Sunday, December 24, 2006 - 4th Sunday of Advent

 “Angels we have heard on high…”

Our Christmas carols are full of those angels who announce the birth of the Messiah! This seems the proper way to celebrate good news – with songs of praise and thanksgiving. We read in Revelation that the common conversation in heaven is the multitudes gathered around the throne of God singing praises. While sometimes angels are messengers of judgment, we more commonly associate them with the joy of God’s great good works. They bring the gift of praise to the manger.

And on this Christmas Eve, could this be our gift as well? We are sometimes rather hesitant to really break forth into singing, to raise songs of praise to God. Our attention turns toward what is waiting under the tree, not on what gifts we receive from God.  In this Advent, on the eve of the birth of the Christ, we need to turn that around and sing praise to God.  Really this needs to be our common speech, but especially tonight we need to realize that our praise in another gift we can bring to Christ and his church.

We all revel in the glow we receive when we are praised. And while God probably doesn’t need our affirmation, we still need to give it! We need to be able to express our dependency on God’s gifts and rejoice that God does care for us so much that we have been given this Savior. That certainly would seem to warrant our songs of praise and thanksgiving, and this is a gift we all can bring to Jesus.

WHAT ARE THE SONGS OF PRAISE YOU SING TO GOD?

HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU THINK OF TO PRAISE THE LORD?

Prayer: Thanks be to you, O God, for the gift of Jesus Christ.  Fill our hearts with overflowing joy that we may tell all the world the good news of your love and the special Savior you have sent. Amen.

Dr. John Clifford