December 24,
2016
“Are you ready for Christmas? Have you prepared your heart for the Greatest Gift?”
“Are you ready for Christmas? Have you prepared your heart for the Greatest Gift?”
Tonight we gather on the holiest of nights for
the church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Our families have travelled for many miles to
‘come home’. The house smells with all
the preparations for the celebration of Christmas, with freshly baked cookies
and pies, hot punch, hams and turkeys ready to be prepared and devoured with
all the traditional trimmings.
The church has been decorated, the wreaths
placed around the altar and here in the sanctuary. The lights have been lit, in the window
sills, on the altar and very soon in our very hands as we sing our traditional
hymn of “Silent Night”.
For some tonight Wal-Mart is the last stop
before heading home for the night, because there is one item needed for the
feast or one last gift that needs to be bought and wrapped. Yet, the question remains, “Are you ready for
Christmas?”
Once there was a child that grew up on the
wrong side of the tracks. He came from a
family of hard coal mining workers, but the family barely scraped by. One particular Christmas Eve the young boy
had attended the early service at his church, since he only lived a few doors
down from the church. After the service,
knowing he hadn’t placed anything in the plate when it was passed by, this
young man so moved by the Christmas experience, returned to the open church
with his beat up red wagon with his favorite nite-nite blanket.
Hours later, the Pastor returned and began
to prepare for the late service. To his
great horror, he found that Baby Jesus had been stolen from the manger scene by
the altar. Thinking that one of the
elders had placed Him in the choir loft in preparation for the procession, the
pastor dashed and searched for the priceless piece of art. As he on bended knee looked under every pew,
he heard the thud of the heavy wooden doors and the squeak of a small figure
with a little red wagon.
Frozen in time and space, unable to move,
the Pastor on bended knee watched the small boy move quickly to the front of
the church. Unmistakably the small boy
lifted out of the blanket the Baby Jesus and the Pastor heard this quick
exchange. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give any
money this evening, but I hope you were warm enough when I took you out to see
the stars. I love you Baby Jesus.” Quietly he kissed the figure and placed the
wrapped Baby Jesus back in the manger and quickly left.
Still on his knees in awe, the Pastor
understood that what he had just witnessed was the purest preparation for this
Holy Night. You see, tonight is not
about gifts that will go under the tree, food that will be cooked in the oven,
nor about the lights that our houses are decked with. The question we need to ask ourselves, “Have
you prepared your heart for the Greatest Gift?”
You see the greatest gift that we celebrate is the gift of Jesus
Christ. The preparation of our hearts
isn’t about what is under the tree or in our ovens, but have we prepared our
hearts for Jesus?
Jesus Christ Whom we find tonight in the
manger is laid in the manger, because there was no room in the inn. Jesus Christ, Who is laid in the manger freely
walked on this earth to the Cross of Calvary in order to die. Jesus Christ Who is laid in the manger took
on Human form and willingly comes to offer us eternal life. Jesus Christ, Who is laid in the manger tonight
is clearly and unmistakably the Greatest Gift ever given.
Since Jesus Christ is the Greatest Gift, I
return to the question, “Have you prepared your heart for the Greatest
Gift?” For the Greatest Gift has been
prepared for you from the beginning of time, and no matter our home or personal
preparation, it is not enough. Simply,
Jesus Christ came to offer us freely the Greatest Gift of eternal life. Tonight, it is my prayer that we may receive
the Greatest Gift Given in Jesus Christ and feel His Love, that we might
receive the Forgiveness He clearly offers us with His presence in our lives,
but especially in each and every one of our hearts. For tonight we celebrate Jesus Christ entrance
in a manger, but really tonight we receive the Greatest Gift with His entrance
into each and every one of our hearts.
AMEN.Check out Pastor on the Prairie (ProtP)
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