Transition Skit: It’s Time!
Wonder of Jesus leaving Heaven to come to earth!
Series: Wonder of Christmas 2023
Thesis: Do you have a wonder and awe for God over the historical event of Jesus leaving Heaven to come to earth? That event is called Christmas!
I love our subject this Christmas season on “Wonder”:
Websters Dictionary describes wonder like this:
1. Wonder (noun):
a. a cause of astonishment or admiration
b. Marvel - MIRACLE
c. the quality of exciting or amazed admiration
d. rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience.
e. a feeling of doubt or uncertainty
2. wonder (verb)
a. wondered; wondering
b. to be in a state of wonder
c. to feel surprised!
d. to feel curiosity or doubt
i. wondering about the future
e. transitive verb - to be curious or in doubt about
3. Wonder (adjective)
a. WONDROUS, WONDERFUL: such as
i. exciting amazement or admiration
ii. effective or efficient far beyond anything previously known or anticipated.
Scripture: Psalms 77:14-20 NLT
14 You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.
Hebrews 12:28-29: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Having a wonder for Jesus and His birth is about having a reverence and awe for God and what He did by sending Jesus into the world to save us from our sin.
Introduction:
What makes you “wonder” at this time of the year? Maybe another way to say this is what “Amaze’s” you at Christmas? Let me say another way, what makes you stop and say “Wow!”
• Is it the Christmas Lights?
• Is it the time you spend decorating the house?
• Is it other peoples decorated houses?
• Is it the amount of money you spend?
• Is it the crazy Christmas shoppers?
• Is it the Christmas movies?
• Is it Christmas travel?
• Is it a Christmas vacation somewhere exotic?
• Is it the family get together?
• Is it the work Christmas parties?
• Is it the crazy Christmas schedule?
• Is it the Christmas events?
• Is it the snow, or in our case rain?
• Is it the generosity of others at Christmas of lack of?
• Is it the cheerful Christmas attitude or the Scrooge attitude of some this time of the year?
What amazes you – What makes you wonder – What makes you stop and say “Wow!” at the Christmas season?
As I have pondered this theme – prayed about this theme – my mind steps back and says wow – the biggest wonder for me at Christmas is that Jesus choose to leave the throne of Heaven – filled with singing saints, flying angels singing Holy – Holy – Holy - the beauty of Heaven with all colors imaginable, a crystal sea, a river of life, the tree of life, the fellowship of the saints of old, being in the presence of God the Father – The Holy Spirit and leaving the light and love of God!
Scripture Text:
John 1: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John himself in his Gospel opens up looking at Jesus as the Word from Heaven - the light of Heaven which descended from above to come to this dark world. Driven by love to set people free from sin!
This makes me say “WOW!”
We have a break in Scripture between the last prophetic book penned in the OT called Malachi – Until you hear the cry of Jesus in Bethlehem – for 400 years (could you imagine) – God was silent – no letters - no prophets that we know of – it was a time of spiritual darkness – the dark ages. Yes, the promised Messiah has been predicted for over 1,000 years but there is no mention of God using prophets to communicate His truth or direction in this time – it was silent until there is a cry from a new born baby in Bethlehem – born in a barn, a stable – a place where animals live. But God chooses to send Jesus to the earth that way – not in a palace or even home – but in a lowly manger! Please hear me that makes me wonder a lot! It makes me say “WOW!” How about you?
Our skit today was taken from Zechariah 2 and Matthew and Lukes account of the announcement and birth of Jesus’ – the angel coming to Mary – then Joseph – to Simeon - then to shepherds and wise men – thew story of the involvement of the angels make me say “wow”!
Zechariah is an Old Testament prophetic book which by the way is the most quoted prophetic book in the New Testament.
It prophesied that a Branch – A messiah was going to be sent from heaven to earth to save its people in one day! Yes, one day! It says that He would even be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver! Remember -This book was penned 500 years before Jesus was born – before all the wonder of Him leaving Heaven to come to the earth! Wow how did this prophet know the details – answer The Lord was speaking through Him. God knows all things past-present and future! That makes me say “WOW!”
Point to recall: Jesus claimed that the entire Old Testament pointed to Him (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46; Romans 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:10-12).
Since the Book of Zechariah is a part of the OT, and is a book that will make you wonder - let’s look to see how it points to Jesus and speaks of this coming Messiah.
Sermon: Wonder of Jesus
Thesis: Jesus is the ultimate wonder of Christmas – He at the request of the Father choose to leave Heaven and all its majesty to come to earth to start a journey that would save mankind in one day that Day would become known in history as Good Friday!
Background on Zechariah the book – the prophet - the time frame – the message:
The following from Holman Bible Dictionary:
ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF The Book of Zechariah is the eleventh of the Minor Prophets.
When the book was written In 538, Cyrus the Great, emperor of the Persian Empire, issued an edict (Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5) allowing the Jews in Exile in Babylon to return to Jerusalem. Over the next two decades, many Exiles took advantage of Persian leniency, returned home, and began to reestablish life in Jerusalem or Judah. Apparently, an effort was made to begin rebuilding the Temple under an official named Sheshbazzar (Ezra 5:14-16) and perhaps Zerubabel (Ezra 3:1-13; Zech. 4:9), but the work stopped due to opposition from persons who had not been in Exile and local officials. Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambysees, who died in 521 B.C. with no heir. The empire was thrown into disarray as two men, Darius I and Gautama, fought for the crown. In the midst of that turmoil, God raised two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to urge finishing the Temple.
What Zechariah preached: The message of Zechariah may be summarized under two headings: prosperity and purification. Simply put, God promised the people of Judah and Jerusalem prosperity if they purified themselves from sin. This message is found in the first six chapters of the Book of Zechariah. Those chapters are written in the form of eight visions, with two messages of exhortation. The structure of the book anticipates the structure of later books called apocalypses, books like Daniel and Revelation; the Book of Zechariah itself is not, however, an apocalypse. The opening message (1:1-6) reminds the audience that God had warned their forefathers not to sin, but they had not listened or repented. They had brought the Exile upon themselves.
But a call to return and build the temple is announced and then a promise that God would come to earth to deliver the people from sin in a single day is communicated.
Scripture: Zechariah 2:
7“Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!”
8For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—
9I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.
10“Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.
11“Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
12The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.
13Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
Zechariah 3:
8“‘Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
10“‘In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
Holman Bible Dictionary states about: Chapters 9 through 11 it depict God’s deliverance of His people in terms of the victory of God and His Messiah over the neighboring peoples, including the Greeks (9:1-10:7), the return of the Exiles (10:6-12), and the punishment of the wicked leaders of Judah (11:4-17). Chapters 12-14 depict an end-time attack upon Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (12:1-3; 14:1-3), an attack in which many people would be killed as God purifies His people (13:7-9). God Himself would rescue His people (12:4-9; 14:4-5, 12-15), cleanse the people from idolatry, rid the land of prophecy (which had become synonymous with false prophecy, 13:1-6), and turn Jerusalem into a paradise to which the nations of the world would come to worship.
Zechariah 14 envisions the Mount of Olives splitting in two, with fresh water (representing the blessings of God) flowing east and west watering the world. Cold and nighttime, representing threats to God’s control, would be eliminated as He came to reign over all the world from Jerusalem.
Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would leave Heaven to come dwell on the earth so as to bring deliverance from sin! 500 years before Jesus came to earth as a baby.
Then the time became right and God sends Jesus – to be born in a barn - He is implanted in Mary by the Holy Spirit and things are set in motion – to save the world one one day in the future.
Matthew 2
The Birth of Jesus Christ
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.
Luke 2
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Zechariah lived, and the book was written, 500 or so years before Jesus was born. The Book of Zechariah is one of the Old Testament books most frequently quoted in the New Testament. Zechariah’s prophecy begins with many vivid and complex visions that are interpreted by an angel (for Zechariah and for us). These detailed Messianic references (pointing to the Messiah) are clearly fulfilled in the life of Jesus.
• He repeatedly points us to the coming of “the Branch” -Zech. 3:8; 6:12
• This is the messianic offspring of David promised in Jeremiah 23:5 and Jeremiah 33:15
• He will purify his people and remove their sin in one day -Zech. 3:9
• He will be both King and Priest -Zech. 6:13
• This Branch will come lowly and riding on the offspring of a donkey -Zech. 9:9-10
• He will be an only son and will be pierced -Zech. 12:10 (even talks about the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas)
• He will be killed for his sheep who will continue to endure great suffering until the time of the end -Zech. 13:7–14:5
• Yet the outcome of the suffering and pain will be the final victory of God and the vindication of his people -Zech. 14:9
Writing to people who were discouraged by living (we can be too), Zechariah encourages us to look forward to the day when the Lord would act once again. The righteous King will come to bring salvation and to bring an end to war and suffering. Zech. 9:9–17
Keller states, “However, Christmas is not simply about a birth but about a coming. God had planned for the arrival of his Son before he even created the Earth (Revelation 13:8), and like any good writer, he foreshadowed the great person Jesus would be throughout the course of history.”
I. Jesus left the throne of Heaven to come to earth to save us from our sins.
? Think about that!
? Read John 1: 1-18
? Quote: “Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, comes and says, “I am spiritual reality itself. You could never come up to me and, therefore, I had to come down to you.” That’s news. Timothy Keller
? Picture the throne of Heaven from Revelation!
? Picture of throne and picture of the Manger! Does that make you wonder?
II. Jesus gave up position and power to humble himself so you and I could be freed from the bondage of sin.
? He gave up the glory of Heaven so that you could have the opportunity to come to Heaven and experience the beauty and majesty of Heaven!
? Point: You don’t deserve it but Jesus made all this possible because of love and because God wanted a restored relationship with us!
? A day in the life of Jesus the Word – see John 1
? What He gave up for you – ponder that for a moment?
? Keller, “But it is first of all a message that you need to be saved, and you are saved not in the slightest by what you can do but rather by what he has done. You begin with Christ not by adopting an ethic nor by turning over a new leaf nor even by joining a community. No, you begin by believing the report about what has happened in history.”
? Is there even a comparison of what Jesus gave up for you?
? His gift – His sacrifice?
? What have you given up for Him?
? Have you realized the lop-sided giving? Does that make you wonder?
III. Why do we need to know this truth today?
? It should change the way we live and think?
? It’s not about us – you with me – Its about what He has done!
? Thoughts from book Hidden Christmas – Keller – The biblical Christmas texts are accounts of what actually happened in history. They are not Aesop’s Fables, inspiring examples of how to live well. Many people believe the Gospel to be just another moralizing story, but they could not be more mistaken. There is no “moral of the story” to the nativity. The shepherds, the parents of Jesus, the wise men—are not being held up primarily as examples for us. These Gospel narratives are telling you not what you should do but what God has done. The birth of the Son of God into the world is a gospel, good news, an announcement. You don’t save yourself. God has come to save you.
? This is not a “Once Upon a Time Story!”
? I know we have many “Once Upon a Time Stories” at Christmas: but this wonderful story actually happened!
? Yes, One of the Once upon time stories has to do with Santa Claus but I want to tell you the historical story of who the legend is based off – a guy by the name of Saint Nicholas:
? Saint Nicholas lived in Myra, a city in the province of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) during the fourth century. His parents died when he was a teenager and left him with quite a bit of money. Nicholas then went to live with his uncle, who was a priest.
? He choose to give up the life of the rich and famous and become a servant for the Lord.
? At some point, Nicholas became aware of a man who had three daughters, but no money to pay their dowries so they could be married. On three separate occasions, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold into the girls’ stockings hanging by the fire, thus providing them their dowries. On the third night, the father caught Nicholas delivering the gold. Nicholas asked the father not to tell anyone about what he had done.
? Eventually, Nicholas became the bishop (pastor) of Myra. He continued performing generous acts, and had a special affinity for children, sailors and those who were falsely accused.
? His prayer at sea in a storm
? His helping the poor and needy
? As bishop, Nicholas was imprisoned during the brutal Persecution of Diocletian. And several accounts of his life hold that he was tortured during his imprisonment, but never renounced his faith. The saint was released under Constantine the Great.
? His participation in the 325 Council of Nicaea:
? I believe in God the Father Almighty;
? and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
? Who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
? Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
? on the third day rose again from the dead,
? ascended into heaven,
? sits at the right hand of the Father,
? whence he will come to judge the living and the dead;
? and in the Holy Spirit,
? the holy Church,
? the remission of sins,
? the resurrection of the flesh,
? [life everlasting].
? What about those traditions always associated with Saint Nick, such as oranges and candy canes?
? The oranges are an adaptation of the bag of gold that Nicholas threw into the young women’s stockings.
? According to many stories, candy canes are supposed to represent the Good shepherd – Jesus – a candy maker in Germany came up with the candy cane idea - the red white stripes – red is for the blood of Jesus which washes our sins away the white stripes.
? Over time, as word of Saint Nicholas’s charity and giving spread, the concept of secretly giving gifts to others grew and took on a life of its own. As people traveled to new lands, they took the concept of the saintly gift-giver with them. Over time, Saint Nicholas transformed into our modern-day Santa Claus.
? Make as big a deal about Saint Nick as you do Santa Claus. Talk about the differences and similarities between the two.
? Throughout his life, Saint Nicholas spent a great deal of time and effort caring for those in need. We can emulate that example in our own lives. And while we should remember to help those in need throughout the year, the holidays seem to be a perfect time to show others that we care.
? Saint Nicholas wanted his gift-giving to be done in secret. Try to be like Saint Nick and ask an adult to help you prepare small stockings to surprise friends or family members. Try to include items that will remind the person of Saint Nick, such as candy canes, oranges or even a small bag of gold-covered chocolate coins. Try to deliver them without being caught!
IV. What do we need to do?
? Get their wonder and awe for God back! Look at Jesus and say “wow!”
? Be willing to sacrifice like Jesus did for us and for others and be like one of the legends this time of the year.
? Be wowed by Jesus and impacted like St Nicolas life was – he loved Jesus and his willingness to leave the life of rich and famous to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus – should make you wonder – His life was modeled after Jesus – He did this by the giving of gifts to those in need, by his boldness in praying for miracles to save others' and praying to calm storms on the sea, by standing up for innocent lives falsely accused and judged, by standing up against injustice, by choosing to fight and protect children, by being a part of leading a city called Myra from paganism to Christianity and even tearing down the Greek goddesses temple literally. By being imprisoned for the faith. By being a part of standing up for truth – he was a part of helping write the Apostles Creed at the council of Nicea.
? He left a life of ease to serve others and He did this because of Jesus' willingness to leave Heaven and come to earth to save us from our sins.
? Be willing to give gifts to those you love and do not even know!
? Give generously to the cause of Jesus!
? Stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
? Stand up for truth in a world filled with lies!
? Change how you view this life and God!
? Be in wonder at what Jesus did!
? Let it change your life.
V. Why do we need to do this?
? Transformation of a heart from apathy toward God and to Wonder transforms lives and even cities. Reigniting an awe and reverence for what God has done for us changes our mindsets and focus.
? We really don’t realize the amazing opportunity before us to experience God-Jesus and the Holy Spirit!
? What a privilege to be adopted into the family of God!
? Reality check: The angels are not part of God’s family – we are!
? The angels who have fallen have not been given an opportunity to repent and be allowed back into Heaven – but we have been given the blessing of being forgiven by believing on Jesus – the One who left Heaven to come to earth to be born a baby and experience life like we do – the good and the bad and to make away for us to be forgiven – it really did happen in a day on a cross when Jesus died for our sins.
? Choose to embrace the wonder and awe of Jesus birth and His mission to die for our sin and set us free in One day!
Conclusion:
I pray this message and it’s content from the Bible caused you to “Wonder” to be in awe and mazement at what God the Father did by sending Jesus into the world from the throne of Heaven to the manger in a small town of Bethlehem.
I pray that you see the wonder of Christmas today – that it caused you to say WOW! Look what God has done!
I pray when you hear or read John 3:16 it makes you step back and say, “God did that for me – Wow!”
John 3:16-17: 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
