• IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE A CHILD. ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR!
• THE ANTICIPATION OF CHRISTMAS...SANTA CLAUS, GIFTS, FAMILY COMING TOGETHER...ALL THE EXCITEMENT OF THE SEASON!
• IT'S EASY FOR CHILDREN TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS.
• EVEN SWEETER STILL TO BE A BABY AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
• IMAGINE BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS...LAST YEAR BABY CARSON HAD HIS FIRST, THIS YEAR IT'S BABY BRADY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS!
• MY FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS IN 1960 - I DON'T REMEMBER IT. BUT THEY DID TAKE A PICTURE!
• LIKE ALL OF US, WHEN I WAS A BABY I WAS HELPLESS. HELPLESS AT CHRISTMASTIME AND ANY OTHER TIME.
• THAT'S HOW HELPLESS A BABY IS.
• BABIES COO AND GIGGLE AND GURGLE - THEY CAN DO NOTHING FOR THEMSELVES.
• WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT IS TRULY REMARKABLE THAT GOD WOULD ALLOW HIS SON, WITH ALL HIS POWER,
• TO COME TO EARTH AS A HELPLESS CHILD.
• BUT THEN, IT'S NOT LIKE GOD GAVE HIS SON OVER TO A HUMAN COUPLE TO RAISE AND TAKE CARE OF HIS SON,
• GOD WAS TOTALLY IN CHARGE OF THE RAISING OF JESUS.
• HE JUST HAPPENED TO ALLOW THE FAMILY OF JOSEPH AND MARY TO TAKE ON THE HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY.
• THE BIBLE SAYS VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF THE LORD.
• IN LUKE 2 - THE BABY JESUS IS BROUGHT TO THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE FOR HIS CIRCUMCISION.
• THERE HE IS BLESSED BY THE RIGHTEOUS SIMEON AND ADORED BY THE PROPHETESS ANNA.
• IN MATTHEW 2:13 JESUS AND HIS FAMILY FLEE TO EGYPT AFTER BEING WARNED BY AN ANGEL OF THE MURDEROUS PLANS OF KING HEROD.
• INCIDENTALLY, SOME WRITERS HAVE SPECULATED THAT THE REASON THE FAMILY OF JESUS RECEIVED THE GIFTS OF GOLD, MYRRH AND FRANKINCENSE WAS TO SUSTAIN THEM FOR THE TWO YEARS THEY WERE IN EGYPT.
• AND IN LUKE 2:41 THE TWELVE YEAR OLD JESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE WITH HIS PARENTS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER.
• AFTER BEING SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY HE IS FOUND IN THE MIDST OF THE TEACHERS OF JERUSALEM.
• HIS EXCUSE, IF YOU COULD CALL IT THAT...
LUKE 2:49 - 50 - WHY IS IT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR ME? DID
YOU NOT KNOW THAT I HAD TO BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?...
• WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE INFORMATION ON THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF JESUS?
• THERE HAS BEEN MUCH SPECULATION - SOME HAVE IMAGINED THAT HE TRAVELED IN HIS YOUTH,
• AS FAR EAST AS CHINA AND AS FAR WEST AS STONEHENGE.
• BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF EITHER.
• SOME HAVE SPECULATED THAT JESUS WAS A MIRACLE WORKING CHILD - THAT HE MADE BIRDS OUT OF PAPER AND BROUGHT THEM TO LIFE.
• OTHERS SAY THAT HE HEALED THE SICK AND RAISED THE DEAD EVEN IN HIS CHILDHOOD.
• SO WHICH JESUS DO WE NEED? WHICH JESUS DO YOU NEED?
• DO WE NEED THE BABY IN A MANGER? DO WE NEED THE MIRACLE WORKING CHILD?
• DO WE NEED THE JESUS OF MYTH, SUPPOSITION AND SPECULATION OR...
• DO WE NEED THE JESUS OF THE REALITY OF THE SCRIPTURE AND EXACTLY WHO IS THIS CHILD JESUS AND WHAT DOES HE OFFER?
• BUT BEFORE WE START THAT PART OF THE LESSON, LET'S PRAY.
• SOME HUMAN PARENTS PLAN TO BE PARENTS.
• THEY MAY SPEND YEARS GETTING AN EDUCATION, SAVING MONEY, GETTING THEIR LIVES IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN BABY ARRIVES, THE FAMILY WILL BE PREPARED.
• SOME CHILDBIRTHS ARE UNPLANNED. PARENTS MIGHT BE "PAST" CHILDBEARING AGE IN WHICH CASE THEY GAIN THE BLESSING OF A SURPRISE BUNDLE OF JOY.
• SOME PARENTS IN SOME CASES MOTHER MAY NOT EVEN KNOW THAT SHE IS WITH CHILD.
• IN THE CASE OF JESUS, THE TIMING AND PLANNING OF HIS BIRTH WAS OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
GALATIANS 4:1-5
• THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD PROVIDED FOR THE HUMAN BIRTH OF HIS SON AS WELL AS OUR LIBERATION IN THE SALVATION OF JESUS FROM THINGS OF THE WORLD.
• WE ALSO SEE THAT IT WAS NECESSARY FOR JESUS TO HAVE BEEN BORN UNDER THE SYSTEM OF LAW. HEBREW LAW.
• IMAGINE IF JESUS HAD JUST APPEARED IN THE WILDERNESS LIKE SOME MYTHICAL HOLY MAN. A MAN UNTO HIMSELF WITH NO HUMAN ORIGIN, LIKE MELCHIZEDEK OF GENESIS.
• I DOUBT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF A MINISTRY LIKE THAT OVER TIME WITH NO HUMAN LIFE EXPERIENCE TO SERVE AS EXAMPLE OF HOW WE SHOULD COME TO GOD AND LEARN TO LIVE, LEARN AND GROW IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
• EVEN THOUGH JESUS WAS HELPLESS AS A BABY HE IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF NOT ONLY OF HELPLESSNESS,
• BUT OF OUR POTENTIAL TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD AND TO LIVE IN FOR HIM.
• LIKE US, THE BABY JESUS HAD NO POWER TO SAVE BUT LIKE US HE WAS COMPLETELY RELIANT ON GOD THROUGH HIS PARENTS, JOSEPH AND MARY FOR THE THINGS NECESSARY TO HIS LIFE.
• WHILE THE BABY JESUS IS NECESSARY IN THE PLAN AND PURPOSE OF GOD, HE IS NOT THE JESUS WE NEED ULTIMATELY FOR OUR SALVATION.
• HIS WORSHIP AND ADORATION IS LIMITED TO THOSE WHO WITNESSED HIS BIRTH.
• THOUGH WE ARE INCLUDED IN THEIR DECLARATION OF GOD'S PEACE TO THE RESPECTERS OF HIS SON.
LUKE 2:8-20 -
• WE HAVE ANOTHER PICTURE OF JESUS IN LUKE 2 AT THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE.
• TWELVE YEARS OLD AT THE TIME - I REMEMBER BEING TWELVE YEARS OLD.
• I WAS THINKING ABOUT BASEBALL AND SCHOOL AND MUSIC.
• GIRLS WERE JUST STARTING TO GET SCARY BECAUSE THEY WERE STARTING TO GET INTERESTING.
• I WAS DRAWING CARTOONS FOR THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER AND TRYING TO GET THROUGH INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL.
• MY PARENTS WEREN'T CHRISTIANS AT THE TIME SO I WASN'T GOING ANYWHERE SPIRITUALLY.
• I NEED YOU TO HEAR THIS AS PARENTS - OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO BECOME SPIRITUAL PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN.
• WE MUST LEAD THEM - WE MUST HELP THEM COME TO KNOW GOD AND HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
• (CIte BARNA RESEARCH) NEW RESEARCH HAS DISCOVERED THAT A PERSON’S LIFELONG BEHAVIORS AND VIEWS ARE GENERALLY DEVELOPED WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG – BEFORE THEIR TEEN AGE YEARS.
• THE RESEARCH SHOWED 4 CRITICAL OUTCOMES.
• FIRST, A PERSON’S MORAL FOUNDATIONS ARE GENERALLY IN PLACE BY THE TIME THEY REACH 9.
• THEIR FUNDAMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON TRUTH, INTEGRITY, MEANING, JUSTICE, MORALITY, AND ETHICS ARE FORMED EARLY IN LIFE.
• SECOND, RESPONSES TO THE MEANING AND PERSONAL VALUE OF JESUS’ LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION ARE USUALLY DETERMINED BEFORE AGE 18.
• THIRD, MOST SPIRITUAL BELIEFS ARE PERMANENTLY FORMED BY THE PRE-TEENS.
• “IN ESSENCE,” “WHAT YOU BELIEVE BY THE TIME YOU ARE 13 IS WHAT YOU WILL DIE BELIEVING.”
• FINALLY, THE RESEARCH REVEALED ADULT CHURCH LEADERS USUALLY HAVE SERIOUS INVOLVEMENT IN CHURCH LIFE AND TRAINING WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG. (IN MY CASE I HAD AN AUNT WHO TAUGHT ME AT A VERY YOUNG AGE)
• CHURCHES THAT EXERCISE A GREAT INFLUENCE IN CHILDREN’S LIVES REALIZE THAT CHILDREN MEAN A LOT TO GOD.
• IF WE ARE TO BE A EFFECTIVE AND EFFECTIVE PARENTS FOR JESUS, LET'S DO OUR BEST TO HELP OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO GROW SPIRITUALLY.
• WHILE MOST TWELVE YEARS OLD HAVE CHILDISH THINGS ON THEIR MINDS, JESUS WAS DIFFERENT, HE WAS CONCERNED FOR THE THINGS OF HIS FATHER.
• BUT EVEN IN HIS THIRST FOR THE WISDOM OF GOD, THE BOY JESUS AT THE TEMPLE IS STILL NOT THE JESUS WE NEED.
• HE STILL HAD MUCH TO LEARN..
HEBREWS 5:7 - During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was
heard because of his reverent submission. 8Son though he was, he learned obedience from
what he suffered
• LIKE US, THROUGH THE EXPERIENCES OF LIFE, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE SON OF GOD JESUS HAD LEARNING EXPERIENCES.
• HE WAS SUBMISSIVE TO HIS PARENTS. HE RECEIVED AN EDUCATION.
• HE WAS ABLE TO LEARN, GROW, MAKE DECISIONS, TAKE ON AN OCCUPATION AND VOCATION.
• JESUS HAD AMBITIONS, HOPES AND DREAMS.
• PERHAPS AS HE EMERGED AS A GREAT TEACHER WE CAN SEE THE JESUS OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AS THE JESUS WE AL NEED.
• IN MATTHEW 5 PREACHING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM JESUS TEACHES US HOW TO LIVE AND RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER AND TO GOD.
MATTHEW 5:1-20 -
• THOSE MAY BE THE GREATEST WORDS EVER SPOKEN.
• I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT IF I HAD BEEN THERE ON THE DAY THAT JESUS SPOKE THOSE WORDS, I WOULD HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED.
• I WOULD HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED TO GO HOME AN BEGIN TO CHANGE MY LIFE.
• BECAUSE EVEN WITH ALL THOSE GREAT WORDS, I WOULD STILL BE LEFT WITH THE QUESTION OF "HOW?".
• "HOW AM I POOR IN SPIRIT? HOW AM I TO BE GENTLE? HOW AM I TO BE PURE IN HEART?"
• AND I WOULD STILL HAVE ONE GREAT "WHAT?"
• WHAT IS THIS "RIGHTEOUSNESS?" THEY VERY SOUND OF IT TELLS ME THAT I DON'T HAVE IT.
• "RIGHTEOUSNESS!"
• EVEN JESUS SENSES THAT THERE IS MORE ABOUT HIM TO BE KNOWN, TO BE DONE, TO BE SHOWN THAT IS NEEDED...
JOHN 12:23-36 -
• WHEN A CHILD IS BORN PARENTS HAVE HOPES AND PRAYERS FOR HIS GOOD HEALTH.
• LATER OUR HOPES AND PRAYERS TURN TO DREAMS AND PLANS FOR OUR CHILDREN'S GROWTH AND LIVES.
• IT'S A RARE THING WHEN OUR ASPIRATIONS AND AMBITIONS FOR OUR KIDS, LINE UP WITH THE REALITY OF THEIR LIVES.
• FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE - FOUNDER OF THE RED CROSS - HER FATHER WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN SHE CHOSE A CAREER IN NURSING.
• HE WANTED HER TO BE A STAY AT HOME MOM.
• AS A YOUNG MAN, BROADCAST NEWS JOURNALIST DAVID BRINKLEY'S MOTHER ONCE REBUKED HIM FOR A NEWS STORY HE HAD WRITTEN.
• SHE THREW THE PAPER IN HIS FACE SAYING "WHY DO YOU WASTE YOUR TIME ON SUCH FOOLISHNESS?"
• EDGAR ALLEN POE WAS DISOWNED BY HIS PARENTS FOR WANTING TO BE A WRITER. THEY WANTED HIM TO GO INTO BUSINESS.
• I'M SURE MY PARENTS NEVER DREAMED I WOULD PREACH.
• IN JOHN 12 WE CAN SEE THAT THE LIFE OF JESUS, DIRECTED BY THE WILL OF THE FATHER, PURPOSED AND UNFOLDED EXACTLY AS THE FATHER WILLED IT.
• JESUS HIMSELF DECLARES THAT "THE HOUR HAS COME".
• THAT HIS DYING WOULD BE A PARTICULAR TYPE AND THAT FOLLOWING HIM WOULD MEAN A PARTICULAR TYPE OF DEATH.
• JESUS POINTS TO HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS AS "THIS PURPOSE" AND GOD AGREES THAT THIS SACRIFICE MEETS HIS APPROVAL.
• JESUS SAYS THAT THE PICTURE OF HIS DYING, HIS BEING LIFTED UP, HIS GLORIFICATION, WILL BE UNIQUELY ATTRACTIVE.
• THAT IT WILL DRAW PEOPLE TO HIM...TO THE JESUS THAT WE ALL NEED.
• WHILE THE BABY IN THE MANGER WAS WORSHIPPED AS A KING.
• THE BOY JESUS AT THE TEMPLE, EAGER AND SUBMISSIVE.
• THE MAN ON THE MOUNTAIN - THE GREATEST TEACHER OF ALL...
• THE PICTURES OF JESUS IN THE GOSPELS AS COUNSELOR AND FRIEND.
• PHYSICIAN AND HEALER...ALL ARE NECESSARY TO SHOW THE LOVE, MERCY, TENDERNESS OF GOD,
• THE ONENESS OF THE FATHER AND THE SON, THE MERCY AND GRACE OF GOD.
• THE JESUS THAT WE ALL NEED FOR SALVATION IS PICTURED ON THE CROSS.
• THANK GOD HE IS THE SAME JESUS IN ALL ASPECTS OF HIS HOLY LIFE.
• BUT THANK JESUS FOR PLACING THE EMPHASIS ON THE MOST ESSENTIAL PART.
• NOT, HIS BIRTH, BUT HIS DEATH AND LIVING EVERY MOMENT IN THE LIFE THAT THAT HIS DEATH MADE POSSIBLE.
