Rev. David Holwick ZO CHRISTMAS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 17, 2017
Psalm 130:3-4 and Luke 1:76-78
FORGIVE US OUR CHRISTMASES
I. Christmas can be irritating.
A. A young girl's prayer.
A little girl was pushing the limits of her mother's very last
nerve.
Mom at the end of a hectic season of cooking, cleaning,
shopping, wrapping and church stuff.
She was also nearing the breaking point with her little
pre-schooler.
Finally the little girl was bathed and ready for bed.
As she knelt to say her prayers, Mom listened as her sweet
three-year-old theologian "customized" her evening prayer:
"...And forgive us our Christmases, as we forgive those who
Christmas against us!"
#34134
B. The irritation can go deeper.
1) This season usually includes mandatory mixing with an
assortment of relatives and friends.
2) Sometimes these relationships have developed strains during
the year, and even breakdowns.
a) Some of them you will dread running in to.
3) How will you deal with them?
a) Be sure and avoid the mistletoe!
b) A more lasting solution is even better.
II. Forgiveness is at the heart of Christmas.
A. It may not appear so at first glance.
1) Love and giving get much more attention.
2) Negatives like sin are pushed aside as being "downers."
a) Even so, forgiveness is an appropriate theme.
b) When John the Baptist's father called God's blessing
upon his son's birth he said in Luke 1:76-78 --
"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the
Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the
way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which
the rising sun will come to us from heaven."
B. There is joy at Christmas because we can be forgiven by God.
1) Those awful relatives? Maybe God feels that way about YOU.
a) We are sinful and inadequate before God, much more
than we like to realize.
1> I had an unsettling experience this week.
I spent several days at Mt. Sinai Hospital in
Manhattan for Celeste's surgery.
When I returned to Ledgewood and went to my office,
I found that my computer was missing.
I will be the first to admit it can be difficult to
discern that anything is missing in my office,
but the computer was obviously not there.
I called the Roxbury police and they sent patrolman,
investigators and evidence collectors.
(I had to apologize to each of them for my messiness.)
One of the police commented, "If someone would do
this to a church, what is the world coming to?"
2> The consensus was that someone, probably a drug user,
was desperate for a little cash so they could
get a fix, so they broke in to my office.
A> They even had an idea who it might be.
B> Of course, from God's perspective, I am just
as capable of a sin like that.
b) To call Jesus our Savior is to acknowledge him as God
and to admit our guilt before him.
c) We NEED his forgiveness. He can only save us by making
us clean first.
1> Have you felt guilt before God?
2> Have you asked him to forgive you?
2) God is merciful, and wants to forgive you, even if you
have a hard time forgiving yourself.
a) He knows how weak we are. As Psalm 130:3 says, if
God was like Santa Claus and kept a record of wrongs,
who could stand?
b) God is love, and with him there is always forgiveness.
III. Those who are forgiven should be able to forgive.
A. The other side of the equation is difficult.
Spencer Perkins had a similar experience to mine, but worse.
His 4-year-old daughter ran to him and shouted, "Daddy, come
quick. Someone stole the presents under the Christmas tree."
When his 11-year-old son realized that among the gifts stolen
were his brand new Nike sneakers, he stormed out of the
house in tears.
The story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" came to their minds.
How do you forgive a person who could do this at such a time?
Perkins knew that forgiveness is unnatural, but we have to
practice it.
According to Dr. Martin Luther King, "Forgiveness is not just
an occasional act: it is a permanent attitude."
Later that day, Perkins put the question to his son.
"How should we as Christians respond to the person who tried to
steal our Christmas?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Dad. Even though he doesn't deserve it,
we're supposed to give him grace."
None of them felt like doing it, but they knew they had to start
somewhere.
Where do you need to start?
#4455
B. There are different ways to forgive.
1) The University of Michigan has an Institute for Social
Research.
a) They study the effects of things like forgiveness.
b) A study of 1,400 Americans found that more people had
forgiven themselves and believe God had forgiven
them, while fewer had forgiven others or sought
forgiveness for harm they have done.
c) They also found that some approaches to forgiveness
have more positive effect than others.
2) Simply praying for those who have hurt you is less effective.
a) What works best to heal the wounds of broken
relationships is to forgive them and let go of the
resentments you hold against them.
b) You have to give up any thoughts or fantasies of getting
even.
c) The researchers found that without forgiveness, people
are unable to see the world clearly.
1> They become burdened by their own anger.
2> Anger can prompt high blood pressure, depression
and anxiety.
3> Forgiveness can defuse this anger, if you are
committed to it.
3) Who is the best at forgiving?
a) The University of Michigan found that those who are
older than 45 gain the most from it.
b) Those who have lived longer are more aware of their own
mortality.
1> They see the need to repair and maintain
relationships.
2> They also know that time passes quickly, and it is
not worthwhile to have broken relationships.
#22024
C. Christmas is a great time to forgive.
1) It presents traditional times when people come together.
2) There is a good deal of peace and goodwill.
a) They may be even thinking more spiritually.
b) Don't let old wounds ruin your holiday.
c) Take the opportunity to forgive those who have hurt
you and make peace with them.
IV. Your forgiveness can bring glory to God.
A. Darkness does not have the final word.
Helen Johnson's bad day.
Eric Metaxas tells the true story of Helen Johnson.
Helen and her two daughters, niece and two grandchildren
had not eaten for two days.
As Helen stood in the aisle of the grocery store, she
realized she was 50 cents short for the dozen eggs she
was hoping to buy.
Out of options and hope, she stuffed five of the eggs in
her pocket and tried to walk out the store.
The eggs broke and she was caught.
When confronted by store employees, she admitted her crime
and waited for the police.
Yet, when Officer Stacy arrived, it didn't turn out as she
expected.
Instead of putting her in the squad car he bought the dozen
eggs for her and told her the store wasn't pressing
charges.
It was like the scene in "Les Miserables" where the
Christian bishop gives the silver candlesticks to Jean
Valjean who had stole them.
The bishop told him, your life has been spared for God.
Helen Johnson's story didn't end there.
Someone at the store had filmed the incident and posted it
online.
It went viral and offers of help poured in.
The following day, police brought her two truckloads of
food.
For a family with virtually nothing, a stocked pantry
was unbelievable.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12, "Do not be overcome
by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This, as much as any other, is the message that gives us
hope at Christmas.
Every Christmas, we take time to wonder at the kindness
of a God who would descend from eternal bliss to live
in squalor among us.
His acts of mercy, and above all the gift of his own life
for us, have inspired millions of acts of mercy down
through the centuries.
We are all condemned before the Lord, but rather than
dishing out justice, he offers us forgiveness and new life.
#64778
B. Give a good gift this Christmas.
If you have experienced God's forgiveness for yourself,
why not extend it to someone else this Christmas season?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 4455 “A Counter-Culture of Grace,” by Spencer Perkins, Leadership
Journal, Christianity Today, Inc., Fall 1998, page 67.
#22024 “Forgiveness: Good For Your Health and Holidays?” by Lisa
Klionsky, Ann Arbor News, December 25, 2001; <link>.
#34134 “Christmas Forgiveness,” contributed by Russell Brownworth,
Sermon Central newsletter, November 27, 2007; <link>.
#64778 “Tears Fell On Alabama: A Christmas Story For Our Time,” by Eric
Metaxas, BreakPoint Commentary, December 23, 2014.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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