Christmas Is Real! Series

Christmas is Real – Jesus is Real – therefore you do not have to be alone! This is the School Christmas Program Message tonight!

You see the phrase "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 and it prefaces the story as not being true or historical.

Illustration: If you have ever seen the movie “The Titanic” the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio – we have a story which would start with “Once upon a Time” the movie is not about real people or real life events in connection with the true historical story of the Titanic – it is written for this Hollywood movie – but there is a story about the Titanic that does NOT start with “Once upon a time.”

Story of John Harper: This true story was about a person who was really on board the Titanic the night it hit the iceberg. His name was John Harper, and he was on the ship with his daughter Nana – He was a widow, and his daughter was 6 at this time. John was on his way to Chicago to speak at Moody Bible College. John was a Scottish pastor from a church in Glasgow. John recognized the reality of this moment as an eternal threshold, and he wanted to make sure everyone knew about a real-life person and his true story – The person he started talking to people about on the sinking ship was Jesus!

When the ship began to sink, Harper, traveling second class, handed his daughter to an officer on an upper deck, who put her into a lifeboat. He told her he would see her again one day in Heaven! He then began to help those on his deck. Others were doing this as well, but Harper’s assistance was unique because of his instructions, heard over and over during the chaos: “Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats first. Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats first.” John Harper recognized the moment as the threshold of eternity. He was ready to face God, but knew that many on board were not. As a minister, Harper’s lips had often declared God’s love for the lost. Now his life jacket declared it as an ultimate act. When he came upon a man without a life jacket (in the water), Harper took off his own and put it on the man. Later, floating in the emptiness of the dark chilling waters, a survivor came within sight of a man struggling to stay afloat. It was John Harper. Rather than asking for help, Harper called out to the man, “Are you saved?” “No,” came the answer. “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,” Harper said. The man’s reply was one of silence as they drifted out of sight of one another. A little later, the man spied Harper again, and again Harper called out to him. “Are you saved now?” Again the answer, “No, I can’t honestly say that I am.” Again the refrain, weaker but still clear, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Then silence, as John Harper slipped below the surface and into the arms of God. Later, in a meeting in Ontario, Canada, the survivor stood up and told this story. He ended with these words: “Shortly after he went down, and there, alone in the night with two miles of water under me, I believed.”

Thesis: If you believe in the story of Jesus as a historical account you will discover for yourself the person of Jesus – John Harper had discovered Him – the one survivor discovered Jesus to be real – You too can discover that He is real – yes - that He is personal - He will meet you right where you are at – even in the middle of the Atlantic in frigid waters on a sinking ship. He will also meet you here on top of this hill at this school performance tonight.

The best part of discovering that Jesus story does not start with “Once Upon a time” is the discovery of this real person (God in the flesh) and the truth that – He wants to have a real relationship with you. How many here tonight have experienced Jesus as being real – raise your hand.

Point: You see Christmas is not about fairytales, or nice stories with morals but it is about Jesus! The truth is if you accept Jesus as your Lord - you will quickly discover that you never have to do life alone! Why? Because Jesus is personal and real!

If you read the 4 accounts of Jesus life called the “Gospel’s” you don’t hear the words “Once upon a Time” in their beginnings!