A Reason To Party (4 of 4)
Series: The Immanuel Chronicles
Jeff Strite
Isaiah 12:1-6
OPEN: A few years back, Wellington, FL had their baby Jesus stolen two years running. This was a wealthy community and their Jesus was worth around $1800. The third time around they put a GPS inside and traced the thief to her home.
But the baby Jesus doesn't have to be expensive. In 2008, in Eureka Springs AK, the thieves not only stole a plastic baby Jesus, they also took the concrete block and chain meant to keep that from happening
It's called the "Stolen Baby Jesus Syndrome."
Some take the babies as a joke.
Others do so because they want to protest Christmas.
When found, the babies are often defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols (AP Dec. 10, 2008)
ILLUS: But the thief doesn't always have bad intentions
About 6 years ago, Chicago Police say an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was arrested for stealing a figure of the baby Jesus from the Nativity Scene at the Daley Plaza.
Two witnesses saw him pull the three-foot figure from the manger and just walk away with it.
When questioned about the theft, the man said he took the figure because he saw it and wanted it.
(http://www.14wfie.com, Baby Jesus Stolen - Again, 12/6/04)
APPLY: Now, how should we respond to that kind of behavior?
Well, to begin with, I'm not sure I'd put out an $1800 ceramic Jesus in the nativity scene.
But aside from that - from chapters 7 through 12 - the Prophet Isaiah is telling us that we have a "live" Jesus... not a ceramic or a plastic one.
And this Jesus God has given us is not just "alive"
• Isaiah 7 told us He was the virgin born God. He would be called Immanuel- God with us.
• Isaiah 9 explained that not only was He the "mighty God" but He was to be a light to those walking in the darkness of the shadow of death.
• Isaiah 11 declared that He would be the fulfillment, of one of 100's of prophecies concerning the Messiah.
And now - her ...
Series: The Immanuel Chronicles
Jeff Strite
Isaiah 12:1-6
OPEN: A few years back, Wellington, FL had their baby Jesus stolen two years running. This was a wealthy community and their Jesus was worth around $1800. The third time around they put a GPS inside and traced the thief to her home.
But the baby Jesus doesn't have to be expensive. In 2008, in Eureka Springs AK, the thieves not only stole a plastic baby Jesus, they also took the concrete block and chain meant to keep that from happening
It's called the "Stolen Baby Jesus Syndrome."
Some take the babies as a joke.
Others do so because they want to protest Christmas.
When found, the babies are often defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols (AP Dec. 10, 2008)
ILLUS: But the thief doesn't always have bad intentions
About 6 years ago, Chicago Police say an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was arrested for stealing a figure of the baby Jesus from the Nativity Scene at the Daley Plaza.
Two witnesses saw him pull the three-foot figure from the manger and just walk away with it.
When questioned about the theft, the man said he took the figure because he saw it and wanted it.
(http://www.14wfie.com, Baby Jesus Stolen - Again, 12/6/04)
APPLY: Now, how should we respond to that kind of behavior?
Well, to begin with, I'm not sure I'd put out an $1800 ceramic Jesus in the nativity scene.
But aside from that - from chapters 7 through 12 - the Prophet Isaiah is telling us that we have a "live" Jesus... not a ceramic or a plastic one.
And this Jesus God has given us is not just "alive"
• Isaiah 7 told us He was the virgin born God. He would be called Immanuel- God with us.
• Isaiah 9 explained that not only was He the "mighty God" but He was to be a light to those walking in the darkness of the shadow of death.
• Isaiah 11 declared that He would be the fulfillment, of one of 100's of prophecies concerning the Messiah.
And now - her ...
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