Our Christmas program this year was titled “This is Christmas.” The subtitle of the work is “Celebrating the heart of Christmas.” The introduction to the book/music says, “The sole intent of this work is to draw attention to that Child, the King, sent to earth to redeem the world, for this is the heart of Christmas.”

We know that the Christmas season presents us with many wonderful things to focus on—family gatherings, fun activities, gifts, trees, lights, travel, etc. Sadly, if we were to get our understanding of Christmas from the secular media or from advertisements, we might not even realize that Christmas has anything to do with Jesus. We might think that Christmas is little more than a mid-winter holiday based on mythology and legend. The world seems intent on shifting the heart/focus of Christmas away from Jesus.

Further, as we look at the Christmas story in the Bible, we find many secondary people and things we could focus on—Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, Herod, angels, shepherds, the nativity scene, etc. Such people and things are important, but they are all secondary; they are not the center of the Christmas story.

What is the heart of Christmas? Is it the gifts, the music, the trees, the food? Is it Mary or the Wise Men or the angels? Is it family and generosity? No.

In this message, I want to look at the true heart of Christmas—the birth of Jesus. That’s what we are celebrating; that should be the focus of our attention. The birth of Jesus is the heart of Christmas.

And there is probably no better passage revealing the heart of Christmas than Luke 2:11-12.

Nearly every word in this passage is important.

Let’s look at several things we learn about the heart of Christmas from this passage.