The Greatest Gift Ever Given

INTRODUCTION:

Read Psalm 104

I. God separated light from darkness in the beginning. Gen 1:1-4

II. God, and the rest of the Trinity, created Man Gen 1:26

III. God told Adam not to eat of the Tree. Gen 2:15-17

IV. Sin entered the world and the need for a Savior began. Gen 3

A. Gen 2:25 Adam and Eve were fully open to each other prior to sin entering the world.

B. Gen 3:1-7 Rebellion entered the world, along with guilt and shame.

C. Gen 3:8-13 The blame game begins.

D. Gen 3:14-22 The need for a Savior arose.

V. Throughout the test of Genesis thru the end of Malachi, man simply gets worse. A. God calls Abram to start His chosen race of people, but this doesn’t go very smoothly.

B. God sends Joseph to Egypt to rescue mankind from famine and the nation of Israel is enslaved for 400 years.

C. In Exodus God sends a fallen man, Moses, to rescue the nation of Israel from Egypt and bondage.

D. In Deuteronomy God outlines how Israel is to live in the Promised Land and the consequences of what will happen if they don’t.

E. In the books of Samuel we see what happens when first the church and then the nation of Israel rebels against God as their King.

F. In the second half of 2 Samuel and throughout 1 & 2 Kings, we see the product of David’s sinfulness…..the kings fail God bigger each time successively.

IV. By the time of Malachi man is without hope, except for the coming Savior.

A. Israel and the Temple are eventually destroyed and rebuilt, only to do it again.

B. God doesn’t speak to Man for at least 400 years.

C. The nation of Israel is enslaved to Rome.

D. All this began back in the Garden in Genesis 1-3 when God began to separate the light from the dark.

V. Hope is born.

A. JC was born to save us from our sins. Matt 1:18-21

B. JC ministers throughout His earthly ministry.

C. He is betrayed by an act of affection. Matt 26:47-49

D. He dies on the cross for our mistakes and rebellion. Matt 27

VI. The reason we should celebrate Christmas is the gift of Grace that entered the world thru the birth, then death, then resurrection of JC. This is the greatest gift ever given.

A. After Eve acted in rebellion by listening to the snake, and then Adam rebelled by listening to his wife about the fruit of sin, we were without hope.

B. JC enters the earth as a baby and everything changes.

C. His Grace and His Mercy is the greatest gift ever given.

CONCLUSION:

Read Psalms 103.

We should celebrate, give gifts and etc, because the most expensive and greatest gift began unfolding in a small cave in Bethlehem when a small newborn was placed in a feed trough.

He was born to die so that we might be born again to live.