Luke's Gospel, Chapter 2.
We're going to read from that in just a minute.
We've been hearing lots of bad news recently, haven't we?
We can't escape the bad news.
Every time we turn on the news, the bad news of COVID.
Well, this morning we want to think about some good news.
The good news of Christmas.
And so we're going to read an account of the Christmas story.
The Christmas story from the shepherd's perspective.
So let's read Chapter 2, Verse 1 to Verse 21.
Follow along with me in your Bibles.
Luke 2, Verse 1.
In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
This was the first census that took place
while Quinerius was governor of Syria.
And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea
to Bethlehem, the town of David,
because he belonged to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary,
who was pledged to be married to him
and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.
And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger
because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,
keeping watch over their flocks at night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
Do not be afraid.
I bring you today good news
that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David,
a Saviour has been born to you.
He is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts
appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest heaven
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
Let's go to Bethlehem and see what has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.
So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph
and the baby who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him,
they spread the word concerning
what they had been told about this child.
And all who heard it were amazed
at what the shepherd said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all the things they had heard
and seen,
which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day,
when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him
before he was conceived.
Well,
we're going to look at three things this morning
from this text.
An amazing encounter,
a joyful announcement,
and a transformed life.
Three things.
So here's the first one.
An amazing encounter.
Look at verse 8.
Follow along with me
in your Bibles.
Verse 8.
There were shepherds
living out in the fields nearby,
keeping watch
over their sheep at night.
And an angel of the Lord
appeared to them.
Now, I don't know about you,
but I don't think
that I've ever met
an angel.
And it's not every day
that you hear in 6.1 News
of angels appearing in the sky.
Could you imagine
being out for a walk at night
or maybe at home in your room
and then all of a sudden
this angel shows up?
How would you feel
if that was you?
Special?
Excited?
Shocked?
Well, you see,
you and I can read
through this story
and you can think,
well, you know what?
I wish that was me
because I would love
to meet an angel.
I wish an angel
showed up at my door
because, well,
if an angel showed up,
well, then for sure
I would know
that this Christmas account
is true.
I mean,
if an angel was there,
it must be believable.
That would be some story
to be able to go back
and tell your friends
that an angel appeared.
But when the angels
came to the shepherds,
they were,
look at the end of verse 9,
they were what?
They were terrified.
You see,
visiting angels
is really not
a normal experience.
It's extraordinary.
angels are God's
servants
and God's
messengers.
So when an angel
shows up,
it means
God has something
really important
to tell us.
Angels appearing,
well, that's incredible.
That would be amazing.
But here's something
even more amazing.
It's their message.
You see,
God might not
send you
a personal angel
today or tomorrow
or next week,
but God has made sure
that the message
from the angels
has been kept
for you.
You see,
God wants us
today to hear
what the angels
said to the shepherds
because it's a message
for you and I.
That means
we need to listen
very carefully
to what is being
said.
So first,
an amazing encounter.
Second,
a joyful announcement.
The message
of the angels
comes in
in three things.
Well, at least
that's how we're
going to look at it.
Three parts
to the message
of the angel.
Here's the first one.
It's good news.
Look at verse 10.
The angel said
to the shepherds,
Do not be afraid.
I bring you
good news
that will cause
great joy
for all the people.
This wasn't just
any news.
This was good news.
In other words,
it was an announcement,
a declaration
that was going
to cause
real excitement
and joy
and happiness
for
not just
shepherds,
but for
all the people,
including you
and I.
It's going to be
life transforming.
Think about
this good news
like this.
We've all seen
our Taoiseach
Micheál Martin
make his way
down from
Leinster House
and he stands
in front of the podium,
doesn't need to
address the nation
just like I'm
standing here now
and he makes
his declaration
to the nation,
an announcement.
And most of the time
it's bad news.
News about
COVID
and further
restrictions
and out of
the pubs
and the restaurants
by eight o'clock
and all sorts
of things like that.
But imagine
on this occasion
he walks down
the steps,
down the red carpet,
he stands in front
of the microphone
to make his
announcement,
a declaration.
I bring you
good news
of great joy
for all the people.
COVID
is no more.
A pill
has been found
that kills
COVID
and heals
you of COVID.
All you have
to do
is take it.
Somebody
has done
all the
scientific
and medical
work on your
behalf,
all you have
to do
is take it
and everything
will be right.
Wouldn't that
be good news?
Well that's
what the angels
have come to do.
They are announcing
good news.
They're telling us
all that
something has
been done
for you.
You don't have
to do it.
You just have
to receive it.
Something
has been
done
for you
and for me
and it's
good news.
Well what is it
that has been
done?
Well,
here's the second
part of the
message.
It's all been
done by a
saving king.
Look at the
announcement
from the angel
verse 11.
Today in the
town of David
a saviour
has been
born to you.
He is the
Messiah,
the Lord.
Now Messiah
is a
title
just like
we have
Taoiseach.
That's a
title.
It's a
special
office.
Well,
Messiah
is a
title,
a special
office reserved
for one
person and
one person
alone.
God's
son,
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Messiah
really means
God's
promised
saving
king.
God's
promised
saving
king.
God has
sent to the
world a
saviour.
The baby
born to
Mary and
Joseph,
Jesus
Christ is
God's
saving
king.
But what
kind of
saviour
is he?
What's he
going to
save us
from?
That's a
really important
question.
Well, as we
read on in
Luke's gospel,
and you can
follow with me,
have a look at
chapter 5.
So just go on a
couple of
chapters to
chapter 5 in
your Bible.
as we read
into Luke's
gospel, we
discover what
Jesus saves
us from,
because Jesus
actually tells
us.
We don't have
to figure it
out.
He tells
us.
And here we
get the answer,
chapter 5.
He's been
talking to some
religious leaders
who've been
very upset with
Jesus because
he's hanging
around with
so-called
sinners,
naughty people.
What's he
doing with
them?
Well, he
answers them.
Verse 31,
chapter 5,
verse 31,
Jesus said,
it's not the
healthy who
need a doctor,
but those who
are ill.
I have not
come to call
the righteous,
or I haven't
come to call
those who
think they're
good,
but sinners
to repentance.
Now, if
you're sick,
if you're not
feeling well,
you go to
the doctor,
you ring up
your GP,
don't you,
and you get
a bottle of
medicine,
a few pills,
or whatever is
needed to
help you
better,
get better.
You don't
go to the
doctor to
announce that
you're well.
You don't
ring up and
make an
appointment and
say,
hi doctor,
great to see
you,
high five,
I'm feeling
really well
today,
I just wanted
to come and
tell you that
I've never
felt better.
that would
be a bit
ridiculous,
wouldn't it?
Well, in the
same way, we
don't go to
Jesus to
tell Jesus,
Jesus, I'm
doing great,
I'm a really
good person,
I've done
brilliant things
this week,
I'm spiritually
pure.
no, we
run to
Jesus because
we're sinners,
we're all
spiritually sick,
and the only
person who's
going to be
able to heal
us from
our sin is
the Lord
Jesus.
You see, the
Bible tells us
very clearly
that we've
all been
born sinners.
We live in
the rebel
county,
County Cork.
But we're
all rebels,
not because we
live in
Cork, but
because of
our birth.
That means
we've replaced
God with
self.
God's the
creator of
the universe.
He's the
centre of
the universe.
He owns
everything.
He's in
the charge
of everything.
He's the
boss of
everything.
He's in
the centre.
But we've
all come
along and
we've pushed
him out and
we've put
ourselves in
the centre.
rather than
God be
king of
our life,
I'm king
of my
life.
And I'm
going to
decide what
is right or
wrong and
I'm going to
decide how
I should
live.
The problem
with that
is all
of us are
fighting for
the centre.
We all
want to be
king.
We all
want to be
in the
middle.
It means
we're all
in conflict
with God.
It means
we're his
enemies.
And if
we're his
enemies,
we can't
live in
God's
good and
eternal
kingdom.
You see,
God has
promised that
one day,
yes,
Jesus has
come once,
that's what
we celebrate
at Christmas,
but Jesus
is going to
come again
in the future.
We don't
know when,
but when
he comes
again,
he's going
to sort
out all
the trouble
and all
the suffering
is going
to end
and all
the evil
is going
to end,
all the
bad things
that we
read about
and see
and experience
in our
life will
all be
gone.
But if
we're in
conflict
with God,
if we're
his enemies,
we can't
share in
that eternal
kingdom.
I'd love
to be able
to stand
and tell you
and say,
you know
what,
it's going
to be
okay,
it's just
going to
work out
fine,
and we'll
all be
part of
the kingdom.
If we're
still in
conflict,
still fighting
for center
place,
pushing God
off his
throne,
we can't
share in
it.
So God
sent his
son,
the saving
king,
to make
us his
friends,
so that
we can.
How does
he do
that?
Well,
here's the
third part
of the
message.
Peace.
Listen
again to
what the
angel said.
Let's go
back to
chapter 2
and verse
13.
This is
what the
angels
said.
Suddenly,
a great
company of
the heavenly
hosts appeared
with the
angel.
That is,
there were
hundreds of
other angels
joined that
one angel
in the sky
and they
all started
singing,
glory to
God in
the highest
heaven and
on earth
peace to
those on
whom his
favour rests.
Peace.
We've been
promised peace.
Now that
peace doesn't
mean a
suffering free
life, a
life where
we'll be
free from
troubles and
no more
bad things
will ever
happen to
us ever
again.
No, what
it means is
peace with
God.
It means to
be reconciled,
to be put
back again
into a
right
relationship.
Instead of
being his
enemy,
facing
punishment and
being shut
out of his
presence,
we receive
his peace.
We become
his friends.
Let me
explain how
we can all
know and
experience that
peace.
In a
moment, Asia
is going to
get baptised.
That's why we
have this
large tub of
water at
the front.
And two
actions are
involved in
baptism,
aren't they?
There's the
going down
into the
water and
then the
coming up
out of
the water.
It's
symbolic.
That means
it represents
something.
It's a
picture of
the good
news.
It's a
picture of
the death
of Jesus
going down
into the
water and
it's a
picture of
the resurrection
of Jesus
coming up
out of
the water.
You see,
when Jesus
died,
his death
on the
cross,
he was
taking my
sin and
your sin,
all the
things that
we've done
wrong,
all our
rebellion,
all that
conflict,
is all
taken by
Jesus.
He's taking
the punishment
you and I
deserve.
And when
Jesus rose
again from
the grave,
he's giving
us new
life.
He's making
peace with
us so that
we can be
friends with
God.
It's as if
he reaches
out his
hand,
a handshake
of peace.
And when
Asia gets
baptized,
what she's
saying is,
hands up,
I'm a
sinner,
I'm trusting
that Jesus
died for
me.
I've done
bad things,
I've done
wrong things,
but his
death is a
death for
me.
Isn't that
right,
Asia?
And Asia,
when she
gets baptized,
is saying,
I need
new life.
I'm
trusting that
when Jesus
rose again,
he rose
again for
me.
His
life is
my new
life.
I'm no
longer his
enemy,
but his
friend.
I no
longer fear
punishment,
but I now
can enjoy
peace with
God.
It's like
Asia
has kind
of taken
center place
because that's
what we all
do.
We take
center place,
we push
God out,
and in
repentance we
turn and
say,
no,
God's the
center,
and I
live to
serve him,
and I
want to
follow him
all my
life.
You see,
the angels
came to
announce
good news,
the good
news of
a savior
who makes
peace with
God for
us.
That's
brilliant.
So how did
the shepherds
respond?
Well,
we've looked
at an
amazing
encounter,
we've looked
at a
joyful
announcement,
and then
last,
a transformed
life.
Three things
we're just
going to look
at very
briefly to
show us
what we
can learn
from the
shepherds
about how
you and
I can
respond to
the angels
announcement.
Because this
is good news,
not just
for the
shepherds,
but for
everyone.
Here's the
first thing,
to receive
God's
grace.
I wonder,
did you
take note
of who
the angels
went to?
Who did
the angels
go to?
We know
the answer,
don't we?
To the
shepherds.
Now,
shepherds in
those days
were very
unimportant
people.
Shepherds
today are
really important
people because
they provide
us with
lovely legs
of juicy
roast lamb.
Mmm,
my favourite.
But shepherds
in those days
weren't very
important people.
In fact,
they were
considered the
lowest of
the low.
We're told
in verse 8
that they
lived out
in the
fields.
They had
to make
their own
shelter,
get their
own food,
their own
water.
In fact,
when people
were walking
by,
when they
were journeying
from one
place to
another,
shepherds
would rob
other people
because they
didn't have
much.
Nobody liked
shepherds.
They were
the most
unimportant,
despised
people that
you could
find.
But amazingly,
God chose
the shepherds
to be the
very first
people in
the whole
world to
hear the
good news
from the
angels.
How amazing
is that?
God chose
the lowest
of the
low.
He didn't
go running
to the
political
leaders,
the ones
that we
read about
in chapter
2,
verse 1,
Caesar,
Augustus,
Quinerius,
all these
political,
important
people.
God didn't
send angels
to them.
He didn't
send angels
to the
self-important
people.
He goes
to rotten
thieving
sinners.
He goes
to shepherds
to announce
the news
of Jesus'
birth.
You see,
that's God's
amazing grace.
He doesn't
come to us
and say,
I want you
to sort
your life
out,
then you
can come
to me.
He doesn't
say,
promise me
that you'll
do better
and that
you'll try
harder and
then I'll
help you.
God doesn't
say,
make a
commitment
to never
ever fail
again and
then I'm
going to
save you.
No,
God has
sent his
son to
invite sinners,
people like
you and me.
He comes
to seek
and save
the lost.
He comes
to people
who know
they need
help,
people who
know they
need a
saviour,
people who
know they're
not good
enough,
people like
Asia,
people like
me and
people like
you.
Well,
receive
grace.
Here's the
second response,
check it out.
After hearing
the good
news,
the shepherds,
look at
verse 15,
when they
heard this,
they said,
let's go to
Bethlehem and
see this thing
that has
happened which
the Lord has
told us about.
Let's go check
it out.
Let's go see
if this is
true.
We've heard
a message,
maybe it's
fake news,
maybe it's
all made
up.
Let's go
and find
out.
So,
verse 16,
they hurried
off and
found Mary
and Joseph
and the
baby who
was lying
in the
manger.
And when
they'd seen
him,
they spread
the word
concerning what
had been told
about this
child.
You see,
they went to
find out,
to check out,
if what they'd
heard was
true.
And we're
hearing the
same message
today.
And you're
maybe sitting
here thinking,
I'm not quite
sure I believe
this.
It's a nice
story,
but I don't
know if it's
true.
Well,
check it
out.
How do you
check it
out?
Read Luke's
Gospel.
Luke was
one who
went and
interviewed
people and
searched for
all the
evidence and
he got all
the stories
together,
he got all
the witnesses
together,
and then he
wrote down
Luke's Gospel
so that we
could know
the truth.
Read it
for yourself.
Check out
if the story
is true.
The shepherds
did,
and they
discovered
something
amazing.
They checked
it out,
and they
came to
worship him.
look at
verse 20.
The shepherds
returned,
back to
where they
had come
from,
back to
their fields,
glorifying and
praising God
for the things
they had heard
and seen,
which were
just as
they had been
told.
You know
when you
glorify someone,
or you
praise someone,
what you're
doing is
you're
worshipping
them.
You're
saying what
they have
done,
if somebody
scores a
great goal
or somebody
achieves
something really
good,
you clap and
applaud and
you jump up
and down and
go,
yes,
brilliant,
fantastic.
You're giving
them praise,
you're giving
them your
worship.
You see,
the shepherds
had come to
understand what
this baby
means.
He's not just
an ordinary
baby,
he is the
saviour of
the world.
Therefore,
he deserves
our worship.
He deserves
my whole
life.
Do you
remember how
the shepherds
responded when
they saw the
angel?
Remember when
the angel
appeared?
Do you
remember their
response?
They were
terrified.
Why were
they terrified?
well,
the shepherds
knew exactly
what kind of
life they'd
lived.
They weren't
the most
reputable
people around.
They were
downright
dirty sinners.
Now God
had appeared
with an
angel in
the sky,
with a
message.
That could
only mean
one thing.
We're doomed.
God's coming
to strike us
down.
We're lost.
But no.
What did
the angel
say?
Don't be
afraid.
No, you're
not going to
get struck
down.
God hasn't
come to
wipe you
out.
God has
come to
save you.
He's come
to give
his life
for you.
That's why
he deserves
our worship.
It means
to make
Jesus the
most important
person to
you.
It's to
make him
the greatest
treasure in
your whole
life.
It's saying
that if I
don't have
Jesus in
my life,
I'm lost
forever.
I'm dead.
The shepherds
worshipped him.
They gave
their life
to Jesus.
Asia
has given
her life
to Jesus.
she has
come to
worship
Jesus
because of
what he
has done
for her.
The
question is
to you,
do you
worship
Jesus?
Have you
given your
life to
him?
Most
important
thing we
could ever
do.
And maybe
you're here
and you're
thinking,
yeah,
I've done
that.
Well,
let me ask,
have you been
baptized?
as a
demonstration
of your
love
and trust
in the
Lord Jesus.
Maybe that's
something you
need to be
thinking about.
Worship
him.
Give your
life to
him.
He's your
savior.
Let's
pray.
Amen.
Father,
we're
amazed
at such
good news.
We all
were just
desperate to
hear good
news and
we've just
listened to
it.
Thank you,
Lord Jesus,
for being
the perfect,
full,
and sufficient
savior of
our life.
Help us
to trust
you.
help us
that we
might
worship
you
with our
life.
Thank you
for the
work you've
done
in Asia's
life.
Thank you
for the
work you
can do
in our
life too.
In
Jesus'
name,
Amen.
Well,
before we
baptize,
we're
going to
sing.
We're
going to
sing about
what the
angels
announced.
Hark,
Thank you.