Sheepherders were at the very bottom of the economic and social scale in the Jews community.  They were dirty, and they couldn't keep the laws of ritualistic washing required to be accepted in society.  They were probably declared unclean.  Much like lepers.  And yet, those were the very people that God chose to be first at the manger.  One more example of how those that we might reject, God chooses.  The gospel is for the whole world.

Luke 2:8-9 "There were shepherds... abiding in the field…and lo, the angel of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid."  The angel told them where to find the baby and then the multitude of angels praised God and went away into heaven.  That would be enough to scare me to death.  Luke 2:15 "…the shepherds said to each other, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing…" Knowing human nature, there must have been a crowd following these fellows by the time they found the manger, because Luke 2:17 tells us that the shepherds began telling everyone what had happened to them.  Mary and Joseph probably told the shepherds their stories as well.  All of them had seen angels.

 Our pastor said that the shepherds did three things right.  The first was that they sought God.  They said, "Let's go…and see this thing…with haste."  Jer. 29:13 says that if you seek him you will find him.  They found him, and were awe struck as they told Mary and Joseph what had happened and why they were there.  Mary and Joseph had just been through a horrible ordeal.  A long trip, no place to stay, Child birth and the filth of a stable.  The shepherd's story lifted Mary and Joseph's hearts.

The second thing was that they immediately told the story to others.  Luke 2:18 "And all that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds."

The third thing was that they worshiped Him and praised God.  Vs 20, "The shepherds …glorified and praised God for all the things that they had seen and heard…"  If we do those three things: Seek, Tell, and Worship, then we have received the message of Christmas in our hearts.