Table of Contents
Date: THU 10:30am 25th December 2025
Preacher: Rev. David McLaughlin
Bible Reference: Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.
Podcast
Sermon Summary
This sermon, delivered on Christmas Day, draws its text from Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (KJV). The preacher begins by reading Luke 2:8–14, the familiar account of the angelic announcement to the shepherds. He then frames his message around the theme “Gospel Lessons from the Christmas Truths”, using the well-known but often superficial phrase “peace on earth” as a starting point. He acknowledges how readily we sing and speak these words at Christmas, yet how distant true peace seems in a world marked by conflict, war, division, and personal strife.
To bring the biblical truth vividly to life, the preacher turns to a remarkable historical event: the Christmas Truce of 1914 during the First World War. On Christmas Day 1914, along parts of the Western Front, British and German soldiers spontaneously ceased fighting, emerged from their trenches, met in No Man’s Land, exchanged gifts, sang carols, and even played football. This fleeting moment of fraternity amid the mud, cold, and horror of trench warfare serves as a powerful parable for the deeper spiritual realities announced by the angels.
The preacher structures his exposition around three aspects of that impromptu football match, drawing parallel gospel lessons from each:
1. The Period When the Match Was Played
(The Journey of Life)
Just as a football match has a kick-off and full-time whistle, every human life has a beginning (birth) and an end (death). The time between is brief and precious. Quoting Acts 17:26–28, the preacher reminds us that God has “determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” and that “in him we live, and move, and have our being.” Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made by God, utterly dependent upon Him for each breath, and ultimately accountable to Him (Romans 14:12).
Many of the young soldiers who played football that Christmas Day were barely out of their teens; some, like Private Studwick (aged 15), would soon lose their lives. Yet many of them knew Christ, read their Bibles, and sang hymns with genuine faith. Their short lives underscore the biblical truth that “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7) and that “man dieth, and wasteth away” (Job 14:10).
Christ Himself entered this human “match”: born into our world (though not necessarily on 25 December), He lived a sinless life, perfectly pleasing the Father, and died at the age of thirty-three. His earthly journey illustrates the brevity and purpose of life under God’s sovereign appointment.
2. The Purpose for Which the Match Was Played
(The Greatest Gift: Jesus Christ)
The football match took place on Christmas Day because that day commemorates the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ – the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is a season of giving and receiving, of joy and gratitude. Yet the gifts we exchange pale in comparison to God’s gift of His only begotten Son.
The preacher emphasises three vital truths about this gift:
- A Chosen Gift for Enemies
God did not send Christ merely for the deserving, but for sinners – even His enemies. John 3:16 and Galatians 4:4–5 declare that in the fullness of time God sent His Son, born of a woman, to redeem those under the law. Romans 5:8–10 is particularly poignant: “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” - A Costly Gift
The sign given to the shepherds – the babe “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” – carries profound symbolism. Swaddling clothes were strips of cloth often used to bind a corpse for burial; thus, even at His birth, Jesus was marked for death. The incarnation was an act of supreme humiliation: the eternal Son took on human flesh, lived among us, and poured out His life’s blood to pay the price for sin. No mere reformer or politician could suffice; humanity needed a Saviour. - A Gift to Be Received
The greatest tragedy is to leave God’s perfect gift unopened. Many live unaware of their bondage to sin, their separation from God, and the eternal consequences. Yet 2 Corinthians 6:2 declares, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” The gift must be personally claimed through faith.
In answer to those who ask why God does not stop today’s wars, the preacher replies: He already has, through the ultimate intervention of sending His Son. All other gifts – even the chocolate bars exchanged in No Man’s Land – are eclipsed by Jesus Christ.
3. The Particular Way the Match Was Played
(Peace through the Prince of Peace)
The most striking feature of the 1914 truce was its location and spirit: enemies met as friends in No Man’s Land, the very place of danger and death. Weapons were laid aside; carols replaced artillery; a football was kicked in goodwill rather than hatred. For a brief moment, soldiers saw one another not as monsters but as fellow human beings – brothers, sons, husbands.
This pictures the ministry of Christ in a profound way. Ephesians 2:14 declares, “For he is our peace,” who has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between God and humanity, and between Jew and Gentile. Jesus stepped into our No Man’s Land – the hostile territory created by sin – to bridge the gulf between heaven and earth.
The preacher stresses that true peace is not merely the absence of conflict but a reconciled relationship with God through faith in Christ. Religion alone cannot achieve this; only a personal relationship with the living Saviour can. Like Abraham, who was called “the friend of God” through faith, we are invited into friendship with God. The commandments to love God and neighbour are fulfilled not by human effort but by the transforming power of grace received in that relationship.
The truce was friendly (played in goodwill), fruitful (born of hearts touched by the Christmas message), and focused on a person – the Christ whose birth they celebrated. So too the gospel centres on the divine person of Jesus: fully God and fully man, the Prince of Peace who brings peace with God and the peace of God to troubled hearts.
Conclusion and Appeal
The preacher closes with a heartfelt appeal: just as those soldiers had the courage to climb out of their trenches and meet one another, Christ has come to meet us. He invites us to receive Him, to allow Him to end the inner conflict of sin, and to grant grace for the journey of life.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 – a fleeting earthly echo of heaven’s announcement – points us to the eternal reality: because the Prince of Peace has come, true and lasting peace is possible, first in the human heart, and ultimately in the new heaven and new earth.
