Christmas is a time when the sounds around us change a little bit.
Go into a shop in mid-August onwards and you may hear the sound of piped Christmas Carols!
The sounds of children laughing and playing with Christmas presents at 3am on Christmas morning!
The sounds of people actually speaking to each other and saying Merry Christmas!
Christmas is a time when sounds change. It is also a season of a timeless sounds, some of which I want to remind us of this evening; they are like echoes across time..
The Echo of a Baby:
The joy of a new life born into a family is always a special occasion. it’s a time of great celebration. A babies first laugh is one of the loveliest sounds there is. A babies cry at 2am, not so much! All babies cry. They cry to tell their parents it’s time for food or a nappy change.
We sometimes sing a children’s carol, Away in a Manger. Some of the words say, “The Little Lord Jesus no crying he makes…” What the song writer was trying to convey is that the babe was perfect peace. Baby Jesus would have cried though. he would have giggled too.
The sounds from the manger still reach us through time proclaiming that this is a season when we remember God’s love to us:
Luke 2: 11- 14: Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
The echo is felt every time you write the date: 2014 years from what? Anno Domini (AD or A.D.) and Before Christ (BC or B.C.) are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin, translated as In the year of the Lord, and as in the Year of Our Lord. It is sometimes specified more fully as Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (Jesu) Christi ("In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ").
The Echo of the Cross:
Whilst we may not like to think about the death of this time of year, He was born to die.
The purpose of His life was not so that we would get presents and have a jolly fat man come down the chimney each year.
His purpose was to create a way for us to have a relationship[ with God.
Jesus describes Himself as the only way back to God (John 14:6).
How did He make this way? He said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” (John 15:13). He literally threw Himself in harms way to protect us from the consequences of our own wrong doing.
Why was this necessary? Because our sin, our wrongdoing, separated us from God’s love. The love that we speak of sing about at Christmas, offered to all, is not experienced by some because they won't accept this love through Jesus.
Jesus died on a cross, sacrificing Himself and taking the punishment for our wrongdoing.
That means the price has bene paid. Justice has been done! It means that every man, woman and child is offered a fresh start in life. To begin agin as though none of our past had happened.
The echo of the cross reaches us today.
The Echo of the Resurrection:
The Bible tells us that the events didn't end there. Jesus lives again.
The sound of a huge stone being rolled away from the tomb jesus was placed in reaches us today. if there is no resurrection, there is no Christianity.
Quote: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.” ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.
Quote: “I claim to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history.”E. M. Blaiklock Professor of Classics Auckland University.
Matthew 28: 1-7a: After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead…..”
The Echo Reaches us Today:
What do these combined sounds actually sound like? They sound like a knocking at the door of the heart of our lives.
If Jesus is everything He claimed to be then we can hear words He spoke after His resurrection:
Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910), the English artist, painted The Light of the World. it shows Jesus standing outside, knocking on a doors that is overgrown with brambles. Some criticised the paining for there was no handle on the door, an obvious omission for doors in those days had handles on both sides. Hunt responded by simply saying, “The handle is on the inside.”
Tonight there is the sound of a knocking at the door of your heart but the handle is on the inside. To experience God;s love, forgiveness, and fresh start, you have to incite Jesus in!
How? The Bible says two simple things need to happen: believe and speak!
Romans 10: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Wrapping this up!
This Christmas why not do those two things, believe and speak to God about it!
I’m going to say a short prayer and I’m going to ask that we all pray this our loud together. Everyone with their eyes closed (pray).
If that was the first time you prayed that prayer we have a Christmas gift for you. Please indicate to us and we’ll bring you this now.
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