Back to Bethlehem

This is a short message that was delivered following the choir's presentation of a cantata titled, "Take Me Back to Bethlehem." The message stresses the need for believers to seek a renewed enthusiasm about the awe and wonder of the incarnation. It also urges believers to seek a renewed excitement regarding the moment of their own conversion and spiritual birth.

Written excerpts: (There was no audio recording.)

We have just listened to the choir sing several songs about the birth of Christ. The title song was called, “Take Me Back to Bethlehem.” The song says, “Take me back to Bethlehem. Let my heart be filled again with wonder, awe and wonder. Let me hear the angels sing. Flood my heart with mystery and wonder, awe and wonder.” The song calls for listeners to “return to Bethlehem” in their minds and hearts in order to discover the wonder and awe all over again.

Being removed over 2,000 years from the original event, as well as hearing the story so many times can bring us to the place where the story really doesn’t move us anymore. 

When we sing, “Take me back to Bethlehem,” we are praying for God to revive the wonder of His marvelous gift to humanity. We pray for the realization to overwhelm us anew that God loved us so much He sent His own Son to be born in an obscure village, in a livestock shelter.

I also would like to use the message in this song as a challenge for all of us to again be awed and amazed by the events surrounding our own spiritual awakening and conversion. Just as “a return visit to Bethlehem” is meant to renew the awe over God’s miraculous revelation in human flesh, so our own return to the events leading up to our conversion to Christ should inspire a renewed sense of wonder at the wonderful grace of Jesus!

For those of us who have known the Lord for a number of years, if we’re not careful, we can lose the thrill and wonder of what Christ did for us as we get used to the daily routines of living.

Do we really appreciate His saving grace as much as we did when He saved us? Are we still excited to know that our sins are forgiven, and the load of guilt is gone? Have we become complacent about obeying His Word and fulfilling the mission He has assigned to His followers? Do we recall a greater zeal and intention to be 100% committed for God? What comes to your mind when you remember how you felt when Jesus came into your life?

I trust that everyone of us here today will be uplifted, inspired and challenged. May God instill within our hearts a new excitement and awe about His salvation provided through His own Son who was sent to earth.

Maybe there are some here today who have not yet put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. You have not surrendered your will to the will of God. I hope that you will feel the same sense of awe and wonder over the Christmas story this year that it will bring you to the point of confessing your sins to God and asking Him to forgive you and take over the control of your life.

Christmas time is a good time to seek the Lord.