3-Christmas unMasked | Joel Malm | Crossroads Church
Channel: CCSeguin
Date: 2021-12-20

Christmas Unmasked
When It’s Nothing Like You Expected
Matthew 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Key Point: When you are faced with a situation that is nothing like you expected choose to bring your best and give it.

The Gifts of the Magi and what they may represent:1. Gold for a king (Jesus as king)
2. Frankincense for a high priest (Jesus us intercessor between God and man)
3. Myrrh for sacrifice (Jesus as the sacrifice that would save the world)

Key Point: We focus on the presents, but what if it’s about the presence.
The Challenge: Create an intentional time for total presence with those around you. Possible ideas for creating presence:
Turn off the TV
Turn off phones (don’t look stuff up)
Pull out some old photos
Play a board game
Ask some pre-planned questions to get conversation going