Bulletins - Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church (Enola, PA)

Introduction
Turn to Luke chapter one
Imagine walking into our service one Sunday morning and all you hear is that sweet sound of people greeting each other and talking together before the service begins. Time passes, and soon the service will begin. Still, that is the only sound you hear. The clock turns to 10:45, and without any fanfare or warning, I come to the pulpit, welcome everyone, and begin making my opening comments.
If that were to feel a little “off” or unusual to you, why would it? What would be missing compared to our normal routine? The prelude.
Yes! The prelude. Obviously, the prelude is not the main part of the service, but I consider it a vital part nonetheless. It serves as an introduction for what is to come. It sets the tone for the service. It plays a role in emotionally uniting and preparing the congregation for worship.
Luke chapter one is The Prelude To The Christmas Story. It serves as the vital introduction to everything that follows and it sets the tone for how we should view the Christmas story. Matthew begins with a genealogy of Christ and the birth of our Savior, but Luke begins approximately a year and a half before that. Luke started his Gospel here for a reason. Why? What does The Prelude To The Christmas Story teach us?
Read Luke 1:1-4
It teaches us…
Next slide here:
The certainty of the Christmas story - Luke 1:1-4
Luke was a doctor who displayed careful attention to detail in his writings. Last year, we saw this on display in the book of Acts, but it’s evident in this passage also. When he introduces Zachariah and Elizabeth in verse five, he provides a timestamp to help Theophilus understand when those events took place.
Read Luke 1:5, then read and note this also in Luke 2:1-2.
By these references to secular rulers, Theophilus would have understood the timing of John’s birth and of our Savior’s birth! But even more, Luke was saying this,
“Theophilus, you can doublecheck me on this: John’s birth is as factual as the reign of Herod the Great. The birth of our Savior is as much part of the historical record as the reign of Caesar Augustus. There is no doubting the certainty of the Christmas story.”
One person said,
Luke labors the point in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke and in the beginning of Acts that he was not writing a religious tract; he was writing history, one that has been corroborated by eyewitness testimony and by what he calls in his prologue to Acts “many infallible proofs.”
R. C. Sproul
We are 2000 years removed from the birth of our Savior, but it is as certain as the day that Luke penned these words!
We know that Paul and Luke travelled together for several years. Paul would have been a source for Luke’s history. It’s likely that James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church, would have been a source also and Peter as well.
2 Peter 1:16 KJV 1900
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Application: If you doubt His birth, if you think we celebrate only a myth or a legend this Christmas season, then you must also doubt the existence of some of the most famous rulers of Roman antiquity. The birth and subsequent death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are among the most recorded events of history.
What does Christmas mean? Is it not the time of year when men are reminded of Christ the Savior’s birth? Are you not told to remember how Jesus came into the world to save sinners? All this is true. There is no denying it. The birth of Christ the Savior—the manhood of Christ the Savior—the salvation provided by Christ the Savior—all these are mighty facts. But after all will they profit you anything? Will they do you any good? In one word—shall you be saved?
J. C. Ryle
Application: the Gospel
And so the Prelude To The Christmas Story teaches us the certainty of the Christmas story. Secondly it teaches us…
Next slide here:
The miracle of the Christmas story - Luke 1:18, 34
At first glance, it may seem unnatural for this point to follow the previous one. The supernatural, the miraculous, doesn’t belong in the historical record, we are told by secular humanists. But that’s the beauty of the Christmas story. Jesus’ birth is both historical fact and supernatural, or it is neither one. Secular humanists try to divorce the one from the other, but they rise and fall together.
Luke wrote this chapter to emphasize the miraculous nature of the Christmas story!
We see this first in Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents-to-be of John the Baptist. Verses 5-25 tell us about them. They were in the twilight years of their lives and they had no children, but God sent an angel with good news. Elizabeth would conceive and they would have a son in their old age.
This news was so miraculous, that even Zechariah the priest did not believe it.
Read Luke 1:18
He asked…

What is the sign? - Luke 1:18
He was saying, “I’m an old man - this just can’t be possible. It’s too incredible to believe.”
He was thinking just like the Jews usually did.
1 Corinthians 1:22 KJV 1900
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
Notice how Gabriel responds in verse 19.
Read Luke 1:19
The angel basically responds, “That’s the whole point, Zechariah! I am the sign! Yes, the conception of your son will be miraculous, but God proved it by sending me here to tell you!”
Now there’s a second question that highlights the miracle of the Christmas story. In verse 26, an angel is sent to Mary to announce that she will conceive also. Gabriel tells Mary that she will be with child of the Holy Spirit, and in verse 34, Mary responds to this news with a question of her own.
Read Luke 1:34
How is this possible? - Luke 1:34
Mary believed the angel, but she and Joseph weren’t living together yet. She was a virgin. How could she be the mother of the Messiah? Humanly, she couldn’t fathom how she would bear a son. Why? Because it would take a miracle of God.
In both of these stories, Luke drives home this point: that the Christmas story is miraculous!
Application: You see, from beginning to end, the Christmas story requires the supernatural! Either it happened supernaturally, or it is the world’s greatest deception ever maintained for the last 2000 years!
So Christian, embrace the miracle of the Christmas story! Do not shy away from that aspect of it! Do not diminish it! Boldly believe that the son of God was miraculously conceived and robed in sinless human flesh! Boldly declare that reality this Christmas season! There are lost and hopeless Americans who need to hear it!
There’s a third reason that Luke wrote this Prelude To The Christmas Story. And that is to emphasize…
Next slide here:
The wonder of the Christmas story
The narrative of Luke chapter one carries a theme of wonder and adoration that is among the loftiest in the Bible.
Luke chapter one gives us three examples of people in awe at the goodness and blessing of God. We find that the people who lived the first Christmas were filled with wonder at what God was doing. Today, we must look back every Christmas and be filled with wonder at all that God has done.
The first example of this is Elizabeth.
Read Luke 1:42-45
Do you sense it? Can you feel the wonder that filled Elizabeth’s heart as she realized that the Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled before her eyes and in her lifetime? Can you feel her excitement? Her wonder? Her adoration? The promised Messiah was coming! And her close relative, Mary, was going to be His mother! Wow!
Mary joins Elizabeth in this moment of pausing and taking in the goodness of God. Listen to what she says beginning in verse 46.
Read Luke 1:46-55
Do you think Mary was in awe of God’s plan? Do you think she was filled with wonder at God’s goodness It’s so obvious that she was!
Application: As we celebrate Christmas year after year, you and I may be tempted to lose the wonder of Christmas.
I’m not talking about the childhood bliss of Christmastime. That tends to fade as you enter adulthood.
I’m talking about the wonder that these women had. They marvelled as the first Christmas unfolded before their very eyes.
Luke tells us of one more instance of wonder in this chapter. Keep in mind, no other Gospel writer records these examples of wonder that Luke tells us of.
Read Luke 1:68-75
Zachariah, the self-described old man, had just become a first-time daddy. Under the control of the Holy Spirit, he spoke and expressed his wonder at God’s plan of redemption.
Do you see the pattern? Do you see how excited these people were? Do you see the heart of wonder that Luke wanted us to have as we read the Christmas story?
Application: Perhaps this morning you are preparing to celebrate just another Christmas. Perhaps you’ve lost the wonder of it all. Perhaps you’re wondering how you could ever regain that sense of wonder at the Christmas story.
If that’s you, I’ll tell you how.
When you go home this afternoon, find a quiet place. Read Luke chapter one. Or read Luke 2:1-20, and then close your eyes and meditate on it. Think it over in your mind. Imagine yourself being there. Imagine the wonder and awe that Zachariah, Elizabeth, and Mary felt as they talked and spent time together before the birth of their children.
Zachariah and Elizabeth, the wonder they felt at raising the prophet that would prepare the way before the Messiah.
Mary, the wonder she felt at being picked by God to give birth to and raise the Messiah.
Luke told us how they felt so that we might wonder also at the Christmas story.
Conclusion
As you meditate on the Christmas story this season, remind yourself of the certainty of this story. Marvel at the miracle of the story. And worship your God as wonder at the story. That is why Luke wrote this chapter, the Prelude To The Christmas Story.
Invitation
Salvation - do you need to be saved?
Conviction - do you believe in the miracle of Christmas? Boldly tell others.
Excitement - how terrible would it be for us Christians to go through the busyness of this season and completely miss being excited about what makes it so special in the first place!

Introduction

Conclusion

Invitation