Christmas In A Box
An Sermon For Week Four of Advent
Various Scriptures
Presented by
Pastor Paul Newell
December 21, 2003

You hold in your hand a very unique box. It’s simply “Christmas In A Box”. Some of you may already have yours open, but for now, try to just hold it in your hand and think about it for a moment. We’ll open it together in a few minutes.

It’s a very small package, but it contains a huge message – just like the very first Christmas that we will be celebrating this week!

The Bible tells us in John chapter one that “The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14NCV)

The Word talked about in this passage is Jesus Christ. John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is God. God became human. God who is powerful and infinite, who created the entire universe, came to earth in a human body, a human package…a human box – a Christmas Box.

Jesus was literally Christmas in a Box. Jesus was God’s gift, God’s Christmas present to the entire world.

That’s what John 3:16 tells us…“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.” (NCV).

God gave!

So in Jesus Christ we have all of Christmas – Jesus is Christmas. Jesus is not only the “Reason for the Season”, Jesus IS the season!

So this morning we want to unpack Christmas.

We want to see what Christmas in a Box really means. And when we are finished this morning I want each of you to be able to share the story of Christmas with others. Because Christmas in a Box – Christ coming to earth – is meant to be shared.

Now let’s unpack this little box. (Be careful, there’s a lot of stuff in there!)

As you open the box one of the first things you see is...

THE FEATHER

The feather is packed in the box to remind us of God’s first messengers of the Christmas story, the angels.

We’ve looked at the angels each week of Advent, but there is one phrase that appears over and over again that we really haven’t talked much about. It’s said to each of those the angels spoke to…the phrase… “fear not”.

The angel told Zechariah, “fear not”.

The angel told Mary, “fear not”.

The angel told Joseph, “fear not”.

And the angel told the shepherds, “fear not”.

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11NLT)

I can understand being afraid of an angel. You just don’t see them every day. (None of these people had ever seen an angel before, let alone had one speak to them.) But I am still amazed that people are afraid today of the message that the angels brought.

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born”

The angels brought the message that Jesus, the One who would save the world, was born.

Just like today, the people back then were hoping for someone to save them from their troubles, but when the actual answer came – they were afraid of it. They were afraid of the good news. And in each case they were afraid because the solution to their problems (their salvation) was not what they had expected.

Christmas needs to remind us that God’s ways are not necessarily what we expect. Not what we expect but always “GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY”!

The next thing you will notice in the box is

A SMALL GOLD RING…

Maybe for a moment you want to do what Promise Anne did when she saw it for the first time…she tried it on! There’s something about a ring…something that makes us want to see if it “fits”.

This little gold ring is in the Christmas in a Box to remind us of Mary and Joseph.

We know that Mary was a virgin when we conceived Jesus. We don’t understand how she would have a child without ever having intimate relations with a man – but the Bible tells us she was a virgin and as the Angel told Mary

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God…Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:35-37 TheMessage)

Mary’s response is straight to the point… “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.” (Luke 1:38NLT)

When the Angel spoke to Joseph his response was similar, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, ²⁵but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.” (Matthew 1L24-25NTL)

The ring symbolized Mary and Joseph and their obedience to God. It’s a wedding ring to remind us that Joseph obediently took Mary as his wife even though the child was not his and he kept her a virgin until after the baby was born.

The ring speaks of obedience and commitment.

The Christmas story is a story all about obedience. Think about it.

Jesus obediently left heaven and came to earth.

Mary obediently accepted God’s desire.

Joseph obediently took Mary as his wife and kept her a virgin until the Baby was born.

The shepherds obediently went to see Jesus

The Wise Men obediently left worshipping Jesus, and returned home without seeking Herod.

The Christmas story is not just a story, it’s an invitation to obey and begin a committed relationship with the Christ of Christmas.

Look inside the Box again and see if you can find the little

PIECE OF CLOTH

“While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a box where animals are fed.” (Luke 2:6-7 NCV)

That little piece of cloth reminds us that Jesus came as a baby. God became human, not just human, He came as a human baby.

Another amazing piece of the story – God became a baby.

If I had written the story I would have had Him come as a full grown man. That’s exactly what Jewish custom assumed would happen. The conventional thought was that the Messiah would simply float out of heaven and land in the Temple square. From there He would solve all of their problems.

But God had other plans. He came as a baby ready to experience all of life the exact same way we experience it. He grew up in a home with his half-bothers and –sisters, worked with His carpenter father, took care of His mother and then began his ministry after growing into an adult and serving others.

Philippians chapter two gives us these details:

“Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He laid aside his mighty power and glory; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.”  (Philippians 2:6-7)

Jesus Christ, God Himself, came as a helpless baby to show us that He could identify with us.

His very name Immanuel meant that He was “God with us”.

The little piece of cloth reminds us that God was willing to become like us.

There’s a small piece of plastic in the box as well, a small plastic tube. Can you figure out what it is? That’s right, it’s

A PIECE OF STRAW

I realize that’s a bit of a stretch, but stick with me here. That piece of straw reminds us where Jesus was born. He was born in a stable and laid in an animal’s feeding trough, a manger.

Last week we described the inn and manger scene in detail. This morning I just want you to think again about that place. Not at all glamorous, probably not very clean, I can’t imagine what it must have smelled like.

Such a humble place, it was no place for the King of kings to be born was it? It was as far as God was concerned.

Again, if it were my plan I would have had Jesus born in a palace…maybe next to the Temple in Jerusalem. At least in a nice home somewhere.

But Jesus was born in a stable.

The location of the Christmas story tells us so much. It tells us that God is not nearly so concerned about where we are from, what we do, what we make as He is about simply having us worship Him.

God didn’t just become man…He was willing to become a humble man. He obediently humbled himself and was born in the one place where even shepherds would feel free to worship Him.

So look again in your Christmas in a Box and look for the little brown

SHEPHERD’S STAFF

It’s there to remind us of the first people who came to worship Jesus, the shepherds.

Let’s read their story one more time.

“That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors. When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.” (Luke 2:8-20 NLT)

The shepherds where the first worshippers and the very first preachers which goes to show you that you don’t have to have a degree or title to tell others about Jesus.

It also shows that though knowing Jesus changes everything – God doesn’t necessarily expect you to be anyone other than who you are. The end of the passage tells us that they eventually went back to being shepherds.

I’m meet lots of people who were afraid to commit their lives to Jesus for fear that they would have to be something they were not. God changes us when we accept Him – but He also uses what we already are for His glory!

The Christmas story is about people willingly leaving behind what needs to be left in order to find Jesus, but it’s also the story of how God uses just ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things: carpenters, teenage girls, part-time priests, shepherds…God just wants us to worship Him and be willing to let Him use us to share the Good News with others.

Now take out

THE STAR

This one is pretty obvious – the little wooden star represents the star that brought the Wise Men to see Jesus.

Here’s the point: God always provides a way for us to find Him, but there is one condition; we must follow the star.

Imagine what would have happened if the Wise Men had been unwilling to follow the star. They had several other choices you know. They could have chosen to ignore the star. They could have chosen to plan their own course and itinerary. But they chose to follow the star. As we said last week, they were watching and waiting and when the star appeared they followed it to where Jesus was.

It may not be a literal star in your life of mine today – but God always provides the sign that points the way. Most often that “sign” is found in His Word, the Bible. And through that sign God speaks to you – He points the way. Your responsibility is simply to follow that star, to follow God’s direction.

The star reminds us that we must follow God’s leading in our life. And when we follow His leading it will always lead us to worship.

One of the final items in your Christmas in a Box is a small

PIECE OF RIBBON

We use ribbon to decorate gifts all year round, but especially at Christmas.

The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament tells us…

“After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:9-11 NLT)

The Wise Men worshipped Jesus and then they gave Him gifts. You see, there is no real worship without gifts. Worship always demands an offering.

When we worship God we give Him something. What He wants is us. He wants us to give ourselves to Him. That’s real worship.

So the ribbon reminds us of the Wise Men who came to worship Jesus, but understood that worship always means we give Jesus our best.

That’s why I am so thrilled about our first ever Christmas offering here at FamilyFellowship. We are giving to God something that He can use to help people we will never meet this side of heaven. It’s part of our best.

Christmas is about giving God our worship, giving God our best.

Normally that’s where the Christmas story ends…

Angels appear to Mary and Joseph. Mary miraculously gives birth to the Son of God, Jesus. She lays Him in an manger. Shepherds worship and share the birth with others. A star leads the Wise Men to Jesus.

That’s where it ends…but it doesn’t end there.

Christmas is not the end of the story, it’s only the beginning.

Jesus did not come to this earth to be born in a manger, Jesus did not come to be born, he came to die!

Remember what the angel said? “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born”

Jesus came to be the Savior – to save you and me from our sinful condition apart from God.

The Nail

See that little nail in the box…that represents the nails that held Jesus to the cross. But the nails that held Jesus to the cross were not mail of metal they were made of our sins. It wasn’t metal, it was sin that held Jesus to the cross.

He hung there purposefully to that the penalty for our sins could be paid.

Listen to these words from the Epistle of Romans in the New Testament:

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God” (Romans 5:8-11 NLT)

That nail represents Jesus’ death on the cross which paid the price for our sins and offers

But even that is not the end of the story…look one more time into your Christmas in a Box. Notice…

The STONE

That small stone reminds us of the resurrection. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, but three days later He came back to life. That huge rock that covered the tomb where He was buried was rolled away and Jesus walked out alive.

He not only died for our sins – He proved He had power over sin that could not keep Him dead!

As we read earlier, he made have laid aside his power and glory to come to this earth as a baby, but He was still God will all the power to forgive our sins through His death and resurrection.

Christmas in a Box. You hold it there in your hands.

The angels shared the Good News – we don’t have to be afraid!

Mary & Joseph modeled faith and obedience.

Jesus became human, born a baby.

Shepherds worshiped and shared.

A star lead the way.

Wise Men followed, worshipped, gave.

But it was all just the beginning – the entry of Jesus into this world so that He would grow into a man, proclaim that He was the Messiah, died on the cross for our sins and rise again from the grave.

All so that you and I could receive the greatest gift – His eternal life.

You hold in your hands Christmas in a Box. Now God is asking if you will receive that message in your heart.

(c) Paul Newell 2003

FamilyFellowship Church

P.O.  Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223

churchforfamily.com