As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
A sermon preached at Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville, SC in 2016.
Imagine with me that on Christmas morning, one of the gifts you receive is a small box. You hold it in your hands, and it isn’t very heavy. You shake it and it rattles a little. You know that good gifts come in small packages, so you tear off the paper with anticipation. Inside you find a key. Would you be excited?
“Christ rescues us from our ability to only see our own culture and moment, and pulls us into a new metaphysical reality….Instead of crafting a Christ exactly like me, the Incarnation makes a way for us to become like Him.” - Mere Orthodoxy
This week, the Western world pauses to remember the birth of the One who divided time, and all of history, by His first coming—our Savior and the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ.
As we stop and worship this baby in Bethlehem’s manger once again, let us remember that He, eternal God, came to Earth to become a man, to die for our sins and to rise again. The events of Christmas were an essential step in that process but, of course, they do not tell the full story.
“On the Incarnation is a beautiful exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It explains why and how he came to save us. The incarnation is the beating heart of orthodoxy, the story at the center of our faith.” - TGC
“The maker of man, he was made man, so that the director of the stars might be a babe at the breast; that bread might be hungry, and the fountain thirsty; that the light might sleep, and the way be weary from a journey” - Breakpoint
“Does it bother you when you’re rejected by people you care about? How much did it bother Jesus when he came to his own, and his own rejected him (Jn 1.11)? when a disciple of three years betrayed him with a kiss? when his own brothers didn’t believe in him (Jn 7.5)?” - Olinger
“More than half of Americans (55%) believe Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God….reflects an early church heresy, which, appropriately enough for the season, Saint Nicholas confronted.” - Lifeway
“…when Paul writes to Timothy of a solitary Mediator, a single Mediator, with a capital ‘M,’ he’s referring to that Mediator who is the supreme Intercessor between God and fallen humanity. This Mediator, Jesus Christ, is indeed the God-man.” - R.C.Sproul
“In our day, we can relate to the experience of ‘ransom captive Israel,’ who mourned ‘in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.’ As Israel waited—in bondage to suffering, sin, pain, and injustice—so we wait now.” - TGC
Discussion