Sermon Notes — December 14, 2025
Luke 19:1-10
“Joy Grows From the Manger”
Rev. Dr. Mary Beth Bernheisel
December 14, 2025
Thank you so much to the band and the choir, to the soloists, to our narrator, to Dann and to Joe and to everyone else who poured so much time and love into this amazing gift.
On the third week of Advent we celebrate Joy, and I hope that no matter how you showed up today – whether with great anticipation or whether you came tired, or whether you almost didn’t come at all – I hope that this has added in some way to your joy.
Friends, the joy of this season grows from the manger – God in Jesus has come to be with us, and that is the Good News that sustains our joy. What does the angel say to the shepherds?
I am bringing you good news of great joy.
Who doesn’t love some good news?
So the shepherds went with haste – they rushed off – to see with their own eyes what the angel had told them about. But they weren’t just passive observers. Luke tells us that they became evangelists. They shared what they had heard with Mary and Joseph and all who were gathered around Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, and Luke tells us that everyone who heard the news was amazed.
We don’t know how long the shepherds stayed, but the next thing Luke tells us is that they return to the fields outside of Bethlehem, praising and glorifying God, because all that they had heard from the angel turned out to be true.
The Good News brings great joy for the whole world. The good news is that God is here. God is with us.
So be filled with joy this day, and when you leave this place, go to share your joy with all you meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.