Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is Jesus the Reason for the Season? | Christmas | Luke 1:67-80

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. I'm Keith Simon, and I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're in our Christmas series. We're exploring the stories around Jesus' birth and the prophecies pointing forward to it. We're standing in front of an almost 7-foot by a 14-foot panel of Claude Monet's impressionist work called Water Lilies, valued at over $40 million, and yet we're huddled around Aubrey's two. inch by four inch iPhone screen, trying to see the real thing. Because we're having trouble believing

Starting point is 00:00:40 it can be real. Kansas City, Missouri is home to some pretty remarkable and timeless talent. Maybe Patrick Mahomes comes to your mind when you think of Kansas City. But there's a beautiful art museum in Metro Kansas City called Nelson Atkins, or the Nelson for short. So we were there for a long weekend and we were looking for something to do beyond the typical shopping eating circuit. So we got free tickets online and popped in for a visit on a beautiful fall day. Now, lest you think we're too refined, we studied our gallery maps over a couple of chocolate chip cookies from the courtyard cafe and saw that the Nelson is home to the work of some very, very famous artist.

Starting point is 00:01:18 They have Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Kandinsky. We planned our route to see the Van Gogh paintings first. They are some of his lesser-known works with one of the major ones being out on loan for a tour until 2023. Still, incredible, though, to stand in front of those paintings and think about the artist behind them and the history. And then around the corner, we moved on to some beautiful work by Monet. But there was a banner pointing us to a separate exhibit room to see one of his more famous

Starting point is 00:01:47 works called Water Lilies. So Aubrey said, we can go, but it's just a copy I read about it and the real one is in Paris. We walked into the exhibit room where a docent and made sure we had our flashes off and our inside voices on. The piece was in front of us. It took up an entire wall, and it was stunning. So the museum had curated a light show to depict how the change in sunlight would have inspired Monet to paint the water and the scene. And it felt kind of transcendent to be standing there in front of something so massive in its size and scope and so massive in what it represents about art, talent, discovery, and fame. Aubrey, though, still wasn't convinced,

Starting point is 00:02:30 because her iPhone told a different story. So there we were huddled around the screen while comparing a picture of the real thing to the real thing and wondering which one is real. Maybe you're one of those people that makes sure, especially during the Christmas season, to remind the people around you that Jesus is the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Starting point is 00:02:52 Or maybe you're like my mom and consider X-mas blasphemous because it takes Christ out of Christmas. One thing we probably have to be, probably have in common is that we know we believe Jesus is the reason for the season, if you will. But if we look into Luke's gospel and the Jesus he was proclaiming, we find that there's more to the Christmas story than believing Jesus is the reason for

Starting point is 00:03:16 the season. It's what we believe about Jesus that really matters. When we stand back and look at the promise and the purpose of Christ, we see a much bigger and truer picture of the magnificent work of Christ. Now, Luke and his gospel gives great detail to the infancy narrative. If you've been following this series, you've heard about the birth story through the eyes of Elizabeth and Zachariah and Joseph and Mary. Luke tells us the story of John the Baptist's birth as we anticipate the birth of Jesus.

Starting point is 00:03:50 And when John the Baptist was born, his parents took him to the temple for dedication and named him. And when they did that, Zachariah's mouth and ears. were opened and he was able to speak again. Now remember he hadn't been able to talk until his wife Elizabeth had the child because he had doubted what the angel said about having a baby. So when they named the baby John according to what the angel said and not according to family tradition, it was obvious to all that they believed what God said regarding this child. Then his mouth was opened and Luke writes down this song of Zachariah. It's kind of long-lasting. It's kind of long-lasting

Starting point is 00:04:29 12 verses, you can read all of them in Luke 1, 67 to 79. I'm going to read you the opening and the closing of his song. Listen to it and search for what he's prophesying, what he's able to say through the filling of the Holy Spirit about the reason we celebrate more than a baby in a manger at Christmas. Luke 167. His father, Zachariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Starting point is 00:04:59 Because he has come to his people and redeemed them, he has raised up a horn of salvation for us. And the end, Luke 176. And you, my child, meaning John the Baptist, will be called a prophet of the most high, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation, through the forgiveness of their sins

Starting point is 00:05:24 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace. Being a Christian means more than believing Christ was born of a virgin and did certain things for you long ago. It means that Christ joins his life to yours now in such a complete and intimate way that you know you're forgiven and you shine with the glory of the Father. The real story is so hard to grasp, so sometimes we prefer a lesser and easier to imagine version, the one where we're pretty good as we are, but a little bit better off because of Jesus.

Starting point is 00:06:11 It just takes a quick Google search to find the things Americans prefer that are fake over the real thing. So I had Christmas trees in mind when I did this search, but here's what I found. we prefer fake news, fake maple syrup, touched up photos, vegan leather, and there are more articles than I wish to count on how to tell the difference between a fake and a real Louis Vuitton handbag. The fake one is usually cheaper, easier to get, less work to maintain. My kids love fake maple syrup and I'm just glad because it's so much cheaper. But we must be careful because it's also easier to buy into a false selfish.

Starting point is 00:06:53 and a smaller story about Christmas, than the one we hear from Zachariah, than the one the Bible tells us, it's easier to relish a story that doesn't cause us to recognize sin, that doesn't allow us to contemplate the necessity of submission, and doesn't point out the truth that we can't save ourselves. We know the words of false salvation by heart. Try harder. Look deeper. Work better. come together. You can fix anything if you put your mind to it or find the right people to put their minds to it. But where does that cultural narrative make room for all the ways I keep falling off the wheel between January and November? For all the ways I exhaust myself in my personal pursuit to break my sin habits and be a better person. Have you ever had this thought? I may not be a Christian

Starting point is 00:07:49 because I keep falling off the wheel. The beauty about Zachariah's song and prophecy is that Christ has come to set us free from fake solutions. He came to dwell among us and through the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Our narrative is changed from how can I get better to Christ has set me free. More than a prophecy, it has happened.

Starting point is 00:08:14 For you and for me, we celebrate Christmas because the promise has been fulfilled. Romans 611, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God and Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so you obey its evil desires. And then verse 14, for sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What does that mean? Salvation has come into the world. You are not under the law, but under grace.

Starting point is 00:08:47 Let's take this scenario. You go through your workday with positivity and kindness towards your colleagues. But at the end of the day, work gets jammed up and you get frustrated and start gossiping or blaming. Now, the false salvation story says, I'll do better tomorrow. But the point of Christmas is that you don't have to save yourself from what you did today or what she'll do tomorrow. The reality is you can say, you can believe Christ. has set me free. I'm free from sins penalty for gossiping and blaming today. And I'm free from the slavery of gossiping and blaming when I get frustrated tomorrow. And you can fill in the blanks with your

Starting point is 00:09:33 own words. Christ has set me free from the penalty of disobeying God today and free from the slavery of anxiety, pride, looking at porn, drinking too much tomorrow. That's the beauty and magnificence and wonder of the real Christmas story. More than a feel-good story to warm our hearts during Christmas, the truth of salvation enters into each and every day so we may know the truth and be free indeed because the sun has set us free. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating.

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Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is Jesus the Reason for the Season? | Christmas | Luke 1:67-80

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