Today we begin a three-week series on the Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The background to the story is about a boy named Clive who lived in Belfast. At the age of five he decided he wanted to named Jack. After serving in WW1 he went on to become a professor at Oxford University. During WW2 and the bombings of London, parents sent their children out of town, and four children were sent to live in Oxford, Edington, to live with professor C.S. Lewis. There is some debate as to whether the children played in a wardrobe. ( A wardrobe is a piece of furniture that people used to hang clothes when there was no closet in the bedroom.)
After the war, C.S. Lewis wrote a story about four children who went to live with a professor during the war called The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Today I want to orient us to Narnia. The story takes place during WW2,
SLIDE – CHILDREN ON TRAIN
when four young children are sent to the country to live with an eccentric professor. Lucy, one of the children, discovers a wardrobe,
SLIDE – LUCY LOOKING INTO WARDROBE
which becomes a door to another world, the world of Narnia.
Lucy finds herself in Narnia. Narnia is a world that is in winter all the time,
SLIDE – LUCY WALKING THROUGH SNOW COVERED TREES
but there is no Santa Claus and no Christmas, because Narnia is under the evil grip of the White Witch. Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus.
SLIDE – MR. TUMNUS HIDING BEHIND TREE
Mr. Tumnus is a Faun (a man’s body, horns, pointed ears, and a goat’s tail). Mr. Tunmus tells her that only when two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam reign will the Queen be vanquished.
Lucy eventually returns from Narnia. No time has passed. At first her brothers and sisters don’t understand her and don’t believe that such a world exists, until they themselves pass through the wardrobe and enter into Narnia.
SLIDE – CHILDREN STANDING BY LIGHTPOST IN SNOW
As Narnia is a separate reality, and we live in a separate reality.
SLIDE – BACKGROUND ONLY
It is Christmas season, gifts to purchase, cards to get out.
Who has already sent out their Christmas cards? (raise hands)
Who hopes to get them out in the next week?
Who has decided that it is just too much of a hassle and is giving up no
Yet in the midst of this holiday season, gift giving frenzy, there is another reality.
SCRIPTURE SLIDE – JOHN 1:1-5
Read John 1:1-5
SLIDE BACKGROUND
There is an alternate reality that is going on this Christmas. It is not about toys, gift giving, office parties, joining together with family. It’s this world of Narnia. You will have to enter the wardrobe to see it. Or put another way, you will have to look at this Christmas season through the lens of Scripture. What does the Bible say about Christmas? How does this connect with this story of Narnia?
First question I want to ask:
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WILL YOU ENTER THE WARDROBE? Narnia is “REAL”
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It is winter (Narnia) – the world is in darkness
Winter but never Christmas.
It is always winter in Narnia. This is not the way it was created. In the same way the Bible says that the world is in darkness
Reality of darkness in the world
Slide
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:5
Word study: darkness
Evil in the world:
Terrorist attacks, injustice, Laci Peterson still on the Modesto Bee web site
We see this on TV – need to monitor children’s TV
Video games – xbox, playstation with parental control
Movies – some are wonderful, like Chronicles, still my youngest I will not take.
Person darkness –
The Bible gives a name to evil: Satan (like the White Witch in Narnia)
But the evil is also in us, sin.
We are known by our actions, but what about our thoughts?
What if we looked at a video of every thought I have ever had…
SLIDE
Jesus came to bring light
In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. John 1:4 (TNIV)
Jesus: I am the light of the world
John 12:46 – I have come so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness
SLIDE
MR. BEAVER SPEAKING TO CHILDREN
MR. BEAVER’S STORY TO LUCY: ASLAN IS ON THE MOVE, SOMETHING JUMPED WITHIN THE CHILDEN WHEN THEY HEARD ASLAN’S NAME
Read pages 67-68
Here the Beaver’s voice sank into silence and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then signaling to the children to stand as close around it as they possibly could, so that their faces were actually tickled by its whiskers, it added in a low whisper – “They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.”
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these wods everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning – either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember ti all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of othe children felt something jump in its inside.
This is the hope of Christmas. Jesus has come to bring light.
As something inside the children jumped when they heard the name Aslan, the baby inside Elizabeth jumped when Mary greeted her (Luke 1). Jesus gives hope in the midst of darkness.
Jesus came to bring LIGHT – Aslan is on the move
SCRIPTURE SLIDE
JOHN 1:10-14
READ JOHN 1:10-14
2ND QUESTION:
SLIDE
ARE YOU PREPARED TO SEE JESUS?
SCRIPTURE SLIDE
He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him? John 1:10
Jesus came into the world to bring hope. Aslan represents Jesus in Chronicles of Narnia. But we have to enter the wardrobe, we have to look for Aslan, we have to look for Jesus. Scripture clearly says that some will not see him.
SLIDE:
Some will not RECOGNIZE Jesus.
Jesus came into the world, but the world did not see him. They missed the creator of the world come down in the flesh. Christmas is a time to see Jesus for who he is, to enter into his reality, celebrate the coming of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ.
But how do we enter into this experience with Jesus, how do we see Jesus?
SCRIPTURE SLIDE
Yet to all who received Him to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
Through receiving Jesus in faith,
1. We receive life – God’s presence, now and forever
Eternal life – think of a timeline. Where would your life be on a timeline of eternity? We have a choice. Will we receive Jesus and have eternal life with God in his light, or will we live for eternity apart from God in darkness. Through Jesus we have life.
2. We see Jesus’ light (1:4) – God’s direction and purpose
God has a plan for you. You can see God’s plan by living in his light. He will guide your path by his light.
3. We become children of God – God’s love and acceptance
This holiday season what some of us need more than anything else is to know we are loved and accepted.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
CHRISTMAS REVEALS JESUS’ GLORY
When we see the glory of Jesus, we have to step back. We see that we are not worthy. But the glory of Jesus is full of grace and truth. We can experience this glory, the glory of the one and only, as we receive Jesus into our lives.
SLIDE – CHILDREN WITH MR. BEAVER
Aslan is not safe, but he is good
Coming here today, you have entered the wardrobe. You have seen Jesus in the music, through the scripture, and even through this story of the Chronicles of Narnia. The question is, will you receive Jesus by faith. Will you receive his life, now and forever. Will you receive his light to guide you in the midst of a dark world. Will you become his child and experience the love and acceptance than only comes through Jesus Christ.
WE CAN RECEIVE JESUS THROUGH PRAYER
