Narnia: Aslan Series

“Aslan!”

12/18/05 – John Laeger

#3 in series “Narnia: More Than A Fantasy”

I. Introduction

a. ATTENTION GETTER

i. Famous Lions (put pictures up on screen and have people guess)

1. Cowardly Lion (Wizard of Oz)

2. Mufasa (Lion King)

3. Snagglepuss (“Heavens to Murgatroid!”)

4. Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion (Daktari)

5. Kitty-Kat (Adams Family)

ii. But maybe none more famous than…(video clips of Aslan)

iii. Aslan (picture)

1. “aslan” = Turkish word for “lion”

2. Aslan is the Great Lion, Lord of Narnia and all its creatures, Son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea.

3. Only Aslan can save Narnia from the power of the White Witch.

4. While it may appear for awhile that the White Witch has power over Aslan…

a. It is only because Aslan is choosing to allow the White Witch to be in control at that moment.

b. But not even the White Witch has power over Aslan.

5. Aslan eventually frees Narnia from Eternal Winter.

b. TRANSITION

i. Friends … this is more than just a fantasy…

ii. Hila, an eleven year old girl from the U.S. wrote C.S. Lewis a question about Aslan and his name and if he was Jesus…

iii. C.S. Lewis answered … “As to Aslan’s other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the great Emperor. (3.) gave himself up for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb.... Don’t you really know His name in this world. Think it over and let me know your answer!”

iv. Almost a rhetorical question – of course the answer is “Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind”

v. One week from today we will celebrate the birth of Jesus…

1. God became man – born in that manger in Bethlehem – you know the story

2. Born to be a sacrifice

3. Born to die

vi. It is one thing to think of Jesus as a child born in a manger. It is another to think of this baby born in that manger as a lion.

II. Aslan and Jesus

a. CHRIST CALLED A LION – WHY?

i. In both the O.T. & N.T., Jesus is referred to as a “lion”

1. Hosea 11:10 (NIV) “They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.”

2. Rev. 5:5 (NIV) “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

ii. Why is He called a “lion”?

iii. Well, how would you describe a lion?

1. Lions are powerful, dangerous, majestic, a symbol of royalty.

2. Are these not the same words you would use to describe Jesus?

3. Are these not the same words that even the Bible uses to help us understand who Jesus is?

iv. Psalm 29:4 (NIV) “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.”

v. Psalm 93:1 (NLT) “The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.”

b. HIS POWER

i. An adult male lion – Aslan – is an extremely powerful creature…

1. Can kill a zebra with one bite and break a zebra’s backbone with one blow

2. His roar can be heard up to 5 miles away and when he puts his mouth close to the ground and roars it sounds like thunder

3. Run 35 mph and can jump 36 feet horizontally & 12 ft vertically

4. His tongue is so rough that it literally shreds the meat off bones (let THAT cat lick your face!)

ii. He is powerful and fearsome …

iii. In the book there is a dialogue between the children and Mr. & Mrs. Beaver about Aslan where you get a glimpse of his power…

1. “Is-is he a man?”, asked Lucy.

2. “Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the king of the wood and the son of the great Emporer-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know what is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion.”

3. “Ooh!” said Susan. “Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

4. “That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

5. “Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

6. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.”