Class Lesson January 8, 2012

Hey Gang,

Our lesson series says that Americans live in a culture that has drifted off course. Many adults base their thinking and lifestyles on what the popular culture endorses. The good news is that believers can stand for Christ and what is right in the midst of a culture that no longer understands truth. This week we look at the impact SEX in our culture has on our daily walk. 

Love & Sex

FLAME - Rob Bell
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Hebrew and Greek words for Love: Raya (Phileo), Dod (Eros), Ahava (Agape).

What messages does our culture send about sensuality? How often? What’s the problem with buying into these messages?

• A vast majority of the estimated 3,000 advertisements that reach consumers daily use sensuality to sell their product. Selfish insistence on physical pleasure has torn apart families, churches, and nations. 

• Television, movies, and music promote sexual immorality as the norm and ridicule the notion of reserving sexual intimacy for marriage.

• Distracts me from my spouse; takes advantage of others; leads to more sin; rejects love.

• Our culture is against purity.

Our lesson says that we should identify how we have been influenced by sensual messages and choose to walk a life of purity in love, light and wisdom.

• Have we separated the flames?
• 2nd Half of Marriage

 Ephesians 5:1-16

Most of the time when people think of Ephesians chapter 5, they go straight to verse 22, where it says wives submit to your husbands. And verses 22 - 33 do take into account wives and husbands relational roles, but it's important to understand verses 1 - 21 leading up to this infamous section of scripture because it sets the very tone of the remaining verses. Verses 1 - 21 are a Wake-Up call to believers that are submitting to the Wrong things. The culture's way is not the way you are to submit to and verse 21 sets the right tone for the following verses: "Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ." 

True Ahava is submission to one another in Christ!

America and the Greco-Roman World

The city of Ephesus – to whom Paul wrote this letter to – likely, reflected a society similar to 21st Century America. Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Ephesus’s greatest claim to fame was her responsibility as the official “temple keeper” of Artemis, a fertility/mother goddess. Scholars are divided on whether fertility rites (sexual orgies), were part of the worship of this idol. However, all agree that sexual immorality was rampant in Ephesus. Extramarital affairs, prostitution, promiscuity, homosexuality, and bisexuality were common. It was just as difficult for the Ephesian believers in 61 A.D. to seek purity as for Christians in 2012. Yet Paul told every believer there must not be even a hint of impurity in their lives. Christians cannot use the moral degeneration of their culture as an excuse to relax the moral standards God has clearly laid out in His Word.

 

I. WALK IN LOVE – EPHESIANS 5:1-5

1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. 2 And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.


How does the sexual overload in society invade our view of self, our view of home, or our view of relationships?

• We tend to imitate where we spend our time.

• Paul opens in the first two verses with the standard for love – imitate Jesus. This means walking in love and behaving in a way that God will be pleased to see what you do and say. If we understand the “how” of living in purity then it will help us recognize the “how not” in life. Kindness, sharing, and respect help us understand the rules.

Has anyone ever demonstrated this kind of love behavior to you? How did it affect you?


The next three verses lay out a list of intolerable behaviors. You may practice them for a time, but in the end these behaviors will steal rather than deliver. They are counterfeits. We should avoid and be intolerant of such behaviors in ourselves and from others – these behaviors are sexual impurity and greed. Each is a form of idolatry because each worships self and pleasures.


Sexual immorality and any impurity covered every kind of illicit sexual activity – all sexual intercourse outside its God-ordained context in a loving marriage between a man and a woman. Moral life in Paul’s day had sunk so low that people who engaged in sexual immorality met no opposition. Impurity, a more general term, referred to a full range of unclean thoughts, ideas, fantasies, and any other form of sexual corruption.



Now, a good question would be, how do we show a lack of tolerance without a lack of love? How do we engage in such conversations without condescension with anyone? How do we help in ways besides talking? What gives someone the courage to stop or to refuse greed and sexual sins? 

• Believers are to imitate God in His love and forgiveness.

• To walk in love as Christ did, we must learn to imitate Him. How did Jesus show the value of people?

How would you respond to the following?

1. I’m in a social gathering and someone says something offensive or dishonoring to the Lord - everybody laughs what should I do?  
2. An adult family member decides to move in and live with someone they intend to marry – what should I say or do?

Why isn’t sexual immorality love? 

• Sensuality sees people as sexual objects. When we walk in Christ’s love, we see people as having great physical and spiritual value and consequently seek to give them what they need rather than what we can get out of them.

• Sex is a spiritual thing.

Why did Paul make a big deal out of our speech anyway? Why is thanksgiving an effective antidote to vulgarity’s poison? 

• Language is a gateway to behavior. When we make light of sexual sin with joking and innuendos, it’s easy to assume people are there for our pleasure and to move toward using them.

• Thanksgiving focuses attention on God. Rude and crude talk focuses attention on self.

How do you interpret verse 5? 

• This verse does not mean that a believer may lose salvation due to a sexual sin but that someone participating in these actions is not living and acting as a child of God.

• No one who persists in such sins is part of God’s kingdom.

Points:

1. Sexual sins are especially serious.

2. Such sins may be committed by what we think, what we say, or what we do.

3. Such sins are totally inappropriate for Christians.

4. Christians should avoid relationships that are potentially compromising.


II. WALK IN LIGHT – EPHESIANS 5:8-12

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— 10 discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.


Oil and water, sand and sea, light and dark – these cannot coexist. Paul used light and darkness to contrast our lives before and after our saving faith in Christ. As we learn to trust and obey Jesus, then our lives will become a delightful journey of goodness, righteousness, truth, and fruitfulness.



What does light accomplish? How does living as light result in those accomplishments? Why use darkness as a metaphor for sexual impurity? Why use light to describe believers?

• Impurity contradicts love.

• Light produces fruit. Light helps you see where to go. It shows the good stuff.

Why are the works of darkness fruitless? How does participation in this sensual culture dim our light? 

• Sexual misbehavior, whether committed in body or mind, cannot produce anything that benefits you or others.

Why are some topics better left unmentioned? How can we expose shameful deeds if we’re not to mention them? How can we leave our light on?

• We don’t necessarily have to speak up to expose sexual immorality and if we do it needs to be in love. Explore what works and doesn’t work.
• We expose the darkness of immorality by shinning the light of a consistently pure lifestyle.
• Turn off the dark. Replace any form of impurity, including speaking and viewing habits, with good activities. Expose sexual immorality; don’t excuse or rationalize it. Show genuine care.

Paul says in verse 8 that not only should we be different but we must also walk differently.




Are sexual, crude, or coarse jokes harmless?

• We cannot consider sensual talk harmless. We cannot assume crude jokes are funny or coarse talk is hilarious. Verse 12 takes an even harsher stand against those acts of darkness: We are not to even mention them.

We won’t defeat the darkness, so we must focus on deliberately conducting ourselves in Christ’s light.


Points:

1. When people turn to Christ, they are changed from darkness to light.

2. Christians should live as children of light.

3. Christians should rebuke the works of darkness.

III. WALK IN WISDOM – EPHESIANS 5:15-16

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

The Internet is full of videos that have captured people tripping. Hilarious, right? Certainly – unless you’re the one who fell. Falling is even worse if it’s a relationship fall, a work fall, or a character fall.



In what ways are you wise in how you walk in relationships, work, character, or other areas? When are you tempted to dabble in darkness?



By heeding Christ’s wisdom, we can truly walk with loving actions. Most of us can recall when one careless step – tripping over a toy, sliding on ice, stubbing a toe – led to suffering because we were not paying attention. How much deeper the pain is when we’ve mistreated a person or made a foolish choice.



The unwise will always walk differently from the wise, simply because the goals and focus of the two stand in stark contrast to one another. Fools despise wisdom and resist discipline. They want what they want when they want it. Therefore, if our walk – the way we conduct our actions and relationships – cannot be differentiated from those who do not know God, we don’t walk in wisdom. We must daily analyze our words, actions, and thoughts to be sure they imitate Christ. We discern what pleases the Lord to choose goodness, righteousness, and truth. These are just a few indicators that God guides our steps.



How regularly should we as believers confess our sins and invite Christ to expose our weaknesses? How can the evil of society propel us to walk more closely to Christ, not pull away from Him?



Describe a believer living wisely in our sensual culture. Why can even a believer lose focus? Why is seeking pleasure an unwise way to spend life?

• Wise believers purposefully seek purity, or sin will snag them. Our default mode gravitates to self-indulgence and doing what feels good. Even though Christ has changed our default mode from darkness to light, we need to keep the light on.

• We live both in the light of Christ and in a dark world. Satan will put people and events in our lives to trip us up. We must stay on our guard. Never arrogantly think, I’d never do that.

Why would using our time wisely keep us from getting tripped up by impurity? Some think the best use of time is to work until they collapse. How might that result in impurity? What activities and attitudes make the most of time?

• Our use of time is not neutral.

• Watching a clean TV show or reading a book that doesn’t compromise God’s moral standards may be a wise use of time if it recharges our batteries and helps us refocus.

• Investing in people who make you wiser.

Points:

1. God gives wisdom to those who seek it in Him.

2. Those who receive wisdom should walk in it.



Our culture evidences many of the sins of the culture of the first-century Greco-Roman world. Theirs was a sexually immoral society, so is ours. Sensuality was its leading sin, but other sins were involved also. These included drunkenness and selfishness. Paul delivered God’s message about being pure in a sensual society. He called Christians to walk in love, to walk in light, and to walk in wisdom.



Will we seek purity in this sensual culture by default or by choices? What conscious choices must we make to enjoy purity? 

• God’s pure plan for intimacy provides security, satisfaction, love, and safety.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me to be faithful to You in the midst of our sensual culture. Amen

This may not be the easiest topic to discuss, but no one can ignore that it is an important issue that Christians face everyday. Put this lesson in prayer this week as we come together this Sunday to discuss.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan 

Class Lesson January 1, 2012

Hey Gang,

This new study series looks at five issues facing our culture. It's not too difficult for Christians to see that Americans today live in a culture that has drifted off course. Many adults base their thinking and lifestyles on what the popular culture endorses. This study tackles five issues head on and shows us the biblical counterpart to a culture gone awry. Adults can stand for Christ and what is right in the midst of a culture that no longer understands truth.

Lessons in this series:

January 1 - Thriving in a Fast-Food Culture – Make the best use of the body God gave you.

January 8 – Seeking Purity in a Sensual Culture – Embrace people-treating actions you, God, and others can be proud of.

January 15 – Caring in an Expendable Culture – Participate in God’s plan and purpose for each individual.

January 22 – Loving in a Divided Culture – Identify your prejudices and compare them to God’s Word.

January 29 – Giving in a Greedy Culture – Identify needs of people around you.

Why should we be concerned with our bodies? Or, why are we overly concerned with them?

• Some fall into the trap of self-worship, focusing entirely too much on food, weight, and appearance. Others swing the pendulum to completely ignore those actions that enable a healthy lifestyle. These two extreme attitudes toward our bodies – obsession and neglect – could not be more different. But neither attitude is what Christ desires for us.

Our lesson this week says that we should make the best use of the body God gave us by aligning with Christ, avoiding the harmful, and adopting the beneficial.

I. ALIGN WITH CHRIST – ROMANS 13:12-14
12 The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.


Paul urged believers to seize every opportunity to represent Christ in daily life. What a perfect focus on this first day of the New Year!


In verse 12, Paul spoke of the night and darkness. He says that deeds done in darkness are actions we want to hide. Whereas deeds of the daylight bring clarity, togetherness, and solutions. They are based on truth, knowledge, purity, and solidity. There are no pain-causing or secret motives. Daytime activities reflect the light of Christ (John 1:4-5). They show love, as defined by God. We don’t mind people seeing us do them or knowing we do them. We assume they’d be proud of us for those.


Consider a time in your life when you were living in darkness. Was it caused by a secret sin or a stubborn rebellion or something else? How did Christ bring that to light? How are you living in light now?


Paul continued by listing the different types of dark behavior. For many boomers, these first four sins seem to belong to the younger generations, but Satan will find a way to yank us toward something like these. Plus, few believers of any generation can pretend that the last two in Paul’s list – quarreling and jealousy – do not apply to our own lives.


What sins of darkness mark our generation? In what ways do we pretend they don’t matter?


So how do we escape darkness and enter into light? Action by deliberate action. We simply – but intentionally – put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We accept His rule, His power, His protection. Like many aspects of the Christian life, this is not a one-time decision. It is a day-by-day, situation-by-situation mind-set to choose actions of light when we are tempted to escape into the darkness.


What situations tempt you to live in darkness? How are you allowing Christ to bring you into His light?


It all begins with our relationship with Christ. How can we put Him on if we don’t know Him? And if we don’t get to know Him, how are we going to have a closer relationship with Him? Without that relationship, we cannot possibly live in the light; the darkness of our world is simply too strong. Are you savoring His Word? Do you call on Him throughout the day? Do you listen to His guidance? This is how we put Him on.



Why would Paul use the metaphor of getting dressed to illustrate our relationship with Christ? How might we let the treatment of our bodies get out of control on one extreme or the other? How can we regain control?

• Probably the greater problem isn’t that we make plans to get out of shape physically and spiritually but that we don’t have any plans to get and stay fit.
• We must discard anything – leisure activities, food, situations, and relationships – that promotes sin or unhealthy activities in our lives.
• We can identify areas where we are not thriving and make plans to battle those weak areas. We start by making a wholehearted commitment to line ourselves up with Christ and His standards. Out of that relationship flows the strategy and strength to thrive.

Points:

1. Christ-likeness is a Christian duty.

2. Believers are to lay aside sins related to drunkenness, sexual immorality, and strife.

3. Believers are to put on Christ as their lifestyle as if putting on a new garment.



II. AVOID THE HARMFUL – PROVERBS 23:20-21

20 Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags.

Most of us assume that we’re strong enough to resist anything. So we foolishly form alliances with people who drag us down. It’s a simple fact: We become like those we spend time with. If we truly want to align with Christ, we must choose to avoid harmful relationships and actions. Many Christians avoid illegal and immoral activity (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But few take seriously what may be legal and customary but not wise and good.



What would most Christians label off-limits for managing their bodies? Which activities might they treat as a gray area? Which might they embrace?


In Proverbs 23:20-21 Solomon identified two specific activities that harm our bodies: abusing alcohol and overeating. These two can easily lead to legalism and division between believers. Christians must focus not on “How much can I indulge?” but “In what way am I using body and health to glorify God?”


Though this passage does not explicitly prohibit the use of alcohol, it also does not give permission for “responsible” or “social” drinking. Believers must consider the full counsel of Scripture to answer: How would consuming alcohol glorify God? To what extent does Christ call me to avoid alcohol (Luke 1:15)?


Where do you draw the line for consuming alcohol? What factors led to your decision? In what ways did Christ lead you to make this decision?



Though many Christians are careful about the stand they take on consuming alcohol, few adhere to the same care when considering what they eat or how much they eat. In fact, according to a 2006 study by Purdue University, church members tend to be more overweight than the general population. Many of the arguments used against drinking, such as health and addiction, apply equally to overeating. Solomon coupled the two harmful activities together for a reason.



We know with our heads that overeating is bad for us. Why do we do it anyway? What is emotional eating? What would the Spirit guide us to do about that? In what ways does overeating demonstrate self-glorification instead of glorifying Christ?



We don’t want to let our lack of discipline in regards to alcohol, food, or anything else hinder our ability to live and love and glorify God. It is for this very reason that God gives us a loving church and relationships within it to lead, encourage, and walk along beside us.



How did the bad habits Solomon described reflect a fast-food culture even in that ancient time? How might Solomon step all over some self-righteous toes? Why would he equate drunkenness with overeating?

• Some boomers who wisely refrain from drinking alcohol may still not be thriving in this fast-food culture because they are abusing their bodies with poor eating habits.
• Both drunkenness and gluttony harm the body and show a lack of self-discipline and restraint.
• Don’t get caught in a debate about drinking alcohol. Use the Bible commentary to enforce the value of abstinence and get back to the focus of avoiding all things that are physically harmful. If anything, focus on overeating or refusal to set good eating habits.

Points:

1. Don’t drink alcoholic beverages.

2. Don’t eat too much.

3. Glorify God with your body.




III. ADOPT THE BENEFICIAL – DANIEL 1:8, 11-16
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.

……………………………………………………

11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

Daniel’s homeland was Judah, but the Babylonians captured him. All he had known – family, home, and heritage – had been ripped from him. Even in this incredibly lonely and difficult situation, Daniel chose not to harm his body with the Babylonian king’s food and wine. The Hebrew word for “defile” refers to moral or ceremonial defilement. Two possibilities could have caused defilement in Daniel’s situation: First, the king would not hesitate to serve foods identified as unclean by the law of Moses (see Lev. 11:7-8; 17:10-14). Second, the food and wine served at Nebuchadnezzar’s table may have previously been associated with the worship of heathen gods. The Bible doesn’t specify the reasons, but Daniel chose to respectfully request a different diet. Daniel and other Israelites proposed eating only vegetables and water. This seemed unorthodox to the official in charge of them; he gave them only 10 days to display that the vegetarian menu was beneficial. Choosing purity and holiness resulted in evident change in the men’s’ physiques.



How did Daniel demonstrate courage in his request for a new diet? How did he demonstrate respect? What else is needed to please God in the ways we adopt a beneficial way of eating and living?


Note that the original inhabitants of earth were vegetarians until after the flood (see Gen. 1:29; 9:3). But Daniel’s example does not insinuate that followers of God should avoid meat. Daniel’s choice was based on what he understood to be God’s standards, which resulted in a heart, mind, and body that remained undefiled.


Instead of seeking the best-tasting or most-filling, we would be wise to ask, “Which foods would make me feel and live my best?” Jesus will reveal those things in our diet and lifestyle to be accepted or avoided. What beneficial foods can you easily add to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner this week?


Rather than fret about what you will eat and don’t eat, take on food as a worship adventure: How can I best honor God through what I choose?



How were Daniel and his friends surrounded by a type of fast-food culture? What were keys to Daniel’s success in adopting beneficial habits? How did Daniel demonstrate his determination at least three times a day? What happens when we exercise resolve on a continual basis? 

• Sample: keys, determined, enlisted the support of friends, made the changes respectfully.

Points:

1. Believers need to develop moral convictions based on God’s Word.

2. When confronted by choices, we should act in light of these Biblical based convictions.

3. We should act with courage no matter what the consequences.

4. Living in this way involves self-control with the help of the Lord.

5. Self-control leads to a happier and healthier life than self-indulgence.

6. Those who discipline their lives when they are young can give their whole life to the Lord.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, when I am tempted, may Your Spirit give me strength to exercise self-control. Amen

Well, there's nothing like getting right down to a Baptist point at the beginning of a new series. Next week our discussion gets even hotter as we look at sexual immorality as one of the issues taking our culture off course today. Some questions out there are: "Why does the church make such a big deal with sensuality in the culture, is it really any of our business?" and "Can't you stay away from sexual immorality if you just stay true to your wife?". Maybe your thoughts are that this is just too embarrassing and improper to talk about in church or maybe you're thinking, we're too old to worry about sensual temptation. Well, (I've already said that) this is our second in a series of cultural challenges to discuss - so we'll see you next week!


In His Love,


David & Susan

Happy New Year!

Class Lesson December 25, 2011

Hey Gang,

Well, it's Christmas Day and we want to wish each of you all the joy and happiness that this special time of celebration brings to those who know and believe in the REASON for the season!

On Christmas Day!

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Merry Christmas!

In His Love,

 

David & Susan

Class Lesson December 18, 2011

Hey Gang,

 It's The Most Wonderful Time of Year

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What if I told you that your very joy this Christmas season will be determined by how you respond to God’s gift of Jesus? Think about it. The songs we sing at Christmas are reminders that Christmastime is supposed to be happy. Songs like: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Jingle Bells, and Walking in a Winter Wonderland all communicate that Christmas time is to be a joyous, trouble-free season.

Is that what you are experiencing this season?

Or are there personal problems keeping you from experiencing the joy of Christmas? Has there been a crisis that has just overcome you to the point that it is hard to have a holly-jolly Christmas? Or are you so busy and working so hard that there is just no time for sitting around a fire roasting chestnuts? Or, maybe there's not anything really wrong, but for some reason you are just not enjoying Christmas. It's not providing the emotional lift that you expected. In fact, it is almost depressing. The world does not look like a winter wonderland. It just looks like winter.


This kind of disillusionment at Christmas is not an unusual thing. We get so hyped up with expectations about what Christmas is supposed to be that often the real thing doesn't measure up, and we are disappointed.

This isn’t how I want to spend Christmas; how can I find the joy in Christmas?

Can Anyone Tell Me What Christmas is All About?

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Our lesson this week says that we should respond like the wise men from the east. Have you ever wondered why the wise men were wise men?



I. WHAT DO YOU SEEK? – MATTHEW 2:1-6

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 "In Bethlehem of Judea," they told him, "because this is what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah: because out of you will come a leader who will shepherd My people Israel. "


Your level of joy at Christmas is directly related to what it is you seek.



What is it I want to get out of Christmas? What is it that would make my Christmas wonderful and satisfying?

• Is it snow, or having all the family together and happy? Is it a feeling you define as the holiday spirit? Is it finding the right present to give someone, or getting the present you have been hoping for?
• The problem with all these is that they can all leave us disappointed.

Have you ever felt this way - disappointed by Christmas because it did not deliver what you thought it would?

The problem is not Christmas, it’s our expectations. We are looking for the wrong thing.





What were the wise men looking for?

• Verse 2 tells us. They came to Jerusalem and said, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." They were looking for Jesus. Christmas for them was an opportunity to worship Jesus.
• The wise men show us how to increase our level of joy at Christmas by looking for the right thing.

Two reasons the wise men were wise men was because:



1. They sought the Lord. "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" (Verse 2). Wise men still seek Him. Especially with the time clock of humanity running out. Wise men will seek Him now. There will be time when He won't be able to be found Thus, the prophet Isaiah said, SEEK YE THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, call ye upon Him while He is near." (Isa. 55:6) Have you sought the Lord? Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? God's gift is eternal life. What a gift to receive this Christmas. Ask Jesus to be your Savior today!



2. They worshiped Christ. "... for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him." (Verse 2). "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, AND WORSHIPED HIM." (Verse 11) Again, Isaiah the prophet told us that Jesus Christ is God. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: ... and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, the Prince of Peace," Isaiah 9:6. Only God is to be worshiped. That's why the wise men worshiped the Lord Jesus (See Luke 20:41-44.) The wise still worship the Lord.



What are we looking for this Christmas? What are we expecting?

• This is what we need to be looking for and expecting this Christmas - an experience of worship, a fresh glimpse of He who was born King of the Jews. If our goal this Christmas is to worship Jesus, then I doubt very seriously we will be dissatisfied with our experience.

What was Herod looking for? Why was Herod “deeply disturbed?” Why would “all Jerusalem” become deeply disturbed?

• Most kings would be concerned if they believed someone threatened their throne and authority over the kingdom. But King Herod was murderously selfish, ready to do battle.
• King Herod was known for paranoid and delusional rages. He had killed his favorite wife and sons to protect his rule in the past.

II. WHERE DO YOU LOOK? – MATTHEW 2:7-8, 16

7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him."

…………………………………………………

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.


Your level of joy at Christmas is directly related to where you look.



Where did the wise men look? Where do we look?

• We learn from the wise men that there are wrong and right places to look for Christmas. They started by looking in the wrong place. They looked where their own human reasoning said they should look. The star indicated the birth of a new king in Israel. The wise men went where kings should be born - to the palace of Herod the Great in the capital city of Jerusalem. But what a mistake that was! When Herod heard of the birth of a new king, his jealousy sought to destroy him.

We, too, are tempted to look for joy at Christmas in the wrong places.

• We think by getting or giving the right gift we will be satisfied.
• We imagine that being with family will be joyful. All these can easily disappoint us. You may not be able to afford the right gift for a loved one. Family members may be missing from your holiday celebration. If you are looking to these things for joy, you may be left with a feeling of disillusionment.

A third reason the wise men were wise men was because:



3. They were directed by the Bible. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," Psalms 119:105. The Bible is for direction in life. In this story, the wise men followed the direction of the prophet Micah, who told them that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It's amazing to think that Micah would write about the little town of Bethlehem as the birth place of Christ 500 years before Christ. He didn't know, but God knew and told him what to write. The Bible is the Word of God, and not the word of man. You can trust your life with it. Be sure to read it and study it.



The wise men looked in the right place when they looked to God.




III. WHAT DO YOU GIVE? – MATTHEW 2:9-12
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen in the east! It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.


Read between the lines and really think about what were the gifts of the wise men.

• The wise men gave the tangible gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
• But they also gave two years of their lives traveling to seek Jesus.

Your level of joy at Christmas is directly related to what you give.



What do you know about the gifts the wise men gave?

• The wise men came to Jesus' house bearing gifts. The gifts they gave were entirely appropriate. They gave gold, gift for a king. By giving it they acknowledged that Jesus was and is the King. They gave frankincense, a gift for a priest. This was incense the priests used in Temple. By giving it they acknowledged that Jesus was a priest - the One who would bring us to God. They gave myrrh, gift for the dead. This was a fragrant ointment used to anoint a body before burial. By giving it they acknowledged that Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world.
• They gave appropriate gifts to the Christ child.

We ought to give appropriate gifts this Christmas as well. I'm not talking about material gifts. I am talking about more important things.

• We ought to give the gift of our love and kindness to our friends and family.
• We ought to give the gift of our help to those who are hurting.
• We ought to give the gift of forgiveness to those who have hurt us. Giving these kinds of gifts will result in a joyous and meaningful Christmas.

Two more reasons why the wise men were wise men, because:



4. They gave what they had to give. "... and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts gold, frankincense and myrrh." (Verse 11) in a day of selfishness and greed, it is still "More blessed to give than to receive," Acts 20:35. The Christian will be wise to be a giver, for "God loveth a cheerful giver," 2 Corinthians 9:7. A wise lady once said to me, "The first thing to put in the offering plate at church is yourself: God wants us. When He has us, everything we have will be His also."



5. They followed God’s leadership. "And being warned of God ... they departed into their own country another way." (Verse 12) God has something to say about everything. It is always best for the individual and the human race. Men's troubles today stem from his NOT following God's Word. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord ..." Psalms 37:23.




So, how have the wise men responded to God’s gift of Jesus?

• The wise men embody those who receive the gospel and embrace Jesus as Savior and Lord. Their responses demonstrate the authentic impact Christ had on their lives.
• They responded by leaving everything behind in pursuit of Jesus by following a star.
• When they found the Child, they worshiped Him by falling to their knees giving Him their very best.
• They willingly changed their plans in favor of God’s new direction.

How did King Herod respond to God’s gift of Jesus?

• King Herod depicts those who reject the gospel and deny Christ. His response demonstrates that the Gift of Jesus had no impact on his life. The news of Jesus was a disturbance that threatened Herod’s own position, comforts and control.
• He also responded with deception. He gave the outward impression of a desire to worship but with no authenticity in his heart.
• God revealed that Herod’s ultimate intent was to respond with destruction in hopes that the Messiah would be eliminated.

What does our response to God’s gift of Jesus really mean?

• Two thousand years later our response to the Gift of Jesus still authenticates the real impact He has had on our life.
• Christ followers give sacrificially, are humble in their worship and make necessary adjustments to obey the Lord’s direction.
• While others may say they are worshipers of Jesus, their efforts to protect their own interests, preserve their own position and prevent the advance of the gospel prove differently.

This Christmas let us examine our own response to the Gift of Jesus and give clear proof of His impact on our lives. I promise you, when you look for the right thing, look in the right places, and give the right gift; you will have the joy at Christmas you seek.

Well, we come to end of our Christmas series and we want to wish everyone a warm and very special Christmas this year! God has called you this Christmas, O favored one, to see Him as more than a baby in a manger; to receive Him despite your fears and concerns; and to respond to Him in worship and service - O the joy of Christmas!

In His Love,

David & Susan