The Unexpected Child Series

Series: Unexpected Christmas

Thesis of Series: Christmas season is filled with surprises and the unexpected twists and turns that come with this holiday season. The original Christmas season was also filled with surprises from Heaven and the unexpected twists and turns from God. God loves doing the unexpected – so we should learn to expect the unexpected from the Lord – He loves saying “surprise”! Maybe even the word “Tada!”

The Challenge for us this Christmas Season: “Can you decide to expect the unexpected from the Lord this season?” or let me word it this way “Are you willing to expect the unexpected because God is predictably unpredictable this Christmas Season?”

Let me also ask: “Are you praying to be surprised by Him?”

Summary:

We have learned about the unexpected news of Jesus conception by the Holy Spirit and all the challenges that went with this surprise for Mary and Joseph. We have talked about “Our Unexpected Part” in being a blessing this Christmas Season and last week we heard from Vernon of how Jesus was the “Unexpected Messiah.”

Sermon: Today we are going to center in on “The Unexpected Child.”

Thesis: God manifested himself personally through the baby Jesus. God choose through the power of love and grace to interact with us, and Jesus was the part of Him He sent. Jesus was the unexpected essence of God in the flesh filled with His power, presence and divinity but most people missed it.

Scripture Text: Philippians 2:9-11:

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Illustration from Marilyn Murphree at sermoncentral.com

In the movie “Talladega Nights” the race car driver Ricky Bobby asks the blessing over a family meal. He

said, “Dear Lord baby Jesus thank you for this bountiful meal from Dominos, KFC, and Taco Bell. But the

family objected to him praying to Tiny Baby Jesus and told him that Jesus was a man and he had a beard.

Ricky Bobby said it was his right to ask the blessing however he wanted to and that the Christmas baby

Jesus was the one he liked best. (Which Jesus do you like best?)

Then the family all chipped in as to how they pictured Jesus. Ricky Bobby’s sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, said they pictured him as a ninja fighting evil, another guest pictured him in a tuxedo tee shirt because he liked to party, Ricky Bobby pictured him as an 8 lb. 6 oz. baby in a manger because he liked the Christmas baby best. As the family squabble over how they thought Jesus looked, I (Marilyn) remembered a scripture in Luke 2:52 that “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men.”

The key thought for today is Jesus did not stay a tiny baby for long in the manger. But many people still look at the unexpected baby Jesus and miss who this baby really was and even is today!

Apparently, his ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). – The way Jesus was born really - I would have done it different – It would have been a huge deal – Jesus most likely would have come to earth in a glorious and powerful manner if I did it – but God likes doing the unexpected!

I. The unexpected child Jesus caught many people off guard!

a. The following thoughts are gleamed and adapted from - Unexpected Savior https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/come-thou-unexpected-jesus) We see Jesus breaking expectations throughout Scripture. Have you noticed this about Jesus and God the Father?

i. “Although the people expected the Messiah, the Son of David, to appear in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), they did not expect him to appear there as if by accident’ especially by fulfilling a census called for by a secular ruler.

1. The religious leaders would not have believed that God would use a secular ruler to fulfill Biblical prophecy. Nor would God have Jesus birthed (the Savior of the World) with Mary and Joseph – Joseph not being the father yet moved by a secular census to the right town to fulfill the 700 year old promise!

ii. “Although they expected the birth of a king, they certainly didn’t expect him to be born without dignity in a cave outside the city of David (Luke 2:4).

1. A king should have been born in palace – have you ever thought this is why the wise men went to see Herod the king – because maybe they thought this is where is a king is born not in a stable cave.