GETTING READY FOR JESUS (1 OF 4)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Luke 1:1-15
This content is part of a series.
Getting Ready for Jesus (1 of 4)
Series: A Straight-up Christmas
Jeff Strite
Luke 1:1-15
OPEN: How many of you have started decorating your house for Christmas? As you drive through Logansport you'll see a lot of homes have put up Christmas trees and all kinds of Lights and Nativity scenes, and various other decorations. Out in my front yard, I've put up my own decorations: there's not much there, just a lighted angel, lighted reindeer, and centered between them - a nativity scene.
ILLUS: Now, by contrast, there's a family in Connecticut that - for the past 20 years - has set up a display of over 350,000 lights that illuminate their house and yard and 1000s of visitors drive by their home during December just to enjoy the sight (we showed a couple of pics of the Halliwell home in Fairfield, CT).
That's how that family prepares for the season celebrating Christ's birth.
But what's intriguing about our passage this morning is how God prepared for Christ's birth over 2000 years ago. In the book of Luke, it starts out telling us about the birth of a child.
But the child Luke starts with isn't Jesus!
What child is this? (It's John the Baptist)
Now, why would God start this Gospel out with John's birth... not Jesus'?
Well, Luke tells us that the reason that was done was ''it seemed good to me ... to write an orderly account for you.'' Luke 1:3.
Luke was NOT an eye witness of the life of Jesus (Luke was a Gentile who was converted after resurrection). So, what Luke seems to have done was collected stories. He interviewed folks - folks like Matthew, Peter, John, Mary and some of other individuals you read about in his Gospel. And then - guided by the Holy Spirit - he put all those stories together. And he determined to put them together in an ORDERLY MANNER.
And the VERY FIRST story of Luke's Gospel had to do with the birth of John the Baptist.
He put John first... not Jesus.
WHY? Well, because John had to come BEFORE Jesus.
In the book of ...
Series: A Straight-up Christmas
Jeff Strite
Luke 1:1-15
OPEN: How many of you have started decorating your house for Christmas? As you drive through Logansport you'll see a lot of homes have put up Christmas trees and all kinds of Lights and Nativity scenes, and various other decorations. Out in my front yard, I've put up my own decorations: there's not much there, just a lighted angel, lighted reindeer, and centered between them - a nativity scene.
ILLUS: Now, by contrast, there's a family in Connecticut that - for the past 20 years - has set up a display of over 350,000 lights that illuminate their house and yard and 1000s of visitors drive by their home during December just to enjoy the sight (we showed a couple of pics of the Halliwell home in Fairfield, CT).
That's how that family prepares for the season celebrating Christ's birth.
But what's intriguing about our passage this morning is how God prepared for Christ's birth over 2000 years ago. In the book of Luke, it starts out telling us about the birth of a child.
But the child Luke starts with isn't Jesus!
What child is this? (It's John the Baptist)
Now, why would God start this Gospel out with John's birth... not Jesus'?
Well, Luke tells us that the reason that was done was ''it seemed good to me ... to write an orderly account for you.'' Luke 1:3.
Luke was NOT an eye witness of the life of Jesus (Luke was a Gentile who was converted after resurrection). So, what Luke seems to have done was collected stories. He interviewed folks - folks like Matthew, Peter, John, Mary and some of other individuals you read about in his Gospel. And then - guided by the Holy Spirit - he put all those stories together. And he determined to put them together in an ORDERLY MANNER.
And the VERY FIRST story of Luke's Gospel had to do with the birth of John the Baptist.
He put John first... not Jesus.
WHY? Well, because John had to come BEFORE Jesus.
In the book of ...
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