If people were to agree on one thing that contributes the most to messing up people’s lives today, it would almost certainly be the issue of identity, the seemingly endless search to discover who I am. And the world we live in has a lot to say about it. For the Christian, the matter is settled. I’m not saying that a believer won’t continue to struggle with their identity (I do!), but that as far as God is concerned, he knows us to be his sons and daughters. He knows us as worshippers and followers of Jesus Christ. He knows us as the redeemed, having been saved from sin and condemnation by the sacrifice of his Son. That, far more than anything else, defines who we are. Our earthly life is then to be spent in making that identity a daily reality. Once that is sorted, everything else falls into place.

As we continue in our current series, A Five Guys Christmas, we’ll look at “the guys” who were tending sheep outside of Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born. The angel who spoke to them addressed issues of identity and empowered these poor, marginalized men to worship the baby without shame and to tell everyone about him without fear. That angelic encounter locked in their identity in a way that they had never known. And it changed everything. Join us Sunday online and in person as we look at Luke 2:8-21 together.

Series: A Five Guys Christmas

Todd Dugard

Message: 2 – Finding my identity (The Shepherds)

Harvest Bible Chapel

Text: Luke 2:8-21

December 8, 2024

As a believer, my identity is found in Christ who…

…speaks to me (v. 8-14)

Christmas Urban Legends: Shepherds as Outcasts

https://research.lifeway.com/2015/12/17/christmas-urban-legends-shepherds-as-outcasts/

…enables me to obey (v. 15-16)

1 John 4:19

You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary. ~ Jonathan Edwards (attributed)

Ephesians 2:8-9

James 2:17

…gives me reason to tell others (v. 17-19)

Unafraid Witness—Sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness

…is worthy of my worship (v. 20-21)