Techs: Don’t forget to start Christmas music as soon as possible after the band is done rehearsing. At 3 minutes til roll the new Christmas Trivia video muted
Opening Set of Praise
Open Up your Eyes (Band Only) (From the Narnia Soundtrack)
Glory
Joyful Joyful we adore Thee
Carols (Accapella)
O Come all ye Faithful
Angels we have heard on high
Advent Candle Lighting
Reader 1: (as first purple candle is lit) Today our Advent journey draws closer to Bethlehem. On the First Sunday of Advent we remembered the prophets, spiritual heroes who stood on the front lines of the faith. They faithfully foretold the coming of Emmanuel.
Reader 2: (as second purple candle is lit) On the Second Sunday of Advent, we met the shepherds who allowed God to invade their space. They went on to spread the word about Emmanuel’s birth..
Reader 1: On this Third Sunday of Advent, we remember two heroes of the faith whom God chose to be the earthly parents of his one and only son--Joseph and Mary. What would have happened if they had refused their assignment? What would the world be like without Christmas?
Reader 2: (as the rose colored candle is lit) So today we light the rose-colored candle to mark the halfway point in our Advent journey. And we rejoice that Joseph and Mary said, “Yes” when God tapped them for the extraordinary assignment of parenting the Messiah. We also rejoice that today ordinary people are still saying “Yes” when God has a mission for them.
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Sermon Song: Waiting for the World to Fall (Band Only) (From Narnia Soundtrack)
As the song ends Duane will turn on the projection behind the speaker that loops the continuous winter scene. This will stay on throughout the sermon. Lighting should be the two middle spots above the pulpit only.
WHAT IF THERE WERE NO CHRISTMAS?
(Narnia—Part 2)
Oxford, England, September 18, 1931. Two brilliant young professors walk in the darkness until 3:00 a.m. Jack and Tollers have become fast friends, drawn together by their love for obscure philosophers and ancient myths and fairy tales. But tonight, Jack is not talking about literature; he is desperately looking for answers to his doubts. He has recently converted from Athiesm to Christianity, in his own words “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England,” but he struggles to believe the most basic truths of the Gospel. His friend Tollers is a Christian, but instead of quoting Scripture or arguing philosophy, he begins to talk about the stories they both love so much. Tollers says that in every great story, there is something good and deep—something that points to the best and deepest story—The Real Story—God’s story of salvation through Jesus Christ.
That September walk was a breakthrough for Jack, and two weeks later he told a friend that his doubts were no longer holding him back from his commitment to follow Christ. He told his friend Tollers that the world needed more stories that would point to The Real Story. Tollers, best known as J.R.R. Tolkien, went on to write the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jack, who wrote as C.S. Lewis, wrote literary essays and philosophy and apologetics. He didn’t get around to writing his best stories until much later in life, and when he did his stories were written for children and for those “old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
If you were going to write a story, how would it begin? Most of the world’s greatest stories begin with a painful reality: Things are not as they should be. Cinderella has a wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Sleeping Beauty has been cursed by a disgruntled old fairy. Hansel and Gretel are driven by starvation to the house of a wicked witch. Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother has been killed by the Big Bad Wolf. Snow White (in the original version) has a jealous mother who hires a hit man to kill her daughter.
Why do the greatest stories begin like that? The world is not as it should be. There are tsunamis and hurricanes, war and starvation, earthquakes and pollution. Marriages fall apart, children quarrel, politicians lie, and people we trust betray us. The world is not as it should be.
IF THERE WERE NO CHRISTMAS…
[18] This 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. [19] Because 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.
[20] But 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. [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."
[22] All 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."
[24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25
What if that had never happened?!
1. EVIL WOULD BE UNRESTRAINED IN MY WORLD
In C.S. Lewis’ story, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the world is not as it should be. World War II is in full swing, and 4 children have been sent to the country to escape the daily Nazi air raids on London. The world is not as it should be. Magically, the children enter another world—a wonderful world called Narnia, where animals talk and trees are friendly and magic happens. But even Narnia is not as it should be. It is winter in Narnia, cold and desolate. It is always winter in Narnia—and never Christmas! And in the winter of Narnia, the animals are afraid to talk out loud, the trees are stark and barren, and the magic is dark and dangerous.
How did Narnia become so cold? There’s a witch in the story—an evil, lying witch, because the real story says, “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19) and, “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians. 11:14) and, “there is no truth in [the devil]. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) The witch in Narnia is a White Witch, tall, thin, and beautiful like a fashion model, who calls herself the Queen of Narnia. She’s not the queen of course, and her whiteness is not the whiteness of purity, but the paleness of death. She promises a better life, but her castle is decorated by the stone statues of people who believed her lies.
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8
Narnia gives us a glimpse of a world where evil goes unchecked. It’s cold, it’s barren, it’s without hope. Relationships are built on betrayal, not trust.
2. SELFISHNESS WOULD RULE HUMAN NATURE
If there were no Christmas there would be no Christians doing charitable work. What would be the motivation to help someone. Did anyone see the American Atheists helping out with the relief effort in New Orleans? What about the Satanic Church? Do they have a charitable organization? Of course not, without a Christian world view there is little motivation to anything but selfish behavior.
Narnia is not as it should be. But that’s not the worst part of the story. The four children, “sons of Adam and children of Eve,” are not as they should be.
Edmund, the youngest boy to enter Narnia, is the first to meet the Witch. She feeds him candy—Turkish Delight. She promises to make the little boy who never got any respect the prince of Narnia. And she tells him that he can have all the Turkish Delight he wants and be the prince only if he brings his brother and sisters to her castle. It’s all lies, of course, and if he were thinking clearly he would see how wrong and foolish it would be to betray his brother and sisters for Turkish Delight and a promise of power. So why does he do it?
For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16
Why, indeed? Why do people choose evil over good? Is the Turkish Delight so delectable—or the money, the toys, the power, the thrills, the lust so delicious? Have the lies convinced them: that evil is good, and good is evil? Or did it begin long before, in their anger or pain or self-centeredness? The Real Story says that “each person is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15) We see all those things in Edmund: he wants the candy, he believes the lies, he wants to get back at his brother for calling him a “beast.” Perhaps we see some of those same things in ourselves: the evil desire, the confusion, the weakness.
Edmund believes the lies of the White Witch, and betrays his brother and sisters. This creates problems for him, as he soon discovers that life with the White Witch is not nearly as wonderful as he thought it would be. It is a problem for all four children, whose lives are now in danger. But it is also a problem for Narnia, for by some deep magic Narnia can only be made right when four “sons of Adam and daughters of Eve” sit on the ancient thrones of Cair Paravel. The fate of Narnia is tied to the fate of four children—four children who are not as they should be.
3. I COULD NEVER BE AS I SHOULD BE
Now that is a strange magic, and nearly impossible to explain. It is a magic I have often wished I could explain—for it is a “magic” that extends to life on the planet we call Earth. What do you say when 85,000 people die in an earthquake? What do you say to the parents who have lost a child to cancer? What do you say when the bad people win, and life is so unfair? It’s a mystery, almost like “magic.” The world is not as it should be—that’s obvious. But the mystery is that the world can never be right until the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are as they should be. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.“ (Romans 8:19-21)
And that is the root of the problem: The only hope for the world is that somehow the sons and daughters of Eve will finally be as they should be! And we don’t seem to be able to make ourselves right! It’s a problem we can’t solve—a problem only God can solve. The Apostle Paul says, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)
How do we live in a world that is not as it should be? There are hints in Narnia, but here is a straight answer: We live in the faith that someday the world will be as it should be—and we will be as we should be. And we try to make our world and our own lives like they should be, in anticipation of the glorious future that awaits the sons and daughters of God! The Real Story says it much better than I can: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Jesus appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. “ (1 John 3:2-3)
Testimony Interviews Here
Look at that reading from Rom.8. :20 “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.“:22 talks about the whole creation groaning and :23 includes us in that pain as we wait for our redemption, our being redeemed and made new/whole/perfect once again.
4. I WOULD HAVE NO HOPE OF FORGIVENESS
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." Matthew 1:21 (NIV)
Paul describes a world without Christ. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 (NIV)
There’s a pretty bleak picture. For a moment, ponder the weight of those words – “aliens from God’s people, strangers from His promises, no hope, without God in the world.” I don’t know if there could be any worse description of life than the two words “without hope.” It sounds like a land where it’s always winter, but never Christmas.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)
5. I WOULD HAVE NO HOPE OF A NEW LIFE
Each year, beginning on June 22, the number of minutes of sunlight we enjoy each day begins to shrink. From 15 hours and 2 minutes on that day, the time we have in the sun shrinks until December 22, when we have only 9 hours and 20 minutes. But as we approach that shortest day, I find myself telling people around me, and reminding myself, that the days immediately start getting longer again – gradually building till that wonderful 15 hour day in June! We need that hope – that reminder that things will once again return to the warmth and light of summer!
But imagine if there were no hope – imagine if on December 23, the minutes of daylight kept getting fewer – and scientists told us that it would never get better – no hope! Imagine the despair of being hope-less! Of feeling there is no end to the misery, no light at the end of the tunnel – no reason or purpose to go on.
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all.”
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:9-10
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
Invitation To Receive Christ
Serve Communion Here/ Bring Your Offering
Communion Worship Set
In Remembrance of me
I give you my heart
Emmanuel
