All I Want for Christmas: Eternal Father
December 18, 2011 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: Jesus provides for us and cares for us as the Messiah caring for His church.
Focus Passage: Isaiah 9:6, John 6:28-35
Supplemental Passage: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30 NASB)
Introduction: Make some comments about Dickens’ “A Christmas Carole” regarding the wealth of Scrooge and the needs of the people around him and how he was changed. Relate it to how, even though our Father is wealthy beyond imagination, He provides for us without being prompted.
A Good Father is a Good Provider
I. A Good Father Provides Sustenance
a. "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. (John 6:35 NASB)
b. "I am the bread of life. "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." (John 6:48-51 NASB)
c. "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11 NASB)
II. A Good Father Provides Sanctuary
a. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)
b. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Matthew 23:37 NASB)
III. A Good Father Provides Security
a. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28 NASB)
b. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:10-11 NASB)
Invitation:
