Luke 1:66-79 What is this really about?
Theological Proposition/Focus: Christmas is all about God's salvation and deliverance
Homiletical Proposition/Application: As we celebrate Christmas let us focus on God's salvation and deliverance.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Image: Getting ready for an event and wanting to know what it is all about.
- 1.2 Need: Christmas is a big deal, after all, you are all here on a Saturday, we need to know what this is all about.
- 1.3 Preview: Christmas is important for lots of reasons but three specific reasons Christmas is important are that Christmas reminds us that God keeps his promises, that God is our source of righteousness, and that we desperately need Christ for our salvation.
- 1.4 Setting the Stage:
- 2 Body
- 2.1 This Christmas we can be confident that God keeps his promises! (68-73)
- 2.2 This Christmas we can be confident that God has provided the righteousness we so desperately need (74-75).
- 2.3 This Christmas we can be confident that God has provided the means to salvation from our sin (76-79).
Introduction:
Image: Getting ready for an event and wanting to know what it is all about.
This time of year there are a lot of Christmas parties and other get togethers. Some of them can be exciting but something that I want to know whenever I am getting ready is, what is this all about. For example, if I am going to a Christmas party for Emily's work and I hear that Emily is planning to wear an ugly sweater I want to know, is this an ugly sweater party, should I be wearing something special... I want to know what is the big deal, what is this all about.
Need: Christmas is a big deal, after all, you are all here on a Saturday, we need to know what this is all about.
Preview: Christmas is important for lots of reasons but three specific reasons Christmas is important are that Christmas reminds us that God keeps his promises, that God is our source of righteousness, and that we desperately need Christ for our salvation.
Setting the Stage:
Christmas is a big deal and we should ask "God, what do you want me to learn?" Luke 1:66-67.
Body
This Christmas we can be confident that God keeps his promises! (68-73)
God had promised Israel a wise, just, righteous king in the line of David (69-70).
Jeremiah 23:5 among others: The days are coming,” declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all in Gen. 22:16-18
MTR: Ask what promises do I need to depend upon?
This Christmas we can be confident that God has provided the righteousness we so desperately need (74-75).
Israel had a history of enslavement to the Egyptians and now submission to Roman overlords.
This history of enslavement impacted their perception of their ability to serve God.
The bigger problems is enslavement to sin as an overlord.
MTR: Turn to Jesus and ask Jesus for help with your sin.
This Christmas we can be confident that God has provided the means to salvation from our sin (76-79).
Jesus has done so much more than just free us from slavery to sin he has saved us from the punishment of sin.
