Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
The Purpose of Christmas
Sunday, December 14, 2003
My Prayer Today
It is the cry of my heart
To follow You
It is the cry of my heart
To be close to You
It is the cry of my heart
To follow
All of the days of my life
Teach me Your holy ways, O Lord
So I can walk in Your truth
Teach me Your holy ways, O Lord
And make me wholly devoted to You
Open my eyes to I can see
The wonderful things that You do
Open my heart up more and more
And make it wholly devoted to You. Amen.
2000 James Duvall
Bible Verses
John 1:35-39
35 The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" 37 Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus. 38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 "Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place, and they stayed there the rest of the day.
Questions for Reflection
What question did Jesus ask the disciples (verse 38)?
Why would Jesus ask "what" instead of "who" do you want?
What question did the followers ask Jesus (verse 38)?
Why would they ask that question?
Questions for Exploration
Jesus does not give us any promises for the future. He calls us to follow Him and see what will happen over time. What are we seeking in our relationship with Jesus?
God's Word tells us that it was about four o'clock in the afternoon (verse 39). Why do you think that a specific time is mentioned?
Can you recall the specific time when an event of great significance occurred in your life? For example, can you recall the day, the hour, the place you met a special person in your life? Or received a special gift?
Questions for Understanding
When we add Jesus to our lives, we receive salvation, peace, grace. When we add ourselves to Jesus' life, we add purpose and meaning to our lives. What on earth are we here for?
How do we "come and see" Jesus today?
Question for Application
Come and see involves decision and going. In verse 37, what decision was made?
In verse 39, what happens?
How can "come and see" help us understand what on earth we are here for – our purpose for living?
How long do we spend "staying with Jesus" each day?
Three Blocks
As we look at the purpose of Christmas this week, we come fact-to-face with decisions and actions that we can take that help us deepen our relationship with Jesus. This week, we will look at why God placed us here – at this place and in this time. He calls us to "come and see." He calls us to find our purpose in life.
Write down your home address: ___________________________________________
Now think about the people who live in a 3-block circle from your home.
Some time ago a young woman from Washington attended a worship service. For the first time in her life she heard the gospel message. The following Tuesday the members of the church received a letter from her. It read:
Dear Church Members:
Last Sunday I attended your church, and I heard the preacher. In the sermon the preacher said that all men have sinned and rebelled against God. Because of their rebellion and disobedience they all face eternal damnation and separation from God.
But then he also said God loved men and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem men from their sins and that all those who believe in him would go to heaven and live with God eternally. My parents recently died in rapid succession. I know they did not believe in Jesus Christ, whom you call the Savior of the world. If what you believe is true, they are lost forever. You force me to believe that if the message is true, then you yourself don’t believe this message, or that you don’t care. You see, we live only three blocks from your church, and no one ever told us.
Think about those people in your 3 blocks. Consider prayer walking in those 3 blocks and dropping off invitations to New Life's Christmas Eve worship celebration at each home. (Invitations can be found at the Hospitality Table on Sunday or at The Bridge during the week.) The purpose of Christmas is to come and see. Do all that you can to make certain that everyone has the opportunity to come and see and then decide and go. Three blocks … do we care?
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.