Rev. David Holwick ZO Advent #3
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 19, 2004
Luke 2:4-18
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I. Who is in your manger display?
A. The Holwick's crèche (old word for manger display).
A wooden stable I built myself back in Ohio.
Josiah added tasteful interior lighting.
Carved wooden figurines we got in Bethlehem.
3 Kings with camels.
Shepherds and sheep.
Cows and donkeys and an angel or two.
Joseph and Mary, and baby Jesus.
(I know some of you hide the baby Jesus until Christmas.
We tried that once, and lost him, so we don't take
chances now.)
And an adult Jesus.
We are not sure where the adult Jesus came from - we figure
he fell off the Last Supper set.
We added him to the manger because the Holwick display has room
for EVERYONE.
B. Christmas is conflated.
1) Lots of different episodes are bunched together in our
traditions.
2) On Christmas night, the Holy Family was there.
And the Shepherds showed up in the dark.
But the Wise Men took their time.
It may have been up to two years before they arrived.
(Traditionally, it is around 12 days.)
The camels and ox and donkey?
The Bible never mentions them, though Isaiah works some of
them into a prophecy about the Messiah.
C. The important truth remains.
1) There is a sense in which everyone is welcome in a manger
display.
2) The whole world is invited.
3) Look at who was there...
II. The humble.
A. Shepherds make a romantic impression, but it was a lowly job.
1) Religiously they were outcasts because of their contact
with dirty animals.
2) They certainly weren't rich.
B. God loves the little people.
1) He loves them so much he became one of them.
a) Jesus was born poor, in a backwater country.
b) He did without power and money.
c) He surrounded himself with average people.
2) The same is true today.
a) Most followers of Jesus are pretty average.
b) This is highlighted when you look at the elite.
(large percentage of newsmakers who don't believe)
III. The influential.
A. Magi had high status in their society.
1) You might call them the religious elite because astrology
was heavily used by the ruling classes.
2) The Magi were certainly rich, as is shown by their gifts.
B. Some influential people still believe.
1) George Bush, Jimmy Carter, even Bill Clinton, John Grisham,
Jessica Simpson, Chuck Norris, Sam Walton (Wal*mart)...
2) They join the ranks of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus,
powerful Jews who believed in Jesus.
a) (But were careful not to draw too much attention to it!)
IV. The sinful.
A. Of course, just about everyone there was a sinner.
1) The Bible says this is a fact of the human condition.
2) But some are more sinful than others. Much more.
B. One important sinner was not there, but wanted to be - Herod.
1) Herod's only concern was to eliminate a potential rival.
2) So he committed an atrocity, after the fact.
a) Today, he might be hauled before an international
court.
b) But probably not.
c) Even today, those in power can throw their weight
around without much fear of consequences.
3) Herod ended his life without thinking much about Jesus.
C. Sinners were welcome at the manger.
1) United Church of Christ commercial: church bouncers.
Beefy guys guard a velvet rope across front of a church.
Black children are turned away.
Same with same-sex couple, and a Hispanic girl.
Only a well-dressed white family is allowed in.
Words appear on the screen:
"Jesus didn't turn people away ... Neither do we"
Obvious implication:
Our church welcomes everyone, BUT YOURS DOESN'T!!
#28718
2) Christian response:
a) Everyone is welcome. And everyone is challenged.
1> There are no bouncers at Ledgewood Baptist.
A> Anyone can come in here.
B> My favorite daydream - the whole clientele of
Smiles' Strip Club shows up on Christmas Eve.
C> But to be one of us, is a little different.
2> The entrance requirements are listed in the Bible.
A> Believe, repent, follow Jesus.
b) God accepts you, but not as you are.
1> Salvation requires a commitment and a change.
2> God will do the changing but you must be open to it.
A> Don't give God an ultimatum.
3) Follow Jesus' example.
a) He accepted the outcasts, the prostitutes, the sinners.
b) But to the woman caught in adultery he said, "Go and
sin no more."
c) Christian churches can require no less.
V. The holy.
A. Angels make up the supernatural component.
1) They are pure.
2) They are powerful.
3) Their purpose is to serve Christians! Hebrews 1:14
B. Jesus himself.
1) Remarkable claim - Jesus began sinless and stayed that way.
a) Hard for us to comprehend.
b) Would you want to go over and tweak his toe?
2) Humans can be perfected.
a) One day, it will happen to us.
b) We will no longer want to sin, or be able to sin.
c) You have tremendous potential!
C. Jesus did not remain a baby.
1) It is appropriate for the Holwick manger display to have
an adult Jesus looking down on a baby Jesus.
2) Jesus did grow up. He did die on a cross. He did get
resurrected.
3) We like Jesus as a baby because they are non-threatening.
a) The resurrected Jesus is a different matter.
b) He calls us to repentance.
VI. You?
A. Where would you have fit in at the original Christmas?
1) We like to imagine ourselves as humble shepherds.
2) But many people live like Herod.
a) We are not as violent as him.
b) But our chief interest is in ourselves.
1> What can Jesus do for me? may be your only question.
B. Bow at the manger.
1) The manger was not intended to be a tourist attraction.
2) To come to him, is to bow down and worship him.
3) Lay your sins and pride at his feet.
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#28718 "Church Bouncers?" Jeff Robinson, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, December 2, 2004.
This and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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