‘The best way to celebrate and respond?’ (Luke 2:17-20)

There’s no doubt that the shepherds feature prominently in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, especially so in Luke 2:8-20. The fact that the angels appeared to them and not Mary and Joseph must have had a purpose in God’s plan, and Luke likes to emphasize how utterly afraid they were because of their sudden appearance. But the shepherds soon became changed men as they realized that they had been chosen by the Lord to bear witness to the Messiah’s coming – which is just what they did.

Message

Outline

• The third in this series!
• Some big contrasts to note…
• When and how we get Christmas so wrong
• Consider the responses to the news and see them…

Proclaiming it with zeal (v.17)

Receiving it with awe (v.18-19)

Believing it with joy (v.20)

Luke’s special focus…
How will you respond to the news?