WISE MEN STILL BRING GIFTS

Text- Matthew 2:1-11

INTRODUCTION

This morning my sermon text is found in Matthew 2:1-11 and the title of my sermon is, "Wise Men Still Bring Gifts.”

My message this morning is going to focus on the wise men themselves and the gifts that they brought to Jesus.

A Sunday school teacher asked one of the students, "What did the three wise men bring the Christ child?"  To which the student answered, "Gold, Frankenstein, and mermaids."

During this time of year it is customary to give and receive gifts from one another.  As God's people we have received the greatest gift mankind could ever imagine.  That gift is salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

This year you may not be able to afford to give a gift to someone, but you can still give to God in many different ways.  And, what’s more, you can not afford not to give to him.

In the 1947 movie, “The Bishop’s Wife” starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven, Bishop Henry is struggling to raise funds for a new cathedral.  In his Christmas Eve message he says to the congregation, “Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. Its his birthday we're celebrating. Don't let us ever forget that.

Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.”

As we consider the wise men and their gifts, I would also like us to think about the gifts we can give to God.