Why Celebrate Christmas?

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don’t be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!". . . When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child....The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God... - Luke 2:8–12, 15–17, 20 (NLT)

I wanted to apologize for originally announcing that Rick Warren would be giving the first Sunday message on the 3-week series, The Purpose of Christmas. Youth pastor and funny guy extraordinaire, Doug Fields, gave the first message, "A Change of Celebration." Also, although the previous link I gave leads to the homepage of live, current series, and archived messages, you may have had to make another click. Here's the link directly to Doug Fields message.

Here's the question to ask this first week. Why celebrate Christmas? From the verses above we see that the shepards certainly did celebrate the birth of Jesus...

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child...The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God...

What was the reason to run, tell everyone, and praise God? What were they looking for? What did they find?

This week, let's ask ourselves these questions with a focus on Christmas.

DIGG!