1st Sunday after Christmas, 12/30/18
Hebrews 2:10-18
Born to Die!
I. To be a devil destroyer
II. To be a human helper
As the first-time mother holds her newborn infant in her arms and watches her breathe so faintly, she wonders in her mind, “I wonder how many more breaths she has left in her lifetime?”
Now what kind of mother would possibly be thinking about that at what should be one of the most joyful moments in her life? That’s so morbid! It’s psychotic!
A father spends a glorious afternoon fishing with his eight-year-old son. As they walk hand in hand back to their vehicle to make the trip home, he’s thinking, “One great day of fishing down. I wonder how many more he has left.”
Now what kind of father thinks that way? Instead of soaking in the moment of what should have been an extremely satisfying experience with his son, he’s wondering how many more times his son will enjoy that experience in his lifetime? That’s a sick way of thinking, isn’t it?
So, we’ve just finished celebrating another glorious Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And while it might not have been the “best” Christmas you’ve ever celebrated in your life, I imagine it was still a wonderful, blessed time for you. Many of us celebrated with our loved ones, and we cherish those opportunities. We look forward to the next time we’ll enjoy their company.
We don’t conclude those celebrations thinking, “I wonder how many we have left.” At least, most of us don’t.
But then we come to worship this morning to continue our Christmas celebration on this First Sunday after Christmas and what do we hear in today’s second lesson? We hear the writer to the Hebrews talk about Jesus’ suffering, about Jesus dying to destroy the devil’s power, about Jesus making atonement for our sins by dying on the cross. So much for our joyful Christmas celebration!
But today’s reading is not some mistake for this Sunday after Christmas. In fact, it states the very reason for the birth of Christ. Jesus was born to die. That’s not some psychotic way of thinking; it’s God’s saving truth. It’s actually the very source of our Christmas joy and peace. Born to die. Let’s ponder that ironic truth for a few minutes, shall we?
Part I.
Finding your purpose in life. That must be an important topic for people in our world today because, if you Google it, you’ll get pages of links which lead to quizzes you can take to help you find your purpose. I looked at a few of them and was thoroughly disappointed. I should have known better.
Had Google existed when Jesus was on this earth, I’m certain he wouldn’t have needed such a quiz to discover his purpose. This morning’s Gospel reading relates how he knew that he was here on earth to carry out his Father’s business. He knew why he was here. He had been born on this earth to carry out the Father’s plan to save all sinners.
You and I know that plan culminated in Jesus’ physical death. Even on this First Sunday after Christmas we don’t shy away from that truth. We didn’t conveniently omit the part of his suffering and death from our recitation of the Nicene Creed. We didn’t remove the cross from our sanctuary or even attempt to hide it. I don’t think any of you refrain from wearing the cross as jewelry during the Christmas season. We know and believe that Jesus’ death was critically necessary for our forgiveness and eternal life.
Bottom line, that’s why he came to this earth. That’s where he was born. Listen to the writer to the Hebrews, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Jesus was born to die, and by his death, to destroy Satan’s power. You see, God warned Adam in the Garden of Eden prior to the fall into sin that the punishment for sin was death—meaning separation from God in hell. Satan has never forgotten that absolute truth. He knows that God cannot go back on his word or rewrite the divine legal code. The soul that sins will die. Satan holds that power play. But Jesus destroyed death by his death and “has brought life and immortality to light” (2 Tim. 1:10). Jesus proclaimed, “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn. 11:26) We will never be separated from God, even if we die. That’s because Jesus destroyed death’s power.
In doing so, he also destroyed death’s fear. Dying is as natural as being born. It happens to everyone, sooner or later. But we don’t like to talk about death. One of the big reasons for it is that people fear death. They don’t know what lies beyond. They’ve been told they’ll meet their Maker. And that terrifies them. But that’s not the way it is for those who trust in Jesus. The moment we die, we meet Jesus, who died for all our sins and therefore he won’t condemn us. We die to live with Jesus in the heaven he has prepared for us. That unimaginable bliss in heaven is ours by faith in Jesus who died for us. Satan and his hell have no hold on us. Jesus was born to die for us.
Born to die—to be a devil destroyer.
The movie Erin Brockovich documents the real-life efforts of a legal aid to uncover the environmental disaster caused by a California power company. It had carelessly disposed of a cancer-causing substance which contaminated the ground water for countless area residents. For years they used the contaminated water and were completely unaware of the danger. When health issues began to emerge, they were concerned, but had no idea how serious the situation was.
That reminds me of the danger our text describes, only this one is far worse. The vast majority of people in our world either don’t know that Satan exists or deny that he does. They’re completely unaware of the disaster he has planned for them. And then there are the people who know he exists, but conveniently dismiss how serious his power is. In fact, they try to have a little fun in life as they dip a toe into his eternally toxic world.
And that, my friends, is why we need the reminder that Jesus was born to die. It took nothing less than the Son of God coming in human flesh and blood, born into our world at Christmas, so that he could offer that body to destroy the devil’s power. So, don’t play games with Satan. Don’t dally with the devil. Recognize temptations to sin for what they are—Satan’s attempt to drape you in death and drag you from life with Christ. Use your celebration of Christmas to remind yourself just how necessary a Savior born in Bethlehem’s manger was for you. He was born to die—to be a devil destroyer for you.
Part II.
Have you ever wished for another set of hands? Probably not the majority of the time, but when you’re trying to get a project done and two hands aren’t enough, you wonder what it would be like to have another set.
Ever wish you had a clone? Not very often, until you’re so busy that you come to realize that the only way you’ll get everything done on time is if there’s another one of you helping you.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a personal assistant? You know, someone who will run your errands that day so that you can accomplish more important tasks, or simply rest and relax?
On a similar note…have you ever wanted God’s help with something? Which Christian hasn’t? One of the comforts that our Christian faith gives us is that Jesus does for us what we can’t do for ourselves—pay for our sins. But have you asked your God for his help with other things in your life? I’m sure you have—health problems, family problems, financial problems, problems with our education or our employment.
And our God is only too willing to help us as he deems best. In fact, the writer to the Hebrews states that’s one of the reasons Jesus was born. Listen to his words again. “For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
In those words, you heard the word “atonement.” Another fitting translation would be “propitiation.” We don’t hear that word very often, so it might be unfamiliar to you. “To propitiate” means to make or regain someone’s favor. That assumes that favor has been lost. A state of anger, animosity and ill-will exists. And that was surely the case between us and the holy God. God’s reaction to our sin is not one of mild amusement over the silly decisions we make, or even a divine carelessness over the trivial nature of sin. His reaction is white-hot anger. And what makes it all the more serious is that we can’t appease him no matter how hard we try. We need a Helper to do it for us. Enter Jesus who was born to die. He made atonement for the sins of the world.
And now, as the writer points out, he helps us in every temptation. He knows what we’re facing because he faced it, too. That’s one of the reasons that he shared our flesh and blood—so that he can help us whenever we’re tempted. Jesus was born to die.
Born to die—to be a human helper.
There might be a Christmas gift you received last week that you held for the first and last time, because you quickly deemed you don’t want it, need it, or like it.
Don’t make that mistake with Jesus, God’s Christmas Gift to you. One of the reasons he was born is to die for you, and by dying, he is your Helper. He is your divine Helper. In fact, he wants to help you every day. With every sin you commit, with every temptation you face, with every problem in your life, look to the One who was born to die. The One who helped you with his death will surely help you with your life. Amen.
December 29, 2018
December 28, 2018
O Little Town of Bethlehem!
4th Sunday in Advent, 12/23/18
Micah 5:2-5a
O Little Town of Bethlehem!
I. An unlikely town for history’s greatest birth
II. An unlikely home for history’s greatest ruler
There are just some Christmas hymns that you must sing, or your celebration of Christmas won’t be the same. For instance, you must sing, “Silent Night! Holy Night.” And what would Christmas be if you didn’t sing, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”? And rounding out the list of other obligatory Christmas hymns would be “Joy to the World” and the one that centers on the birthplace of our Savior, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The origin of that famous Christmas hymn—O Little Town of Bethlehem— is interesting. The words were written by Philip Brooks in December 1868 for his Sunday School children at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. No doubt, he was inspired by a trip he had made to the Holy Land two years earlier. About that trip he wrote:
After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It was a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star. Somewhere in those fields we rode through where the shepherds must have been.
As Brooks recalled that ride, he wrote his famous hymn. A copy of it in the author’s handwriting is stored in the archives of Holy Trinity Church.
And tomorrow night we’ll sing it. It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas if we didn’t. But far more important than the words of the hymn are the words of our God on which the hymn is based. Our Savior’s birth in Bethlehem was no accident. God’s used his prophet Micah, who lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, to foretell not only where the Savior would be born, but also who that Savior would be and what he would do.
As we stand on the threshold of another celebration of Christmas—on this final day in the season of Advent—let’s prepare our hearts for our Savior by paying attention to Micah’s prophecy and seeing it fulfilled when Jesus was born. Let’s do so, keeping in mind the title of that favorite Christmas hymn: “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” May our God bless our spiritual journey there as we ponder Micah’s words this morning.
Part I.
Have you ever been to Bowersville, OH? Do you even know where it is? It’s due east of here, and it sits just a little off of Interstate 71, on Ohio 72 just south of Jamestown. According to 2010 census, the population of Bowersville is 312—barely a dot on the map. But as small and insignificant as it is, when you enter town, there’s a plaque which proudly proclaims that Bowersville is the birthplace of Norman Vincent Peale, the author of the book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Decades ago, Peale’s self-help book was a best-seller. Quite an accomplishment for a man born in such a small town.
If scholars are correct, Bethlehem in Judea at the time Jesus was born was even smaller in population than Bowersville, OH. The estimate I see most often is that 200 people called Bethlehem home. It seems it was always just a small town. Micah states the obvious for people who were familiar with Bethlehem in Bible times when he describes it as “small among the clans of Judah.” That’s probably a reference to the fact that, in the days of Israel’s leader, Joshua, as the Holy Land was apportioned it to the Children of Israel, even though Bethlehem had already existed for 100s of years, it was too small even to mention.
And it didn’t help any that Bethlehem was known as a town where shepherds lived. I don’t imagine the mention of shepherding as an occupation carries any negative baggage with you and me, but it was a lowly occupation in Bible times. It was one of those jobs that you didn’t aspire to. I don’t imagine many parents encouraged their sons to pursue it. But by and large, that’s who lived in Bethlehem. It had been that way for 100s of years.
Not the kind of place we would choose for a notable birth. And if we were the ones making the plans to send a Savior into the world, I’m guessing a town like Bethlehem wouldn’t be on our radar. But it actually made the perfect place, in God’s way of planning, for the Savior to be born. There were no pretenses in Bethlehem. What you saw is what you got. I’m guessing the Bethlehemites didn’t claim to be anybody special.
They were simple, plain, humble folks. Perfect! Because that’s exactly who Jesus was and that’s exactly what he came to do. He came to humble himself. He was the almighty, eternal God, and yet he didn’t flaunt it before his fellow Jews. Instead, he hid it, for the most part. He came to this earth even for simple, humble people by becoming one for us. He became one of us to obey every one of God’s commandments perfectly for us. He became one of us to suffer and die as the punishment for our sins. He humbled himself, even to death on the cross. And his saving work started when he was born in Bethlehem.
O little town of Bethlehem—an unlikely town for history’s greatest birth.
I’m going to guess that all of us will gladly join in singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” tomorrow. In fact, if we don’t, it won’t seem like Christmas. We have no trouble singing about a lowly, humble town. But do we ever have difficulty singing the praises of the humble Savior born in it? Have you ever thought so much of yourself that a having a Savior who humbled himself even to death on the cross for you seemed a little extreme or even unnecessary? After all, your sins aren’t so many or so bad. Maybe another person’s are, but not yours. Or, have you ever become impatient with the Savior who humbled himself for you as you now wish that he would wield his almighty power a little bit in your life and make a few things better? In other words, on either side of things, there tend to be times in our lives when we’re disillusioned with a humble Savior born in a little town called Bethlehem. That’s when we need to go back and take a look at God’s promises of a Savior—just like the one in front of us. Jesus came exactly as God promised because God knew that’s exactly the kind of Savior we needed—One who humbled himself and took the world’s sins upon him. And when are thoughts are centered on that humble Savior, then we sing with joy in our hearts, “O little town of Bethlehem.”
Part II.
Ever since the mid-term elections more than a month ago, the media have been reporting on the efforts of our elected officials to jockey for prized positions especially in both houses of Congress. I’ve heard the names of politicians from nearly every state in the union except Hawaii. In fact, I couldn’t name an elected official from Hawaii if my life depended on it. Maybe that’s because I don’t associate Hawaii with US politics. When I think of Hawaii, I think of beaches, palm trees, warm weather, surfing.
Likewise Bethlehem. As I mentioned earlier, it was known for shepherds, but certainly not powerful people. There was one notable exception, however. King David was from Bethlehem. Micah lived 200 years after David, and, as far as we know, no other important people, let alone a king, came from Bethlehem since. It would remain that way for the next 700 years after Micah.
But then Bethlehem became the birthplace of history’s greatest ruler. Listen to Micah foretell it, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” This ruler’s origins would be “from of old.” Sounds odd, doesn’t it? That’s Micah’s way of stating that this ruler would be eternal—without beginning or end. In other words, he would be true God.
Micah also tells us that he would cause his brothers to return. The best way to understand that phrase is to see this ruler, Jesus, as the One who would redeem all people with his holy, precious blood and bring them together into his eternal kingdom by faith in him.
And, being a ruler born in a shepherd town, how appropriate that Micah foretells that Jesus will “shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord”! One of our most-loved pictures of Jesus is as our Good Shepherd. Micah here foretells it.
But make no mistake about it, people around the world would know who this humble ruler was and is. Micah states that “his greatness will reach the ends of the earth.” We’ve seen Micah’s words fulfilled as people from every nation, tribe and language will join us tomorrow and Tuesday in praising Jesus as the world’s only Savior from sin.
And that praise is appropriate, because it’s only through Jesus that we sinners have peace with the holy God. “And he will be their peace.” What we need most of all—the forgiveness of sins—Jesus won for us on Calvary’s cross and gives to us by faith in him. In fact, his peace now rules in our hearts as he assures us every day of our lives here on earth that he lives in us now so that we will live with him forever. And nothing can change that! It all started in a little town called Bethlehem, as Micah foretold.
O little town of Bethlehem—an unlikely home for history’s greatest ruler.
Are you prepared to celebrate the birth of the ruler born in Bethlehem? I pray that you are. By being prepared, I’m not speaking about the things you need to do at home or somewhere else. I’m talking about right here, in your heart. The truth is, many are the times when we don’t want Jesus to be a ruler born in Bethlehem. A helpless little infant suits us just fine, because such an infant demands nothing of us. But if Jesus is a ruler, our King, then he has a claim on our lives, and many are the times that we chafe under his rule. But recall that he is also the King of peace. He came to the little town of Bethlehem because he knows how often we violate his rule in our lives, so he came to live under that rule for us. And with his blood he redeemed us and by faith in him we are members of his kingdom. Under his loving, gracious rule, we can sing with joy on our lips and peace in our hearts, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” May your Lord Jesus give you a most blessed Christmas! Amen.
Micah 5:2-5a
O Little Town of Bethlehem!
I. An unlikely town for history’s greatest birth
II. An unlikely home for history’s greatest ruler
There are just some Christmas hymns that you must sing, or your celebration of Christmas won’t be the same. For instance, you must sing, “Silent Night! Holy Night.” And what would Christmas be if you didn’t sing, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”? And rounding out the list of other obligatory Christmas hymns would be “Joy to the World” and the one that centers on the birthplace of our Savior, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The origin of that famous Christmas hymn—O Little Town of Bethlehem— is interesting. The words were written by Philip Brooks in December 1868 for his Sunday School children at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. No doubt, he was inspired by a trip he had made to the Holy Land two years earlier. About that trip he wrote:
After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It was a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star. Somewhere in those fields we rode through where the shepherds must have been.
As Brooks recalled that ride, he wrote his famous hymn. A copy of it in the author’s handwriting is stored in the archives of Holy Trinity Church.
And tomorrow night we’ll sing it. It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas if we didn’t. But far more important than the words of the hymn are the words of our God on which the hymn is based. Our Savior’s birth in Bethlehem was no accident. God’s used his prophet Micah, who lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, to foretell not only where the Savior would be born, but also who that Savior would be and what he would do.
As we stand on the threshold of another celebration of Christmas—on this final day in the season of Advent—let’s prepare our hearts for our Savior by paying attention to Micah’s prophecy and seeing it fulfilled when Jesus was born. Let’s do so, keeping in mind the title of that favorite Christmas hymn: “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” May our God bless our spiritual journey there as we ponder Micah’s words this morning.
Part I.
Have you ever been to Bowersville, OH? Do you even know where it is? It’s due east of here, and it sits just a little off of Interstate 71, on Ohio 72 just south of Jamestown. According to 2010 census, the population of Bowersville is 312—barely a dot on the map. But as small and insignificant as it is, when you enter town, there’s a plaque which proudly proclaims that Bowersville is the birthplace of Norman Vincent Peale, the author of the book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Decades ago, Peale’s self-help book was a best-seller. Quite an accomplishment for a man born in such a small town.
If scholars are correct, Bethlehem in Judea at the time Jesus was born was even smaller in population than Bowersville, OH. The estimate I see most often is that 200 people called Bethlehem home. It seems it was always just a small town. Micah states the obvious for people who were familiar with Bethlehem in Bible times when he describes it as “small among the clans of Judah.” That’s probably a reference to the fact that, in the days of Israel’s leader, Joshua, as the Holy Land was apportioned it to the Children of Israel, even though Bethlehem had already existed for 100s of years, it was too small even to mention.
And it didn’t help any that Bethlehem was known as a town where shepherds lived. I don’t imagine the mention of shepherding as an occupation carries any negative baggage with you and me, but it was a lowly occupation in Bible times. It was one of those jobs that you didn’t aspire to. I don’t imagine many parents encouraged their sons to pursue it. But by and large, that’s who lived in Bethlehem. It had been that way for 100s of years.
Not the kind of place we would choose for a notable birth. And if we were the ones making the plans to send a Savior into the world, I’m guessing a town like Bethlehem wouldn’t be on our radar. But it actually made the perfect place, in God’s way of planning, for the Savior to be born. There were no pretenses in Bethlehem. What you saw is what you got. I’m guessing the Bethlehemites didn’t claim to be anybody special.
They were simple, plain, humble folks. Perfect! Because that’s exactly who Jesus was and that’s exactly what he came to do. He came to humble himself. He was the almighty, eternal God, and yet he didn’t flaunt it before his fellow Jews. Instead, he hid it, for the most part. He came to this earth even for simple, humble people by becoming one for us. He became one of us to obey every one of God’s commandments perfectly for us. He became one of us to suffer and die as the punishment for our sins. He humbled himself, even to death on the cross. And his saving work started when he was born in Bethlehem.
O little town of Bethlehem—an unlikely town for history’s greatest birth.
I’m going to guess that all of us will gladly join in singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” tomorrow. In fact, if we don’t, it won’t seem like Christmas. We have no trouble singing about a lowly, humble town. But do we ever have difficulty singing the praises of the humble Savior born in it? Have you ever thought so much of yourself that a having a Savior who humbled himself even to death on the cross for you seemed a little extreme or even unnecessary? After all, your sins aren’t so many or so bad. Maybe another person’s are, but not yours. Or, have you ever become impatient with the Savior who humbled himself for you as you now wish that he would wield his almighty power a little bit in your life and make a few things better? In other words, on either side of things, there tend to be times in our lives when we’re disillusioned with a humble Savior born in a little town called Bethlehem. That’s when we need to go back and take a look at God’s promises of a Savior—just like the one in front of us. Jesus came exactly as God promised because God knew that’s exactly the kind of Savior we needed—One who humbled himself and took the world’s sins upon him. And when are thoughts are centered on that humble Savior, then we sing with joy in our hearts, “O little town of Bethlehem.”
Part II.
Ever since the mid-term elections more than a month ago, the media have been reporting on the efforts of our elected officials to jockey for prized positions especially in both houses of Congress. I’ve heard the names of politicians from nearly every state in the union except Hawaii. In fact, I couldn’t name an elected official from Hawaii if my life depended on it. Maybe that’s because I don’t associate Hawaii with US politics. When I think of Hawaii, I think of beaches, palm trees, warm weather, surfing.
Likewise Bethlehem. As I mentioned earlier, it was known for shepherds, but certainly not powerful people. There was one notable exception, however. King David was from Bethlehem. Micah lived 200 years after David, and, as far as we know, no other important people, let alone a king, came from Bethlehem since. It would remain that way for the next 700 years after Micah.
But then Bethlehem became the birthplace of history’s greatest ruler. Listen to Micah foretell it, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” This ruler’s origins would be “from of old.” Sounds odd, doesn’t it? That’s Micah’s way of stating that this ruler would be eternal—without beginning or end. In other words, he would be true God.
Micah also tells us that he would cause his brothers to return. The best way to understand that phrase is to see this ruler, Jesus, as the One who would redeem all people with his holy, precious blood and bring them together into his eternal kingdom by faith in him.
And, being a ruler born in a shepherd town, how appropriate that Micah foretells that Jesus will “shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord”! One of our most-loved pictures of Jesus is as our Good Shepherd. Micah here foretells it.
But make no mistake about it, people around the world would know who this humble ruler was and is. Micah states that “his greatness will reach the ends of the earth.” We’ve seen Micah’s words fulfilled as people from every nation, tribe and language will join us tomorrow and Tuesday in praising Jesus as the world’s only Savior from sin.
And that praise is appropriate, because it’s only through Jesus that we sinners have peace with the holy God. “And he will be their peace.” What we need most of all—the forgiveness of sins—Jesus won for us on Calvary’s cross and gives to us by faith in him. In fact, his peace now rules in our hearts as he assures us every day of our lives here on earth that he lives in us now so that we will live with him forever. And nothing can change that! It all started in a little town called Bethlehem, as Micah foretold.
O little town of Bethlehem—an unlikely home for history’s greatest ruler.
Are you prepared to celebrate the birth of the ruler born in Bethlehem? I pray that you are. By being prepared, I’m not speaking about the things you need to do at home or somewhere else. I’m talking about right here, in your heart. The truth is, many are the times when we don’t want Jesus to be a ruler born in Bethlehem. A helpless little infant suits us just fine, because such an infant demands nothing of us. But if Jesus is a ruler, our King, then he has a claim on our lives, and many are the times that we chafe under his rule. But recall that he is also the King of peace. He came to the little town of Bethlehem because he knows how often we violate his rule in our lives, so he came to live under that rule for us. And with his blood he redeemed us and by faith in him we are members of his kingdom. Under his loving, gracious rule, we can sing with joy on our lips and peace in our hearts, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” May your Lord Jesus give you a most blessed Christmas! Amen.
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