The Confidence for Facing our Tomorrow (Genesis 17:1-14, 20:1-3; 11-13)

 

The Implication of Christmas to the Believers (Luke 1:11-20, 26)

December 24, 2017

The Implication of Christmas To the Believers

Luke 1:11-20 & Luke 1:26-28  

What does Christmas mean to you?

1.     The first Christmas

A.    It was the fulfillment of the long-awaited prayers to Zechariah, yet in a different picture that demanded his faith (Vv.  12-17)

 a.      It was a demonstration of God’s Grace in his dealing with humans;

The name John (Jochanna) – God is gracious - denoted what exactly God was to do for Zechariah and the rest of humanity (v. 13)

b.     It was a demonstration of the beginning of the generation of the people who would belong into the reign and rulership of God in obedience and submission to his will. (v. 17)

c.      It was a demonstration of a guiding precaution against the resisting, or overlooking God’s control in the lives of the ones he has favored (v. 19-20)

 

B.       The first Christmas was the demonstration of the sovereignty of God in Mary’s life and over the entire human race. It was a revelation of the power and the purpose of God that breaks through the human history of which demanded a total dependence on Him (vv. 27-38) 

a.      Mary’s conception was a redesigning of her human betrothal plans, beyond and against her orientation and control to the fulfillment of God’s purpose (vv. 30-34).

b.     First Christmas was a demonstration of the required human’s response to God’s Sovereignty and reigning in life (v. 38) 

C.    What does Christmas imply to the believers today? 

a.      Christmas is all about the trading of control in our lives; from being self-centered people, to the willingness and readily submission to the sovereignty and the reigning of God in our lives.

 

Fellowship Questions

·       What do we learn from Zechariah’s response to the angel, and God’s fulfillment of his plans in answering Zechariah’s prayers - How does God reveal himself in our failures?

·       What is your answer to the question of, What does Christmas mean to you? What are some of the areas in your life do you think you need to trade control with the Lord?

·       How do you plan to attain the goal of trading control in the areas you’ve discovered?

·       What is your prayer request?

 

2017