Luke 2:8-20 (New Living Translation)
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
I. A Normal Christmas calms our fear of rejection (vv. 8-10)
• Our life difficulties are not a sign of God’s
• Our
• Revelation is receiving true information about God from God’s
• Interpretation is understanding the life
II. A Normal Christmas removes our fear of abandonment (vv. 10-11)
• The Christmas message from heaven is we don’t need to be
• God invites us to abandon our
• Jesus is God’s anointed One to
• Jesus has
III. A Normal Christmas removes our fear of insignificance (vv. 12-14)
• Small doesn’t mean
• God finally brought peace to earth through a
• God’s glory absorbs our imperfections with
• God’s grace brings absolute peace to all people who will
IV. A Normal Christmas removes our fear to share (vv. 15-20)
• A false church practices
• A false church practices
•
•
centered immaturity.