The Gift of Salvation

Matthew 1:18-21

December 21, 2008 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea Carnes

A little boy loved going to church. He enjoyed every part of the worship service, except for the pastoral prayer. He really liked his pastor but he didn’t like his looong pastoral prayers that seemed like they would never end. One Sunday, the boy’s parents invited the pastor home for lunch, and would you believe it, the boy’s mother asked the pastor to pray before the meal. Oh, no! thought the little boy. We will never get to eat. I’m starving, & he will pray forever. But to the boy’s surprise, the minister’s prayer was brief and to the point. He prayed, “O Lord, bless this home. Bless this food, and use us in your service. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” The little boy was so surprised by his short prayer that he blurted out, “Man, you don’t mess around when you’re hungry!”

James Moore adds “that whether we realize it or not, we are hungry. We are all hungry for God. We are all hungry for a savior. We’re all hungry for Christmas because this is precisely what Christmas is all about. We need a Savior, we are starved for a Savior, and a Savior is given!” [James W. Moore, What Do You Want for Christmas? (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2008) 39].

The story began when an angel came to Mary to tell her that God was giving her a gift, his very own Son. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” [Lk.1:31].

In Matthew 1 an angel appeared to Joseph and said to him: “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Mary and Joseph did what the angel told them to do: they named their baby, Jesus. It was a common name in their day. Yet this name means God saves, and confirmed that God was giving them this baby to save his people – to be their Savior.

The people had prayed for the day when God would save them from the injustices, the persecution and oppression from other nations. They hungered for the day when they would be free, and they believed that God would keep his promise.

They just didn’t expect this savior to come as the baby Jesus did. Such an important child should have been born to parents of wealth who were of a ruling or priestly class. Instead, the baby, the Son of God, was born to common people far away from their family, in a place where no one even took notice – except for some shepherds.

Every Christmas program includes the arrival of wise men who came bringing costly gifts to Jesus. Yet

we forget about the gift God gave us.

We are too busy thinking about what we want for Christmas. We wonder what Santa will bring us. We leave hints about the things we want family to give us. We hope we’ll get what we want this Christmas.

Or we get so caught up in buying presents for our family and friends that we forget why we do this. The media says this is the season for giving. That’s what the wise men did – they traveled very far to bring very costly gifts. Therefore, we should also give expensive gifts to those we love.

So we spend too much money and too much time preparing for Christmas. By the time Christmas arrives we are broke and exhausted. We open the presents and eat the Christmas dinner and then sit down in our favorite chair thanking God that it’s over for another year.

Is this what Christmas is really about?

Author John Ortberg wrote a book, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box. Comparing life to a game of Monopoly, he writes that the money, the property, the houses & hotels don’t belong to us. At the end of the game it all goes back in the box.

Life is like that, and so is Christmas. We spend money and energy to get ready for the big event, but when it’s over, all the decorations, all our Christmas stuff, and sometimes gifts we’ve been given, go back in the box.

So what do you really want for Christmas? What are you hungering for or starving for this Christmas?

· Are you hungry for a broken relationship to be healed?

· Are you hungry for relief from the stress & chaos of life – hungry for peace?

· Are you hungry for a job or situation in your life that will give your life some meaning?

· Are you hungry for someone to truly love you?

Then ask the One whose birth we celebrate each Christmas – ask Jesus. He is the reason for this season. Christmas is about Jesus.

Jesus can heal broken relationships when we accept his gift of forgiveness and then extend forgiveness to the other. Jesus forgave us while were still sinners, so we are to give the gift of forgiveness to another.

Jesus can bring peace and calm to our stressful lives when we let him take control. Until we give our problems to Jesus we will still worry and be anxious.

Jesus can give meaning to our lives regardless of our situation. No one has a perfect life or job. A difficult situation may not change, but Jesus gives us a joyful heart when we serve others for his sake.

Jesus can show you acceptance and love that is worth living for because Jesus sees you as a life worth dying for.

Jesus came to give us all that we truly hunger for. He came to save us and to give us life that is abundant and life that never ends. Jesus alone is able to give us what we need.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” [Titus 2:11].

Christmas is about God’s gift to all people:

the gift of Jesus, who came to save people from their sins.

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” [Jn.6:35].

Today we come to the table and receive again the bread of life and the cup of salvation. It is Jesus’ gift of himself to you.

Let your hunger for God’s gift bring you back to the true meaning of Christmas – back to Jesus.

Come to the table. Come and receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright ©2008 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.