Sermon Title: Christmas Is A Time For Family
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
So the Christmas season is once again upon us and I am sure that it will pass very quickly. With all the family activities, special parties, gatherings, and assorted "busyness," Christmas will be here and gone quicker than most of us realize. And with it are the opportunities to spend quality time with our loved ones. Notice that the text above tells us that Elizabeth and Mary spent time together and they blessed each other because of it. It was through being together that they were able to declare God's truth and worship God in a powerful way. They could have experienced God apart from each other, but by coming together God was met in such a manner that it blessed generations after them. God can also impact our families in such a way as we meet with them. And the truth is our families are more blessed by the time we can give them than the presents we buy them. Thus, Christmas is more than giving presents to our loved ones - it is the giving of our time. And through that gift, we can express the love of God that transforms lives.
This coming Sunday we will talk more about how our families are benefited by the time we spend with them as we begin a new sermon series for the Christmas season, "Good Times." I hope to see you then!
