In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have come and gone. The traditional celebration of Christmas is over, and yet, the real Christmas remains. I'm glad that you have gathered here to celebrate it by worshiping Christ. In fact, we can celebrate Christmas today every bit as much as on December 24th or 25th! And I wonder if maybe our purpose won't be more clear. So much of "Christmas" has very little to do with Christ. This week, I happened to read a little parody of the Christmas gospel in Luke chapter two. It goes like this:

"And there were in the same country children, keeping watch over their stockings by the fireplace. And, lo! Santa Claus came upon them; and they were sore afraid. And Santa said unto them: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people who can afford them. For unto you will be given great feasts of turkey, dressing and cake; and many presents; and this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the presents, wrapped in bright paper, lying beneath a tree adorned with decorations and lights. And suddenly, there will be with you a multitude of relatives and friends, praising you and saying, 'Thank you so much, it was just what I wanted.' And it shall come to pass as the friends and relatives have gone away into their own homes, the parents shall say to one another, 'What a mess! I'm tired, let's go to bed and clean it up tomorrow.' And they go with haste to their cold bed and fall asleep." (adapted from Green, p. 58)

Today is one more chance to focus on the real reason for the season, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is one more opportunity for us to proclaim the really good news of Christmas. If you will do your best to concentrate on God's Word, I promise that I will not purposely be boring. I will try to deliver God's Word clearly and plainly. Here's the gist of today's message from Scripture:

1. AT THE RIGHT TIME.

It says here in verse 4, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son." God sent his Son at just the right time. God had everything planned. He knew when the time was right. And when the time was just right, God sent his Son.

God had been promising this for a very long time. God had first promised a Savior in the Garden of Eden. Right after that first fall into sin, God said that a Savior would defeat the devil and win the victory for us. Adam and Eve believed in that promise. Eve expected the Savior to come right away as her firstborn, but God's timetable was much longer. About 2000 years before that first Christmas, the LORD promised the Savior to Abraham. He revealed that the Savior would be a descendant of Abraham. But Abraham didn't know how long it would be before that promise was fulfilled. About a thousand years later, God promised that the Savior would be a descendant of David. But David didn't live to see the Savior's birth either. Three hundred more years passed, and then God revealed many clear and precious promises through Isaiah the prophet. We have looked at some of them. We know how those promises were fulfilled. But Isaiah did not live to see those promises fulfilled either. Seven hundred more years passed, and finally, the time was right. God sent his Son, at just the right time.

We might ask what made it the right time. There were probably more factors than we can know, but consider just a couple. When Christ was born, the Greek language had become the common language. Many people could communicate by speaking and writing in Greek. The New Testament gospel would spread more easily because of that. And missionaries could travel on the good Roman roads with relative safety. Whether we can think of more reasons or not, this much we know, God decided that the time was right to send his Son. And so God kept his promise. He sent his Son, at the right time, to redeem us.

2. TO REDEEM US.

Let's read God's Word again: {4-5} "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,{5} to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." God sent his Son, to be "born of a woman" and to be "born under law" to redeem us. This means that Jesus had to live a perfect life under the law to redeem us. He had to be born true man. Yet, he had to be without sin. And so, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived under the law to redeem us. Then, Jesus died on the cross to take our sins away. And so, Jesus redeemed us by living our life and dying our death on the cross. Believe in Jesus, your Redeemer, your Savior, and you will not perish but have eternal life in heaven forever. That's the good news! The Christ-child was born to redeem you and me and all the world. And whoever believes in Jesus will go to heaven.

That's what Christmas is really all about. The toys will break. The wrapping paper is thrown away. The decorations will go back in boxes. But this good news will remain to the end of time. It is always good news. It is the good news of our salvation.

If this doesn't make sense, please ask one of the pastors today. If I'm being unclear, please let me know. But I hope that hearing about your salvation doesn't bore you. I mean, if it were not for this Savior, we would all be on the fast track to eternal damnation. But because this Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again, we believers are going to heaven! That good news ought to keep us interested.

But then, there's more. What if I told you that you have inherited millions of dollars? Just think! You could buy anything you want! You could drive the finest car, and live in the finest home! What if you actually inherited millions?! But wait, it gets better. You've actually inherited more. The calculators are still running the numbers but you are worth more than that. Seriously! We believers have inherited eternal life in heaven. Think this through with me. If you had millions, eventually it would all end. Either you would spend it all, or lose it all, or die. And then, it would be gone. But our treasures in heaven will never run out! NEVER! And we receive them by inheritance! It's all by grace, and not by works!

We believers are the children of God! Not everyone can say that! Really! The Bible plainly teaches that only believers are God's children. But, we believers are God's children. Do you fully appreciate what it means that God adopted us as his own children? Scripture says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). We are God's children, adopted through Holy Baptism. We are heirs of heaven!

We can pray to our heavenly Father and know that he will hear us and answer us. We can talk to him as a child talks to a father. And, we can look forward to a select position in heaven.

We didn't deserve any of this. We were re-born into it! It's a gift of God's grace! Yet, it is a gift, and it is ours just as much as a gift under the tree with our name on it. Now, there's a Christmas gift! Close your eyes and picture this. You approach an enormous Christmas tree, bigger than the ones in Washington D.C. and New York City. And under it is a box with YOUR name on it! You rip off the wrapping paper, and open the box, and inside it has some official documents, all with your name on them, all signed by Jesus Christ himself. One says, "Forgiveness of all of your sins." One says, "Eternal life." One says, "Adoption papers: you are now a child of God. Congratulations!" One says, "Deed to a perfect home in heaven." One says, "Official prayer pass from God: pray anytime, anywhere and I will hear you, for free." And it just keeps going! Now, that's Christmas! Those gifts last forever! And we have those gifts because on that first Christmas more than 2000 years ago, God gave the greatest gift of all. Galatians 4:4-5 puts it this way: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." We have only one word to add: Amen!