But, interestingly, for others, November 22, 1963 is marked
by the loss of someone of greater eternal consequence than John F.
Kennedy. Like Kennedy this man died at a
relatively young age – 64. But unlike
the president he spoke of eternal verities in ways that made children sit up
and take notice and leading intellectuals change their minds. In Sunday’s message, “Immanuel” we will begin
with a story from the life of this man who is considered one of Christ’s most
important servants of the 20th Century. In the rarified air of Cambridge University,
in a room full of religionists of all stripes, his simple words captured the
essence of the Christian faith and the purpose of God’s incarnation in Jesus
Christ.
Someone has said, “In Jesus, God has put up a “Gone Fishing”
sign on the religion shop. He has done
the whole job in Jesus once and for all and simply invited us to believe it –
to trust the bizarre proposition that in Him every believer is home free
without a single religious exertion: no
fasting till your knees fold, no prayers you have to get right or else, no
standing on your head with your right thumb in your left ear and receiving the
correct creed – no nothing. The entire
show has been set to rights in the mystery of Christ – even though nobody can
see a single improvement. Yes, it’s
crazy. And yes, it’s wild, and
outrageous, and vulgar. And any God who
would do such a thing is a God who has no taste. And worst of all, it doesn’t sell worth
beans. But it is Good News – the only
permanent good news there is – and therefore I find it absolutely
captivating.” And so do we!
And it all starts with the incarnation – God becoming flesh
and blood. Think of it. The God of all condescends to take on all
that makes a human being human. As the
writer of Hebrew points out, “For man doesn’t have a high priest who is unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been
tempted as we are….” God doesn’t become an angel. He doesn’t become one of the angelic host. He becomes a man – a creature of dust and
brokenness so that he might recreate us in his own image and likeness. He takes on human flesh so that He might do
for us what Adam and Eve sought to do for themselves.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent 2013 at Hebron and
we begin where Matthew begins with the first of five names he offers for Jesus
– Immanuel – “God with us.” God with us
– have you considered the depth of that name?
Have you contemplated the meaning of that reality in light of any
previous contact between God and man?
What does it mean, “God with us?”
What is the interpretation of that statement? What is the impact of those words? These are the questions we will consider this
Sunday.
In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider
the following:
1.
What is it that distinguishes the Christian
faith from all other faiths, including Judaism?
2.
Why does the angel of the Lord cite Isaiah 7:14
in “his” message to Joseph?
3.
What is the context of God’s message to Judah in
Isaiah? What does this tell us about
God’s character?
4.
What’s the correlation between God’s message to
King Ahaz and Joseph?
5.
Why does Matthew present 5 names for Jesus in
Chapters one and two?
6.
Why define the meaning of the name Immanuel in
verse 23?
7.
How is the message to Joseph a signal of God’s
intention to change His relationship to men and women?
8.
What does the preposition “with” mean in verse
25?
9.
Why is the incarnation and our understanding of
it so crucial to a proper understanding of God and us?
10. What
are some of the fruits of the incarnation in your life?
See you Sunday as we worship Immanuel!
