Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
The Spirit of Christmas
Monday, December 22, 2003
My Prayer Today
Dear God, I come to you this day and ask for a heart that is filled your joy this Christmas. I thank you and worship you for allowing me the opportunity to experience this true joy. For You are indeed the joy of my life. I must confess that I have not had this great joy that the angel spoke of to the shepherds that wonderful night. But I long to re-joice in You! Help me to have a heart that is pleasing to you this day. Thank you for all that you have done for me, for saving me, for loving me, and for giving me the opportunity to be your child. Put a song in my heart, and a joy in my step today because of the message of Christmas. May others see what you have done in my life, so they too may have this joy that I have experienced. Thank you for you love Jesus. Amen.
Bible Verses
Luke 2:8-20
8 "That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10 but the angel reassured them. 'Don't be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11 The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord -- has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others -- the armies of heaven -- praising God: 14 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.' 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, 'Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' 16 They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to thema bout this child. 18 All who heart the shepherd's story were astonished, 19 but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said."
Questions for Reflection
What was the reason why the angel told the shepherds to not be afraid (verses 10-11)?
What was the "good news of great joy"? Would the fact that this was good news to "everyone" and not just to the Jews, have been something the shepherds would have expected?
What do you think the shepherds expected this "Savior" to look like? Where do you think they would expect the Messiah to be born?
How did the angel say that they would recognize him (verse 12)? Do you think this surprised the shepherds?
Questions for Exploration
Does the "good news" of Jesus' birth at Christmas give you "great joy", or have you heard this story so much that it sort of gets old?
Why should we have "great joy" because of this "good news"? What does the fact that a Savior has come, have to do with this good news?
What would your life be like if Jesus did not come into this world and the world was left without a Savior?
Questions for Understanding
Have you ever seen someone joyful that did not display it in their, words, actions, and attitudes? Is it possible to keep joy inside without expressing it in some way? What are you words, actions, and attitudes displaying this Christmas season?
The fact that the Savior was born in Bethlehem, the City of David is significant. Do you think the shepherd's knew this? Read the prophecy given in Micah 5:2-5.
Because the angel explained that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, and how they would recognize the child, the angel therefore implied that they should look for this child. When the angel spoke, action was the next step. Likewise when God speaks to us, we must obey and act. What is the point of God speaking, if we do not act and obey? Perhaps, could this be a reason why we have a hard time hearing God's voice, because we have been disobedient in the past when we heard him speak?
Questions for Application
What are several ways this Christmas season, that you can express "great joy" to God and to others about the "good news" of Jesus coming to earth to be our Savior? How can you do one of these things today?
Can your friends and family see your joy? Do they see you more joyful at a football game, or at a good sale at the store, than you are at church or talking about Jesus? If so, why do you think this is the case?
What are your "traditions" at Christmas time/day? Do these traditions have a focus on Jesus? Can you create one new tradition this Christmas, that would help to celebrate Jesus' birthday better? List several ideas for new Christ-centered traditions at Christmas.
Thoughts and Reflections
Joy will always make its way from the "inside out." For when joy is in the heart of a human being, it will always be expressed outward through words, actions, and attitudes. Therefore, joy will always make itself evident. When the angel appeared to the shepherds and told them "I bring you good news of great joy", because "The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord -- has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!" (Luke 2:10-11), it was something to be joyful about. Now I have found that when our favorite sports team wins a game, or when we find a great sale at the store, or when we get a promotion at work, we are joyful about these things. However, compared to the fact that a Savior has come into the world to save us from our sin and eternal punishment, all of these former things pale in comparison. But many times, we seem to be more enthusiastic about them? I have often wondered why this is the case. For many of us, hearing the news of Jesus being born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago in a manger is something that we have heard since we were children. Perhaps, we have allowed the joy of Christmas to be drowned out because it is "old news" that is great, but is nothing surprising anymore. For some, it might have all the excitement of hearing that "we have landed on the moon." Yes, that happened, that's great, but I already know. God's activity in our lives is always present. He wants to do something new in our hearts each day. He wants to give us His joy, and a fresh revelation of who He is and what He has done. He wants to renew the joy and the passion that we perhaps once had, but now have lost, concerning the message of Christmas. But we often get too busy to stop and reflect on God's message to us -- that He loves us enough to identify with us and to save us through His Son's birth, life, death and resurrection. When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he said that this is "good news of great joy!" Do we have great joy this Christmas? Maybe God is saying to us that we need to Rejoice this Christmas? When we "re-joice" we are taking joy all over again. If we have a VCR at home, when we want to watch a video tape over again, we press "re-wind." It means that we watched it before, but we re-wind it to watch it again. When we have heard the Christmas story many times before -- to RE-joice means to remember it and "take joy all over again." Just like we would rewind a tape to watch it over, so we can do the same with joy. And when God fills our hearts with His joy, we will always show it to others and express it outward. This day, I encourage you to sit down for five minutes and imagine what it would be like to be a shepherd and hear the "good news and great joy" for the very first time. Play that "scene" over and over in your mind (like you would a video tape) until the Lord lets it saturate you. Think about the smells, the sights, and the surroundings that you would experience on a dark night in Israel as a shepherd. And then the sky lit up with the glory of the Lord, etc... Afterwards, ask the Lord to help you to re-joice in what He has done through sending His Son Jesus.
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.