PART : CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW Sentimental value and traditions can hijack your heart and blind you to the truth the Christmas story is trying to tell you. Question: In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in your traditions or in God s truth? The meaning of Christmas is that love will triumph and that we will be able to put together a world of unity and peace. In other words, WE have the light within us, and so we are the ones who can dispel the darkness of the world. WE can overcome poverty, injustice, violence, and evil. If WE work together, we can create a world of unity and peace.
Christmas contrary to popular opinion is the most UN-sentimental, realistic way of looking at life. The message of Christianity in general and Christmas gospel in particular is instead, Things really are bad, and we can t fix it ourselves. Things really are this dark but there IS hope. Tim Keller Matthew :-7 From the genealogy of Matthew, we learn: The Christmas Gospel is Good News, Not Good Advice The Chris tmas Gospel Turns the World s Values Upside Down What does this mean? People excluded by culture, respectable society, and even by the law of God can be brought into Jesus family.
What does this mean? 2 People who hold all the most powerful credentials only get into Jesus family by grace. The Chris tmas Gospel says God May Take His Time, But He Keeps His Word This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about Matthew :8 The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. M AT T H E W : 2 0 M AT T H E W : 2 3 Immanuel (which means God with us ) If Jesus really is God, what does that mean for us practically? (a) If Jesus is God, it is an intellectual watershed.
God became man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wiggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child The babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation. J. I. PA C K E R It is from misbelief, or at least inadequate belief, about the Incarnation that difficulties at other points in the gospel story usually spring. But once the Incarnation is grasped as a reality, these other difficulties dissolve. J. I. PA C K E R (b) If Jesus is God, it is a defining moment. (c) If Jesus is God, then there is Hope.
In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in your traditions or in God s truth? 2 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us 2 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us ME ANI NG If you want Jesus in your life, it is going to take COURAGE. 2 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us THE COURAGE TO ENDURE THE WORLD S SCORN.
2 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us THE COURAGE TO GIVE UP ONE S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION. 2 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us THE COURAGE TO ADMIT WE ARE SINNERS. He will save his people from their sins. (vs. 2) 3 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus isn t a king; He is The King 3 The Christmas Gospel says Jesus isn t a king; He is The King Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. M AT T H E W 2 : 2
The Chris tmas Gospel Reveals the Threat Of Christ s Kingdom M AT T H E W 2 : 7-8 ; 3-6 If you want to be king, and someone else comes along saying he is the king, then one of you has to give in. Only one person can sit on an absolute throne. Tim Keller Chris tmas means that THE King has come into the world. So what are you going to do about it? All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means God with us ). Matthew :22-23
In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in your traditions or in God s truth? PART : CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW