The Significance and Singularity of Christmas

In one paragraph

This message, preached in the Advent season, focused on what makes Christmas singular among all the world's religious observances and why Jesus is the only figure in human history who is both willing and able to save. The pastor worked through Matthew 1:18-25 and connected it to the Lord's Supper, which the congregation celebrated together. the pastor opened by noting something straightforward but...

Read together

1. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Read as part of the Advent candle lighting: 'Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.'
2. Matthew 1:18-25 Read in full from the New Living Translation as the primary text for the sermon on the birth of Jesus
3. Matthew 1:21 Cited specifically: 'You are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins'
4. Luke 19:10 Quoted as words of Christ: 'The Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost'
5. Romans 3:23 Referenced to affirm that all have sinned and none is righteous
6. Isaiah 53 Quoted via Peter and noted as written 750 years before Christ: 'He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth' and burial with the rich and wicked
7. 1 Peter 2:22-23 Cited as Peter's testimony that Jesus 'committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth'
8. 2 Corinthians 5:21 Cited as Paul saying God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him
9. 1 Corinthians 11:27 Warning about eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
10. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Read in full as the institution of the Lord's Supper during the communion portion of the service
11. 1 Corinthians 11:28 Referenced: 'Let a man examine himself and so in this manner let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup'
12. 1 Corinthians 11:29-32 Referenced regarding eating and drinking judgment, weakness and sickness in the church, and God's chastening of those He loves

Talk about it

1. Pastor Mark pointed out that all major world religions acknowledge that humans have a sin problem, but that acknowledging the problem is different from being able to solve it. Where do you see people around you trying to solve the sin problem on their own, and how does that play out?
2. The grandmother who jumped in to save the drowning child was willing but not able. What does it mean to you personally that Jesus is both willing and able to save, and how does that distinction change the way you think about coming to Him?
3. Pastor Mark walked through several world religious leaders, Buddha, Muhammad, the Dalai Lama, Baha'u'llah, and noted that none of them claimed sinlessness, while Jesus did and had that claim confirmed by those around Him including Judas and Pilate. Why do you think sinlessness matters so much when it comes to who can actually save us?
4. During the communion reflection, Pastor Mark brought up the idea that unforgiveness is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die. Is there someone in your life right now toward whom you are holding unforgiveness, and what would it look like to bring that to the Lord's table?
5. Michael Green's framework from the sermon was: look back, look in, look up, look around, look forward, and look outward. Which of those six directions is hardest for you right now, and why?