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PART 1: CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Sentimental value and traditions can hijack your heart and blind you to the truth the Christmas
story is trying to tell you.
In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in
your traditions or in God’s truth?
Question:
The meaning of Christmas is that love will triumph and that we will be able to put together a world of unity and peace. In
other words, WE have the light within us, and so we are the ones who can dispel the darkness of the world. WE can overcome
poverty, injustice, violence, and evil. If WE work together, we can create “a world of
unity and peace.”
Tim Keller
“Christmas—contrary to popular opinion—is the most UN-sentimental, realistic way of looking at life.” The
message of Christianity in general—and Christmas gospel—in particular is
instead, “Things really are bad, and we can’t fix it ourselves. Things really are
this dark—but there IS hope.”
Matthew 1:1-17From the genealogy of Matthew, we learn:
The Christmas Gospel is Good News,
Not Good Advice
The Chris tmas Gospel Turns the World’s Values Upside Down
People excluded by culture, respectable society, and even by the law of God can be brought
into Jesus’ family.
What does this mean?1
People who hold all the most powerful
credentials only get into Jesus’ family by grace.
What does this mean?2
The Chris tmas Gospel says God May Take His Time,
But He Keeps His Word
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about…”
Matthew 1:18
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus
is God
1Three Truths
THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
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.”
M A T T H E W 1 : 2 0
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
Immanuel (which means “God with us”)
M A T T H E W 1 : 2 3
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
If Jesus really is God, what does that mean for
us practically?
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
(a) If Jesus is God, it is an intellectual watershed.
“God became man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a
helpless baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wiggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child…The babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the
more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.”
J . I . P A C K E R
“It is from misbelief, or at least inadequate belief, about the Incarnation that difficulties at other points in the gospel story usually spring. But once the Incarnation is grasped as a reality,
these other difficulties dissolve.”
J . I . P A C K E R
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
(b) If Jesus is God, it is a defining moment.
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
(c) If Jesus is God, then there is Hope.
The Christmas Gospel Says Jesus is God1
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in your
traditions or in God’s truth?
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus
is With Us
2Three Truths
THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us2
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
If you want Jesus in your life, it is going to take COURAGE.
M E A N I N G
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us2
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
THE COURAGE TO ENDURE THE WORLD’S
SCORN.
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us2
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
THE COURAGE TO GIVE UP ONE’S RIGHT TO
SELF-DETERMINATION.
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus is With Us2
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
THE COURAGE TO ADMIT WE ARE SINNERS.
“He will save his people from their sins.” (vs. 21)
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus isn’t a king;
He is The King
3Three Truths
THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
The Christmas Gospel says Jesus isn’t a king; He is The King
3
Three Truths THAT TRIUMPH OVER TRADITIONS
“Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the
east and have come to worship him.”
M A T T H E W 2 : 2
The Chris tmas Gospel Reveals the Threat Of Christ’s Kingdom
M A T T H E W 2 : 7 - 8 ; 1 3 - 1 6
“If you want to be king, and someone else comes along saying he is the king, then one of you has to give in. Only one person can sit
on an absolute throne.”
Tim Keller
Chris tmas means that THE King has
come into the world.
So what are you going to do about it?
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which
means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:22-23
In your times of trouble or temptations, will you trust in your traditions or
in God’s truth?
PART 1: CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW