The ABC’s of Why We Need Christmas: B

In the years before blogging, I inconsistently hand wrote or typed on a computer my sermon notes. I used notes to preach from and didn’t fully write out the sermons – the notes were enough to remind me of the points I wanted to make. Looking back at those notes I realize I made cryptic reference to stories or scripture verses which were on my mind for the moment, but sometimes did not record the verses or write out what use I intended to make of them.  I never thought much about wanting to read these sermons again. In fact I didn’t even record many of my sermons – sometimes tossing away the notes after delivering the sermon, deleting them from my computer, or giving away the printed version to whomever asked for them from the congregation.

In Nativity Lent of 1995 I gave a series of sermons entitled, THE ABC’S OF WHY WE NEED CHRISTMAS (I only know this from the sermon notes I found on my computer – I don’t remember the series).   You can read the notes from first sermon in that series from 19 November 1995 (The ‘A’ of the ‘ABC’s). I will offer in the next couple of blogs the notes I did record on my computer which were the basis of my sermons (which themselves were not recorded). The sermon from 26 November 1995:

B – BLESSING, BERITH(=COVENANT), BAPTISM/birth

In Genesis 3:15, The Lord God to the serpent/tempter: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is part of God’s Berith (covenant) with humanity. God intended to give to woman an offspring who would do battle with the serpent/evil and would defeat Satan. This verse is considered to be the Proto-evangel – the first promise in the bible of the Good News of the birth of a child who would be involved in our salvation.

The Lord to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:3) A promise of universal salvation through the seed of Abraham – all families on earth will be blessed through Abrahams line.

God’s Berith (covenant) is given as a blessing for all mankind: “These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make….. Moses said, ‘See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.‘” (Deut 30:15-20)

The Isaiah birth prophecy: For unto a child is born, unto us a son is given (Isaiah 9:6). The prophecy fulfilled, the Berith accomplished by God, the blessing for all the world.

Baptism – the sign of the New Berith (covenant), the blessing from God – a birth to new life.

Next The ABC’s of Why We Need Christmas: C     Creation and Covenant