Christmas

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

This year for our Christmas sermon I want us to reflect on the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  When we look at the Bible, we see lots of genealogies throughout.  And that is fitting.  Right from the fall of mankind God had made a promise to Adam and Eve.  God promised that the seed of the woman would one day crush the seed of the serpent.  That meant humanity had to be on the lookout for the promised child.  Family trees were then recorded.  Genealogies passed down.  But for generation after generation, the promised seed still hadn’t come.  And then we find God renewing that promise along the way through other men as well.  And so the records kept building until one day they found their fulfillment in Jesus.

Passage: Matthew 1:1-17
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/21/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Share

How is He then His Son?

It’s the Christmas season already.  For many in Marin this is a time of goodwill.  It’s a time to spread love and to give gifts.  Of course, this holiday used to have a more Christian emphasis in our culture, but that’s quickly becoming less and less the case anymore.  And yet, even among people who don’t go to church regularly, Christmas might be one of the times that they do.  It’s hard even for the secular public to get away from the fact that Christmas is a day for many to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

And yet, even though many people might know that is what Christmas is historically about, that doesn’t mean people really know who Jesus is.  Sure, they might know something of Jesus Christ.  They might know something about his teachings.  They can probably even quote you a few sayings of Jesus.  But that doesn’t mean they really know who Jesus is.  They might know the human Jesus in some general historical way, but that doesn’t mean they know who he really is as the Christ.

Passage: Mark 12:35-37
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/07/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Share