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Celebrate Like No Other Dustin Blumer Sermon 310 - Matthew 1:39-56 Celebrate Like No Other Hey all, Merry Christmas. You ever need someone to be what you need? Like this is going on I just need you to be strong. I’m hungry I just need you to make a meal. I come saying I desire to be what you need, what your soul needs, what your spirit needs. Not so you can look at me, not so you can even look at this church, but so you can look at the greatness of God and say he gave me what I needed this Christmas. He showed up when it seemed silent. He gave grace and love when I needed it. Would you pray with me and ask God to bless this message. Heavenly Father, give us what we need. The perfect sight and the prepared heart to receive your Son our Savior Jesus. Let us live with that vision of his perfect love, of your eternal goodness, and so change our lives by His story. In the Christ of Christmas we pray it. Amen. It’s an emotional time isn’t it. Christmas. I’m not sure I get through a Christmas without a few tears can I say that among manly men, some are on one side and others on the other. I don’t know about you, but it’s like someone turned up the dial on my emotions. Like this Home Alone 2, got sick kids watching Home Alone, Kevin turns up the dial on the bad guy. Didn’t end so well for the sticky bandits. So someone has turned up the dial in my heart and there is range in which everything is all out. There is Sadness, and Madness, and Gladness, and Tiredness, and Excitedness, and all out Craziness. And if I could pick one and hold on to it, I know which one it would be. What about you. For me it is gladness. Yes, I want it. You know what I’m talking about. I want it to overwhelm me this Christmas. To cover me like a blanket by the fire. You know what I’m talking about. How many here wouldn’t mind some gladness this Christmas Eve. Well, you came to the right place. See we’re having the merriest Christmas at Amazing Love, and this because of the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus who is greater than a man, who is more than a teacher, more than a father, more than a brother, he is the Savior. He didn’t come to show is the way, but to declare to your heart and into your life that he is the way. The way to the Father, the way to eternal life, the way for true peace and tonight the way of gladness. This is the Jesus who for any and for all, laid down his life so that every sin could be forgiven, every heart could have hope, every life could be changed forever by him. Are you ready to hear more about him? Our story teller tonight is the mother of God Mary, and we get to hear a song that she sings about the privilege of bearing the Savior of the world. Let’s get into it and read from Luke 1. So there it is a celebration like no other - may God so bless and guide you this Christmas Eve. Wanted to know, we have kids in here. Excited to open presents. If so say yeah! And how many here love to play video games. Is it alright if I show you one of my favorite video games? It’s called Bubble Bobble, and it’s amazing just about in every way. Here’s a video, great sound track great game play. Don’t worry I think you can down load it to your Wiis. Great game. And you get the concept. There are enemies coming, but you shoot the bubble at them and they are no match for that bubble. The enemies even turn into fruit, and all is well. Here’s what you need to know about Mary this Christmas. She has real enemies and hardships standing in her way this first Christmas. It’s possible that she went to go see Elizabeth her relative because she has so much trouble in her life. See she is probably hated in her town. It seems everyone knows she is pregnant, and everyone knows it wasn’t Joseph who she was engaged to. So she may be getting away to sort out the very hard details of her life and make a plan. Joseph is even considering calling off the marriage. It’s not an easy Christmas for Mary. Here’s what I know about Christmas, it’s complicated. Could you say that with me it’s complicated. I know there is the cocktail of emotions that isn’t always so easy to swallow. There are the people we miss, the hardships we endure whether family tensions or sickness or financial scenarios, there are crazy parties, and the off base comments. Here’s what I know even though I have not met you, there’s an onslaught of difficulty that could bring you down if you let it. But Mary shows us the way. You see it’s the midst of her difficulty she finds the solution. And what is the source of joy? v.47. It’s in her Savior. See Mary’s found a bubble, that swallows up every other source of pain or strife. She found a bubble in a baby. The baby and Savior born to her, the Messiah. He’s the solution. He’s the one pulling her heart strings and inspiring her voice. Nothing else. He’s the one to consume any other problem she might encounter. Here’s what I know about the Savior. He too can be that bubble for you. You want the Merriest Christmas? Then you let your celebration of the Savior swallow up everything else that is going on in your life right now. You may have sickness, you may have heartache, you may not have enough money, you may have worries, you may have problems, but the Jesus bubble is one that can consume them all. When we tie our hearts to that joy, we find a reason for all consuming celebration. Let him loom so large in your life and your hearts he consumes and guides and gives peace about everything else. But here’s the temptation my friends and it’s not a new one. It’s for something else to be the main cause of celebration. Kids there’s a temptation to celebrate presents more than Jesus. There’s a temptation to make it all about our families and not about the one who placed us in a family. A temptation to be celebrating because of food, or time off of work, or a trip. But none of those reasons for celebration will work for lasting gladness. They will all fall short. Except for that one, the one able to consume every other - our Savior Jesus. That’s what Mary found as she celebrated in the midst of her difficulties - celebration attached to a Savior. This night I tell you and maybe some for the very first time - make Jesus your main source of celebration tonight and for the rest of your life And to what degree should we celebrate him? You ever have this moment with children when they look at you as if to say, “Dad, you’re weird.” A had a moment this passed week. I recently won my fantasy football pool, and I had a moment when a player I needed to come through did. And I was running around, shouting clapping, and making noise. When I get the look communicating Dad you’re weird. Which is surprising to me because this child obviously doesn’t understand the significance of a digital trophy. Talk about immortal glory. :) She wanted me to tone it down a bit. Tone it down. NFL players have to do this - you know if you celebrate too much after a touchdown or interception you might get a taunting penalty. Tone it down that’s what I think when I see the Carleton dance - lot going on there. Ok maybe he doesn’t have to tone it down - I like it. Here’s what I love about Mary’s celebration - it is great because she doesn’t tone it down. When it says she rejoices it literally means she was celebrating or rejoicing exceedingly. I love it. That’s a good model for our own lives. Maybe we don’t have to celebrate Fantasy Football wins we can tone that down, but may we never tone down the celebration our lives and our hearts and our voices give out about the one who came out of love to save us. May our celebration be consummate and all-consuming. Let’s even be willing to be weird to celebrate him that much. By the way we follow his ways, by the way we talk about him, and by the way our our whole lives communicate his goodness. Don’t tone it down, turn it up. Let’s look more about what Mary was excited about. v.49. Done great things for me. Now what is that. She knows right now the greatness of what she has bestowed upon her. She will be the mother of the Son of God, not because she chose to be, not because she pulled the winning ticket, but because of the grace of God to show her favor.
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