Narnia: Life In The Wardrobe Series

Today we begin a three-week series on the Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The background to the story is about a boy named Clive who lived in Belfast. At the age of five he decided he wanted to named Jack. After serving in WW1 he went on to become a professor at Oxford University. During WW2 and the bombings of London, parents sent their children out of town, and four children were sent to live in Oxford, Edington, to live with professor C.S. Lewis. There is some debate as to whether the children played in a wardrobe. ( A wardrobe is a piece of furniture that people used to hang clothes when there was no closet in the bedroom.)

After the war, C.S. Lewis wrote a story about four children who went to live with a professor during the war called The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Today I want to orient us to Narnia. The story takes place during WW2,

SLIDE – CHILDREN ON TRAIN

when four young children are sent to the country to live with an eccentric professor. Lucy, one of the children, discovers a wardrobe,

SLIDE – LUCY LOOKING INTO WARDROBE

which becomes a door to another world, the world of Narnia.

Lucy finds herself in Narnia. Narnia is a world that is in winter all the time,

SLIDE – LUCY WALKING THROUGH SNOW COVERED TREES

but there is no Santa Claus and no Christmas, because Narnia is under the evil grip of the White Witch. Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus.

SLIDE – MR. TUMNUS HIDING BEHIND TREE

Mr. Tumnus is a Faun (a man’s body, horns, pointed ears, and a goat’s tail). Mr. Tunmus tells her that only when two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam reign will the Queen be vanquished.

Lucy eventually returns from Narnia. No time has passed. At first her brothers and sisters don’t understand her and don’t believe that such a world exists, until they themselves pass through the wardrobe and enter into Narnia.

SLIDE – CHILDREN STANDING BY LIGHTPOST IN SNOW

As Narnia is a separate reality, and we live in a separate reality.

SLIDE – BACKGROUND ONLY

It is Christmas season, gifts to purchase, cards to get out.

Who has already sent out their Christmas cards? (raise hands)

Who hopes to get them out in the next week?

Who has decided that it is just too much of a hassle and is giving up no

Yet in the midst of this holiday season, gift giving frenzy, there is another reality.

SCRIPTURE SLIDE – JOHN 1:1-5

Read John 1:1-5

SLIDE BACKGROUND

There is an alternate reality that is going on this Christmas. It is not about toys, gift giving, office parties, joining together with family. It’s this world of Narnia. You will have to enter the wardrobe to see it. Or put another way, you will have to look at this Christmas season through the lens of Scripture. What does the Bible say about Christmas? How does this connect with this story of Narnia?

First question I want to ask:

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WILL YOU ENTER THE WARDROBE? Narnia is “REAL”

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It is winter (Narnia) – the world is in darkness

Winter but never Christmas.

It is always winter in Narnia. This is not the way it was created. In the same way the Bible says that the world is in darkness

Reality of darkness in the world

Slide

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:5

Word study: darkness

Evil in the world:

Terrorist attacks, injustice, Laci Peterson still on the Modesto Bee web site

We see this on TV – need to monitor children’s TV

Video games – xbox, playstation with parental control

Movies – some are wonderful, like Chronicles, still my youngest I will not take.

Person darkness –

The Bible gives a name to evil: Satan (like the White Witch in Narnia)

But the evil is also in us, sin.

We are known by our actions, but what about our thoughts?

What if we looked at a video of every thought I have ever had…

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Jesus came to bring light

In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. John 1:4 (TNIV)

Jesus: I am the light of the world

John 12:46 – I have come so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness

SLIDE

MR. BEAVER SPEAKING TO CHILDREN

MR. BEAVER’S STORY TO LUCY: ASLAN IS ON THE MOVE, SOMETHING JUMPED WITHIN THE CHILDEN WHEN THEY HEARD ASLAN’S NAME

Read pages 67-68

Here the Beaver’s voice sank into silence and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then signaling to the children to stand as close around it as they possibly could, so that their faces were actually tickled by its whiskers, it added in a low whisper – “They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.”