Christmas Lesson - Immanuel
Someone once said that when they think about God, they hear a SONG – maybe it’s a Christmas song. They go on to say that “Maybe the way we live every day determines how IN TUNE with God we really are.”
The Meaning Behind the
Song: Where Are You Christmas
by Faith Hill
Is there a yearning
for the joy and magic of Christmas? Has it faded amidst the chaos and demands
of everyday life? Now that you are older, do you have feelings of nostalgia and
longing for the innocent wonder of the Christmas season?
Did you know that
the spirit of Christmas is always within reach — it just needs to be
rediscovered?
Do you need to be reminded
that the true meaning of Christmas is beyond the materialistic trappings? Do
you need to reflect on the deeper values of love, compassion, and togetherness
that lie at the heart of Christmas?
Do you not realize
that “My world is changing, I’m rearranging,” highlights the transformative
nature of Christmas? Do you need to evaluate your priorities and values and focus
on the joy of giving and the importance of cherishing time spent with loved
ones?
This song takes you
on a journey that leads to the true essence of Christmas. It is a message of
hope and reassurance that, no matter how lost we may feel, the magic of Christmas
can always be found within our hearts.
What do
you enjoy most about Christmas?
Max Lucado
LET THE SLEIGH
BELLS RING! I love Christmas. Let the carolers sing. The more Santa's the
merrier. I don’t complain about the crowded shops. I don’t grumble at the
jam-packed grocery store. Why? ...well, because it’s Christmas.
I love it because
someone will ask the Christmas questions. “What’s the big deal about the baby
in the manger? Who was He? What does His birth have to do with me?”
The questioner may
be a young military man stationed far from home. She may be a young mom who,
for the first time, holds a child on Christmas Eve.
The Christmas
season prompts Christmas questions — and answers. Because of Bethlehem, God is
always near us. Always for us. Always in us. We may forget Him, but God will
never forget us. He called Himself Immanuel — God with us!
He called Himself Immanuel — God with us!
There is no one in
history that has been given more names or titles than Jesus Christ. Throughout
the Bible there are over 100 names and titles given to Jesus. And whether He is
called "Bright Morning Star, Wonderful Counselor, the Root of Jesse, the
Alpha and the Omega, or the Lamb of God", each of these names and titles
is rich with meaning. They all say something significant about who Jesus is. However,
there is no name more significant than "Immanuel". This name is a Christmas
name, as Matthew tells us, that means "God with us."
Let’s
read the story…
Jesus is
God MATTHEW 1:18-21
The birth of Jesus
Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph,
it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy
Spirit. So, her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to
disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had
considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your
wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will
give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His
people from their sins.”
Sadly, for Mary,
the conception of baby Jesus, though actually miraculous, would not have been
perceived as wonderful by her friends and family. They saw her pregnancy as
scandalous. Her explanation that she had become pregnant through the Holy
Spirit was received as lunacy. Her family likely thought she was crazy or
lying. They would have thought she had been obviously unfaithful to her
betrothed. They may not have accused Joseph, for he was a righteous man.
Why do
you think God chose this order of events surrounding the birth of the Messiah?
God could have
allowed Mary to become pregnant with the Christ child after she had been
intimate with Joseph, but this order proved that God alone was the Father of
the Messiah. Through others in her town may have doubted her purity, Mary knew
for certain that the Child was not the son of Joseph but conceived through the
Holy Spirit.
Welcome
to Our World
Max Lucado
THE VIRGIN BIRTH is
more, much more than a Christmas story.
It’s a story of how
close Christ will come to you. The first stop on His itinerary was a womb.
Where will God go
to touch the world? Look deep inside Mary for an answer. Better still, look
deep within yourself. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Scripture says in
Colossians 1:27.
Christ grew in Mary
until He had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He
will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions.
Every place you
live will be a Bethlehem. Every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver
Christ into the world — your world.
What do
you learn about Joseph in 1:18-21?
It’s OK to feel
embarrassed, hurt, betrayed, angry, and more. But we must act upon what really
happened. And we must do so in the ways God would guide us to do. Joseph chose to be kind and
compassionate.
God is with
Us MATTHEW 1:22-25
Now all this took
place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the
virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him
Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” When Joseph got up from
sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did
not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.
What do
you learn about Joseph in 1:22-25?
How did Joseph
reflect 1 John 5:2-3?
Joseph proved first that he loved and was obedient to God in marrying Mary. He
had everything to lose by obeying God, but he chose to live by faith instead of
fear.
Maybe God
is leading you to step away from expectations of people around you and to obey
Him regardless of what others think.
Ever feel
like Christmas just came and went without much of any effect on your life?
“It’s a Wonderful
Life” is an American film classic enjoyed by many during the Christmas season.
The film revolves
around a main character played by Jimmy Stewart in a narrative showing what
life would have been like if he had never been born.
Have you
ever thought about what the world would be like if Christ had never been born?
There is a story
about a Pastor who fell asleep in his study one Christmas morning, and he
dreamed of a world into which Christ had never been born. In his dream he found
himself walking through the rooms of his home, but something had changed,
something was very different. There were no stockings hung by the fireplace,
there was no Christmas tree, no wreaths of holly. Nor was there any manger
scene of the Christ Child to warm the heart. Then he walked outside and saw
that there were no church steeples pointing to Heaven. He came back in and sat
down in his study, but something was different - every book about the Savior
was gone. Suddenly, a ring came at the door and a small boy in tears begged the
Pastor to come quickly to help his mother. Why he asked, and the little boy
said, because she is dying. He rushed out with the boy and when he reached the
home he sat down beside the mother, held her hand, and tried to comfort her
with some of God’s promises from the Bible, but when he opened the Bible, it
ended at Malachi. What had happened? There was no Gospel; there was no promise
of hope and salvation. What could he say, what comfort could he give, how could
he help? The mother died and as he stood with her family by her grave, he tried
to offer them some comfort, but what could he say? What words of consolation
could he give them? There was no message of a glorious resurrection, no reunion
in Heaven, only “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and one long eternal farewell.
Suddenly, he realized what had happened, Christ had not come, He had not been
born and he burst into tears, and he cried out in utter despair.
“Now this would be
about the time George Bailey would be back at the bridge crying out to Clarence
the angel – get me back Clarence, get me back, I want to live again, I want to
live again. But instead of Zoo Zoo’s petals…”
Then suddenly, the
pastor woke-up and he heard the church choir singing in his church close by:
“O come, all ye
faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come
ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold
Him, born the King of Angels,
O come let us adore
Him, Christ, the Lord.”
And a great feeling
of joy and praise welled up inside of him as he realized it had all been a bad
dream. Christ had been born. And the words given to the shepherds came to his
mind, “Behold, I bring you good tiding of great joy, which shall be to all people,
for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ
the Lord.”
Yes, the world and
everything as we know it would be quite different if Christ had not been born.
I AM -
IMMANUEL
Is He with you?
God gave Jesus the
name Immanuel, which means, "God is with us." But is He? Is God in
your life? Does He guide your thoughts and your attitudes? Do you seek His face
before any other? Have you committed to His way regardless of the difficulty?
Let's make this a Christmas to Remember!
