Dear Christian friends:

Today almost everyone in the USA and in many other countries is celebrating Christmas. But are we celebrating Christmas in the right way? I am sorry to say that many people do not celebrate Christmas in the right way. Also we, who gather here in church today perhaps should think about the way we celebrate Christmas. Perhaps we have copied some of the wrong ways of the world. Perhaps we can improve in our celebrating Jesus' birth.

Our text shows how the angels of heaven celebrated that first Christmas long ago. We can learn much from them.


Our Christmas celebrations should give praise and glory to God. After the one angel had announced the Good News of the Savior's birth to the shepherds we read that many, many heavenly hosts joined with that one angel and sang, "Glory to God in the highest." (verse 14a)

Surely all our Christmas celebrations should give glory to God because at Christmas He shows His wonderful grace. He became a man. God hid himself in a Baby. In Him (Jesus) lives all the full power and glory of God in a man's body.

"The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of truth and grace." (John 1:14-15) In Jesus, God let's us see His glory again: His goodness, holiness, love, mercy and power. Our Christmas celebrations should give glory to God.

At Christmas we should give glory to God also because Jesus' birth shows that God is faithful. He keeps his promises. God never lies, and never breaks His promises. We can depend on what He promises.

Through the prophets in the Old Testament God promised the Messiah, the Savior, the Christ. Isaiah 7:14 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah. (Micah 5:2) The Savior will be born from King David's family. (2 Samuel 7:16)

In Jesus' birth all these prophecies, promises of God happened exactly! Other promises of the prophets happened when Jesus died on the cross and then arose from death. Therefore at Christmas we give glory to God because Jesus' birth shows that God is faithful.

We should give glory to God. How? By coming to church on Christmas Day is a good start. Perhaps the best way. But today is the first time in six years that we have had church on Christmas Day, and that is because it happened on a Sunday. Many are not here. Too busy with other celebrations. I think we ought to think about that in the future.

At home, family celebrations often involve only eating and drinking. Couldn't we have someone read the Christmas Gospel and ask various family members to tell what they think a Bible verse or a Christmas song means? Help one another to give glory to God in our Christmas celebrations at home. What about the cards we send? What do we say to friends and neighbors?

Our Christmas celebrations should give glory to God. They should also announce peace to men on earth. The angels sang, "Glory to God in highest, and on earth peace good will to men."

Our world needs this peace! There is so much fighting, wars, terrorism, hatred, and killing. Why? Many have not yet accepted God's peace in Jesus. They are still enemies of God, and they show this enmity by how they think and what they do with their neighbor: cheating, lying, stealing, hating, being jealous, killing and abortion.

Our cities need peace, our nation needs this peace of Christmas and our world desperately needs it. We can help through evangelism, through supporting our Church, district and Synod in its mission work which brings the peace of God in Jesus to the hearts, homes, cities and nations.

Let us celebrate Christmas today the right way:

"Give glory to God in heaven,
and peace to men on earth."

Amen.