Collinsville Church of Christ Sermons

At just the right time, Jesus came into the world. He came to free us from the crushing weight of our brokenness and sin. We could never be good enough to earn salvation, so Jesus lived a perfect life on our behalf. Why? Because of love. God wanted us to be a part of his family. Out of love, he adopted us through the work of Christ. We are now the sons and daughters of God, and we can rest in the love of the Father.

The circumstances of life have a way of robbing us of our joy. Disappointment, frustration, and loss can take the very life from us. However, Jesus’ birth reminds us that no matter how hard life can become, we don’t have to go through it alone. God has come to us full of grace and truth, and that should bring us joy. We can trust that Jesus’ presence with us will reveal the truth about our lives, and at the same time, will offer us the grace to see things change.

The announcement of Jesus’ birth was delivered to shepherds, who lived on the fringe of society, in the fields watching their sheep by night. If a King were born into the world, you would expect that these shepherds would be the last ones to know about it. Yet the heavenly angels tell these men that peace was coming to the earth for those on whom God’s favor rested. What a shocking message. God’s favor was on even these shepherds. They were being offered peace. And if it would be given to them, then we can rest assured it is offered to us as well. Now that is good news for a world that is in turmoil.

The prophet Isaiah writes one of the most classic of all Old Testament prophecies about the coming birth of Christ. The passage that he writes is born of gloom and darkness. The world had felt the full weight of sin and it had wreaked havoc on all of creation. What Isaiah offered in chapter 9 was something God's people needed more than anything. Hope. Hope that one day someone would come to make all things right and restore what had been broken. The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of that hope and it offers us hope in our lives today.