Life Without Beauty Series

WHAT IF JESUS HAD NEVER BEEN BORN?

LIFE WITHOUT BEAUTY

Exodus 31:1-5

S: Jesus’ Importance in all of Life

C: The essentiality of the Incarnation

Th: What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?

Pr: WE ARE INSPIRED BY JESUS TO DO THE BEAUTIFUL.

?: What? What are we inspired to do?

KW: Creative abilities

TS: We will find in our study four creative abilities certain ones have been given in order to make the beautiful.

Type: Propositional

The ____ creative ability is…

I. ARCHITECTURE

II. ART (PAINTING, SCULPTURE)

III. LITERATURE

IV. MUSIC

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• If creative, be creative to the glory of God.

• If not creative, encourage the gifts of creativity.

• To all, enjoy the story that inspires creativity.

Version: ESV

RMBC 25 December 05 AM

INTRODUCTION:

Our series this December has been asking this question…

1. What if it was always winter and never Christmas?

The movie, and the book that inspired it, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, makes a striking statement…

ILL Narnia – no Christmas

Lucy describes what the White Witch has done to the land of Narnia to her siblings, saying:

“She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas.”

Throughout this month, we have been thinking what our world would be like if we suffered from the same problem.

What would it be like if Christmas never happened?

What would it be like if Jesus never came?

What would it be like if we were left without the most wonderful and awesome example of gift-giving?

If Jesus had never been born, this would be a dull world indeed.

For the story of Jesus encourages us and gives us hope.

He is a difference maker.

For over the last two millennia, Jesus has inspired the best out of humanity.

In fact, when we truly appreciate the grace and new life Jesus gives us, it motivates us to give of our best.

2. WE ARE INSPIRED BY JESUS TO DO THE BEAUTIFUL (Exodus 31:1-5).

I want us to note this Christmas morning that God has gifted certain individuals with amazing talents.

This was evident, even in Old Testament times…

The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.”

Notice how Bezalel is described…

…filled with the Spirit

…skill

…intelligence

…craftsmanship

…expertise.

It is fair to say, I believe, that this passage demonstrates that God is very much into art.

And it makes sense.

God’s creation is full of beauty.

And we, being created in His image, have been also given the ability to create.

This means that we make a mistake to not emphasize the fine arts.

It is a mistake that the evangelical church too often makes, for as Franky Schaeffer once stated, we are “addicted to mediocrity.”

When Jesus came to earth, new inspiration came to those that were gifted in the arts.

For temporarily, the Infinite became finite and observable to the human eye.

And art has never been the same.

So…

3. We will find in our study four creative abilities certain ones have been given in order to make the beautiful.

OUR STUDY:

I. The first creative ability is ARCHITECTURE.

As the church grew in the first millennium, they moved out of their houses and built public places of worship, not unlike what the Old Testament believer had done with the temple and synagogue.

First there were the basilicas, and then the cathedrals.

The idea was always to demonstrate the unearthly splendor of God.

These became marvelous achievements in stone and glass that were extremely elaborate.

Whenever you go into a cathedral, you realize the architecture has one purpose.

In delighting the eyes and senses, every day they point toward God.

Visually, they communicate the splendor and grandeur of God.

Our building is not a cathedral, and our sanctuary is not detailed.

In fact, the architects made its design and simple to direct our thoughts to the priority of God’s Word and direct our hearing for a fullness of sound with the music.

Yet, if you walk into the room, there is a solemnity involved if you will pause to receive it.

II. The second creative ability is ART (PAINTING, SCULPTURE).

When the Renaissance period made its way onto the scene during the 16th century, it became the golden age of art.

And its most frequent subject was Scripture.

Michelangelo was doing marvelous pieces of sculpture that many of us can just picture as soon as they are mentioned: David, Moses, and the Pieta (that is the crucified Christ in the arms of His grieving mother).