We're going to read together from the Scriptures.
I'm going to read a portion that was read last Sunday evening at
the Carroll service and that is from Luke chapter 2, verses 8
through to 14. I was tempted to ask one of the
young men, but then I would be springing it on them and that
wouldn't be fair. Luke chapter 2 And we're reading
from verse 8. Let's hear the word of God.
It says, look to verse 8. And they were in the same
country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. And Lord, the Angel of the Lord
came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
and they were so afraid. And the Angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold you bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in
the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And there shall be a sign unto you, you shall find to be
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger.
And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and an earth peace goodwill toward men.
We know that God will stamp with His own approval and blessing
this reading of His own precious and infallible word in this
morning. My text is taken from Luke
chapter 2 and in the verse 14 and have entitled this theme
Gospel Lessons from the Christmas Truths.
Every Christmas we hear the angels words peace and earth.
They appear in our Christmas cards.
We sing them in our carols. They're found in our
decorations. They're spoken on our lips.
So often we even sing them warmly and gladly, yet without
thinking about them. However, if we're honest, peace
on earth can often be like a sound bite to us.
It perhaps is even one of the most unrealistic lines in the
Bible we were singing and reading.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth.
Peace, goodwill to men. Look at our world.
It's a world of conflict. Look at our history, the history
of war and conflict. Look at our homes and our own
lives. Conflict seems more common than
true peace, hate to the fore more than true love.
Surely division comes more easily than a spirit of
reconciliation. Fear speaks louder than hope.
Today I want to take you to a place where pithoners appeared
in the most unexpected way, in the most unusual of places.
Now the Christmas truth I want to talk about is connected to a
football match. Young people here like football.
We get asked the question, did you hear about the match?
And immediately they asked for who was playing who, where was
the match played, when was it played, who won.
Loads of questions. You see.
Now this football match is connected to the Christmas truth
on the muddy battlefields of World War One.
I want you to get The Time Machine out.
Press the button. We're going back to Christmas
Day 1914. You see, late in December 1914,
soldiers on the Western Front ceased hostilities, laid down
their weapons to celebrate Christmas together on No Man's
Land. Did you know that Sainsbury's
one year put out an advert from No Man's Land?
The scene opened with the booming of artillery, the noise
of the shells exploding. A soldier by the name of Tommy,
a British soldier, appears to open a parcel in the British
trenches. The snow begins to fall and
inside the parcel is a photograph.
It's also a bar of chocolate. And then the sound of singing is
heard. The strain of Silent Night in
German and then in the English trenches as well.
The soldiers climb out of their trenches, they meet in No Man's
Land, the guns are silent, the soldiers exchange gifts of
chocolate and they also play a football match on Christmas Day.
And the scene closes with the strains of the song leaning on
the everlasting arm. See, warfare in World War One
was not high tech. It was often hand to hand
combat. Hundreds of thousands of young
men were dead already in the few months that the war had begun in
June 1914. Trenches were sometimes yards
apart, cold places, muddy rat infested, blood soaked places.
Soldiers stood and slept standing up.
The Western Front took in hundreds of miles Flanders Song,
Belgium all the way to the town of Yeats and Menes 1914 to 1918.
World War One saw 25,000,000 casualties and on Christmas Eve
1914 about 8:30 a Royal Irish Rifleman noticed the Germans
decorating their trenches with paper lights Christmas trees,
wishing each other Christmas greetings, Happy Christmas.
They could hear the singing of the Christmas carols, Silent
Night. First Noel, The scouts went out
into No Man's Land. They couldn't resist wishing
each other happy Christmas and soon hundreds of soldiers joined
them. Enemies morphed into a
fraternity. Hands were shook, carols were.
Some gifts were exchanged. A football match was played.
Nothing was organised. I don't know if it was left on a
side or not. So between these two opposing
sides, on a strip of land called No Man's Land, a place of
danger, a place of death, a stiff frost had descended on
Christmas Eve, turning No Man's Land into a a white Christmas
scene. And on Christmas Day, for a
brief moment, the war stopped. On Christmas Day there was a
football match. It's wonderful that during the
summer there, when I was in Minea's, I got a picture taken
at the monument where the match was actually played.
This Christmas story is truly historical.
It's inspired artwork, statues, adverts.
It pictures a British soldier and a German soldier greeting
each other with a football. Not a weapon, not a flag, but a
football. There in that place, the theatre
of war. Soldiers kicked the ball back
and forth. Men who were supposed to be
enemies ran after the ball. They laughed, they played for a
time, they forgot the divisions that divided them and will ask
the question, why a football? Why is the monument in the nares
so significant? What lessons can we learn from
what happened on that Christmas Day 1914?
Let's think about it for a few minutes.
Think of the period when the match was played.
When was it played? I've already told you Christmas
Day 1914, there was a start time.
I don't know when it started, probably started with a whistle
blowing. I don't think there was a
national anthem. A time to kick off and then a
time to stop. And between the start time and
the stoppage time, whatever time it was that they played Lebanon
side football, these British and German soldiers played their
football match. You've got to think of the
period when the match was played.
And isn't that a picture of life, the journey of life?
We have a start time, a day of birth, a special day.
And just as we have a birthday, then we'll also have a death
day. Not death day could come at 21
or 91. And in between those two days is
the journey of life, and life is precious.
We can ask the question, where did we come from?
Who made us? And of course the answer is that
that God made us. Remember what we read in the
book of Acts in Acts 17 it says in verse 26, And hath made of
one blood of all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bound of their habitation. It says in verse 28, In Him we
move and live and have our being.
Do you know today that you're special?
Do you know today that you've been created by Almighty God?
Do you know that your life is dependent on Him?
In Him you move and being, in Him you breathe.
He is the true source of your life and you're not only made by
Him and dependent on Him, but you're also accountable to Him.
And one day you'll stand before Him.
Everyone of us will and that Romans 14 and 12 says so.
Then everyone of us shall give an account of Himself to God in
that journey of life. Man's chief goal, as the
Catechism says, man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him
forever. He must says prepare to meet thy
God. Many of these young soldiers,
you know what age they were, 17/18/19 and 20, not much older
than some of the young people here in our church.
One of them was 15, a private Studwick.
We visited his grave, we laid a poppy wreath there.
You see, many of those young men believed in God.
They knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
They read their Bible, they knew how to pray, they were found in
a right relationship. And when the hymns were sung,
Silent Night, the First Noel once in Royal David's city, they
knew the hymns. They knew that man that was born
a woman is a few days and full of trouble as the sparks fly
upward. They knew, as it says in the
book of Job and in the verse 10 of chapter 14.
But man dieth and wasteth away. Yeah, man giveth up the ghost.
And where is he? And even the Lord Jesus Christ
identifies with us on this journey because there was a day
when he was born. And I'm not saying it was 25th
day of December. I don't know when he was born,
but there was one Day in History when he was born.
And he lived to life, sinless life, glory to God.
He can alone say, I do always those things that please the
Father. And he was put to death at the
age of 33. That was his journey of life.
A period when the match was played, a start time and a
stoppage time teaches me about the journey of life.
A period when the match was played very quickly.
The purpose as to why the match was played.
Why was it played? Well, it was Christmas Day, a
special day, a popular day, a well known day.
Why? Because it's in this one day
that we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one
who was wonderful councillor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Christmas is one of the most
blessed times of the year. Think of the little song I I
don't know who sang it. Brother Alan will be able to
tell us. I wish it was Christmas every
day. You see, Christmas is a time for
giving and sharing. It's a festival of gifts.
You've already exchanged gifts with one another.
I, I trust I I didn't get to the shops.
I'm sorry but I I haven't any gifts to exchange at at this
time. But most gifts of course are
given in love. Most gifts are specially chosen
as far as their value is concerned.
A lot of thought and effort and hope goes into a gift.
The gift then is joyfully offered and hopefully gladly
received. You think of that first
Christmas whenever they were told in that night.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. Fear not for the old I bring you
good times of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. It's meant to be a day of joy
and peace, a day of gratitude, a day of Thanksgiving, a day not
just of celebration, but of reflection, as I said in the
prayer, a day of giving and receiving, a day of caring and
sharing. And despite these soldiers with
different backgrounds, despite the war, despite the bloodshed,
to them on Christmas Day, they had heard and received the best
news of all. Because they knew in their
hearts, even though they give bars of chocolate buttons, I
don't know what else they gave. One gift transcends all other
gifts. Jesus Christ is the best gift of
all. He's a chosen gift.
You know, people say to me, the state of the world, the world's
at war. Why doesn't God do something
about it? Why doesn't God stop the war in
Ukraine and and Russia? I have an answer.
Here's the answer he already has.
Here's the greatest intervention.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth his Son into the world made of a
woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the
law. That's the greatest intervention
ever, the incarnation and the virgin birth.
I remember saying to a we woman in Scotland.
He asked me what has God ever done for me?
And I told her that Jesus Christ was born for us, lived the
sinless life for us, died an atoning death for us, rose again
bodily from the dead, prays for us and is coming for us.
She just went in and slammed the door.
See, many don't want to think about that, but that's the
reality. That's what God has done.
And remember, Paul was able to say, but God commended his love
toward us. And while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us in verse 10. For if, when we were enemies,
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
A most appropriate gift, chosen not for family, not for friends,
but for his enemies to reconcile enemies to himself, Enemies who
hated him, enemies who didn't want him, enemies who didn't
know him, enemies who were ignorant of him.
He's also a costly gift. What did he give?
The best he had his only begotten Son, one who is
precious, one who is powerful, one who is most personal.
In our text, the Angel said, And this shall be a sign unto you
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a
Manger. Not strips of cloth as modern
versions tell us. I don't like that translation.
But swaddling clothes? Why?
Because swaddling clothes were actually the cloth that was used
to wrap up a dead body. In it was a shroud.
If you picture that when he was born, it was a sign.
You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes 'cause this
babe had come to pay a price. You see, a gift is not free and
it cost him. It cost him an act of
humiliation. God became man.
God became human, one of us. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh. It it, it cost him his, his
life's blood. And God didn't provide a
reformer or a statesman or a politician.
He provided A saviour. Unto you is born this day, a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Why? Because we need a saviour to
save us from sin. That's also a claim gift.
You see, a gift that's given must be received.
Many don't want it. Many think that they don't need
Christ. They live in their sin, don't
realise that sin separates them from God, don't realise that sin
keeps them in a state of bondage, don't realise that sin
will keep them out to heaven, don't realise that their sins
not forgiven, they'll never ever be in heaven.
God's perfect gift is to be received.
The Bible says behold, now is the accepted time.
Now is the day of salvation. You see, there's a period when
the football match was played. There was a purpose as to why it
was played. Christmas Day was about the
birth of Christ, the greatest of all gifts that transcends every
other gifts. But I finish with this, a
particular way the match was played in no man's land.
The enemies became friends, the enmity was put away and give way
to fraternity. The bloodletting gave way to
peace. Making a truce happened, even
though it was for a brief time, because soldiers on Christmas
Day didn't see each other as monsters, but as human beings.
They saw each other as brothers, sons, friends, husbands, and our
Lord Jesus Christ came in a particular way.
The incarnation is necessary. The virgin birth was necessary
because He came to take on flesh.
He shared our humanity. He stood as it were in our no
man's land to be a bridge between heaven and earth.
The Bible proclaims them in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 14.
He is our peace and on earth peace.
To me the word peace here should be of a capital because it
speaks of Christ. He's the personification of
peace. And as they played their
football match, it was a friendly game.
I believe it was probably played by some rules.
There were 5000 professional footballers and the English
soldiers who were out at the Western Front.
There were probably fouls and free kicks and penalties, but it
was played in a relationship. And you see, your greatest need
is not religion. Your greatest need is a
relationship with God. And you can have a relationship
with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
And I know we're called upon in the rules, according to the
summary of the 10 commandments, to love God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself.
But the reality is you can't and you don't live that way.
You have to be honest, and you'll only begin to follow the
rules when you're in a relationship, when you're
reconciled to God. Abraham was a friend of God.
Hi, by faith. And what is faith?
Forsaking all. I trust him.
It was a friendly game. It was a fruitful game.
Why? Because it was played from the
heart. It was played in a spirit of
goodwill and love. And at the heart of all the news
of Christmas Day is the news about a person.
It's all because of a person, the God man who became the Son
of Man, the Son of Mary, the Son of David, who was revealed to us
as the only begotten Son of the everlasting Father, bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh. And yet a true God, very God of
very God. These soldiers had the courage
to sing, to step out of the trenches, to meet each other
face to face. Christ came to meet us face to
face. What a message, a divine person.
That's what we're singing about, a divine power.
Christ is the power of God unto salvation.
That's why we go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. The preaching of the cross is a
power even to those who are dead and sin, to those who are blind
and can't see, to those who are diseased.
This power comes. And at the heart of this good
news is a divine peace. Peace with God, the peace of
God, peace on earth. Why?
Because the Prince of Peace have come.
We can have peace in our world. You can have peace in your home.
When you have peace in your heart.
You see, it's wonderful. This is the way God works.
A baby in a Manger, fishermen chosen to be disciples, A cross
1st instead of a throne to bring about peace on earth.
Peace on earth. You're called to it.
There has to be a commitment, but there has to be a choice.
And the choice involves receiving this news about this
divine person and this divine power and this divine purpose.
Can I ask you today to allow Christ to step into your heart
and your life, to deal with your sin, to bring about the end of
your conflict and struggle and allow Him to help you and give
you grace as you journey through life?
The Christmas truths a particular period, a particular
purpose, a particular plan. May the Lord bless you as you
have listened to our Christmas message.
We're going to.