Unwrapping Christmas-4-Anything But Ordinary

This morning we finish up with the Unwrapping Christmas series. Today pastor Brad has titled this sermon Anything But Ordinary.

Pastors Notes:

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

INTRODUCTION

“Christmas is full of surprises.”

Somewhere in my reading this week I ran across that sentence. While I am sure it is true, it doesn’t always seem true. Christmas poses a yearly challenge to those of us who have heard the story since we were children.

After you have attended 20 or 30 or 40 Christmas pageants, and after you have listened to at least that many Christmas sermons, and heard (and sung) every Christmas carol a few hundred times, what more is left to be said that hasn’t been said before?

If you know about Christmas at all, you know about Mary and the angel Gabriel, about the dangerous journey to Bethlehem, about Caesar’s decree, about Herod’s insane jealousy, about the inn with a “No Vacancy” sign, about the angels and the shepherds, and about the mysterious Wise Men from the east, and the last-second flight into Egypt. All of these stories are so well known that when we hear them again, we don’t really hear them at all because we’ve heard them all before. We hear but we don’t hear.

That is indeed a problem. Familiarity can breed, if not contempt, at least a kind of casual disinterest. Which is sad because the story of Christmas is indeed full of surprises. There are unexpected miracles on every hand. And after all, it tells the most amazing story: That God invaded human history in the form of a tiny, helpless baby.

One of the best ways to fight against the tendency to sleep through a Christmas sermon is to focus on the details. Sometimes it helps to take out the microscope and study just one tiny fragment of the story. By looking closely at a small part, we may see the whole thing in a new light. With that in mind, let’s focus our attention on just one verse of Scripture and see what it says to us.

TRANSITION

Before we jump into the text, let me add a personal note. I suppose I have heard this verse read hundreds of times.

ILLUSTRATION

Our world today seems to be a place of chaos.

APPLICATION
I. His HUMANITY

II. His DIVINITY

III. His NATURE (Names)