Video Transition: Mary did you know video!
Series: Unexpected Christmas
Thesis of Series: Christmas season is filled with surprises and the unexpected twists and turns that come with this holiday. The original Christmas was also filled with surprises from Heaven and the unexpected twists and turns from God. God loves doing the unexpected – so we should learn to expect the unexpected from the Lord – He loves saying “surprise”! Maybe even the word “Tada!”
Illustration:
I have told the story before about a children’s third grade Sunday School class. The teacher had just finished talking about how Jesus had been crucified and put into a tomb. She went on to try and convey the excitement and surprise of Easter morning and the resurrection by asking her students, “And what do you think were Jesus’ first words when he came bursting out of the tomb alive?” A little girl raised her hand, bounced up and down with excitement and shouted, “I know, I know, I know.” “Great,” replied the teacher, “Please tell us. Throwing her arms high in the air she sang out, “TA-DA!”
Challenge for the Christmas Season: “Can you decide to expect the unexpected from the Lord this season?” or let me word it this way “Are you willing to expect the unexpected because God is predictably unpredictable this Christmas Season?.”
Sermon 1: Unexpected News
Thesis: “Extra – Extra read all about Mary in Nazareth is pregnant and she is not married yet! She claims the Holy Spirit did it!” Joseph claims the same Mary Is pregnant from the Holy Spirit
Scripture: Matthew 1:21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Introduction:
What was the greatest surprise ever sprung on you? A surprise party, a proposal, a gift, a visit from someone unexpected at Christmas or Thanksgiving, maybe even a surprise baby?
My 40th surprise birthday party was my biggest surprise by Kathy – tell the story trip to Princeton to get a car - furnace not working to get in church – by the way my wife loves surprises – from unexpected notes in my desk to elaborate birthday gifts like 55 birthday things every man needs. I know you are thinking what were those 55 things? Keep guessing because that’s a secret between her and I.
My mom’s biggest surprise was Kathy’s sponge cake.
My daughter Tiffany biggest surprise was while in college and married and not wanting kids until done school - got pregnant anyway but not with one child but two.
What was the movie which had the biggest surprise ending you know of – Sixth Sense, The Sting, The Undoing?
How about Tv show with biggest surprise ending? Lost, Manifest, Game of the Thrones, Monk?
How about the book with the biggest surprise ending? Agatha Christie's The Murder of John Rourke or Fight Night, Green mile?
Have you ever been a part of a flash mob event?
How about the biggest surprise invention that we’re totally accidental? (Bestlifeonline.com)
*Microwave Oven
*The Post it Note
*Penicillin
*Chocolate Chip Cookies
*The X Ray machine
* Pace Maker
* Chips
* Chewing gum
* Popsicles
So, what was one of your greatest surprises?
God loves surprises too - How do I know God likes surprises? Just read the Bible! Can I say as you read about the life of Biblical heroes “Surprise – Surprise – Surprise!”
Let me share a couple stories:
How about Moses, tending sheep in the desert and surprise there is a burning bush – He investigate’s and see’s the bush not being consumed by the fire and then God talks from the bush – the bush calls his name - can I hear the word “Surprise!” He heard - “Hi, Moses God here – take off your shoes!” A talking bush is a crazy thing to experience as crazy as thinking an animal can talk – OH yeah – God talked through a donkey too! “Surprise” – so God using people like me is not a big deal right! “Surprise”
Thoughts by Mark Batterson from ALL IN: “The Element of Surprise - Moses lived on the back side of the desert staring at the backside of sheep for four decades. In case you care, that’s over twenty-one million minutes. His life was defined by monotony until he had an epiphany. On a day that started out like the 14,600 days before, Moses spotted a burning bush out of the corner of his eye. Then he heard a voice from out of the bush calling his name. The burning bush reveals the playful side of God’s personality. The heavenly Father loves surprising His earthly children! You better expect the unexpected because God is predictably unpredictable. But this one takes the cake, doesn’t it? A talking bush is about as absurd as a talking donkey. Oh, wait, God did that too! Batterson, Mark. All In (pp. 128-129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
How about taking a stick and turning it into a snake for Moses – Moses throw down your staff and watch this – Surprise! A snake emerges! How about the 10 plagues on Egypt – God says watch this Moses – throw your staff down in front of pharaoh -Tada!
Illustration: Take the staff throw it to the ground: Watch what happens!
How about parting the Red Sea so the nation of Israel could escape from the army of Egypt – Tada!
How about a burning pillar of fire in the desert by night and a cloud by day! “Surprise” and maybe God says,” Tada!”
How about the surprise at Jericho - The Israelites are marching around Jericho. According to Joshua 6:1–27, the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites marched around the city walls once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day then they blew their trumpets. and when they blow the trumpets the seventh time the walls fall down – Can I hear the word - “Surprise!”
Story on the power of music and a few surprises we can learn about Bach and music in general:
1. Story from Mark Batterson: “Johann Sebastian Bach was to classical music what William Shakespeare was to English literature and Sir Isaac Newton was to physics. His body of work includes 256 cantatas. And while it’s impossible to peg a magnum opus, my personal favorite is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Nearly four centuries after its original writing, it’s still one of the most popular sound tracks to one of life’s most momentous occasions — the bridal entrance at a wedding ceremony.”
a. Pause “I did not know Bach wrote that and I have done hundreds of weddings – did you know? Surprise
i. Marks continues in his story, “Listening to Bach’s music is a rapturous experience, but it’s not just because of the melodies and harmonies. It’s more than the mere combination of notes. It’s the motivation behind the music. The reason Toccata and Fugue in D Minor or Mass in B Minor touch the soul is that they come from the soul. Bach’s cantatas didn’t originate as music. They were prayers before they were songs, literally. Before Bach started scoring a sheet of music, he would scrawl J.J. — Jesu, juva — at the very top. It was the simplest of prayers: Jesus, help me. Then, at the completion of every composition, Bach inscribed three letters in the margin of his music: SDG. Those three letters stood for the Latin phrase, Soli Deo Gloria — to the glory of God alone. Mark Batterson All In pages 117-121.
1. Can I hear the word “Revelation”
ii. Mark keeps drawing more out of the story about having a future hope: “Soli Deo Gloria was one of the rallying cries of the Protestant Reformation, but Bach personalized it. His life was a unique translation of that singular motive.”
1. Mark applies the life story message of hope: “So is yours. No one can glorify God like you or for you. Your life is an original score. Imagine if filmmakers and politicians and entrepreneurs followed suit. What kind of cultural impact would we have if our scripts and bills and business plans originated as prayers? Imagine students scribbling SDG on their essays for AP American History, mechanics etching SDG on mufflers and motors, or doctors scrawling SDG on their prescriptions. It’s not about what you do. It’s about why you do what you do. Ultimately, it’s about who you do it for. In God’s kingdom, it’s our motivations that matter most. If you do the right thing for the wrong reason, it doesn’t even count.”
a. Is this thought a surprise to you?
iii. He adds this quote in his book: “Arnold Summerfield, the German physicist and pianist, observed that a single hydrogen atom, which emits one hundred frequencies, is more musical than a grand piano, which only emits eighty-eight frequencies. Every single atom is a unique expression of God’s creative genius. And that means every atom is a unique expression of worship.”
1. Are you surprised at this Information?
2. Are you tracking with his thoughts? Well he makes it more clear as he adds:
a. According to composer Leonard Bernstein, the best translation of Genesis 1:3 and several other verses in Genesis 1 is not “and God said.” He believed a better translation is “and God sang.”
i. “The Almighty sang every atom into existence, and every atom echoes that original melody sung in three-part harmony by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
ii. He adds, “Did you know that the electron shell of the carbon atom produces the same harmonic scale as the Gregorian chant? Or that whale songs can travel thousands of miles underwater? Or that meadowlarks have a range of three hundred notes? But the songs we can hear audibly are only one instrument in the symphony orchestra called creation. Research in the field of bioacoustics has revealed that we are surrounded by millions of ultrasonic songs. Supersensitive sound instruments have discovered that even earthworms make faint staccato sounds!
1. Can I hear a “Wow that’'s a revelation?”
b. He adds more evidence of his theory: “Lewis Thomas put it this way: “If we had better hearing, and could discern the descants [singing] of sea birds, the rhythmic tympani [drumming] of schools of mollusks, or even the distant harmonics of midges [flies] hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet.” Someday the sound will lift us off our feet. Glorified eardrums will reveal millions of songs previously inaudible to the human ear.”
i. Can I hear the thought - this amazing!
c. Remember me reading Psalm 98 last week: (CEV) Psalm 98 - The Lord Works Miracles
i. 1 Sing a new song to the Lord! He has worked miracles, and with his own powerful arm, he has won the victory. 2 The Lord has shown the nations that he has the power to save and to bring justice. 3 God has been faithful in his love for Israel, and his saving power is seen everywhere on earth. 4 Tell everyone on this earth to sing happy songs in praise of the Lord. 5 Make music for him on harps. Play beautiful melodies! 6 Sound the trumpets and horns and celebrate with joyful songs for our Lord and King! 7 Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures, and the earth to shout with all of its people. 8 Order the rivers to clap their hands, and all of the hills to sing together. 9 Let them worship the Lord! He is coming to judge everyone on the earth, and he will be honest and fair.
ii. Is this a surprise to you - this revelation of the Creation singing and praising the Creator daily?
d. Mark adds Scripture to show how if we notice the sounds around us we should have hope in the future and except the unexpected from the Lord: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” But until this day comes we have to settle for Bach. The above From All In by Mark Batterson pages 117-121 chapter 12 SDG
i. Wow what a story of where we can get Hope in the future from – just listen to the sounds of the Creation all around us! Is this not an unexpected - surprise?
b. So, let’s focus on the unexpected news for Mary “Extra – Extra read all about it!” Mary is pregnant and she is not married to Joseph yet – they both said the Holy Spirt did it – come on citizens of Nazareth- share story of Gryla’s newspaper - come on read all the gossip about Mary and Joseph – see Luke 1:26-55:
i. Luke: The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37For nothing is impossible with God.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
ii. Mary Visits Elizabeth
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
1. Wow what unexpected news - what shock and surprise for Mary and Joseph!
c. Joseph’s surprise to the news of Mary being pregnant, “Honey the Holy Spirit made me pregnant – “Surprise- Joseph we are having a baby!” Come on guys how many here would have bought that story?
i. Matthew 1:18-25: The Birth of Jesus Christ:
1. 18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
a. Can I hear that word again “Surprise!”
ii. Mary’s Song is a song of praise to the Lord for His miracle of Jesus - Luke 1:46-56
46And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. 50His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers. 56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
1. Mary’s song:
a. The song has three different parts to it:
i. Part 1 – The Who the song is about v 46-47:
1. This is the title and intent of her song to God and for others to hear – She is praising God in her hymn about God and how he touches her soul and that causes her to rejoice in song to Him.
a. Her focus of the song centers In The great miracle worker.
ii. Part 2 – The Why for the song v 48-49:
1. Why is she rejoicing in this song because God has supernaturally impregnated her with the Savior – Jesus – who will save His people from their sins.
2. The who of the along Is Important but the Why for the song of praise goes even deeper - God has sent the Savior of the world and He Is In me.
iii. Part 3 – The What of the song v 49-55:
1. She marvels at the surprising glory of God – what He can do! Save His people from their sin – provide a Messiah to infill people with the Holy Spirit! And do It with a miracle.
2. Every verb in this section of the song is God-centered! He is the subject of every verb!
3. She notes how God goes counter to our natural human ways and exceeds our expectations – in other Words how God is always surprising His people!
a. How God can do the Impossible.
4. Mathis in his book The Christmas we did not expect states: “Mary celebrates the kind of God He is: different than our instincts and shattering our paradigms as he shows his strength not by recruiting the strong but by rescuing the weak” (Page 19)
a. The praise to God focuses on doing the unpredictable - the Impossible - the unexpected - God Is surprising to world with Jesus.
5. Her praise follows the patterns you see in the book of Psalms!
6. So, it’s important to note that Mary’s unexpected news causes her to Glorify God – to write and sing Him a new song so all could remember the unexpected news of Jesus coming to the earth through her.
d. God wants to do the same at this Christmas season – so back to the: Challenge for this Christmas Season: “Can you decide to expect the unexpected from the Lord this season?” or let me word it this way “Are you willing to expect the unexpected because God is predictably unpredictable this Christmas.”
1.
2. Application to us at CHC: Maybe we need to give ourselves a daily reminder this Christmas season by paying attention to the Christmas songs about Jesus – seeing Him as the reason for the season? Being willing to let Him surprise us!
a. Maybe we need to expect the unexpected this season from God?
i. Maybe we should acknowledge the surprises God has already given us this season and write our own songs to Him about them.
ii. Maybe we need to write a message to God as a prayer and sing it or listen to a message and hum along with it – giving Him praise for the surprise of “Jesus!”
iii. Maybe we should spread the unexpected news of Jesus this Christmas so those who have never heard the true meaning of Christmas discover the great gift and the surprise of it?
iv. Maybe the Lord wants us to make music in our hearts, singing all the way through this Christmas season to the Lord?
v. Maybe we need to redefine what is success in life this Christmas?
vi. Maybe you need to ask for some surprises from God this Christmas Season?
vii. Maybe you need to let go of control – trust God – Go All IN With God this Christmas Season – and expect the unexpected!
1. Joel Schmidgall likes to say, “You can have faith or you can have control, but you cannot have both.” If you want God to do something off the chart, you have to take your hands off the controls.” Batterson, Mark. All In (p. 132). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
b. “When you go all in with God, you never know how or when or where He might show up. But you can live in holy anticipation, knowing that God can invade the reality of your life at any given moment and change everything for eternity. And when He does, you need to mark the moment, mark the spot.” Batterson, Mark. All In (p. 130). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Conclusion:
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: God loves doing surprises on us!
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: So, when the surprise comes - we are not caught off guard but receptive and praise God..
What do we need to do?
Answer: Ask Him for some surprises this season. We also need to embrace the surprise He gives and learn the message from the surprise and His instructions about the surprise. Every surprise has a message - The surprise of Jesus was “ He will save His people from sin.”
Why do we need to do this?
Answer: So, we can be a part of the Lord setting people free and bringing hope to the hopeless! So we can experience miracles and God surprises this Christmas Season. So we can be wowed by God this Christmas season.
