Thankfully the prison’s administration was kind enough to allow us to have a special Christmas Day service...
So at 10 o’clock this morning those inmates who want to were permitted to go to the chapel. Forty of us showed up, which was a good amount for a holiday.
After the opening prayer by Brother Felipe, our choir began to lead us in an array of worship and Christmas songs, some of which we were able to sing along to, as these were popular Christmas favorites, such as Joy to the World and Oh Come All Ye Faithful.
Then, once the choir was finished, it was time for me to bring the message. I’d been allotted ten minutes, give or take a few. My sermon was titled "JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, BUT SIN WAS THE REASON FOR JESUS." I shared a similar message in the past. I used the popular, and in my opinion, overused saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season," which I also think sounds trite and superficial, and added that sin was why Jesus came to earth in the first place.
For the main text, I read Isaiah 9:6-7. "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given---." that this was a prophetic announcement from the pen of the prophet, Isaiah, not just for the Jews who were living at the time, some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, but it was a message for us, as well. That we too, being sinners, are a part of the so called Christmas story.
I also explained that the titles given in this passage from Isaiah concerning the Son who was to come--Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace--indicated this individual was to be no ordinary person, but would possess both supernatural and divine attributes. That this was one of many prophesies of the Jews’ promised Messiah, who would also be the Savior of the gentiles.
Next I turned to Matthew 1:18-23. Here I emphasized the angelic proclamation that this baby was to be named Jesus, because he was going to "save His people from their sins." And that we too were among the sinners whom the Lord had in mind when He would later give His life on Calvary’s cross.
Christmas, I said, is just as much of a story about sin as it is about the birth of a Savior. That this is a love story which involves redemption, restoration and renewal, as best expressed in passages such as John 3:16-17. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
Christ, I declared, was God’s Christmas gift to fallen humanity. That Jesus Himself is the best Christmas gift anyone can ever hope to receive.
D.B.
After the opening prayer by Brother Felipe, our choir began to lead us in an array of worship and Christmas songs, some of which we were able to sing along to, as these were popular Christmas favorites, such as Joy to the World and Oh Come All Ye Faithful.
Then, once the choir was finished, it was time for me to bring the message. I’d been allotted ten minutes, give or take a few. My sermon was titled "JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, BUT SIN WAS THE REASON FOR JESUS." I shared a similar message in the past. I used the popular, and in my opinion, overused saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season," which I also think sounds trite and superficial, and added that sin was why Jesus came to earth in the first place.
For the main text, I read Isaiah 9:6-7. "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given---." that this was a prophetic announcement from the pen of the prophet, Isaiah, not just for the Jews who were living at the time, some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, but it was a message for us, as well. That we too, being sinners, are a part of the so called Christmas story.
I also explained that the titles given in this passage from Isaiah concerning the Son who was to come--Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace--indicated this individual was to be no ordinary person, but would possess both supernatural and divine attributes. That this was one of many prophesies of the Jews’ promised Messiah, who would also be the Savior of the gentiles.
Next I turned to Matthew 1:18-23. Here I emphasized the angelic proclamation that this baby was to be named Jesus, because he was going to "save His people from their sins." And that we too were among the sinners whom the Lord had in mind when He would later give His life on Calvary’s cross.
Christmas, I said, is just as much of a story about sin as it is about the birth of a Savior. That this is a love story which involves redemption, restoration and renewal, as best expressed in passages such as John 3:16-17. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
Christ, I declared, was God’s Christmas gift to fallen humanity. That Jesus Himself is the best Christmas gift anyone can ever hope to receive.
D.B.
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