1. Albrecht…Advent 4…December 21, 2025…Luke 2:8-14…Angel’s Song: Amazing Glory

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.

INJ Whose glory fills the heavens and the earth, and yet determined to shine that glory on His people, DFR:

This year in our Advent preparations we have been looking at the various songs leading up to and including the birth of our Savior. This morning our Christmas songs come to a crescendo. Luke tells us that as the shepherds heard about the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem, the Savior wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, there was suddenly a great company of heavenly host praising God and singing, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men goodwill.

It was a common practice in those days, that when a baby boy was born, musicians would congregate at the child’s house to greet him with simple music. Jesus was born in a stable, in a town that was strange to his parents – there were no musicians available. Yet, how amazing that the minstrels of heaven took the place of the minstrels of earth as the angels sang a song of glory at the birth of Christ. All heaven broke forth in glorifying and praising God.

We have titled the song of the angels “Amazing Glory.” The foremost of God’s invisible creation, the angels, were so excited about the new relationship of God with His people that they praised God with everything they had. They glorified God.

To give God glory is to honor Him. To give Him glory is to hold Him in the highest possible esteem. To ascribe glory to God is to acknowledge that the Lord is supreme – above all. He is the powerful Creator and ruler of the universe. And yet, the greatest act for which God deserves all glory is in the gracious act of sending His one and only Son to rescue humankind for its sins. The loving act of sending His only Son to become a man in order to bring us back to God describes the awesome glory and honor due His name this season of Christmas.

Every time we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, we also glorify God as the angels did. We praise Him this morning along with the multitude of the heavenly host. Why do we give glory to God?

GOD’S GLORY REFLECTS GOD’S GRACE

There was a European monarch who worried other officials by disappearing and walking incognito among his people. When he was asked not to do so for security’s sake, he answered, “I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live.” The grace of God is clearly shown by God’s becoming one of us. In the coming of Jesus Christ, we have a God who knows the life we live because He, too, lived it. He is Immanuel – God with us! He came to become one of us.

We did not deserve this grace. On the contrary, the God who created all things has the right to expect us to live in accord with His glory. Yet, we know the reality of our situation. King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 7:15, Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. In our thoughts, words and actions, we do not live up to what our Maker expects of us. This is sin, or, “missing the mark.” We miss the mark of God’s glory every day. The cold and darkness at this time of the year remind us of the bleak situation of our hearts and lives by nature. Yet, the amazing glory of God is centered this morning on His grace – His undeserved love for us.

Maybe you’ve heard the story of a man who stops on his way home from work at the grocery store to do a little shopping. All he needs is a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. He is standing at the checkout line. Behind him is a woman with a cart full of groceries and two small kids tugging at her leg. At the man’s turn at the register, the clerk invites him to take part in a drawing to win free groceries.

The bowl is still full and the odds are slim, but he tries anyway. What do you know, he gets the winning ticket. Then he looks at his cart with only a loaf of bread and some milk. What a waste! But quickly, he turns to the woman behind him – the one with a mountain of groceries, and says, “Well, what do you know, honey? We won! We don’t have to pay a penny.” She looks at him, and he winks, and she steps up beside him with a smile.

We, too, have been graced with a surprise. Like the woman, we have been given a gift. The good news of great joy of God’s grace is that unto [us] is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The gift of God’s grace is not for us at the checkout stand, but at the judgment seat of God. It is not some lucky lottery we have won, but God’s great love for humankind to absolve us of our sins through Jesus Christ.

We sing with the angels this morning, Glory to God in the highest! He loves us this morning with an everlasting grace. Despite our sinfulness, He comes to be with us as our Savior. It is worth far more than the price of a cart of groceries. He came to offer Himself on the cross, offering His own holy life and death in our place. On Calvary’s cross, Jesus removed all glory that belonged to Him – truly becoming as one of us in the sight of His Heavenly Father – a guilty sinner. Yet, it was in that great act of humiliation, which began at His birth, that has earned Him the highest glory. For in three days, Jesus would rise from the dead to win us the final victory over Satan and sin and even death. God made good on His plan to save us and to give us all that we need in this life and for eternity. For His awesome grace – GLORY TO GOD!

GOD’S GLORY BRINGS PEACE

As we look at the angels’ song, we see that the sang, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, among men goodwill. When people are asked what they would like for Christmas, so many desire peace. Peace is something we considered extensively looking at the Song of Simeon. His peace came from knowing His sins were forgiven because God fulfills His promises. The peace the angels proclaimed is no different, but proclaimed to the whole world.

When people today desire peace, it is often centered on having peace in our families, peace in our world, peace in our nation, and peace in our own hearts – knowing that they have done enough. In some ways, it has become the focal point of Christmas. Soon, all the hubbub of Christmas will come to a close. In a few short days, presents will be opened, family will return home, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief that everything that was supposed to be done is done. Then you can sit back and focus on the Gift of gifts, God’s Son, come to be our Savior and be at peace.

But is that the way God offers us peace? Does He wait for all the hectic festivities of Christmas to pass before offering you peace? As the angels promised in their song of Amazing Glory, the One born for us on Christmas night, comes to bring peace now. God’s grace and glory bring us His peace first.

Every year during our Candlelight service, we read through Luke 2. When we have our Christmas Eve service in a few days, the children will recite sections from Luke 2. Year after year we repeat the same account. It’s not because there is no variety, it’s because of the message it gives us. Reading about how God made good on His promise to send a Savior brings us peace. Remembering how this baby born would go to the cross to bear the awful load of your sin and mine brings us peace. Knowing that He rose again from the dead to seal our fate for eternal life brings us peace. God’s grace enables you by faith to receive the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life year after year.

What will make your Christmas and truly give you God’s peace? Imagine years from now, by God’s grace, gazing backward to the early years in your life. What really matters to you won’t be the condition of your house and whether or not you vacuumed up the Christmas tree needles one last time. It will not matter the gifts you received. You probably won’t even remember the food you ate. What will matter is the eternal peace that you have been graciously given by God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God offers you today, through His Word, the peace to know that your sins are completely forgiven. You have the peace of our Savior to know that even if everything went wrong, in a worldly way, this Christmas, God still cares for you and has a good plan for your life. We have the peace of Christ to experience and to let overflow in your relationship with others. His glory and grace give us the peace to reach out in love to others as God loves us. And finally, we have the peace of God in Christ to know that one day, when our life on this earth ends, we, too, shall join “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven [as] we laud and magnify His glorious name.” We praise God for His glorious peace!

GOD’S GLORY IS RECOGNIZED BY TRUE FAITH

God’s presence and peace are offered to us again this Christmas. Unfortunately, the attitude of many today says there is no time, no room for us Jesus to be born for them. Satan and sin continually desire to shut Jesus out! We are tempted to think that we can handle life all by ourselves without God’s glorious presence.

The Word of the Lord came to the shepherds announcing the good news of great joy. The multitude of the heavenly host sang their glorious song. And we are told the shepherds listened. God gave the lowly shepherds the grace to follow His instructions. We are told that they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, just as God had told them through the angel. They worshiped Him and acknowledged Him as the promised Savior of the world. God gave them faith to accept His peace and hope. They were able to glorify God along with the angels for the peace that God’s Promised One had come to bring as He would take their sins upon a cross and die and rise for them to give them eternal life.

We celebrate with the angels and shepherds this morning as by grace we receive Jesus by faith. Along with the shepherds and all others who have gone before us in true faith, we make room for the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and lives. Christmas must be more than sentimentality, more than getting together by a fireplace and sitting around a beautifully decorated tree. Ultimately, Christmas is about receiving the One who came as a baby, who went to the cross to die for our sins, who rose again from the grave. Ultimately the Christmas glory we celebrate directs our hearts and minds to the One who promises and bestows eternal salvation to all who place their trust in Him.

In faith we listen again this year to the good news of great joy. In true faith we respond like the shepherds to behold Christ as our personal Savior from sin and death. Christ Jesus is the one we glorify and worship for more than just one night a year. Our Savior is someone we trust in for more than a day or season. He is our glorious Lord for eternity. In response for what He has done for us, we want to make room for Him, by faith, in our hearts and lives all year long!

This day of Jesus’ birth, we can’t forget. God comes to us! Immanuel – truly God is with us. And along with the angels and shepherds, and all faithful believers, we praise God for the glory of His grace, which comes to us so clearly this morning. We once again joyfully receive His peace, which He won for us by His coming, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. And this morning we make room in our hearts and lives for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as we celebrate His glory and His birthday. Amen.