PASTOR CHRIS TURNER writes
@SunZambian
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Luke 1:49
I IMAGINE at some point in your life you have made a Christmas wish list. Perhaps it was as a young child writing a letter to Santa, or maybe, as an adult preparing your Christmas shop-ping list. When a child makes their Christmas wish list it often involves a new doll, cool action figure, or the most popular toy on the market. Teenagers might put things on their wish list like a new phone or the latest video game system. We all have certain wants that will involve material things.
Much of our Christmas tradition has involved the giving and receiving of these treasured items on our “wish list”. As we grow older and more mature, that Christmas wish list begins to change. Things like our health, happiness, and financial stability become more important to us than superficial material things. In fact, Amy Grant sings a beautiful song that speaks of this entitled, “This Is My Grown-Up Christmas Wish.”
During the run up to Christmas I preached a sermon series entitled “I Wish.” This series is adapted from a Christmas Eve Sermon that Dr. Roy De Brand preached at First Baptist Church Henderson in 2011. Dr. De Brand was my preaching professor at Campbell Divinity School and I owe him a debt of gratitude for the minister that I am today. His influence and ad-vice have helped me countless times as I have grown in God’s calling for my life. Dr. De Brand went home to be with Jesus a few years ago and I miss him greatly. I pray that this sermon series will honor his life and legacy as a tribute to one so dedicated to Christian ministry.
In his Christmas Eve Sermon, Dr. De Brand offered a number of wishes for Christians at Christmas time. Over the coming weeks, I will be preaching on a few of those and highlighting their importance in the Biblical narrative of the birth of Jesus.
I know that much about this Christmas season will be different. Very little in 2020 has been “normal.” But in the midst of this strange time, there are truths and beauty in the Christmas story that bring hope and meaning to our lives.
This Christmas, I wish you the courage of the shepherds to face your fears. This Christmas, I wish you peace here on earth and good will toward all people. This Christmas, I wish you joy—down deep in your soul that springs forth from knowing the good news about Jesus our Saviour. And this Christmas, I wish you a life-changing encounter with Christ that transforms you into a new person!
How has Christmas changed for you over your lifetime? How have your Christmas wish-es changed also? What would be your Christmas wish list and your humble prayer to God for this December 25, 2020? Of the things on your grown-up Christmas list, which can you do something about and which must you totally surrender to God and trust him to do? As you ponder these things in your own heart, may you hear heaven’s angelic announcement once more, “Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people. To you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
