MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS

Text - Luke 2:1-7

INTRODUCTION

Not long ago a psychology professor gave a special kind of word association test to his students.  You would imagine he would get a wide variety of responses to this test.  It was a word association test that dealt with Christmas.  He asked each one of his students if they would say the first thing that came to their mind that they associated with Christmas.  Many of them wrote down common things that we all associate with Christmas, such as, a tree, mistletoe, presents, a ham or turkey, carols, Santa Claus and so on.  One of the things though that none of the students wrote down associated with Christmas was Jesus.

Oftentimes, even during this time of year, on the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus, some people forget all about Him.

Many times this is a result of the traditions that people have established around this holiday.  Sometimes it is because of the way Christmas has become so commercialized.  All of these things have pushed the real importance and meaning of Christmas out of sight.

    Keep Jesus First In Christmas

As now we celebrate His birth,
The coming of the Christ to earth,
May we, amid our joyous mirth,
Keep Jesus first in Christmas!

As chiming bells ring out their lay
And hearts are merry, light, and gay
Remember it is His birthday-
Keep Jesus first in Christmas!

Let's sing to Him in carols sweet,
Let's lay our best gifts at His feet
And make the season's joy complete-
With Jesus first in Christmas!

In our busy culture today, with the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and traffic jams.  Sometimes we forget that Jesus is supposed to be first in Christmas.

This morning our text is found in Luke 2:1-7 and the title of my message is, “Make Room For Jesus.”  As we look at this passage I would like us to consider three aspects concerning the birth of Jesus.