christmas 2016
CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
All of us have challenges and struggles going on in our lives. And they aren’t going to disappear, but we can figure out how to have joy in those circumstances. The baby who was born in a manger, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas, came to bring the Good News, the Gospel, which brings great joy to all who accept it. Luke 2:8-12
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
This baby, born into poverty to a young couple, would bring hope and joy into a struggling world. Why would God send the King of the world to Earth, to be born in a barn and to die a painful death on a cross? God created humans in His image to rule over the earth and reflect His glory in it. But instead, the first humans, Adam and Eve, succumbed to temptation and missed the mark of God’s standard. They separated themselves from God by sinning, but God intervened, and didn’t separate Himself from them. Genesis 3:14-23
Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
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CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden…
Conflict usually drives people to come up with a solution, and that’s exactly what God did. He provided a way for humanity to come back to Him; He wasn’t going to let us stay separated from Him forever. Until this world disappears, there will be thorns. The Enemy will call those thorns punishment and abandonment, but God calls them discipline and power. If God didn’t show us how we missed the bullseye and that we have a problem, we wouldn’t know the power of His love and the relationship we can have with Him. Nothing can separate us from the love God has for us—it’s greater than any thorn or struggle you will ever face. Genesis 22:11-14
At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”).
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CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
God shows up in the middle of the struggle. He makes provision in the thorn bush. We live in a fallen world—bad things are going to happen. God has already chosen not to separate Himself from us. Now we have to make sure we don’t separate ourselves from Him. Exodus 3:7-8
Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey…
God’s power is greater than oppression. He revealed to Moses how His power and compassion is greater than the enslavement the Israelites were experiencing. This helps us understand who God is and the depth of His love for us. John 18:36-37
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
John 19:1-3
Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
The soldiers meant for the crown of thorns to be a mockery. But Jesus took them on His head as a King who would conquer all of humanity’s sins and defeat every thorn sin has caused. He was born in a manger as a majestic King who displayed His love in a magnificent way on the cross. And it didn’t end there—He rose from the grave, proving that His love is stronger than anything that can come our way, even death.
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CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
Group Questions Why did God send Jesus to be born into poverty, instead of into royalty? How do the thorns we face show us God’s love? God disciplines those He loves. How can we remember that this discipline is displaying God’s love for us? What can we do when we’re struggling to remain joyful in the middle of a difficult time? God doesn’t separate Himself from us, but sometimes we separate ourselves from Him. Have you separated God from any areas of your life? (ex. finances, relationships, occupation, etc.) How can we get back to humanity’s original purpose—reflecting God in all the earth?
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All of us have challenges and struggles going on in our lives. And they aren’t going to disappear, but we can figure out how to have joy in those circumstances. The baby who was born in a manger, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas, came to bring the Good News, the Gospel, which brings great joy to all who accept it. Luke 2:8-12
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
This baby, born into poverty to a young couple, would bring hope and joy into a struggling world. Why would God send the King of the world to Earth, to be born in a barn and to die a painful death on a cross? God created humans in His image to rule over the earth and reflect His glory in it. But instead, the first humans, Adam and Eve, succumbed to temptation and missed the mark of God’s standard. They separated themselves from God by sinning, but God intervened, and didn’t separate Himself from them. Genesis 3:14-23
Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
PAGE 1
CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden…
Conflict usually drives people to come up with a solution, and that’s exactly what God did. He provided a way for humanity to come back to Him; He wasn’t going to let us stay separated from Him forever. Until this world disappears, there will be thorns. The Enemy will call those thorns punishment and abandonment, but God calls them discipline and power. If God didn’t show us how we missed the bullseye and that we have a problem, we wouldn’t know the power of His love and the relationship we can have with Him. Nothing can separate us from the love God has for us—it’s greater than any thorn or struggle you will ever face. Genesis 22:11-14
At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”).
PAGE 2
CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
God shows up in the middle of the struggle. He makes provision in the thorn bush. We live in a fallen world—bad things are going to happen. God has already chosen not to separate Himself from us. Now we have to make sure we don’t separate ourselves from Him. Exodus 3:7-8
Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey…
God’s power is greater than oppression. He revealed to Moses how His power and compassion is greater than the enslavement the Israelites were experiencing. This helps us understand who God is and the depth of His love for us. John 18:36-37
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
John 19:1-3
Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
The soldiers meant for the crown of thorns to be a mockery. But Jesus took them on His head as a King who would conquer all of humanity’s sins and defeat every thorn sin has caused. He was born in a manger as a majestic King who displayed His love in a magnificent way on the cross. And it didn’t end there—He rose from the grave, proving that His love is stronger than anything that can come our way, even death.
PAGE 3
CHRISTMAS 2016 PASTOR CLAY NESMITH DECEMBER 25, 2016
Group Questions Why did God send Jesus to be born into poverty, instead of into royalty? How do the thorns we face show us God’s love? God disciplines those He loves. How can we remember that this discipline is displaying God’s love for us? What can we do when we’re struggling to remain joyful in the middle of a difficult time? God doesn’t separate Himself from us, but sometimes we separate ourselves from Him. Have you separated God from any areas of your life? (ex. finances, relationships, occupation, etc.) How can we get back to humanity’s original purpose—reflecting God in all the earth?
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