SERMON OUTLINE FOR SUNDAY AM, December 20, AM, 2009


Pastor Peter Hogeterp

Covenant Christian Reformed Church

Winnipeg, Canada

           

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20
Sermon Title: THEY CAME, THEY SAW, THEY WORSHIPED: The Shepherds (Worship)

Introduction:
When you’re getting close to the birth of your child, one of the questions you need to ask is, “Whom are we going to call to let them know the baby is here?” Whose name do you put at the top of the list, who is 2nd, who is 3rd, and so on? And “What’s the birth announcement going to look like?” Today we consider the birth announcement God published for the birth of His Son, Jesus. Look who is at the top of God’s list? We’ll identify five “gifts” God gives the shepherds at the birth of His Son.

  1. Gift #1: a humble character
    1. Note the social and religious status of shepherds
    2. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them…” (vs.9)—a pattern in the Christmas story
    3. They were terrified. The angel said, “Do not be afraid.” (vs.10)
    4. “I have good news, of great joy, for all people” (vs.10)
    5. Then the heavens were filled with singing angels (vs.13)

 

  1. Gift #2: the size of the announcement
    1. God went all out for this announcement
    2. Was it a bit overdone, perhaps?
    3. Or did the size of the message dictate the medium?
  1. Gift #3: the gift of faith
    1. How would you react to an announcement like that?
    2. You’ve heard, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is;” we’d be sceptical
    3. But the shepherds said, “Let’s go check it out” (vs. 15)
    4.  “So they hurried off and found things just as the angel had said” (vs.16)

 

  1. Gift #4: spreading the good news
    1. “They spread the word concerning what had been told them” (vs.17)
    2. What was God thinking to entrust such a significant message to the likes of men such as these?
    3. Shepherds were not allowed to testify in court because their word was notoriously unreliable
    4. It is not the person of the messenger that impresses people about the gospel; it is the person of the message
    5. “And all who heard it were amazed” (vs.18)
  1. Gift #5: the desire and ability to worship
    1. Shepherds were not welcome in the temple or synagogue
    2. God gave them the gift to do something they had never done before: worship
    3. They did what the angels had done (vs. 20)
    4. Worship can be seen as our gift to God; but more correctly, the desire and ability to worship is His gift to us

 

Conclusion:
What impresses you most about this story? Whom God chose to be at the top of His list of people to inform about the birth? The size of the announcement? The ability to believe it and act on it? Telling everyone about what they had seen? Glorifying and praising God as though they had been lifted up into the same heaven from which the angels had just come? When all is said and done, it’s all about the child!