Narnia: The Wardrobe Series

**Drama: NARNIA Intro: Are you into that?

Well Good morning. Obviously from that, you know that we are starting our new three week Christmas series today. The Chronicles of Narnia. We want to spend the next three weeks before the Holidays exploring a world that is always winter but never Christmas.

Sounds like an awful place doesn’t it? But that is the world that this Thursday, Disney will bring to life with their movie version of the book written by C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (show picture of the book’s cover p.p.)

For those of you who are have never heard of this book. It was written in the 1950’s and as of this year has sold approximately 86 million copies world wide. Disney has invested around 150 million dollars in making the movie version and has said they are almost sure it will be one of their biggest blockbusters of all time.

The reason we are doing this series however is not just because it will be a great movie. We are doing this series because the story is an allegory of the teachings of the Bible. And so for the next 3 Sundays. We want to take you behind the scenes and show you what C.S. Lewis was trying to say with The Lion the witch and the Wardrobe.

And so this morning I invite you to get out a pen and a piece of paper and take some notes. I invite you to grab a Bible and open to page ________; Matt 1. And now I invite you to go behind the scenes with me and explore the world of Narnia.

But before we start I need to do one more thing. I need to invite God to be the teacher.

Pray

About 6 months ago I went to my wife and said. I got a great idea for a Christmas series. Let’s do the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. My wife looked at me and went: “What? What is that and what does it have to do with Christmas?”

And I suddenly realized there are people in this world who have never read the book or seen the terrible BBC movie version of Narnia. And my wife is one of them. So as we start I need to get us all on the same page.

So that means this:

I now get the perverse and satisfying pleasure of ruining part of the movie for you by telling some of the details of the story. (Don’t worry I won’t give it all away.)

The book is about four children (Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy) who encounter an old English wardrobe while playing hide and go seek. **PP

The wardrobe however in no ordinary clothes closet, when the children step through the door they enter a parallel universe. The world of Narnia to be exact.

Now let me tell you a little about Narnia: **PP

It is a strange place where animals talk, and dwarves, werewolves, giants, and other strange creatures roam the forests.

Originally, it was a beautiful and amazing place, ruled by a great king named Aslan the lion. **PP

Aslan however, leaves Narnia and goes on a long journey. And while he is away an evil white witch takes over and casts a spell on everything, turning the land into a permanent winter where it is always freezing but never Christmas. **PP

Any creature that tries to stop her, she turns to stone. So everyone hides cold and afraid and miserable. **PP

There is but one hope for this weird parallel world. And that is that Aslan the king will return, and destroy the witch, and bring warmth and sunshine and life once again to this place.

Pretty strange story huh.

Parallel worlds. Talking animals. Evil witches who wreck place. Kings who are far from their realm, but promise to return and make the world right.

Sounds kind of hard to believe doesn’t it. I mean, who would believe that kind of nonsense?

Except that that is the same kind of stuff you encounter when you open up the Bible. The Bible like the wardrobe is a door to a parallel world. When you walk through its pages you discover a very real supernatural world.

Check it out for a second. Just let me show you what happens when you when you open up the door of scripture and walk into its world.

You encounter a ruler who exists and is good.

Ps 145:8-9 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. NIV

When you walk through the portal of Scripture you suddenly discover there is a God and he is good. The Bible never debates God’s existence instead it just goes: Well Duh. Of Course God exists and he is good!