INFANTS – PAINFUL HOME (4 OF 4)
by Steve Jones
Scripture: Matthew 2:16-18
This content is part of a series.
Infants – Painful Home (4 of 4)
Series: Home for Christmas
Steve Jones
Matthew 2:16-18
Central Idea of the series: The Christian home is defined by principles modelled in the Christmas story.
Central idea of this sermon: The infants killed in Bethlehem illustrate the pain in many homes at Christmas. 1) God sees our pain. 2) God permits our pain. 3) God enters our pain. 4) God redresses our pain.
INTRODUCTION: Let’s begin today by playing ‘‘Name That Tune.’’ I’m going to play some instrumental snippets of traditional Christmas songs and you see how soon you can guess the tune. (Play notes from Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Frosty, Silver Bells, Silent Night and ending with the Darth Vader entrance music from star wars.) Now what is that last song doing in there? Christmas songs, by definition, are supposed to be upbeat, joyful and happy because that’s the nature of the Christmas story. We don’t typically associate songs with a connotation of danger/pain/death with Christmas. But maybe we should for those elements ARE in the Biblical story of Christmas. So far in our series, ‘‘Home for Christmas’’ we’ve talked about incorporating OBEDIENCE, WORSHIP and GOODNESS in our homes. The characteristic we’re looking at today is not one we have to INCORPORATE because it’s in every home whether we want it to be or not. Pain. I want to talk about ways to process the pain in our homes at Christmas. The pain of Christmas is illustrated by the infants killed in Bethlehem and their families.
Matthew 2:16 ‘‘When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.’’
The Magi came to Jerusalem from the East seeking the one born King of the Jews. They interacted with King Herod in Jerusalem who wanted them to send word when they found the child in Bethlehem, ostensibly so that h ...
Series: Home for Christmas
Steve Jones
Matthew 2:16-18
Central Idea of the series: The Christian home is defined by principles modelled in the Christmas story.
Central idea of this sermon: The infants killed in Bethlehem illustrate the pain in many homes at Christmas. 1) God sees our pain. 2) God permits our pain. 3) God enters our pain. 4) God redresses our pain.
INTRODUCTION: Let’s begin today by playing ‘‘Name That Tune.’’ I’m going to play some instrumental snippets of traditional Christmas songs and you see how soon you can guess the tune. (Play notes from Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Frosty, Silver Bells, Silent Night and ending with the Darth Vader entrance music from star wars.) Now what is that last song doing in there? Christmas songs, by definition, are supposed to be upbeat, joyful and happy because that’s the nature of the Christmas story. We don’t typically associate songs with a connotation of danger/pain/death with Christmas. But maybe we should for those elements ARE in the Biblical story of Christmas. So far in our series, ‘‘Home for Christmas’’ we’ve talked about incorporating OBEDIENCE, WORSHIP and GOODNESS in our homes. The characteristic we’re looking at today is not one we have to INCORPORATE because it’s in every home whether we want it to be or not. Pain. I want to talk about ways to process the pain in our homes at Christmas. The pain of Christmas is illustrated by the infants killed in Bethlehem and their families.
Matthew 2:16 ‘‘When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.’’
The Magi came to Jerusalem from the East seeking the one born King of the Jews. They interacted with King Herod in Jerusalem who wanted them to send word when they found the child in Bethlehem, ostensibly so that h ...
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