Two women having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked what the occasion for their meal was. One lady replied, "We are celebrating the birth of my baby boy." "But where is he?" inquired the friend. "Oh," said the mother, "you didn't think I'd bring him, did you?" What a picture of the way the world treats Jesus at Christmas!

Two little boys were out on the town looking into windows as the holiday season was in full boom. After looking at so many toys, Santas, elves, and other merry things, they came to a window scene that was somber by comparison. It was a Nativity scene. After studying the more serious expressions on the faces of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds gazing at the baby in the manger, one of the boys finally said, "They don't believe in Santa Claus, do they?"

Hey - if you haven't noticed yet by the things in the stores and the lights on the houses, Christmas is coming! Are you looking forward to it? Each of you could probably give me two different answers to that question. Children, are you looking forward to Christmas? (response) Grown-ups, are you looking forward to Christmas? (response) It probably depends on what part of Christmas you are talking about, right? This Advent, we are having a message series titled, "Looking Forward to It!" and we will take a look at the different things we have to look forward to in the Christmas season. Nowadays, there is a lot of "STUFF" involved with Christmas. Are you looking forward to the STUFF?

About ten years ago, a study discovered that Americans used 28,497,464 rolls and sheets of wrapping paper, 16,826,362 packages of tags and bows, 372,430,684 greeting cards, and 35,200,000 Christmas trees during the 1989 Christmas season. That's a lot of STUFF!!

What STUFF do you think Christmas is all about? What STUFF fills your calendar and to-do list this month? The following is a checklist of the things that people are busy with during this holiday season. This list was taken from a Gallup Poll from two years ago. 1. Kids off school. 2. Christmas Club cash-in. 3. Extra school programs. 4. Christmas Dinner. 5. Credit card limits. 6. Limits on gifts for kids/spouses. 7. Can't get off work but want to. 8. Vacation time. 9. Get a tree! 10. Office parties. 11. Gifts for the office. 12. Christmas Card list. 13. Gifts to the in-laws this year? 14. When to decorate house. 15. Relatives visiting. 16. Check tree lights. 17. Overseas mailing regulations. 18. Checking catalog order times. 19. Church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 20. Work is offering good overtime. 21. Cookie baking or not?

How many of those things are on your "to-do list"? And were some things missing? Write them in - make a mental note! But did you notice something about this list? Did you notice that there is very little about your spiritual life and the real meaning of Christmas on this list? These kinds of lists come from upscale department stores, discount stores, and catalogs, plus other vendors who depend on Christmas for an economical boost. This is the kind of STUFF that the world wants Christmas to bring to you. Are you looking forward to this STUFF?

Although most of that stuff will be enjoyed, and there is some good in all of it, it also might cause you a lot of stress this year. It will tire you out, frustrate you, and maybe even disappoint. It will bring you ups and downs. It might even take your attention away from the stuff Jesus brings us for Christmas! Compared to the list above, the Scriptures give us a totally different picture of the "stuff" God intended us to have for Christmas! Let's open our Bibles and have a look at the STUFF that Jesus brings us at Christmas... The prophet Isaiah foretold some of the things the coming Christ child would bring to the world. Read Isaiah 40:1-2,9-11.

1. The first thing Jesus brings us is COMFORT! Isaiah mentions it not once, but twice! "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed…" Comfort doesn't come through a drink of eggnog, a Lazyboy recliner, or the right pair of slippers! It comes through a word. A word tenderly spoken. God's word that brings us comfort at Christmas is "Fear Not!" "And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." You have a Savior. He is going to earn your salvation for you! Your hard service is completed!

So take comfort, my friends! Let comfort replace your guilt. Jesus is taking responsibility for all your failures. Let comfort replace your worry about what will happen in your future. The coming Christ child has given you a guaranteed future that will work out. Let comfort replace your stress and frustration, especially in this season. We may allow ourselves to get caught up in the "stuff" of the season and become frazzled, disenchanted, and just plain cranky! This is when God works best! He comforts us, speaking tenderly, giving us encouragement. God works through people around us, at church, in his presence at worship, and in His Word! Let Jesus bring you comfort from His Word this Christmas season!

2. Maybe the best way that Jesus will do that is with the second thing He brings: FORGIVENESS! Isaiah tells God's people that "her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Jesus brings you forgiveness this Christmas! That's right, do away with your guilt, because your failures have been forgiven! You have been cleaned up and made ready to stand before God! Jesus gave you this most important gift by giving his life up on the cross. No one can wrap forgiveness in a present better than God, who wrapped it in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the "stuff" of Christmas that gives you hope and peace within and without. In other words, you are healed so you can be a source of hope and peace for others. It is the gift that keeps giving. Knowing that you are forgiven, nothing will keep you from forgiving others! And that will go a long way in helping you and your family through this holiday season!

3. Jesus also brings GOOD TIDINGS to us at Christmas time. Christmas is a time of good news! A Savior is born to us! Everything will be fine! No matter what the world throws our way, we have an eternity with God to look forward to. Verse 9 in Isaiah's message tells us to go and proclaim those good tidings to others! "Lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, so not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'" Each year in Washington DC, someone rents a hall, hires an orchestra, and advertises a sing-along production of Handel's Messiah. People stand in line to get tickets to sing. The choir numbers 5000. They pay for the privilege of singing the Messiah. Of course, it is always a privilege to sing of the Christ or to speak of the Christ child. Do we take advantage of all the opportunities we have to do that? What is the STUFF of your message this Christmas? We believe that Christmas is about Jesus. Do you have a nativity scene out on the "front lawn" of your life? What are you saying as you prepare yourself for the holidays? Shouts of joy or just shouting? Do you have good news to share or grumbling news? In all that you do and say, is the Christmas message about Christ or just 'mas'? Jesus brings you good tidings at Christmas. Believe them and share them!

4. He also brings POWER and STRENGTH. Isaiah tells us that the Lord comes with power. He doesn't come with the power of a credit card in a shopping mall, or a click of the mouse in an Internet shopping cart, but the power to make you his child for eternity. Jesus comes with the power to keep your temper from exploding and your heart from being broken. The power of Christmas is the ultimate reign of Christ long before He became one of us. When you realize that and you understand His humility to leave a powerful throne and become a helpless baby, you're less dependent on your power to control and more dependent on Him to control, comfort, forgive, and encourage!

5. Jesus also brings COMPASSION. "He tends his flock like a shepherd." In verse 11, Isaiah gives us a wonderful picture of a compassionate Jesus; tending, caring, loving, guiding - the "stuff" of a Good Shepherd! This is what Jesus brought you at Christmas! As you place your manger scene at home, look at those shepherds and be reminded of what Jesus, your Good Shepherd, really brought you and will continue to bring to you at Christmas! All other "stuff" Christmas brings pales in comparison!

6. Now we go to the NT book of John to get another look at the things Jesus has brought us at Christmas. Read John 1:15-18. Verse 16 says, "from the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." Jesus brings us the FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE at Christmastime. Now here is some stuff we can't buy anywhere! Grace is not for sale, never has been, never will be. It is a free gift from God given through Jesus Christ that we may be blessed and forgiven. That's better than all of the stuff on the list up above! Most people would give fortunes if they could take back a couple of moments in their lives, moments where they made a huge mistake that stuck with them for a long time. Grace means that God has taken all those moments away for nothing, and won't hold those mistakes against us! Jesus, bring me this grace at Christmas! What a gift!

7. Jesus also brings us TRUTH. In fact, Jesus is truth, and that is what He brought us at Christmas. We often let the stuff of Christmas cloud out the truth. We have let the stuff of the world crowd out truth. People today won't accept the truth. And that is one thing that has taken the true joy out of Christmas for so many. They acknowledge that it might mean one thing very important to you, but for them, it means nothing. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus is the way to heaven. That is the truth. His Word is truth. And that truth gives us a rock solid foundation with which to live our lives and await the second Christmas - when Jesus comes again. When truth replaces the "stuff" of the world in our lives, then we will find ourselves looking forward to Christmas a lot more!

8. The text ends, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." We would have never seen God, never known what He was like, if Jesus hadn't revealed Him to us! Finally, at Christmas, Jesus brought us SIGHT! Now this is the stuff of Christmas! Not a cute baby in the manger, but GOD Himself! Our final point here, then, is to make our spiritual list and check it twice against the list of stuff we think that Christmas is all about. God reveals Himself to us in the flesh in Jesus Christ and in his Word, the Bible. Our eyes now have sight to see how to sort out the "stuff" we need and the "stuff" we can toss!

So what STUFF does Christmas bring to you? The stuff that the world says it is all about? Or the stuff that Christ brings us at Christmas? There are two people who are close to me that might be in heaven before Christmas comes this year. One is our sister Anna Caswell. The other is my grandpa. I have talked to them. I can tell you what stuff is on their Christmas list. It has nothing to do with food, music, or department stores. The stuff they are looking forward to is the stuff that Jesus brings us. Let's learn from them. This is season is a time of preparation for us - not just preparing for Christmas 2002, but preparing for Christmas eternity! Friends, as you look forward to Christmas this year, I hope you look forward to the stuff they are looking forward to too! Amen.

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