THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
Luke 2:8-20
A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD
V:8-9. " And there were shepherds living out in the
fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. "
A. Shepherds
1. The Lord is my
Shepherd. 23 Psalms
2. It is fitting
that the Lord revealed His birth to shepherds first.
a. Jesus came
in a low estate.
b. He came in
a humble spirit.
c. Jesus is
our shepherd and we are His sheep.
1. They were on
the job.
2. They were busy.
3. It was night
time.
a. It was a
quite time. God often reveals His Word to us in our
quite time.
b. He has our
attention when there are no distractions.
4. God is pleased
when we are where we are suppose to be,
doing what we
are suppose to be doing.
B. The shepherds were first to hear of the birth of Jesus.
1. When God shows
up in your life, you will know it is Him.
2. It was the
middle of the night in the mist of what would appear to be a flood
light, that an
Angel showed up.
C. God will comfort you in your fears.
1. God may show up
in an unexpected time and in an unexpected place.
2. God may show up
in an unexpected way.
3. To receive a
message from God, your mind has to be open to God.
JESUS IS THE CENTER OF MY JOY
V:10. " But the angel said to them, "Do not be
afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. "
A. Some times when you are not expecting anything,
God will
give you good
news.
1. God can give
you joy in the mist of your work day.
2. The Word of God
is not just for you, but for everyone.
B. Sometimes the Word of God will not change your situation.
1. But it will
change the way you see your situation.
2. The Word can
change how you deal with your situation.
2. The joy I have,
the world didn't give it and world can't take it a way.
THE GREATEST GIFT TO MAN
V:11. "Today in
the town of David a Savior has been
born to you; he is Christ the
Lord. "
A. The Good News
1. The birth of a
Savior, Christ the Lord.
2. The
fulfillment of a promise.
3. The blessing
of hope
3. This is
personal, because Jesus is your Savior.
B. The location of the birth was Bethlehem
1. Bethlehem
means "house of bread".
2. The Lord, the
owner was born in the house of bread.
3. When we hunger
for Jesus, our appetite will be
satisfied.
C. The City of David is the home town of a king.
1. Jesus is identified as Savior, King and
Lord.
GOD DIRECT US TO HIMSELF
V:12. " This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
A. The Lord's
instructions are complete.
1. You don't have
to do any guessing, the Word is plain.
2. The Shepherds
knew how to identify the right baby.
a. He would
be wrapped in swaddling clothes.
b. He would be lying in a feeding crib for
animals.
3. Jesus took on
human flesh in body of Mary.
4. He was man and
God.
THE PRAISE OF JESUS
V:13-14. " Suddenly a great company of the heavenly
host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to
men on whom his favor rests."
A. If we don't
praise God, He has a host of Angels that can do the job.
1. God sets the
example of praise for Jesus.
2. We should
praise Him because He is God.
3. We should
praise Him because He is the supreme authority.
4. We should praise Him because He came for
our good.
a. Our peace.
b. Our good
will.
c. Our
eternal life.
B. Jesus is due our
highest praise.
1. The Lord has
favored us with a knowledge of Jesus.
2. The Lord has
given us an example praise in the assemble of the saints.
THE CONVICTION OF
THE WORD
V:15. " When the angels had left them and gone into
heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
A. It is good to
study the Word of God with other believers.
1. When others are
involved, you can discuss your proper response to the Word,
2. What should we
do after having heard the Word?
3. In what way was
our heart convicted?
B. You should check
the Word out for yourself.
1. You can't
always rely on others to give you the complete truth.
2. When you
search the Word for yourself, you get a better understanding.
C. When you hear the Word of God you first response should
be to believe the
the Word.
1. You second
response should be to act on the Word.
2. Faith grows
when you act on the Word of God.
3. Faith without
works is dead.
THE WORD IS A JOURNEY TO CHRIST
Verse 16. "So they hurried off and found Mary and
Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger."
A. There are times when Word requires an immediate response.
1. The baby would
not be in that location long.
2. The baby would
not be wearing those cloths described by the Angel long.
3. Sometimes when
we don't act immediately, we lose opportunities.
B. The shepherds
dropped what they were doing and went to see Jesus for themselves.
1. They saw the
baby, His mother and His father.
2. They found
that the Word was true.
3. Our confidence
grows when we experience the truth of the Word for ourselves.
CHRISTIAN DUTY: TELL SOMEONE ABOUT JESUS
Verse 17. " When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had been told them about this child."
A. Once you know Jesus, your next job is to spread the Word.
1. We are all
God's disciples.
2. We have been
commissioned by Jesus to spread the Word.
Matt 28:19
3. People are
drawn to Jesus because of what we say about Him.
B. The shepherds were armed with Word of God and their
personal experience.
1. They heard the
Word form the Angel.
2. They witness
the praise of Jesus from a host of
Angels.
3. They acted on
the Word and were drawn in faith to Jesus.
4. They
experienced the truth of the Word for themselves.
C. The Shepherds became the first evangelists of the Word.
1. Instead of
returning immediately to their flock, they made
it their
business to spread the Word.
2. When spend time
serving Jesus, He make sure your other responsibilities
are protected.
3. God protected
the shepherd's sheep while they followed His call.
THE EFFECT OF EVANGILISM
V:18. " And all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. "
A. The Good News is
amazing.
1. Your excitement about the Good News can
excite others.
2. Believers
can't be ashamed of the Gospel.
3. God will
prepare hearts of those you come in contact with to accept the Word.
B. Our job as
believers is to tell others who Jesus is
to us.
1. What
experience have you had with Jesus?
2. He is Christ, the Messiah, Anointed by the
Father.
3. He is our
Savior. He came to save us from our sins.
4. He come down
from heaven to bring us joy.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS A TREASURE IN THE HEART
V:19. " But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in her heart. "
A. One of the
characteristics the Word keep reminding us about Mary
is her
meditation.
1. All the
experiences she had with Jesus were stored in her heart.
2. She meditated
on the Word.
3. She was
putting a picture of the Savior together in her mind.
4. Her
experiences was completing the picture.
B. The Word becomes
real to us as meditate on what God has done for us.
1. If we consider
our lives from day to day we can see God at work.
2. I can see His
blessings in what he has done for me.
3. I can see His
blessings in what He didn't allow to happen.
OUR HEARTS SHOULD BE FILLED WITH THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF
GOD
V:20. " The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had
been told."
A. Each encounter we have with God is a reason to praise and
glorify the Name
of Jesus.
1. Praise and
worship starts with you.
2. We should
continue without ceasing giving God praise and glory.
3. He is worthy of
our praise.
B. The shepherds went back to their job praising God.
1. We ought start
every day praising God.
2. Jesus is the
reason for our being.
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR
THE SEASON
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on face book and visit my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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