Sermon for Christmas Day, Part 1

by Aaron
We’re almost through with 2016, and Christmas happens to fall on a Sunday this year. We have three Christmas Eve services at 7, 9, and 11pm; the 11pm service will actually let out on Christmas day, which led us to the decision not to have services Christmas morning (and…because I’d like to get some rest after such a busy night). However, some people really want to go to church services on Christmas day. I figured I would give you a few blogs leading up to Christmas, so you can have your own “sermon” discussion with your family on Christmas Day (if you are so inclined).
 
At Element, we believe that the first pastors to families are their parents. We believe instruction about who God is should begin at home. How to follow Christ should be modeled by loving parents who teach, disciple, rebuke, and restore the children entrusted to their care. That being said, we also know that at times, it is hard to know where to begin. What I would like to give you over the course of the next three weeks is a sermon (broken up) by the church reformer, Martin Luther, in 1521.

 
Martin Luther was German and obviously wrote and taught his sermons in German; what I give to you is the 1906 translation, so be aware of some of the older English. Before you think to ask, yes, Martin Luther gave this sermon on Christmas day, so he was obviously much holier than we are at Element.
 
He starts his sermon like this: “It is written in Haggai 2,6-7, that God says, ‘I will shake the heavens; and the precious things of all nations shall come.’ This is fulfilled today, for the heavens were shaken, that is, the angels in the heavens sang praises to God. And the earth was shaken, that is, the people on the earth were agitated; one journeying to this city, another to that throughout the whole land, as the Gospel tells us. It was not a violent, bloody uprising, but rather a peaceable one awakened by God who is the God of peace.”
 
Martin Luther’s life was marked by adversity as he attempted to properly live in and explain grace to others. He was put on trial for his views and there was a bloody and violent rebellion about “grace” during his lifetime. As www.religionfacts.com puts it, “The life of Martin Luther is one of the most fascinating stories in the history of Christianity. It has all the stuff of a good novel: parental conflict, spiritual agony, life-changing moments, near-misses, princes, popes, emperors, castles, kidnapping, mobs, revolution, massacres, politics, courage, controversy, disguises, daring escapes, humor and romance. And not only is it a good story, it marks a major turning point in western history and in Christianity.”
 
With all of these things looming in Luther’s life, it’s remarkable that he starts his sermon with how God came to bring peace to His world. He speaks of how the entire world was shaken for the purpose of peace. Luther was not against being a soldier or the concept of a “just war” (you can read Terry Miller’s great paper on it here), but he did see God’s purpose in Christ was to first bring peace--peace to our broken hearts and our broken world.
 
If you are doing this with your family on Christmas day, ask the following questions:

What do you think it means to have true peace?
How did Jesus’ birth herald the proclamation of that peace?
 
See ya next week.