Christmas Day (3)

In one paragraph

This Christmas morning message brought together three weeks of seasonal teaching before returning to Romans in the new year. The pastor walked through Matthew 2, the visit of the wise men and the flight into Egypt, holding two threads all the way through: that God works on time and on purpose, and that the people he uses respond with simple obedience. A detour through Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel...

Read together

1. Galatians 4:4-5 quoted as the 'on time and on purpose' text about the fullness of time, God sending His Son born of a woman born under the law to redeem and give adoption as sons
2. Matthew 1:1 the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, used to introduce the 42-name lineage
3. Matthew 1:18-25 read to describe Mary found with child by the Holy Spirit, Joseph's resolve to divorce her quietly, the angel's dream command, and Joseph's simple obedience in naming Jesus
4. Matthew 2:1-15 read as the main Christmas text covering the wise men, Herod's inquiry, the star, worship of the child, flight into Egypt
5. Micah 5:2 quoted by the chief priests telling Herod that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem, a shepherd-ruler coming from Judah
6. Matthew 2:16-23 read covering Herod killing the male children two and under, the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy, return from Egypt, and settling in Nazareth
7. Jeremiah 31:15 quoted as fulfilled in Rachel weeping for her children after Herod's slaughter of the innocents
8. Jeremiah 31:31 noted as the same chapter containing the new covenant promise of God writing His law on hearts of flesh
9. John 3:17 paraphrased that God did not send the Son into the world to judge but so the world might be saved through Him
10. Matthew 25:31-46 read in full as the final judgment passage separating sheep and goats based on care for the least of these, connected to the Michelangelo Last Judgment painting
11. John 21:15-17 alluded to in the exchange 'Simon, do you love me... feed my sheep, feed my lambs' as an example of obedience as God's love language
12. John 14:15 quoted briefly as 'if you love me, keep my commandments' in the discussion of obedience as God's love language
13. 1 Corinthians 1:18 paraphrased near the close: the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes
14. 2 Corinthians 13:11 quoted as the benediction: rejoice, aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you

Talk about it

1. The pastor pointed to Joseph's simple obedience, noting that Joseph had already made up his mind to divorce Mary quietly before God redirected him. Is there a situation in your own life where you had a reasonable plan but felt God pressing you toward something different? How did you respond?
2. The sermon described God drawing the wise men through astronomy, a language they already understood, rather than through the Jewish scriptures. What does that suggest about the ways God might be reaching out to people around you who are far from Him?
3. The pastor connected the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem to ongoing loss of innocent life today. How does sitting with the grief in that passage, Rachel weeping and refusing to be comforted, shape the way you think about those realities rather than looking past them?
4. Gary's observation was that obedience seems to be the love language God understands, pointing to 'if you love me, keep my commandments' and 'feed my sheep.' Where do you sense an impression from God right now that fear or selfishness is keeping you from acting on?
5. The pastor moved from the manger in Matthew 2 all the way to the final judgment in Matthew 25, arguing that every person we meet is either ascending or descending. How does holding that second advent in view actually change the weight you give to everyday interactions and conversations?