The Good News of Christmas!

Part 1

Sermon Notes
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2009
Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor
John 1:1-14 NRSV

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2He was in the beginning with God.  3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

 A.  Introduction

                   1.  Plato

                                                a.  The Greek philosopher Plato sought to comprehend the mystery of life.  He described the human condition like this:  Humankind is like a man imprisoned in a cave.  He is chained against a wall in a chamber from which there is no escape.  He wears blinders so that his vision is limited to the cave wall that is directly in front of him.  The man is only able to see the shadows of creatures and objects that pass before the cave entrance behind him.  Thus humankind, like this man, is only able to view a small part of reality, and able to comprehend only a tiny fraction of the truth.

                                                b.  Plato was a great philosopher.  But even the simplest Christian believer has an advantage over the famous philosopher.  Through the birth of Jesus, into the darkness of the human condition God has thrown light. 

                   2.  Today's Scripture:  John 1:4-5

                                                a.  John said this of Jesus:  “In him was life, and the life was the LIGHT OF MEN.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5 RSV)

                                                b.  We are no longer people living trapped in the dark.  The light of God has come to us in the form of Jesus Christ, and that is the good news of Christmas.  This morning I share two of the important truths that His birth brings:

 B.  God became a human being in Jesus!

                   1.  Joseph’s declaration!

                                                a.  It was the Youth Christmas Play.  Mary and Joseph made their way to the door of the inn and knocked.  The innkeeper opened the door.  Joseph asked, “Could we please have a room?”  The innkeeper replied, “Begone!  There is no room at my inn.”  Joseph then pleaded, “Please, we must find shelter.  My wife is going to have a baby.”  The innkeeper snorted, “That’s not my fault!”  To which Joseph replied, “It’s not mine either.”

                                                b.  Jesus is God Incarnate.  Jesus is God and man.  Christmas is about the time in which God became a human being.  God loves us so much that He came to us in a form that we could understand.  God loves us so much that He came to us in the persona of His Son to save us.  John said it well:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”  (John 1:1 & 14 RSV) 

                    2.  Mother’s Lap
                                                a.  Jennifer loved it when her mother read her stories.  However, her mother was a single mom and she worked long hours.  So mom got a cassette player and recorded Jennifer’s favorite stories on tape.  Mother thought that on some nights when she was really tired, her little girl could listen to the tape player.  Jennifer did not like the cassette player and threw it into the trashcan.  Mother asked her, “Why did you do that?”  Jennifer replied, “Because the cassette player doesn’t have a lap.”

                                                b.  Before the coming of Jesus, God was distant and remote.  The prophets and nature gave us a glimpse, but the picture was unclear.  Then Jesus came.  God in the flesh, and now we have a clear picture of what God is like.

C.  Jesus came to live in our human hearts!

                   1.  School Nativity Set

                                                a.  Rose taught at a private school.  During the Christmas season she set up a Nativity Scene in her classroom.  A boy named Billy seemed fascinated by the Crčche, and just stared at it for the longest time.  Finally Rose asked him, “What is it?  Why are you so taken by the Nativity Scene?  Is something the matter?”  Billy replied, “What I’d like to know is this:  Where does God fit in?”

                                                b.  Rose told the boy the story of Jesus’ birth.  She told about the journey to Bethlehem, and how there was no room at the inn.  Rose talked about the shepherds and the Wise Men.  She told how baby Jesus slept in the manger.  Rose then told Billy that the Lord came into our world to teach us about how to live and to be our Savior.  And finally she told Billy that today Jesus wants to live in our hearts.  “That’s where God fits in,” she told the boy.  John put it this way:  “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”  (John 1:12-13 RSV)

                   2.  George Foreman

                                                a.  George Foreman made history some years back when at 45 years of age he won the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World!  However, unknown to most people was the reason he fought, and to whom he credited the victory.  Foreman speaking of his younger days says, “I was a mean, ugly, cantankerous, horrible person — but Jesus Christ came into my life as Lord and Savior.”  This changed Foreman from an arrogant man into a philanthropist and an ambassador for Christ.  George Foreman has spent the last 20 years of his life preaching and sharing the Gospel to people on the streets of Houston, Texas.  He built a Church with his own money.  He built a Youth Center to keep young people off the streets and off drugs and out of bars and taverns.  There came a time he needed more money to support these charities.  So he used the skills he had.  He went back into the ring.  Foreman says the real victory is in what Christ has done for him.  He says he cannot comprehend why he would have been so bad in the past.  Friends and family today call him a gracious, articulate, sensitive, genuine man.  His young adult daughter Natalie said, “The most important thing in his life is praising God.”

                                                b.  Whenever any human truly allows Jesus to live in their heart, great things happen.  Alcoholics become sober.  Angry men become gentle.  Lawbreakers become decent and respectful people.  Even the “average Jane and Joe” change for the better, if they sincerely make Jesus the Lord of their life.  Have you asked Jesus in?  It’s not enough to simply admire Him, or to try and follow His teachings.  The real joy, and power, and abundance come when you stop playing around and allow Christ to rule your heart!

D.  Conclusion:  Hear the Good News of Christmas!

                        1.  Today, we remember that:

                                      a.  God became a human being in Jesus!

                                      b..  Jesus came to live in our human hearts!

                      2.  Christmas Eve we will trust the promise that Jesus is the hope of the world!