Safe to Die (A Christmas Greeting... I Promise!)

I've already fessed up to some my Scrooge-ish tendencies this year, so I was praying quite hard that Christmas Eve service would bring something new to my heart. After Pastor Brian promised Part 2 of his sermon for Tuesday evening, my sister and I were not so jokingly looking forward to possibly getting out of yet another well-intended, but still awkward, Yuletide monologue. The monologue was avoided and truth was spoken... I walked away blessed. I'll be working out of Luke 2:26-35, per Pastor Brian's teaching. These are my sermon notes over the last two service times. I don't promise eloquence and beauty, but I do promise truth and grace.

Simeon was told he would not die before he met the Lord's Christ (v. 26). However, Simeon knew it was safe to wait because he had Go'ds promise of an advent moment- that is, the Christ child. Like Simeon, we can live in the promise of an advent moment because God has promised us that Christ will return- that we too will have our advent moment and that the best is yet to come.

Like God will eventually do for us, God delivered on His promise to Simeon (v. 27). However, Simeon did not live his life only for that moment. Instead, he lived his live in anticpation of that moment while living as wholly and fruitfully as possible until that moment came. 

Finally, Simeon realized that God had delivered and declared that he could die safely now (v. 29). Like Simeon, Jesus Christ came to earth, through His birth, to make it safe for us to die. Jesus came because each person has a soul to save and sin to be saved from. Simeon also understood that Jesus came to be a public savior (vv. 31 & 32). Jesus came so that we, as humans, could see two things: our Father God and our own sin. Jesus is a direct reflection of God in behavior, mind, spirit, etc. and it is only by Jesus' sinless life that we are able to see our own sinless, broken lives.

It is only by Jesus' birth that He was able to die on the cross which, ultimately, allows us to exchange our earthly, selfish glory for the eternal, selfess glory that God allows us to share with Him (v. 32).

Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6) who allows us to die at peace with our creator.

This is what I needed to hear last night. This made Christmas new for me last night. This brought my heart the touch I needed to gain a glimpse of understanding of the celebration of our Christ's birth. This, my friends, caused me to stop and to wonder about the ginormous blessing that is our salvation in Christ Jesus. 

PS- If you're looking for another good Christmas read, I enjoyed this piece this morning as well. Consider, especially, her third point.