we are content to live our lives in fast-forward and to live our lives on surface level, we shouldn’t be surprised when our faith is shallow and unfulfilling. If we take the drive-thru approach to God, then we shouldn’t be shocked when we wind up with a Happy Meal faith.

God wants us to know him. He wants us to ponder him. And so that’s what we’re going to do. Every Sunday we share the Lord’s Supper. It’s a time to refocus our lives and to ponder what God has done for us. This morning we’re going to offer an extended period of time to ponder. To ponder God in a manger. To ponder God on a cross. Don’t hurry. Don’t rush it. Most of us have places to go later today. We have family to visit, presents to give, and meals to cook. But at this moment, none of that matters. Follow Mary’s example. Treasure up what God has done and ponder it in your mind and in your heart.

Segment 3

Christmas is about changing. Shepherds were a notoriously rough crowd. But from the Scripture that Georgia just read, we know that these particular shepherds left the manger praising God and telling everyone about what they had witnessed. Their experience at the manger had impacted them. Their time with Jesus had changed them.

There’s a great verse in the book of Acts about a couple of Jesus’ followers. It says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV)

When someone has been with Jesus, it shows. There is no denying it. When you experience Jesus, it changes you. And that’s really what Christmas is all about. God came in the form of a baby. He became one of us, and then he died for us so that he could forgive us and change us.

The shepherds left the manger changed. How has your experience with Jesus changed you? How will you be different because you were here this morning? Will people take note of the change? Will they be able to tell that you’ve been with Jesus?

You were given a candle as you came in this morning. Brian is going to begin passing candlelight around the room. We ask you to pass it across the aisles and also pass it to the rows behind you.

In the Bible, Jesus referred to himself as the Light of the World. Later on, he referred to his followers as the Light of the World. It’s the only time in the whole Bible where the same title is applied to Christ and Christ-followers. It’s a significant title because it’s all about change. The only thing that changes darkness is light.

Jesus came to change the darkness of our lives into light. And then in turn, he has released us to pass that change on to our dark and dying world.

Invitation

Earlier this morning, we discovered that Christmas is about seeking. One of my son’s favorite games is hide and seek. It is a game that is played quite often in the Edmisten household. It’s a game that we’ve all played at one time or another in our lives. But it’s almost always played with family or friends. Even when you were a kid, you probably didn’t just walk up to a complete stranger and say, “Hey, let’s play hide and seek.” No, you played the game with people you had a relationship with. You wanted to know that, if you went and hid, this person would care enough to come and find you! You wanted this person to think that you were worth seeking out.

The point of the Christmas story is that God thought you were worth seeking out. He cared enough to come and look for you. Not just to look down on you from his heavenly throne. He cared enough to come and seek each of us by becoming one of us.

If you have never accepted the love and forgiveness of Jesus, understand that he is seeking you. He’s chasing after you. He is pursuing you. He came and died for you. Now he is hotly pursuing you. Will you make it the best Christmas ever by surrendering your life and your eternity to him today?

Mike Edmisten

Tags: angel, Christmas, Luke 2, shepherds, change, ponder, seek, slowing