Sermon Summary

This week, Eric Jones began our Christmas series with a word on the inherent expectancy of the advent season. Eric encouraged us to take a pause and reflect on the Savior’s birth because His arrival on Earth gives us hope for his second coming. In the time and place of our Scripture passage, people experienced a deep longing for the Messiah and the same is true for us now. May we each be filled with wonder and expectancy as we celebrate the birth of Christ!


Wonder: a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.

Luke 2:8–18 (ESV)
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Suddenly – Mary and Joseph took a step of faith in order to obey the decree of Caesar. They stepped out in faith and made a grueling journey of sacrifice. The angels saw their suffering and waited until their sudden burst of praise.

Luke 2:8

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host.

Pleased – Do you live knowing God’s good pleasure over you?
Peace – If you don’t, you will not have peace.
Highest – You can’t have peace if you haven’t put Jesus at the center of your life.  
Glory – Until you have a revelation of God’s glory, you won’t put him at the center.  
Wonder – Let’s live in the wonder that caused the heavenly hosts to erupt with praise.    
The Gospel – God came to be with us. He is our Savior, our Christ, our Lord. He is not a baby in a manger anymore—He is seated in Heaven at the right hand of God. This is surely good news of great joy.  

Luke 8:10 “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Discussion Questions

  1. Do you live in expectancy and wonder? What would this look like?
  2. Do you live knowing God’s good pleasure over you?
  3. Eric said, “you can’t have peace if you haven’t put Jesus at the center of your life.” Do you agree?

Application Questions

  1. What would it look like for you personally to live in wonder? Answer this question this week.
  2. Meditate on Luke 2:8–18 this week and let the story of Christ’s birth cultivate expectancy in your heart.