Why Jesus Came-Part 3
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: To Reign In Us Forever
Main Scripture: Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-12
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Pastor Ryan finished our Christmas series, Why Jesus Came, on the topic of worship. We learned through the birth of Christ the bigger picture of why Jesus came. God was reclaiming hearts lost in sin and darkness to be in fellowship with Him again. When our hearts are captivated and saved they worship God as we were always meant to. We can give gifts to the church, to one another and that would be an act of worship, but there is nothing more important to God than having our hearts, first. When God gets our heart and we give him our hearts, He gets our whole lives and all that we own to worship Him. Pastor Ryan encouraged us this Christmas to give to Jesus what He came for, our hearts. Only when we give our hearts will we truly worship the King of Kings.
Notes:
Pastor Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NY said, “Everyone worships something. The only choice you get is what to worship.”
The Christmas song, Come Thou Expected Jesus says, “Born to reign in us forever.” The result of Jesus reigning in our hearts is a life that lives to worship God.
Our hearts and our worship belong to God, our creator. I believe Jesus came to restore and reclaim our hearts so that our worship will go in the direction it always belonged, towards God. In order to restore the direction of our worship, He needed to reclaim our hearts. God is love and longs for us to be in a love relationship with Him. He isn’t looking for robotic worship, He is looking for hearts that will adore and love Him. We were meant to praise, glorify and worship God out of love because He first loved us. Hearts are not beating for Him. Hearts are corrupted by sin and focused elsewhere. When Jesus came to earth He began to captivate the hearts of mankind again. This is what the Christmas story and the Bible is all about and it all started in Bethlehem and a group of shepherds.
Luke 2:1-20
It was a custom at this time in Palestine that when a baby bow was born friends and musicians would gather outside the home and wait for the announcement to sing and celebrate. But there would be no human announcement to those gathered outside the night Jesus was born because no one was there. There was no room for them in a traditional home so there would most likely not be a traditional celebration. But that is okay, because there was a celestial celebration. That evening the Angel of God, most likely Gabriel went out and announced the birth of the Savior and King of the World to humanity. Who did God choose to announce the good news to? Humble shepherds nearby. Jesus had the greatest celebration of all, a heavenly host of angels worshipped and celebrated His arrival. God chose to reveal it to those who were on the outside, often the last to hear the good news, as they were often in the fields. The angels said, “great joy to all people” a savior, the messiah born. Jesus had come for all people because no matter your status, wealth or position in the world, we all need a savior from our sin.
The shepherds were in awe of this good news and God. They stopped working and watching their sheep to go see and worship the lamb of God. After seeing Jesus, they told everyone what they had seen and heard, which is to worship and glorify God.
The night Jesus was born, heaven and earth worshipped.
That night teaches us that if humanity doesn’t worship Jesus, all of heaven will.
When humanity didn’t recognize Jesus’ worth, God’s grace came to us to captivate and open our eyes to see it.
That night teaches us that…A heart captivated by Jesus will overflow with worship to God
Matthew 2:1-12
Jesus came to reclaim the hearts and worship of ALL people, not just lowly, humble shepherds but also wise and wealthy magi. The magi were known to be trained and taught in many things, especially in the study of astrology. God caught their attention with a star once Jesus was born. It is estimated that they traveled hundreds of miles and it took them months to arrive in Jerusalem. Jesus would be a small child at this point under 2 years old. Not all were excited, King Herod would see this as a threat and rival to His rule, especially since he is not a Jew but was appointed by Rome.
The star they saw guided them to Bethlehem and stopped over the place where Jesus was. In both stories, we needed help, we needed signs, we needed God’s grace. That is no different today. By grace, through faith, we are saved from our sin and begin to live a life of worship.
When they saw the child they bowed down in reverence and worshiped Him. They expressed their worship by giving him expensive and unique gifts. There are many expressions of worship, we can do this too. I hold in my hand the gift of a young girl, only 10 years old who told us this past week that she felt God tell her to give all she has to God. The children shall lead us…
The magi traveled from afar because Jesus was worth the trip. I think God says that about us: Jesus came from heaven to earth because we were worth the trip. The grace and mercy of God looks like this: when the weary world didn't look up, God came down. Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God with us.The magi looked up but not all did.We’ll look around, even look within unfortunately, but our help only comes from above, from our creator and God of the universe. Many kings and rulers have come and gone, ruled and died, but only Jesus reigns and lives forever.Jesus has no rivals unless we make one and you can be sure it will fade, pass away and Jesus will out reign it too. The wise worship God and no one else.The wise look up to the maker of heaven and earth.
How do we worship God? What can we give Him?
Offer your life to be a living sacrifice to Him. This means…
Give God the reins to your heart. I gave up control and leading my own life when I was 12. I told God I will be who he wants me to be and do what He wants me to do.
I grew in my knowledge and relationship with God. I studied the Bible to know more of God and my love and trust for Him grew deeper.
I chose but also wanted to obey what God taught me in the scriptures. Obedience is worshiping God. I found God’s teaching to be a true blessing to me and others when I obeyed them.
I live my life to serve God, give Him all the credit and help others come to worship Him too.
Jesus captured my attention, then He got my heart and now He gets my whole life.
In order to reign in us forever he had to come and reclaim our hearts from sin and make us new.
Give God what He came for. Give God your heart and give your life to worship Him.
Discussion
What spoke and stuck out to you from this message?
What scripture stuck out to you and why?
Have you truly given God the reins to your heart or is there something you’re holding onto?
What are all the ways you will worship God in 2022?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I see my sin and how wrong it is. I see how without Jesus I’m lost. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me from my sin, my past, this world, and your judgment. I repent, I turn away from that life and I put my faith and life in Jesus! Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!