Christmas Present Series

Opening Video Illustration: Bluefishtv: “The Greatest Story Ever Told”

Thoughts on video – Is this not a miracle – the repeating over and over of the great story of Jesus birth? Think about it! All over this world people in different languages will read the Christmas Story this week – people will hear the miracle message in about every language telling this great story of Jesus birth. What a miracle!

Series: Christmas Miracles

Scripture Texts for Series:

Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

1 John 4:9: "This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him."

Acts 4:12: “Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”

As I read the Bible, Matthew, Luke and Acts I see the Apostles and disciples of Jesus being used by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles to testify to the authority and the healing power found in the name of Jesus. I see the importance of miracles in verifying that Jesus is who He said He was. Miracles always point to the authenticity and authority of Jesus. When Jesus was born – many miracles surrounded His birth 5 to be exact. These miracles all testify to 3 time frames Who He was (past) - Who He is (present) - and Who He will be (future)!

Thesis: The Bible reveals: Christmas past – Who Jesus was- all the way back to the Beginning and the first Christmas. It reveals Christmas present - who Jesus is present tense – which is Emmanuel - which means the God who is with us right now and the Bible reminds us that Christmas future is coming to this world and Jesus will return in His glory and majesty unlike as a baby in a manger – so we need to be ready and experience now the miracle of Christmas so we are ready.

Introduction:

As we look deeper into Christmas this month and the miracles surrounding this miraculous time of the year we see how it all got started with Jesus birth and many other divine miracles. The unveiling of the messiah was filled with miracles – God in the flesh in a little manger set in motion the salvation of all who believe. But as we continue to live through each Christmas in the present we still should be able to see the miracles of Christmas present – We should see the miracle that God is with us today – We should be able to see the intervention of the Lord in the lives of His people with present day miracles and the continuation of the message of Jesus birth and mission. Yes, God is with us is a key to discovering the current day message and miracles of Christmas. We will learn that Christmas past and it’s miracles signify “God with us” and it should make our present Christmas miraculous. It is important to know that miracles are associated with Christmas and they always point to Jesus as our Messiah. Miracles of Christmas should open our eyes to see into the future and see Jesus clearer. The book of Revelation unveils and reminds us of who Jesus was, is and will be in the future! If you believe then more miracles are on the way!

Miracles:

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. It’s when God became Man in the flesh. Every other miracle prepares the way for this, or results from this miracle event. This is the key statement of the book Miracles, in which C. S. Lewis shows that a Christian must not only accept but rejoice in miracles as a testimony of the unique personal involvement of God in His creation. Using his characteristic lucidity and wit to develop his argument, Lewis challenges the rationalists, agnostics, and deists on their own grounds and provides a poetic and joyous affirmation that miracles really do occur in our everyday lives.

Christmas according to C.S. Lewis centers on the greatest miracle of which all miracles find their source and root and that is the incarnation of God through baby Jesus and His inception into this world.

“The fitness of the Christian miracles, and their difference from these mythological miracles, lies in the fact that they show invasion by a Power which is not alien. They are what might be expected to happen when she is invaded not simply by a god, but by the God of Nature: by a Power which is outside her jurisdiction not as a foreigner but as a sovereign. They proclaim that He who has come is not merely a king, but the King, her King and ours.” ? C.S. Lewis, Miracles