Series Summary
The Christmas season is a time of year that can get pretty crazy, and if we aren’t ready for it, it can get out of control pretty quickly. We can get distracted pretty easily. We can lose our focus if we're not careful.
What we need is a little hope. We live in a world that seems to be falling apart, and we need something to cling to. We need hope.
As we look into the birth narratives found in Matthew and Luke, we see another time when people needed a little hope. We see a nation that was seeking something to cling to in a world that seemed to be falling apart. God seemed distant. He hadn't been heard from in over 400 years. They needed some hope.
And into the chaos that was their world, God spoke. He spoke through four different angelic announcements that he was offering humanity hope. And then he spoke that hope through the cry of a baby born in Bethlehem. These announcements demonstrate that hope has been offered to us. They demonstrate that God has not turned away. They demonstrate that God is still in control, even in a world that seems chaotic and hopeless. They demonstrate that God is willing to step into our lives and help us. They demonstrate hope.
Hope is born! He was born 2000 years ago, and placed into a manger, in the small town of Bethlehem. If we're not careful, we could miss it, just like the nation of Israel seemed to miss it so long ago.
God announced that hope would be born, and then he was. God's plan was in action, to redeem us, to save us, to give us hope. Hope is born!
Sermon Summary
Mary, the mother of Jesus, also received a visit from an angel. Her experience was perhaps the most poignant of all, when she understood just what was to happen. While this certainly could not have been an easy thing to endure, she was willingly obedient to God's plans. What society probably viewed as an illicit pregnancy was directly from God, and even though Mary wasn't sure how the plan would work out, and was aware of her own limitations, she was still obedient.
Our circumstances may feel overwhelmingly difficult at times. Maybe we don't feel like we have what it takes for God to work through us, or in us. But when we rest in the certainty of the hope that we have, we can have confident assurance that God is in control, and will work things out according to his plan.
