You’re Invited to our Christmas Series at Upwards Church!
Series: The Christ – Hope of the World
Scripture: Luke 1-2
Description: We are living in uncertain and turbulent times. The first Christmas was no different. When it seemed like God was silent, He was at work bringing new life and new opportunities. Join us as we learn from Elizabeth, Mary, the Shepherds and Simeon that God, His promises, power and presence are our hope.
Dates – Titles (Scriptures)
Dec. 7 – Hope in the Darkness (Luke 1:1-17)
Dec. 14 – Hope in the Impossible (Luke 1:26-38)
Dec. 21 – Hope in Uncertainty (Luke 1:39-56)
Dec. 24 – Hope in Salvation (Luke 2: 1-20) *Christmas Eve
Dec. 28 – Hope for the Future (Luke 2: 22-35)
Introduction to Luke 1:
“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us. Luke 1:1-2
There is a beginning to the Christmas narrative, and then there is another beginning. A Beginning that has no starting point or finish line to cross. God eternal; God unlimited: the uncaused Cause.
Jesus’ story doesn’t start with His conception or His birth. His story doesn’t even launch from the creation of the world as we know it. The Great I AM – coexistent, coeternal, coequal with the Father and the Holy Spirit – has always been. Our oh-so-limited minds can’t begin to comprehend this truth!
Jesus, the Word of God – God Himself – became flesh and dwelt among us. Almighty God, leaving heaven’s splendor, took on the form of our dust to save us from our separation from the Father and the ravages of sin and enslavement to our enemy. A babe in a manger: God with us.
And what about those eyewitnesses who walked the dusty paths of Israel with Him – those who laughed, cried, beheld, and held the Miraculous? They desire for us to encounter the miraculous as well.
There has never been a more lavish romance in all of the measured time than the love story of God for humanity. Because that’s what Christmas is, the real-life story of the King who became a pauper, who so loved His wayward children that He came for their rescue. He came so they could find overwhelming satisfaction and fulfillment by being hidden in His heart and empowered by His Holy Spirit. He came so that they may reign in life instead of being devastated by it.
Such is the power of the Christmas story. A story that never stops giving.
“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. Luke 1:3-4
An orderly account.
In Luke’s Gospel, the Christmas story unfolds with a medical doctor’s analysis for an accurate and concise narration of the Savior’s life. Our Savior, King Jesus, who steps into our disorder, our muck and mire, and takes our lives from up-side-down to right-side-up. He is The One. He brings order, meter, and rhyme to our life stories that have gone terribly wrong.
Luke is writing to Theophilus, an unknown but honored gentleman, whose name means Friend of God. Luke, who has studied Jesus’ life from every angle, has questioned eyewitnesses, and has experienced the love of Christ for himself, writes to each of us as well. Amazing. Amazing because we, too, like Theo, are called friends of God.
And why does Luke write? So that Theo and we who would follow in faith could know the certainty of what we believe. The certainty of what we have experienced. The certainty of God’s Word. The Miraculous invading the mundane. The Divine piercing the doubtful. The Breath of Life ‘quickening’ the pulse of the hopeless and dying.
Luke wants us to understand. Luke doesn’t want us to just take our faith at face value without the depth of comprehension of all the whys Lord Jesus came to earth. Why He subjected Himself to leaving heaven’s incomprehensible wonder to come to earth’s bloody, muddy, messy, and selfish terrain. Why God moved into our neighborhood (John 1:14 MSG). Why the twinkle-light celebration we love was actually a rescue mission for our souls.
Luke doesn’t want us to guess; he wants us to understand it all. And he wants us to understand with assured confidence.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea … Luke 1:5
One thing the Hebrew nation has experienced time and again is oppression. This nation, chosen by God to demonstrate His overwhelming love and receive the commandments for how to navigate life in this broken, fallen, and evil world, has often been ruled and ravaged by others. Such was the situation at the time of Jesus’ birth.
And that causes me to ask, what is ruling us? Is it the pain of the past, the disappointment of dreams unfulfilled, or fear of the future? Not only for ourselves, but also for our loved ones? What haunts our meandering thoughts or keeps us awake at night? What is it in our lives that often hinders and holds us back from all God has for us?
Jesus’ entry into humanity reminds us first and foremost that His purpose for coming was a rescue mission behind enemy lines. This fallen planet is under the sway of the prince of darkness, the devil, since the fall in the Garden. Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused their God-given dominion to be handed hook, line, and sinker to the adversary. And the oppression of the human soul is the name of the enemy’s game.
But Jesus came. And He comes to us now. The advent of Jesus’ birth reminds each of us that freedom from the stuff in our lives is possible, no matter what our own foolishness, the world, or the devil has brought upon us. Christmas is the story of reinstating God’s authority in the life of every believer who surrenders their life to Him.
So, this Christmas, ask the Holy Spirit to help you take inventory. What has been filling my thoughts? What sins or habits still linger? Finally, ask yourself, have I given up seeking freedom from these areas in my life? Because if you and I have, Christmas reminds us that it is never too late to know glorious release from oppression–because Jesus came to wholly save us. To deliver us. To set us free now.
I hope you can join us for the rest of our series each week in December!
PS, if you enjoyed the introductory words to Luke 1:1-3, like I did, its adapted from our devotional readings each day at YouVersion.
Click here to read along daily.
Darrell
Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/leander-campus/watch-now-message-videos
Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church
Read Along Daily Bible Reading: YouVersion
Source Unwrapping Christmas – Viewing the Nativity Through Luke’s Eyes, YouVersion Bible, “We would like to thank Sue Boldt for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://www.sueboldt.com/ “
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