1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,160 Luke tonight, Luke chapter 2 verse 8 through verse 14. 2 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:19,400 We see in this passage in Luke chapter 2 verse 8 through 14, we see the shepherds in the 3 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,320 field keeping watch over their flocks by night. 4 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:27,160 And the angels of the Lord appear before them with this great news. 5 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,880 We see this multitude of angels, a lot of angels there. 6 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:36,560 And instead of me reading through the text, we're going to let an old friend read through 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:37,680 the text tonight. 8 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,040 So listen along and follow along. 9 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,040 I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about. 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,040 Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? 11 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:57,760 Church, hurry round, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. 12 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,760 Lights please. 13 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,480 And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their 14 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:07,480 flock by night. 15 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,480 And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them. 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,480 The glory of the Lord so wronged about them, and they were sore of faith. 17 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:20,480 And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, while rendering your tidings of great 18 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,480 joy, it shall be to all people. 19 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:28,480 For unto you is born this day in this video of David, a saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 20 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,480 And this shall be a sign unto you. 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:36,480 He shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in an anchor, and suddenly those 22 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:42,480 with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God 23 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,480 in the highest, and on earth peace, good will turn them in. 24 00:01:46,480 --> 00:02:01,480 That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. 25 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:06,480 Now I don't know about you guys, but I've seen that a million times, and some of you 26 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,480 have seen it a million more times than me, but it's good. 27 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:14,480 It's a good tradition, and most of you, if you've been paying attention for the last 28 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,480 10 years, you knew we were going to watch that tonight. 29 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:22,480 Because we do it every year, the last Wednesday before Christmas, we always play it, and spoiler 30 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,480 alert, we probably will play it next year too. 31 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,480 That's one of my favorite traditions. 32 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:33,480 Now we have a lot of traditions at Christmas, and a lot of these things we celebrate are 33 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,480 good traditions, and some of them may not all be based in biblical things. 34 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,480 They're not all tied in with anything in scripture, but that doesn't make them bad, because we 35 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:47,480 enjoy eating the food at Christmas, or the decorations, or watching Charlie Brown, and 36 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,480 all that good stuff. 37 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,480 But what a beautiful show, what a beautiful scene in that show. 38 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,480 And so if you don't watch Charlie Brown every year, you should. 39 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,480 Let's pray for a second, then we'll talk. 40 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:04,480 God, we come to you, we thank you for this time of year, and I hope, dear Lord, that 41 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,480 it makes us think about Jesus, but I hope not just this time of year, dear Lord, but 42 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:15,480 that on a regular basis that we would not be sidetracked with the distractions of the 43 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,480 world, but that we would always strive to keep Jesus at the center of our life, dear 44 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:20,480 Lord. 45 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,480 And I pray that maybe in the midst of Christmas that we kind of feel like Charlie Brown, dear 46 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,480 Lord, and maybe we just kind of forget about Jesus. 47 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,480 But not just Christmas, maybe a lot of days, and maybe we just need to be reminded of the 48 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:38,480 truth of the fact of what Linus shared for us tonight from your word, and that is that 49 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:40,480 Jesus Christ came. 50 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,480 And so we rejoice that he came, and we rejoice that he gave his life on the cross, dear Lord. 51 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:50,480 And I pray, dear Lord, that we would learn something from this text tonight, that we 52 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:56,480 would rejoice in the Savior that come, dear Lord, but we would follow him, dear Lord, 53 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,480 that we would rejoice like these shepherds did, that we would not just hear the news 54 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,480 of the Savior, dear Lord, and go about our lives, but that we would rejoice in that and 55 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,480 accept that news and seek out that Savior. 56 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,480 So I pray, God, that you be with us in the next few minutes, and I ask these things in 57 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,480 Jesus' name, amen. 58 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:15,480 Amen. 59 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:22,480 Now, Peanuts, the cartoon strip, the first one that was written was written in 1950, 60 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,480 so it's been around for quite some time. 61 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:31,480 This particular cartoon that we watch every year, Charlie Brown Christmas, it came out 62 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,480 in 1965. 63 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:43,480 But between 1950 and 1965, there was one thing that never occurred, that occurred in this 64 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,480 episode, in this clip that we just saw. 65 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,480 Now, some of you, probably all of you know this. 66 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,480 I'm probably just a little behind. 67 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,480 But I figured this out just tonight before church. 68 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,480 I just noticed this for the first time, and some of you may have noticed it too. 69 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:08,480 Linus gets up there to recite these scriptures, and Linus, as you know, his key part of his 70 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,480 character is he always has his security blanket. 71 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,480 Now, what you probably don't realize is that Charles Shultz, that's pretty much where the 72 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,480 phrase security blanket comes from, is the character of Linus. 73 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,480 Now, the term was around a few years before that used here and there, but Charlie Brown 74 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,480 and the Peanuts characters, they kind of popularized that term, that phrase security blanket, and 75 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,480 we use that sometimes today. 76 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:38,480 And that comes from, it was made popular by Linus because he was always afraid. 77 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,480 He was kind of childish. 78 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:40,480 You know, he'd suck his thumb. 79 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,480 He always had his blanket, and there was security in that blanket. 80 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,480 He had to have his blanket or else he was going to be scared. 81 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,480 So, he always had his blanket with him for 15 years. 82 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:56,480 But what you may have noticed is, as he stood up there and began to recite Luke chapter 83 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:04,480 2, verses 8 through 14, when he got to the verse that said, fear not, notice what Linus 84 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:05,480 does. 85 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,480 Where is his blanket? 86 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:12,480 For the first time in 15 years, Linus drops his security blanket. 87 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,480 The moment that he begins to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and he begins to 88 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:22,480 acknowledge that the angels say the Savior has come and there's nothing to fear. 89 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,480 In that moment, you see a change, if you go back and watch this episode, you see a change. 90 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:29,480 He's not fearful at all. 91 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:35,480 He's standing boldly with his arms out as he begins to repeat the words of this scripture 92 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,480 and his security blanket by his side. 93 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,480 In the whole episode, they're worried about Christmas and getting ready for Christmas 94 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,480 and the Christmas trees and Charlie Brown doing what Charlie Brown does and they're 95 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,480 working on their Christmas play. 96 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:55,480 But then when it comes down to it, Linus comes out to the middle of that stage, the lights 97 00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:02,480 fade, everything else falls into the background, Charlie Brown, the Christmas tree, everybody 98 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:09,480 else exits the stage, everything else gets dark, and the spotlight for that minute and 99 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,480 a half is on nothing but the word of God. 100 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,480 And that's how Christmas should be for us, and that's how every day of the year should 101 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:19,480 be for us. 102 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,480 And maybe Christmas is a good time for us to refocus. 103 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:27,480 Maybe, just maybe, we're a little more like Linus than we care to admit. 104 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:33,480 Maybe, in our lives, we've got some security blankets that we hold on to, some things that 105 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,480 we find security in, some things that we trust, some things that we just don't really want 106 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,480 to let go of. 107 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:45,480 But maybe the words of this scripture need to ring true in our lives, that we need to 108 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:51,480 acknowledge that on that night, all those years ago, a savior was born. 109 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,480 And when those angels appeared, they said, fear not. 110 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:56,480 Fear not. 111 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:58,480 We come to bring you good news. 112 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:03,480 Well, there's good news tonight, that there are things in our life that are really, really 113 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,480 scary, serious things. 114 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:10,480 But we have a savior who has come, we have a savior who has died for us, and when we 115 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:16,480 put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear, because we have a savior 116 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:22,480 who has conquered our sin, he's conquered death, he gives us the strength to go against 117 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,480 whatever it is we may come upon in our life. 118 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:32,480 So, those angels that night, all those years ago, they brought some really good news, some 119 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,480 great news, some good tidings, some great joy. 120 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,480 They brought it to the shepherds of all people. 121 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,480 Now, I don't know why God chose the shepherds. 122 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:47,480 I would suspect, I would guess, this is just my opinion, that God sent those angels to 123 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,480 appear to the shepherds, because the shepherds were just humble men who were going to receive 124 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:52,480 the message. 125 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:58,480 Now, I don't know if he had sent this message to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, what they 126 00:08:58,480 --> 00:08:59,480 would have done with it. 127 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,480 Now, maybe even if they would have heard that the savior was born, I don't know if their 128 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,480 reaction, what it would have been when they would have went and they would have saw him 129 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:11,480 wrapped snugly and swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. 130 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,480 My guess would be, is that most of them would have said, this ain't the savior. 131 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,480 This ain't no savior of ours, laying here in an animal trough. 132 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:25,480 That would be my guess, but not so for the shepherds. 133 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:31,480 They received this news, the greatest news that had ever come to this planet, that a 134 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,480 savior had come, that the savior had come. 135 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:41,480 The savior that had been prophesied for thousands of years had come onto the scene, and he is 136 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,480 the one and only savior. 137 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,480 And so that was good news that those shepherds received that night. 138 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:53,480 It was good news that they listened to that night, and when they heard the news of the 139 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,480 savior, they began to seek him out, and they found him. 140 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,480 And so what about you and I? 141 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,480 Now, we don't have a multitude of heavenly hosts coming before us tonight. 142 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:06,480 Maybe we will be a lot, I don't know. 143 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,480 Maybe God will send a multitude of heavenly hosts to see all of us tonight, or maybe he 144 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:11,480 won't. 145 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,480 But we have the truth of their word. 146 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,480 We can believe the truth of their word, or we can reject the truth of their word. 147 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,480 But it's true whether you believe it or not. 148 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:27,480 It's true that all those years ago, that God sent his angels to reveal this beautiful message 149 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,480 to these shepherds and say, look, there is hope. 150 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:32,480 There is hope. 151 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:33,480 There can be peace. 152 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:34,480 There can be joy. 153 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,480 There can be deliverance, because the one who can offer these things to you, the Messiah 154 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:46,480 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been born, and God's word attests to that page after 155 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,480 page after page. 156 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,480 We have that good news in front of us tonight in our Bibles, on our phones, whatever we're 157 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:54,480 reading it on. 158 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,480 We have the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 159 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:03,480 The shepherds heard the good news, and they rejoiced in the good news. 160 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,480 What about you and I? 161 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,480 Do we rejoice in the news of Jesus Christ tonight? 162 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:11,480 Do you know that he has forgiven your sins tonight? 163 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:16,280 Do you know that he wants to forgive your sins if you would just ask for repentance, 164 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:20,880 if you would just ask for forgiveness and repent of your sins, Jesus Christ would forgive 165 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:21,880 you. 166 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:26,080 If we would just stop trusting in our security blankets and trying to find our deliverance 167 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:31,600 and security in the world, but humble in ourselves before the Lord, be in front and center, and 168 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:37,240 put everything else to the side, put the spotlight on the word of God and on Jesus Christ, and 169 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:43,480 drop everything else and say, right now, God's word is going to be my focus. 170 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:48,000 The truth of God's word that is Jesus Christ is going to be my focus. 171 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:53,480 Maybe this Christmas season is a good place for us to start seeing those areas in our 172 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:58,640 life where we need other things to fade away, and we need God to be in the spotlight of 173 00:11:58,640 --> 00:11:59,640 our life. 174 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:00,840 Let's pray. 175 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:02,500 We thank you for your good words, dear Lord. 176 00:12:02,500 --> 00:12:09,560 We thank you that we have cool cartoons like Charlie Brown and all these characters, dear 177 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:10,560 Lord. 178 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:15,040 We thank you that even in a cool cartoon, dear Lord, that we still see that you're glorified. 179 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:16,400 We still see that you're praised. 180 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,840 We still see that your word is front and center. 181 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,800 Dear Lord, I pray that we would take that word, that we would listen to that word, that 182 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,620 we would long for that word, dear Lord, that we would put your word front and center in 183 00:12:28,620 --> 00:12:33,600 our life, that we would drop all the things of the world that may be distracting us from 184 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:38,440 you, that we would let everything else fade into the background, dear Lord, and that you 185 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,720 would be at the center of our lives. 186 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,920 I pray, God, that you would help us to hear the good news of your word, that if there 187 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,620 are some that do not know Jesus Christ, that they would trust in him. 188 00:12:48,620 --> 00:12:51,880 Maybe they trust in him tonight, but dear Lord, maybe they've been living in some sin, 189 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,800 and maybe there's just the struggles and the fears of their life, and been getting the 190 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:01,040 best of them, and I pray, dear Lord, that they would just give those things to you tonight, 191 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,480 that they would trust you, that they would seek you, that they would rejoice in you, 192 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,480 and that we would be like those shepherds, dear Lord, that we would humble ourselves 193 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,920 before you at the sound of your word and of Jesus Christ. 194 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,040 I ask these things in Jesus' name. 195 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:26,160 Amen.