Valley Church Clinton
The Birth of Jesus | Advent 2025 | December 21st
  • Hark The Herald Angels Sing
  • O Holy Night
  • Good morning everyone, and welcome to our first Christmas Sunday at Valley Church Clinton!
    Today, if you have your Bibles, get them open to the Christmas story in Luke chapter 2, we’re going to read verses 1-20 this morning.
    February 12, 1809. That’s a date you probably don’t know off the top of you’re head. And on that day, the world was relativley normal, not much going on in the headlines.
    The news was circulating around the Peninsular War in Spain, that was a huge deal. The ecnonmy was reeling from the Embargo Act of 1807, so let’s of political tension and blaming.
    Thomas Jefferson was set to vacate the presidency, as James Madison would soon be inagurated.
    Everyone was busy with their things, with a normal, busy, everyday life, caught up in the world of tension in a relativley new America. Big things were happening.
    And in the midst of all this chaos and transition, something extrememly underwhelming was happening. Out of the eye of everyone, out of sight, unknown and mundane.
    See, in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky, Nancy Hanks Lincoln was giving birth to a son, and you might be able to guess his name, Abe.
    Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to regular parents, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, a place where quote “Nuttin’ ever happens out here”.
    Fast forward 52 years, and Abe Lincoln would be at the cusp of Presidency in the divided United States of America, the Union ripping apart at the seams.
    He would bring us through a bloody civil war, lead the abolition of slavery, and become arguably one of the best presidents in US history.
    All this, a nobody born in a log cabin without getting a second look from anyone important.
    And Abe wasn’t the first or last transformative figure in world history that would be born of less than prominent means while the rest of the world looked past without a care in the world.
    But so often, I think we assume these towering figures were just always the successes or failures we see at the end of their lives, and we fast forward to the contexts we see them in, and the real life they’re brought up in.
    We see their entire lives climaxed at the height of their story, but never really consider the events, and decisions, and people, and situations that led up to that point.
    Because the reality of life is normal. It’s mundane. It’s boring, at times. Peoples lives don’t make the newspaper headlines for going to work everyday, or walking down the street to the grocery store.
    Our lives are normal, until they’re not.
    And let me tell you, as we read and study the Christmas story this morning, we find the newspaper heading that wasn’t written until after Jesus grew up and was crucified.
    Because Jesus came to earth in an extremely, spectactularly, normal way. In a way that no one expected.
    He was revealed to completley normal people, not to nobility, or wealthy, or people of influence.
    Yet, Jesus Christ would end up being the most significant historical figure on earth and in heaven.
    So, I’d like to invite our scripture reader up. And again, this is Luke 2:1-20.
    I know we read this story every year, we know it by heart almost, we have the dramatized TV version of this scene in our minds,
    But this year, one of the first things that caught attention is the characters in this story, and importantly, how all these completley different kinds of people find themselves in the same brief moment of history.
    And the first character we encounter is this fellow called:

    Caesar Augustus

    Now, Augustus was born in September of 63 B.C., originally named Gaius Octavius, the son of the niece of the famous Julius Caesar.
    After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Augustus began to hunt for the throne, and went to battle with 2 guys named Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus, a bloody civil war ensued, and Augustus would become the Roman emperor after winning.
    So, Augustus would turn the Roman republic into and empire, and essentially would be the autocratic dictator of Rome. He was the sole ruler, his way went.
    Augustus would proclaim himself as the bringer of peace to the empire. People called him “the savior of the world”, it was a new era of advanced life, poets even wrote songs about it.
    Rome was at it’s climax, made possible of course by Augustus Caesar, who Julius Caesar essentially adopted.
    And it turns out, Augustus was actually more humble that we give him credit for. Because humbly, Augustus didn’t claim to be God himself, he declared his dear old dad Julius to be divine, to be a god, or the God.
    And of course, that gave Augustus the humble and lowly title to put on his business card, which was “son of God”. Self-proclaimed of course.
    And although Augustus actually did bring a good bit of peace and prosperity to Rome, albeit mostly by force, Augustus’s closest friends feared and disliked him, mostly due to his frequent delusions and ruthless character.
    Augustus was worshipped as a god, regarded as lord, and controlled the lives of the people in the new wave of Roman Empire.
    And those people he ruled included the next two characters of our story,

    Mary and Jospeh

    Now, Mary and Joseph, both Jews of not wealthy means. They weren’t priests, or noble people, or politicians with influence.
    They were normal Hebrews, living life, and Caesar Augustus demands all people in the empire should go to their hometown to register for the census.
    In Joseph’s case, this was the little town of Bethlehem, known as the City of David, the king.
    This is likely where Joseph grew up, where his family lineage was from. It’s possible that he even owned property there in Bethlehem.
    So, as to not to leave his extremely pregnant wife home in Nazareth alone, they saddle up and made the 90 mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem over the course of nearly a week.
    And in a time where mother and infant mortality rates were something to be feared, this journey would’ve been brutal. Any fever, and infection, and small fall would have put Mary at extreme risk.
    So, they get to Bethlehem, and the city is packed, wall to wall. There are so many people in town for the census. Many of whom Joseph would have known. It would have been a big family reunion.
    But there was no room in the guest room. And I realize, we all have this image of a New York bell hop-like character in our heads saying “there is no room in the inn, move along”.
    But the reality is, there wasn’t space. Every bed, every room, ever spare bedroom, nook and cranny was full of people and kids and animals.
    It was chaos.
    And I don’t know if you’ve ever witnessed a pregnant lady becoming ready to give birth, but it’s the most expected unexpected thing ever.
    Everyone from the beginning of time knew that babies take around 9 months to grow. Even now, we have week-to-week reporting as the baby gets closer and closer to it’s birthday.
    But, when the time comes to give birth, everything else stops, it’s kind of like time stands still.
    And your whole focus is on that moment, because you never really know the exact minute.
    And i just imagine Joseph frantically trying to find his humongous wife just a cot to lay down on, and some food to eat. He’s trying to register for this census, trying avoid weird his uncle who has crazy views on Caesar Augustus, he’s scrambling to take care of Mary.
    All the while Mary is miserable, hungry, literally carrying the Messiah, the savior of the world.
    And Mary says - “hey Joseph, it’s time”.
    And suddenly, the world stops. Joseph and Mary’s new goal, their only mission in life is to now safely deliver this baby boy named Jesus.
    So, they find somewhere to give birth - again, our dramatized TV versions show all the animals around the manger, but Joseph found the ground floor of a house, usually the stable, and they gave birth to Jesus.
    And they wrapped him in cloth, tightly, which was a pretty normal practice used to straighten out the limbs of babies, and laid him in a manger, a feeding trough.
    Mary and Joseph, who were essentially kids by today’s standards, did all that. Normal people, no power, just two kids trying their best in a situation that was completley out of their control.
    That’s where God decided to insert Himself into incarnated history. Into pure chaos.
    Into all this hustle and bustle. But, in the peace of the night, away from the crowds, in the dark looking up at what I’m assuming was the most brilliant night sky imaginable, we find

    The Shepherds

    There were some shepherds, out in the fields in the same region as Bethlehem. Tending to their flocks of sheep, protecting them from predators, thieves, from wandering off and falling off a cliff.
    Now, something you may not know about shepherds in this day, in first century Palestine, is they were the lowest of the low.
    They were considered untrustworthy, because they were wanderers. They were out, often all night and day. They were thought of as thieves themselves, and the religious Jews considered them unclean.
    And this is really ironic because the Pharisees and Chief Preists depended on these shepherds to provide the sacrifices that they so desperately needed.
    They wanted the product of the sheep, but hated the people who made it possible. And believe me, there’s a whole other sermon about hypocrisy and how we treat other people from that illustration, but that’s for another day.
    The point is, the shepherds were the last people, both in their minds, and the minds of everyone else, that God would reveal Himself to.
    I mean, it would make way more sense that God would come down and tell Caesar Augustus, the “son of God” to reveal Himself in the flesh.
    That God would go to someone that was at least a bit more of an equal than these lowly, unclean shepherds, right?
    But, as Psalm 138 says,
    Psalm 138:6 CSB
    6 Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the humble; but he knows the haughty from a distance.
    God had never been one to do things by human standards.
    The way He works, in grace and mercy, it should make us tremble at the thought of us being on our God’s level.
    So, the angel of the Lord comes down, terrifies these poor shepherds, and gives the greatest news mankind has ever heard:
    Luke 2:10–11 CSB
    10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
    And this Messiah, he’s not sitting in Rome at the helm. He isn’t a war general, Jesus isn’t floating in the air as a giant diety ready to smite all who oppose him.
    No, Jesus is wrapped so tightly he can’t even bend his arms. Laying where animals eat from.
    Mary wiping his butt. Being his sole source of nutrition, completley dependent on his mother and father to live.
    This is the message given to the shepherds. And suddenly, along with the angel that gave them this news, there’s a multitude of angels, the heavenly host, praising God.
    And that word, multitude, it’s like legions. Literally, the Greek means “a throng of the heavenly army”.
    It’s a huge crowd of angels, disorganized to our brains, but really an unfathomable amount of spiritual beings praising God for this joyous thing that’s occuring.
    And I think it’s really important when you’re reading the Bible to pay close attention when heaven seems to meet earth.
    Because it’s brief, but it almost always ends up impacting the entire world.
    Then, and I think this is really funny, the angels leave. It seems to suggest that as fast as they came, they went. Their job was finished.
    And I can’t imagine what was going on in the heads of the shepherds. This was by far the most interesting thing the’ve surely ever witnessed, heard about, they can’t even go tell their friends because who would believe them??
    So instead, they go see Jesus. They hurried off. These Jewish shepherds, lowly outcasts, smell like sheep and fire, they go see this newborn baby boy with excitement, and probably nervousness.
    And in all three of these characters, Caesar Augustus, Mary and Jospeh, and the shepherds, what we need to glean from all their stories is how God used them. Because he did use all of them, in very different ways.
    We need to look at why God chose them, how He used them, and how their hearts responded.
    And I think it all comes back to where we view ourselves compared to God.

    Us vs. God

    I mean, take a look at Caesar Augustus. Talk about self-exaltation.
    See, Augustus ruled from the palace in Rome. On the throne, waiting on hand and foot.
    All the while, at the same exact time, God in the flesh named Jesus was lying in a feeding through.
    While earthly choirs were singing to Augustus, writing songs about him, praising him and having elaborate birthday parties with prostitutes and worship,
    A heavenly host that are too many to count praises Jesus in front of some lowly, stinky shepherds.
    While the world praises Caesar for bringing peace to the world,
    The angels sing…
    Luke 2:14 CSB
    14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
    Praising the real bringer of peace.
    As Augustus is hailed as savior, the angels reveal the real savior is still being breastfed as they spoke,
    As Augustus enjoys a lavish life, full of comfort and everything he could ever want,
    Jesus lives a life that would end even worse than it started.
    And the really interesting thing about all this, is that Augustus was a key part of God’s plan. He was extremely critical.
    If it weren’t for the decree, Joseph would’ve never gotten to Bethlehem. See, God uses anyone He pleases, but the way we respond to that says everything about us.
    Because frankly, Augustus didn’t know Jesus, or even about him more than likely. Even though he was responsible for a major part of the Messiah’s prophecy of being born in Bethlehem, Augustus knew nothing of God, nor cared, because he was essentially a god.
    But that doesn’t even take the cake, because the religious elite knew that Jesus, a potential Messiah was born, yet did nothing.
    Matthew 2:1–6 CSB
    1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
    And this comes from the prophecy that the chief priests would have know extremely well,
    Micah 5:2 CSB
    2 Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.
    The crazy thing is, even the ones that were supposed to know God so well, poured over all the scriptures day and night, wore the robes and the tassels, kept the traditions and sacrifices,
    They couldn’t be so much as bothered to go see their potential messiah.
    They were so entrenched in their own ideals, their lofty positions in the public eye, their own goals and aspirations, that they fulfilled Paul’s perfect description of humanity:
    Romans 1:21–23 CSB
    21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
    Their senseless hearts were darkened.
    They knew God, but did not glorify Him.
    Doesn’t that sum up our lives? Isn’t that such a sad thing to read?
    That we know God, but we darken our hearts, and we choose not to glorify Him.
    Because we’re too busy glorifying ourselves. Because let me tell you, we love ourselves.
    We love to make ourselves out to be more than what we are. Rather than being in our rightful position, which is far lower than God, we try to inch our way up. We try to creep up the mountain toward God.
    Little by little, we try to exalt ourselves. And eventually, we become our own gods. Self-proclaimed.
    We create our own little kingdoms, our own empires, we declare what we do is good.
    And we forget that our savior was born to two kids, doing their best in chaos with family breathing down their necks, scared, ready to give up.
    We forget that Jesus was revealed to shepherds tending their flocks, not doing any special religious activity, rejected by society, not seeking any kind of spiritual transformation.
    That Jesus went out to the lame, to the weak, to the lost, to the lepers, to the outcasts.
    That Jesus would be led to a cross to willingly be beaten, mocked, and would die, taking on the burdens of our sins, pierced for our transgressions and iniquity,
    And would again reveal himself to the social outcasts, by women finding an empty grave and telling everyone.
    That’s the Jesus we encounter. That’s our Jesus.
    He means it when he says:
    Luke 4:18–19 CSB
    18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
    So, in light of that, in light of Jesus caring about the weak, and the humble, and the broken hearted contrite people,
    We need to humble ourselves before a good God.

    In a World of Caesars, be a Shepherd

    In a world of people wanting to be their own god, their own support, fixing themselves with self-help books and vices, be the shepherd.
    Be the lowly. The outcasts. The one that gets passed over. That get’s stepped on. Turn the cheek.
    Because that’s what our Jesus did. That’s our model.
    And let me tell you, as much as we want to muster our own efforts and manufacture spiritual and religious moments,
    Jesus most often comes in an unexpected way, and in the mundane and boring.
    Jesus came to earth in an extraordinarily normal fashion. He was revealed to shepherds just doing their normal jobs, it was a normal night.
    Joseph and Mary were just trying to make it through. In a normal marriage, they were normal people, they had a boring life.
    And guess what? That’s okay. Because that’s life. That’s what were called to. To live peaceful, quiet, humble lives and to respond to our Lord when He calls.
    Jesus will meet you in your struggles. He will meet you in the throughs of life. In depressions, in happiness, in grief, in anxiety.
    That’s what’s so amazing about following Jesus, that’s whats so incredible about the free gift of grace.
    The good news is delivered to normal, everyday people like you and me.
    Frankly, if we just started trying to smell like sheep instead of manufacturing religious greatness, all of our walks with Christ would be so much more enjoyable and abundant.
    Because what Jesus wants is a heart of flesh that he can use. A humble heart that he can hold in his hands and gently guide.
    So, this week, as you go about your Christmas festivities, be a shepherd.
    Be waiting, be expectant, be ready, and respond with a heart full of love and devotion to Jesus.
    Let’s pray.

      • Psalm 138:6CSB

      • Luke 2:10–11CSB

      • Luke 2:14CSB

      • Matthew 2:1–6CSB

      • Micah 5:2CSB

      • Romans 1:21–23CSB

      • Luke 4:18–19CSB

  • Glorify Thy Name
  • O Come All Ye Faithful
  • Worthy Of It All
Valley Church Clinton
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