Priority Reboot (2 of 4)
Series: Christmas As Is
Craig Smith
Matthew 2
Big Idea: God-centered priorities will lead us through the messiest situations.
I. Introduction
Intro about priorities...
Messy situations force us to confront and clarify our priorities.
Today we're going to look at a group of people who found themselves in a messy situation that forced them to clarify their priorities.
II. Main Body
A. Surprising Heros
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ''Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.''
Two big questions that need to be answered here:
1. Who were these ''magi''? This is one of the places where our Christmas carols might actually mislead us. In one of our traditional Christmas carols, we call them ''kings.'' But it's very unlikely that they were actually kings. It's far more likely that they worked for a king, probably as advisors and counselors. That's the reason we sometimes call them the ''wise men''. But even that label isn't entirely faithful to what Mathew tells us. Mathew doesn't call them ''kings'' or ''wise men''. He calls them ''magi.'' The word Magi is a Persian word that was a sort of catchall term for people schooled in the magical arts, which is why it's the root of our word magician. But don't think David Blaine...think Harry Potter or even Voldemort. These aren't stage magicians, but men who claimed to have control over all kinds of occult arts....which is interesting, because the Bible explicitly forbids anyone from practicing such arts. In fact, the Old Testament says that anyone who practices these things should be put to death. I suppose that's why we have a long-standing tradition of changing the word from ''magi'' to ''wise men''...because we're uncomfortable with the fact that these men are depicted here in a positive light. But I thi ...
Series: Christmas As Is
Craig Smith
Matthew 2
Big Idea: God-centered priorities will lead us through the messiest situations.
I. Introduction
Intro about priorities...
Messy situations force us to confront and clarify our priorities.
Today we're going to look at a group of people who found themselves in a messy situation that forced them to clarify their priorities.
II. Main Body
A. Surprising Heros
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ''Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.''
Two big questions that need to be answered here:
1. Who were these ''magi''? This is one of the places where our Christmas carols might actually mislead us. In one of our traditional Christmas carols, we call them ''kings.'' But it's very unlikely that they were actually kings. It's far more likely that they worked for a king, probably as advisors and counselors. That's the reason we sometimes call them the ''wise men''. But even that label isn't entirely faithful to what Mathew tells us. Mathew doesn't call them ''kings'' or ''wise men''. He calls them ''magi.'' The word Magi is a Persian word that was a sort of catchall term for people schooled in the magical arts, which is why it's the root of our word magician. But don't think David Blaine...think Harry Potter or even Voldemort. These aren't stage magicians, but men who claimed to have control over all kinds of occult arts....which is interesting, because the Bible explicitly forbids anyone from practicing such arts. In fact, the Old Testament says that anyone who practices these things should be put to death. I suppose that's why we have a long-standing tradition of changing the word from ''magi'' to ''wise men''...because we're uncomfortable with the fact that these men are depicted here in a positive light. But I thi ...
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