Discovering the Light of Christmas Faith
Discovering the Light of Christmas Faith
Discover the light of Christmas faith by…
1. Looking at pictures of faith
· Look at a picture of Lucy
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:1-4 NIV
· Look at a picture of Mary
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:34-38 NIV
2. Knowing the principles of faith
· It takes Childlike faith to seek God’s kingdom
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:3-4 NIV
· It takes Confidence in the Author of our faith
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:2 NIV
· It takes Courage to take the next step
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
Luke 1:38 NIV
3. Taking a practical step of faith
Your next step of faith:
· Come and see
· Go and tell
· Trust and obey
Questions to consider: Which step of faith do you need to take? Will you take that step of faith?
· Show LWW trailer
We’ve just watched a preview of the upcoming film, The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe, opening Dec 9…
Perhaps you are asking…Why are people making such a big deal about this movie?
Why are you encouraging people to go see it?
Why are you preaching a sermon series about it?
Why are we going to have a small group study about it?
Because it is a story that reminds us that our life is a story.
It reminds us that some of us have lost our story.
And it reminds us that there is a larger story…
It beautifully illustrates The Story within the story…
On its surface, The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe, is a fantasy story about 4 children from our world who stumble into the fantasy land of Narnia through a magical wardrobe.
They meet all kinds of creatures including talking animals, mythological beasts, dwarfs, and the evil White Witch.
They eventually join Aslan the Lion, the True King, in battling the Witch and freeing Narnia from her evil grasp….
This story is only one in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” a series of seven books that tell the history of Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe offers more than meets the eye of the casual reader.
Beneath the surface of this story is the story within the story…
We discover so much as we think about this story…
We discover the the light of Christmas…
You see in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Narnia is held in bondage under the spell of the evil White Witch who has rendered it “always winter and never Christmas.”
There hadn’t been a Christmas for a hundred years…..Narnia needed to discover and experience the light of Christmas…and so do we.
The light of Christmas…
· Faith
· Hope
· Love
· Joy
Today we will begin to look beneath the surface of this story and Discover and experience the light of Christmas…Faith
You see within us is desire to go further in…to take the next step in the journey of faith.
Some of you come to this Christmas season…feeling like it is “always winter and never Christmas.”
You’ve not experienced the magic of Christmas in long time.
And there’s gotta be more to life than this cold, bland, predictable existence called your life.
[Give examples of boredom with life…
Joyless job
Mundane marriage
Failing finances
Fractured family]
You’re right…there is.
Christmas time reminds us of our need to respond to God with steps of faith…to the mystery and majesty of Christmas…the impossible…the unimaginable…Christ’s incarnation.
How can we discover the light of Christmas…again…the light of Christmas faith?
Discover the light of Christmas faith by…
1. Looking at pictures of faith
I love to look at pictures.
Pictures have a way of speaking to me…and you.
Someone has said…Pictures are worth a thousand words.
I believe that is true.
You see, some pictures make us:
· laugh,
· happy,
· inspire us
· sad,
· cry,
I want to show you some pictures that will encourage us… to walk by faith.
There are two pictures that we need to see today to encourage us to walk by faith.
First of all let’s…
· Look at a picture of Lucy
Lucy is the youngest in the family but the first to find a way into Narnia.
It is no accident—she is the one who’s the most curious and open and willing.
Listen to how it happened…
[Read excerpt from book pp. 5-7]
Lucy is a picture of faith.
As this picture of faith develops over time we see several things.
Because of her simple faith…she is picked on by her brother…Edmund.
But in the end she is crowned Queen Lucy the Valiant.
She was honored for her childlike faith.
This is the same attitude that Jesus honors.
One day when Jesus was asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven…he did something very puzzling.
Matt 18 records for us what He did…
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:1-4 NIV
From Jesus’ perspective, it takes the humility of a child to grasp what His Kingdom is all about.
Jesus emphasizes to his self-centered disciples the importance of a humble and sincere heart.
His disciples were demonstrating childish faith by being self-centered and arguing about who is the greatest in the Kingdom.
Jesus turned their attention away from childish faith to childlike faith.
C.S. Lewis also puts a spotlight on the importance of childlike faith as portrayed by Lucy in this story.
Less than one month before he died in 1963, C.S. Lewis wrote the following letter to a young girl who wanted to know if any other Narnia books were going to be produced.
It turned out to be a fond and fitting farewell to all of his devoted readers.
Dear Ruth,
Many thanks for your kind letter, and it was very good of you to write and tell me that you like my books; and what a very good letter you write for your age!
If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope that you may always do so.
I'm so thankful that you realized the "hidden story" in the Narnia books. It is odd, children nearly always do, grown-ups … hardly ever.
I'm afraid the Narnia series has come to an end, and am sorry to tell you that you can expect no more.
God bless you.
Yours sincerely,
C.S. Lewis
Think about what Lewis is saying here…
“I'm so thankful that you realized the "hidden story" in the Narnia books. It is odd, children nearly always do, grown-ups … hardly ever.”
Many times we grow up as adults and lose sight of the importance of childlike faith….we become proud and cold and hard to the kingdom of God.
When we do Jesus says look at the picture of a child…someone like Lucy so we can see the kind of faith God wants us to have.
There is another picture that will help to encourage us.
Let’s…
• Look at a picture of Mary
One of my favorite pictures of Mary is found in Luke 1.
It is a picture of young teenage girl amazed by greatness and goodness.
The Angel of the Lord comes to her and tells her that she will give birth to Jesus.
Mary, being a virgin and pledged to marry Joseph is somewhat startled.
I want you to notice what she says…
Look with me at this picture in Luke 1:34…
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
Luke 1:34 NIV
Mary’s question is a logical question.
Her question is basically—How can I bear a child when I’ve never had relations with a man?
The Angel Gabriel answers her question in v. 35…
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
Luke 1:35-36 NIV
He reminds her…
For nothing is impossible with God."
Luke 1:37 NIV
Do you see what is happening here?
The moment of truth has arrived for her.
v. 38 says more about Mary than any other verse in the Bible…
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
Luke 1:38 NIV
It shows her courageous faith to surrender her life to God’s will for her life.
Mary’s believing response was to surrender herself to God as His willing servant.
This is a familiar picture but powerful picture…because it is a compelling picture of faith.
Think about it…Mary yielded her self to the Lord and His plan for her life knowing full well that she would experience shame and misunderstanding.
Remember she is a virgin engaged to Joseph.
What would people think?
What would people say?
What would people do?
It didn’t matter that her reputation and quite possibly her life would be in jeopardy---why?
Because of her courageous faith.
She was operating from a foundation of faith.
Therefore, it didn’t matter what others would say or do.
What mattered was what the Lord said He would do.
Courageous people inspire us and encourage us…
Rosa Parks is one of the most famous names in civil rights history.
In 1955, Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white man. She was arrested for her defiance.
In her book Quiet Strength, Parks writes:
“When I sat down on the bus that day, I had no idea history was being made—I was only thinking of getting home. But I had made up my mind. After so many years of being a victim of the mistreatment my people suffered, not giving up my seat—and whatever I had to face afterwards—was not important. I did not feel any fear sitting there. I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. It was time for someone to stand up—or in my case, sit down. So I refused to move.”
Are you beginning to get the picture of what it means to walk by faith?
Some pretty compelling pictures, huh?
But, pictures aren’t enough.
We Discover the light of Christmas faith by…
1. Looking at pictures of faith
But we also Discover the light of Christmas faith by…
2. Knowing the principles of faith
From these pictures we find some principles for becoming a person of faith.
Three you need to know…
· It takes Childlike faith to seek God’s kingdom
Back to the words of Jesus…
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:3-4 NIV
Why does he say that?
What are the characteristics of children?
They are trusting.
They know they don’t know everything…(at least most of them.)
They have not lost that sense of awe.
They still have that ability to keep on probing, seeking, asking questions, searching for the real thing, the something more.
If that has stopped, then we have lost that childlike awe to desire more of God, to know Him more.
Recently, third- and fourth-graders at Wheaton (IL) Christian Grammar School were asked to complete the following sentence: "By faith, I know that God is ..."
--"forgiving, because he forgave in the Bible, and he forgave me when I went in the road on my bike without one of my parents" (Amanda).
--"providingful, because he dropped manna for Moses and the people, and he gave my dad a job" (Brandon).
--"caring, because he made the blind man see, and he made me catch a very fast line drive that could have hurt me. He probably sent an angel down" (Paul).
--"merciful, because my brother has been nice to me for a year" (Jeremy).
--"faithful, because the school bill came, and my mom didn't know how we were going to pay it. Two minutes later, my dad called, and he just got a bonus check. My mom was in tears" (anonymous).
--"sweet, because he gave me a dog. God tells me not to do things that are bad. I need someone like that" (Hannah).
How would you complete the following sentence: "By faith, I know that God is ..."
[take a moment to complete]
You see when we get older we not only are prone to the hardening of arteries…we are prone to the hardening of attitudes.
Sometimes are lives resemble old clay.
We get hard and crusty.
We are content to sit on a shelf.
Someone has written the a poem about The Trouble with Old Clay
I took a piece of plastic clay,
And idly fashioned it one day.
And as my fingers pressed it still,
It moved and yielded to my will.
I came again when the days were passed,
And the bit of clay was hard at last.
The form I gave it still it bore,
But I could change that form no more.
I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day;
And molded with my power and art,
A young child's soft and yielding heart.
I came again when the days were gone,
It was a man I looked upon.
He still that early impress wore,
But I could change that form no more.
That happens to us sometimes as we get older…we are unyielding and hard and unchangeable.
We need to remember…God is the potter we are the clay…and we need to yield to his shaping and be sensitive to his design for our lives.
God develops a leader over a lifetime.
It takes childlike faith…to allow God to do his work in our lives.
Humility to say…I don’t know it all…
Trusting the Potter to make of us what He will.
A second principle of faith you need to know…
· It takes Confidence in the Author of our faith
In Heb 12:2 we read…
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:2 NIV
Jesus is the Author…He wrote the Story.
C.S. Lewis was a pretty amazing author
But he gave credit to the Ultimate Author
God is the Ultimate Author
He wrote your story.
Until you realize you were made by God and for God life won’t make sense.
But when you begin to connect the dots…that God loves you…God wants the very best for you…that God is for you…that God wants an intimate love relationship with you…my friend, that results in confidence.
Mary came to realize that…she didn’t understand everything…but that God was God…and she would serve Him.
She said Luke 1:38…
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
What was she saying?
“I am confident in You and Your plans for my life.”
She knew God’s story was the best story.
She knew there was a larger story…and she had a crucial role to play in it!
Have you made that connection?
You have a race to run…a story to live out… you are unique.
Heb 12:1
You see when we lose sight of the Author…life doesn’t make sense.
I recently read the story about the struggle of Agnostic Parents Sending their Child to Vacation Bible School
Author Stephen Dunn reported the reaction of two agnostic parents struggling with whether to send their little girl to the local vacation Bible school. They said:
“Soon it became clear to us: you can't teach disbelief to a child, only wonderful stories, and we didn't have a story nearly as good.
Evolution is devoid of heroes. You can't say to your child, "Evolution loves you."
The story stinks of extinction, and nothing exciting happens for centuries. I didn't have a wonderful story for my child.”
We have wonderful story…and behind that wonderful story is a wonderful author!
Have you made that connection?
You can have Confidence in the Author of our faith!
A third principle of faith you need to know…
· It takes Courage to take the next step
Mission is a declaration of war.
Just about everything discourages us against us walking by faith.
Sometimes its people…even family.
Circumstances…
Criticism…
Sickness…
Finances…
But from the picture of Mary and Lucy we see this principle: It takes Courage to take the next step
You can’t stay where you are and go with God.
God is continually calling us to take the next step of faith.
Like Mary and Lucy we need to realize the ramifications of walking by faith.
I think this is where many people lack courage to take the next step of faith.
This crisis of belief…of following God’s will for your life or shrinking back in fear.
You see a lot of people are people pleasers.
And a lot people become approval addicts.
They are afraid of what others will think of them or say about them.
We often buy into the lie that our self-worth is based on our performance and others’ opinions.
And the result is fear.
Fear of what others’ think immobilizes millions today.
Fear of others’ opinions…their criticism and rejection will keep you from becoming a person of faith.
Like Mary we need to move forward with courage when we know God wants us to do something.
Again look at her words in Lk 1:38
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
Lk 1:38 NIV
Like Lucy we need to open the door that is placed before us.
We play it safe…
But God says, “open the door…open your life to My will for your life.”
Regardless of what others may think of us.
Erwin McManus communicated this to his young son.
He tells this story…
“One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp.
I figured he wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares.
But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell ghost stories, because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead.
And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified.
"Dad, don't turn off the light!" he said before going to bed.
"No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I'm afraid. They told all these stories about demons."
And I wanted to say, "They're not real."
He goes, "Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?" I could feel it.
I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety.
I said, "Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room."
And he goes, "All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy."
Have you come to that place in your own life where you stop asking God to give you a safe life, and make you a dangerous follower of Jesus Christ?
You see, Faith is spelled R-I-S-K
When you follow God...you will be…
· Risking your reputation
· Risking rejection
· Risking some relationships
You say, why would I want to do that?
Because when you risk everything for the most important thing…a close relationship with God…you will live the life God has designed for you.
But it takes courage.
Pictures of faith and principles of faith are important but they aren’t enough…you need to take some practical steps.
We Discover the light of Christmas faith by…
1. Looking at pictures of faith
2. Knowing the principles of faith
We also Discover the light of Christmas faith by …
3. Taking a practical step of faith
We must be doers of the word and not hearers only.
From these pictures of faith and principles of faith….we find some practical steps of faith.
What is the next step of faith God is calling you to take?
Your next step of faith:
· Come and see
God is saying to some of you… Come and see.
Come and see what I want to do in your life…
o Come and see this movie…the Story within the story
o Come and see what small group I want you to be in
o Come and see all that I’m going to do in the next few weeks at this church
Your next step of faith:
· Go and tell
God is saying to you some of you …Go and tell
Like Lucy…Go and tell others that there I more to life than meets the eye…
There is door that God wants you to go through.
There is a land of adventure awaiting you.
God is the God of open doors.
Your next step of faith:
· Trust and obey
God is saying to you some of you … trust and obey
Some of you may be questioning what God is doing in your life.
And like Mary you may be thinking I don’t know how you are going to do it
But like Mary…just trust Him…He can and will do the impossible.
You see my friend, there is a larger story…and you have a crucial role to play in it!
Don’t settle for a cold, barren, faithless existence.
Step out in faith and step into the story God is writing for your life.
Questions to consider:
1. Which step of faith do you need to take?
· Circle one of the practical steps you believe God has illuminated for you today and wants you to take this Christmas
o Come and see
o Go and tell
o Trust and obey
2. Will you take that step of faith?
· Beside that step of faith tht you circled…I want you to write one word: Yes or No
Prayer: