HoHum:
Do we have any travel plans during the Christmas holidays? Do any of us visit out of town family and friends? We did when I was a teenager.
Some of my fondest childhood memories of the Christmas holidays were times when we went to visit my grandparents in northern Indiana. I don’t know how many times we made that trip to my grandparent’s house, but there was always some part of I-69 that was being repaired. There were signs that said something like this. Show sign from Michael.
I always thought to myself, “What a nice highway this will be when it is finished and there is no more construction.” That was many years ago and I have traveled it a few times since then and nothing has changed. They are still working on it! By the time they finish working on one part of the highway, there is another place that needs to be repaired. They will never fishin working on it.
Those trips to my grandparent’s house remind me of the story of the first Christmas. No, I’m not talking about the baby Jesus, I’m talking about John. The Bible tells us that God sent a man named John to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. John told the people to make a highway int he desert for their God. HE told them to make the crooked ways straight and to make the rough places smooth. John wasn’t really talking about building a highway upon which cars could travel. He was really talking about the hearts of the people. He was calling people to prepare their hearts to receive Jesus so that He could walk among them and minister with them.
(From Sermons 4 Kids at: http://www.sermons4kids.com/prepare_way.htm)
WBTU:
This Scripture is an unusal choice to begin advent or Christmas season. Matthew and Luke contain stories of birth of Jesus. John tells the story of Christ in a more philosophocial way. Lord willing we will look at John’s account of the birth of Christ more over the next couple of weeks. Look at Matthew and Luke’s accounts closer to Christmas day.
Even though Mark doesn’t give us an account of the birth of Christ, he essentially wraps up the Christmas message in just a few words. The opening line of Mark is “the beginning of the Gospel”- “Gospel” translated means literally “good news.” What is this good news? He doesn’t even begin with Jesus but with John the Baptist.
Thesis: Note 3 things about John as we prepare for Christmas
For instances: 1. John was an unusual messenger
Vs. 6
I get the impression that John who was the cousin of JEsus was a little different. Probably have some people in our families that could be classified as a little different. There are just some people if we invited them to a social function we would feel a little uncomfortable to have them around. John was like that. John was a man of the desert, he ate the food of the desert and he wore the clothing of the desert.
“If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.” Luke 7:25, 26, NIV.
John had a ministry similar to Elijah. “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, ...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17, NIV.
In the OT Elijah was often popping on the scene and causing a ruckus.
John had an unexpected message
Mark states that John fulfilled the prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah.
Telling the people to get ready for the Messiah. Preaching repentance and confession of sins.
In our love of the celebration of the birth of Jesus I think we sometimes get lost. WE love to prepare for Christ because it’s like preparing for a baby to be born. We get so wrapped up in the manger scene that we forget that He is not a baby anymore! We think that somehow He is satisfied to see us make our annunal appearance at Christmas and sing a few Christmas carols. How many times do we hear about repentance and confession of sins around Christmas?
Repentance means a change of mind. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV.
Two kinds of repentance are possible in us.
Worldly sorrow- A feeling induced by the fear of getting caught. Many people recognize the unpleasant consequences of their sin and are persuaded that they are guilty. This results in superficial sorrow that may lead to a temporary reformation but not a genuine turning to Christ for forgiveness. If they knew they would not get caught, as long as they got away with it they would never repent or reform. No fear of God. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Psalms 51:4, NIV.
Godly sorrow- This is accompanied by conviction of sin, which is a work of the HS. “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:37, 38, NIV.
F. John was baptizing but he was also telling the people that someone more powerful than he is coming. He will baptize you with the HS. Not possible in John’s day.
John was getting the people ready for the Christian message and gospel. He did this by preaching repentance and baptizing.
John had an extraordinary ministry
Vs. 5
“All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptised by John.” Luke 7:29, NIV. One estimate is about 300,000 people were baptized by John.
“and many people came to him (Jesus). They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.”” John 10:41, NIV.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30, NIV.
A man in Melbourne, Australia introduced the missionary J. Hudson Taylor by using many adjectives, especially the word great. Taylor stepped to the pulpit and quietly said, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an great Master.” If John the Baptist in heaven heard that statement, he must have shouted “Hallelujah!”
Robert Roberts writes about a fourth grade class in which the teacher introduced a game called "balloon stomp." A balloon was tied to every child’s leg, and the object of the game was to pop everyone else’s balloon while protecting one’s own. The last person with an intact balloon would win.The fourth graders in Roberts’ story entered into the spirit of the game with vigor. Balloons were relentlessly targeted and destroyed. A few of the children clung to the sidelines like wallflowers at a middle school dance, but their balloons were doomed just the same. The entire battle was over in a matter of seconds, leaving only one balloon inflated. Its owner was, of course, the most disliked kid in the class. It’s hard to really win at a game like balloon stomp. In order to complete your mission, you have to be pushy, rude and offensive.
Roberts goes on to write that a second class was introduced to the same game. Only this time it was a class of mentally handicapped children. They were given the same explanation as the first class, and the signal to begin was given. But the game proceeded very differently. Perhaps the instructions were given too quickly for children with learning disabilities to grasp them. The one idea that got through was that the balloons were supposed to be popped. So it was the balloons, not the other players, that were viewed as enemies. Instead of fighting each other, they began helping each other pop balloons. One little girl knelt down and held her balloon carefully in place, like a holder for a field goal kicker. A little boy stomped it flat. Then he knelt down and held his balloon for her. It went on like this for several minutes until all the balloons were vanquished, and everybody cheered. Everybody won.
Who got the game right, and who got the game wrong? In our world, we tend to think of another person’s success as one less opportunity for us to succeed. There can only be one top dog, one top banana, one big kahuna. If we ever find ourselves in that enviable position, we will fight like mad to maintain our hold on it. A lot of companies fail to enjoy prolonged success because the people in charge have this "balloon stomp" mentality. In the church, the rules change. Jesus Christ gets top billing. We’re just here to serve his purposes, and we do that most effectively by elevating others and humbling ourselves.
ask ourselves a few questions:
1. “Did I sacrifice anything from my Savior this year?”
2. “Am I more worried about my self-esteem, how I look, than esteeming Christ?”
3. Who did I encourage this past year? Who did I share the gospel with this past year?
Conclusion and invitation:
We need to let the HS do a construction process on us. A few rough bumps may need to be rounded off in our lives. Need to stop doing something or start doing something for God. For some of us there may be some low spots that need to be filled in. Some valleys of depression (I’ve had some bad Christmas’s) or self pity that Christ wants to fill with peace and comfort so that we can be ready to experience the reality of Christ in our lives. Christ is all in all
