Sermon: A Time to Talk, A Time to Listen by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve Sermon
Key Scripture Passages:
Sermon:
The Shepherds and the Angels – Luke 2:8-21 ESV8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
A Time to Talk – The Angels and Shepherds
A couple sermons ago, I talked about angel encounters. The first angel encounter of the New Testament was when the angel, Gabriel, came to Zechariah and told him that his wife, Elizabeth was going to have a baby. In Luke 1:13-17 it says:
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
However, Zechariah doubted Gabriel, and, therefore, Gabriel took his voice until the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Zechariah had this incredible thing happen to him, an angel of God came to him, spoke to him, and God blessed his wife and he with a son. But he could not tell anyone for nine months. Could you imagine having such an incredible thing happen to you but not be able to tell anyone? There is a time to talk and a time to listen.
Christmas night was the Shepherds’ time to talk. The angels appeared to them in the field. Just like Zechariah, they were just going about their business, their jobs. The shepherds were not looking for some religious event. They probably were just focused on the sheep and the task at hand in their daily lives.
But that night, the angels appeared to them with a joyous chorus. The shepherds were so overwhelmed, and they had to go see for themselves this miracle that the angel had told them about. And when the shepherds found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, they knew the truth. They told Mary and Joseph of their angel encounter, and then they proceeded to tell everyone of what they had seen and heard. They glorified and praised God as they told everyone. It was their time to talk.
A Time to Listen – The Shepherds and Mary
When something exciting happens to us, we want to tell everyone about it. Often, the first thing I want to do is tell my husband or my best friend about it. The shepherds had this amazing encounter with the angels, and they ran to tell everyone. But first they had to verify that it was true, so they sought out the baby, Jesus, and his parents. They told Mary and Joseph of the angels in the field.
Another thing, we are tempted to do when someone tells us something is to share our own story. We say things like, “oh, that reminds me of what happened to me”, and then we proceed to tell our own story. The shepherds were telling Mary and Joseph about their angel encounters. But guess what? Mary and Joseph had angel encounters of their own. Now, they could have said, “Oh, the angel Gabriel came and spoke to us personally, and then…”, and they could have taken that moment and made it theirs with their own story. But they didn’t do that.
Luke 2:19 says: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” The shepherds shared their story and then went on their way to share it some more while Mary treasured everything in her heart. She did not steal their excitement. She did not shift the focus from what happened to them to what happened to her. It was her time to listen.
We all have times in our lives when there are times for us to talk and times for us to listen. Take some time this week to just sit and listen to others. Take some time to reflect upon the Christmas story and all that God has done in your life. Take some time to share and tell others about what God has done in your life. Maybe you are in a time of needing to talk to others. Maybe you are in a time of needing to listen and reflect. We all need times to slow down and just ponder life a bit, especially in the business of the holiday season.
May God bless you this week as we celebrate the birth of Christ this week. Merry Christmas.
Date: December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve Sermon
Key Scripture Passages:
- Luke 2:8-21
Sermon:
The Shepherds and the Angels – Luke 2:8-21 ESV8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
A Time to Talk – The Angels and Shepherds
A couple sermons ago, I talked about angel encounters. The first angel encounter of the New Testament was when the angel, Gabriel, came to Zechariah and told him that his wife, Elizabeth was going to have a baby. In Luke 1:13-17 it says:
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
However, Zechariah doubted Gabriel, and, therefore, Gabriel took his voice until the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Zechariah had this incredible thing happen to him, an angel of God came to him, spoke to him, and God blessed his wife and he with a son. But he could not tell anyone for nine months. Could you imagine having such an incredible thing happen to you but not be able to tell anyone? There is a time to talk and a time to listen.
Christmas night was the Shepherds’ time to talk. The angels appeared to them in the field. Just like Zechariah, they were just going about their business, their jobs. The shepherds were not looking for some religious event. They probably were just focused on the sheep and the task at hand in their daily lives.
But that night, the angels appeared to them with a joyous chorus. The shepherds were so overwhelmed, and they had to go see for themselves this miracle that the angel had told them about. And when the shepherds found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, they knew the truth. They told Mary and Joseph of their angel encounter, and then they proceeded to tell everyone of what they had seen and heard. They glorified and praised God as they told everyone. It was their time to talk.
A Time to Listen – The Shepherds and Mary
When something exciting happens to us, we want to tell everyone about it. Often, the first thing I want to do is tell my husband or my best friend about it. The shepherds had this amazing encounter with the angels, and they ran to tell everyone. But first they had to verify that it was true, so they sought out the baby, Jesus, and his parents. They told Mary and Joseph of the angels in the field.
Another thing, we are tempted to do when someone tells us something is to share our own story. We say things like, “oh, that reminds me of what happened to me”, and then we proceed to tell our own story. The shepherds were telling Mary and Joseph about their angel encounters. But guess what? Mary and Joseph had angel encounters of their own. Now, they could have said, “Oh, the angel Gabriel came and spoke to us personally, and then…”, and they could have taken that moment and made it theirs with their own story. But they didn’t do that.
Luke 2:19 says: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” The shepherds shared their story and then went on their way to share it some more while Mary treasured everything in her heart. She did not steal their excitement. She did not shift the focus from what happened to them to what happened to her. It was her time to listen.
We all have times in our lives when there are times for us to talk and times for us to listen. Take some time this week to just sit and listen to others. Take some time to reflect upon the Christmas story and all that God has done in your life. Take some time to share and tell others about what God has done in your life. Maybe you are in a time of needing to talk to others. Maybe you are in a time of needing to listen and reflect. We all need times to slow down and just ponder life a bit, especially in the business of the holiday season.
May God bless you this week as we celebrate the birth of Christ this week. Merry Christmas.
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