Narnia: What If It Was Winter And Never Christmas

What if it was Winter and Never Christmas?

November 27, 2005

Stage Set was a wardrobe at a 45% angle splitting two other scenes. Stage right a Christmas Tree Living room Scene (representing life) and Stage Left a winter/cold/snow scene (representing death). The scene was used as an illustration for the entire message and I walked back and forth making reference to each area as it came up in the message.

Well we just celebrated Thanksgiving, watched some football, we all committed gluttony, had the busiest shopping day of the year, and are in the countdown for Christmas! But I want to ask you a question. What if it was always winter, but never Christmas? Wouldn’t that be depressing?

Without Christmas there would be no stockings, trees, presents, eggnog, fruit cake (praise God), carols, decorations, holly berries, family gatherings, Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase, Bing Crosby and White Christmas, J J J Jimmy Steward (try to do voice) and it’s a wonderful life, no break from school. Basically it would just be cold and we would not have something to look forward too.

Now look a little deeper with me if there were no Christmas spiritually. No Jesus, no manger, no star, no wondering, no hope, no real love, no salvation. Aren’t you glad there is Christmas? Well, I am sorry to say that for some there isn’t and for some they won’t experience it this year.

This Christmas season we are going to be looking at the Christmas story in the bible a little differently. There is a movie that is coming out in a few weeks that was created from a book written by C.S. Lewis called the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. You are going to see commercials, promotions from products and many other avenues that will be advertising this movie. We want to explore the core of its Christian meaning that C.S. Lewis writes about in this book. As believers we should be excited and use this sermon series and movie as an opportunity to share our faith this Christmas season. Your friends, coworkers and neighbors are going to hear and many go see this movie. Wouldn’t it be great if they could hear a sermon series that unpacks and gives deeper meaning to these Christian principals? Well, they can (maybe) you have to invite them. So, I want to challenge you to not allow your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors to miss Christmas this year. We hope you will commit to being here through the holidays so that you can experience the Joy, the Power and the Light of Christmas.

It all starts with the Christmas story that we are going to be reading today from Luke chapter 2 start in with verse 1. I have invited a friend of mine to come and read these scriptures for us:

VIDEO CLIP—LINUS READS SCRIPTURE—Video clip from Charlie Brown’s Christmas where Linus recites Christmas Story, Luke 2:1 and Following.

Christmas, when you here this story and hear this word what do you think of? Winter can be a long season of cold, snow, ice, no green grass, and trees. Too cold to go outside and enjoy a walk, run, golf, whatever. Christmas is kind of an oasis that brings warmth and joy to a cold harsh season, that Believers and non-believers alike looks forward to and longs for. Well, in the movie the Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 4 children find a magical world that they are able to gain entrance to by passing through a magical wardrobe. In this magical world, called Narnia, there is a White Witch that is the most beautiful person you can imagine, but she is evil and has control over Narnia and has placed a spell that makes it always Winter but never Christmas. Not to give away the movie, but this is the central plot that we will battle Good vs. Evil. Now what I want you to do today is to take this same setting of two worlds, good vs., evil, and apply it to our spiritual lives.

You know the bible promises us that there will be seasons in our life just as there are in nature, and one of those seasons will be winter. In Genesis 2:22 it says”As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” Say Winter with me.

And with these different times we have different seasons. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.” Say the word Season with me.

So we have established that winter and seasons exist in our lives. What does winter look like in our lives? Have you ever been in a spiritual rut? A physical rut? A mental rut? Tired, depressed, worn out, ready to quit, throw in the towel, discouraged, and ready to give up. We have all been there haven’t we? It’s not that you go through these times, its what you do with them while you are going through them. In the winters of life you have to continually create Christmas, that oasis of hope!