All Age Carols Talk 2022
Notes
Transcript
All is Not Lost - Jesus rises out of the world.
Things to take
a stump -dead and unimpressive
Leafy branch?
wolf
lamb
leopard
goat
calf
lion
young bull
cow
bear
baby
cobra
Pray
Pray
Christmas is a really fun time!
To prove it I have a couple of Christmas jokes!
What did Adam say the day before Christmas? “It’s Christmas, Eve!”
Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? He was picking his nose!
But not everything is fun!
Our world can be a scary place at times -
Our world can be a scary place at times -
Raaar (scary)
eerrrr - bite nails sound effect
Not everyone is kind, not everything is easy, not everything is gentle.
And we are not always good.
Who’s dressed up as something scary or strong and powerful-
Who’s dressed up as something gentle or kind.
Powerful people - you do your scariest most powerful noise!
And the gentle or kind you do your best scared or worried noise
The world is full of dangerous things and gentle things.
Who can help me sort out these pictures...
Scary to one side - gentle to the other… becasue they can’t live in peace.
wolf
lamb
leopard
goat
calf
lion
young bull
bear
baby
Snake
We see good and bad things in nature, like all those animals -
and we see good and bad things in our own lives and behaviour.
The world has always been like this.
IN the OT of the bible - a long time ago - people had the same problem. And no-one can fix this problem.
becasue all of us - and them - always do something that isn’t what God wants. That’s what sin is,
doing what we want - rather than what God wants.
Way back then, God’s people thought that a really good King would be able to save and protect them - from all the problems in the world, and from God when they did things wrong.
- but, just like our lives - things didn’t work out well.
In the bible reading we had - God’s people had been captured by an enemy as a punishment from God for sinning against him.
The enemy is described as being mighty trees.
But becasue they also sinned against God - the trees were all cut down.
The Lord will cut them down as a forest is cut down with an ax. And the great trees of Lebanon will fall by the power of the Mighty One.
When a tree is cut down - who knows what is left...
Yes - a stump
And a stump is bit useless if you want a growing tree that will give you fruit.
Who can come up here and make something grow out of this stump!?
No-one!
That’s what God’s people thought about their King!
No-one could save them now! Even their kings have failed.
They would never be saved from their sin and be made right with God.
We have the same problem - we also need a king to save us and make us right with God.
But we are all, a little stumped!
Do you think God has a plan to hep us?
Do you think Christmas has something to do with all this?
We’ll find out in a little bit.
Break In talk
Remember we have a stump.
No King to save us.
No hope or help.
But God has other ideas..
A branch will grow from a stump of a tree that was cut down. So a new king will come from the family of Jesse.
Jesse was the dad of the first King of Israel - King David.
What this verse promises us - is that even though all the kings -, and all of us, keep letting God down - there is one more king to come.
A living branch will grow from the dead stump!
meaning a King will come who really is be able to save us. .
The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king. The Spirit gives him wisdom, understanding, guidance and power. And the Spirit teaches him to know and respect the Lord.
A king who has the Holy Spirit in Him - so he is so like God he can save us - and give us a good relationship with God again.
IN fact - he wouldn’t just be like God - he was God!
And his name is King … Jesus - the King who can save!
That is why Christmas is such a big celebration! Because Jesus the king who saves was born.
Who can make a celebration noise?
Hurray
The King who can save arrived on earth!
Hurray
He lived his life in a way that was always good and perfect.
Hurray
He did what we could not do - he made us right with God
Hurray
He died to take away the sin and sad things of life
Hurray
And one day he will come back again to finish what he has already started
Hurray
So Christmas is like a big double whammy celebration!
We celebrate that Jesus was born a King who came to save - and we can celebrate that he will come again as King forever!
Now - you remember all those animals we started with - some powerful and some gentle.
They showed us how our world is both good but also sacrey and bad.
Well if we say sorry to Jesus for our sin - then when he comes back he will take us all to live in a new world that will be very wonderful and different.
If you had the animals I mention - come and stand nicly in the middle here...
Then wolves will live in peace with lambs. And leopards will lie down to rest with goats. Calves, lions and young bulls will eat together. And a little child will lead them.
Cows and bears will eat together in peace. Their young will lie down together. Lions will eat hay as oxen do.
A baby will be able to play near a cobra’s hole. A child will be able to put his hand into the nest of a poisonous snake.
They will not hurt or destroy each other on all my holy mountain. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the sea is full of water.
Isn’t Christmas amazing - The King who saves came - and he died for our sin - and he will come back again to make the world a perfect and exciting and gentle place.
I can’t wait to see you all there.
Mums and dad’s this is not a children’s story - this is what we believe to be true - and if you would like to know the King who saves for yourself - if you don’t already -
then this Christmas give yourself a present - and find out more about Jesus.
We have a short course running for you to find out more in ....
Pray