A Miracle On Your Street

Intro:

Last week I announced we were going to kick off our Christmas Series today. I entitled the series Christmas at the Movies. I’m not sure how many of you got excited based on the title of the series, but I know of one person for sure that got excited, Krista, my wife, she sure is excited. I don’t know about you and your family what traditions you have during this season, but my wife ever since we were married has been trying to start a tradition in our family. She loves Christmas. In the next few days or at least by next week we will go get a real Christmas tree, I will even lay on the ground and cut it. Then it will stay up until at least January 2nd, if she had her way it probably wouldn’t come down until there was no more snow. She has been trying to start a Christmas movie tradition. In the past I have dodged the bullet of watching Christmas movies until the week of Christmas, not this year. This year I began watching Christmas movies the week before Thanksgiving. My boycotting of the Hallmark channel has come to an end. So today we launch Christmas at the Movies starting with Miracle on Your St. Highlighting Miracle on 34th St.

John 1:1–18 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

The Concept of The Incarnation Is Inspirational

The concept of the incarnation,the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form, that “the Word became flesh” (v. 14)—is such a strange and radical idea that it’s no wonder how contested the idea has been across history. The Jewish people were constituted as a people by being “set apart” from the nations. The word holy means to be set apart. They understood God’s holiness because they were constantly practicing what holiness looked like, and it looked like separation from unholiness. The idea that God would come to earth as a human child and take on the plights and sufferings of his broken world was a difficult concept to swallow. The Christmas season is an important time to talk about this belief we hold to of the incarnation, and its implications, especially to a world that is weary of Christians ignoring the physical world.

Dwelling Among US To Inspire Us

The classic Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street paints a picture of just how significant incarnation is. When the real Santa Claus ends up getting a job working as a Santa in a department store, he inspires belief all across New York, even inciting a court case that seeks to rule on his validity as Santa Claus. More than any kind of “magic,” it’s his interactions with children and his care for their real needs that inspires belief. He signs for a deaf girl, he listens to the earnest needs of a child wanting a father, he is simply with children in a time of year when they are often ignored in the busyness. doesn’t give us any of the stories in the rest of the Gospels about how Jesus treats people with such care and attention, but it focuses on the theological backing we have for understanding the incarnation. He “made his dwelling among us” (v. 14) and came as the “true light that gives light to everyone” (v. 9).

Just as Kris Kringle burst into the lives of everyone he encountered at the department store, Jesus came bursting into the world as life and light like we had never experienced before. “As light ‘shines’ (present tense for the first time) in the darkness, so Jesus brought the revelation and salvation of God to humanity in its fallen and lost condition. He did this in the Incarnation. As the word of God brought light to the chaos before Creation, so Jesus brought light to fallen humankind when He became a man. Furthermore, the light that Jesus brought was superior to and stronger than the darkness that existed—both physically and spiritually” (Thomas Constable, Notes on John [Sonic Light, 2017], 19).

The Incarnation Inspires Faith In Us

This passage also reminds us that this season is not just a celebration of Christ’s coming but an opportunity for the world to believe the truth and trust in Jesus. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (v. 17). Jesus came and offered a new means of relating to the God of the universe, one determined by faith we couldn’t muster on our own and grace we don’t deserve. Like Kris Kringle said in defense of his inability to prove himself, “If you can’t accept anything on faith, then you are doomed for a life dominated by doubt.” In the midst of a broken world dominated by doubt, Jesus came to earth to offer faith to people desperate for it.

The glorious message of Christmas and the incarnation is this: God has been working behind the scenes in ways you didn’t expect. The incarnation is not about degrading the way God related to his people before Jesus’s birth but about celebrating God’s perfect plan across history. “What God showed Himself to be through His revelation in the Law, so now Jesus shows Himself to be through the Incarnation. And what was the Law? It was not handcuffs, but God’s pointed finger, graciously marking out to the redeemed the path of life and fellowship with Him [cf. ]. The point of

John 1:17 NIV

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

is not 'Then bad, now good'; the point is rather, 'Then, wonderful! And now, better than ever!'” (Ronald B. Allen, “Affirming Right-of-Way on Ancient Paths,” Bibliotheca Sacra 153, no. 609 [January-March 1996]: 10).

is not 'Then bad, now good'; the point is rather, 'Then, wonderful! And now, better than ever!'” (Ronald B. Allen, “Affirming Right-of-Way on Ancient Paths,” Bibliotheca Sacra 153, no. 609 [January-March 1996]: 10).

A Miracle on Your Street

God gives us the most incredible gift, Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, comes to the earth and takes on human flesh. Some may ask why is Jesus coming in the form of man such an incredible gift? Just as Santa can relate to every child, knowing who has been naughty and who has been nice, knowing the wants and desires of each child. It is the same with Jesus coming in the form of man, Jesus gives us hope and faith. We can have confidence in our salvation. Even though we live in a time where it seems dark, we have light. When we encounter hopeless situations we can offer hope. Why can we offer light in the dark, hope in hopelessness, and confidence during times of trouble and doubt? Because we serve a God who has experienced life and because He experienced life He can relate to us, knowing our struggles, our worries, our temptations, and even our joys. I received a call from a friend last week whose son has been struggling with an addiction. My friend goes to a different church. He says to me I took him to my pastor and my son wasn’t able to receive what my pastor was offering, because my pastor has never went through addiction or dealt much with addiction. He asked could you chat with my son, you’ve been there he might listen to you. Of course I said yes. At the end of the conversation his son chose to go get help. My point is: if Jesus doesn’t come in the form of man we would struggle to have faith that God understands our situation, and if God doesn’t understand our situation, how can we trust that His way is best. Jesus is the most incredible gift we could have ever recieved.

How far are you willing to go? Would you put your reputation on the line? Would you be willing to face imprisonment? Would you be willing to give your life?

I find it amazing that a movie like a Miracle on 34th Street would cause me to cry. As I sat on the couch I began to wonder why in the world am I crying? I began to realize that I was crying because of the joy I had, that someone would not shun the deaf child, that someone would listen to the needs of others and give hope. Then I thought I have more than what this silly fictitious movie has to offer, I have Jesus Christ.

Take a look at this clip.

Let’s lead people to Jesus. Just like the woman, we too can miss the needs of others, in the clip Santa meets the deaf girl’s needs, we may not know what others need, but Jesus does, so let’s point and lead people to Jesus.

It’s time we, as followers of Christ, start doing the inspiring. Let’s do our part, it’s not up to Hollywood to be the only ones inspiring people. Let’s be the city on a hill, a light in the darkness. Let’s ignite our streets with revival.

My challenge to you during the greatest season the world has ever experienced is to inspire those around you. More than just the Christian lingo you use, inspire those near you with how you interact with them and how you care for them. It’s not how we dress and look that inspires people to believe, it’s how we care for their needs that inspires people to believe.

My challenge to you during the greatest season the world has ever experienced is to inspire those around you. More than just the Christian lingo you use, inspire those near you with how you interact with them and how you care for them. It’s not how we dress and look that inspires people to believe, it’s how we care for their needs that inspires people to believe.