Sermon: December 10, 2006

Luke 3:1-16
I. JOHN:
John is the most unlikely Christmas character of all. We travel thirty years ahead, into the future of this story, to hear John’s message. And we find him out in the wilderness. Just look at him standing there with his messed up hair; a scraggly beard; dressed in his camel's hair coat. Mind you he’s not wearing Eddie Bauer or Tommy Hilfiger camel's hair. It's more like home made “whatever he could find” camel’s hair.

And look at his diet. It's not something you'd get at the local McDonald's. Locusts and wild honey? What kind of a McNugget meal would that make?

John just doesn't seem to fit into the general mold of Christmas, yet every year he shows up.
John the Baptist shows up to remind us that even though God speaks to us in the silence; sometimes God speaks to us in the thunder. Through John the Baptist, God uses thunder to get our attention.

John stands at the outskirts of Christmas, in the wilderness of our faith and thunders out his message of repentance to remind us of the true purpose and nature of Christmas.

II. HIS MESSAGE:
A. John intrudes to remind us that Christmas has little to do with all the materialism and commercialism that has taken it over.

B. John the Baptist Challenges us: All that we think religion is about is turned upside down.

C. Christmas Challenges us. That challenge is to totally shake up our world view. Most everything the world defines as important is pushed aside by this homeless, helpless child in a manger. Emmanuel, come to bring us closer to God, and in being close to God in Jesus Christ, to find new life and salvation.

John reminds us that there can be no salvation without judgment; There can be no salvation without judgment. Judgment is being honest before God.

It is very important that we are honest about what is wrong in our life. We must be honest in every area of our life: The personal, in our family, in our social relationships, on the street, in business, in government… in all parts of life… we must be honest about what is going wrong.
Because if we are not honest about it, we will never change. If we are not honest with God, we will never prepare ourselves to receive the wisdom and truth of God.

The ministry of John the Baptist was the task of getting people honest with themselves, and honest before God. John the Baptist ferociously attacked the religious leaders of his day. He called them self-righteous and foolish. He laughed and made fun of them because they were so cut off from the reality of their own arrogance.

“You think because you are the Children of Abraham that you are saved? God could make these stones children of Abraham!” These leaders pretended to be better than the Gentiles, better than the Samaritans, better than the so-called “sinners.” John laughed at them. John knew that Everyone: no matter who, no matter what, stands before God.

None of us can measure up. All of us must humble ourselves in honest reflection of the truth of who we are: sinners in need of redemption. There can be no salvation without judgment.
If you want to get closer to God, you need to get honest.

But, Thanks be to God that judgment is not the last word. John the Baptist was not just about judgment. John the Baptist was also about repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
With repentance comes forgiveness. With repentance and forgiveness comes New Life, reconciliation, and hope. When we get honest before God, we build a highway, made straight by the Spirit, for God to come into our life in a new way.

Are you preparing yourself for the coming of the Lord into your life?

Just as John the Baptist prepared the people for the Messiah with his DEMAND to get honest; the Holy Spirit is pulling at you, urging you to prepare yourself for the coming of Christ into your life. Get honest; get forgiveness; get new life in Jesus Christ.

What does John’s message of honesty and judgment mean for us today?
Our Government needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about what’s really going on in Iraq. Corporate Empire. The immoral, unlawful war that has led to the deaths of a hundred thousand people. If we get honest, and change, then there will be new life and reconciliation.

Our State needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about the tax system in Alabama: The most regressive tax system in America. Our City needs to hear the judgment, confess, and get honest before God about chronic homelessness in Birmingham. We need a Living wage; affordable housing; effective transportation.

--But it’s not just about that: We’ve got to deal with our own, personal issues as well.
We’ve got to get honest before God about our addictions: Crack Cocaine, Alcohol, Methamphetamines, whatever it may be…

The judgment is that these things will destroy us. The hope is that if you get honest before God, you can find redemption and salvation.

Prepare yourself for what God can do in your life. Prepare yourself. Open the door. Christ will come into your life, just as Jesus came to Mary, born in Bethlehem. Get Honest; Get forgiveness; Prepare the way IN YOUR LIFE for the coming of Christ, Emmanuel.

Kevin Higgs