The Song od the Savior | A Message from Luke 2:8-14

Introduction
We’ll have a short sermon today, because the main message is in the music the choir sings though our cantata.  Music is a divine gift that touches the soul in ways nothing else can. It reaches beyond words, stirring emotions and memories buried deep within us. I have a friend here in Dalton whose mother has Alzheimer’s.  She cannot remember much, but whenever my friend visits her in the nursing home, he brings a guitar and she plays and they sing together.  Somehow the music resets her memory and she remembers the songs they used to sing together when my friend was a boy.  Music is a language of the heart, bridging the gap between the seen and the unseen, the known and the mysterious.  Truly, music reflects the beauty and creativity of our Creator. 

I want to read a passage from Luke 2:8-14 about the heavenly music that announced the Savior’s birth.

Luke 2:8-14
⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

The Message in the Music
Did you know, this is the only time recorded in Scripture where angels sang music to humans on earth?  There are several places where the Bible records heavenly being singing or playing music in heaven, but this is the only time the angels sang to people on earth.

And as they sang, they proclaimed glory to God and peace on earth.  The birth of Christ was a unique moment in history when Heaven broke through to shower God’s glory on earth as the angels announced the Son of God’s birth.  God became a human and was born as a baby.

The angels' song highlights Jesus as the bringer of peace and reconciliation.  True peace comes not from circumstances, but through the Savior’s presence in our lives.  The Holy Family’s circumstances were not the best.  A pregnant mother in painful labor. 

A worried husband unable to provide for his wife and newborn child. 
A stable filled with sounds and smells farm animals. 
And only a manger full of straw for the baby’s bed.
These are not peaceful circumstances.
Yet the angels sang:  “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and peace comes when we walk with Him through the storms of life. 

Joining the Angelic Song
Just as the angels worshipped, we are invited to lift our voices in praise.  Our choir’s cantata is a way to echo this angelic celebration, glorifying God together.  You may notice, all the songs today focus on the baby.  May our music help you focus on this miraculous child who was conceived by the Holy, born of a virgin, suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried and who rose again on the third day, who will come again one day to judge the living and the dead.  Let the message of Christ’s birth inspire joy and peace in your heart beyond today.  How can we bring the song of hope and peace to others this Christmas season and all year long?