Sermon Title: Giving Up on Perfect
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
What is a perfect Christmas for you? A Christmas surrounded with family, a good meal, lots of presents under the tree and your family at harmony with one another? Unfortunately, most people don’t experience a “perfect Christmas” – in fact, their experiences are far from it. Their world looks bleak, their family members struggle with so many problems and they themselves are weak and powerless to change things in their world and life.
This was exactly what the first Christmas was like. The world was under the control of the Roman Empire, and the governor of Judea (where Jesus was born) was a terrible and evil leader who ruled those under him through terror. Mary was not perfect; she was a sinner, just like every human is (Romans 3:23). She had her own shortcomings and doubts. And she was weak and powerless – not only was she merely a woman (women did not have any rights or authority in that era), but she was not rich or part of a royal family. And yet it was in the midst of this imperfect world and imperfect life that God performed His greatest miracle.
So it is with us today. God desires to perform miracles in our lives. We object – we say the world around is deserves not miracles, but judgment. Those in our lives have so many problems and fall so short of God’s standards. And, we, too, personally are so powerless to influence those we love or even change some of our own behavior. But God still works in our lives and wants to perform miracles – because it is when we are at our weakest, God does His very best work. (I Cor. 1:26-31).
This coming Sunday we will talk more about how God uses the imperfect to do His work as we continue the sermon series, “A Different Kind of Christmas.” Hope to see you then!
