Church Requel
When The Angels Sang
This Christmas Eve we consider when the angels sang (or did they?) Hopefully we walk away with 5 good questions to ask ourselves about our Christian Christmas faith.
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Church Requel
2 Marion Ave, Mansfield, OH 44903, USA
Saturday 11:00 PM
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Here at Church Requel we want to celebrate the good news of Jesus in a way that makes sense and relates to every day people. From the songs we sing (contemporary) to the clothes we wear (casual) to the language we use (understandable) we want to be “requel” in our approach. We want to retell the story that has been around for more than 2,000 years in a new, fresh way with a message each week that is straight from the Bible. We invite you to join us as we sing, pray, celebrate and learn from the Word of God.
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When The Angels Sang - Luke 2:13-15
There are some things about Christmas I love. I love to watch children - and now grandchildren - reenact the nativity scene. And I love it when they put on the Christmas play and then all sing as angels. There is just something so perfect and wonderful about it. However, as is true of many Christian traditions, we sometimes don’t align all our traditions up with the Bible account. Let’s check out the angels singing part together and see what we can learn.
READ Luke 2:13-15 NIV
There are a couple things in that first verse (13) that grab me right away. 1st - Maybe they weren’t all angels singing! We read that “suddenly a great company of heavenly hostappeared WITH THE ANGEL.” So we know there was one angel for sure - the one who first appeared to the shepherds. But then with that angel there was a great company of the heavenly host. Maybe they were all angels. Maybe they were other heavenly creatures. We don’t really know. What we do know is that there was a great company of them - lots of them! God is a creative God. Who knows what all they were? But one thing we know. They sang! Right?
Or did they? b What does the rest of that verse tell us? “Praising God and saying…” Wow. The pressure of choir directors in every church must be really great to make people sing instead of say!
Maybe we don’t know everything we think we know about Christmas! Just in one little verse we find two discrepancies between what we thought we knew about Christmas and what the Bible actually teaches us about Christmas. I wonder if there are some other obvious Christmas teachings here if we’ll only look closely. I’d like to share 5:
#1 - God will be worshipped whether I worship or not.
Busyness. Distractions. Other priorities. Work. Play. Relationships. Even the American celebration of Christmas itself. All these can get in the way of our worship of God. For most Americans, Christmas is a day for family, not faith! We are here to worship God tonight, but look around. Lots of empty seats!
One thing to remember, though, from that first Christmas, is that most humans were not even thinking about their worship of God that night. Certainly the shepherds had other priorities. They were working. The greatest event in human history took place - the greatest gift from God to mankind was given that night - mostly to human yawns.
It is our privilege to worship. But know this - God will be worshiped whether I participate or not!
#2 - God’s gift is special, but I don’t have to be special to receive it.
The gift of Emmanuel - Christ with us - the human baby born of God - the gift of The Word - belongs to all of us. None of us more specially deserve this gift than anyone else. The shepherds were the lowest class of people, yet it was to the shepherds that the heavenly host gave their grand announcement. The same is true today! It doesn’t matter what your education is, doesn’t matter your popularity, doesn’t matter your wealth or anything else. God gave this gift to all of us!
#3 - Always ask - am I worshipping the Highest God?
We see the heavenly host praising God. One of the key words in this story is the word, “suddenly,” meaning out of nowhere… unexpectedly! Here’s the thing: you were created for the primary purpose of worship. It’s what you and I do. Sadly we will worship lesser things than the God in Heaven Who most deserves it. Maybe tonight you could ask yourself what you are worshiping and if, maybe, God more deserves your worship. It’s so easy for us to get excited about our sports teams or our celebrities or our politics. Our highest praise should go to only one Person - The Lord God in Heaven! The shepherds got a brief glimpse of what happens all the time in God’s Presence - He is worshipped! He is praised! Each one of you is uniquely equipped to be a worshiper! To be a praised! Will you use your worship abilities to worship God Himself?
#4 - My peace with God (and one another) is connected to how I please God.
This is something we don’t often talk about. Living is a way that pleases God not only brings Him pleasure, but it also brings me peace. The NIV reads this way: “… on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” We could understand this to mean all humanity, that God gave His Son to the world and therefore God’s favor must rest on all of us. However, the ESV more directly translates the word for word Greek into English: “… on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” How do we best please God? By living according to Jesus’ instructions to us.
There is a great peace we gain when we live according to God’s instructions for us. There is great unrest in our souls when we deliberately live in such a way that goes against God’s wishes. When we do that - what the old fashioned word: When we sin it is neither good for us nor pleasurable to God. Living with Jesus and for Jesus and in Jesus is the best way to please God and bring us peace.
#5 - The result of worshipping God is searching for God.
As soon as the host of heaven finished their praise concert, what did the shepherds do? They went to Bethlehem in search of the new baby Jesus! This is always the result of true worship - a desire to be closer to God, to know Him better, to live to seek Him out.
What about you tonight? Are you celebrating each of these 5 truths in your life this Christmas? Are you reminded that God will be worshipped no matter what? Are you aware that you don’t have to be someone special to receive God’s special gift? Are you worshiping the highest God or are you settling for a poor substitute? Are you searching for God? These are the truths of the first Christmas and each one since!
There are some things about Christmas I love. I love to watch children - and now grandchildren - reenact the nativity scene. And I love it when they put on the Christmas play and then all sing as angels. There is just something so perfect and wonderful about it. However, as is true of many Christian traditions, we sometimes don’t align all our traditions up with the Bible account. Let’s check out the angels singing part together and see what we can learn.
READ Luke 2:13-15 NIV
There are a couple things in that first verse (13) that grab me right away. 1st - Maybe they weren’t all angels singing! We read that “suddenly a great company of heavenly hostappeared WITH THE ANGEL.” So we know there was one angel for sure - the one who first appeared to the shepherds. But then with that angel there was a great company of the heavenly host. Maybe they were all angels. Maybe they were other heavenly creatures. We don’t really know. What we do know is that there was a great company of them - lots of them! God is a creative God. Who knows what all they were? But one thing we know. They sang! Right?
Or did they? b What does the rest of that verse tell us? “Praising God and saying…” Wow. The pressure of choir directors in every church must be really great to make people sing instead of say!
Maybe we don’t know everything we think we know about Christmas! Just in one little verse we find two discrepancies between what we thought we knew about Christmas and what the Bible actually teaches us about Christmas. I wonder if there are some other obvious Christmas teachings here if we’ll only look closely. I’d like to share 5:
#1 - God will be worshipped whether I worship or not.
Busyness. Distractions. Other priorities. Work. Play. Relationships. Even the American celebration of Christmas itself. All these can get in the way of our worship of God. For most Americans, Christmas is a day for family, not faith! We are here to worship God tonight, but look around. Lots of empty seats!
One thing to remember, though, from that first Christmas, is that most humans were not even thinking about their worship of God that night. Certainly the shepherds had other priorities. They were working. The greatest event in human history took place - the greatest gift from God to mankind was given that night - mostly to human yawns.
It is our privilege to worship. But know this - God will be worshiped whether I participate or not!
#2 - God’s gift is special, but I don’t have to be special to receive it.
The gift of Emmanuel - Christ with us - the human baby born of God - the gift of The Word - belongs to all of us. None of us more specially deserve this gift than anyone else. The shepherds were the lowest class of people, yet it was to the shepherds that the heavenly host gave their grand announcement. The same is true today! It doesn’t matter what your education is, doesn’t matter your popularity, doesn’t matter your wealth or anything else. God gave this gift to all of us!
#3 - Always ask - am I worshipping the Highest God?
We see the heavenly host praising God. One of the key words in this story is the word, “suddenly,” meaning out of nowhere… unexpectedly! Here’s the thing: you were created for the primary purpose of worship. It’s what you and I do. Sadly we will worship lesser things than the God in Heaven Who most deserves it. Maybe tonight you could ask yourself what you are worshiping and if, maybe, God more deserves your worship. It’s so easy for us to get excited about our sports teams or our celebrities or our politics. Our highest praise should go to only one Person - The Lord God in Heaven! The shepherds got a brief glimpse of what happens all the time in God’s Presence - He is worshipped! He is praised! Each one of you is uniquely equipped to be a worshiper! To be a praised! Will you use your worship abilities to worship God Himself?
#4 - My peace with God (and one another) is connected to how I please God.
This is something we don’t often talk about. Living is a way that pleases God not only brings Him pleasure, but it also brings me peace. The NIV reads this way: “… on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” We could understand this to mean all humanity, that God gave His Son to the world and therefore God’s favor must rest on all of us. However, the ESV more directly translates the word for word Greek into English: “… on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” How do we best please God? By living according to Jesus’ instructions to us.
There is a great peace we gain when we live according to God’s instructions for us. There is great unrest in our souls when we deliberately live in such a way that goes against God’s wishes. When we do that - what the old fashioned word: When we sin it is neither good for us nor pleasurable to God. Living with Jesus and for Jesus and in Jesus is the best way to please God and bring us peace.
#5 - The result of worshipping God is searching for God.
As soon as the host of heaven finished their praise concert, what did the shepherds do? They went to Bethlehem in search of the new baby Jesus! This is always the result of true worship - a desire to be closer to God, to know Him better, to live to seek Him out.
What about you tonight? Are you celebrating each of these 5 truths in your life this Christmas? Are you reminded that God will be worshipped no matter what? Are you aware that you don’t have to be someone special to receive God’s special gift? Are you worshiping the highest God or are you settling for a poor substitute? Are you searching for God? These are the truths of the first Christmas and each one since!