9. Abba: I AM Papa

Introduction

Christmas Trivia

Which cousin did Mary stay with after finding out she was pregnant with Jesus? Elizabeth

What was the name of the angel who appeared to Mary and told her she was going to be with child? Gabriel

About how many miles did Joseph and Mary have to travel to get to Bethlehem? 90 miles

How many wise men came to visit Jesus after he was born? The Bible doesn’t say

The Bible says Jesus was born in December. False

Christmas wasn’t celebrated until 300 years after Jesus was born. True. While early Christians celebrated Jesus’s birth in various ways, Christmas wasn’t a holiday in its own right until the late fourth century, and didn’t have widespread public prominence until 800 AD.

Names of God, God as Father

Father

Dad

Pater (British)

Baba (Albanian)

Père (French)

Padre (Spanish)

Far (Norwegian)

父親 (Fùqīn, Chinese)

батько (bat’ko, Ukrainian)

Daddy

Papa

What kind of father am I? Reactive vs. Responsive...

We often see God the Father through the lens of our earthly fathers. What kind of father did you have?

Whatever kind of dad your earthly father is or was, if you belong to Jesus, you have a heavenly Father who is absolutely good.

Body

The name of God we’re looking at this Christmas morning is Abba, which means Daddy or Papa.

The reason I wanted to talk about Abba on Christmas is because this is ultimately where Christmas brings us: into an intimate, loving, affectionate, eternal relationship with God as our Papa. Did you know Jesus called God his Father 156 times in John’s Gospel alone? And through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit enables us to call God our Abba, our Papa, our Daddy.

Here’s just a glimpse of the kind of Father our Papa God is.

Psalm 68:5-6.

Psalm 103:13-14.

Matthew 6:28-33.

Luke 12:32.

2 Corinthians 6:18.

Even in spite of these verses, some people still feel uncomfortable calling God “Papa” or “Daddy.” They feel it is somehow disrespectful to address the King of the Universe in such an informal or childish way.

Imagine your dad was the President of the US...

Now imagine you were the President. How would you want your kids to address you?

Hebrews 4:16.

Conclusion

When you come before God, do you come before the King or do you come before your Papa? Is God the King who also happens to be your Father? Or your Papa who also happens to be the King?

I know there’s a time and place for formality and decor, but I believe that God wants to relate to you first and primarily as Daddy, Papa, Abba. See Romans 8:14-16.