“Wonder, Ponder, Glorify, and Tell!

From Luke 2:17-20, Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon preached a magnificent sermon exactly 150 years prior to Christmas Eve in 2015. I used the verbs which Pastor Spurgeon used in that message to deliver a short meditation to the people of Waukee Community Church on December 24, 2015. If you would like to read the outline of my message, “Wonder, Ponder, Glorify, and Tell!” please read on. . .

 

“Wonder, Ponder, Glorify, and Tell!”

By Dr. Bob Stouffer

Waukee Community Church

Thursday, December 24, 2015

 

Text: Luke 2:17-20

 

Opening

 

God privileged me to witness the birth of my daughter Molly in 1986 and, in 2013, the birth of my granddaughter Gracelynn with wonder, pondering the miracle of life, glorifying God for these beautiful gifts, and telling others of the goodness of God.

 

Verses 17-20 of Luke 2 detail the wonder of the shepherds, the pondering of Mary, the glorifying of those hearing about Jesus’ birth, and the telling of the shepherds, who were so humbled by and excited about this pivotal juncture of God’s meta-narrative.

 

Alternate Opening

 

At 6:11 a.m. tomorrow morning – Christmas morning – those of us on earth will experience a rare full moon. The last full moon on Christmas occurred on 1977; the next, will be in 2034.

 

Those of us who are fascinated by, wonder about, ponder, glorify God, and tell of this rare phenomenon really should be praising God for reflecting the light of the sun so we can even see the full moon!

 

What a marvelous metaphor on this Christmas Eve. Ah, that all of us as Christians would reflect the light of the true Son in telling how He has transformed our lives, a phenomenon that is far more miraculous than a full moon on Christmas!

 

So – let US wonder, ponder, glorify, and tell tonight!

 

Text of Analysis

 

We. . .wonder.

 

Wonder!

 

. . .is a verb which means,

 

1. to think or speculate curiously;

 

2. to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; to marvel.

 

What causes you to wonder?

 

Most probably. . .

 

. . .a subject or object about which you are passionate –

 

. . .or a unique or remarkable occurrence/place –

 

The Grand Canyon,

 

Mount Everest,

 

Angelic voices like Katie’s and Kaelynn’s,

[Katie Ingle and Kaelynn Brooks sang a duet earlier in the service.]

 

A championship in athletics,

 

The launch of a Space Shuttle,

 

And GOD, of course!

 

In this passage, the shepherds “made known” to others that Jesus had been born, and they experienced a sense of wonder.

 

They must have wondered, Was this really the Messiah?

 

Why would God announce the birth of the Messiah to lowly shepherds?

 

Could the Messiah be born as a baby and placed in a manger, of all places?!

 

Pastor Dave encouraged us to read <this devotional> which featured the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Listen to what the editor says about “wonder” in God Is in the Manger [p. 60].

 

. . .

 

Wonder.

 

Wonder. . .and ponder!

 

Ponder!

 

Ponder is also a verb, which means. . .

 

to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate.

 

Ponder?

 

What should we ponder?

 

The complexities of life –

 

The curious behaviors of people –

 

The questions which should drive the actions of our lives –

 

Why are we here?

 

What does God want us to do for Him?

 

Where do I go when I die?

 

And we should ponder GOD, of course!

 

Mary pondered the miracle of her pregnancy, Jesus’ birth, and all the shepherds were saying about Jesus.

 

Earlier, in Luke, Chapter 1, verses 47-55, Mary pondered the angel’s announcement of Jesus’ birth:

 

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” [English Standard Version (ESV)]

 

Wonder. . .ponder . . .and glorify!

 

Glorify!

 

Again Luke uses a verb:

 

Glorify –

2. to honor with praise, admiration, or worship; extol –

 

3. to make glorious; invest with glory –

 

4. to praise the gloryof (God), especially as an act of worship.

 

GOD ALONE should be the object of our glorifying, of course.

 

But we spend so much time glorifying the temporal, rather than the eternal:

 

Celebrities,

 

Athletes,

 

The wealthy,

 

Charismatic leaders,

 

“Successful” people by the world’s standards.

 

The shepherds glorified, praised, and worshipped GOD as a result of all they had seen and heard.

 

Wonder. . .ponder. . .glorify. . .and tell!

 

Tell!

 

A final verb is used:

 

Tell –

 

1. to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate –

 

2. to announce or proclaim.

 

What do we “tell”?

 

Stories,

 

Gossip,

 

Secrets.

 

Opinions.

 

Once again, we must tell others about GOD!

 

We must live the Gospel.

 

But we must SPEAK and tell the Gospel as well. We must tell of Jesus!

 

Wonder. . .Ponder. . .Glorify. . .Tell.

 

Closing

 

 

EXACTLY 150 years ago tonight – on December 24, 1865 – in the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London, England, famed Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon preached a message he entitled “Holy Work for Christmas,” and I close with his very words from that sermon. . . .

 

Resources

 

Dictionary.com

 

The Holy Bible.

 

Reiss, Jana, ed. God Is in the Manger. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John

Knox Press, 2010.

 

Spurgeon, Charles H. “Holy Work for Christmas,” Sermon No. 666, 24

December 1865 (http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols10-12/chs666.pdf).