Christmas Day - All Age Sermon

Christmas All Age Sermon 2009

Luke 2.1-14

Intro

Who remembers what I used to illustrate my Christmas talk last year?
I used a pineapple and the figure of the baby Jesus from our crib scene. The pineapple represented a perfect world, the world as God intended it to be and I asked the question how do we get from this baby to this pineapple?

Today, instead of a pineapple I have a painting to show you…

What do you notice? What do you think the painting is about? The Christmas gospel story is like this painting in two ways.

1. Attention to detail
Like every good reporter or storyteller, Luke gives us lots of interesting details which help us to picture the scene, making it real for us and helping us understand how the people in the story are feeling.

Examples…

Many of our Christmas carols have picked up on these details (and embellished them!). As we sing we participate in the story and make it our own.

2. Awareness of the big picture
Even though he loves recording the details, Luke never loses sight of the big picture; the amazing place of the birth of Jesus in history and in God’s plan to save the world.

Examples…

Just like our artist fit all the details into the design of her big picture, so Luke keeps reminding us of how the details of the gospel story fit into God’s big picture.

Living a Worthwhile Life

Perhaps our artist and St Luke are both teaching us an important lesson for life – that we need to pay attention to detail AND always be aware of the big picture.
This applies to our work, our family relationships, our hobbies and interests, everything. If we want to live a worthwhile and rewarding life we need both attention to detail and awareness of the big picture.

Think about what happens if you only think about the big picture but pay no attention to the details…

Think about what happens if you spend all your effort on detail but lose sight of the big picture…

Both Luke and our painter are looking for the same result – a heartfelt response from us.

Looking back and looking forward

This principle applies especially to our efforts to live as Christians, as followers of Jesus.

Think back over the past year. How well have you done in keeping God’s big picture in mind? How well have attended to the details? Do you need to make any changes over the next year? How can the Church help you to make those changes?

(Examples – Confirmation, Roots1 or Routes2, SHAPE consultation, finding ways to serve in the community, the Church weekend away… see website for details).

The good news is that our God is the God of second chances and fresh starts!

Let’s all make 2010 a year in which we make a heartfelt response to the gospel, in all its detail and all its glory, letting it change us so that through us God can change the world.