The Nativity – God Kept His Promise1

I’ve got the fun privilege of sharing the Christmas story during our Christmas Eve service at the Summit Church. Here is the kicker: my audience is children. They are going to be right down front with their way too honest comments and goldfish like attention spans. how do I communicate the importance of Christmas to these little ones in a way they can retain it?  Here is where I am and I’ll be honest, my preparation has been a great time of learning and meditating on scripture

Our visual aid (critical with kids I think): The Nativity
Our ONE point (also critical to boil it down): God kept his promise
Our text: Luke 1-2 (with a jump over to Matthew 2 for the wise men)

Do you own a nativity set? Whether a little toy wooden one like I had growing up or one of those glass ones you are afraid will break if you breathe near it, they all have some common characters. Each character’s presence in the Nativity scene reminds us of what is happening at the birth of Jesus: God is remaining faithful to the promise he gave to mankind: That he would send a savior to deliver them from sin and death. Look at the characters as the nativity scene builds:

Mary & Joseph: An angel appears to Mary and says you are going to have a baby named Jesus. Gabriel says that this is the one, who will become King and save the world. God is keeping his promise! But WHOA! She’s not married. That’s awkward. But Mary believes and trusts this word from God.  Joseph? He’s in the line of David. That’s big. Because God said it was through that line that the Messiah would come.

Jesus: He is the point of the whole Bible. God became man so that he could bring salvation to mankind. He is the, as Athanasius says, the “incarnation” of God on earth. I don’t think the kids would get that one. But they will get that the arrival of Jesus is how God kept his promise. (the promise was a savior so it is not completely fulfilled until the death and resurrection of Jesus. Nevertheless, because God is faithful here, we know he will be faithful to carry the promise to completion.)

Shepherds: They are out in the field when, don’t let this slip by you, one angel appeared in the “glory of the Lord”, then a multitude of angels came in. Why are they there? To announce God has kept his promise, the savior has arrived. Listen, the large increase in angelic activity surrounding Jesus’ birth should tell us something. This is a big deal.

Wise Men: They saw the star over Bethlehem. They knew the prophecy from Numbers 24:17 that a “star” would rise out of the line of Jacob. They realized God was holding true to his promise and that’s what drove them to the scene of the manger.  They came to worship the king of the Jews! God had kept his promise.

So as you celebrate Christmas, remember as you celebrate that we celebrate the news that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, came to earth. God kept his promise. The savior of all mankind for all time had arrived. Praise God for his faithfulness to his promise. And that promise of salvation remains open to you and I.