Narnia: Always Winter - Never Christmas Series

Today we begin a 3 week series based on C.S. Lewis’ best selling book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Narnia stories have sold over 85 million copies in 29 languages over last ½ century.

Summarize the book briefly

Fantasy is a huge part of Christmas -

Songs - Over the river and thru the woods - I’m dreaming of a white Christmas

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Memory - Ever try to buy a turkey as big as the one your mom cooked when you were a kid?

Endless cookies supply- food - dessert - presents

Images - lights - trees, all the senses set aflame

Our world is fascinated with other worlds

We were custom built to appreciate wonder and mystery - the Bible speaks of the mystery

See I Cor. 2:6-10 and Duet. 29:29

1. We were Created to hunger for another world

The passage from our world into Narnia was a wardrobe. The children were playing hide and seek when Lucy discovers upon the Wardrobe. It wasn’t something Lucy was searching for, she stumbled upon it, and once she got to the other world of Narnia - she wasn’t clear on how to return.

While Lucy wasn’t looking for another world, she was looking - she was curious

Gift of second sight, the Bible calls it faith - Allow your curiosity to lead you into the mystery

What Lucy stumbles onto is a cold winter world - a world that is always winter and never Christmas, a world ruled by a stern ruthless white witch.

2. Jesus meets us in our dark world Matt. 1:18 - 2:18 into a dark world came baby Jesus

Listen carefully to the following well known Bible verses - listen this time for Mystery and for Danger

Read Matt. 1:18-2:18 out loud, have people spot elements of danger or of mystery

Jesus was born at a crucial time in history, though it seems so unimportant to us

In the darkest times, the ruthless king who killed his family - into that dark night Jesus was born Days of Herod the king

In the world of Narnia - Aslan - the Son of the Emperor - returns and brings with him Spring! More importantly - he brings Life to those turned to stone by the white witch. That’s what happens when Narnia intersects Aslan - what do we call it when the world intersects Jesus?

3. The world calls that intersection Christmas!

Into this winter of Jewish history, prophets have been silent for hundreds of years, life itself has been dominated by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks and now Rome. How did Jesus enter history - as a baby, helpless, vulnerable

There will always be bleak times, cruel rulers, but into those times enters Christmas

What does winter symbolize?

Why would God make it - don’t go marking trees to be cut down in winter

We don’t know what is ultimately useful in our lives during the hard times.

C. S. Lewis said - "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

Next Step

Always winter and never Christmas - that’s the life of many, we plan for a vacation or cruise once a year hoping to make up for 51 weeks of desperation, colorlessness, emptiness

Chesterton said that the strangest thing about being human is that we are strangers on earth

HEB 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

Maybe your next step is to embrace life in this new world by letting go:

Make plans today to invite a friend to attend the film with you opening week, and make sure you invite that friend to come and worship with you. - Name that person on your connection card and I promise to join you in prayer for that person this week.