Sermon Titus 2:11-14 Zealous for Good Deeds

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon Titus 2:11-14 Zealous for Good Deeds

December 24, 2013

Listen to our Christmas Eve service  http://jeffhoward.podbean.com/

The Advent wreath is brightly lit. And finally the light of Christ is burning brightly in our hearts. The candles we hold tonight are symbols of this light. We celebrate not only a birth two thousand years ago, but also the coming of Christ into our lives today, and our expectation of the coming again of Christ in hopefully the not too far off future. The light of an oil lamp that flickered in a cave in Bethlehem just before Jesus' birth is the same light that pierces the darkness of our lives. Let us pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

We meet on a dark night in this sanctuary. Darkness is all around us. And darkness affects our lives. Year after year we have said things we shouldn't have said, and we have done things we shouldn't have done and the darkness has gotten deeper. Also there are things we should have said and things we should have done but didn't. And our lives descend even deeper into darkness. Tonight we a surrounded by this darkness when, suddenly, something amazing happens. Listen to how the Apostle Paul described it to a young pastor named Titus.

Titus 2:11-14 ¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

^{By God's grace the light of Christ burns in our hearts dispelling the darkness of our lives. With this light we wake up from unbelief into the light of faith. We get dressed with the Spirit of Christ leaving our sinful nature behind and sharing our faith with others. As the light of Christ burns brightly in our hearts we are changed, transformed into new creatures. This come as a Christmas gift from God. Listen again to what the Apostle tells the young pastor.}

¹² It (the Grace of God) teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

^{And so we are blessed with the transforming power of the spirit to live harmoniously with each other. We treat those with whom we have disagreements with dignity and respect. Conflicts are resolved and we are at peace. All this is wrapped and placed under the tree as a Christmas gift from God. But the Apostle has more for the young pastor.}

¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

^{As we wait for the coming again of Christ to earth we develop patience. We grow spiritually with prayer, Bible study and worship. We stop grumbling with each other and patiently wait. We can do all this because we have received it as a wonderful Christmas gift from our gracious God. But there are still more gifts under the tree. Listen to how Paul describes this gift to Titus.}

¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness

We worship tonight the one who was born on Christmas, and through his life, death and resurrection from the dead redeemed us from slavery to sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. We have been purchased as slaves to Christ. And now we live for him free from bondage to sin, free to live lives pleasing to God. What a great Christmas gift from our creator. But according to Paul there is one more gift under the tree. Let's open it up.

14 and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

And so the biggest and best gift under the tree this evening is a strong desire to do good. Notice that this is not an obligation to do good. There are no oughts and shoulds around here. If there were we would just descend further into darkness unable to ever do enough. No! We are to do good not because we are supposed to. Rather we do good because we want to in gratitude for all the gifts we have received from God this Christmas. Our gracious God gives us the desire to do good. What a wonderful Christmas gift.

And with that the light of Christ burns brightly in our hearts. We live together in harmony. We patiently wait for Christ to come again. We are freed from slavery to sin and become slaves of Christ. And we have been given the desire, the strong desire to do good works.

So what do we do with all these gifts from God. Do we hide them in the garage and take them out next Christmas? I think not. Gifts from God are meant to be used. So lets make Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches places where the light of Christ burns brightly this year. Let's live harmoniously, treating each other with dignity and respect. Let's wait patiently for Christ's return with a minimum of grumbling. As former slaves to sin let us put all sin behind us and live lives pleasing to God. And let's us have a strong desire, based on our gratitude for all of these gifts to do good works in our community and around the world. Let's make Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam churches shining examples for other churches to follow.

Remember these word's from the Prophet.

Isaiah 9

² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. ³ You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. ⁴ For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

And remember these word's from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke 2

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This great light has come today to pierce the darkness of your lives and to give you great joy. Let us pray.

Father in heaven, this Christmas, send the light of Christ, your own glory into our hearts. Transform us into a church that patiently waits for Jesus to return and serves our community in gratitude. Help us to proclaim this good news to everyone we meet. We pray this in your son's name. Amen.