This document summarizes a sermon about the Christmas season and what it means to be a Christian. It encourages singing praise to God, sharing what we have with others, and serving others as Jesus did. It provides examples of sharing food with the poor and visiting elderly people in nursing homes. The season is a time for families to come together but also remember those who are alone.

1. ‘Tis The Season
Adapted from a
Steve Shepherd sermon
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?Contrib
utorID=&SermonID=152465

2. Frank in Dallas calls his son Eddie in New
York just before Christmas and tells him, “I
am sorry to tell you but your mother and I
are getting divorced. I just cannot take any
more of her complaining. We can‟t stand
the sight of each other anymore. I am telling
you first, because you are the
oldest, please let your sister know about
this.”

3. When Eddie calls his sister Julie, she says:
“No way are they getting divorced, I will go
over and see them for Christmas.”
Frank answers the phone when Julie calls
and she says, “You must NOT get divorced.
Promise you won‟t do anything until I get
over there. I‟m calling Eddie, and we‟ll both
be there for Christmas. Until then, don‟t
take any action,” and then she hangs up.

4. The father puts down the phone and turns
to his wife and says. “Good
news, honey, Eddie and Julie are coming
for Christmas and they are both paying their
own way home.”
It‟s always great to have the family together
for Christmas. But, of course, that doesn‟t
always happen. Many families are
separated by hundreds of miles and can‟t
be together for Christmas.

5. „Tis the season. „Tis the season for family
gatherings but that‟s not all! If nothing
else, this is a very busy time for most
people.
Christmas is just around the corner so that
means shopping, running, especially, if you
have children at home.

6. What‟s your big thing to do this time of the
year? Did you go shopping on Black
Friday? Avoid shopping on Black Friday?
Avoid people and traffic as much as
possible? Play Scrooge? Perhaps you are
one of those who likes to be right in the
middle of everything:
shopping, running, visiting, cooking, eating,
etc.

7. We all need to be SOMEWHAT into this
wonderful season because we‟ve all been
blessed by God.
Let me suggest some seasonal things for
us to do.
1- ‘Tis the season for singing
2- ‘Tis the season for sharing
3- ‘Tis the season for serving

8. ‘Tis The Season
For Singing
One preacher said, "I was engaged in a
series of meetings in a church. Looking at
the church bulletin my eyes singled out the
following announcement, which was all right
except for the lack of one single g: “Choir
rehearsal this afternoon at 3:30. Everyone
who wishes to sin in the choir must come to
practice.”

9. It should be obvious that we should sing
praise to the Lord or in His honor. Singing is
a way of praising Him. And whether we sing
well or not, we must still sing praise to Him!
He deserves our worship and praise!

10. A case can be made that singing is
reserved for humans. I cannot find it ever
said that Angels sing. You‟re thinking, “Of
course they sing. The angels sang to the
shepherds when Jesus was born!” Did they
sing?
Luke 2:13 NET Suddenly a vast, heavenly
army appeared with the angel, praising God
and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace among people
with whom he is pleased!"

11. That‟s another study for another time.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy
because the praise not merely expresses
but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of
compliment that lovers keep on telling one
another how beautiful they are; the delight
is incomplete till it is expressed.
(C. S. Lewis)

12. Praise completes the enjoyment and
delight. And this most certainly applies to
the Lord. The more we praise Him, the
more delighted we become with Him and
the better our relationship to Him!
Psalms 5:11 NET But may all who take
shelter in you be happy! May they
continually shout for joy! Shelter them so
that those who are loyal to you may rejoice!

13. Wow! Could it be that the more we sing
praise to the Lord the more He spreads His
protection over us?
I THINK SO.
Another great reason for singing praise!
Psalms 7:17 NET I will thank the LORD for
his justice; I will sing praises to the
sovereign LORD!

14. The Lord is the most just of all. We are
often quick to heap praise on people for
their talent and/or good looks, like those in
Hollywood,
BUT WHAT ABOUT GOD
WHO IS COMPLETELY HOLY!
People are only people. But God is our
Heavenly Father and Creator and the one
who blesses us daily. He is both just and
represents justice. He is righteous and
certainly deserves our constant thanks and
praise!

15. Psalms 13:5 NET But I trust in your
faithfulness. May I rejoice because of your
deliverance! 6 I will sing praises to the
LORD when he vindicates me.
The Lord is faithful & has provided our
deliverance!
God's grace through Jesus blood vindicates
us!
Rejoice by singing His praise!

16. Psalms 30:11 NET Then you turned my
lament into dancing; you removed my
sackcloth and covered me with joy. 12 So
now my heart will sing to you and not be
silent; O LORD my God, I will always give
thanks to you.

17. Has the Lord brought you out of the depths
of distress and depression? Has He ever
lifted your weakened spirit after some great
loss in life? You thought you would never
feel right again but somehow He brought
you out of it.
THEN SING TO HIM!

18. Psalms 33:1 NET You godly ones, shout for
joy because of the LORD! It is appropriate
for the morally upright to offer him praise. 2
Give thanks to the LORD with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-
stringed instrument! 3 Sing to him a new
song! Play skillfully as you shout out your
praises to him!

19. It is appropriate for us to praise Him. It‟s the
most appropriate thing we can do! It‟s the
right thing to do. When we all leave this
world and come into God‟s marvelous
presence and are humbled, we will realize
that we should have praised Him a whole
lot more in this life!

20. I remember riding my motorcycle long
distances I would sing Christian songs to
myself. It could be anything from “How
Great Thou Art” to “Bringing In The
Sheaves.” It would lift my spirits praising
The Lord by singing.

21. Several years ago a preacher stayed
overnight at the home of a young couple.
He was awakened the next morning by a
soprano voice singing, “Nearer, My God to
Thee.” At breakfast he mentioned to his
hostess how pleased he was to hear that
lovely old hymn, but that it seemed to go
much faster than he had ever heard it sung
before.

22. "Oh," replied the
hostess, "I guess that's because I wasn't
paying too much attention to the words.
You see, it's a good song my mother used
to sing, and I've found that it's a good one
to boil eggs by. Just repeat the first verse
five times rapidly for soft-boiled, and eight
times for hard.

23. Colossians 3:16 NET Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting
one another with all wisdom, singing
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with
grace in your hearts to God.

24. “teaching and exhorting one another with all
wisdom, singing”
To do this, we must be thoughtful and sing
from the heart. Otherwise we will not be
pleasing the Lord, nor will we be able to
communicate the message to others
effectively.

25. Let's attention to the words of our songs
and see whether we really mean what we
sing. The Lord is pleased and honored
when we express His praises sincerely and
with spiritual understanding.

26. ‘Tis The Season For Sharing
Proverbs 22:9 NET A generous person will
be blessed, for he gives some of his food to
the poor.
Romans 12:13 NET Contribute to the needs
of the saints, pursue hospitality.

27. 1 Timothy 6:17 NET Command those who
are rich in this world's goods not to be
haughty or to set their hope on riches,
which are uncertain, but on God who richly
provides us with all things for our
enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good, to be
rich in good deeds, to be generous givers,
sharing with others. 19 In this way they will
save up a treasure for themselves as a firm
foundation for the future and so lay hold of
what is truly life.

28. Sometimes we think of the early Church as
composed entirely of poor people and
slaves. Here we see that even as early as
this it had its wealthy members. They are
not condemned for being wealthy nor told to
give all their wealth away; but they are told
what not to do and what to do with it.

29. Their riches must not make them proud.
They must not think themselves better than
other people because they have more
money than they. Nothing in this world
gives any man the right to look down on
another, least of all the possession of
wealth. They must not set their hopes on
wealth. In the chances and the changes of
life a man may be wealthy today and a
pauper tomorrow; and it is folly to set one's
hopes on what can so easily be lost.

30. They are told that they must use their
wealth to do good; that they must ever be
ready to share; and that they must
remember that the Christian is a member of
a fellowship. And they are told that such
wise use of wealth will build for them a good
foundation in the world to come. As
someone put it: "What I kept, I lost; what I
gave I have."

31. There is a famous Jewish Rabbinic story. A
man called Monobaz had inherited great
wealth, but he was a good, a kindly and a
generous man. In time of famine he gave
away all his wealth to help the poor. His
brothers came to him and said: "Your
fathers laid up treasure, and added to the
treasure that they had inherited from their
fathers, and are you going to waste it all?"

32. He answered: "My fathers laid up treasure
below: I have laid it up above. My fathers
laid up treasure of Mammon: I have laid up
treasure of souls. My fathers laid up
treasure for this world: I have laid up
treasure for the world to come."
Every time we could give and do not
give lessens the wealth laid up for us in the
world to come; every time we give
increases the riches laid up for us when this
life comes to an end.

33. The teaching of the Christian ethic is, not
that wealth is a sin, but that it is a very great
responsibility. If a man's wealth ministers to
nothing but his own pride and enriches no
one but himself, it becomes his
ruination, because it impoverishes his soul.
But if he uses it to bring help and comfort to
others, in becoming poorer, he really
becomes richer. In time and in eternity "it is
more blessed to give than to receive.“
(Acts 20:35) (DSB)

34. It‟s not just billionaires who want more, it‟s
nearly everyone! Most people just want “a
little more,” perhaps 20 percent more. It‟s
like we‟re never satisfied with what we have
or have been given by God.

35. Instead of wanting more, we should share
what we have! As we share what God has
given us He will take care of us. Matthew
6:33 NET But above all pursue his kingdom
and righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well. He will take care of
us. But we need to be thinking about how
we can share with others.

36. Sometimes we have so much food, be it at
home, or a restaurant, that much of it goes
to waste. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT
ABOUT THIS? Back in the days when
people didn‟t have much food they took
pains not to waste it. But it‟s not that way
today. We have such abundance that we
often throw away good food without
realizing there are starving people in the
world and perhaps even in our
neighborhood.

37. As you know we are regularly having food
drives to aid “The Pantry” in helping those
hit hard by the absence of “Heart to Heart.”
In this way, we share with the poor. Of
course, there are other ways that we can
share with them. By sharing with
organizations that deal directly with less
fortunate people we are sharing with them!
Proverbs 22:9 NET A generous person will
be blessed, for he gives some of his food to
the poor.

38. ‘Tis The Season For Serving
Galatians 5:13 NET For you were called to
freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not
use your freedom as an opportunity to
indulge your flesh, but through love serve
one another.
Indulging the flesh, (sinful nature) is being
selfish, thinking only of ourselves. Many
people live this way, never thinking of what
they can do for others.

39. Matthew 20:26 NET It must not be this way
among you! Instead whoever wants to be
great among you must be your servant, 27
and whoever wants to be first among you
must be your slave — 28 just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many."
Jesus came to serve others. He did not
come to be served by others.

40. James 1:27 NET Pure and undefiled
religion before God the Father is this: to
care for orphans and widows in their
misfortune and to keep oneself unstained
by the world.
This verse of scripture should convict us. If
God considers pure religion as that of
caring for orphans and widows in their
misfortune then we‟d better do it! And for
two reasons: to bless orphans and widows
and please God.

41. Let me tell you about a Lady who is 100
years old. One of her sons comes to visit
her quite often and a preacher has been
there several times when the son‟s been
there. Her body is failing but her mind is
pretty good and she often says whatever
comes to her mind.

42. She has said to the preacher, “Are you a
preacher? Give me your text.” “Where do
you preach? Are you married to my niece?”
One day she said to her son, “He preaches
on the street corner?” The preacher had no
clue where she got that idea.

43. One day she said to her son, “I‟m going to
slap you. I should have slapped you more
when you were little.” Then she smiles and
her son just laughs at her and tells the story
about hiding under the table from her when
he was little.
Once she looked up at the preacher and
said, “I‟m in love.” He turned to her
roommate and said, “I hope it‟s not me.”

44. The preacher just never knows what she is
going to say, but don‟t you know that she
enjoys the fact the preacher visits her, talks
to her? Don‟t you know that all people in the
nursing homes enjoy company?
Jack‟s wife Mary has Alzheimer‟s and
doesn‟t even know him. She‟s 80 and he‟s
85 and he comes to the nursing home every
day to feed Mary.

45. A friend asked him one time, “Why do you
do this?”
What do you think he said?
He said, “I love her!”
The friend walked into the nursing home
one day and Mr. Pryor who also comes to
feed his wife every day, said, “Did you hear
about Jack?” Evidently Jack had fallen and
was in the hospital but he didn‟t know which
hospital.

46. The friend‟s first thought was, I must find
out which hospital he is in and go see him?
If he loves his wife so intensely how could I
not show a little love toward him and go visit
him?
The friend did and Jack appreciated it very
much.

47. When the friend went to see him, the first
thing Jack asked him was, “How is Mary? I
bet they won‟t take care of her like I do.” His
concern was for his wife.
HOW CAN YOU NOT WANT TO LOVE
SOMEONE LIKE HIM AND DO
SOMETHING FOR HIM?
GOD PUT US HERE FOR PEOPLE! To
minister to one another, to care for one
another, to bless one another!

48. A preacher wrote in a letter, I made three
calls yesterday afternoon which both
blessed me and gave me some great
concerns. I wish I could describe for you the
condition in which this one couple lives. He
is so sick, and she is actually out of her
mind. And that makes him sicker. He‟s on
dialysis and chemo.

49. This man of great faith doesn‟t want to put
his wife in a nursing home because, as he
says, "it would kill her." But she‟s killing him.
It‟s a terrible situation, one of the worst I‟ve
seen in my 57 years in ministry. His children
don‟t know what to do. Her children don‟t
seem to care that much. It is sad! Pray for
them. They‟re always on my mind and
heart.

50. WE ALL NEED
TO TAKE TIME FOR OTHERS!
We are here to remember others and serve
one another in love! Any way we can, any
time we can, but in our busyness we often
overlook people and forget to serve.
IT MUST NOT BE THIS WAY!

51. „Tis the season. It‟s the season for many
things, but the two greatest things are the
Lord and people.
We must always give thanks and praise to
the Lord, because if there is any good in
this world and in our lives, it‟s because of
Him!
We must remember people.
Jesus left heaven for people, for us.

52. There are times when we must leave what
we‟re doing and go bless people! It‟s the
season. It‟s always the season for doing
good.
Galatians 6:10 NET So then, whenever we
have an opportunity, let us do good to all
people, and especially to those who belong
to the family of faith.