Today we're going to review and wrap up our series, The Story of Jesus.
The story of Jesus began with the birth of a king.
Everything changed forever when God came to us.
God became a man.
He was completely man, and at the same time he was completely God.
Now, don't try to figure that out. You'll just hurt yourself.
I mean, your mind just might blow up.
Just believe it by faith.
The Son of God was born in a barn,
and he lived his life here on earth as a humble servant.
Today, God is here because he came to us that first Christmas.
We know it's true because his presence is all around us.
We can feel it. We can see it. We can hear it.
It's my story, and it's your story.
But most of all, it's the story of Jesus all through the Bible.
There are two stories that are moving in the same direction.
First, there's a heavenly story.
God is at work in the heavenly story through his grace and through his mercy
and through his love. The heavenly story desires to be part of your story.
The fact that a holy God wants to have a relationship with you and me
just blows me away.
But it's true.
That's the heavenly story.
And then there's the earthly story.
That's where we live.
We make mistakes.
We make poor choices.
We sin, and because of that, we end up far from God.
The earthly story began in the Garden of Eden
when we chose to do things our way instead of God's way.
When we chose disobedience instead of obedience,
and because of that, we've been running and we've been hiding from God ever since.
Most of the time, we are so consumed by our earthly story,
the circumstances of life, the things that happen,
that we can miss what God is doing all around us.
We forget that God desperately wants to be a part of our life
and that he wants a relationship with you and with me.
It's through the story of Jesus that the heavenly story and the earthly story come together
as God Himself comes to earth as He sends His Son, Jesus Christ.
In John chapter 1, we have five names for Jesus that help us understand His character
and who Jesus is.
The first name for Jesus is the Word.
Scripture tells us that our words tell what is in our heart and what is in our mind.
And since Jesus is the Word of God, it helps us to see what is in God's heart
and what's in God's mind.
John chapter 1 and verse 1, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
Another name for Jesus is the light.
You would think that everyone would welcome the light, but they didn't
because it exposed their darkness.
John chapter 1 and verse 4,
in Him was life and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
Another name for Jesus is the Son of God, John chapter 1 and verse 18.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son who is Himself God
and is in closest relationship with the Father has made Him known.
Another name for Jesus is the Lamb of God, John chapter 1, verse 29.
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward Him and said,
look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
See, the people of Israel understood what it meant to be a sacrificial lamb.
They sacrificed the lamb at Passover.
But Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God that took on Himself
the sins of the whole world.
Another name for Jesus is the Messiah, John 1, 41.
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him,
we have found the Messiah, that is the Christ, and he brought Him to Jesus.
Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that was made in Scripture about the Messiah.
Everything about Jesus was prophesied that he would come to earth to save his people.
The true story of Christmas is found in the story of Jesus.
The earthly story became part of the heavenly story when God came to us to be our Savior.
An angel came to Joseph in a dream and said this in Matthew 1,
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus
because he will save his people from their sins.
The story of Jesus continues as Jesus' ministry begins.
After 400 years, a prophet comes on the scene and that prophet is John the Baptist.
You know, he's not a normal guy.
He's a weird dude.
He dresses strange.
He talks funny.
Some people think he's nuts.
He lives off of bugs and honey.
I've never tried that.
It might be good, I don't know.
But John the Baptist is committed to telling us that we have hope,
that God has made a way for us.
John is going to introduce us to God's answer to our problem.
The problem that every one of us has,
that our sin separates us from God.
Later, John the Baptist comes out of the wilderness after a big lunch of bugs and honey.
And he begins to preach and he begins to baptize and everyone can't help but notice.
The Jewish leaders ask him who he is and this is how John the Baptist replied in Matthew chapter 3.
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah,
a voice of one calling in the wilderness.
Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
This is exactly what the prophets Isaiah and Malachi had prophesied what happened.
Matthew 3.11, I baptize you with water for repentance.
But after me comes one who is more powerful than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.
One of the main characteristics of John the Baptist is something that's missing,
I think today from many Christians, humility.
Humility is a funny thing because once you think you have it, you just lost it.
John the Baptist is an example to us of bold humility.
John is introducing Jesus to the world as a solution to our problem
and God's answer is not a what, but God's answer instead is a who.
In the next part of the story, we see Jesus baptized.
The first time that Jesus and John meet, Jesus asked John to baptize him
and John was reluctant but Jesus insisted.
Matthew 3.16, as soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
You know, Jesus was baptized and so you should also be baptized.
Being baptized does not make you a Christian, but because you are a Christian,
you should want to be obedient to God and be baptized.
Baptism is symbolic.
It's a way of publicly saying that I am a follower of Christ and I'm not ashamed of it.
We believe that scriptural baptism follows becoming a Christian
and then that you are baptized by immersion, which means going under the water.
If you have not followed Jesus in baptism by immersion,
we'd be honored to answer your questions and schedule a time for you to be baptized.
If you'd please talk to one of us or one of the prayer team about baptism today,
they would be happy to help you.
As the story of Jesus continues, he begins to teach
and instead of giving a deep theological lecture, instead Jesus paints word pictures.
He would use word pictures as he taught the people to get the attention of the people,
to help them understand, to help them think about what he said.
Many times Jesus taught using parables.
A parable is a word picture.
A parable is a heavenly story with a, is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
He told them a parable using word pictures so that they would understand
why some people start out following God, but then they give up.
And this parable explains it in Mark chapter four.
Listen, a farmer went out to sow his seed and as he was scattering the seed,
some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil.
It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants
so that they did not bear grain.
Still other seed fell on good soil.
It came up, grew and produced the crop.
Some multiplying 30, some 60, some 100 times.
Then Jesus said, whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
This parable talks about four kinds of hearts that can develop in us.
The hard heart doesn't fully accept the word of God.
So it's easy for Satan to come and still it away.
When we leave our hearts open to all kinds of influences,
it's easy for us to develop a hard heart.
Hard hearts must be plowed up before they can receive the word of God.
The shallow heart, it's the thin soil that's on top of rock.
And since there's no depth to the soil, there's no room for roots to grow.
There may be great enthusiasm when they first start coming to church
and getting involved in the things of God.
But when the persecution and the difficulties come,
the excitement and the joy disappears because there's no roots.
The crowded heart, the crowded heart is a picture of those
who receive the word of God, but they don't truly repent.
They don't remove all the weeds that are in their life.
There are all kinds of unhealthy things that are growing in our life.
And so the good seed of the word has no room to grow.
And then there's the healthy heart.
This is the picture of the true believer who receives the word of God
and then begins to grow.
The other three hearts did not produce any fruit.
But from every genuine Christian, there will be life change.
There will be evidence of spiritual fruit.
The story of Jesus continues because Jesus is the Son of God,
then we should follow Him.
Jesus tries to explain it first to his disciples in Mark chapter 8.
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.
On the way, he asked them, who do people say I am?
They replied, some say John the Baptist.
Others say Elijah, still others, one of the prophets.
But what about you?
He asked, who do you say I am?
And Peter answered, you are the Messiah.
What people believe about Jesus matters.
What you believe and say about Jesus is actually a matter of life or death.
He is the Son of God.
But somehow many people missed the truth.
Maybe it's because following the truth isn't always that easy.
The truth is found through the small gate on the narrow road.
Mark chapter 834, then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said,
whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Jesus addressed the people with the same thing he'd been teaching his disciples,
that to follow Jesus, there's a cost.
There's a price to pay for true discipleship.
You know, salvation is free.
Following Jesus can cost you everything.
Jesus knew that the crowds were only following him because of the miracles he was doing.
It was like they were going to the circus.
The truth is most people are unwilling to take up their cross and follow Jesus.
Jesus tells us what it takes to be a Christ follower.
We surrender ourselves completely to him and follow him obediently wherever he leads us.
In the earthly story, it seems like we are losing our life if we do that.
But in the heavenly story, we actually find a true life.
Because we live for him, we live for others instead of ourselves.
What a difference we could make in our world if Christians would just be Christian.
If on social media, we would just be Christian.
I know you're right.
Everybody knows you're right, but be Christian.
And to be Christian means to be like Jesus.
And now we come to the most difficult part of the story of Jesus, the hour of darkness,
the cruelty of what Jesus experienced on the cross for you and for me.
It's beyond my ability to even describe it was so awful that people can treat anyone this way is disgusting.
But that people would treat the perfect son of God this way is unthinkable.
He was mocked, he was exposed, he was spat upon, he was beaten.
He was nailed to a cross to die a horrible death.
The crucifixion is so completely terrible that no sermon, no statue, no picture, no movie could begin to describe it.
It's absolutely beyond our imagination.
It's the worst form of death possible.
And that's why Jesus endured for you and for me.
And it's important that we never forget that.
It's important that we never get over his ultimate sacrifice for us.
It's when we forget that we become full of self pity and we become full of pride.
May the cross always break our heart.
The cross is the symbol of Christianity.
The fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sin is central to everything that we believe.
When Jesus paid the price for our sin, it made it possible for us to be forgiven.
To be forgiven means that the debt has been paid in full.
And the scriptures teach us to forgive each other the same way that God forgave us.
God offers us forgiveness that we absolutely do not deserve.
And in the same way, we are to forgive each other.
The cross was absolutely necessary for forgiveness because forgiveness has a price.
That's why so many of us choose not to forgive.
But not forgiving is really not an option.
Forgiveness is not a feeling.
It's a commitment to cancel a debt.
True forgiveness involves at least two people.
True forgiveness involves confession and repentance.
True forgiveness is not selfish.
We don't forgive just to make us feel better.
We forgive out of love for God and gratefulness for how He has forgiven us.
When we don't forgive, it's for one of two reasons.
Either we've never experienced God's forgiveness ourselves,
or we've forgotten God's forgiveness to us.
May we never forget the cost of forgiveness.
May we never get over the impact of the cross.
But the story of Jesus doesn't end here.
It's just the beginning because of the resurrection.
Jesus told His followers that He would die.
And on the third day, He'd rise from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is documented.
It's eye-witnessed. It's historical fact.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, there's no Christianity.
The resurrection of Jesus is the very heart of the Christian.
In John 11, verse 25, Jesus said,
I am the resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me will live even though they die.
And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
Do you believe this?
The heavenly story and the earthly story become one story because of Jesus.
The story of Jesus is to fulfill God's plan for you to be in a growing relationship with Him.
The church people always cracked on Jesus for hanging out with the low-lifes and the sinners.
Their bad reputation wasn't a reason for Jesus to avoid them.
In fact, their bad reputation was the very reason He hung out with them.
Jesus said it this way in Luke chapter 19.
The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.
Jesus reached out in love to the hated Samaritans.
Jesus showed love to the sinful woman at the well.
Jesus accepted Matthew, who was a tax collector.
In this day, a tax collector was the lowest of the low.
And Jesus made Matthew one of His disciples.
The church people ranked again on Jesus for eating with the tax collectors and sinners.
And once again, Jesus affirmed His mission in Matthew chapter 9.
When Jesus heard them, He said,
It's not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick.
Go and learn what this means.
I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.
I did not come to invite good people, but to invite sinners.
The church is not a museum for the saints.
It's a hospital for the sick and all through the Bible.
We see Jesus love and accept and forgive the very worst of humanity.
No one is too sinful to come to Him.
In fact, those are the ones He goes after.
That's the story of Jesus.
If you're a Christian.
If you're a Christ follower, the Bible teaches that you are actually part of the body of Christ.
That means that Jesus's story is your story.
That means that the things that are important to Jesus are important to you too.
Jesus's mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Himself.
The mission of the church at Argyle is the same thing.
To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Your mission as a Christian is the same thing.
To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Do you know why we spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours of very hard work
to produce the Argyle outdoor singing Christmas tree?
It's because we want to put on the best show in town.
No.
Because we enjoy beating our brains out.
No.
Because we're going to get rich from all the ticket sales.
The thing is free.
No.
We do it.
So that you can lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ as you invite them to the tree this week.
One of the best things that you can do is take a handful of those Christmas invitations and give them out.
And then come every night to the tree this week.
I know one of them is going to be 30 degrees, especially come that night.
And then every night as you come, bring with you your family and your friends and your coworkers and your neighbors.
Now, please don't tell anybody because they're not going to hear Rudolph the Red Nose Ranger or Frosty the Snowman.
I love those songs.
In fact, Rudolph the Red Nose Ranger was playing as I left the house this morning.
But what they're going to hear has the potential to change their life that our God loves.
And that we can fear not because Jesus is all.
God coming down has given us hope because we have a Savior.
God blesses everyone.
And when I believe in the name of Jesus, He can break every chain that has us bound.
That's what they'll hear at the Christmas tree.
The story of Jesus is your story to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Would you step out of the comfort zone and invest and invite?
Invest and invite people to the Christmas tree every night this week.
Invest and invite people to the Christmas family night.
Invest and invite people to Christmas Eve here at 11 p.m.
Invest and invite people to Christmas day here at 10 30.
Invest and invite people to come with you every Sunday to our worship gatherings.
You know, I pray this prayer every week.
May every chair be full for God's glory.
I pray that so I can get a raise.
No.
I want every chair in here to be full so that together we can lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.
Invest and invite.
Start from the beginning.
You've got to be kidding me.
It's great.
You've got to listen to the story.
I have something to show you.
Oh my goodness.
Oh my goodness.
Maybe it's our first.
Oh my goodness.
Oh my goodness.
