6 Lessons from Angels and Shepherds at Christmas
I love the story of the shepherds and angels at the birth of Jesus Christ.
Here are 6 Lessons we can learn from this story and apply in our Lives today.
God chooses ordinary people for a spiritual awakening;
Be Joyful;
Listen to Uplifting Music;
Seek Christ;
Testify to Others;
Be Grateful to God.
Enjoy the video and share it with those you need some uplifting motivation, inspiration and hope today.
Transcript:
Tamara Anderson 0:00
I've been singing in choirs and just singing in general, for as long as I can remember, it's one of my favorite hobbies. And so one of the stories in the New Testament that I relate to the most is the story of the shepherds and the angels at the time of Jesus Christ's birth.
Tamara Anderson 0:20
And today, I'd like to take that story and just review some of the principles that we can learn from this story. So let's start in Luke chapter two, verse eight. And it says, "And they were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shown round about them, and they were sore afraid."
Tamara Anderson 0:51
So here we have ordinary people who are working hard, they were abiding, and abiding through the night means they were working really, really hard. And so I know I've felt that way in my life, and where I'm working really hard, and sometimes when you're ordinary and working really hard. So God sometimes sends, spiritually awakening experiences, is what I'm going to call them. And that's what the shepherds had, they had a spiritually awakening experience with angels.
Tamara Anderson 1:23
And so that is neat to know that God cares about ordinary people just like you and me. And that we can have experiences that awaken our heart and our soul. And it may frighten us a little bit when, when we have these experiences just shows like The shepherds, they were sore afraid they were like, What is this? And so that is the first lesson we can learn is that God calls ordinary working people like you and me to experience spiritual awakenings.
Tamara Anderson 1:57
And we'll read in the following verses what that entails. In verse 10, and 11, it says, And the angel said unto 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 as Savior, which is Christ the Lord." And this is the second principle I think we can dry out from this incredible message of the the angel is to be joyful, because of Jesus Christ.
Tamara Anderson 2:34
So often, and even in the lives of believers we experiencing, we experience things that are very, very hard. And because life is hard, right? And the command here to be joyful, good tidings of great joy. This gives us something to be joyful about in our hearts, no matter how hard our trials are. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." And that, and that hope that we won't perish, our souls won't perish and that we can have eternal life. Those are the things that we cling to, in those times of trouble. That Jesus Christ, that God loved us so much that He sent His Son, and that he will redeem us and save us. And we will live in joy and peace with him forever. So be joyful about that great message. That that was good tidings of great joy.
Tamara Anderson 3:38
I'm going to come back to verse 12. And we'll go to verse 13. "And suddenly, there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men." And I love this part of the angel singing. And I think one lesson we can draw out from this is that when we are feeling sore afraid like these poor shepherds were, it is good to listen to uplifting music that is praising God and it will inspire you. And so if you are feeling afraid, or frustrated, or kind of burdened down with like, listen to uplifting music.
Tamara Anderson 4:22
The next verse I'd like to look at is a little bit of verse 12. Go back to verse 12. And then verse 15. In verse 12, the angel tells them, how they'll recognize the Savior says, "And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And so with that tidbit of information, the shepherd said in verse 15, "and it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherd sent to one another. Let us now go even into Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger."
Tamara Anderson 5:06
And I love these verses because first, the angel invited them to go find the Christ Child, he invited them. And I think that's the invitation to all of us go find him. And have you ever thought about what that must have looked like for the shepherds? I mean, Bethlehem was swollen because of the taxation and everybody had come to their hometown basically. And they it was nighttime and they went door to door, I'm sure, I don't know how it's they would have found him door to door finding a newborn baby that was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Tamara Anderson 5:43
And so that required some effort. So that invitation that the angel extended to the shepherds ye shall find was a promise that if you look for him, you will find him. And that same promise is extended to us, ye shall find, we can find Christ, if we seek for him. And it's not going to be easy, we may have to knock a few doors symbolically. But we can find him as we seek Him in prayer in scripture study, and go by going to church, by seeking quiet moments to commune with God, wherever that may be, so ye shall find that is the that is the fourth promise, we shall find Christ as we seek Him.
Tamara Anderson 6:30
And then after they had found him, they testified of Him. And it says, verse 17, and when they had seen it, they made known abroad, the saying, which was told them concerning this child. And all that heard it wondered it, those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in their hearts.
Tamara Anderson 6:53
So once we find Christ, we testify of him. And some people will react with wonder, as it says here, and others will react by pondering those things in their hearts. And those are both good ways for others to come to know Christ. So when we've had the spiritually enlightening experience, and found Christ in our lives, testified others.
Tamara Anderson 7:14
And the final lesson here is in verse 20, and the shepherd's returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And so they were thankful and praised and thanked God for this miraculous experience that have they had in their lives. And so that is the final lesson here, to glorify, and thank God, when we have these experiences, sometimes I think we have these experiences. And we go through them and we're so thankful and grateful. And then we forget to thank him. So be sure to thank God for these experiences.
Tamara Anderson 7:56
And I love the story of the shepherds and the angels and the lessons we can apply for, for it in our lives. First that God chooses ordinary working people, to have spiritual awakening experiences. Second, to be joyful, that Christ is born even in hard times in our lives because he can ease our burdens and, and give us something to look forward to. Third is to listen to UPLIFTING MUSIC When we are afraid, or burdened. Fourth is ye shall find, seek Christ and ye shall find him. Fifth is to testify to others once you have found Christ in your life. And sixth is to glorify and praise and be thankful to God for the experience that you had.
Tamara Anderson 8:50
So Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and enjoy these lessons from the shepherds and the angels. Share it with those who need hope in their lives, or could use a message of hope and inspiration today. Have a wonderful day. Hope on!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai