Calvary Assembly of God

Series: Because of Christmas
Sermon: Every Heart A Manger

God had centuries to get ready for this birth. The prophet Micah lived 700 years before the birth of Jesus and prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Why was Jesus born in a manger? Because every heart is like a manger.

I. The Manger And The Heart Are Places Of Love

A. God has ALWAYS loved you—and He ALWAYS will.
B. God loves YOU.
C. God’s love can be SEEN.

II. The Manger And The Heart Is A Place Of Hope

When Christ was born, so was our hope.

This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises: God became one of us so we could become one with him. He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished. He only awaits our word to walk through the door.

III. The Manger Like The Heart Is The Place Where Christ Is Born

Every time Jesus comes into our lives, he is born in the manger.
The human heart is like the manger, cold, dark and dirty .
The human heart is cold because we do not know the love of God.
The human heart is dark because we do not have the light of Christ or the hope of salvation.
The human heart is dirty because we are sinners and our hearts are stained and soiled by sin.

In one of his books, Jess Moody tells of meeting Rose Kennedy (mother of President John F. Kennedy) many years ago at a Bible study he was teaching. That night he challenged his hearers to make their hearts ready to meet the Lord because life is short for all of us, and no one knows what the future may hold. When the meeting was over, Rose Kennedy spoke to Jess Moody privately. “I’ve done what you were talking about tonight,” she said. She went on to say that as a young bride, she had been enamored by the power of money. She became selfish, living only for her own desires. Then she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Soon it became apparent that something was wrong with her daughter. Medical tests revealed that her daughter had been born with severe mental retardation and would have to be institutionalized for her entire life.
Rose Kennedy said that she and her husband were devastated by the news. Then the devastation turned eventually to enormous anger at God. “How could you have done this to us?” she asked the Lord. The anger became a kind of corrosive bitterness that drained every bit of joy from her life.

One night she and her husband had been scheduled to attend a social gathering. They decided at the last minute not to go when she realized that her anger had consumed her. She was afraid of what she might do or say if someone asked about their daughter’s condition. And that’s when it happened. A maid who worked for the family spoke to her. “Mrs. Kennedy, I’ve been watching you for the last few weeks and I’ve seen how angry you are. If you don’t do something, it’s going to ruin you. I think you should pray this prayer: “O Lord, make my heart a manger where the Christ child can be born.”