Next weekend, Disney Studios will release a film that they believe will be their most widely-watched film in history.
The story is a compelling one. Disney studios are betting over $180,000,000 that it will become their best-selling movie of all time. “It’s an expensive bet—but a bet worth taking.” LOTR and Passion together. Why?
Well-loved story written in 1950. So far, 86 million copies have been sold, with more than 1 million being purchased every year from that day until this. Hoping many of those will show up.
I read at 18 or 19. devoured all other CS Lewis after. Why? Why this book in the series? Why not the beginning of the story—Magician’s Nephew? Why this one first and most loved? Not even my favorite. But a compelling story.
Narnia is a place where animals walk and talk, and the land is ruled by a wicked witch whose magic spell keeps the entire land always winter, but never Christmas. –
The four children who discover Narnia are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. This may sound a little strange to those of us who haven’t experienced the story yet, but the children discover Narnia by walking through an old English wardrobe (what is that?) that is a kind of secret passageway into this alternative world.
Lucy discovers Narnia first. And then Edmund. On Edmund’s first visit to Narnia, he stumbles into the White Witch, who pretends to be his friend and feeds him large doses of Turkish Delight and promises to make him a king.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the children, Edmund aligns himself with the witch and plots to bring his brother and sisters to her. Unbeknownst to Edmund, the witch intends to turn them all into stone. How story begins.Not long before discover not stumble into world—Aslan brought them. “Why, don’t you know? He’s the King. The Lord of the whole wood. The Son of the Emperor Over the Sea. The Great Lion.” The subject of an old prophecy. Whole land is waiting for Him.
Brought in bc of another prophesy. “When Adam’s flesh and Adams bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil times will be over and done.” Two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve. And so brought on adventure to fulfill other phophesy.
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of His roar, sorrows will be no more, when he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” Sounds like another prophecy.
“The time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light—a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow. For God will break the chains that bind His people. Never again will uniforms be bloodstained by war. For a child is born to us. A son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end.” Isaiah 9:1-8
Adventure Begins—children in Narnia had an adventure. Not sure if they wanted it. We also have an adventure between two worlds.
Advent and adventure—not coincidence—same root. To Arrive. Find adventure you were born to, you will have arrived where you belong.
Christmas story was an adventure, not a lullaby. Young girl—expects ordinary life, til Gabriel shows up in her room.
Joe—he does too, nice girl, settle down, helped ladies cross street. then forced to flee home as a fugitive because of a baby.
Shepherds—always been shepherds, same sheep, same fields. seeing UFOs, changing jobs quickly in mid-life
Magi—trip w/no destination. Like vacations in magazine. Only not so fun. No ETA. Not pre-planned on mapquest and preregisted w/super 8. only faith the adventure—the arriving--was worth it.
It’s a story prophesied hundreds of years before. Some, like magi, saw the adventure and took it. Some saw the lullaby and slept through it, like the innkeeper.
Will we see it? Or sleep through it? Asleep in the light.
Christian life is an adventure. Lot of us stopped believing that when our busy, daily lives interrupted. Stopped believing jer 33:3, 29:11, Jn 14:12, “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done and even greater works.” stopped believing we really matter, can change anything
That when He says “come” we’re actually going anywhere significant.
Criticism that Christianity is boring—sometimes it is. Asleep in light. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller. Is your life an adventure for Him?
I’m too young, can’t do anything!—remind you of Mary’s age.
Too old, had enough adventures. MT 87. Not till you’re dead. Some folks are dead long before they die.— Too busy, scared, comfortable. Or just don’t know how.
But how do we make our lives an adventure for God in suburban Wheaton? Nice, nominally Christina capital, 40is homemaker, most dangerous thing ehre is vandalized mailbox. No ‘scope for imagination” here, or for adventure.
We may be missing it. Reverend W.C. Martin is pastor of Bennett Chapel, a small missionary Baptist church just outside of Shelbyville, Texas located about a half mile past the last paved road in an impoverished community called Possum Trot. But inside the doors of Bennett Chapel, something remarkable is happening.
The children are smiling. They are not just any children – they are adopted children. And there are not just a few of them, there are 70. These children, adopted by members of the congregation, fill the pews, the choir, and the Sunday school classes of this rural 200-member church.
It all started with a broken heart. Donna Martin, Rev. Martin’s wife, was coping with the death of her mother in 1996. So Donna prayed, and asked God to show her how to deal with the grief.
Donna Martin said, “I was just compelled, and He said, give back to those and go adopt.” The state educated me on adoption, and I turned around and educated my people from the biblical concept of adoption, and because of that, it mushroomed, it got bigger and it got bigger and it got bigger."
Since then, 26 families in the church have adopted foster children. These are not wealthy people, but they are people who are willing to help the kids. whom Donna Martin says God remembers and wants.
And Judson says what is happening at Bennett Chapel can happen at any church. Any church could have two or three families step forward and say, we’re going to adopt some children. and if every church in the country did that, then we would not have a foster care and adoption problem in this country." Simple DM started an adventure, out of the brokenness of her heart, and into the brokenness of others’ lives.
Donna’s story is a Christmas story, bc it’s the incarnation of Christ here and now. His flesh in this world. Move to another country? Sell all you have? Change everything? No—adventure can happen where we are, if we seek it, listen for it, and open the door to it. We think it’s far away, lofty, dangerous—the greatest adventure was a crying baby in a manger, so ordinary, and yet . . .
What’s your adventure? I don’t know. Don’t even know mine. Know this—world hungering for it. Reality shows. Because ordinary people are doing the adventurous, from extreme home makeovers to eating crickets live to being abandoned on an island. It’s a deep longing in human heart. Why? Bc we all know we were made for more than just getting by, daily living.
“He has planted eternity in the human heart.” Eccl 3:11. I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10. zoe [zwh] and perissos [Perissos]. Zoe is a word that refers to the highest quality of life available. It’s not just life, but great life, overflowing life, abundant life. The word perissos, means super abundant.
Here we have the answer to the hunger for adventure—but we’re not living like the Christmas story is an adventure. A lullaby.
Never has there been a society so overstimulated and yet so bored. Rome—same way. Took to gladiators, etc. but they saw something amazing—they saw Christians. “ They dwell in their own countries but simply as sojourners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws in their lives. They love all, and are persecuted by all... They are poor, yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance. . . They are reviled, and yet they bless...When they do good they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment, they rejoice because they are brought to life.” They die smiling, give joyfully, go anywhere at the call of someone they don’t know to do whatever. And the church grew. They lived the adventure of faith in a society literally dying for something they hadn’t seen and done before, been there, done that.
That’s what people need to see now. “Saddle up your horses—we’ve got a trail to blaze into the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.” What’s your trail? Deb—open door, now leading another way. Good, bc trail is rarely straight. Barb—sending young people to serve in other countries.
Definition of adventure—an exciting, remarkable experience. A risky undertaking into the unknown. Die for faith? Likely called on to live for it. Live abundantly.
We find the adventure as Jesus did. As the children in Narnia did. all four arrive there to find Faun that had sheltered Lucy against witch’s orders arrested. Seeing charred home and debris, react. “I—I wonder if there’s any point in going on,” said Susan. “I mean, it doesn’t seem particularly safe her and it looks as if it won’t be much fun either. And it’s getting colder every minute, and we’ve brought nothing to eat. What about just going home?” “O but we can’t, we can’t,” said Lucy suddenly, “don’t you see? We can’t just go home, it’s all on my account the poor faun has got into this trouble. We simply must try to rescue him.” “I’ve a horrid feeling that Lu is right,” said Susan. “I don’t want to go a step further and I wish we’d never come. But I think we must try to do something for Mr. Whatever-his-name-is—I mean the faun.” That’s what I feel too, said Peter. “I think we’ll have to go on.”
Though He was rich, He became poor, so by His poverty, He could make you rich. Children looked back and saw comfort of wardrobe, summer, dinner, and thought of someone in the cold and scared. Jesus looked back and saw comfort of throne, heaven, worship, Father—and thought of someone in the cold and scared. You.
Find adventure? Lose self. Reality shows have one thing wrong—purpose of adventure isn’t thrill, self-gratification. Only need next big thing. Purpose is to find something bigger than self worth sacrificing for. The way he did it at Christmas—because nothing was bigger than his majesty except his love.—giving up yourself.
Cassie story. Not big in scope of universe. But adventure—bc it was big to Cassie. It was Jesus to Cassie. And to an entire HS. Incarnation.
Christ said, “Come, follow me,” He didn’t say where, why, how long, and they dropped everything, and followed. Begin the adventure.
