If Scrooge Could Change Than There Is Hope For You Too! Series

A CLASSIC CHRISTMAS:

IF SCROOGE COULD CHANGE,

THEN THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU TOO!

2 Corinthians 5:17

INTRODUCTION:

A. Once a Scrooge, always a Scrooge–right?

1. After all, An old dog cannot learn new tricks–or, at least that’s what we say

a. I want to explore the question this morning: Is it really possible for a person to change–and change for the better?

b. Is it possible for YOU to change?

c. READ: 2 Corinthians 5:16-20

B. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens leads us to believe that a person really can change–a person can turn over a new leaf and make a fresh start

1. The main character in this novel is none other than Ebenezer Scrooge

a. While he is not what you might call an evil man, he’s certainly not a very inviting fellow either

b. You might say that he was uncaring, self-centered, greedy, tight-fisted, miserly

c. The only thing that Ebenezer Scrooge cared about what how he was going to make his next quid

QUOTE> Listen to the way Dickens describes Ebenezer Scrooge:

"No warmth could warm him, no wintry weather could chill him. No wind that blew was more bitter than he. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did."

ILL> At one point in the story, his nephew Fred stops by to wish him a merry Christmas. That’s where those famous words were spoken, "Bah, humbug."

ILL> In another scene two gentlemen stop by to ask for a donation to help the poor during the holidays. They even offer to keep Scrooge’s gift anonymous if he wishes.

"What I wish is to be left alone. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry."

They reply, "Then many will die."

"If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."

d. Not many in the world cared for Ebenezer Scrooge, but worse yet, he cared for no one but himself.

C. You know the story, how on Christmas Eve he is visited by 3 ghosts or spirits

1. The spirit of Christmas past showed a happier time when Ebenezer fell in love, but chose to invest himself in making riches instead of relationships

2. The spirit of Christmas present showed him the down and out in the world and how Bob Crachits family struggled to make ends meet–and there were others who were unable to do so altogether

3. Finally, the spirit of Christmas yet to come

a. Tiny Tim had passed because there were no funds to cure his ailing body

b. Ebenezer died, but no one seemed to care

c. Finally, he is faced with his own grave.

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D. So, is it really possible for a person to change–and change for the better?

1. Charles Dickens seems to think so

2. More than that, God says that it is possible–and it is required if we want to spend eternity with Him

a. READ: 2 Corinthians 5:17

I> CHANGE

A. if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation

1. What Paul is talking about here is change

2. Life is full of change--All of us go through some natural changes in our lives

a. Babies eventually learn to crawl and walk

b. Young people grow up into responsibility and dependability

c. When you reach middle age, your middle start to reach out to you

d. When you hit those senior years you might have a few more aches and pains, may not be able to remember things as well

ILL> I heard about an 80-year-old couple who kept forgetting everything. They went to their doctor who told them it would help if they wrote things down.

That night the old man got up to go into the kitchen and his wife asked him if he could bring her a bowl of ice cream. "Sure," he said.

"Maybe you better write it down."

"I think I can remember that!"

"But I want strawberries on it and I know you’re going to forget it."

"I don’t need to write it down. I can remember ice cream with strawberries."

"Well, I also want whipped cream on top, and I really think you should write all of this down."

At this point the old man was down right mad, told his wife he could remember it all, and headed into the kitchen. About twenty minutes later he comes out of the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at it for a minute an says, "I told you you should write it down. You forgot my toast."

3. However, those are natural changes that we have little or no control over