Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 2410 BOCNEWS.com DECEMBER 2016 Good News "Then the shepherds returned, glorify- ing and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them." — Luke 2:20 In Luke’s account of the events sur- rounding Jesus birth we are told that the Angel of the Lord appeared unto some shepherds who were “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” It was probably during the season where the shepherds remained out in the fields with their sheep as cowhands did with cattle. The shep- herds took turns protecting the sleep- ing animals. At the time of the encoun- ter with the angel of the Lord they were not sleeping but were actively engaged at the business at hand. They were seemingly wide awake, and therefore could not be deceived in what they saw and heard, as those may be who are half asleep. Suddenly this tranquil scene was shattered by the appearance of the angel of the Lord, whose glory must have lighted up the area. Although this angel is not identified, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he was Gabriel, who had already appeared to Zacharias and Mary. The appear- ance of the heavenly being struck fear into the hearts of the shepherds (Luke 2:10-15). Often the Scriptures declare God’s angelic beings using these words “Fear not” to calm the quaking hearts of those to whom they appeared! It is quite normal for a sinful human being to experience fear before the presence of a heavenly messenger. The shep- herds had been frightened by the daz- zling appearance of the heavenly mes- senger sent to them. But there was no need to fear, for the message the angel delivered was the grandest message to ever fall on man’s ears. The Savior had been born. His coming meant life, eter- nal life, to anyone who would accept him. This message brought great joy to the shepherds; it was good news. Let us see why! The Shepherds Experienced Hope Fulfilled. These humble men shared to some greater or less degree in the hopes and dreams of all the children of Israel that the Messiah would come, but when? Sometimes in their night- long vigils the question would arise. It was one that was worthy of concern, for with the coming of the Messiah life would be different. The Messiah would destroy the world powers in an act of judgement, put an end to war, for he would be the Prince of Peace, rule righteously over the people, and deliver Israel from her enemies and restore her as a nation. Many Jews were look- ing for a political leader to deliver them from Roman rule, while others were hoping for a savior to deliver them from sickness and physical hardship. But this announcement concerns the Savior who would deliver from sin and death. The angel's announcement to the shepherds was, that on this night their hope had been fulfilled: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” At Bethlehem, their eyes confirmed what they had heard for the angel with their ears. They found the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a man- ner as the angel had said. Is it not the glory of the Christmas season that we realize again that Christ is the hope of the world? Is not this what we are reminded of as we relive the birth of Christ. That God has given a Savior unto us. In our own way, each Christmas, we hear the glad tidings of the angels and see the Babe in the manger. We realize that whatever life’s situation, whatever we may be going through: be it in the world, in our home, on our job it is still hopeful. We have a Savior. We have a resource in God who can help us. Like the shepherds who waited for the coming Messiah and the salva- tion that would come with him some of us are waiting for our salvation. We are waiting to be saved from raggedy cars and raggedy clothes. Waiting to be saved from insincere relationships. Waiting to be saved from the pains and despair of illness. Waiting to be saved from the pressure of financial bondage. Waiting to be saved from problems in our marriages, and with disobedient and wayward children. We are wait- ing for peace to come upon the earth when all humanity lives as one. Yes, we are waiting to be saved from all those things but the most important thing we need to be saved from is sin and death. Sometimes it seems as if our salva- tion from earthly things is a far way off. Sometimes the things we need to be saved from seem almost impos- sible. I imagine that the shepherds felt like that from time to time. But let us not lose heart. Let us not grow weary or faint. Let us be strengthened this Christmas season when we see that God has already fulfilled his promise of a Messiah, Christ has come. God is still fulfilling his promises to us today. The Shepherds Had Something to Tell. “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concern- ing this Child” (vs. 17). When the shepherd had seen the Christ child, they saw nothing in the child that should induce them to believe that he was Christ the Lord. Yet when they observed the circumstances, in agreement with the sign that the angel had given them, they were abundantly satisfied. So, they made known abroad the whole story of what was told them, both by the angels, and by Joseph and Mary, con- cerning the child. They declared that he was Savior, even Christ the Lord, that in him there is peace on earth, and that he was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, and born of a virgin. This they told everybody, and agreed in their testimony concerning it. What impression did it make upon the peo- ple? “And all those who heard it mar- veled at those things which were told them by the shepherds” (vs. 18). If no one else was affected with those things, yet the shepherds were. They praised God for what they had heard from the angel, and for what they had seen. They had seen the babe in the manger, as the angels had said in swaddling clothes, as it had been spoken of them. They thanked God that they had seen the Christ. If no one else is affected by Christmas we should be. As Christians, we also have a story to tell. Some people may be wary of the good news, because they see it as “something too good to be true.” They may have already believed in a lot of different ideas and differ- ent people, only to find their faith was ill founded. Only to find they were let down and disappointed. To be told that God is good, that He loves them, and that He has provided a way for them to be freed from the guilt of their sins may seem impossible to grasp. But we must declare that the good news is anything but a fabrication of human wishfulness. It is based on historical facts attested to by eyewitnesses. If people turn up their noses and deny the divinity of the Christ child, deny that God came to earth in human form to dwell among human beings, if people accept the Christmas but want to deny the Christ we must stand with a message to tell. We must proclaim that the season is about more than presents. About more than doing good, even about more than feeding the hun- gry, giving toys to needy children, or housing the homeless. The real rea- son for the season is that Christ the Savior has come to redeem sinful humanity, and to restore the relationship with God. The Shepherd’s Lives Were Lifted to A Higher Level. “Then the shep- herds returned, glorify- ing and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (vs. 20). The shepherds went back to their monotonous tasks. The tasks were the same, but the shep- herds were different men. Their exis- tence would never again be the same. After their experience on that winter’s night, life itself had a new quality. The shepherd had become important wit- nesses for the incarnate Savior, of God in the flesh. Having seen the Savior, they returned glorifying and praising God. So, should all be who have seen him by the eye of faith. This is the real end of the gospel preaching when it leads the audience up to praise. This is the chief job, the chief task of the redeemed. A true worship experience is only complete when God is praised. After one has truly worshipped the Christ one is never quite the same again. One never again walks the same road, and therein is a reason of joy. After we come into the saving knowl- edge of Jesus Christ, things are never the same. The bible declares it to be so (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6,7,11). Yes, we may go back to being our for- mer selves but the peace that we once had in the way we used to live is gone. The inner conviction of the Holy Spirit is there to constantly remind us that we are the children of God and to draw us back to our Father. When we come into a relationship with Jesus we are lifted from the depths of sin to a higher existence. We have been set free from a sinful lowly existence to a new life of victory in Christ Jesus and it is something to be joyous about. That is good news! William T. Golson, Jr By Rev. Dr. William T. Golson, Jr. SERMON